Reincarnated Hero System

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me!”

Evan cursed as he unleashed an omnidirectional burst of icy energy that froze the incoming attacks along with the zombies who fired them.

But before he could shatter the ice, spears of fire rained down from flying monsters, forcing him to conjure a shield to block them.

Artemisia and Beatrix stayed close, covering for each other’s weaknesses as they blinked in and out of the enemies’ reach, striking fast.

But before long, things started to go downhill.

The undead grew stronger, and they began fighting back with more coordination and cunning. Their numbers multiplied, as if the planet was spawning them faster than the group could cut them down.

The ground split open again, releasing dozens of Sovereign-level corpses that unleashed blinding, destructive beams, crushing shockwaves, and elemental blasts powerful enough to tear the land apart, forcing the group to scatter as craters erupted where they’d stood moments earlier.

Just as Arthur used his Gravity Pseudo-Authority to crush everything within a hundred-metre radius of his position, Bewússtsein’s enraged voice rang out, a furious roar that rumbled across the planet.

[YOU FUCKING INSECTS KEEP RUINING EVERYTHING I’VE PLANNED, OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

YOU THINK YOU CAN FUCK WITH ME?! WITH MY PLANS??!! DIE! DIE! STERBEN! YOU WORTHLESS SHITS!

BE CRUSHED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE BILLIONS WHO LIVED ON THIS PLANET!

THAT’S THIRTY FUCKING BILLION!!!

TRY BEATING THAT!!! NOTHING’S GONNA SAVE YOU!! YOUR COSMIC ARTIFACTS CAN’T DO SHIT!

FEEL MY WRATH, YOU FILTHY BASTARDS! DROWN IN DESPAIR! DROWN AND ROT, YOU FUCKING SCUM!]

The venom in his words was tangible, every syllable dripping with raw hatred and a desire to kill.

It almost sounded as if he wasn’t the one who had kidnapped the four teenagers and tried to consume their bodies and souls.

As his voice echoed, the battle took a darker turn. The energy surrounding the corpses intensified, and an even greater threat appeared.

From deep within the earth came hordes of Transcendent Realm walking corpses, each unleashing devastating attacks that split the ground apart and sent shockwaves rolling across the horizon.

Jamie narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing with frustration as the situation began to spiral out of control.

He snapped his fingers, activating the spatial energy marks he’d placed on the other six and teleporting all to his side.

“We can’t afford to get separated with this many coming at us.”

He looked toward the swarming hordes, his hand about to reach into his subspace, when a sudden realisation hit him like a bolt of lightning.

‘Wait… I didn’t sense any life on this planet earlier. Could it be…?’

Jamie’s eyes widened as the realisation dawned.

The ‘billions’ of corpses Bewússtsein had screamed about weren’t from some unknown reserve.

They were the dead inhabitants of Cruotis Prime.

Bewússtsein had consumed the souls of those billions, keeping their organic matter intact for his plan to craft a vessel for himself after cutting off his link to the planet.

But in his fury, he had unleashed them, a tidal wave of death and destruction meant to drown Jamie and the others in an endless onslaught.

Fighting billions of undead was impossible. Even with Cosmic Weapons or Deity-level gear on their side, they’d eventually be overwhelmed.

And that was exactly what Bewússtsein wanted.

While they struggled against the endless waves of corpses, Bewússtsein would proceed with creating his vessel ahead of schedule.

He planned to wear them down with the constant onslaught, waiting until they had no strength left to fight.

Once they were drained, he would end them and use their bodies and souls to complete his ‘Perfect Vessel’.

◇　◇　◇

Jamie reached for the hilt of his sword within his subspace, about to draw it, when Arthur grabbed his hand.

He turned to Arthur, and the boy silently tapped his own head twice before pointing at the heads of the other five who were holding back waves of undead.

Then he spoke a single word.

“Mind.”

Arthur trusted Jamie would understand what he meant, and that trust wasn’t misplaced.

Moments later, the others felt a strange sensation in their heads, as if someone had just connected directly to their minds.

Jamie’s voice followed, ringing out inside their heads.

[I connected everyone with my Telepathy. What did you want to say, Arthur?]

Their eyes widened at the voice, though their hands kept moving as they fended off the undead.

At the end of the Infernal Dimension Saga, Jamie had used telepathy to speak with Arthur and Evan, and that was how Arthur knew he had this ability.

Now, he’d asked Jamie to use it because what he needed to say couldn’t be overheard by Bewússtsein.

He was certain Bewússtsein was watching them closely, waiting for them to fall, and anything they spoke aloud would be known to him instantly.

[Artemisia. Mind informing us about everything you saw in this guy’s memories?

Earlier, you said that he was trying to absorb our bodies and souls for our powers, and that it was all part of his plan to break free from his limitations and become an independent existence.

Thinking of how he’d somehow gotten to us on Aramis despite being a Planetary Consciousness, am I right in assuming that this guy wants to become an existence independent of this planet?]

Arthur’s words and question nearly made Alvey and McEnda stumble in shock.

That wasn’t surprising, since they’d had no idea what their enemy truly was all this time.

Even Jamie, who had suspected he was a Planetary Consciousness—and had tried attacking the Planet’s Core because of it—hadn’t known what his actual plans were or why he’d taken the teenagers.

But hearing it now, pieces were finally starting to fall into place.

[Yes, that’s his plan. I didn’t see ALL of his past. Just a few glimpses that were related to what he was thinking at the time.

I know that he planned to extract the best organic material from these corpses attacking us to use in creating his final body.

He also planned to absorb our souls into his own and extract our powers. Al-]

[Hold on.]

Jamie cut Artemisia off, his eyes narrowing as he asked, [Did you say ‘his own’? He has a Soul?]

[Yes. I don’t know how, but he has a soul.]

Artemisia’s revelation left the others staring at her in disbelief.

Planetary Consciousnesses, as they understood them, were just that—standalone consciousnesses. They weren’t supposed to have ‘Souls’ or ‘Life’ in the way other sentient beings did.

But Bewússtsein did. He had a Soul. He had ‘Life’.

That meant he could ‘Die’.

They didn’t waste time wondering how he had gained ‘Life’. They focused only on the fact that he could ‘Die’.

And with his ‘Death’…

Arthur and Evan exchanged glances, their eyes lighting up as they both shouted the same word in unison.

“”EXP!!””

In a strange, almost admirable way, their ability to think about experience points in the middle of all this said a lot about their oddly focused priorities.

Makes one wonder what Bewússtsein, who was monitoring them, would think seeing the two boys suddenly shout ‘EXP!’

[Did you see where that Soul was?] Arthur asked, and Artemisia’s expression dimmed slightly as she shook her head.

[I saw where it was, but I don’t know where that is.

It was in some strange place, the same place where he made those bodies that he used to attack us earlier.]

As she’d said before, she hadn’t seen all of Bewússtsein’s memories, just fragments tied to what he’d been thinking about when his ‘time’ fractured.

Because of that, the information she had was incomplete.

[Can you describe the place?]

McEnda asked as Artemisia cut through the zombies in front of her. She paused, taking a deep breath while jogging her memory.

[It was… some kind of cave, or more like a massive cavern.]

Her face scrunched up as she tried to find the right words, but then it brightened as the perfect descriptor came to mind.

[It was just like that volcano dungeon we went to in the Infernal Dimension!]

This was something Alvey and McEnda didn’t know about, but Artemisia wasn’t in the frame of mind to think about that right now.

[There was lava everywhere, and the walls looked like a mix of flesh and stone. Oh, and—yeah, there was this giant ball of plasma in the air, like a sun, and it gave off all these different colours of light.]

She’d barely finished her description when Evan suddenly cut in with two decisive words.

[Core Dimension.]

[Huh?]

Artemisia’s confusion was clear, prompting Evan to explain further.

[The sun-like thing you described—that’s probably a Planet Core. I’ve been to Aidos’ Core Dimension before, so I know what a Prime World’s core looks like.

The last thing you described sounded like it, so that place is likely this planet’s Core Dimension.]

Hearing this, the group exchanged looks, not even needing a moment to see the sense in Evan’s words. A place like the Core Dimension sounded like the perfect spot for Bewússtsein to keep his soul hidden.

But what exactly was a Core Dimension?

As mentioned many times before, Prime Worlds were built different.

They had unique traits that set them apart from lower-level worlds. One of them was that the cores of Prime Worlds didn’t exist within the same main dimensional space as the rest of the planet.

Instead, their cores were kept inside pocket dimensions nestled within the planet’s outer core. This pocket dimension, called the Core Dimension, was where the Inner Core resided.

It was the most secure place on the planet, making it the ideal place for Bewússtsein to hide his soul.

‘If we can get to the Core Dimension, then we might actually stand a chance.’

Arthur mused silently. But before he could linger on the thought, Beatrix raised a critical question.

[How do we even get into the Core Dimension?]

Right after asking that, her gaze shifted to Evan as she followed up.

[You’ve been to one before, right? How did you get in?]

Unfortunately, Evan’s response wasn’t encouraging.

[I don’t know. I was unconscious when Aidos brought me there ‘herself’.]

Evan’s words dampened the mood, and a heavy sense of uncertainty settled over the group. Sensing this, Jamie sighed in resignation.

[I really shouldn’t be telling you this, and the Galaxy Sword is definitely going to be pissed when he finds out, but… desperate times call for desperate measures.]

He paused briefly before continuing.

[My sword’s Weapon Authority is—]

Before Jamie could finish, an unfamiliar female voice interrupted him, echoing through the telepathic link.

[Dimensional Slicing.]

[…what?]

Everyone froze, startled by the unexpected intrusion.

Even Jamie was momentarily taken aback, not because of the interruption itself, but because the voice had come through their shared telepathic link.

As for the speaker, it was none other than Arthur’s semi-transparent Ego Sword, Celestia.

Celestia was directly linked to Arthur’s mind, allowing them to communicate without him having to speak aloud.

With Jamie having integrated Arthur’s mind into their telepathic link, it had essentially turned into an open group chat.

Since the link was now ‘open,’ Celestia, already connected to Arthur’s mind, was indirectly tied to it as well. This meant she could hear everything being said.

So when the words ‘Galaxy Sword’ and ‘Weapon Authority’ came up in the conversation, Celestia had instinctively responded with, “Dimensional Slicing.”

Arthur’s eyes narrowed as he processed the familiar occurrence.

[We’ll discuss how—and why—you know that later, Celestia,] he said, pushing the discussion back to the main issue.

[For now, let’s focus on the Weapon Authority. Jamie, with it, you should be able to cut through the dimensional walls of the Core Dimension, right?]

Jamie shook his head before replying to Arthur.

[It’s not as simple as it sounds. In my top condition, I could do it from here. But I’m clearly not in top condition, so we’ll need to get ‘close’ to pull it off.]

This brought up a new challenge, one Evan immediately voiced.

[Get close? Didn’t you say the Core Dimension is nested within the planet’s Outer Core? How exactly are we supposed to get close to THAT? Dig a hole straight through the ground?]

His sarcasm hung in the air for only a moment before Arthur and Jamie both turned to him with wide eyes.

Evan blinked in confusion for a second, then realisation dawned, and he pointed at Jamie.

“You!”

Jamie chuckled, speaking aloud.

“Well, don’t we already have a perfectly good hole?”

And indeed, they did.

The massive hole Jamie had made earlier during his attempt to destroy the planet had broken through the surface and reached the Outer Core.

In other words, it was their direct ticket to getting close.

Arthur’s left hand moved to the Cosmic Teleporter on his right, channelling ambient cosmic energy into it as he spoke.

[I remember the general coordinates of that spot since I used my Pseudo-Authority there. Hopefully, the space around it isn’t too warped.]

As he began inputting the spatial coordinates for a gate, he continued.

[If we can get there and Jamie cuts our way into the Core Dimension, I have a plan that might just work.]

Everyone gave him questioning looks, and Jamie voiced what they were all thinking.

[How sure are you about this plan of yours?]

Arthur answered with a wry smile.

[Are you all ready to put your lives on the line for a 50% chance of success?]

At Arthur’s reply, Jamie laughed and shook his head.

[I’ve put my life on the line for less. 50% is plenty.]

Hearing Jamie’s words, Evan rolled his eyes and quipped.

[‘I’ve put my life on the line for less’—says the guy who’s IMMORTAL.]

Arthur and Jamie both laughed at Evan’s quip, but Jamie’s laughter stopped abruptly.

[If we’re going with Arthur’s plan—whatever it is—we need to move fast.]

As Jamie spoke, a crack ran across his face, cosmic energy leaking out like a broken dam.

Seeing this, Arthur didn’t hesitate to create a gate with his Teleporter, motioning for the others to gather close as it activated.

He sensed spatial interference, likely Bewússtsein’s doing, but the Cosmic Teleporter pushed through it.

Ten seconds later, a swirling gate opened before them.

“Everyone in!”

Arthur shouted as he leapt through without hesitation, and the others rushed in right after him, with three undead hands sliced off as the gate snapped shut behind them.