"Then what am I good at?'
'I feel like if I say nothing, you're going to get mad at me.' -Dansei.
'Is it national pick on Dave day? Okay, I get it, I dumb, but then what am I supposed to be good at?'
'Your systems, you know how to use them, better than all the rest. You need to use what you are best at, and that's friggin cheating! Stop playing by the rules!' -Dansie
I watched Branson stand across from me, looking ready to beat the stuffing out of me. How was I supposed to cheat? Then my brain started to churn, the Armory, I wonder if it is considered a weapon? I tried to summon it, and I was surprised when the red cape appeared on my shoulders.
"What is that? Is that cape supposed to make you stronger or something?" Branson asked with amusement as he cracked his knuckles.
"Oh? This old thing? It's not what you should be worried about."
Branson gave me a strange look as I reached behind me, but a single bracelet appeared in my hand. I wanted to be disappointed, but I wasn't going to give this guy the satisfaction. I opened the metal band and snapped it on my wrist, and something strange happened.
My body was filled with so much energy, that I thought I would explode. It was like I was filled with pure power, unbridled strength that had no limits. The power radiated off me in waves, but I guess Branson was tired of waiting, because he rushed me, so much for the lessons, this was a fight.
"If you are going to use shit like that, then I won't hold back anymore!" Branson yelled as his fist flew at my head, but then time slowed and I was hit with a wave of messages on my HUD.
[Hyde-The Gate] Equipped.
[The Gate] Is activated.
[Power Charge] Complete.
[1/15 gates] Are activatable.
Activating [The Gate]
The power was strapped down and I was back to feeling normal, but when the first gate activated, time sped back up. Branson's hand crashed into my face, but I didn't budge, not a centimeter. The impact should have knocked me into the wall, but I was unmoved, like a brick wall.
"What the…"
I backhanded him, well, I meant to slap his hand out of my fast, except I knocked him into the wall. I was also sure I felt some bones break as I hit his arm, but the man got back up with a smile on his face, uh-oh. Branson didn't have a scratch on him, the wall was the one that would need medical attention!
I noticed that we were the only ones on the floor of mates now, the girls had gone to sit down and watch us boys have fun. Okay, so, that didn't hurt him, then what the hell was this guy?
"Didn't I just break your arm? Why doesn't it look like it's mangled? I felt the bone break in at least two spots, how does it look normal?"
"Better question, why do you have his power? There hasn't been another leader to give me a run for my money like this since…"
"...You fought my brother?"
"That monster is your brother? How? You two are nothing alike!" Branson said in surprise.
"So I keep hearing. I, personally, have never met the guy that I can remember. Everyone keeps telling me how awesome he was, but now I just keep getting told how cool he was and what a monster he was."
"If Hyde was your brother, then I will try to be less of an asshole. Not because you're his brother, but because of the person your brother is. Fiercely loyal and will stop at nothing to save his friends, I am sure you are the same, but you are younger than him in spirit and he played throughout the games twice, so I will try to give you a break."
"So does that mean we are done here?"
"Oh hell no, now that I know you are the freaks brother, I'm going to whoop your ass for the last time he handed me my ass!" Branson said while dropping into a fighting stance.
Great, it seems my brother likes to make friends wherever he goes, but I wasn't opposed to hashing it out with Branson, this guy was a prick, and I would relish putting him in his place. I reached back and found another bracelet, but I didn't have time to look at it.
I just snapped it open and snapped it on my wrist. A single message popped up, and I wasn't sure what the hell it meant, but I was about to get a face full of fist in a second if I didn't move. What the hell did Convenience mean?
[Bhan-Convenience] Equipped.
I wasn't going to move fast enough, Branson had turned up whatever the hell his power was and it felt like we were almost the same strength now. I could feel his overwhelming presence pressing against my own presence, but then something extremely weird happened. One second I was about to be punched in the face, the next, I was an exercise ball.
Branson's fist connected with me and I was sent back into the wall at hypersonic speeds. Then I hit said wall and reversed my course and head back in the direction I had just come from, but then I turned into a fridge right before I hit him. All of this happened in a fraction of a second; what the hell was this ability?
Chapter 208: Ultimate Missed Que
Branson couldn't dodge, I mean, I was a fridge moving at the speed of sound. I smashed into him, but he somehow pushed away from me and I continued on a slightly altered course into the same wall. The instant that I was about to become a mess of parts and flying doors, my body changed into a sticky jelly that smacked onto the wall. My slime body rolled down the wall, and then I was me again.
"No, you can't have his ability too! What the hell is going on?!" Branson yelled at me from where he had landed.
"You know this Bhan too?"
"Don't you know anything? Have you been living under a rock? The other four have passed by twice already, except for the guy with the number name. So, why have I never seen you before this?"
"I failed once, before getting past the first world. So, something happened to me, but that is neither here nor there. So, are we done now, or do you want to keep going?"
"No, I can see that you do seem to have a quirk. Even though it's being a cheater, it's your thing. Which is just silly, where is MainFrame? If this was your brother, that thing would have at least tried to buff me. So why is it letting you get away with using others' quirk?" Branson asked walking back to the center where the rest of the girls were all grinning at me.
"Hyde is the reason MainFrame is gone and good riddance. There is something seriously wrong with that thing, MainFrame has been hunting me for the last nine games, using players it creates or but throwing end game bosses at me. So, cheating has become a way of life for me, whether I do it on purpose or something cheats for me."
"Really? Hyde did give it a pretty bad ass-whooping, and after that, MainFrame left him alone for most of his second game, according to him," Branson mused.
"That makes sense, MainFrame probably decided that it was pointless to try and affect Hyde. So, instead, he came after me and has harried me every step of the way. I am not trying to cheat to beat the game fast, I just need to win, and surviving is key to that."
Branson put a hand to his chin in a thought full expression, but after only a short moment, he focused back on me. Giving me a good look up and down, Branson let out a sigh, but then a small smile crept onto his face.
"Fine, I will take you five, but you have to promise me you won't destroy this city, and that means not using Hyde's power while in the city. Using the others' powers is fine, but your brother didn't even use his powers here the first or the second time," Branson explained.
"That's ok, I have the armory for that, and this cape lets me pull out the most useful thing for me at the present moment. I guess that means the cape knew you could handle the first gate, but Bhan's ability is strange. What is the deal with Convenience?"
"That lazy son of a bitches power was to do nothing but be annoying, as you might have seen, but it is the best support System a player could ask for. The ability stretches from the user to the party members as well, but not in all the same ways as it affects you. Here, try this, sit down," Branson instructed.
"On the ground?"
"No, try to sit down like you are going to sit in a chair, just humor me."
I looked at him with a tilted head, but I tried it anyway. To my surprise, I sat in a chair that was clearly not there before. It was comfy like it was made just for me, but how the hell did it get under me and where had it came from?
"Mighty fine convenience to have the perfect chair waiting for you when you sit down, don't you think?" Branson asked with a smirk.
"So his power was laziness?"
"In a nutshell, for you and your party, that basically sums it up, but it can summon food as well, so not all laziness. The part that is the most important for you, is the fact that you are nearly invincible. Anything that poses a direct threat will cause you to change into a more convenient form to deal with. Though Hyde and Bhan joked about the time Hyde threw Bhan across the map, he turned into a ball and bounced into the sunset, and got lost in the ocean. Only when he washed up on a deserted island did he change back, I don't even want to know what that must have been like."
"Holy shit, Hyde through him across the map?"
"Really? That entire explanation about Bhan's powers and you only focus on Hyde throwing him, you two are brothers, bwahaha!" Branson laughed and slapped me on the back, with a good amount of force.
"Oww!"
I was a human steel statute for the brief moment that Branson's hand connected with me, and the time it took him to pull it back in pain. The actions gave me a throwback to when Dresnal would try to knock my body off my head with his hand slaps. Branson scowled at me, but I just laughed and shook my head.
"So, we have all been very quiet and civil while you boys have been playing, but now you need to feed us and do nice things with us, or all the convenience in the world won't save you!" Grace threatened as she stood up from the bench where she and the girls were sitting on.
"Yes, Mr. Branson, I think that you know we are all more than capable to do this job. So, we will send Dave back with the bounties and you two can have your playtime then. Now, we need attention!" Aquina said standing up beside her with Latisha and Kierra joining and shaking their heads in agreement.
"Okay, Okay, girls, I will leave him alone for now. Come back after you are done with your dates and then we can get you set up with your first bounty."
Branson waved us off and I took the girls back outside the Shell Cop Station. The city was like a normal city except it looked like we were underwater, but we could swim in the water, nor did it affect the way we moved. Basically, it was all just for show, the physics were the same as on dry land, but it still gave an underwater impression.
"So, where is the closest park?"
"Park? I said we were hungry, not that we wanted to frolic!" Grace complained.
"I have a plan, so guide us to a nice park that is close to here, okay?"
Grace gave me a look that said, you better know what you're talking about, or else, but she still led the way. Somehow I ended up with Kierra on one arm and Latisha on the other, and Aquina on my shoulders. Thankfully I didn't get tired so I was able to walk the whole way without a problem.
When we got to the park, some others were playing Frisby, and a couple groups just sitting and talking. I led our group to a nice shaded spot away from the rest of the people so we could have some privacy. Once there, the girls let go, and Aquina slid off me, but then I noticed something for the first time.
All the girls were...my girls, not some bunch of science experiments! Realizing this, I reached down into my pants and got a big grin on my face. Oh, penis how I have missed you! I took my hand out of my pant and looked back up at the girls who were all staring at me like I was stupid, they weren't wrong.
"Did you really only just notice that we aren't monsters anymore?" Kierra asked, poking me in the side.
"Well, so much has happened and I guess my head was in the clouds, but are we stuck like this? What happens when we go back out into the real water?"
When we came in and dropped you off, Kierra and I looked around like we said. Then everyone unfroze, so we went to talk to the guards we had slipped past about our looks. They said while in this city we would not have the same Avatars as we did outside in the main water, but they would return after we left," Grace explained.
"I don't really care how it happened, You all look amazing and I am sorry that I didn't notice sooner."
"Don't feel bad, we know you have been going through a lot lately, but we were trying to push ourselves on you so you would notice us. We even tried to molest you in the elevator, but you seemed to have your mind somewhere else, so we decided to let you have some time to work off some frustration with Branson. The game we just played was pretty stressful and now that you know what we are, and what the goal is, so, we understand," Aquina said, coming over and giving me a kiss.
These girls were more than any man deserved alone, together, I was the luckiest man in the world, but I had time to make good on my promise to them. I concentrated, trying to focus on what I wanted, and then I reached back into the Cape At Hand and pulled out a large basket wrapped in a red and white checkered cloth. The girl's eyes lit up with joy as I began to unwrap the basket, now this is convenient!
Chapter 209: Multitasking Harem Master
The area that we picked was off and out of sight from the rest of the world. I didn't want to be disturbed while we enjoyed our nice meal, so I made sure the area was out of view from the rest of the world. The girls were already reaching into the basket and pulling out different foods. They all seemed to be what the girls wanted because each of their eyes looked up when they saw what was pulled out.
Kierra was the first to reach in, and she pulled out a container that was filled with sushi of all different varieties. Latisha was next, and I almost choked on air when I saw the meat skewers she pulled out. I asked for a bite, and Latisha obliged, passing me over one of the multiple she had. I took a bite, and I was instantly taken back to the desert oasis.
Yeah, this was Catsect, but why did Latisha want this? The better question was How did she know about this? She wasn't with us in Universal Watch, so then how would she know about something like this? My thoughts were interrupted as Aquina pulled out a whole roasted chicken.
"Dave, what is with this basket? It has all our favorite foods! I never thought I could pull a hot and freshly baked chicken and bacon carbonara from thin air!" Grace spoke to me between mouthfuls of her pasta.
"It's not just the basket, it's this bracelet, I have the power of Convenience, but I still don't know what that really means. From what I learn from Branson, whatever we need to a degree is just at the tip of our fingers, we just have to want it, or desire it."
"Whatever we need? So more than just food?" Kierra asked, but her cheeks were starting to stain pink.
"I think so, but there are some limits, I'm sure. What those might be, I have no idea, this is all new to me."
Kierra turned back to her food and started to examine it in-depth, what was that about? I looked over to Grace, then the other two, but they all were deeply invested in the food they were eating. Not one of them would meet my eyes, and each sideways glance I caught was gone faster than I could turn my head.
What was with these girls? Why the hell were they acting so shy and timid now? I decided to push that thought to the back of my mind, I was actually hungry. The feeling was almost weird.
For this entire game, I hadn't needed food, but now that I could see and smell it, my mouth was starting to water. I reached into the basket with nothing particular in mind, and my hand closed around something warm...in the shape of a triangle...oh good lord.
"Are you okay, Dave?" Aquina asked, putting a hand on my arm.
I was shaking with excitement over the dumbest shit, but I couldn't help it as I pulled out the greasiest and cheesiest slices of zah I have ever seen. The girls all looked at me with concern as I brought the steaming slice to my lips. The cheese, sauce, meat, and crispy crust felt like heaven as I chewed, closing my eyes, and letting the experience flow through me.
Pizza was my favorite food, I know, sue me for
being so vanilla, but a good slice of pizza was worth its weight in caviar. When I opened my eyes back up, all four of the girls were staring at me with a...hungry expression?
"Girls? Are you okay?"
"Dave, we all were talking, and…" Grace trailed off, leaving the statement open, but the stain of pink was forming on her cheeks.
Oh shit, you are fucking kidding me right? Each of the girls' expressions was stained with the same pink. Was this one of those moments? The ones that are only in dirty stories? The kind of thing that your dreams don't even have the capacity to imagine?
"Girls...are you suggesting what I think you are?"
Harem Reborn c1-297 Page 90