Chapter 15: ROB Level Artifact

My first step was to find out where I am in the timeline. Even though I know the year from the memories of the 2-bit villains, it doesn’t help much. 

The year was never stated explicitly and was simply said to be a little more than three centuries since quirks started becoming a thing. (A/N: Slight AU - Updated)

Ruminating on my next action as I slurp some noodles, I realize that I can check the phones of my victims for some ongoing affairs. Although I doubt that I’ll get anything concrete, it’s worth a try. 

I then ask Sage to deposit a random phone from the inventory into my pocket. It’s better to be a little cautious since the waiter is looking at me from around the corner and he’s not being as subtle as he thinks he is. 

I reach into my pocket only to wince back as something sharp stabbed into my fingers. I look at my fingertips and notice little droplets of blood but by the time I wipe it with some tissue, it’s already healed.

‘The fuck was that?!’ I scream in my head.

“Host requested for a phone. That was a phone but broken.” Sage said in a voice so monotonic that it pissed me off even more. (A/N: Read further before you comment anything.)

‘You are the [Skill: The Great Sage]!!! Your abilities include: Thought Acceleration; Analytical Appraisal; Parallel Operation; Chant Annulment, which is useless in this world, and; All of Creation, which means that you have the information of all unconcealed phenomena occurring in the world, given that I have to see it at least once. 

All this and you are saying that you couldn’t comprehend my wish to have a functioning phone to do some Googling?!!’ My expression must be really ugly given that the waiter started sweating, wondering if he served a possible villain something wrong.

“The host must know that the intent was understood. However, that is the least broken phone present within the inventory.” Even though the voice was monotonic and flat, it’s easy to imagine that Sage is explaining it to me as if I’m a cranky child about to throw a tantrum. She wasn’t wrong.

Before I could blow a gasket, Sage gave me some news that I was surprised to hear. 

“And the sub-skill [Chant Annulment] is not as useless as the Host would think it is.” I was intrigued enough to temporarily shelve the matter of the broken phones. ‘Explain!’

“The sub-skill [Chant Annulment] would ensure that the Host would not need to intonate the names of his future possible Ultimate Moves.” Sage spoke in my mind.

“Due to the mental and spiritual aspect the quirks have taken on, chanting out loud the names of the moves empowers it beyond the scope of regular attacks. However, instead of a source of energy like magicules being utilized in the empowerment, stamina and the integrity of the physical body is expended.”

That…makes a lot of sense. It explains why shounen characters always scream their attacks even when doing a sneak attack. The mental encroachment of quirks ensures that due to them believing and willing for their actions to produce better results, it does.

Like how a mother can fight off a bear if her child is in danger, the human body is in some ways limited by the mind. In situations that demand it, these limitations are loosened. 

It’s similar to how I got over killing so fast and I can now do it without batting an eye. The mind lifts the restrictions on our actions when it deems it to be important for survival. The encroachment on the mind from the quirk contributes to it as well.

But right now, that doesn’t matter! Why the fuck was I injured when I tried to reach for a phone?

I ask Sage to display all the items in the inventory and I soon see a series of images in mind. All the belongings of my 10+ victims lie there. (It was mentioned that he ‘ate his way to the boss in the warehouse’)

From clothing and pocketknives to rings and….. underwear! Unfortunately, all were male. Blech.

Curiously, there was no form of identification present anywhere. Smart, since it would be bad to drop your Driver's License when you’re going home after a job well done.

I soon reach the point where the phones are segregated. And what I see makes me to have a stiff smile. The phones were all broken… with teeth marks. Looks like I bit into them when I was chomping on the food. 

Don’t facepalm! It is recommended to chew your food at least 32 times. I don’t want indigestion now do I? With a sigh, I was about to start Plan B but before I could dismiss the inventory, I spot a lone object within a category of its own. 

When I asked Sage what it was, she said that it was the category for artifacts rivalling the likes of ROB and Veldanava (Creator of the Tensura world). Unless the being had some form of omnipotence, it was impossible to even scratch it. 

That got me shocked and curious. Sage had said something about a unique item which was deposited in the inventory, but I dismissed her since I was busy nomming on a terrified villain. 

With a bit of fear and trepidation, I see what it is, and the shock was so great that I stood up from my seat with the fork of noodles still in my hand. The waiter also stumbles back and nearly trips over himself at my sudden action. 

With reverence etched on my face, I extract the item from my inventory directly into the palm of my hand. The onlookers be damned! If they knew what it was, they would all fall to their knees and beg for a single chance to touch it at least once. 

As I delicately raise my palm, a soft glow emanates from within, casting shadows that dance with anticipation. The air is thick with the scent of nostalgia and the promise of indestructibility. 

My fingertips, brushing against a cool, resilient surface—a relic from a bygone era. No wonder I didn’t feel it at all when I was chewing it! It’s smooth surface just slid off of my teeth whenever I was going to bite into it. 

Behold, a device forged in the fires of durability, its very essence echoing the resilience of a phoenix rising from the ashes. The weight of history rests in the palm of my hands as I uncover a piece of technological lore. The anticipation builds as I reveal the unmistakable silhouette of a device that has weathered the storms of time, its legend whispered through the corridors of tech folklore.

The suspense crescendos, and with a final flourish, the light dies down to unveil the icon of unyielding strength—a symbol of a time when buttons clicked with authority and battery life seemed infinite. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you... the Nokia 3310!

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*Insert tumbleweed rolling past the screen*

(A/N: Did I say that the romantic interest was gonna be revealed in this chapter? Ohh, my bad I actually meant the ‘next’ chapter. Tehee~!)

RottenPizza

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