A new challenger appears

chapter 9

Alpha and I continue training and he teaches me how to absorb code somewhat. It's really difficult and I don't feel all that different when I get some, but he says that's why my mountain blasters turned black. So I already have some code in me, it's just a very minuscule amount. I keep trying and he says I am changing, just I need more to actually sustain the power so it doesn't just absorb into my body. Then I get an idea, but I won't tell Alpha I'll try it later. After some more time I eventually notice a small change, the tips of my fingers are turning black. It also seems like my sweatpants turn black and the red lines grow up to my waist. My jacket turns  grey and the black horizontal stripe in the middle turns white. After a while I let the code back out and my clothes turn back to normal. Alpha says with more practice I should be able to do it without issues, but it still is extremely difficult for me. I think it's because of my origin, since I really didn't come from an AU I kinda came from some random area in the multiverse. I'll find an easier way eventually, but for now more practice. Alpha leaves and I go to the doodle sphere and try getting code. After some focused efforts I change again and then test some things. In this form all my blasters are black and fire redder beams, my fire changes from a crimson to a white color with purple in the center. Then I test lightning and instead of it being yellow like normal it turns to blue, interesting. I might have to test the true destructive power of this form another time. It wares off and I go back to the mainframe, nobody's home so I sit and mess with blue magic. After a while I get bored and decide to try something, I stand up and try absorbing the code from the mainframe. It takes a bout fourteen minutes but now it feels like I'm even stronger than my new form. I decide to take more, but after a while I see my hand turn a blueish tint and feel an enormous pressure around me. With this power I try condensing it into a physical object. I manage to do so but I still have too much and end up absorbing it fully. I turned all that power into a small necklace with a star on it. I like this necklace but it's devoid of color, so why not upgrade it. After an hour of concentration I make the star blue and I decided to put half of my base power into it, to see how strong I truly am, and to seal the power fully so it doesn'tbrake an I get the powers of the gods randomly. I also did this to help myself, incase of an emergency. I can just absorb the code, but that shouldn't be necessary.

One month later

I keep training, I'm getting back to my normal strength steadily. I'm back at seventy percent, or around there. 404 asked why I'm so much weaker and I said I met someone stronger than me and we fought, and he did a number on me. 404 checked me and found little to no injuries,  but he was still confused about my power dropping. Error couldn't really notice a difference, I'm still leagues above him. The good thing is that my efficiency in my magic hasn't dropped but went higher, since my training. I've fought with Alpha a few times now,  when we start I just take some surrounding code to make a bit fairer. I don't want to waste my reserve like that, I'm saving it for the right time. I also found out that when I use my code form my right eye changes and has red emanating from it, and my left eye gets a red curcle around it. The cracks start flashing red every now and then, and the red ring around my eyes turns from a dull brimstone red to a bright red. I might work on using my code form more, it doesn't feel all that weird to use anymore so it'll be more fun to train with. I try and be more efficient with my new form and I kinda want to try something different. In my base state I was able to concentrate lightning into myself but it was blue instead of yellow, so maybe it was already using code. That's just speculation, and who knows maybe with these code powers I could beat 404. Or maybe, even with this power he's still leagues above me (but that's just speculation). I keep training and it feels as though blasters take almost no energy now. I try and summon a mountain blaster and it still takes quite a bit, only the small blaster take little energy. The bigger ones also tale less but still a noticeable difference from before. I'm gonna train with lightning more so I can try using lightning on myself in this form, but I think it just makes me move faster. In my code form my bone weapons turn black with red lines going across it, and the blades have a red tint on the sharp parts. After a few more weeks I'm back near full power and decide I'll tell 404 what happened.

I head to the mainframe from one of my little pockets and see 404 there aswell.
"Hey, 404 are you busy"(Me).
"Not really, just waiting for a report from my minion"(404).
"Neato, I was wondering if I could show you something"(Me).
"Well if it involves your training then sure, I'd like to see"(404)
"Alright then, follow me"(Me).
I lead 404 to the beach area I fought Alpha in, but it's good as new. I walk a bit away and start concentrating.
"Alright this is new, now let's see this new power"(404).
I feel the power enter and sense my physical form changing and stand up and turn towards 404. He seems takin aback and. "How do you know how to utilize code like this"(404).
"I kind of learned on my own"(Me).
"Fascinating, is this why your power dropped"(404)?
"No the main reason my power dropped is because of this necklace"(Me).
"How"(404)?
"I decided to absorb some extra code and put it into this, for emergencies only, and sense it was so much I used my power to seal it"(Me).
"That is, actually a good idea"(404).
"Do ya wanna test this power"(Me).
"Yes"(404).
We both get a distance from each other and prepare. I attack first summoning walls of blasters. He blocks with the top of a blaster, but that doesn't hold tmy blasters for long. He gets hit and knocked back, then he retaliates with numerous blasters and thousands of bones, I do the same. Our attacks seem to nulify the other but 404 is still holding back, and so am I. I turn him blue, throw him in the air, blast him and shoot lightning at him. He falls and teleports behind me as I dodge a bone knife that he swings at me with. I summon a football sized blaster and shoot him in the face. He gets angered and I start seeing code in the area, he is gathering power. He summons very large blasters and I do the same then I summon normal looking blasters behind him and he looks confused. Then the white blasters shoot fire and he dodges as I swing a sword at him, hitting him for several million damage. As he gets knocked away he summons a lot of blasters, and I don't get time to react. As I get hit I notice, he's still holding back. At least it looks like he's enjoying himself as well.

After a bit more combat I try using that lightning mode and speed past most of 404's attacks and punch him a few times. Then while in the air I uppercut him, then blast him to the ground. As I land I make a bone field covering a few thousand feet. When he gets up he starts using more power and I need to adapt to it, fast. I keep attacking and he starts defending, but it seems like he's better at dodging. I catch him a few times after he dodges and I get a lot of really good hits in. Then he starts summoning blasters half the size of my mountain blaster, I defend with bones. After that barrage he shoots millions of bones and starts using blue magic. I get hit a few times and get up, he does a lot of damage. After half an hour of straight fighting, I slowly lift my hand and summon twenty mountain blasters and lock him in place. Then as they're about to fire I imbue them with lightning and they all fire at once, a direct hit. Then I fall out of my code form and almost pass out but not quite, an improvement from the last big battle if I do say so myself. 404 stops the fight and sits down after a bit.
"You put up a good fight"(Me).
"Thanks but I should be telling you that"(404).
"Why, because I lost"(Me)?
"Yeah, but from my understanding you could most likely pose as a great challenge for KM"(404).
"Who's that"(Me)?
"That person I was waiting on a report from"(404)?
"Ah, does he work for you"(Me)?
"Yeah, and for that he is the king of the multiverse"(404).
"That doesn't sound like a fair trade to me"(Me).
"He watches over everything, and tells Ink and Error what to do for me"(404).
"Ah I see, that sounds boring"(Me)
"That's fair, but I did give him his godly power"(404).
"Neat"(Me).
"If you say I might be able to beat him, maybe I'll pay him a visit sometime"(Me).
"Just remember, he's very busy"(404).
"Alright, I'll just have to end the fight quicker"(Me).

Next time