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"Phew…"
The long-haired high school girl let out a tired sigh as she slumped on the sofa.
The magic book in her hand slipped to the floor, and under the room's warm lighting, her stocking-free legs shimmered like white jade.
Across from her, Minato casually sipped his tea and chuckled."Hey, don't push yourself too hard. First time using magic, right? You've totally run out of energy."
Despite what he said, he couldn't help but be impressed by her talent.
In just a few hours, she had fully grasped the basics—definitely qualified to be a proper low-ranking devil.
"How was I supposed to know it'd drain me like that? And you didn't even warn me," she grumbled, rolling her eyes and forcing herself to sit up. "Anyway, you pervy Master of mine, your servant is totally exhausted, and all you're doing is staring at my legs. Can't you help a girl out or something?"
"Well, since you brought it up, I can give you some magic replenishment."
"Replenishment? You mean… restoring my magic power?"Her eyes lit up. "You know how to do that? Hurry up, then!"
"You said it, not me."
Eager to recover her strength, Utaha looked forward to it—only to find Minato's red eyes slowly getting closer.
Wait... what?
Does replenishing magic really require this little personal space?
Just as she was about to say something—
Her mouth was suddenly covered.
Utaha's eyes widened in shock.
This is how he replenishes magic?
The room was completely silent.
The only sound was the faint movement of magic energy flowing between their bodies.
"Pervy Master… You were planning this all along, weren't you?"
Utaha's toes curled again, her whole face blushing red.
"Hey, I'm working hard here to restore your magic, you know," Minato replied, acting all innocent.
"..."
Utaha stared at him in disbelief, her fists trembling slightly.
So I took advantage of you, huh?Ughhh! So frustrating!
Minato pulled out his phone and said, "Next time, don't drain your magic like that. I've sent you the info. Start transferring to my school as soon as you can."
Utaha took a deep breath and asked suspiciously, "Demons… go to school?"
"Obviously. Don't you see the uniform I'm wearing?"
"Sorry, I thought it was just one of your weird kinks, Pervy Master."
"Oh, and keep that flyer. If anything dangerous happens, summon me immediately."
Minato paused, then added some extra instructions.
Even though Utaha had serious talent and was now a proper low-class devil, in the world of the supernatural, she was still a total rookie. He couldn't afford to let her run wild.
"Got it. I'll be careful," she said seriously, finally dropping her sarcastic tone.
"I'll get that transfer done ASAP."
"Good."
Minato nodded.
In the next instant, a magic circle appeared under his feet.
It was a teleportation spell. Common for devils—once the coordinates were set, they could travel across space instantly.
That said, while the spell was commonly used, it wasn't easy to learn.
Minato had spent quite a bit of time mastering it.
Flash!
A burst of light, and Minato was back home.
He lived alone in one of the rooms of an apartment building.
But actually, there were no other tenants—he owned the whole complex.
Even though it was already deep into the night, Minato didn't go to sleep.
Instead, he pulled out a few more magic books.
Rias had given him plenty of material—he couldn't afford to waste time.
After all, as a devil, skipping sleep for a few days was no big deal.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye.
A few days passed.
Right now—
Inside his apartment—
Minato leaned back on the sofa with his eyes half-closed.
From the outside, it looked like he was just napping.
But inside his body, massive changes were taking place.
His once turbulent magic power was still growing rapidly—like an unstoppable wave crashing forward.
No one knew how much time passed before Minato finally let out a deep breath and summoned a virtual panel.
[Minato]
[Class: Origin Mage]
[Magic: Origin Lightning Magic LV10 (+)]
[Origin Points: 10]
"Man... leveling up this Origin Magic is getting crazy expensive."
Staring at the status window, Minato muttered to himself.
He hadn't left his room in days.
As for school stuff, all he had to do was let Rias know, and she'd take care of it.
Apart from a few phone calls from Utaha updating him on her transfer progress, no one else had bothered him.
He'd been practically living like a hermit, barely sleeping or eating, just powering through every magic book he had. Once he finished them all, he'd earned a boatload of Origin Points—every last one went into his Origin Magic.
Compared to normal magic, leveling up Origin Magic was on a whole different level.
He used up every single Origin Point just to get it to level 10.
But the payoff?
A complete power-up.
At this point, even Minato wasn't sure how strong he really was.
If we're talking about raw magical power, he had probably just stepped into the high-tier demon level.
But if he went all out and used Origin Magic... then who knows how strong he'd be?
"I wonder if I could take on some of those monsters among the high-tier demons now."
After all, once you hit the upper ranks, the difference in strength gets wild.
Even people on the same level could get one-shot if things went sideways.
Magic power was just one metric. Artifacts—and especially Sacred Gears—could boost someone's strength to insane levels.
"No wonder it's called Origin Magic. Every time it levels up, it changes my body."
Clenching his fist, Minato cracked a small grin.
He used to be the classic magic artillery type—stand back and nuke things from afar.
But now? He was growing in every direction.
Not just stronger physically—his senses had also gone beyond human.
"Hm?"
His expression shifted as he walked over to the window.
Just now, he'd sensed the presence of light.
In Kuoh Town—demon territory.
Someone using light-based power shouldn't be anywhere near here.
Without hesitation, Minato boosted his perception.
A moment later, his eyes turned ice-cold. "You're looking for death."
A wave of killing intent exploded from him, shaking the very air.
One of Rias's servants was being hunted.
And in the next instant—
Golden lightning surged all over his body as Minato turned into a flash of gold, vanishing into the sky.
"....."