Glorious Vanity (SI LitRPG)

"Gah. Shit. Fuck." I cursed as my body bounced along the grassy plains.

<I am sorry, Master!>

"It's... fine." I groaned and pushed myself to my feet. "Should have been smarter about that." After saying that, I looked up to see my handiwork.

A sea of crimson flames, scorching miles of the grassy plains and turning them into a hellish landscape. And within that hellish landscape, burning corpses were quickly turning to ash, revealing shards of polished white bone before fading.

The horde of orcs that had been charging at me were gone, dust in the wind. Or rather, ash in the flames.

I brushed my clothes off and whistled. "Damn. Didn't think that it'd be that effective."

I pulled off that feat before to blow up a fortress. At that time, I didn't have to deal with the concussive force of the explosion, so I didn't think it was that big of a deal.

But there were two big differences from the first time I used it and now.

First of all, I wasn't underground in a bunker. Second of all... I was standing directly at ground zero when it went off.

I rubbed my aching back and said, "Note to self. Heat proof does not equal explosion proof."

<...Is that not obvious?>

"Apparently not to me. And thanks for protecting me, Avalon."

<Of course, Master. Though, I would like to have some forewarning next time.>

"I'll keep that in mind."

I glanced around the burning plains and let out a nervous laugh. "...Hopefully Lucy won't be too mad. I mean, he's the guy who gave me the quest, so-"

A soft chime echoed in my head. At the same time, a flurry of messages appeared in my field of view.

[Orc Grunt has perished.]
[Orc Grunt has perished.]
.
.
.

[Orc Champion has perished.]
[Orc Lord has perished.]
[Orc King has perished.]

[Urgent Quest: <Defeat the Orc Horde!> completed!]
[Your level has increased by 2. Please confirm your status.]
[10 bonus stat points have been awarded. Please confirm your status.]
[You have gained 100 merit points. Please confirm your balance in the shop.]

[Avalon has leveled up.]

[A Herald of the End roars in rage. He curses you and swears that he will get his revenge.]
[A Phantom Thief laughs at your ridiculous solution and bestows a gift. Agility +1.]
[The Inviolable Morning Star congratulates you.]

Well, it seemed like Lucy wasn't upset at least. But seeing that message from a 'Herald of the End' reminded me about something.

"Right..." I glanced at the crimson flames radiating off ungodly heat and held out my right hand.

Although they weren't all generated by my skill, the fact was that they came from the same source. And so...

The flames instantly vanished, compressing back into a handful and flying back to my outstretched hand. I felt a faint warmth as they did, and then the crimson flames vanished. But when they did-

[Flames of Muspell (Degraded) has been strengthened.]
[Flames of Muspell (Degraded) -> Lesser Flames of Muspell]

[Lesser Flames of Muspell]
The flames that will harken the end in Ragnarok. A world-consuming fire that will burn even the divine. You are immune to all but absolute temperature changes. Even then, you can function normally in absolute temperature ranges. You can summon (Mana/10) square meters of flames. You can dominate all flames.

"...Huh."

[The Flame Giant roars at the unfair usurpation.]
[The Flame Giant swears that your day of reckoning will come!]

I brushed the soot off my clothes and said, "Yeah, yeah. Fight inbound in the future. I got it." I sighed.

Was it bad that I wasn't even bothered by getting targeted by Surtr at this point?

<That is because Master is incredible.>

"You don't have to praise me, you know, Avalon?"

<It is only the truth.>

I shook my head and then frowned. "So we managed to pull through that somehow... but now what?"

I was out in the middle of the plains without any sense of direction or help. And Alice was still out of commission... leaving just me and Avalon.

<Are you not concerned about Miss Freyr, Master?>

After spinning around a few times and realizing it all looked the same, I picked a random direction and started walking. After that, I replied to Avalon's question. "Nah. Freyr can't be harmed at this point in time."

<But what of her sudden teleportation? Is that not cause for concern?>

"Maybe. But even if that teleportation was done to harm her, since she has Heaven's Veil-"

A flash of golden light. With it, a flurry of pure white feathers emerged... And then so did a beautiful young woman.

A beautiful young woman with silver hair... One drenched from head to toe in blood and one with her blue eyes narrowed with pure killing intent.

"...She can easily get free. And hi, Freyr. Seems like you've been through a lot."

Freyr tensed and then turned to look at me. Immediately, the tension left her body and she ran towards me.

"W-Wait a minute. Hold on-"

"Vain!"

Before I could say anything else, Freyr closed the gap and wrapped me in a tight hug.

"Thank the heavens! I thought...!"

"Again, good at surviving. And could you not? You're kind of covered in blood right now."

"A-Ah." Freyr stepped back. "My apologies. In my haste, I forgot to account for my current condition." She frowned and said, "To think that I showed you such an unsightly image..."

"Like I said, it's fine. Besides, you're beautiful no matter what you're doing, Freyr."

Freyr blushed, turning almost as red as the blood covering her body. "You and your silver tongue..."

I blinked and then realized I subconsciously let out a flirty line.

Dammit. This class's skills are too OP...

I coughed and then said, "Anyway... Let's head back to town."

Freyr nodded and moved to my side, grabbing my right hand. "After you, Vain."

<...Envious.>

Avalon?

<...>

I sighed and started walking.

Freyr followed beside me. But after a while, and after we made it through all the smouldering grassy plains, she frowned and said, "Um... Vain."

"Yeah, Freyr?"

"I do not believe this is the way to Eden."

"Probably not."

"...Then where are we going?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're going level grinding. Because after all that just happened, I'm going to need it."

[A Phantom Thief nods his head in agreement.]

Oi. Does that mean I've got a boatload of trouble coming my way?!

[A Phantom Thief laughs and wishes you good luck. Agility +1]

...I decided it was better for my mental health to ignore the message and looked back at Freyr.

She frowned and said, "But you will not get any experience if I help. The disparity in our strength is too large..."

"I know. But if I don't hold onto you, you're going to vanish before my very eyes again. And I *really* don't want to have to deal with that."

Freyr smiled and lowered her head, acting shy.

"Anyway... Let's go find a decent place to set up camp so I can get you a shower. It must be uncomfortable being covered in blood like that, right?"

"I am fine as long as I am with you, Vain. Please, do not feel pressured to-"

"That's no good. Even if that gives you an intimidating appearance, it's going to be bad if someone sees you like that... Especially if they think it's my fault."

I could already hear the mooks shouting in my head.

"You bastard! Letting Lady Freyr fight to such an extent!"

"What kind of coward are you, hiding behind her and then acting so arrogant!"

"Yeah! You don't deserve her!"

...Wait. Those voices weren't in my head.

Freyr frowned and then glanced to the side.

I followed her gaze and saw a small party of Chosen. Three people, a female archer, spearman, and then a swordsman. All of them looking straight out of a generic JRPG... Though the brown-haired swordsman looked vaguely familiar.

I sighed and opened my mouth to respond. But before I could-

"Oh! Miss Freyr!"

A bright and cheery male voice called out. Shortly after, space rippled and someone appeared right beside us.

A young man with black hair that looked like a typical isekai protagonist. He even had on a Japanese uniform, with the only fantasy thing about him being the shimmering dark blue knife he held in his left hand.

Akira Kadashi.

He waved and said, "Fancy meeting you out here."

I blinked and then muttered, "...What is with these illogical plot developments?"

Akira tilted his head. "Hm?"

I sighed.

-V-

[Status Screen]

-Biography-

Name: Vain Glory

Age: 20 (Adjusted)

Race: Human (Heaven Defying)

Class: Shameless Flirt

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 - Removes growth limitations on user and their allies. Rapidly accelerates growth of allies.

-Parameters-

Level: 7

Strength: 22

Agility: 29

Vitality: 20

Intelligence: 95

Mana: 70

Luck: 15 [100]

Bonus Stat Points: -47

-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.

Lesser Flames of Muspell - The flames that will harken the end in Ragnarok. A world-consuming fire that will burn even the divine. You are immune to all but absolute temperature changes. Even then, you can function normally in absolute temperature ranges. You can summon (Mana/10) square meters of flames. You can dominate all flames.

First Aid - A basic healing spell that stops bleeding and accelerates the body's natural regeneration.

Disengage - A skill that allows the user to immediately retreat from battle as well as return the user's condition to the state prior to engaging in combat. Can be used once per engagement per hostile opponent.

Loki's Blessing (Minor) - A blessing from the Trickster God, Loki. Can change and conceal one's appearance. Due to synergy with No One's Story, it is a flawless disguise, capable of fooling even Loki without intense scrutiny.

Item Box (Minor) - A skill that grants the user a small spatial pocket to store items. Time is slowed within the spatial pocket to 1/10th of the normal flow. Can hold approximately 1 cubic meter of items.

-Class Skills-

Silver Tongue - A skill that aids in persuasion and manipulating the emotions of the target. Super effective against members of the opposite sex, or those interested in the user. Chance to instantly charm the opponent. (Extreme Synergy with <Well-Read> and <Man of a Thousand Faces>)

Rapport - A skill that builds rapport with the target. Passively increases general likability. Similar to <Charisma>, but the core of this skill is trust and empathy rather than admiration. With enough mastery, it is possible to create allies willing to throw their lives away for your sake. (Extreme Synergy with <Hero Creator> and <Well-Read>)

-Inventory-

N/A