Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

There are numerous events that only happen once a year. Though, there were also some that stood out from the rest.

One of them was the 'most famous' holiday during winter, X-mas.

'Hm… It fits.'

Aleph thought of the cultural differences between this world and his world. For once, there weren't legends regarding the 'Christian Bible', at least not in this era.

Buddha became one of Void Archive's users prior to Otto Apocalypse. Thus, it could be deduced that 'Christmas' would only appear in the Current Era, not theirs.

Nevertheless, a similar event with a different name still existed. Strangely, it happened on the 21st, not the 25th.

'It's a coincidence we're complete now.'

He stared at the small box lying atop his lap. The lounge became quite noisy, mainly due to the exchanged gifts.

Since this was a rare time when everyone was completed, they brought their 'presents' in advance after a random selection hosted by Vill-V.

Coincidentally, the present he got came from her.

"Don't tell me this box contains explosives…"

"Ah? Of course not! That'd be too boring!"

Vill-V said with a proud look. She crossed her arms on her chest, emphasizing her large assets.

The proud look did not last long as she felt the red hat on her head slipping off. 

She swiftly caught it. Her rather embarrassed look was seen by Aleph.

"I did not laugh."

"But you almost did!"

"I didn't."

He raised both his arms with an obvious thin smile at his face.

'Vill-V's really at the bottom of the hierarchy.'

This was why he became quite addicted to teasing her—Vill-V's reactions were gold.

(A/N: Imagine "Peak Cinema" and "Speed's Kinda Homeless" happening consecutively. That was how ridiculous it was…)

Aleph left Vill-V alone, not knowing that the latter looked at his gift box strangely.

*****

"..."

Aleph became speechless at the opened box. It revealed an even smaller box once opened. 

Tchk.

Tchk.

Tchk.

He opened it three more times, only to be greeted by three more gift boxes.

At this moment, the box's size was enough for a small earpiece to be placed.

'Hm… nope.'

He was tempted to use Elemental Sight and check Vill-V's gift but chose not to. The joy in receiving gifts lies in surprises, after all.

Aleph opened the box.

This time, he did not receive another box. 

It was a small music box. It was made out of pure gold. Its weight and density in Aleph's hands does not lie.

Creak-!

The moment he used it, he was surprised to hear a familiar tone.

'...May all the beauty be blessed.'

The game where this world was based created good music to go along with the story. Aleph could not help but hum several of them, either in his idle time or during combat.

It was, in a sense, a reminder of the future he had to change.

'It's… soothing.'

He placed the music box on the desk beside his bed. He marveled at the 'calming effect' produced by it.

'Vill-V invented something crazy again…'

Soon, Kurumi returned by his side. He hugged her like a soft pillow as his consciousness sank into the darkness.

…

…

…

It wasn't for long.

"Huh..?"

Aleph found himself standing in front of a door.

The familiar nameplate stuck on the wall made him confused.

"Mei..?"

His mind was quite fuzzy. He does not know what happened previously. Nevertheless, he opened the door.

"Huh..?"

Aleph wondered why there was a huge gift box in her office.

'I've seen this before. Where was it..?'

His sluggish mind could not completely comprehend what happened around him.

To Aleph's surprise, the box's lid came off on its own. The box, which was 'cut' on its four corners, revealed Mei who was wearing a santa outfit.

Well, it wasn't exactly that.

It was far more revealing. Only her extremely huge chest and her buttocks were covered. The rest, such as her toned belly, her collarbone, her legs…

Mei was unusually confident. She walked towards Aleph until she pressed him on a wall.

Her large assets bumped on his chest. Her lips sealed his mouth before it was easily pried open with her tongue.

All of these actions confused Aleph.

'Who am I?'

'How did I come here?'

An unknown amount of time had passed. 

Mei whispered something to his ears:

"I am your present, Aleph."

"???"

Amidst the confusion, Aleph found himself in another unfamiliar place. The amount of 'surrealness' that occurred was comparable to someone who ingested a whole bucket of anesthesia.

"Ain."

He looked at his surroundings and saw pure white snow. Two identical girls grabbed each of his arms.

Unlike Mei, Kurumi was dressed in a 'rather' proper santa outfit. Only her belly was exposed, with a short skirt that covered everything above her knees.

"We need more help."

"Help?"

"There are still gifts left unpacked…"

"Um."

Aleph merely nodded. He was led by the two Kurumis inside a gingerbread house. His footsteps created a trail on the snow.

Upon entering, he was greeted by the smell of… gingerbread.

The identical Kurumis continued pulling him towards them. 

It was then did Aleph hear something.

Click.

He looked back and saw another Kurumi. She turned several mechanisms on the door, most likely locks. Then, she placed several planks made of gingerbread and barricaded the entire door.

This operation was done in under a minute.

"Uhm..?"

Throughout the entire house, more and more Kurumis appeared. The original Kurumi walked towards them. The two Kurumis who pulled him over walked away in regret.

"Um… Where's the gifts?"

"Gifts? They are here."

The original Kurumi placed his hand on her chest.

"You have lots of gifts to unwrap, Ain."

"Wait, aren't I supposed to pack them..?"

His hand was 'manipulated' by Kurumi. One by one, her outfit was unbuttoned.

Aleph's confusion grew stronger. His arm acted all by itself… perhaps by instinct.

As his confusion peaked, his surroundings changed once again.

From the bright gingerbread house to…

"So you are my present. How bold of you."

"...Mobius?"

It was her workspace. The texture of the sofa where they sat was extremely familiar to Aleph.

Though, the green-haired woman wrapped in several ribbons wasn't.

Her eyes glowed dimly as her serpent-like pupils showed their biggest desire.

Only one thought appeared in Aleph's mind.

'I'm going to be eaten.'

His shirt was easily pulled away. Mobius, who lost all traces of restraint, bit Aleph's neck.

It wasn't deep per se, but it was enough to startle Aleph.

'What is going on..?!'

Ironically, his sluggish mind became extremely clear at this moment. He was about to touch Mobius when he saw that there wasn't any place to touch her.

She was entirely naked.

That's right, naked.

The only thing that barely covered her were the ribbons. 

If Mei's scene was 'quite' stimulating;

And Kurumi's dozens of clones undressing was 'rather' stimulating;

Mobius' actions went beyond the roof.

She separated from his neck. Her sharper canines glistened as bits of blood became stuck in it. Mobius' breathing became extremely heavy. The red ribbons on her body slowly fell, fully revealing her body to Aleph's eyes.

'How did I come to this..?'

A blink later, Aleph found himself sitting beside a decorated pine tree. The fireplace made the ambience extremely calming, contrasting the chaotic thoughts he was having now.

"The gift you requested is…"

He snapped out of his thoughts as he saw another acquaintance, Aponia, kneeling on the ground. Her santa outfit was 'proper', but her body made it improper.

Her hands slowly reached towards…

"What…?"

"It's over, Satan! Stop wearing Santa's guise!"

The door to the wooden cabin was opened. A flat-chested elf wore a green outfit. She was accompanied by a pink-haired woman whose santa hat covered one of her tall ears.

'It's not santa, but satan..?'

Looking at the tempting santa kneeling on the ground, Aleph had an urge to laugh. It showed how ridiculous the current situation was.

But then, he noticed something.

'How did they know about Satan..?'

Click.

All it took was one small gap.

The next moment, Aleph opened his eyes to a familiar ceiling.

"...I dreamt of those things..?"

He looked at the slightly obvious tent beneath him. He was embarrassed once again, more so when he felt Kurumi's breathing by his side.

It wasn't the first time it happened, but the two hadn't done anything beyond kissing.

Aleph looked at the music box beside his head before he slowly got up. 

'I need to go to the training room..!'

In the end, he ended up training for the entire duration of the night.

*****

"I see."

Dreams were elusive things in ordinary people. The best technology could only reconstruct a blurry image from a dream via magnetic resonance imaging. Once it goes through a computer made to decode them, an image could be seen.

It wasn't the case for a monstrous prodigy.

So long as she puts enough effort, even a small music box could be used to read a person's dream with extremely accurate high-definition 'videos'.

"It was them."

The genius-slash-magician-slash-astrologer did not have her usual look. She gave off a feeling of unprecedented calmness, though her slightly increased heartbeat suggests otherwise.

"So, this is what you prefer, Aleph."

The monitor was shut down, revealing Vill-V's reflection with a thin smile.

*****

A/N: I changed my mind. This was not an Omake. Meaning, it's canon. This idea came abruptly, minutes when I began writing this. I thought it'd be more fun to make it more reasonable, just like what I did last year. The only difference was that this was now tied to the plot. As to how or when it affects the story, we'll have to see later.

Happy Holidays~!