The clearing smelled faintly of smoke from the last monster Asura had "tested" Yamikami on. The blade still pulsed faintly in its sheath, glowing purple cracks crawling across the surface like veins of lightning. Selene stood nearby with her arms folded, watching her young master with the sharp, unimpressed look of someone who had babysat his nonsense one too many times.
Asura planted himself in the center of the clearing, legs spread wide, one hand on his hip, the other gripping the katana's hilt. His golden eyes gleamed with manic energy.
"Alright," he muttered under his breath, "I've got this. If anime logic is real, then all I need is the right pose, the right scream, and the universe will have to obey me."
Selene raised a brow. "Young master, what exactly are you—"
"Shhh." He pressed a finger to his lips dramatically. "I'm about to unlock my true potential."
"…This will be foolish," she whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Asura ignored her. He stomped his foot, swung his arm wide, and bellowed at the top of his lungs:
"ARMAMENT WILLFORCE! CONQUEROR'S WILL! SUBMIT BEFORE MY KINGLY AURA!"
His words echoed so loudly that birds fled from the treeline. For a moment, the forest fell utterly silent, as if nature itself was embarrassed on his behalf.
Selene stared. "…You're shouting nonsense."
He pointed the katana toward the sky, grinning through the silence. "…Wait for it."
Nothing.
Selene shook her head. "You're impossible. What even is 'cos-play'? Is this another one of your strange ideas?"
"Yes!" Asura said proudly. "I'm cosplaying as a protagonist! It's foolproof!"
"…It's idiotic."
He was about to laugh it off when—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The ground cracked. A surge of invisible power erupted from his body, ripping through the clearing like a shockwave. Selene stumbled back, her eyes wide as the air itself seemed to bend.
Then, something burst to life directly on Asura's forearm—a slick, dark-purple substance that clung to his skin like living ink. It didn't float or swirl. It manifested exactly where he willed it to, as if the world itself was obeying his command.
The Willforce spread in smooth, deliberate waves, crawling up his arm, wrapping around his shoulder, flowing down his chest and across his torso. It moved like a living creature, responding to his every thought. No chanting. No delay. Just will—pure and absolute.
As it advanced, the substance hardened with a sharp, metallic shhhhkkk, solidifying into a smooth, obsidian-like armor that gleamed faintly in the ambient light.
Asura froze. His golden eyes widened. "...Wait. That's not— That's not how it's supposed to look."
More Willforce appeared across his body in other places—his ribs, his side, his other arm. Each time, it simply appeared on command, then crawled outward like veins of liquid power before locking into place. It was nothing like the black steel armor he had imagined from the anime. This was something entirely different—and something that belonged to him alone.
His breath caught in his chest. His pulse thundered in his ears.
"This isn't Willforce… this is something beyond it."
The air grew heavy. The treeline trembled. Monsters hidden deep in the forest began to collapse one after another, choking on the weight of his aura. Selene's knees almost buckled as pressure crushed the clearing like a descending mountain.
System notifications flashed in his vision:
New Skill Acquired – Armament Willforce (Lv. 1)
New Skill Acquired – Conqueror's Will (Lv. 1)
Title Acquired – "Clown Who Became King."
(Effect: Sometimes, sheer stupidity and confidence activate hidden potential. +10% style points.)
"…Huh?" He blinked, then looked down at the gleaming armor covering his arm. "...No freaking way. It worked!?"
Selene stared at him like he had just sprouted three heads. "Worked? What do you mean worked?! Nothing about this is normal!"
But Asura wasn't listening. He flexed his newly armored fist, feeling the solid weight of the Willforce clinging to his body like a second skin. His grin split wide, manic and full of exhilaration.
"It appears wherever I want… it crawls and hardens on command. That's way cooler than the anime version."
"Armament Willforce. Conqueror's Will." His golden eyes gleamed like fire. "This isn't just random naming. This is real. This is anime—made real."
Selene staggered, her violet eyes wide. She glanced at the unconscious monsters littering the treeline. "Young master… you didn't use magic. You didn't use mana the way we know it. That wasn't sorcery or swordsmanship. It was… it was something else entirely."
"…Yeah," Asura said softly, almost reverently. Then his grin snapped back into place. "Let's just call it… a secret technique."
Selene pressed a hand to her chest, trying to steady her breathing. "…You're going to be the death of me. Truly."
System notifications chimed again:
Passive Bonus from Title: "Clown Who Became King" unlocked.
Your theatrics inspire both terror and confusion. Enemies may faint before combat begins.
Asura barked out a laugh. "I… I literally got a passive bonus for goofing off! Hah! Peak protagonist energy!"
Selene didn't laugh. She simply shook her head, her lips tight, expression wavering between relief that he was alive… and fear of what he was becoming.
Asura tilted his head, grin still plastered on his face. "Guess I'm officially the most broken clown in this world."
The purple armor pulsed once more, and Selene shivered—unsure if her young master was joking, or deadly serious.
✦ The Experiments
The purple armor finally calmed, leaving the clearing scarred and the air heavy. Asura dusted off his robe like he hadn't just made an entire forest full of monsters faint.
He crossed his arms, smirking, and muttered under his breath,
"Classic protagonist moment. Unlocking secret power after yelling like an idiot? Textbook shōnen move."
Selene tilted her head, clearly confused. "…What's a shōnen?"
"Nothing!" Asura grinned, flashing her a peace sign. "Just… plot development!"
She pinched her brow. "…You worry me more every day."
But even as he laughed, Asura's eyes flicked down to his system. The skills were there, glowing bright:
Armament Willforce (Lv. 1) – Manifest will as hardened armor. Appears instantly anywhere on the body the user wills, then spreads and hardens.
Conqueror's Will (Lv. 1) – Overwhelm weaker beings with sheer aura. Those without resistance faint on contact.
He muttered to himself, pacing like an over-caffeinated anime nerd in a convention hallway.
"Armament Willforce—my version's like slime armor. Conqueror's Will—definitely king aura. Ohhh this is too good. Next step? Grind EXP. Level these up until I can cosplay different characters at the same time!"
Selene blinked. "…You've lost me again."
He waved her off. "Don't worry about it. Supporting character stuff."
"Supporting—what?"
Asura didn't explain. Instead, he planted his wooden sandal against the cracked earth and raised a fist. Purple Willforce instantly appeared across his arm again, crawling smoothly before hardening, like molten glass cooling on steel.
"Alright… let's test this baby."
He clenched harder, forcing mana into the skill. His arm gleamed brighter, purple energy crackling beneath the surface. The nearby trees groaned, bark splitting under the pressure.
System chimed:
Armament Willforce Lv. 1 → Lv. 2.
EXP Gained.
Asura's grin widened. "Yes! Grindable! Just like I thought."
He turned his attention to the unconscious wolves lying at the forest's edge. He pointed dramatically, narrowing his eyes. "Rise, extras! Your role isn't finished yet!"
Selene gave him a flat look. "…You do realize they can't hear you?"
Asura ignored her. He tapped his foot, activating Conqueror's Will again. His aura surged outward like a tidal wave. Birds fell from the sky mid-flight. A bear-like beast staggered from the treeline and collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
System chimed again:
Conqueror's Will Lv. 1 → Lv. 2.
Title Bonus Activated: "Clown Who Became King." (+5% EXP gain from dramatic flair.)
"…I actually get bonuses for acting dramatic!?" Asura burst out laughing, holding his stomach. "Best system ever!"
Selene crossed her arms, though her lips twitched at his laughter. "…Or the most dangerous."
He smirked, golden eyes blazing with childish excitement and a predator's calm. "Dangerous? That's the whole point. The protagonist is always dangerous."
Then he added softly, almost to himself,
"…And one day, I'll be the kind of dangerous that even a Behemoth can't ignore."
The system pinged again, quietly:
EXP Gained. Skills Developing.
[New Evolution Path Detected – Sovereign Will?]
Asura froze, staring at the new message. His grin widened even further. "Ohhh, now this is getting spicy."
Selene frowned. "…What is?"
He just winked. "Don't worry about it. Supporting character stuff, remember?"