Plundering the Hero's Arsenal and Cream's Sudden Return

Damn, your abilities are insane. It was one of those screens I'd seen a ton in games. There, listed out, were the names and effects of his superhuman powers.

Abilities ranging from SS-rank down to E-rank. Every damn kind imaginable. Among them, the descriptions for the high-rank ones caught my eye.

'Siegfried killed the demon king Fafnir?'

Surely not the broken-down ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sieg I knew. Hell, he wouldn't even have had the time for that. His power level wouldn't cut it either. Confusion hit me hard at the bullshit written in those ability descriptions.

"That's not the Siegfried you met."

"What do you mean?"

Shimbu Rumkun's words only deepened my confusion.

"These abilities belong to the strongest Siegfried out of countless ones across parallel universes. Ever heard of parallel worlds?"

Shimbu Rumkun explained that he'd pulled up info on the most powerful Siegfried from a parallel universe.

"Oh... sweet."

If he'd grabbed the data on the Sieg who'd despaired after meeting me and stopped in his tracks, the abilities on screen would've been total trash.

'Alright, time to pick one.'

Obviously, the SS-rank Dragon's Blood. Rank is king for a reason. My finger stretched toward it.

But Shimbu Rumkun, spotting that, stopped me cold.

"That's a bad choice."

My index finger froze right in front of the screen. I shot him a look demanding an explanation.

"That Dragon's Blood? Technically demon king power."

He explained calmly.

"Siegfried's a hero, so his body can handle it. But a nobody like you? Your body'd explode before you could enjoy it."

Boom!—like that. Shimbu Rumkun mimed it with his hands.

"So I gotta pick ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the lowest rank?"

From what he was saying, grabbing a high-rank ability right off the bat seemed greedy.

"Nah. Just avoid ones that mess with your body."

He corrected my thinking.

'Only ones that affect the body...? Then...'

The S-rank Sun Holy Sword 'Gram' should be fair game. Dragon Slayer at the same rank was iffy with its durability boost, and even without that, the dragonkin-only limit killed it for me.

A pleased smile bloomed on my face at the new window that popped up.

"Why're you being so nice to me?"

The question popped into my head suddenly. Whether I blew up or not shouldn't matter to him one bit.

"Too much hassle otherwise."

Shimbu Rumkun said it casually.

"If you die, I'd have to find a replacement. That's a pain in the ass."

A bit ridiculous, but thanks to his laziness, I'd saved my own skin.

"I'll set you up to take missions solo from now on."

Shimbu Rumkun placed a hand on my head and injected mana.

"There, done! Just think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠'accept mission' in your head, and it'll send you to a world with a heroine. After finishing a mission, you can pick the protagonist's abilities like this."

He pulled his hand away and stretched.

"Ask questions now. Once I leave, I'm not coming back."

He looked half-asleep already, eyes drooping.

'Questions, huh... oh yeah.'

One thing had been bugging me.

"Ah, that's 'cause your superhuman power's a cheeky bastard."

He read my mind and answered before I could even ask.

"It takes after its original owner's personality, so it's a cheeky prick too. Since the guy who stole its women is lower-class than the original owner, its pride got hurt and boosted you up."

A superhuman power with pride? More importantly, mine was E-rank.

"An E-rank power does that?"

"Who said it's E-rank?"

"The Awakening Bureau."

Shimbu Rumkun let out a hollow laugh at my answer.

"You think human tech is accurate?"

He was calling the Awakening Bureau's rankings bullshit.

"They can't even grasp a power's true strength, yet they assign ranks... pathetic."

Shimbu Rumkun wore a look of utter disdain. Watching him, he seemed to view humans as lesser beings.

"I told you at the start. Your power was born from my father's myth. My father. No way something from there is mere E-rank."

If he was telling the truth—and he was—then Earth's ranking system was total garbage. Meaning I could actually be SSS-rank or some shit.

"So if I steal from someone stronger than me, I keep getting stronger?"

"Not stronger. Higher grating."

Shimbu Rumkun explained the activation condition.

"Like that Brynhildr you conquered—apex of her race. Fame counts too. The world's most famous princess, say. Even if someone's strong, extras have low grating. Even weaklings can have high grating if they're world-famous."

I got what he meant.

"Yawn~ No more questions?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Shimbu Rumkun yawned, prepping to bail.

"Later."

He vanished as abruptly as he'd appeared. With him gone, my cramped one-room felt spacious.

'Time to test this power.'

First up, activate Gram. I pulled the sword from my Inventory, and it glowed, shifting form. A blade shining like the sun. A sun-emblazoned crossguard. Just like Sieg's sword.

'Body enhancement too!'

I felt my physical stats surge. Reinforced to a safe level—no risk of bursting.

'If the sword made my body explode, it'd be a demon sword, not holy.'

I wanted to swing it around, but doing that in my one-room would land me straight in jail. So I tested duration instead of power.

"One minute..."

That's how long I could sustain it with my current mana. Time was short, but the effects rocked.

'So this is the power Sieg had.'

I thought of the fool who'd let it slip away.

"Sieg, your abilities are nuts."

Now, one ability left to check: Fate Summon.

'This'll be... kinda embarrassing, huh?'

Us back then, sobbing like we'd never meet again. And now, reuniting so soon? I couldn't wait to see Cream's face. For that beet-red blush, I activated Fate Summon.

Another blue window opened. Shimbu Rumkun must've made it user-friendly.

'Not just heroines, huh?'

True to its name Fate Summon, Brynhildr was on the list too.

'No one else 'cause of affection levels?'

Probably needed high affection to make the summon list. Once I analyzed the power, I summoned Cream right away.

"Hngh—! Wh-what...?"

She'd been holding back tears since we parted, but now they poured out—Cream was sobbing.

"Sig?"

Her confusion at the new place lasted a second. Then she spotted me and threw herself into my arms.

"Waaah—! Sig—!"

I patted her back, soothing her as she wailed.

"How's this possible?"

"I summoned you to my world."

Thinking she'd never see me again, Cream demanded an explanation.

"Got a new power to summon people tied to me."

She pulled away from my chest, listening while scoping out the room.

"This your place, Sig?"

"Yeah, pretty cramped, right?"

Cream said it wasn't and sniffed the air.

'Must've been rough without me.'

Something she'd never do normally. But yeah, it'd been hell: cutting ties with childhood friend Sieg, hero party disbanding, losing her lover. All at once. I'd have lost it too.

"Sniff sniff... your scent's soaked in everywhere."

Cream snapped out of unconsciously sniffing nonstop.

"Gasp—! What am I doing?!"

She'd been aggressive in bed, but here she went full shy girl.

"It's fine."

I pulled her flushed face back into my arms.

"You're beautiful no matter what, Cream."

"Really...?"

She looked up from my chest. I kissed her forehead in reply.

Mwah!

"Sniff sniff... haa... Sig's scent..."

She rubbed her face against me, sniffing eagerly.

'Uh... she picked up a weird fetish...'

Dunno if it was always there or trauma from our parting, but Cream had a new kink now.

"I-I wanna see your world, Sig."

Cream, scent-satisfied, wanted to check out outside.

"Sure, let's go. Oh, change first."

I handed her women's clothes from my closet. The classic tight "missy look."

"Why... do you have women's clothes here?"

She eyed the outfit suspiciously in a single guy's place.

It was spares left by a regular client.

"Uh... well..."

I needed to explain, but my mind blanked.

"I get you had history with Siegfried, so I'll let past stuff slide."

Cream said she'd drop it.

"Just tell me one thing. It's only me now, right?"

"Yeah, just you, Cream."

Lie. I couldn't be satisfied with just her. To grow stronger, I shouldn't be. She wouldn't find out anyway.

'Even I think I'm trash...'

What can ya do? It's instinct. Cream beamed at my answer and changed. The missy look hugged her curves tight.

'Damn, she looks hot.'

Different appeal from nude. The allure of concealment? Minimal skin, maximum sexiness.

"D-don't stare like that..."

She fidgeted. Wanted to pounce right then, but time was short, so I grabbed her hand and headed out.

"Sig! Look at that!!"

"Whoa! So tall!!"

"That's a carriage? No horse?"

Cream bounced around like a kid at an amusement park. Envious, jealous stares followed us everywhere.

"Ah, wanna stay longer."

Her body started fading, and she said it.

"Summon you again anytime."

"Promise—! You gotta summon me again!"

She begged repeatedly before vanishing.

'Huh? Clothes vanished with her?'

Whatever, not important. Cream returned to her world, and my Earth day wrapped up.

"Let's sort this out."

My second account—for chatting with clients—gone. New path open, done with sleazy gigolo life. Told clients upfront: if account vanishes, don't look for me. Deleted without further contact.

'They couldn't find me anyway.'

Always masked meets, info locked tight. Gigolo days over.

Ring ring!

The one I'd asked was a world-famous actress.

'Shimbu Rumkun said fame counts toward grating, right?'

A globally renowned actress should have high grating. Planned to use her to power up.

#MissyLook Cream