Chapter 10: New Skills
The first thing that greeted Alex in this random workshop that Akame took him too was a girl with medium length, dual-toned hair which was split down the middle between light and dark brown as her eyes were grey with bright pink pupils.
She wore a brown and white top with a belted leather bodice, short brown pants with a coat back, and brown thigh-high boots. She also wore a brown top hat and gloves, with the right glove having metal tips on the finger tips and hat, as well as the majority of her clothing also being adorned with cogs and other such mechanics.
Overall, she gave off a massive steam punk-like vibe with her appearance and attire as the girl approached the front desk, removing her hat for a moment as she wiped her head with rag, an indication of how long she must've been at work here.
She initially eyed Akame, giving her a weary look.
"Odd to see you here. Does Elysia need anything?" Asked the steam punk girl.
Akame simply shook her head no before gesturing towards Alex.
"Hm? Who may you be?" Asked the girl.
"Alex Mustang. I'm the one who wanted to come here." He said.
"The name's Vill-V. What could you need?" Asked Vill-V.
Akame would then grab Alex's sword off of his back and placed it on the front desk, sliding it over to her.
"We'd like it if you could inspect this blade and then report anything interesting to us." Said Akame.
Vill-V looked back and forth between the two and Olympus before sighing to herself as she picked up the blade.
"Really picked a bad time you know? I've spent all day having to clean after Magician Vill-V's messes. Regardless, sure I'll do that for you. Just give me some time."
Vill-V would then return to the back of her workshop as Alex and Akame would begin their wait as they leaned against the walls.
"Seems we got the expert. Perfect timing." Said Akame.
"The expert? That a nickname or something? She also referred to herself as a magician? Does she have multiple aliases?" Asked Alex.
"Somewhat. It's more like she has split personalities/psyches in that brain of hers." Replied Akame which just confused Alex.
".......................huh?"
"I don't know much other than what Elysia's told me. You know how the 13 had a surgery that bonded their DNA with a specific Honkai beasts? Well during Vill-V's, a side effect would end up happening to where she can effectively split her mind into two. Theoretically, she could split her brain infinitely but it'd make her brain power very thin." Explained Akame.
"So, how many split identities has she made?"
"I don't know. I'm only aware of three of them. The Magician, The Expert, and The Conductor. The one we just encountered was the Expert. She handles a majority of the work. She's soft spoken, reserved, and is very on top things stressing punctuality and cleanliness. The Conductor is very straightforward. She's approachable and friendly. Easy to get into a conversation with. The Magician is somewhat the same but she differs in the fact that she treats most things as if they were shows. She could take the most mundane task and somehow turn it magic act. How, I have no idea."
After her explanation, Alex took a moment to process everything and more so just how insane the whole DNA merging with a Honkai beast thing is.
'Christ. I thought Theresa being able to regenerate missing limbs was nuts but splitting the brain into possibly INFINITE personalities is insane. Just what other crazy stuff does that surgery cause?' He thought.
The two would wait for what felt like close to half an hour until Vill-V came back to the front, placing Olympus on the desk.
"Whose was this again?" She asked as Akame pointed to Alex as the boy nodded. "I don't know where you got this weapon from, but it's one of a kind. We've so focused on combating the Honkai that not once has any thought to absorb and weapnize it. Not only that, but the blade itself seems to contain multiple forms of Honkai energy." Explained the Expert.
"Like what?" Asked Akame.
"Well for starters, it seems that ordinary Honkai energy is stored and released as flames, correct?" Said the Expert as Alex again nodded.
"Alright. Alongside that, I detected three unique energy signatures. All had traces of encounters with Herrschers."
When Vill-V said that, Akame had a brief gasp, clearly not expecting Alex having encountered Herrschers so young as the Expert continued.
"Two of these energy readings contain traces a Lightning Herrscher and an Ice Herrscher, meaning alongside fire you're also able to wield lightning and ice. The third and final reading is very peculiar. This Herrscher seemed to have control over invisible forces, being able to attract objects towards it. Essentially, you're able to draw anything, enemies included closer to you as if they were metals being drawn towards a magnet."
With all that she had said, it was now all but confirmed that Akame's theory of Olympus being able to wield more than just fire was correct as Alex was completely amazed at hearing all this.
Vill-V would hand Alex back Olympus but not before issuing a warning to him first.
"If you plan to put the other abilities you use, I'd advise extreme caution. Since this blade isn't accustomed to anything other than fire, the energy output needed to use the other Herrscher power will recquire much more energy. Use them very moderately and only when absolutely necessary." She said.
"Right understood. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it." Said Alex.
With their business being done, Akame would snap her fingers and open a rift back to the ER lobby.
Alex would wave goodbye before the two stepped through as the rift closed shortly afterwards.
Back at the lobby, the rift they stepped through appeared as the two emerged back at the lobby, being greeted first thing by Elysia as she waved.
"Hi~! Welcome back you two. Where'd you go?" She asked, giving Akame a subtle nod assuring her that it was just her in the lobby as the girl pulled down her hood.
"Akame here took me to a workshop. Had someone give my weapon a check up." Said Alex.
"Ooh. I assume it was Vill-V was it? Which one?"
"The Expert." Answered Akame.
"Wow. You two definitely got the right personality then. They switch so often and randomly that it's hard to tell which one you'll get." Said Elysia in her usual sweet tone before moving onto another subject. "Anyways, I have some important news for you Alex."
"Hm? What is it?" He asked.
"Well, when Mei completed her first batch of floors, she was given a special challenge as a reward, that being dueling me one on one in a fight. Seeing as you've now completed the same amount of floord as she did, it's only fair that you'll be given the same exact reward." Cheerfully said Elysia, though Alex was the opposite, feeling a little perplexed.
"I wouldn't exactly call that a reward." He said before gesturing at Akame. "I already fought her. Does that count?" He asked, to which Akame took great offense to.
"H-Hey don't remind me! Also that wasn't even planned we went over this!" She shouted.
"I'm kidding." Quickly said Alex.
"Unfortunately I won't get the honor of dueling you myself, but after asking the other Flamechasers I was able to get someone to agree on taking you on!" Said the pink elf.
"And uh, who exactly is that person?" Naturally asked Alex, though Elysia just raised a finger over her lips.
"It's a secret that I'm not allowed to say. You'll find out yourself once you step through the main rift. The arena is already prepared for you."
'Well this was all certainly prepared rather quickly.' Thought Alex.
"You don't have to dive in straight away. Take all the time you need to get prepared. Your opponent won't mind waiting. Good luck~!"
With that, Elysia stepped aside as Akame sighed.
"Couldn't she have done this while we weren't busy with the Expert? Geez." She said before looking at Alex. "Need a moment to collect yourself? I have a feeling that whoever Elysia managed to roped into this won't be an easy opponent."
Alex took the time to think things over before soon coming to a decision.
"I think I'll be good. Today was supposed to be a day off but I haven't done anything so I'm full of energy. That and what expert Vill-V said has me extremely amped up to test out Olympus' new abilities." Eagerly said Alex with a smile.
Akame could only retort with a chuckle before patting him on the back.
"Good luck then. Go break a leg. I'll be here waiting for you." She said, lifting her hood back up and walking off to the side.
Alex turned to face the main rift, taking a deep breathe and mentally preparing himself.
'Alright kiddo. First impressions mean everything. Let's rock and roll.'
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Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to say the following words.
With that out of the way, as you all just read I made a huge commitment thanks to y'all's input from a poll I made last month.
I am officially expanding Alex's moveset beyond just flames, aka I'm going full Kingdom Hearts with this.
Initially I was a little hesitation on going through with this as I was worried how Adam only being able to use flames in APHO would make sense but seeing as I'm still undecided to even making an APHO story, then I figured it wouldn't be a problem.
Now then onto what Alex can now do with Olympus.
Obviously there's the use of fire as the main elemental attack, and with Alex's continued use of it over the years, the power of said fire he can shoot out has increased tremendously.
Next, thanks to dueling against Ana, he can now use ice.
Thirdly, with his fight against Mei in Nagazora, he can utilize lightning too.
Lastly, with his brief encounter with the Herrscher of the Void back at Schicksal's air base, Alex can now manipulate and attract objects towards him to easily close in any distances.
And that's pretty much all.
How and when I'll be incorporating these will be a challenge but I hope I'll do my best for you guys.
I sincerely apologize for taking numerous long breaks(might have to even push back the planned release of Finality. 😭), but nonetheless I hope y'all stick me with through the end.
Before I finally end this long author's note section, two more things.
One, who do y'all think is the person Elysia convinced to duel Alex? 🤔
And two, here's a quick little picture I created going over what inspired different aspects of Alex.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 10: Complete
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