And, as usual, I have no clue if this thing's undercooked or burnt to a crisp straight from the author's kitchen
(Kael Rukmono - June 14, 2011)
It's been less than two weeks since I started taking Modified Compound V, and the effects are already quite noticeable.
I have the ability to instantly understand how to use various weapons as long as I hold them, as if I had been practicing using them for years. And that was proven by how I could easily use the Broken Biome Blade without it hurting me in the slightest.
And speaking of the Biome Blade, I tried to repair this sword. Although I don't have any items from the Terraria game to 'repair' it, at least using metal manipulated by Unknown Dictator I successfully restored the sword to a form where it can be used like a normal sword.
Only I didn't get the "upgraded" version of its abilities like in the Terraria game.
I have to admit, Sacred Gears are fundamentally overpowered when used correctly, especially those in the Longinus class.
The Unknown Dictator is essentially a cheat code for every sci-fi fan's wet dream, allowing you to focus on the 'fiction' rather than getting bogged down in the 'science.' The ability doesn't require me to know the complex thermodynamic calculations or the specific metallurgy needed for, say, a warp core. It only needs the concept of the technology and enough 'energy'
whatever 'energy' the sacred gear used as its energy source, It's a shame realy, the author of Highschool DxD never expanded his worldbuilding beyond the Devil circle and the constant introduction of new, large-chested women for his protagonist.
If he had, he might have given us more insight into how these reality-bending Sacred Gears truly operate.
So, for the past two weeks, I've been practicing using [Unknown Dictator] to see how far my limits are, remembering that Sacred Gears can grow with their user and also adjust based on their user's nature.
Metal manipulation and technology creation... yeah, I definitely need to make sure the Wandering Sea and ATLAS institute never catch wind of this. This power is the very definition of a "cheat code that voids the warranty on sealing designation."
At that moment, I also had time to check Shizu's Magic Gun. From the outside, it looks like a heavily modified version of the Steyr AUG, all sleek lines and integrated scopes. But after checking its internal components through the Unknown Dictator, I have to say its specifications are quite impressive.
It's a perfect blend of magic and mechanical engineering, capable of cycling between specialized magical rounds and kinetic slugs in milliseconds. This weapon is essentially modular enough to handle attackers, whether they have magical or physical immunity. A perfect tool for a Combat Maid.
Not to mention the magic from the YGGDRASIL game that Shizu possesses. She is indeed the weakest among the Pleiades Six Star, the battle maid group belonging to the Great Tomb of Nazarick, but even her base abilities put her far beyond any mundane human threat and maybe some Magus.
Shizu, saw my ability and, in her flat, logical way, asked if I could give her additional weapons. Her Magic Gun was already good, but having other options wasn't bad either, especially since I could conjure them almost instantly. And of course, extra equipment is always welcome for Automata who specialize in long range.
Currently, Shizu and I were deep in a small, dense patch of forest on the outskirts of Boston. The sun was setting, painting the tall pines in shades of deep orange. This spot was remote enough that the sound of a few controlled gunshots or, in our case, the signature crack of impossible technology, would likely be dismissed as a car backfiring or a distant engine failure.
"So, what's the verdict, Shizu?"
Shizu Delta was currently in a kneeling position, the obsidian-black Railgun Sniper Rifle resting in her hands. It was the first "true" advanced weapon I'd created using the [Unknown Dictator], combining my knowledge of sci-fi tropes with the theoretical principles the Sacred Gear provided. She had just fired three consecutive shots at a metal target I'd made by manipulating it into existence using the Unknown Dictator and some e-waste I bought from a recycling center not far from my apartment. The target, a thick slab of reinforced steel, was now vaporized, not just pierced.
The results were surprising for my first iteration of a railgun.
Shizu responded, her flat voice cutting through the evening stillness. "The overall performance of this railgun is highly satisfactory. However, the overcharge mode presents a significant hazard. If the timing is not precise, the capacitor has the potential to overload and explode. Furthermore, it remains a single-shot weapon, requiring a full reload cycle after each discharge."
'At least I managed to create a working Railgun Sniper Rifle,' I mused. Thanks to the Unknown Dictator, creating that was remarkably straightforward, requiring only 'energy' proportional to the complexity of the design. Crucially, the [Tinker – Minimization] skill drastically reduced the energy consumption for each shot, preventing the device from being a short-lived battery hog.
'So back to the drawing board for another redesign, heh...' Just as I was about to mentally draft version two of the new railgun, my phone chirped excitedly in my pocket.
Just as I was about to mentally draft version two of the new railgun, my phone chirped excitedly in my pocket.
I pulled it out. TB's vibrant avatar, a small, energized figure with the blue streak, popped up on the screen, surrounded by celebratory confetti and glowing text.
"Shikikan, congratulations on reaching 5,000 on your Youtube channel!"
"Really?" I said, opening the YouTube page, and sure enough, the YouTube account I'd created for fun now had 5,000 followers. My gaming spree, a deliberate effort to harvest future knowledge and perhaps gacha tickets by uploading gameplay of titles years ahead of their time was paying off in unexpected ways.
After accumulating massive viewership, I'd delete the video simple as that and if someone records or downloads the video that I have deleted and tries to upload it to the internet, I can just ask TB to delete the video.
'That makes me wonder if any canon character watches my video,' I mused, before dismissing the thought. 'Eh… most likely won't happen.'
(Somewhere in Tokyo, Japan)
"Just... one more problem," Ritsuka muttered, writing down the answers to his math homework. The graphite lead snapped under the pressure. "Gah!"
He put the pencil down. "Fine. Break time. Ten minutes." It was a lie, and he knew it. Ten minutes always turned into an hour.
Ritsuka leaned over and nudged the mouse, waking the monitor from its sleep. The familiar, comforting glow of the YouTube homepage presented the usual fare... He was about to click on a video titled "Top 10 Anime Battles" when a recommendation in the sidebar caught his eye.
The thumbnail was a dark, gritty, impossibly detailed image of a giant mech, its pile-like melee weapon in a firing position. The channel was "Stargazer Gaming Walkthrough." The title read: "Stargazer Lets Plays: Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon -Act 1- First Playthrough."
"Armored Core 6?" Ritsuka mumbled, clicking. "I thought Armored Core 4: Answer was the last one, but... 6?"
Curious, Ritsuka ultimately decided to watch it because he really liked the Mecha genre.
"Hello everyone, welcome back to Stargazer Gaming. This time, I would like to express my gratitude to Bandai Namco and FromSoftware for providing me with early access to Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon, the latest entry in their Armored Core series."
Ritsuka watched the video. The gameplay was impossibly smooth, the graphics stunningly real, and the mech action
Oh, the mech action was exactly what the franchise had always promised.
The commentary was subdued but knowledgeable, focusing on build strategies and mission objectives. The channel owner, Stargazer, was clearly an enthusiast.
Especially the moment when C4-621 or Raven faces Balteus with Ayre, Coral's voice beside him.
"Oh man, FromSoftware is really cooking up the Mecha genre after releasing too many Soulsborne games note : i dont hate it but even as mecha enthusiasm, and I think this is the end of Act 1. Right now, we have a waifu in head calling us studmuffin, and BTW, Bandai, when are you going to let FromSoftware make a new Gundam game? and man.... it's been almost 3 hours of recording, and I think we'll wrap it up here for now. See you later, and don't forget to keep stargazing the web for new videos. Bye...."
He lost track of time, completely engrossed until the video ended.
"Man, that was amazing," Ritsuka breathed, leaning back in his chair. He immediately wanted to check the release date, pre-order information, and every forum post about Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. He quickly typed the title into his search engine.
Ritsuka frowned. "That's weird." He refined the search: "Armored Core 6 Fires of Rubicon release date."
The results were even stranger. Instead of a date, he got three pages of "Did you mean: Armored Core V?"
Ritsuka leaned back in his chair, the silence of his room suddenly feeling much louder. He shook his head, a weird, nervous laugh escaping him. "Okay... that was weird."
He closed the browser, but the image of the high-speed mech and the fiery graphics was burned into his mind. For the first time in his life, Ritsuka Fujimaru had a secret, a small, nagging feeling that the "normal" world wasn't nearly as solid as he thought it was.
(Kael Rukmono POV)
After being quite satisfied with my first Railgun Sniper Rifle test, Shizu and I went home to my apartment, but before that, I bought some kitchen supplies that were lacking, as well as snacks.
I leaned forward, my grin widening as I navigated to a different corner of the internet. The sheer chaos of the comment on video was fun, but the real goldmine of entertainment and free marketing lay elsewhere.
I opened up my VPN and pulled up the infamous board of chaos: 4chan.
"Let's see what the connoisseurs of crazy conspiracy are cooking up this time," I murmured, clicking into the /v/ (Video Game) board, then using the search function for 'Stargazer.'
The sheer volume of threads was staggering. I skipped the low-effort posts and went straight for a multi-page thread titled: "The Stargazer Anomaly: Proof of Chronal Displacement or Just an Elite Dev Troll?"
Anonymous (ID: x7H3jK): It's not a dev troll. The combat, the rendering engine, the lighting. This is next-next-gen. Stargazer is literally streaming future games. The way he deletes the Video after it gets popular is his way of maintaining the timeline.
Anonymous (ID: pL44s!): Nah, he's a genius who somehow cracked the NSA's quantum time-data server and is downloading the future. The delete thing is just to avoid the Deep State.
Anonymous (ID: Fc92mN): I checked the packet data from the video. I swear the file name in the metadata included 'Beta-1.7b-2025_Final.' He's an actual time traveler who's broke and is trying to fund his temporal jump-starts with donation.
Anonymous (ID: aB88sT): What if 'Stargazer' isn't a person? What if it's an A.I. that achieved self-awareness in the future and sent a compressed data packet of its favorite games back to 2011 just to confuse us? The calm, analytical commentary fits. It's studying our reactions.
Anonymous (ID: rT22qW): It has to be human. Look at the mistakes in the Balteus boss fight. An A.I. would perfect the run. The delete thing is a desperate attempt to cover his tracks after showing us something the UN doesn't want us to see.
Anonymous (ID: zX11pL): I looked up 'Armored Core 6' in every corporate registry and trademark database on the planet. Nothing. Zero. Zilch. This is more than a hack. This is an internet ghost. We're watching a game that exists in a parallel reality, and Stargazer just happened to find a wormhole in his router. He's not a time traveler; he's a dimension traveler.
I burst out laughing, leaning back in my chair.
The genius hacker and A.I. theories were almost tame compared to the Time Traveler and Parallel Reality ideas. This level of paranoia and theorizing was perfect.
It generated a massive buzz, fueled the 'entity' persona, and made any real investigation look like another crazy conspiracy theory.
"Alright, TB." I said, stretching.. "Time to erase the footage of Armored Core 6 from the web, then upload that review I made of Demon Souls."
TB's cheerful voice chirped from the speakers. "Commencing data purge and chronological masking sequence, Shikikan. Should I ensure that demon souls is presented as a completely new remake version, to maintain the chaotic timeline anomaly?"
"Absolutely," I confirmed, leaning back into my Dreadons Chair.
"When asked about the future games, just say I don't know anything about them. Let the conspiracy theorists do the marketing for us."
i probably played the longest, most comfortable (?) of 'Mess with the Timeline' ever recorded via spoiling game release
Let the future humanity be mildly unsettled by the impossibility of a video game. It was my own small contribution to the chaos.