Kaito lay on his cot, cradling the system-generated medal between his fingers. The tiny "You Beat Yourself" inscription mocked him, even as his body still ached from the VR shadow clone battle. His AI maid floated beside him with another pudding cup, humming a lullaby in binary.
"Emotional balance restored to 87%. Pudding levels optimal," she said, handing him a spoon.
"Thanks... You know, I never thought beating myself up would be this satisfying," he muttered while scooping the last bit of pudding.
[System Notification: Challenge Complete – Bonus Objective Fulfilled.
Unlocking Temporary Chat Gate Connection. Stand by...]
Kaito sat up straight. "Temporary what now?"
The air in the lab shimmered like a heatwave. A circular rift of shifting code formed midair, blinking with sparks of blue and gold energy. His AI maid's pigtails flared from the sudden energy flux.
"Warning: Multiversal gate open. Incoming guest from alternate timeline."
"Wait—Guest?!" Kaito bolted up, nearly knocking over a stack of stolen components.
From the swirling portal stepped a girl who looked like she'd walked straight out of a shonen anime. She wore a sleeveless crimson combat jacket over a black bodysuit, her wild, jet-black hair streaked with red, and her eyes glowing faintly with a teal hue. A jagged scar ran across her cheek like a trophy, and her knee-high boots clanked with each step, adorned with miniature digital charms that flickered like error codes. Tall, lean, with a katana strapped to her back and a confident smirk that could rival Vegeta's.
"Yo. Is this the Kaito from Earth-DRG Prime?"
Kaito blinked. "Uh... yeah? Who're you?"
She snapped her fingers. "Multiverse Chat Handle: [Blade Dancer]. Real name's Ryuko. I'm here on a five-minute window thanks to a glitch in the gate system. Figured I'd say hi to the famous clone-punching baby."
"Technically toddler," Kaito muttered. "And how do you even know about that?"
She held up her own AI assistant, a floating fox wearing a kimono, its nine tails gently swaying with a rhythmic, almost hypnotic grace. The fox blinked its oversized eyes, emitted a soft bell-like chime with each flutter of its ears, and smiled mischievously before projecting a gif of Kaito's final sucker punch on his clone with added explosion effects.
Ryuko grinned. "This clip went viral in the cross-dimensional memes channel. Nice punch, by the way."
"Of course it did." Kaito said while feeling both embarrassed and proud.
The AI maid floated over to Ryuko, blinking curiously.
"Visitor recognized. Would you like pudding?"
"Hell yeah," Ryuko said without hesitation.
As the pudding appeared, Ryuko leaned against a workbench and looked around the lab. "So, this is Gero's lab in your world, huh? Looks grungier than mine."
"Wait, you've been in one too?"
"Yup. Earth-DRG7. My Gero turned me into a cyborg. Didn't stick. Cut his lab in half with a dimension slash and walked out."
Kaito's jaw dropped. "Teach me."
"Maybe. Depends on how fast you learn. You've got talent. That ki thread trick was neat."
Kaito's system pinged.
[New Objective: Impress Ryuko – Optional Quest Triggered]
Reward: ???
He straightened his back, trying to act cool. "I've been training hard. Wanna see my flight technique?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Impress me, prodigy."
Kaito crouched low, gathering ki to his soles. The energy shimmered subtly this time—more stable, more focused. He pushed off, floating mid-air without crashing.
"Hah! No wall-smashing this time!"
He spun once, executed a decent backflip, then landed lightly.
Ryuko clapped slowly. "Okay, that was clean. Not bad, rookie."
[+2 Ego]
He grinned until she added, "Still baby-tier, but cleaner."
Kaito mock-glared. "I just learned how to fly, cut me some slack."
Suddenly, another ping echoed.
[Emergency System Notice: Temporal Flux Detected – Unauthorized Entity Approaching Gate]
Ryuko's fox AI shimmered red. "We got a problem. That rift wasn't supposed to stay open. Something else is coming."
Kaito's AI maid shivered—a visible ripple passing through her holographic form as if simulating fear. "Warning: Power signature approaching equals mid-tier planetary threat level."
The gate crackled violently as a tall figure emerged, shrouded in black armor and a swirling cape of data fragments. His eyes glowed with digital flame.
Ryuko instantly pulled her katana. "Crap. That's a Null Knight. They're system errors that gained form. They're hunting system users."
Kaito powered up his ki reflexively. "What do we do?!"
"Stall him. I've got one dimensional cut left before the gate closes."
The Null Knight's voice was glitched, echoing like a corrupted MP3. "System Glitch Detected. Purge."
Kaito didn't wait. He fired a rapid ki bolt. The knight swatted it aside effortlessly, closing the distance in a blink. The lab's lights flickered as the Null Knight swung a data-blade crackling with corrupted code.
Sparks flew as Ryuko intercepted with her katana, the clash sending out a shockwave that cracked the floor.
Kaito dove to the side, summoning ki threads mid-air. He laced them across the lab's ceiling and support beams. "Come on, come on…!"
The Null Knight turned his blade toward him, launching a jagged wave of glitched energy. Kaito barely dodged, the attack cleaving through a reinforced wall like butter.
"Not cool!" Kaito yelled, hurling a barrage of small ki blasts. They exploded against the Knight's armor, slowing him just enough for Ryuko to land a flaming crescent slash that sent him staggering back.
The Knight responded by plunging his sword into the ground, corrupting the floor with viral code. Spikes of glitch energy burst upward, forcing both Kaito and Ryuko to leap away.
Kaito landed awkwardly, a grunt escaping his lips as he winced from the jolt up his spine. He steadied himself with a sharp exhale, fists clenched and eyes narrowing in defiance. "Time for some science!"
He slapped the emergency trigger on a nearby wall, activating the rigged traps that he was planing to use when he escapes.
Mini ki mines exploded around the Knight's legs, while a vent above it's head spewed freezing gas, misting it's sensors.
While the Knight was trying to gain focus again, Kaito struck with a ki-infused uppercut, the impact cracking its chestplate.
But the Null Knight wasn't down. It roared, digital flames flaring brighter. With a surge, it fired a beam of corrupted ki that vaporized a chunk of ceiling. Debris rained down, and Ryuko had to slice through falling beams mid-air.
Kaito responded by weaving his ki threads into a net. He launched it, ensnaring the Null Knight's arms and legs. The Knight tried to break free, but the reinforced ki held.
Ryuko took the opening. She channeled ki into her blade until it glowed white-hot.
"Vector Breaker: Moonlight Rend!"
She vanished and reappeared above the Knight, striking down with a blinding arc that shattered part of his helm. Data streamed from the wound like blood.
"NOW!" she shouted.
Kaito strengthened his ki threads, and rammed into the Knight with a double footed dropkick that sent him tumbling into the rift.
"Close it!"
Ryuko slashed one final time. "Dimensional Cut!"
She swung her katana in a perfect arc. A glowing crescent tore the air, clossing the gate behind the Null Knight.
The Knight howled as he was dragged into the swirling code, fragments of armor shattering as he disappeared.
Silence.
Then…
[System Alert: Unauthorized Entity Expelled. Dimensional Breach Closed.]
Ryuko dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. "Damn. That was too close."
Kaito sat on the floor, heart racing. "I need a thousand puddings."
The AI maid floated over with three puddings.
"Emergency emotional protocol activated. Administering snacks."
Ryuko smiled at Kaito's AI Maid, before garbing a pudding for herself.
She looked at Kaito.
"You're alright, kid. Keep training. Next time we meet, I expect at least Super Saiyan toddler."
Kaito blinked in disbelieve. "Wait, That's a thing?!"
The gate flickered again as Ryuko waved, her crimson combat jacket fluttering slightly in the gate's residual energy.
She turnaround and called with a teasing smirk plastered on her face.
"In some universes? Absolutely, but before then. Try not to get wiped out before I visit again. Okay, baby Goku,"
Kaito flinched, scrunching his nose.
"Baby Goku? Really? I don't even have a tail!"
Ryuko just winked as the gate closed.
Kaito collapsed backward, holding a pudding cup like a trophy.
He then opened the chat.
[K-18]: "I just fought a Null Knight with a hot sword girl from another dimension."
[Captain Sogeking]: "Pics or it didn't happen."
[Senpai Noticed Me]: "Define 'hot.'"
[Goddess of Explosions]: "Why are the cool things always happening when I log off?!"
[Crimson Alchemist]: "You survived a Null Knight? That's seriously impressive."
[Master of Cards]: "Did she give you her number tho?"
Kaito grinned.
"No number. But she did say I need to hit Super Saiyan toddler, before our rematch."
[Senpai Noticed Me]: " So I guess it's challenge accepted, baby Goku?"
Kaito squinted at the screen. "I swear, if that nickname sticks, I'm rage-quitting the multiverse."
His AI maid beeped. "Nickname archived: 'Baby Goku.' Custom emoji generated."
Kaito gleared at his AI maid while puffing his checks an screaming.
"TRAITOR!"