Glorious Vanity (SI LitRPG)

I waited a bit longer to see if anything else would occur. But after a few seconds with no commotion, I tentatively decided to get rid of my bunker and take a look at the surroundings.

Thankfully, that new skill meant that that I didn't have to worry about the heat now. The uncomfortably hot surroundings just felt like a mild breeze.

Still, that didn't mean that I could recklessly jump out.

The stream of fire might have vanished, but I could still hear crackling flames nearby. And not only that, the scent of freshly burnt wood and underbrush filled the air.

To test the waters, I made a step ladder to climb out of the hole and carefully peeked my shield over the edge.

Silence.

But that didn't mean it was safe.

At the same time, it wasn't like I was any safer waiting around in a hole while the surroundings were on fire.

The entire area had changed. In every direction except for the fortress, it had become a scorched wasteland. Whatever bodies had been lying on the ground were turned to ash, not even leaving their equipment behind.

But that didn't mean no one had survived.

There were about a quarter of us left. A couple hundred or so. It seemed like my earlier thoughts about everyone having their own cheats were true... And that also didn't bode well for me considering that they tanked the attack directly while I had to run away and hide underground beneath layers of defenses.

Not all of them did so without damage. In fact, there were only four people standing, unscathed from the attack.

The first was that young woman with silver hair, as expected. Crackling blue lightning covered her entire body, presumably the source of her survival.

The next was a fairly handsome young man with black hair and glasses. Holding a knife in his right hand, he idly brushed off some soot on his school uniform.

After him, there was a beautiful woman with pink hair wearing flowing robes, like from a wuxia novel. Twirling a spear, pink cherry blossoms scattered behind her, dissolving in pure white flames.

And the last guy was a young man with dark brown hair, wearing a suit. He held an axe in his left hand, radiating oily dark shadows. A manic grin crossed his face, and he seemed to be relishing the destruction around them.

In short... main characters. All of them. I had a feeling that each and every one of those guys had an insane cheat that would let them live through whatever this death trap of a world threw at them.

I took another quick look at the surroundings to double check the situation.

While we had been devastated, the army guarding the fortress was still in full force. And as a result, we were now heavily outnumbered in comparison to before, where we were relatively even.

Of course, that was just in terms of numbers.

In terms of strength...

"You dastards! Attacking with such a forceful strike at this stage... Freyr Valhalla will avenge the fallen!"

That young woman with silver hair shouted and then dashed forward, blue lightning crackling around her.

The other three that were unscathed looked like they said something as well, but I was too far away to hear them. But I could see what they did.

The young man with glasses... who in hindsight seemed to be a typical Japanese isekai lead, walked forward and casually swung his knife. Whenever he did, blood flew into the air and people dropped to the ground, split apart like they were made of butter.

The young woman with pink hair grinned and charged head first into the army along with the first woman. And like that first woman, the pink-haired woman had an aura too, covered in flickering cherry blossoms that completely shredded whatever they touched.

As for the last guy... Well, he ran around with a mad grin on his face, brutally chopping apart and mutilating anyone he could get his hands on, friend or foe alike.

A crazy situation. But one where there were people taking charge.

Following their lead, the survivors marched towards the fortress as well, rousing their morale in a frontal attack. But...

"Idiots."

I dropped back down my hole and got rid of my step ladder.

Did they really think it would be that easy? Those four might be able to handle whatever crazy stuff got thrown our way, but the average shmoe would be dead. And I had a feeling that it wouldn't be that easy to just charge in through the front gates.

Furthermore...

"Oi. System or whatever. What was the mission again?"

[Query received. Supplying requested information.]

[Objectives: Arrive at the Imperial Fortress.]

[Reward: Level +1, Hidden Attribute awakening, Starter Bag]

"...That's what I thought."

The objective said to arrive at the Imperial Fortress, and that appeared to be the building up ahead. But I also had a feeling that was bait. After all, the people that made a situation like this weren't that nice... and it was probably designed to find those crazy main character type Chosen that could face tank ridiculous situations.

"Knowing how these things usually go, there's probably some insane hidden boss in the fortress and the objective's going to suddenly change from arrival to survival-"

[Your keen insight has been acknowledged. Intelligence + 1]

I froze and then cursed. "Dammit. So that's really the case, huh?"

And it seemed like those crazy bastards were watching us too... Or was it just the system?

I didn't know, but it didn't matter. I still had this giant problem on my hand of what to do.

Unlike those four protagonists, I didn't have an OP cheat skill that could let me face tank my problems. All I had were my wits, an ability to conceal my stats, that tiny spark of Muspell flames, and a construction ability.

...Wait. It said I could make whatever I could envision, right? Then...

I held out my hand, imagining a gun. A revolver, black steel, ammo...

And it failed.

A metal prop that looked like a gun showed up in my hands, but I could already tell that it wouldn't work.

"Dammit. Of all the things I never looked into..."

If I had shot a gun before, hell, even held a proper one, I probably could have made it. But since I never used one, it seemed like [World Creator (Minor)] wouldn't allow me to make it since I couldn't imagine how the parts worked together.

I was fairly certain that I could make one if I spent time to think about it, but time was something I didn't really have. And this wasn't the place to experiment with something that could lead to my death if it didn't work.

After all, guns were loud.

Then...

"Would a drone work?"

I mumbled and imagined the one I had lying back at home. A drone with four propellers, a white body, an attached camera. The remote to operate it, and then a tablet to capture the live feed...

With a soft *plop* the three things I imagined popped onto the ground in front of me.

"Huh? *That* worked?" I blinked and then opened my status, glaring at that title. "...Damned system. You should give me better details than that."

[Request acknowledged. Denied.]

"Tch."

I shook my head and then grabbed the remote as well as the tablet. "Let's take a look then... After that I'll figure out what to do next."

Information was everything in a situation like this. And since I wasn't fortunate enough to have magical scrying spells, this was my next best option.

I sent out the drone and then turned on the tablet, syncing the live feed.

At first, it was darkness, the drone still stuck in the hole with me. But then it quickly lit up.

A crimson sky, with a sinking sun. Flames, crackling in every direction. A complete gorefest by the fortress as the surviving Chosen rushed the army. And those crazy four protagonists casually dismantling everyone they came across.

That part didn't matter much. And in truth, it probably wouldn't do me any favors observing that since I didn't know if things could aggro to me through the drone.

I tilted the control sticks and sent the drone higher, slowly spinning around to get a view of the surroundings.

A flaming wasteland. That fortress... and then in the distance, another one. Much grander than the one that everyone else was fighting at.

The new fortress looked to be a few miles out and had dozens of flags and banners raised with that golden sun insignia.

Judging by the objective of reaching the Imperial Fortress, that one seemed more likely than the first.

So. While everyone else was still struggling in vain, I had to get a move on. The problem was the distance...

Or was it?

I flew the drone back and then placed everything down, thinking about my ability and the current situation.

It was still bright out, but from the sun it seemed that night would fall soon.

The first fortress was probably meant to serve as a waypoint for the Chosen to rest up and assemble. And there'd probably be some conflicts as they all got to know each other.

Too risky. Considering that friendly fire was definitely on from what I saw that guy with the axe do, it was too risky to join up with them.

So...

I glanced at my shield. And then I opened my status again, carefully rereading the description of [World Creator (Minor)].

"Ordinarily allows for complete construction of whatever the user envisions, but restricted to non-magical items in this case... The operative term here is 'envisions.' And it seems like it's being limited by my working memory and familiarity..."

A gun was mechanically simpler than a drone, its remote control, and a tablet. But I couldn't make it since I wasn't familiar with it and couldn't imagine the underlying mechanics.

On the other hand, while I definitely didn't know the details of all that went into a drone, its remote, and the display tablet, I knew enough to fudge the details. At least, that's what I figured.

And then I managed to make that bunker to live through the crazy flame spell too, so it meant that simple elements or materials were on the table...

I froze, a thought suddenly coming to mind. "Maybe... this title is more overpowered than I thought?"

It wasn't a skill, but an innate ability granted to me from my title. In short, a natural extension of my body. Unique, according to the description on Titles.

So far, the restrictions on it seemed to be familiarity... Or maybe understanding, and size. One metal bunker had been enough, but trying to make anything past that, I felt a warning that it would be dissolved. So there was a limitation on that as well.

But that seemed to be it.

Then... didn't that mean I could make whatever I needed? Sure, it couldn't be magical in nature, but that was a given.

But I knew about tons of random things that I could make to give me a leg up. Bombs, chemicals, poisons...

"No. Don't get too excited."

I forcibly shut down that thought.

Even if my title seemed powerful, I had to remember. There were people who had taken those Flames of Muspell head on and lived, and four people who did it without so much as a singe on their skin.

No matter what sorts of items I had on me, it wouldn't matter against insane people like them who defied common sense.

So... Carefully. Slowly.

The goal here wasn't to stand out and act like an isekai protagonist, but to survive. And the first step to do that was to not draw the attention of people like that... while also gaining whatever advantage I could muster.

And the first one...

I made the step ladder again and left my hiding spot. After that, I conjured up a bike and stuck my shield, Avalon, onto my back. A bicycle helmet, some dark woven steel chainmail... And then I was off.

[Your initiative and resolve to go against the beaten path have been acknowledged. Intelligence +1, Luck +1]

"Damned straight. Now... There should be an extra reward for being first, right?"

Muttering that to myself, I started pedaling in the direction of the other fortress.

And pedaling.

And pedaling...

And dammit. I knew I should have taken that Auto shop class in high school. A car would be super useful right now...

-V-

[Status Screen]

-Biography-

Name: Vain Glory

Age: 20 (Adjusted)

Race: Human (Heaven Defying)

Current Condition: Healthy

-Racial Traits-

Divine Anathema - Those not only forsaken by their gods, but those who have killed their gods and constructed their own. Drastically reduces effectiveness of Divine Attacks. Minor probability of obtaining partial Divine Authority through analysis and perception. Greatly increased hostility by Divine Beings.

-Traits-

Man of a Thousand Faces (Can filter emotions and experience through personas)

Well-Read (Increased intelligence growth)

Self-Determined (Luck is treated as 100 for calculations)

-Titles-

World Creator (Minor) - Allows construction of non-magical items through one's will

Hero Creator (Minor) - Removes growth limitations on user and their allies

-Parameters-

Level: 1

Strength: 8

Agility: 6

Vitality: 5

Intelligence: 21

Luck: 16 [100]

-Skills-

No One's Story - A gambit that defies the gods through sacrificing one's identity and very memory. All attempts to scry your status are denied. Removes skill requirements. Memory and visualization abilities are enhanced.

A Different Path - Direct interference with a hero's fate, granting him a new path and divergent futures. Allows reproduction of 'conceptual weapons' provided the requisite materials. Allows reproduction of 'sword skills' provided the requisite understanding.

Flames of Muspell (Heavily Degraded) - A miniscule spark of the flames that will harken the end in Ragnarok. However, though miniscule, it is still an authentic spark of the world-consuming flames. Immune to all but extreme temperature changes. Mild resistance to Absolute Zero or Absolute Flame. Can summon a tiny ember of Ragnarok's flames.