Tale of Discovery

"Initiating the second phase of the tutorial."

Along with AI's voice, my senses return - although my sight remains completely dark, similar to how it was outside the game.

Am I blind again? But I could see earlier, couldn't I?

"To access current progression status and state, intone 'Status."

Status? Is it going to be something similar to the system screen outside the game that shows my abilities and parameters?

"Status," I curiously mutter.

All of a sudden, despite not being able to see anything, a yellow rectangular screen appears in front of me.

Inspecting the content displayed on the window, I am a little startled.

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Name:- N/A

Race:- Alterer (100%)

Profile:

-Origo (N/A)

-Overlord (100%) (Active)

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Main objectives completed: 1

Secondary objectives completed: 1

Forced callings used: 0/3

Familiars: 2/3

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This… It's a rather simple status screen. It doesn't display anything like abilities and powers, but some simple stuff instead.

Still, what's with the name section being empty, and what's an Alterer? The only thing I can infer from the name is 'altering', as in something that alters. But then, what would I be altering?

"Please register a name for usage in the game," AI's voice reverberates once again.

A name? I will just go with 'Victor'.

"Victor," I mutter, immediately after which the name appears in place of the N/A on the status screen.

Oh, so I can talk now. I suppose that means I have a mouth unlike during the battle with the skeleton?

"Default profile selected: Overlord."

"Beginning introduction of forced callings…"

The next moment, I feel an odd sensation all over my body, as if I have been suddenly transferred elsewhere.

"Granting profile skills and abilities…"

A sudden jolt of pain strikes my head as I feel a great amount of information seemingly flowing into me.

A few seconds after the pain goes away, I take a moment to skim through the information I just acquired.

In short, everything I just received is skills belonging to the profile 'Overlord' or whatever. The sheer number of abilities is simply astounding, ranging from a spell that shoots out magic arrows to one that summons a literal meteorite down.

"Initiating introduction of forced callings…"

As soon as AI's voice fades, the light returns to my eyes as I find myself standing right at the center of the arena I fought the skeleton.

However, something is amiss, I can feel it.

Looking down at my body, I realize that I am not naked, but instead, I am dressed in a dark gown that I recognize.

"No way, right?" I mutter as I raise both of my arms.

A skeleton - I have become a fucking skeleton. And from the looks of it, it should be the very same skeleton I decapitated earlier.

Before I can think over this matter any longer, a bright light shines all around me, only to fade and reveal multiple hideous-looking monsters that are armed with large clubs.

"Amidst an unfavorable situation, it's possible to force a calling."

"Doing so will result in receiving a tertiary objective. The reward upon completion of the objective various according to the difficulty of the circumstances."

How intriguing... At first thought, this could be used to increase the gains from a game, but that's not all. If I were to hit a blockade with no idea what to do, I could force a calling and use it as a guide.

"So, how do I exactly force a calling?" I utter as I glance at the monsters around me that are staring at me motionlessly.

"To force a calling, willing for it is enough," resounds the voice as if in response to my inquiry.

And so, I do just that, directly after which a small red window pops up in front of me.

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Forced calling (N/A):

Exterminate all the trolls. (0/13)

Time left: N/A

Reward: Access to the third stage of the tutorial.

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"Begin," resounds AI's voice.

Following this, the hideous monsters around me release loud cries as they raise their clubs and rush at me.

"Shit," I mutter as I quickly dash in a direction that has fewer trolls.

My speed... It has decreased a little. Fortunately, it's still more than enough for me to deal with these considerably sluggish creatures.

And so, I quickly use a buff on myself, "Haste."

With my speed growing to an absurd rate, I easily create some distance between the monsters and me.

Alright, analyzing the monster in front of me, I can roughly assume their power level and how much of a threat they pose to me. Basically, none.

Although it's just my gut feeling, I realize that these monsters stand absolutely no chance against me. This notion is further enforced by the information I now possess in regard to my abilities.

Thus, there is no reason for me to use anything too flashy right now.

"Iceball," I mutter as I raise my right skeletal hand.

Following this, an azure ball of frost appears in front of my palm before launching in the direction three trolls are closely grouped up.

Once the ball of frost contacts one of the trolls, it erupts into a small burst of white mist as the trolls' bodies begin freezing.

Not even a second later, I cast another spell, "Fireball."

This time, a small ball of fiery flames appears before launching toward the frozen group.

Normally, this fireball would only cause some great damage especially against such monsters, but now, combined with the earlier iceball, the damage is notably higher.

A loud noise reverberates within the arena as the two magic spells react and form a mini-explosion.

The three frozen trolls take the most damage from this as they simply break into huge chunks, while the shockwave brings a halt to the other trolls' movements.

A few seconds pass, with neither side doing anything, only for one of the trolls to raise its club and release a cry much louder than before - it is pissed.

Well then, I suppose it's time to investigate my current body.

Lowering my right arm, I proceed to slowly approach the trolls that are rushing at me with no intention of striking them.

Shortly, one of the trolls reaches me and directly raises its club. Unfazed, I simply raise my arm in the trajectory the club will be swung, and expectedly, once the troll did swing it, the club got easily blocked without any pressure.

"How weak," I subconsciously mutter as I step forth and use my right arm to casually punch the troll's huge belly.

The impact from my punch isn't anything to be scoffed at, as the troll's feet leave the ground and its body gets hurled a few meters away.

Deciding not to waste any more time, I keep my right arm raised as I chant, "Acid arrow."

This results in a greenish-yellow magic arrow appearing in front of my palm and launching toward one of the approaching trolls' faces.

I repeat this process a few more times until all the nine standing trolls are struck.

After this, I ignore the trolls' wailings as I lower my arm slightly and chant, "Create greater item."

As my voice fades, a bright light shines for a moment before it disappears and reveals a fine-looking shortsword.

Gripping the sword's hilt with my bony hand, I lean forth a little before dashing toward the trolls.

I swiftly make use of my speed and strength to dash among the trolls, swinging the sword at the neck of any of them within my proximity.

Not even three seconds later, I am standing in front of the troll I punched earlier with loud thuds reverberating behind me.

Currently, the troll is trying to get up, but I don't give it a chance to do so as I disperse the magically created sword before aiming my palm at the troll's head and muttering, "Fireball."

As soon as the ball of flame strikes its head, the troll begins writhing around on the ground while letting out cries of agony that last for about ten seconds before it stops and lies on the ground motionlessly.

"Second phase of the tutorial complete."

"Initiating the final phase..."

Following the announcements, the trolls' corpses break down into small motes of light and disappear.

"Profile switching. Use 'status' to switch profiles."

Oh, right. There were two profiles displayed earlier. Overlord and Origo. From these two words, I can infer that Origo has something to do with my body outside the game, while Overlord is this skeleton body and skill-set.

Doing as the voice instructed, I will for my profile to switch to 'Origo'.

Directly after this, my vision blips for a moment as I sense a small change in my body.

I curiously look down and raise my arms, only to be pleasantly surprised by the fact that my body now is exactly like it is outside the game.

"Profiles outside the current game are unable to use any abilities. However, all parameters remain unchanged," the voice announces.

Nice. This means that I can continue to do whatever I am supposed to do in this game in this body, albeit at the cost of having no abilities for usage.

"Tutorial has been completed."

"Switching profile back to default..."

"Transporting..."

As soon as AI's voice fades, my vision darkens for a moment before the light comes back. Surprisingly, though, I am no longer in the arena, but in a grand chamber, sitting atop a throne. Even more stunning is the sight of a few individuals present within the chamber.

Standing a meter away from me is a woman of immense beauty that can only be compared to Infi's.

The woman has long dark hair from which protrudes two slightly crooked white horns.

She wears a long, pure white dress that reaches all the way to her feet. The sides of the dress around her hips are exposed, revealing a portion of her smooth thighs.

Still, the most eye-catching thing about her is that there are a dark pair of wings around her waist.

At this moment, the woman, which had been bowing slightly, straightens her posture a little as she asks, "Is something wrong, Lord Momonga? (Momonga-sama)"

Momonga? Who the heck is that?

Lowering my head slightly, I set my sight upon my two arms that are resting on the throne and then realize - I am currently in the body of the skeleton once again, and this woman most likely just uttered 'his' name.

{First primary objective granted: Gain control over the territory surrounding your base.}

{Unsealing guide...}

[Huh? What's going on? Where am I?]

The confused voice of a man follows the statements by AI. Oddly, the man's voice greatly resembles the voice of the former owner of this skeletal body.

Great; at least, I won't be hurled into this mysterious 'game' world with no knowledge about anything...

"Lord Momonga?" the woman's voice reaches me once again as she takes a step toward me.

Looking up, my eyes are immediately drawn to a certain part of her body, which is partially covered by a web-like golden necklace.

This girl... isn't she a little too attractive?