EBO: Resume - Chapter 4

September 14th, 2026 One month has passed since Entity Burst Online became a reincarnation of Sword Art Online, and players haven’t had any luck escaping the game. Most fear Genm’s immortality. As such, none of the prisoners have challenged him. Satoshi sat in his base, tapping away at his computer as he compiled data and continued to explore the coding of the game he currently occupied. His companion Nanaha sat by the window, examining the entity units she owned. “Kuroto-kun?” She began. “What is it?” He continued sifting through data within data, not bothering to even look at her. “I know you gave me your Wyvern unit, but I’m thinking it’s a bit too bulky for me. All that extra armor and the heavy weapons are a bit difficult to maneuver with. If I’m going to be a sniper, I don’t think I’ll be needing all that. Maybe… a less armored weapon more suitable for sniping?” “Tch. Had a feeling all that bulky equipment would be a turnoff for you.” He opened up the laptop beside his computer, logged in, and opened up a program that displayed an empty template for an Entity cartridge. “Lemme guess. Sniper-oriented weaponry: Large energy rifle, powerful pistol-rifles, and a back-up set of pistols for emergencies.” “Wow. How’d you guess?” She looked at him with a face of wonder, curious about how he had essentially read her mind. “I figured you’d want something like that,” Kuroto replied to her, simultaneously digging through game data while coding a new unit for her. “Oh? What’s this? Different elemental damage types? Let’s see… Burn, Freeze, Shock, Stone? The hell is stone for? Heavy impact? Puncture? Random element to include… Radiance? Like blinding an opponent? There’s Darkness too… what would that do? Reduce a target’s field of vision? These different elements are bizarre…” “Is there anything else? None of those sound fun...” Nanaha pouted with the listed options. “Dynamis? A burst of pure energy? Sounds like a method to overload an opponent to death…” Satoshi continued digging through game’s data, coming across one last elemental damage type. “Void? ‘Deletes target or impact point. Can nullify other projectiles.’” “Oooh, that sounds like fun! I want that one!” Nanaha perked up at the sound of deleting and nullifying with a single shot. “Void damage sounds like the type of attack method a true sniper would use!” “I’m curious about this damage type as well… Perhaps you can test it out for me. I might just use this for a future unit.” Kuroto began programming the equipment into Nanaha’s new unit, plugging in a blank cartridge into a device hooked up to the laptop. “Am I just a guinea pig for your experiments?” Nanaha pouted again when he mentioned having her testing stuff again. “Would you like an honest answer or no comment?” Kuroto continued to work on the new Cartridge, searching through the game’s database of Entities to find one suitable for Nanaha’s new unit. “Hmph. I’ll start making lunch.” She got up from her spot and walked into the kitchen, leaving Satoshi to his own devices. “I wonder what my prisoners are planning…” He muttered to himself as he designed and coded in the equipment for the new armor. While Satoshi was working on the equipment for Nanaha, Hunter continued working on his own upgrades. Hunter sat at his desk, coding the data for his dual-type Cartridge. The HMP members assigned to work with him could only stare in awe as he worked on two computers simultaneously to create the item. Diligently, Hunter typed away, his fingers working in a blur. Lines upon lines of code appeared within seconds as light electronic beeps could be heard, registering each individual letter input. Haruko approached Hunter carefully with a tray of food, leaving it on an empty desk next to his work table before backing away so as to not disturb the man. With that dealt with, the MP officers left his room and went to the business office portion of the building where people with left their contracts for Hunter. “He’s amazing…” Kyoka noted, picking up her coffee mug and taking a sip. “I didn’t know anyone could possibly code that quick.” “He should’ve applied to be a GM over a Beta Tester with that kind of skill!” Hideo proclaimed, drinking his cup of tea. “With that typing speed, he could easily beat all the other GMs no problem! And rumor has it he developed equipment rivaling the HTD’s equipment! It’s like he builds high-end items for kicks!” “Still, if he’s able to make items of such quality, why hasn’t he kept it for himself?” Haruko asked. “Decided I didn’t want to use any of them after I made it, so I sold it off.” “I see. Handing off unwanted, yet powerful items to other players for a fee… it’s a great backup for income…” Haruko thought it over out loud, then realized that the voice that just spoke wasn’t Hideo’s nor did it belong to Kyoka. “Wait, how long have you been there, Hunter?!” “Since Hideo’s yelling,” He replied nonchalantly. “Thanks for the food, by the way. Hadn’t had a full, hearty meal in days.” “Then what have you been eating this entire time?” Haruko questioned. “I have an emergency snack supply that lasts me a good month or so. I have it rationed out by days.” “Very clever… I assume you have 30 days-worth of rations?” “31 daily rations. Though I’m burned through 7 of those, so I’ll need to restock later today.” “What were you working on?” Hideo asked. “Something special,” He held up the doubled cartridge, which was now black with additional white detailing and a greyed-out label spelling out “Dual Specter” in stylized text. Then, he held up his mask, which was now a featureless crimson helmet save for two medium-sized slits over where his eyes would be under the mask. “I was thinking of swapping out my mask while I was at it too. “How’s that gonna impact your armored form?” Hideo questioned. “Who knows? We’ll find out when we get the chance.” “Are you gonna test it out later?” Kyoka asked after setting down her coffee mug. “Mhm. But I’d rather test it out by myself. I don’t want this getting leaked and then having Genm create countermeasures for it.” Hunter put away the cartridge and stored the helmet in his inventory. “Should we head out and challenge Genm today?” “Whoa whoa whoa. You’ve got a Level 20 Prototype there. I think we deserve an upgrade too!” Hideo protested. “Entity hunting it is. Got any ideas on what you want?” Hunter reached into a wardrobe that was in his business office, pulling out a briefcase. He opened it to reveal a plethora of standard blank cartridges. “Oh right, you specialize in the Cartridge Drivers. Is there an Entity catalog of some kind I could look through?” Hideo took all the pendants he currently owned and placed them on Hunter’s desk. “Here, lemme bring it up,” Hunter looked through the drawers in his desk, then pulled out a tablet and placed it on the desk. The table displayed a holographic list of all the possible Entities that could be channeled into a unit. “Let’s see… I’m not one for killing, so…” Hideo browsed through the list, though none seemed to catch his attention. “Hm. None of these really suits my style, Hunter. Think you can synthesize one?” “I can make an artificial Entity, but I need a base to build off. Got an idea?” Hunter looked through the blank cartridges despite all of them sharing the same empty appearance. “On second thought, you think we can take down a god?” Hideo looked at Hunter. “Uh… Who do you plan on taking down?”

“Apollo. I want that healing power, but light and archery would be pretty cool.”

“I feel like Haruko would prefer archery…” “She could get Artemis?” “That doesn’t sound bad, Hideo. I’ll go with Artemis!” Haruko chimed in. “Ooh, ooh! I want Amphitrite!” Kyoka input her request for a deity. “We can’t exactly kill a god in a day. Much less kill three in one day…” Hunter gave them a dose of reality. “Who said anything about killing gods? We could always reason with them. Ask for a sample of their power?” Kyoka added. “You really think asking a god for a sample of their power is gonna be as easy as a simple question?” Hunter returned. “It’s worth a shot, isn’t it? Just tell them we need to borrow their power to stop Genm.” “You think they’ll believe you when you tell them there’s a world-threatening player?” Hunter dryly commented as he began porting all of Hideo’s equipment into Cartridges. “Isn’t Apollo supposed to be an oracle or prophet? Something to do with future visions.” Hideo looked over the completed cartridges, then looked at the pendant that contained his Change unit, seeing it still retained its color scheme. He put the pendant around his neck despite it now only serving a cosmetic purpose. “Well yeah, but do you think he really cares about us?” “I think he’d care about the world he inhabits, Hunter. If EBO goes down, so does he.” Haruko looked at the completed Cartridges, seeing all of their equipment already transferred over into a the new format. “Worth a shot, I guess,” Hunter finished the data transfer and looked into the case, seeing five more blank units. “We’ve got five blanks left. Assuming each of you want one entity, I’ll have two blanks left. Which means, I need to stock up on these blanks after our conversations with the gods and goddesses go successfully.” “We’ll help you pay for the expenses for the new blanks as thanks!” Kyoka told the Crimson mercenary. “I’m gonna hold you to that.” He put on his new mask and walked out of his office, summoning his motorcycle and starting it up. The others followed suit, all of them in their usual outfits. Hunter lead the group as they drove to the beach, to seek audience with Amphitrite. They parked their bikes on the beach and allowed them to fade back into their cartridges as they walked to the edge of the sea. Everyone looked at each other, since no one in the group had talked to an ocean deity before. “Uh… anyone know what to do?” Hideo asked, unsure of what to do. “I thought we were going after Apollo and Artemis…” Kyoka complained. “So did I…” Haruko turned to Hunter. “It’ll take longer to get to them. Besides, beach was more or less closer to us.” Hunter looked through some of the forums for ways to get to the Oceanic Pantheon. No good posts on the forums. “No one’s attempted to seek audience with an Oceanic Deity? Really?” “Then how did the HTD manage to create water and ice-based equipment?” Kyoka turned to Hunter for an answer. “Ask them, I don’t know.” Hunter decided to put on his Specter armor, then remembered his Nymph Impaler unit. He took that out and equipped it, levelling up into his Nymph Specter form. “Oh right, forgot about this…”

“You have to be kidding...” Kyoka sighed as she equipped her base armor, now using the Cartridge Driver. “Okay, for one thing, Nymphs don’t have to be near the ocean. They roam by rivers and forests too.” Hunter took a step into the water, unsure of how his armor would hold up in the depths. “Tch. Took the easy route to a water-based armor, did you?” Kyoka grumbled before upgrading into her Level 3 armor. “Good thing my armor was based off of ice to begin with…” “And the rest of us don’t have water or ice-based equipment…” Hideo bemoaned as Kyoka and Hunter further approached the water. “Stand guard here, I guess? I don’t really know what else you two can do at the moment.” Hunter told them. “And watch out for Genm. If you see him, contact the two of us.” “Yes sir,” Hideo replied before Haruko turned to him. “What? he’s basically our commanding officer.” “Unless the situation demands otherwise, we’re all on equal ground in this team, Hideo.” Haruko told him while transforming into her armored form. “Sure, sure,” Hideo equipped his armor and waved the other half of the group good bye as they walked into the ocean depths. “What do you think of them together?” “What?” Haruko was baffled by Hideo’s random question. “Together? Like, dating?”

“Yeah. What do you think?” “Eh. It might work, since they’re both pretty quiet and all. He’s fire, she’s ice. It might work.” “Hm, interesting. What about you and Hunter?” “W-what?” Haruko was caught off guard yet again, blushing lightly under her helmet. “Do you mean if I was dating Hunter?” “Exactly,” Hideo sat down, tired of standing. “What do you think about dating him?” “I-I don’t know… We only met him a few months ago… Bit quiet for my tastes, but I’d go for it.” “How are my chances with Kyoka?” Hideo was getting a little excited with their conversation. “This is gonna be the only conversation we’re having until they get back, huh…” “Yep! Better be prepared for a long conversation,” Hideo grinned.” Meanwhile, Hunter and Kyoka walked deeper and deeper into the ocean. Their armor managed to weigh them down enough until they began to floating in the depths. Once that occurred, Hunter summoned his personal bike and used the special Action unit designed for the bike to level up his vehicle, allowing it to essentially act as a hovercraft in the water. Kyoka held on to Hunter’s waist from behind, trying to anchor herself to the converted motorcycle as they travelled the vast blue that was the ocean. After several minutes spent wandering through the water, they found a vast oceanic palace lit brightly with some sort of underwear lighting source. As they closed in on the palace, they notice that a bubble appeared to surround the palace, most likely granting them the ability to breath normally. They arrived at the castle shortly, breaching the bubble without a problem as Hunter revved the bike up quite a bit to keep them from falling to the ground so suddenly. As the Hover units worked in overdrive to allow them to float down to the palace floor. “The hell is a palace doing down here?” Hunter looked up at the building, noting its ancient and worn appearance. “It’s gotta be where the Oceanic Deities reside. Where else could they possible live?” Kyoka got off their transport after it had safely landed and its tires were surely grounded on the surprisingly smooth seafloor. “Somewhere not in the ocean? Maybe some island paradise in the ocean?” Hunter cut the bike’s engine and flipped the kickstand, getting off the vehicle and looking around. “Eh, fair enough. Let’s see what’s down here!” Kyoka ran towards the palace entrance with Hunter following her. They reached the entrance, and stared at the massive doors. “Whoa… this place is huge…” “What did you expect from gods and goddesses? They do as they please within their domain,” Hunter approached the door and looked around for a way to open it or knock on it with a sufficient amount of sound to alert the residents. “Ooh, what’s that up there?” Kyoka pointed at two giant rings hanging from a bull’s mouth, though they were intricately carved from a fine stone material. “Those are some huge knockers…” Hunter then realized his phrasing, then quickly blurted out: “I-I didn’t mean the other thi- Ah forget it…” “Do you have something you wanna get off your chest?” Kyoka emphasized the word “chest” by sticking hers out boldly. “Goddammit, Kyoka… Let’s just find a way into the palace…” Hunter brushed her actions off and began to look for an entrance aside from the obvious one right here. Just as he took a step, the doors opened slowly, in line with the large amount of mass that the doors must have had. “Or we can be let in like that, alright.” “Greetings, travellers,” A mature, feminine voice rang from inside the castle as the doors opened just enough to allow the two to enter with plenty of space between them and the doors. “I believe you seek an audience with the Oceanic Deities?” A beautiful blonde woman with a slim figure stepped out. She appeared to be just as tall as Hunter, maybe even taller by an inch or two. Her ocean-blue eyes seemed fitting, considering her residence. The clicking of heels could be heard as she walked towards the two, her sparkling blue dress flowing behind her as if it were part of the ocean surrounding them. “I am Amphitrite, consort of Poseidon, God of the Sea, earthquakes, soil, storms, and horses. How may I be of service?” She introduced herself to the two. Hunter stared and blushed at her divine beauty before snapping out of his trance and pressing a button on his helmet. The mask retracted itself entirely, revealing him to the queen of the seas. “I, um…” He looked to Kyoka, who looked back at him with a shrug. “I request a donation of power. Someone on land has obtained a… forbidden power that threatens the very existence of this world, and I humbly ask for a sample of your abilities for my friend here.” “So you seek an audience with me? Very well, come in. We can discuss this inside,” Amphitrite invited the surface dwellers into the palace, walking back into her home as the two followed her. The palace was just as spacious on the inside as it was on the outside. The ceiling was high up, with many chandeliers hanging above to keep the vast area of the mansion bright. “This palace is beautiful…” Kyoka commented on the various sculptures and precious metals that decorated the vastness within. It was then, she realized her helmet was still on, so she removed it manually and had it collapse into a more portable form to hang from her belt. “Thank you,” Amphitrite accepted Kyoka’s compliment as she lead them to a grand dining table, with plates of fine china and utensils of polished silver. Several seats were arranged at the rectangular table, which appeared to be made of a fine wood reinforced with precious metals. “Have a seat, I’ll bring you beverages and snacks.” “Oh, thank you,” Hunter expressed his gratitude for her hospitality. She bowed and walked away as Hunter and Kyoka sat down next to each other. “This is surreal… Great job on the renders, Nexus…” “Yeah…” As Kyoka looked at the dinnerware at the table, she noticed that the plates had gilded details, and that the silverware also had intricate carvings. “These details are amazing…” “They’re a gift from the rest of the Pantheon,” Amphitrite returned with a plate of golden squares in one hand, and a pitcher of what appeared to be honey in the other. “Now, what is it you wished to discuss, adventurers?” “We wish to have a sample of your power specifically, Lady Amphitrite,” Kyoka politely requested as the goddess, who sat down at the head of the table. “We need your power to defeat a dangerous threat to this world.” “I heard from my husband that a fraction of his power, as well as his brothers’ powers, have been unwillfully drained from them. We have no clue as to why, but may this be related to the danger you speak of?” She asked Kyoka as she took one of the gold squares and consumed it. “It most likely is, your highness,” Hunter addressed her concerns. “The power of Hades has been wrongfully used, and for nefarious purposes. We request a fraction of your power so that we may work to restore this power to the God it was derived from, and save this world from certain chaos.” “I see… You request my power specifically?” Amphitrite asked to confirm. “Correct, my lady,” Kyoka replied, hesitating before reaching for one of the gold squares and taking a tentative bite. She tasted a flavor so divine that it could not be described with words. “Is this… ambrosia?” “Indeed, miss,” Amphitrite reached for another cube of the divine food. “I will grant your request, though it may be difficult to give you a sample of my power without some sort of conduit.” “No need to worry about that, ma’am,” Hunter took out a blank Entity cartridge and handed it to her. “Please, use this to grant us a sample.” “Oh?” She observed the trinket, intrigued by its design. “Is this what the humans have created to store the powers of the supernatural?” “One of three methods for such, ma’am,” Kyoka held up the now-empty pendant that she used to house her armor originally. “This pendant is also a method of storage. The third method is through the use of special cards.” “Humans are very fascinating… They certainly do come up with interesting concepts,” She giggled as she inspected the trinket some more. “Now, I’m going to grant you a generous sample of my powers. I would like compensation, so I’ll ask: would you like to repay me now or later?” “R-repay you? How, exactly…?” Hunter looked at her curiously, then realized her possible intentions. “Do you mean…” “My husband hasn’t been in the mood ever since his powers were wrongfully taken, and that was months ago. I’ve been rather frustrated, so…” She slipped the trinket underneath the table and scooted closer to the table before a light blush graced her face. “Would you like to repay me now or later~?” “M-me?” Hunter pointed at himself. His suspicions were confirmed when she nodded as she stifled what he thought was a moan. “I-I uh…” “Oh my, Hunter… A mighty goddess is asking for your help. How will you respond?” Kyoka asked him, reaching for another ambrosia square. “I-I’ll repay you later,” Hunter nervously replied to the goddess’s needs. “I-I’d like to focus on defeating this threat first, ma’am…” “Oh? Very well~” She tried to hide another moan as her blush intensified. After a few more seconds, she brought out the blank cartridge from underneath the table, wiped it off a bit with her dress, dampening it as she handed it back to Hunter, and sighed. “Here you are. A generous sample of Amphitrite’s power. I’ll be expecting payment for this, you hear, boy~?” “Y-yes. Thank you very much, ma’am…” He accepted the cartridge, which now had blue texting showing her name on it. “I won’t ask where the sample came from…” “Wise decision, boy. Would you care for some ambrosia before you leave? Your friend’s had a few squares, and it’s supposed to taste divine to humans.” She offered him a square on a napkin. “Uh… sure,” He took the square with the napkin, which was oddly moist. It only made his blush more intense as he at the God’s sustenance. She was correct, the taste was too good to accurately described, though he made no vocal confirmation. “Thank you.” “You’re rather cute, boy,” Amphitrite giggled at Hunter’s blushing, resting her head on her hand and staring at him. “It’s refreshing to have some cuteness, quite a welcoming change from my husband’s handsomeness.” Hunter could only blush harder from her compliments, feeling himself getting more and more awkward. His otaku instincts kicked in, causing him to press a button on the side of his neck armor to bring out his helmet to cover the redness that had overtaken his face. The featureless helmet was adorned with the design of a blue trident from the addition of the Nymph armor, which added a blue tint to the helmet’s glowing. He cleared his throat, and was about to speak before hearing Amphitrite giggling once again, which was also augmented with Kyoka’s giggling. “Goodness, me. You’re a very shy one, aren’t you?” She teased him some more, popping another square of Ambrosia into her mouth and chewing. “Hunter, that’s enough flirting~ I believe it’s time to leave, partner~” She winked at Hunter in an attempt to dissuade Amphitrite’s flirting. “Oh, is she yours already?” Amphitrite asked the crimson mercenary, whose face matched his epithet quite well under that mask. “N-no… I’m not in a relationship yet…” Hunter nervously stood up and bowed to the sea goddess, with Kyoka doing the same after another ambrosia square. “If you’ll excuse us, we must depart.” “Very well. Safe travels, you two,” Amphitrite bowed to her two guests and waved them goodbye as they left the underwater bubble on Hunter’s improvised water craft again. As the two hovered away, Hunter opened a private communication channel with Kyoka so she could hear him properly. “I don’t wanna go back until I’ve already lost my virginity,” He admitted to her privately. “And who exactly do you plan on doing that with?” She asked in curiosity. “Just… not her…” He said as they arrived at the surface, hovering over the surface of the water. They located the other half of their group and maneuvered over to them. “Oh, welcome back!” Hideo cheerfully shouted as the two approached. “How’d it go?” “We got a ‘generous sample’ of her power,” Hunter held up the cartridge with her name on it.

“That’s good, right?” “She uh… Yeah, sure,” Hunter kept his helmet on to hide the intense blush on his face. “Looks like Genm’s powers affected Hades, but they also affected Poseidon and Zeus, apparently.” “The sea goddess and wife to Poseidon also flirted with him,” Kyoka added smugly. “OI,” Hunter turned to Kyoka and grabbed her by her armor’s collar. “We will not speak of this ever again.” “Okay, okay, mister ‘I don’t want to lose my vi-” She began with a chuckle before Hunter shook her and interrupted her.

“Shut. Up. Or I will make you the first known death since this incident began,” He threatened her, even summoning his Nymph Specter armor’s rifle to his free hand for intimidation. “O-okay… okay…” She stopped her joking when the rifle appeared in his hand. “We’re not gonna talk about this anymore…” “You’re paying for more blank cartridges for this,” Hunter let go and switched to his Level 2 Specter armor, getting on his bike and revving it up. “Wha- Ugh, whatever…” Kyoka summoned her bike and started the engine. “What the hell happened down there…?” Haruko questioned. “NOTHING AT ALL,” Hunter blurted out as his pupils dilated under his mask. “Look, we got the sample, let’s just get the others.” With that, the quartet drove off the beach and down the road to a local shrine dedicated to Artemis and Apollo, the twin deities of moon and sun respectively. Hideo was granted a sample of Apollo’s sun, light, archery, and healing. Haruko obtained her sample of Artemis’s archery, moon, and hunting skill. Both of which were obtained through peaceful negotiation, so no fights were involved. Kyoka ended up paying for another briefcase of blank cartridges, which held 15 blanks. The other two payed for 6 blanks each, and Hunter bought back the last one himself. They returned to Hunter's residence and began to unwind after today's adventure. As Hunter went to his Entity construction room, he could hear Kyoka recounting their tale underwater. Hideo’s laughs and Haruko’s bewilderment could be heard over the sounds of his typing, so he put on his headphones and listened to some music. They were never going to let him live down the fact that a sea goddess had flirted with him just to stop Genm. And they certainly weren’t going to stop bothering him about his personal comment about repaying Amphitrite.