EBO: Resume - Chapter 3

August 16th, 2026

Satoshi awoke in his bed, shirtless and sheets rumpled. He got up with a groan and a headache, unsure of what had happened last night. Not much could be remembered of last night, only Nanaha begging him to go to sleep after eating their dinner and passing out on the bed. The scent of food being cooked wafted into his room through the half-open door. A growl of hunger escaped his stomach, prompting Satoshi to get up and leave his room to eat. When he reached the kitchen/dining area of his hideout, he saw Nanaha frying up bacon while waffles cooked nearby. She was preoccupied with dancing to the music in her earbuds while she cooked, swaying her hips to the rhythm of the song that was currently playing. While she wasn’t paying attention, Satoshi went to the fridge and got out a carton of milk and set it down on the table before brewing some coffee. Nanaha danced around while she watched the bacon sizzle, opening the waffle maker to remove the finished waffles and pour in the next batch. Satoshi remained silent and stoic, enjoying the scent of cooking food and brewing coffee without a change in his look. The two were complete opposites, yet their teamwork was not to be underestimated.

“Hm? Ah, Satoshi-kun! You’re awake!” Nanaha went and hugged him, happy to see him up and about. “I was a little worried, since your wounds weren’t fully healed during dinner, but I see you’re as good as new after a good night’s rest, right?”

“Sure…” Satoshi replied sleepily, wanting nothing but a nice, hot cup of coffee to wake him up.

Soon enough, the two were eating breakfast. Nanaha ate her waffles and bacon while humming a tune. Satoshi ate in silence, sipping his coffee every so often to help wash down Nanaha’s cooking. He could admit that her cooking was tasty, but found it to be a waste of time to acknowledge and compliment her for providing him sustenance. The majority of Satoshi’s actions were derived from logic; going out of his way to express emotion outside of what was needed for his plans seemed unnecessary to him, though he had the guilty pleasure of showing of his powers with a sense of flair and style. To him, Satoshi had a level of power no one else in this virtual world had, and he wanted nothing more than to show off how much more powerful he was over everyone else.

Nanaha was content with Satoshi’s company. She was happy and bubbly all the time, freely expressing emotion and enjoying whatever the moment threw at her. Logic seemed like a bother to her, and she didn’t like using it outside of combat. If she was happy, she’d express it to Satoshi. If she was sad, she’d turn to Satoshi for help. Regardless of her mental state, Satoshi would try to deal with her as best as he could with whatever rationalized plan his mind could formulate. Most of the time, Nanaha would be disappointed with Satoshi’s lack of emotional output, but slowly came to accept that he wouldn’t pour his heart out; if he had a heart.

“Satoshi…” Nanaha began, putting her fork down to talk.

“What is it?” He sipped as his coffee, prepared to hear more of what he deemed illogical blabber.

“Now that you have your Level 10 unit… What are you going to do?”

“I need to test out my other two Level 10 units. Seismic Poseidon is the next unit I need to figure out the parameters of. The system deems it an Augment unit, but I’d like to see how it’ll work.” Satoshi mused aloud.

“I see… Um… Do you mind if you could, I don’t know… maybe… get me an upgraded unit? Or some kind of augment unit to keep up with your power leap? I’ve only got a Level 2 unit, and you’ve got three different Level 10 units. If we added up the combined power of all your units, you’d have the power of, what… Level 40? If we’re counting your bike, that’s Level 42! At least give me some kind of boost…” Nanaha pouted at the lack of upgrades for her.

“You can have my Armed Wyvern unit if you’d like. I don’t see a reason to use it anymore, now that I have the power of Level X in my hands…” Satoshi sipped at his coffee once more. “If you really want, you can also have my Unleashed Kerberus unit as well.”

“Thanks so much, Satoshi-kun~!” Nanaha hugged him, since they were sitting next to each other at the table. Though he emitted nothing more than a sigh, she could tell he cared for her. At least, that’s what she thought. Deep down, Satoshi couldn’t have cared less about Nanaha, or anyone. He only cared about obtaining the power he set out to claim with this plan of his.

Meanwhile, in Hunter’s office, everyone was working on the cook-off they had set up the day before. Haruko was mixing the ingredients for her burger steaks in a bowl, Kyoka was cooking the Tonkatsu in one pan while the curry cooked in a nearby pot, Hunter stir-fried the ingredients for his Mapo Dofu while mixing together the sauce. Hideo was seated at a table with a cloth, a pitcher of water and a cup sitting nearby as he awaited everyone’s dishes. It took about ten or twenty more minutes before the meals were cooked. Rice sat in a large pot, freshly steamed. Three bowls were placed in front of Hideo. The first contained Haruko’s burger steaks over rice with gravy on top of all that. Second was Kyoka’s curry served beside a bed of rice with the Tonkatsu served over the two. Last, but certainly not least, was a bowl of Hunter’s Mapo Dofu, with a smaller bowl of rice next to it.

“Oh, this looks great… Thanks for the meals!” Hideo rubbed his hands, picking up his utensils. He started with Kyoka’s Tonkatsu curry. A bite of the curry, breaded pork, and rice entered his mouth. Spicy, crispy, and tender meat danced on Hideo’s tastebuds, creating a delectable sensation in his mouth. “Your curry really is the best, Kyoka! How’s Haruko’s burger steaks?”

He took a scoop of steak, rice, and gravy to his palette, and was met with creamy tenderness that meshed together very well. “Ohoho! Haruko’s burgers are just as good! Oooh, this is gonna be tough… What’s your Mapo Dofu like, Hunter?”

The moment the Mapo Dofu entered Hideo’s mouth, an overwhelmingly delicious mix of spiciness, aromatics, and chewiness invade his sense of taste. The flavors worked together to draw out each other’s strengths, creating an infinite loop of deliciousness.

“Hunter…” Hideo set his spoon down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “There’s no doubt about it…”

“What? Is any good?” Haruko asked.

“Was his cooking yesterday just a fluke? Is he bad?” Kyoka followed up.

“You… my friend…” Hideo pointed at Hunter. “Your Mapo Dofu is probably the best Mapo Dofu I’ve ever had! The way the flavors meshed together and drew out each other’s strengths is something I’ve never experienced so intensely in just one bite is incredible! You win!”

The two girls sulked while Hunter casually began cleaning up the cookware. Curious about Hunter’s dish, the girls proceeded to sample the Mapo Dofu. Hideo’s description of the dish’s flavor was accurate. The girls enjoyed Hunter’s dish, and the three of them ate it up in no time flat. By the time all the food was gone, Hunter had finished cleaning up. Fortunately for him, he had leftover Mapo Dofu, so he served himself some to satiate his hunger. After about an hour or so, the group was sitting in the main room of Hunter’s office, bored out of their minds. They weren’t in the mood to plan a counterattack for Genm. They were too lazy to do anything at the moment, but perhaps a moment of rest was needed. Recent events had their strain, physically and mentally. A silent agreement was reached, to decide that today would be a day of rest, relaxation, and recuperation.

“So… what do we wanna do?” Hideo finally broke the silence with a legitimate question.

“Let’s be lazy for one day, yeah?” Hunter replied.

“But we need to find a way to defeat Genm…” Haruko brought up their main objective.

“We won’t be able to do that unless the Game Devs gather all the data they can on Genm’s equipment. And we have to get the data for them.” Hunter argued lazily.

“Then let’s come up with strategies to take him down now so he can reveal all the aces he has up his sleeve.” Haruko returned.

“Considering the shit we went through yesterday, I don’t want to at the moment. Besides, I need to collect data for my Level 20 unit.” Hunter thought it’d be pointless to hide things from them.

“Level 20? You’re making a Level 20 unit? I didn’t even know players could create such powerful units…” Haruko wondered aloud.

“It’s a complicated process, but that’s what the people in the Hatena Technical Development faction do for a living. They’re good people, sure. But they provide to the general public. Their R&D is based around advancing the populace of the game to higher levels as equally as possible. Unlike those guys, I’m developing a unit all for myself. Since they’re focused on powering up everyone equally, they can only release units within certain Level ranges to keep things fair. When you have the time, resources, and energy to develop equipment for yourself, you’re usually able to create more advanced equipment.”

“So… could you make something for us?” Haruko asked Hunter.

“Yes and no. I might be able to give you more powerful Augment units, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make new Change units for you.” He replied.

“Still, that should mean you’ll be able to provide us better equipment in the future.” Hideo commented.

“As long as I get all the data I need, I’ll be able to tinker around with some materials and develop some new Augment units for us. Though you guys use the Cards and Pendants, so I have to adapt all that stuff into those formats… It’d be nicer if people chose to use the cartridge systems…” Hunter reasoned.

“We’ll consider switching if you can make compact Cartridge Drivers.” Kyoka requested.

“That shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve been thinking about a new Cartridge Driver design, much simpler than the current system. Problem is, it won’t accept Augment units. To compensate, the Driver should be able to put more into the armor’s combat parameters. Thing is, I’m planning on making a personalized network to connect the Driver to, so it’s not gonna work for mass production unless I set up another network meant for military troops to work with. That’s two networks to manage, one of them being a large-scale complex that would need to be automatically operated with little to no failures. The simplification done to the Driver I have in mind allows for quicker, more practical transformations because all the data needed for the transformation is stored on a personal cloud server, waiting to be extracted and put to use.”

“So, how does the current system work?” Kyoka asked. She had never thought about their current Entity system that deeply, and she could tell both Haruko and Hideo were on the same page as her.

“All the data for your Entities and whatnot are stored in their devices. For example, we’ll use the Pendants. Each of your pendants contains all the data necessary to equip you with armor. When you use them in the Driver, the Driver acts as a conduit for the data, allowing it to manifest whatever data is stored inside in a physical form. But, Augment units are used to add or change external components of your armor, increasing the Level.”

“Then what’s the difference between your personal network and the current system?” Haruko inquired.

“The key to my personal network is in the idea. It’s personal. That means, all the data I need is stored on a private server that I can extract as needed. Let me explain how I want this to work. When you use my new Driver design, you’re using what is essentially a combination between a Change and Augment unit. You insert the unit into the slot, then lock it into place. Doing that brings up the server of data, where all your base armor parameters are stored. You select the armor you want or need, and there’s the first step in the transformation. Once the ‘core’ of your armor, as I call it, is selected, the Unit in the Driver will load in its data, providing the rest of the armor and completing the transformation.” Hunter explained.

“That seems… difficult to accomplish…” Kyoka whined slightly.

“Well, yeah. It’s something the HTD and Nexus was considering when I pitched the concept at an Update suggestion meeting. They said the system would be very practical when used with smaller selections, so they turned me down. Then everyone, including myself, told Nexus to raise the Level Cap. They’re working on that now, I hope.”

“So what you’re saying is… If all four of us handed in the combat data we acquire, you’d be able to create a personal network for us to transform off of. Right?” Hideo tried synthesizing Hunter’s idea.

“Well… yeah, actually. Good job. So, here’s what I’m thinking in terms of visuals. Insert and lock the unit in place on the Driver. A circular display appears around you. You choose your core armor data by interacting with the display via your hand making a gesture. The system confirms your choice and prepares the core of the armor while you finish the sequence by activating one last button on the unit. Core appears around you and envelops you while the rest of the armor encases the base and completes the transformation.” Hunter told the group.

“That sounds pretty good. We just need to get data for ourselves and hand it over to you.” Hideo finished.

“Yeah, but we should prioritize defeating Genm for the time being.” Hunter returned to their main objective. “I’m gonna finish this Level 20 unit before I start working on the new driver. I need personal and non-personal combat data on all the major Levels before I can proceed with the new system.”

“Whatever the case, we’ll be there every step of the way.”

“Thanks Hideo. Regardless, we need to work on getting data on Genm,” Hunter reached into his desk, to retrieve an Entity unit. The dimensions of the unit appeared relatively the same, but it seemed as if there were two units merged together to create this one. “Let’s see how it does…”

“Is that the Level 20 unit you were referring to?” Haruko inquired.

“Indeed it is. Blank, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“No data put in it yet. Trying to find a suitable entity to store inside it. Might take a couple of installments.”

“Installments…? What do you mean?”

“Eh, it’ll take about 10 or 11 more stages. Or maybe not… I’ll need to find a powerful entity, seize it, tinker, test for compatibility, find a stable entity build, convert it into data, load it into the unit, then test it out myself… From there, it might need reworking or it could go from there…”

“That’s only 8. Nine, if you count the reworking process.” Haruko commented.

“Hm? Oh, that’s not what I meant.” Hunter stared at the dual Entity unit in hand.

“What? What did you mean then?”

“Don’t worry about it…” Hunter put the Entity unit in his inventory and switched over to his bodysuit, put on his signature coat and mask, then headed out the door, summoning his bike through its cartridge and riding off to the Hatena forests.

“I guess we’ll have to follow him. Maybe we can get upgrades for ourselves…” Haruko and the others followed him on their own bikes, riding to the forests as he lead the way.

It didn’t take long, since most of Hatena’s landscape was either forest, desert, grassland, or tundra based. Cities, as big as they were, didn’t make up most of its terrain. In total, all the cityscape and towns only accounted for about 5% of Hatena’s landmass total, the remaining 95% made up of natural topography. The motor vehicles that Hunter and the HMP members rode disturbed the open stone paths that served as the roads to and from cities and towns. Surrounding fauna were passed as the motorcycles drove on.

“The Monster Hunters found a spot where a group of powerful Specters were spotted…” Hunter mused in his head. “I have to find that spot and capture a suitable subject… But the question is... what kind of Specter am I looking for?”

Players in the Hatena Monster Hunting guild were in charge of hunting down Entities in coordination with the Hatena Military Police’s Exploration Force division, the Hatena Technical Development’s Entity Supply team, and the Hatena Civil Government. All of EBO’s guilds worked with each other one way or another, some directly and others indirectly. The game was able to have its own self-sustaining economy that didn’t solely rely on in-game currencies. While the Lev currency system was played a significant role in the economy, most of it was dictated by exchanging goods and services. Hatena relied more on bartering than it did monetary transactions. It may seem primitive at first, but given the setting of the game, this type of economy seemed fairly logical and understandable.

The Monster Hunting guild reported most, if not all, of their findings to the Civil Government, while the Exploration Force of the HMP reported to their respective faction. From there, the players could be notified of potential areas to avoid or any area where they could farm for Esteem points and equipment. Due to Hunter’s status as a Beta tester of EBO, he had authorization to access higher-security information than most players, and even a few game masters. He used this jurisdiction to find out about the Specter group he was currently searching for.

“Here...!” Hunter turned off the main road and began to ride on the raw land. The article he had read about the Specters matched up with the current path he was on. He’d get to the Specters soon enough. Haruko and the rest followed him, unsure of the majority of his plan. They only knew that he was searching for a powerful-enough Entity to create a Level 20 Change unit out of.

“Where’s he going…?” Haruko asked to no one in particular.

“Just keep following him!” Hideo yelled to her. “He must be looking for something special if he’s gone off the main roads!”

“It’d better be worth the off-roading!” Kyoka yelled to the two.

Hunter slowed down and turned right, headed towards his destination. He expected a cave, but was instead met with a waterfall. No Specters in sight, however. Slightly disappointed, he dismounted his vehicle and recalled it to its unit, putting it away as he equipped his Driver unit and transformed into his Level 2 Specter form.

“C’mon out, I know you’re here somewhere…” Hunter mused aloud, walking around the waterfall, kicking some rocks to get their attention. Nothing responded. “I better not have chosen the wrong path…”

“Hunter, what are you doing?!” Haruko arrived, equipping her Driver and Marksman armor. She had her rifle ready to go.

“I may have chosen the wrong spot…” Hunter got out his Sylph Reaper and transitioned into Level 3, slim green armor plating adding onto his current armor as a circular interface appeared and provided access to his Level 3 Sylph armaments. He chose the sub-machine guns and prepared to fire.

“Then let’s get out of here!” Haruko kept her rifle out, aiming at the waterfall.

“Or maybe the cave’s behind the waterfall… like the usual trope…” Hunter approached the waterfall, inspecting it. “Yep, behind the water.”

“Hunter, don’t you da-” Haruko was about to warn him not too, but he slipped behind the rushing water before she finished. “Dammit…”

“Where are these things…” Hunter thought to himself as he saw purple and yellow crystals buried in the walls. “These crystals seem nice though. But…”

Hunter aimed a sub-machine gun at a yellow crystal, then fired. The crystal shattered, but all the other yellow crystals began to vibrate. He fired at the purple crystal, and it shattered. The remaining purple crystals started vibrating as well. All the crystals flew at each other, merging together into a liquid-like state that proceeded to take a humanoid form. Once it assumed a form much similar to Hunter’s own armor.

It took the form of an all-black humanoid wearing a blood-red coat, a grey belt with a silver buckle, a gunmetal grey chestplate that held the coat in place, and additional armor plating on its shoulders, forearms, shins, and knees. However, it had strange detailing running throughout it. Yellow lines ran down its right arm, spiking in random places as if it were measuring a heartbeat. A similar pattern appeared on its left arm, but in purple. Silver zigzag lines ran down from the chestplate, and continued down the thighs until stopping at the knee pads. Its head was that of a silver skull with orange and cyan for eye colors. The teeth were sharp and menacing. More zigzag lines appeared to be carved into the skull, the right eye having a cyan lines to accent its orange iris while the left eye was inversed; its cyan iris had orange lines. A blood red line ran straight through the center of its body, all the way down until there was no body left to bisect. Its chestplate had an interesting design on it, similar to the HP gauges of players, though it had three bars instead of a player’s usual one.

“Who dares to challenge me…?” The entity spoke in an ominous, gravelly voice.

“You can talk...?” Hunter replied to it, curious with its ability to communicate.

“Why wouldn’t I be able to?” It replied.

“You do have a humanoid form… It would make sense, now that I’m reflecting on it…”

“Why did you challenge me, player?”

“I need a stronger unit. Something to boost me to Level 20. I can’t get a read on your level, but you seem like a sufficient Entity. This is what Specters look like, huh…?” Hunter quickly switched into his Ifrit Specter form, equipping his Katana and adopting a battle stance.

“You seek power. But why do you seek such power?” The Specter didn’t prepare to fight, only asking Hunter questions.

“A threat to this world has been birthed. I seek power to put this threat down and destroy it for good. If I need to fight you for this, then I will.”

“Good. I must first judge your fighting capacity before I can consider helping you.” With that, the Specter charged at Hunter.

The Specter’s claws were met by Hunter’s katana blade. Sparks flew as the two clashed. Hunter pushed forward and knocked the Specter back, rushing at him to get a strike in. He succeeded, but was clawed at by the Entity as it retaliated. His HP dropped 10%, one bar on his HP gauge blinking before disappearing.

“This thing’s awfully strong, isn’t it…?” Hunter thought to himself. “One swipe and it took out 10% of my HP… I hope I brought enough HP restoration items…”

“Is that all?!” The Specter taunted, its claws prepared to slash.

Hunter ran back at his adversary, slashing upward. The Specter dodged and slashed at Hunter’s arm, successfully cutting deep into his arm. He dropped his sword in pain and quickly summoned one of his revolvers, firing at the Entity. It dodged all the concentrated flames, backing away into the shadows. Opening his inventory, Hunter searched through the items tab to bring up a healing item. A syringe appeared in his good hand, which he jabbed into his wounded arm to inject the healing fluid. 15% of Hunter’s health returned to him as his arm began to heal itself slowly. He flexed his hand to test the wounds. It stung greatly, preventing it from being much use.

“Hm. I expected more from you. You were a legendary warrior in this game, were you not?” The Specter taunted once more.

“This level gap is pissing me off… Should’ve focused on making some Level 5 Augment units… Could’ve stood a better chance here if I did have a Level 5 unit…” Hunter mentally noted. He switched to his Nymph Specter armor and summoned the sniper, preparing to fire it in his left hand.

“Oh? You appear to be ambidextrous. Interesting. I’ve never met such an opponent before.”

“Maybe because you’re cooped up in this cave all the time…” Hunter tried to goad the Entity into revealing itself. He’d fire as many bullets from his rifle as he could into it once it did.

“For good reason, player. Those outside would try to forcefully harness my power without even considering a fair fight. I would only bring chaos and discord to them if they tried to use my abilities. To successfully use the power of I, the Dual Specter, you must earn my respect. Otherwise, you will be met with tragedy and destruction will follow you.”

“That so? You sound like me, stuck inside your comfort zone, avoiding other players for fear that they might harass you for greater power. I tried to offer my services, but was politely declined due to the limitations my ideas brought. It was understandable. I’ve only focused on increasing my own power as safely and as greatly as I could. Perhaps I was never meant to be a team player…” Hunter reflected on himself, keeping his aim steady as he panned the cave for his enemy.

“Interesting… But have you brought strife and greed to those around you? Have your own powers ever left you isolated from the rest of your kin?”

“Like I said, I only focus on upgrading myself. I want to stand at the top. I want to have the highest powers available, made by my own hands. I’ve brought frustration to those around me with that, and that’s left me isolated. Though I suppose that’s where our similarities end. You’ve isolated yourself unwillingly. I long for isolation. Perhaps I just want to be recognized for my deeds…” Hunter set his rifle down, looking at his wounds. His arm was almost back to working properly, requiring some more time to fully restore itself.

“Hm… Do you think that your longing for isolation is too much? Don’t you wish you to have a healthy relationship? Wouldn’t you like to have a lover you could spend time with? Or friends you could confide your deepest secrets in?” The Specter stepped out of the shadows, claws still extended. It seemed now that it only wanted to converse.

“I used to. I invested time into one girl that I particularly liked, only to have that attention twisted and used for her personal gain. I’ve had dear friends that have walked away from me because they had found people they viewed as better than me. All my friends have left me. I took it to heart, like the emotional person I am. It’s a bit too late to try and change it. All I really can do at this point is march on.” Hunter closed the Driver and cancelled his transformation, seeing that the Specter only wanted to talk.

“Interesting choice of words… What is your name, player?” The Specter retracted its claws floating towards Hunter.

“I’m Hunter. And you?”

“How kind of you to ask for my name. I, unfortunately, don’t remember. I am a Dual Specter, however. An unusual Dual Specter with the unique ability to use all elemental damage freely, and facilitate another ability I shall keep secret until you accomplish the next step in your goal.”

“Hm? Interesting… So you wouldn’t mind storing yourself here for now, would you?” Hunter held out the doubled cartridge to the Dual Specter.

“Is that the evolution of player technology…? Interesting…” The Dual Specter hovered around it, analyzing its details and the structure. “I suppose there’s no other storage device currently on you, is there?”

“This is the only free one. Besides, it’s a doubled cartridge. It should have plenty of space. If it gets cramped, let me know so I can program a bigger storage space.”

“Very well. I entrust my powers to you, Hunter.” The Dual Specter then walked, not hovered, but walked up to Hunter and placed its hand on the cartridge. Its dim, asymmetrical pupils disappeared to signify that it had closed its eyes before it began to pixelate and turn into a gaseous state. The pixelated gas rushed into the cartridge and changed its colors to a white-on-black cartridge. No special images or text manifested, as Hunter had yet to set up its data for a prototype stage.

“That… was easier than I expected… Almost like getting a Persona in a Holdup.” Hunter inventoried the unit and exited the waterfall, seeing the other three sitting on their bikes waiting for him. “How long have you been waiting?”

“A few minutes. What happened in there?” Haruko asked him.

“Talked things out. It willingly sided with me after I explained my reasoning to him. Seems like I’ve got a new ally on our side. I just need to get him proper lounging space.” Hunter replied.

“Lounging… space…? What’s that mean?” Haruko asked once more.

“Simple, really. Every Entity storage unit is just a new home for Entities, subjugated or not. It’s called storage for a reason, but no one ever stops to think about how Entities are stored. It’s like an apartment complex, or rather, a single area where the Entity lives. People view it as just data and difficult coding, which it is. But there’s more to it. The way I see it, it’s like a house for the Entity in question. The reason my units are so compatible with me is because I code the unit as if I were arranging a house, just using a weird set of analogies I’ve written down. I code based on how the Entity wants furnishings, and I update the coding often to keep my Entities happy, boosting compatibility.”

“That’s… an interesting way to look at it… But that does seem true now that I think about it.” Haruko looked at one of her cards, imagining what was inside and how the Entity inside perceived its “living arrangements”.

“Sorry for the exposition dump, but that’s about it for today.” Hunter summoned his Mach Lighter and inserted the Jettison Kabuto unit into the bike, levelling it up. “Let’s head back.”

“Sure…” Haruko got back on her bike and revved it up, following Hunter as the team rode back to their headquarters to plan their next move.

After the group had left, Satoshi walked up to the waterfall where Hunter previously was in his Level X armor. He held a bluish cartridge in his hand. Once he was sure the group was gone, he activated the cartridge. An ominous voice announced “Seismic Poseidon” as a blue armor-like robot with a trident-shaped head was summoned. Satoshi placed the cartridge into a side slot on his belt, causing the robot to assume an armored form that attached to Satoshi’s right arm. The head of the bot ejected alongside a mass of metal, which then took the form of a trident as the water from the waterfall stopped flowing for a moment.

“Resume your flow,” Satoshi pointed at the water with his trident, causing it to resume its flow as if nothing had interrupted it. He slammed the bottom of the trident on the ground, causing the ground under him to shake slightly as the water bounced up before floating into the air and forming a ball. The waterfall changed its flow to the direction where the giant water ball was, flowing into it as if gravity was forcing it to flow like this. “It seems this unit is in working order. I’ll collect combat data on it later.”

With another slam of his trident, the water returned to its original position, as if nothing had happened. He removed the cartridge from the side slot, causing the armor and weapon to dissipate into pixels before vanishing. Satisfied with the results, he cancelled his transformation and returned to his hidden headquarters with a sadistic smirk on his face.