I Killed the Hero and Took His Achievements-Chapter 38: Ghost in the Machine

[Location: The Inverter Castle - Throne Room]

[Event: Cain vs. Sol (The First Hero)]

The floor below Sol turned to liquid gold. He didn’t sink but he levitated above the ground. [Skill: Flight of the Morning Star.] Sol levitated in the air, his golden armor was shining like a miniature sun. "A mere trick," Sol said mockingly, his voice echoing with disappointment. "Is that all you have? Avarice?" He raised the Star-Slayer. It hummed the air.

The air around the blade distorted like a glitch. "I fought the Void Leviathan with my bare hands, I slew the Demon King of the First Age, and I had a sex with the Goddess of Light." He swung his sword. It wasn’t just a sword slash, but it was a beam of pure kinetic energy.

[Skill: Star-Cross.]

A cross-shaped slash tore through the room.

"Dodge!" I yelled deafeningly.

We scattered away.

BOOM.

The blast hit the wall behind us. The wall vanished, but not exploded. It was vanished and erased from reality.

"Okay," I whispered while rolling to my feet. "That’s high damage."

"He’s Level 99!" Sylvia screamed aloud while conjuring an ice shield. "My analysis says his stats are maxed out!"

"Stats are numbers," I said. "Numbers can be modified."

I analyzed him thoroughly.

[Name: Sol]

[Class: Hero (Prime)]

[HP: 10,000,000]

[MP: Infinite (Connected to the Star-Core)]

[Weakness: None.]

No weakness, a behemoth with Infinite Mana. In a fair fight, I would lose 100% of the fight. So I didn’t fight fair. "Ahri! Distraction!"

"On it!"

Ahri used [Mirror Image]. Ten foxes appeared and were circling Sol.

Sol disappointed. "Illusions." He snapped his fingers. [Skill: Solar Flare.] A pulse of light radiated from his body. The illusions popped like a balloon instantly.

Ahri was thrown back, her fur was seared.

"Seraphina! Buff or Debuff! Do it simultaneously!"

Seraphina raised her papal staff.

[Debuff: Weight of Sin.]

A black cloud engulfed over Sol’s body. It slowed him down.

Sol looked up. The cloud evaporated instantly. "I have no sin," Sol stated. "I am relieved from Sin." He pointed his sword at Seraphina. "But you... you reek of heresy." He charged toward her. He moved faster than sound. A streak of gold light aimed at her.

"NO!" Sylvia interrupted him from plunging Seraphina.

She transformed fully.

[Dragon Form: Active.]

A massive Ice Dragon materialized between Sol and Seraphina.

Sol didn’t delay a second. He punched the Dragon right in the nose. CRACK.Sylvia who was a Level 60 Dragonkin knocked out of the air like a dying fly.

She crashed into a pillar. She reverted to human form while coughing blood. "Weak!" Sol exclaimed.

He then turned toward me. "Your party is very pathetic. Your tricks are poor. Why did the System ’choose’ you?"

I crestfallen in the center of the room while emanating heinous gaze. My party was down and my gold tricks failed miserably. I smiled wickedly. "The System didn’t ’choose’ me, Sol." I activated my Void Ring.

"It’s something more mysterious than that, Sol. It’s not that The System ’chose’ me or something but it’s something that I couldn’t be more sure about," I said frankly. I didn’t attack him out of right. I attacked his Sword first.

[System Override.]

[Target: The Star-Slayer.]

[Cost: 5,000 Souls.]

The ring wailed. The souls of the Liches, the Demons, the Paladins I had harvested during my journey, they burned as fuel.

[Property Edit.]

Sol swung the sword. "Die." CLUNK. The blade hit my neck. It didn’t cut, but it bounced off. Sol focused at his weapon.

The shining, star-forged blade he beloved the most had turned into... Rubber.

[Property Edit Complete: ’Sharpness’ -> ’Bounciness’.]

"What?!" Sol gasped. "My sword! It’s floppy as fuck!"

"Performance anxiety?" I joked.

I didn’t give him time to recover at all. I dashed toward him.

[Skill: Shadow Step.]

I didn’t use a weapon but I used my Hand.

[Trait: The Usurper.]

I grabbed his face. "Let’s see what you’re made of."

[Skill: Soul Harvest.]

[System Alert]

[Soul is bound to the Location.]

[Cannot Harvest.]

Sol grabbed my wrist. "You cannot steal me," Sol growled piercingly. "I am part of the System’s composition." He headbutted me powerfully.

CRUNCH.

My nose broke, I stumbled back.

Sol gazed at his rubber sword. He concentrated toward it. Golden mana suddenly flowed into it. The rubber hardened immediately. It became like a steel again. "So, you altered the property,"

Sol comprehended. "Impressive, but only temporary." He raised his sword. He was right, he was a Hero and had an auto-repair mechanic.

But I had bought 5 seconds. And 5 seconds was all I needed to see the Chain.

I looked at the ceiling (the floor). The golden chain connecting his soul went deep into the heart of the Inverted Castle. "You’re not a person," I suddenly had an epiphany.

"The real Sol is already dead. You’re a just mere System’s Projection." Sol’s face distorted terribly. "I am Sol! I have memories! I have the pain!" "You have his save file," I corrected him.

"Sylvia!" I commanded. "Can you fly?"

Sylvia groaned from the rubble. "I think... my ribs are broken."

"Seraphina! Heal her! Ahri! Cover me!"

I rushed toward the stairs leading deeper (up) into the castle.

"Coward!" Sol shouted while chasing me.

"It’s called a tactical retreat!"

I sprinted up the stairs quickly as I could. Gravity flipped again. I staggered, then adjusted perfectly.

Sol flew toward me.

I reached the Central Chamber. It was a library. Similar to the one in the Academy, but this one is unmistakably older. In the center, floating in a stasis, there was a Corpse.

It was Sol. The real Sol. A skeleton in rusted armor. And floating above the skeleton was a glowing Blue Crystal.

[The Core of the First Hero.]

This was the source of the Projection.

Sol (The Projection) burst into the room. "GET AWAY FROM THAT!" He looked horrified. "If you touch that... I’d cease to exist!"

"That’s the plan, buddy."

I leaped toward the Crystal. Sol threw his sword toward me.

It spun through the air and it was going to hit me. I couldn’t dodge in mid-air. Suddenly, a long solid fire spanked my body.

It was Ahri. She spanked me sideways that luckily lead me toward the Core. The sword missed my head and embedded itself into the wall. I grabbed the Blue Crystal.

[System Override.]

"NOOOO!" Sol screamed ringingly.

I didn’t destroy it. I Downloaded it.

[Action: Data Transfer.]

[Target: HMS Profit Margin.]

"Sparky!" I called the comms. "Incoming file! It’s enormous!"

"Receiving!" Sparky grinned heinously. "Holy mother of... boss! This is an outright consciousness transfer! It’s full of 500 Terabytes of Data!"

The Projection of Sol froze, then flickered. "I..." Sol looked at his both hands. They were becoming more transparent time by time. "I just don’t want to die," he muttered. The synthesizer voice just broke a moment, it sounded like human. "I just... I just wanted to save them." I looked at him reverently.

For the first time in the second life, I didn’t feel greed. I felt... utter respect. "You aren’t dying, Sol," I said gently. "I’m hiring you."

The transfer completed perfectly. The Projection suddenly vanished. The room went silent unconditionally.

[Quest Complete: The Ghost in the Machine.]

[Reward: AI Companion ’Sol’ acquired.]

[Loot: The Star-Slayer (Sword).]

I walked over to the wall, then pulled the sword out. It was heavy but balanced perfectly.

[Item: The Star-Slayer]

[Grade: God-Tier.]

[Effect: +100% Damage to Void Creatures.]

[Active Skill: Star-Cross (Fires a beam of light).]

"So now it’s mine rightfully."

Sylvia and Seraphina walked listless into the room.

"Is... is it over?" Seraphina asked.

"Yes."

I held up the sword. "We got the loot. We got the AI." I tapped my earpiece.

"Sparky. Status on the new guy?"

"He’s integrating into the ship’s computer perfectly, Boss!" Sparky spoke enthusiastically. "He’s currently optimizing the targeting systems! He’s rewriting the firewall and the Void soul! But he’s... complaining about the ship’s decor."

"THIS SHIP IS AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE," Sol’s voice thundered over the intercom. "WHY IS EVERYTHING SHAPED LIKE A LITERAL SKULL?"

"It’s our aesthetic," I replied.

"IT IS VERY TACKY. I AM BEGINNING A RE-DESIGN."

"Don’t you dare paint it pink," I warned.

I turned to the girls. "Let’s go. We have a World Engine to start."

[Location: The Titan’s Vault - Deep Core]

[Time: One Week Later]

The Project: Big Stick was completed successfully. The massive mana pipe had been converted into a massive cannon barrel 10 kilometers long pointing straight up at the sky.,The World Engine hummed. I stood at the control panel.

Gallywix, Sylvia, Seraphina, Ahri, and Sparky stood behind me.

"Fuel status?" I asked.

"Tank’s full," Sparky reported. "World Mana rerouted."

"TARGETING SYSTEMS ONLINE," Sol’s voice announced. "TRAJECTORY CALCULATED. TARGET: THE MOON BASE."

I placed my hand on the nuke button. "This is the retribution for kidnapping my girl," I said. I pressed the button. KA-THOOOM. The sound was felt, not heard.

The entire continent shook violently. A beam of pure, concentrated blue energy shot out gracefully. It pierced the atmosphere, then crossed the space.

[Location: The Moon - Technocracy Citadel Area]

The Prime Administrator watched the sensor screen. "ENERGY SPIKE DETECTED. ORIGIN: PLANET SURFACE. CALCULATING IMPACT POINT... IMPACT POINT: HERE." The Administrator didn’t have a slightest time to process horror.

The beam hit the Moon Base. BOOM. A crater the size of a city appeared on the lunar surface. The Citadel was vaporized. The Technocracy’s command center was eeriely silenced.

[System Notification]

[Critical Hit.]

[Enemy Base Destroyed.]

[The Technocracy is in panic.]

Back on the Planet, I watched the new crater form on the moon through the telescope. "Bullseye," I grinned viciously. "Now they know we can hit back."

I turned to the group. "Phase 1 is completed successfully. We finally secured the planet. Phase 2 starts now."

"What is Phase 2?" Sylvia asked.

I pulled up the Global Map. The oceans were still unchecked, in The Deep Sea. "The Foreign Fleet is still blockading us. They are blocking us out. We need to break the blockade. But first... we need resources.

I pointed to the vast ocean. "There is a city down there. It’s called Atlantis. And rumor has it that... they have a Star-Forge artifact. Pack your diving bikini, girls. We’re going underwater."