The Gamer's System

Five tries. That was the number of runs they needed before Morpheus could get the hang of his new form. It was not a complete mastery yet but something close to it. Zeke could tell because, Mory was slowly getting back his humanoid form while also retaining the powers of his five horned form.

But just like every other time, as soon as Zeke notice the boy's hostility towards him and Allesiah, he snapped his fingers. Sending the same jolt that turned Morpheus back to normal.

"Did you see that!" The boy was still brimming with energy despite the exhaustion he felt. He was covered in sweat all over and Allesiah could even notice his paced breathing. And if the elf could notice this, the same was much truer with Zeke.

"Good job out there. You almost nailed it." The gamer said, brushing Morpheus' hair as he ordered Heron to take down the [Cloud of Dreams].

"Wait are we finished?" The surprised Mory commented.

"Yeah well, your body is not in any shape for us to continue anymore so we're stopping for now."

"Whaaat? But I can still go, I'm just a bit tired!"

"I know. But that form also tires you out mentally. The lesser your mind is rested, the lesser the amount of concentration and control you can place over that form."

"That's not fair! You always allow those elites to fight until they are beaten half to death. Why can't I have that much fun?"

The child was throwing tantrums. While he did, Allesiah couldn't help herself and butted in.

"Zeke he's really like your son." The elf mentioned.

"Why? Because we're both strong?" Zeke suggested.

"No. Because both of you have a screw lose." Allesiah furthered. Knowing that no child would want a kind of training that would beat their bodies down half to death.

"Hey! That's not a good thing to say to my dad!" Mory said in reply. Disregarding the fact that Allesiah said he had a screw lose.

"Kid trust me, you're better off not claiming to be his son." Allesiah looked at Zeke and noticed how the gamer wanted her to support his decision.

"Anyway he's right. We can't continue the training with your current state because even the flow of [Chaos Energy] around you have been taking a less refined shape as of the last training."

"But didn't you say that the more I use it the more I'll be able to control it?" The boy said as he looked at Zeke.

"I did. But it seems that I wanted things to progress too quickly. You need rest kiddo. That body of yours is still a child's no matte how much power you do possess and can possess."

Mory didn't want to give up. He wanted to continue the training for as long as he could and so he made use of Zeke's one weakness.

"Okay how about this then. Let's play a game." Time seemed to have stopped at this point. With Zeke automatically getting intrigued.

"Oh? And What game would that be?"

"Give me twenty whole minutes within the form. Don't stop me no matter what happens and I swear I'll be able to control it."

"I don't get it what will I gain from this exactly?"

"I can prove that even your calculations and predictions can be wrong."

"Crap. He's got Zeke hooked." Allesiah thought to herself, viewing the smile form on the gamer's face.

"You know that's not enough to convince me." Zeke said, with Allesiah breathing a sigh of relief as the gamer made the mature choice. But Morpheus already thought things through. Raising the stakes even more.

"You didn't let me finish. I will control my new form…with [Aeros' Horn] already added."

"That's impossible kiddo. The chances are too slim for that to happen."

"That's the thing. It's only slim, not impossible." There was both determination and confidence on Mory's voice. Zeke didn't know if this was misplaced but he liked the game. He liked the gamble.

"Okay, it's a deal."

"Yes!" Mory was already revving up as Allesiah tapped on the gamer's shoulder.

"Can I have a word with you for a bit?" The two adults went to the corner of the training room. Zeke told Mory to stay put in the meantime and also asked Heron to be on standby.

"What are you thinking? That's an innocent boy! There's no way he'd be able to live up to whatever crazy shenanigans you have planned."

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that." Zeke said. Looking just as confident as Morpheus.

"I wasn't actually planning on stopping the training. Knowing that boy, he would stop at nothing until he gets things right. And that stubbornness would be his downfall most of the time."

"Exactly. So why did you allow him?"

"Well because I'm the one controlling that same stubbornness right now. He made a bet with me and, knowing his personality, he would stop at nothing to prove me wrong."

"You crazy…so all of this was part of your plan?" Allesiah continued, getting a pat on the head from the gamer.

"Of course it is. I'm Zeke for goodness' sake." The gamer commented – walking back to the area as Allesiah sighed.

With this the training continued where it left off. Zeke told Heron to put up the skill once again and the [Dragon Morpher] more than happily obliged.

As soon as they were back to the same field, Zeke took out [Aeros' Horn]. Throwing it to Mory right away as he proceeded to giving the commands.

"Twenty minutes. After transforming you will only have twenty minutes in order to control your ultimate form. If you can't do it within that time limit, we will end the practice immediately."

"OKAY!" Mory energetically replied, with both Zeke and Allesiah stepping away as he consumed the [Horn].

[Information: Morpheus' evolution will now commence…]

The surge of [Chaos Energy] which he created before changed entirely. There were waves of water spiraling around Morpheus as his transformation furthered.

Gills began growing on Morpheus' face and his teeth were turning into razor sharp ones. The same ones that a shark has. His power level was steadily rising to an extent that, even Zeke was getting goosebumps from the sight of it.

"He's doing a wonderful job living up to that cockiness of his." Zeke thought to himself as Morpheus was maintaining a human - like figure while the transformation went on. Telling him that, the child was having large success in winning his gamble.

The first five minutes passed with the earnest struggle of Morpheus. He was slowly refining the form. Removing the parts that didn't seem to fit right into the whole while making sure that he was still himself. Yet everything only spiraled downwards at this point.

Mory was feeling more pain than ever before. There was the sensation like drowning taking over him and all the voices quieted down. Giving way to a single one which seemed to dominate all the rest. Telling him to go berserk and forcing his body to do just this.

The wings grew back. Larger than their previous size. His tail also rapidly grew while blue flames were being emitted from Mory's mouth. After this the claws began growing back and so did every other bestial parts that made him look like a Chimera.

"Zeke shouldn't you be stopping him by now?" Allesiah asked, worried about the well - being of the boy who was obviously losing control.

"Nonsense he's getting even closer than he had before. There's no way I'm stopping him now."

"Are you serious? Look at him he's just about to attack us." Allesiah said as Morpheus' form simply continued getting worse.

"No. he won't." Zeke said as he released the same mana which Allesiah was familiar with.

"Conjure."

The reason why Zeke wanted to use the plains was because it gives him the perfect opportunity to disperse his summons in such a way that, there would be a constant target for Morpheus to hunt if things boiled down to it.

"Relax." This constant reminder of Zeke to his teammates isn't because he was simply going with the flow. No. The gamer is prepared for each and every instance and would have plans backing up other plans based on what data he has.

"Allesiah, take care of that pesky roar of his. Without it he won't be able to take out all of my [Conjures] at once."

"Wait a minute here. Did you plan this far ahead? That's the real reason you brought me here isn't it?"

"You catch on quicker than I expected." Zeke simply said, with both the landscape and Allesiah's presence being part of his plan in helping Morpheus evolve.

Everything proceeded based on the parameters set by Zeke. Allesiah not only cancelled out Morpheus' roar but also all of his skills as well. This also served as a way for Allesiah to train her skills even further which was also essential for the mission.

Meanwhile Morpheus did his best in order to gain control and, with the help of the monsters beating his monster form to a pulp, the boy was slowly retaking command of his own body. And, with only a minute left in the condition set, Morpheus let out a loud scream.

It wasn't something that was infused with any skill. It was s a regular one which Zeke knew to be the boy's way of trying to fight for control.

"I think he's just about got it now."

"Yeah, the energy is getting finer and finer." Allesiah said. Agreeing to Zeke's statement as the gamer finally began walking towards the boy.

He came closer and closer to Morpheus. Allesiah was told to stop interfering at this point and Heron's skill was already being taken down. Zeke was so sure that Morpheus would succeed that the training was thought to be successful even though the boy was still struggling.

"Good work Mory."

The creature looked at Zeke with a kind of blank yet wondering eyes. It seemed to begin registering who this person was and, at exactly [20:00] within the clock. Morpheus finally responded.

"I told you I could do it." The boy said with a grin on his face. Losing consciousness immediately as Zeke caught the boy in his arms.

"I knew you could. Good job kiddo."