Chapter 1
Reawakening
It was looking to be a beautiful morning. The sky was clear with only a few scant clouds, the sun was shining brightly. It was the kind of day where most people would feel blessed to be alive.
And none felt that more than Issei Hyoudou himself as he woke up on his bed that morning.
It took him a moment to realize that what had happened the night before wasn't just a bad nightmare, as much as Issei wanted it to be. He did not remember much, but he could still recall the searing pain that ripped through his body when that spear of light rammed itself into his chest by Amano Yuuma, the girl he had gone on a date with. As far as he was concerned, he should be dead by now.
So how had he gotten back to his room, back to his bed? And just why was he not dead?
And why was he naked?
"…huh!?"
Issei snapped his eyes open and sat up when his mind finally processed the fact, causing the sheet to slide off his chest. He was indeed naked, but his attention was immediately turned to the figure sleeping next to him as he felt them snuggling closer, widening his eyes and dropping his jaw in shock when he saw that the figure was a VERY NAKED GIRL.
And it was not just any girl, but Rias Gremory, who was adored by every student at Kuoh academy. Even with her back to him, he could tell that it was the most beautiful girl of his school thanks to her trademark, gorgeous crimson hair, which he could recognize anywhere as it fanned across the bed to create a startling contrast with the white sheets of his bed and her flawlessly complexioned creamy white skin.
"Hnn, is it morning already?"
And it seemed that his surprise gasp and sudden movement had woken Rias up from her sleep. Pushing herself up, the gorgeous crimson haired girl then turned her head around to look at Issei, giving the pervert young man an eyeful and generous view of her naked body, with his gaze being immediately and instinctively focused on her huge, firm breasts, the most beautiful and sexy pair that Issei had ever laid his eyes upon in his life. Although Rias seemed to have noticed where his eyes were as he leaned his body back from her in utter shock, she did not seem to mind, and simply graced Issei with a beautiful smile.
"Good morning." She greeted him, before raising her arms over her head to do a stretch, causing her huge boobs to bounce hypnotically on her chest and his jaw to drop in shock, finding himself unable to look away.
After a moment, Rias signed in satisfaction and lowered her arms down to ask him, the smile never leaving her face as she turned fully to Issei, with the bed sheet covering only the lower half of her voluptuous body from view "How are you feeling, Issei Hyoudou-kun?"
"I… ugh… I feel… great!" Issei spluttered while doing his best to look away out of politeness, answering her question before finally acknowledging the fact that he felt so much better than usual.
In fact, Issei soon realized that he felt better than he had ever been in his life.
"Good. You were stabbed yesterday in the stomach, after all." Rias said with a beaming smile as she tossed the bed sheet away and sat up, walking over to his desk to pick up her underwear and put them on. The entire time Issei could only sit there and stare at her, having long since given up on breaking his gaze away from her body. "Would you mind if I use the shower?"
Issei shook his head dumbly, making Rias beam at him before she headed out of his bedroom to make her way to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. It was only four in the morning, so she did not have to worry about his parents seeing an unfamiliar girl leaving his room in just her underwear. Not that it would be a problem for Rias to handle the situation.
Remaining behind, Issei could do nothing but sit there on his bed and stare at the door of his room,wondering what was going on. There were so many questions that were racing through his mind that Issei started to feel a headache…
… But the question he most desperately wanted an answer to was how Rias hadn't noticed the persistent blue window labeled "Inbox" hovering in front of him. It had been there since he first opened his eyes, and now that he was alone in his room, it had become impossible to ignore.
Slowly, Issei reached out with one hand to try to touch it, half expecting his hand to pass through the apparition. Instead, the moment his finger made contact, the window expanded into a larger interface.
Congratulations, Issei Hyoudou! You have been chosen as the player of [the System ver 2.0].
"What?!" Issei asked himself as he looked at the message that appeared on the screen, his mind failing to fully process what was happening. He felt overwhelmed. First he woke up in bed with the most beautiful girl at his school, and now there was a floating window in front of his face like those in the RPG games that he played all the time with his two comrades, Matsuda and Motohama.
Before Issei could decide his next move, wondering if Rias knew what was going on, a message arrived, displayed on the window with the symbol of an unopened letterbox. After a moment's hesitation, Issei reached out and touched the symbol, causing it to open and reveal the message inside:
Note: Do not tell anyone about the system. Failure will be met with full termination.
"Alright then…" Issei murmured, taking in the seriousness of the warning. But was this some kind of prank, or perhaps a new video game technology he hadn't heard of? Another notification arrived and this one had [Daily quest] for in its description.
Widening his eyes in shock, Issei reached out and opened it, feeling his jaw slowly drop as he read the requirements inside.
[You have unlocked your first daily quest]
[The path toward true might]
Push-ups 0/50
Sit-ups 0/50
Squats 0/50
Run 0/10km
Reward: 100 experience points
[First time completion reward] Rejuvenation and 2 additional bonus stat points.
Note: You have unlimited time to finish the quest, but only 5 minutes from the moment you read this message to begin. You will also be penalized for any incomplete task.
Issei blinked, struggling to keep up with what he was reading. Daily quests? Stats points? Now the whole thing really sounded like something straight out of a video game. A timer then appeared at the bottom of the window and began to count down from 5 minutes, making Issei stare at it, wondering if he should do it or not. Despite the fact that he had failed to perform in PE classes, Issei knew that the tasks that were given to him were beyond his normal capabilities.
There was no way that he could just do it.
But at the same time, Issei could not help but feel a cold shiver running down his spine as he read the second note, which said that he would be penalized if he failed any task of the quest.
"Guess I gotta do it then." Issei muttered to himself before rolling out of bed and throwing on his PE uniform that he normally wore for at school. Glancing at the timer, Issei could see that he still had four minutes left, but wasted no time to drop to the floor and started with push-ups.
The moment that he did, the timer paused and Issei started counting aloud as he did the push-ups, feeling a surprising ease with each repetition. By the time he finished the first task, he was winded but not exhausted.
Next was sit-ups. Halfway through his muscles started to burn, but Issei forced himself through, as he was determined to complete the task, though the feeling also felt closer to fear, fear of what would come if he failed the quest. Thirty sit-ups later, he rolled onto his feet, slightly dizzy but ready for squats. Planting his feet shoulder-width apart, Issei began. One, two, three… with each number counted, his legs ached, but he kept going. Sweat trickled down his face, and his breaths came in heavy pants.
Finally, it was time for the final task. Quietly leaving the house, Issei dashed out the door. The early morning air was cool against his heated skin, and he focused on putting one foot in front of the other. His lungs burned, and his legs felt like lead, but he kept running. The streets blurred around him as he pushed himself harder than he had ever had to before.
Why was he pushing himself so much for like no reason at all? Issei had no idea. This could all just be a prank by Rias herself. She could have done something to him while he was asleep that made him see that blue window. Perhaps he was working out for nothing, but the feeling that he had at the back his head was telling him otherwise.
That morning had to be the strangest that Issei had ever had in his life.
By the time Issei had finished the final task, running exactly ten kilometers around the district that he lived in, he was close to passing out. Slowly, Issei stumbled to a stop, his vision swimming, and his entire body felt like it was on fire. Collapsing down on his knees, Issei leaned against a lamppost and gasped for breath, feeling more tired than he had ever been in his life.
As Issei struggled to keep himself awake, a familiar blue window popped up once more before his eyes, the words that it showed almost a blur through his exhaustion.
[Daily Quest Completed!]
Reward: 100 experience points
[First time completion] Rejuvenation and 2 additional bonus stat points.
Before he could fully comprehend the message, a warm sensation spread through Issei's body. It began in his chest and radiated outward, soothing his aching muscles and calming his ragged breaths. Fatigue evaporated almost instantly, replaced by a profound sense of rejuvenation. It felt as though he had just awakened from the best sleep of his life.
"Whoa…" Issei blinked in amazement as he rose to his feet, stretching his arms and marveling at how incredible he felt—like he had received a full day's rest after an intense workout. The system was undeniably real. It wasn't a hallucination or anything like that, and it had just proven itself in the most undeniable way.
Grinning while feeling a newfound sense of excitement, Issei turned himself back to the window and gazed at the other reward. With his 'vast experiences' in RPG gaming, Issei knew that the bonus stat points were meant for him to allocate into his stats. Reaching out, Issei touched the window, triggering an interface with numerous features that flashed before him. Scanning through the options, some of which were still locked away, he eventually found one resembling a human figure and selected it, assuming it was the status panel.
And just as he had thought, a second window appeared before him, showing Issei his current stats with the options to put points into.
[Player Status]
Name: Issei Hyoudou
Level: 1 [exp: 100/1000]
HP: 105/105
MP [Current Attribute: Demonic]: 5/5
Strength: 11
Vitality: 11
Intelligence: 5
Dexterity: 10
Perception: 10
Charisma: 6
Issei felt his shoulder slumped and his eyebrow twitched as he looked at his stats, not needing to have higher intelligence to tell that all of his stats were rather low, with the exception of strength and vitality. Supposedly if 10 was the average number of all stats, then his two highest attributes had increased by 1 after that exercise while the rest remained unchanged as they were from the beginning.
In addition, Issei could not help but wonder what it meant by [Current Attribute: Demonic] for his MP.
Regardless, given the intensity of the tasks he had just completed, it would be wise for him to put some points into his physical power first, not to mention that it was also his favorite stats to go to whenever he played RPGs. Surely he would earn more attributes points later on as he completed more quests and level up.
Allocate 2 points to Strength?
Yes/No
Nodding to himself, Issei confirmed his choice, and even though he did not feel stronger, he had a feeling that the change was not significant enough just yet for him to notice any difference. Issei knew he would need to put some points into vitality as well if he wanted to fully improve his strength.
Just as he was about to go home, another mail arrived in his inbox.
[New quest available - Knowledge is Power]
Go home and talk to Rias Gremory about her secret.
Requirement: Find out how you are alive and who she really is.
Hint: Address what happened yesterday.
[Completion reward] You can choose between:
1. +2 bonus stats.
2. Random loot box
Extra Reward: 150 experience points. Boosted Gear unlocked.
"Boosted Gear?" Issei repeated as he read the info of the new quest. This one did not seem to have a time limit like the daily quest that he had just finished, but it had piqued his interest since it looked to be about what happened yesterday. Nodding to himself, Issei ran home as the window finally disappeared.
By the time that he reached his room, Rias was there waiting for him at his desk, sitting on his chair wearing the school uniform for girls of their school, looking just as breathtakingly beautiful as she had been from the moment that he enrolled in Kuoh academy and saw her for the first time.
There was a moment of silence as the two of them gazed at each other, with Issei remembering the sight that he was granted that morning, while Rias looked at him with her eyes twinkling with a mix of amusement and curiosity. It was only after Issei had fully walked into his room and closed the door behind him that Rias spoke up with a smile.
"Were you out jogging? Honestly, I did not know you were the type to wake up early in the morning to workout."
"Well, not before today so… you are not wrong there." Issei replied with a nervous chuckle, making Rias raise an eyebrow at him in response. Clearing his throat and remembering that he was not supposed to tell Rias about the blue window, or the System or whatever it was called, Issei changed the topic of their conversation, carefully picking his words "So, senpai, I have been thinking… about yesterday…"
"I wanted to tell you after school with the others, but… since you bring that up now, I guess I have no choice." Rias nodded her head to him before continuing "You might wanna sit down for this. It's going to be a lot to take in."
"Alright." Issei nodded and did what was suggested to him, walking over to his bed and taking his seat there as Rias turned the chair over so that she could face him.
"Would you like me to get straight to the point?"
"Sure, senpai."
Issei nodded his head. The sooner he got the quest done, the earlier he would get his rewards and those extra skill points. As much as he wanted to know what was in that random loot box, the fact that it was random meant it could be absolutely nothing. He would find out about that later. Now he should just focus on improving himself, physically and mentally.
Some points into intelligence would probably make him smarter?
"Alright then, Issei-kun. I am a devil."
Rias began, and Issei looked at her puzzledly, unexpectedly not feeling as surprised as he thought he would be.
But then again, after finding out that he could level himself up and put points into his stats like a video game, that might not be the craziest piece of information that Issei had learnt that morning, in a span of an hour no less.
"Judging by the look on your face, you do not believe what I said." Rias then continued with a small, assuring smile, making Issei force a smile on his face in response "I guess it cannot be help. However, you remembered dating that black winged girl who killed you, did you not?
Issei could only nod his head in response, his mind still processing what was being told to him.
"She was a fallen angel, probably tasked to keep a close eye on you because her master believed you were in possession of something extraordinary." Issei widened his eyes at that. Could it be the system, or something else entirely?
"You said she was a fallen angel?"
"Yes." Rias nodded her head and then went on to explain "Black winged like her were previously angels who served God, but who fell because they had bad intentions. They are also enemies of us devils."
"We, the devils, have been at war with the Fallen Angels since ancient times. We fight for possession of the Underworld, also known as hell by humans. We form pacts with humans, receiving payment that we use to increase our wealth and strength. On the other hand, the fallen angels control humans to eliminate devils. Furthermore, there are also the Angels, who come here by divine order to try to eliminate the two races. With them, we form what is known as the Three Factions."
"O-oh…"
Maybe he should have put those 2 bonus stats that he got from the daily quest into his Intelligence. It would certainly help him process what he was being told A LOT.
"Well, she has probably eliminated all the evidence around her with magic by now, so don't feel so surprised when you go to school and find out no one remembers who she is but us." Rias then raised her hand and made a photo of Amano Yuuma appear in her hand with a flash of crimson colored magic circle, which stunned Issei a little "Her actual name appears to be Raynare. She probably made contact with you to achieve a certain objective."
"You mean…"
"Yes, her objective is to kill you… at least, that is what she decided to do. Like I said, she was probably sent to supervise you, and what she discovered led her to the decision of ending your life." Rias confirmed with a serious nod of her head.
"So… how was I alive then? If I was really killed by her?" Issei could not help but ask, still not believing that he was still alive after getting stabbed in the stomach by what looked to be a light spear.
"That was because I have resurrected you as my servant, a devil just like me." Rias said with a smile, bringing out from her pocket a leaflet. It was the same leaflet that Issei received the morning he went on a date with Yuuma. "During your final moment, you managed to summon me thanks to the contract magic circle on this leaflet here. Nowadays, humans no longer possess the knowledge to draw a circle to summon us, so we just give out leaflets like this so they can enlist our services easily. You had one of them in your pocket while you were dying, and your wish was strong enough to summon me, who decided to save your life by turning you into a devil subordinate of mine using something called the Evil Pieces."
"I see… I am no longer human?" Issei said slowly, as a realization hit him. His MP having the demonic attribute was probably because he was a devil.
"My apology, but that is the only way for me to save your life. You were fatally injured, and the only healing technique that lets me heal you from such a state requires me to transfer my own power into you directly through skin contact. If you were human then I could not have done it." Rias shook her head and explained it to him "Plus, the evil piece system could even revive the dead, so all that I gotta do was fix that hole in your stomach."
"Right…" Issei nodded his head before he decided to ask after taking a deep breath and shaking his head a little to clear his mind "Senpai, you spoke about the others earlier. Who are they? Are they devils as well?"
"Yes, they are reincarnated devil servants of mine just like you are right now. Akeno Himejima, Kiba Yuuto and Koneko Toujou… you probably have heard of them as well." Rias told him, and Issei was unable to stop himself from widening his eyes in shock. So pretty much the four most popular students of Kuoh academy were devils, and one of them was the other half of the 'Two Great Onee-sama', the two most popular, beautiful and attractive girls of the Academy as well alongside Rias, the number 1 beauty.
"I will bring you to meet them later." Rias continued "As my servant at the academy, I will have you become a member of my club, the Occult research Club, my club. It serves as the front for our operation, though that does not mean we don't participate in school activities as an actual club."
"Really!?" Issei asked as Rias nodded her head to him with a smile, feeling excited for the first time.
Because the aforementioned people… or devils, including Rias herself, were the most popular students at school and well known members of the club, many students wanted to join it so that they could be around the beautiful ladies like Rias and Akeno, and cute girl who was renowned as the mascot of Kuoh, Koneko. The girls, obviously, wanted to do so because of Kiba Yuuto, the most charming boy of the academy, but none had succeeded so far, and Rias, the president of the club, also had no interest in recruiting new members. The reason why was quite obvious now that he knew who they were.
Matsuda and Motohama were going to be so jealous!
"Senpai, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Issei-kun." Rias nodded her head to him before she continued before he could ask his question "Listen, you don't have to ask me for permission when you ask me something. You may be my servant, and in due time, you will meet other high class devil like me who will treat theirs differently, but I see you and everyone as my own family. The bond between us is the most important of all."
"Oh… that is so good to know then." Issei said with a smile before Rias made a gesture for him to finally ask his question "Right. So, earlier you said the reason Yuuma… I mean Raynare decided to kill me because she found out that I possessed something extraordinary, do you know what that is?"
It could not be the System, could it? If she wanted him to keep it a secret from everyone else, probably including Rias herself, then there was no way that she had known about it.
Could it be...?
"Well, I believe the reason she made that decision was because she found out about your Sacred Gear." Rias explained "You see, Sacred Gears are items or artifacts with powerful abilities that are bestowed upon a number of humans by God of the bible himself. It varies widely in forms and powers, but most people who have had their names recorded in human history are known to possess some Sacred Gear. They use the power of the Sacred Gear to leave their name written in History."
"So I have it in me?" Issei asked.
"Yes. Most Sacred Gears have characteristics that are only useful in human society, but there are exceptional items that are so powerful that they pose a threat to the world itself." Rias nodded her head before instructing him "Ise, raise your hand high."
Issei did what he was told, and the Quest Window flashed to life to his left. It seemed he was close to finishing the quest, and was quite obvious now that only he could see it.
"Now, close your eyes and think of something that is the most powerful thing you can imagine."
"The most powerful thing I can imagine?" Issei asked before blurting out as he remembered his favorite anime "Son Goku?"
"Goku will do." Rias nodded "Now imagine that person in a pose where they look at their strongest."
"Uh..." Issei murmured in confusion, feeling a little... embarrassed because the pose that he believed Goku was at his strongest was when he was releasing his signature technique, the Kamehameha. He used to do it all the time back when he was younger, but now that he was in high school, doing it was a little... embarrassing, especially in front of Rias no less.
"Imitate that pose. You have to concentrate well, okay? Don't hold back."
Rias continued, and watched with a small smile as Issei slowly brought his hands back and put them together, feeling his cheeks heating up as he prepared to unleash a Kamehameha himself while imagining the strongest being he could possibly imagine in that pose
But then...
A cold shiver ran down his spine as he brought his hands forward and blinked, seeing the world around him turning black the moment that his eyelids went back up. Standing before him was a towering humanoid figure of a hooded man, whose facial features were concealed in what looked like shadow that flickered like black flame, wrapped around him like a cloak of some sort. Their eyes, however, were visible, and they were gazing directly at Issei while emitting an ethereal blue glow.
What truly scared him, however, was the second figure that stood directly behind the first one, taking on the appearance of a large and muscular shadow warrior with glowing flame-like purple hair, glowing purple eyes, two curved black horns, and sharp claws. He also wore jet-black armor and a long smoky black cloak, and wielded in his hand a pure black sword. It would be an understatement to say that the sight of them both staring at him was the most terrifying thing that Issei had ever seen in his life.
FLASH!
In that instant, his left arm lit up and brightened the world around him. The two shadowy figures were gone as quickly as they had come and Rias was once again sitting in front of him, looking at Issei curiously as he looked on in amazement at the red gauntlet that had materialized around his left forearm.
"Interesting... so that is your Sacred Gear, Issei-kun." Rias said with a smile before she carried on explaining. At the same time, Issei glanced briefly at the Quest Window and saw that his quest had been completed. He could now choose between the 2 bonus stats, or the random loot box, and Boosted Gear had been unlocked for him permanently. "It looks like a Twice Critical."
"Twice Critical?" Issei repeated as Rias nodded her head in confirmation, but the info that was shown to him said the Sacred Gear in his left arm was called the Boosted Gear.
"Yes, but we still don't know for sure since it seems to be an early stage right now. We will look into that later because the chance that Raynare decided to kill you over a common Twice Critical is extremely low."
That explained it then.
"Now that you have been able to summon it, you can make it disappear at your will." Rias said, and Issei willed the Sacred Gear gauntlet to disappear. Just like she said, it faded away and returned his left arm to normal.
"Say, senpai..." Issei decided to ask as he looked back at his crimson haired master "Is it possible for someone to possess 2 Sacred Gears?"
Could the System be a Sacred Gear? It was the question that Issei had been pondering from the moment that Rias told him about items that were bestowed to Humans by God.
"Yes, but it's rare. I have only heard about a handful of them or so. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, just wondering, that's all, senpai." Issei shook his head and said, making Issei tilt her head to the side and look at him in curiosity for a moment before she decided to shake it off.
"You better get ready now. Your parents will probably wake up soon. Would you mind if I stay around and have breakfast with you and your family?" Issei shook his head, and Rias beamed back at him in response. Smiling, the crimson haired devil then brought out her phone and checked her message, leaving Issei to gaze at the window that was still hovering next to him.
Pretty much, the young man still had no idea what it was and what it meant for him from now on.
Dragon Leveling
Chapter 2
Dungeon
"Ara, is Issei-kun already back at it again?"
Akeno Himejima, the beautiful other half of the two Great Onee sama, asked her best friend with a small, playful smile as she approached her best friend and master, Rias Gremory, in the ORC clubroom. Rias was currently standing by the window, her eyes following Issei as he finished another laps around the schoolyard… all the while dragging a heavy truck tie behind him with a rope secured to his back.
"Yes, he is." Rias nodded as Akeno looked out of the window with her and arched an eyebrow when Issei stopped momentarily to catch his breath, but it wasn't long before he started running again. "Ise has been running every day. It seems he even works out regularly in the morning."
"How long has he been running like that again?"
"A little over an hour… since school ended."
"Oh wow… while pulling that tire?"
At the same time, Issei panted hard as he pulled the heavy tire, the rope straining against his back with each step. His legs burned. His breaths came in ragged gasps, but he continued to keep pushing forward.
It had been four days since he was killed by his girlfriend, woke up the next morning and found out he had been reincarnated as a Devil. He had started to adapt to his new life, although it was not that much different from his old one. He still hung out with his friends at school, and had meals with family… but now, as a devil, Issei also had to do his devil jobs at night, and participate in club activities with the other members of the Occult Research Club, Rias Gremory and her other servants, Akeno Himejima, Kiba Yuuto and Koneko Toujou, all of whom were devils, during lunch break and after school ended.
[!] Notice
Congratulations! You have leveled up!
Ability unlocked: Observe
Use with your eyes to see the stats of your friends and enemies.
[Recurring quest completed]
You may choose from the following rewards:
1. Full Rejuvenation
2. 3 bonus stats
3. Random loot box
"Confirm 3 additional bonus stats."
Issei said, wiping the sweats from his chin as he came to a stop. Unhooking the rope, Issei let the heavy tire behind him and made his way over to the nearby bench in front of the old school building, collapsing onto it with a deep breath.
It had been four days since he was killed by his girlfriend, woke up and found himself looking at the blue window of the System. In that time, he had come to learn a few things about it. First, it was not some kind of hallucination, and second, no one else could see it but him.
Last but not least, the effects that it had on him were real. Issei felt the exhaustion in his muscles – his legs ached with a persistent burn, and his breathing was heavy, coming in ragged gasps. But unlike the first day, it felt manageable, kinda like the feeling that someone had after a good workout. The bonus stat points that he had put into strength and stamina made a significant difference.
Opening his inventory, Issei chose the water bottle he had bought from the shop, another function of the system he had discovered a few days ago after completing a quest that rewarded him money. As the item appeared in his hand, Issei wasted no time to open it and took a deep swig, feeling a pleasant relief spreading through him with each gulp of the orange flavored liquid. Although it only brought him to half of his full strength and it also cost him his entire fund, the healing water bottle allowed Issei to pick other rewards, like bonus stats or random loot boxes, for the daily and recurring quests instead of Full Rejuvenation.
With a contented sigh, Issei then pulled up his status window to check his stats. The familiar blue screen shimmered before him, displaying the following information.
[Player Status]
Name: Issei Hyoudou
Level: 2 [exp: 250/2000]
HP: 355/355
MP [Current Attribute: Demonic]: 55/55
Strength: 21
Vitality: 19
Intelligence: 8
Dexterity: 12
Perception: 12
Charisma: 8
Issei nodded to himself as he reviewed his progress. He had been focusing mainly on Strength and Vitality to improve his physical capabilities, with a bit of attention to Dexterity and Charisma because why the heck not. He still had no clue what charisma did for him, maybe it would help him talk with girls better or something like that, but the effect that came with putting points into other stats were pretty apparent. The more points he put into strength, the stronger he would become.
But, after a recent experience, he had been considering putting a few points into Intelligence as well, having discovered that it directly affected his MP. The night before, when he was about to head out to do his first devil job, the teleportation magic circle he was supposed to use to go to his client's house failed to activate. The problem had been that his demonic reserve was even lower than that of a typical devil child. Sure, he had figured from seeing his MP that his reserve was low, but for it to be THAT low was like being told he was the weakest Devil in the entire Underworld. It was an understatement to say that he had been embarrassed.
Allocate 2 points into Intelligence? Y/N
Intelligence: 8 → 10
MP: 55 → 75
So each point into Intelligence increased his MP by ten, in the addition of the amount that increased when leveled up, Issei thought to himself as he considered the option. Nodding, the reincarnated devil confirmed his choice before putting the remaining point into Strength, as he wanted to keep improving his physical capabilities. Getting up, Issei then walked over to the truck tire and effortlessly picked it up with just one hand. It wasn't that he couldn't already do it, but Issei could tell that he had a much easier time than before as he carried the tire over to the storage room and stowed it in the corner.
Closing the door behind him, Issei grabbed his backpack and headed to the clubroom of the Occult Research Club. Arriving at his destination, the young man could hear the hum of conversation and laughter coming from inside. He knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open, stepping into the warm, inviting atmosphere of the room to find Rias Gremory smiling at him from her seat at the table in the center of the room.
"Good afternoon, Issei-kun!"
"Good afternoon, Buchou." Issei replied, returning her smile with his own as he walked fully into the room and set his backpack down. Before he could say anything else to his master, Akeno Himejima rushed to his side and offered him a cup of tea while smiling warmly.
"Here, I made you some tea, Issei-kun. I hope you like it." Akeno said, her eyes twinkling with warmth as Issei accepted the cup from her, feeling lost in her smile. The serene beauty of it was enough to make him forget the remaining exhaustion from his training.
"Thank you, Akeno-san." Issei said with a dreamy smile before taking a sip of the tea, feeling it spread a warmth throughout his body "This is just what I needed."
"Ara, I'm glad that you like it." Akeno giggled, hiding her smile behind the back of her hand.
Later that night, Issei found himself following Rias and the rest of the peerage as they made their way into an abandoned building on the outskirts of Kuoh Town. For a newborn, reincarnated devil like him, there were two main ways to earn his stripes and raise his rank: the first was performing devil jobs, and the second was achieving military accomplishments, usually by hunting Stray Devils — those who had strayed from their masters to pursue their own selfish desires, and usually become a great threat if their powers go beyond their control.
"We have recently received reports that a stray devil has been attracting humans here to feed on their flesh." Rias explained as she walked with Issei. "Normally, no one would bother with rumors since there are humans that go missing all the time, but these rumors all led to this house. That is usually a sign that a stray devil has taken up residency here."
"Ugh, so there are devils who eat human meat too?" Issei asked and Rias nodded her head in confirmation. Soon, the group found themselves making their way through the living room of the mansion, where the stench of blood clung heavily to the air. Issei felt kind of glad that he had not had dinner, because the sense of blood and rotten flesh was truly horrible.
"Ise, this is a good chance for me to explain how the servant system works, so just stay back and pay close attention to everything that I will tell you, alright?"
"Alright, Buchou." Issei nodded.
As if on cue, a deranged voice echoed in the area.
"What a delightful sense… I wonder how you will taste."
Snapping his head to the side, Issei widened his eyes when he saw a figure emerging from the vast darkness before them. They had the appearance of a female with messy hair, red eyes and no shirt to cover her upper torso. The lower half of her body, however, was anything but human, having the mixed features of a lion and some kind of arachnid creature, with a tail sticking out of her hind quarters that were covered in fur.
"What an unsightly appearance!" Rias said tauntingly as she stepped forward to face the stray devil with her arms crossed over her chest and a crimson aura of demonic energy flared around her. "It suits you well, Vizor."
"That hair color… you are Rias Gremory, are you not?" The stray devil snarled, and it was then that Issei saw the bloody javelins in his hands. "I will enjoy staining your corpse with fresh blood as dark as your crimson hair."
Rias, however, ignored the threat and turned to Issei to speak to him "Ise. Do you play chess?"
"Uh… no, but I know the game and its basic rules."
With a smile, Rias said. "Good. Then you know what the pieces are called, yes?"
"I do, but… is now the time for it, Buchou?" Issei could not help but ask, glancing repeatedly over to Vizor, who was not taking kindly to being ignored by Rias. With a snarl, she lunged at them, but Koneko Toujou had acted first. She jumped in between them, and punched the stray devil with one small fist, sending it soaring back and crashing through the wall.
"You see… Koneko is a Rook." Rias explained as Issei gasped in surprise at the display of strength from someone who had such a small figure. "As you can see just now, her traits are insane strength and defense."
Issei nodded his head in understanding before he decided to test out the ability that he had unlocked upon leveling up earlier on that day. His eyes flashed briefly with the color blue, and the familiar blue window appeared. However, instead of appearing in front of him like it always did, it appeared next to Koneko as stood facing the stray devil with the same emotionless gaze, bearing the info as follows.
Name: Koneko Toujou
Race: Reincarnated Devil – Nekoshou
Level: 25
Strength: 75
Vitality: 70
Intelligence: 44
Dexterity: 20
Perception: 30
Charisma: 25
Issei widened his eyes as he read Koneko's stats. While her abnormally high strength and vitality didn't surprise him because Rias just told him the reason, her race did. Nonetheless. he decided to keep the information to himself, believing that there must be a reason that no one, not even Rias, had mentioned it over the past few days.
"Next up is Yuuto. He is my Knight and he focuses on incredible speed." said Rias as she looked over to Kiba, who made a sword appear from nowhere. As Vizor, who Issei saw was only level 10, rushed at Koneko to try and attack her, Kiba made his move and suddenly disappeared from sight. When he appeared again, he was standing behind Vizor, holding his weapon sideways as the stray devil roared in pain from severed limbs, which had been slashed clean off.
Name: Kiba Yuuto
Race: Reincarnated Devil
Level: 28
Strength: 35
Vitality: 25
Intelligence: 35
Dexterity: 85
Perception: 50
Charisma: 45
"Oh wow." Issei murmured as he looked at Kiba. So he's a Dex guy. Figured.
"Last but not least, Akeno?" Rias called, and Akeno nodded her head to Rias before walking towards Vizor with her hands clapping in front of her face. In that instance, Issei could not help but feel that something extremely disturbing about the normally gentle and pleasant Nadeshiko Yamamoto of Kuoh Academy. "Now listen, Akeno is my Queen."
"Y-You fucking bitch..."
"Ara, ara," Giggling softly into her hand despite the insult, Akeno tilted her head back and looked at the stray Devil before her. "What a vulgar mouth, I think you need to be punished."
ZZZZZTTT!
With her hand raised, Akeno then sent sparks of lightning from her fingertips into the air, creating a yellow magic circle with the crest of the Gremory in the center. From it, a massive lightning bolt upon struck Vizor, leaving her to cry out in agony.
"GRAAAAA!"
"As a Queen, Akeno has all the traits of all other pieces." as Rias spoke, Akeno began zapping lightning at Vizor. Her breathing had picked up drastically, despite the fact that she didn't look like she had tired herself out yet. There was a heavy blush staining her cheeks as well, and she was squeezing her thighs together and shuddering in ecstasy every few seconds.
Issei, meanwhile, was far more interested in her stats. As expected, she had extremely high intelligence with an overall balanced other stats. But at the same time, there was something else that immediately caught his attention, in the same manner Koneko's stats had.
Name: Akeno Himejima
Race: Reincarnated Devil – Fallen Angel
Level: 30
Strength: 36
Vitality: 40
Intelligence: 95
Dexterity: 45
Perception: 30
Charisma: 85
'Akeno-san is a fallen angel?' Issei thought to himself as he looked at the description of her race, though his musing was cut short when Vizor let out a hateful scream and lunged at Akeno. The black-haired Queen remained unfazed, gracefully sidestepping the attack. In the next instant, Koneko leaped forward, tackling the stray devil and slamming her into the floor with such force that the entire building trembled.
Before Vizor could pick herself up, Kiba dashed forward and slashed her, leaving a deep, bloody gash in her abdomen. Akeno then summoned another lightning bolt, this one much bigger than the previous ones, striking the stray devil and leaving her smoking from the intense blast.
"We will leave the rest to you, Rias." Akeno said as Rias walked forward, gazing upon the defeated form of the stray devil. Issei then turned his Observe gaze to Rias, expecting her to be the strongest among them.
Name: Rias Gremory
Level: 32
Strength: 38
Vitality: 36
Intelligence: 105
Dexterity: 35
Perception: 40
Charisma: 90
And he was right. Despite having slightly lower health than Akeno, she had higher Intelligence as well as mana pool, no doubt making her a powerful spellcaster. Her Charisma were also unsurprisingly high, while her Strength, Vitality, Dexterity and Perception were as expected.
"Do you have any last words?" Rias asked coolly. However, Her face was blank, devoid of emotion. It was a perfectly composed mask befitting a Devil of her high standing.
"Kill me..."
"Very well then," Rias smiled, holding up her hand as a dark crimson aura appeared around her body. What looked like a ball of black energy erupted above her palm, and she then let it loose at Visor. The effect was instantaneous, as the orb of black and crimson energy slammed into the stray devil, swallowing her whole in an inferno of dark wave like flame. Once the power had disappeared, Visor was no more, and there was nothing left.
Not even a drop of blood left to stain the floor with.
"Wow..." Issei whispered as he looked at Rias. The grace and power that she showed... it was unlike anything he had seen before.
"It's over everyone" Rias smiled as she turned back to her peerage.
As the group began to leave…
"Excuse me, Buchou..." Quickly catching up to the beautiful president of the Occult Research Club, Issei said.
"Hmm?" Rias turned to smile at him "What is it?"
"I was just wondering..." The young man then began. "You have not explained what my role is."
"Oh, your role is Pawn." Issei almost tripped over and slammed his face on the ground. So much for expecting himself to be a cool piece like Rook or Bishop or even Knight like Kiba. "Ara, don't be so down, Ise. By being a Pawn, you have the most potential among us all. Since you said that you know the basic rules of chess, what can Pawns do when they manage to reach the enemy's base in the game?"
Issei remained silent again for a few seconds, before widening his eyes in realization. "Promotion!"
"Exactly" Rias smiled as she gave him a nod before continuing, "Just like a game of chess, you can promote yourself into any piece beside the king when you reach the enemy territory, grating you their attributes and traits. You can also promote yourself when I give you the permission to do so. And also, Ise... in the system, the Queen piece is worth nine pawns, while a Rook is considered to be five Pawns. Both bishops and knights are worth three pawns each... and you, you took all eight Pawns that I have to reincarnate. Your potential is far greater than any of us can anticipate. We can expect great things for you, Ise."
Issei dropped his jaw at that, feeling a sense of relief and newfound determination. "I will make sure to live up to the expectation, Buchou!"
Rias beamed at him, her eyes twinkling as she gave him a nod of her head.
Later on that night, as Rias and the rest of the Peerage headed home to rest for the night, Issei found himself wandering to a nearby park, holding in his hand a key that he had gotten from a random loot box reward. Its description showed him that the key used to open an Instance Dungeon, and his experience of playing RPGs told him it was likely to be filled with unique monsters and treasures.
While Issei had no idea if he was ready for that kind of challenge yet, he knew sooner or later he would have to join Rias and the others in their fights. He thought about the fight earlier and the stats that his friends had. The gap between their abilities and his own was vast, and it was clear that he needed to close it by getting stronger.
Taking a deep breath, Issei entered a secluded area of the park and held the key out. A wave of energy flared around the tip, before a portal materialized appear before him, shimmering with an eerie light. Without hesitation, he stepped through, his eyes scanning the shadowy expanse around him. The area looked almost identical to the park he had just been in, save for the subtle yet unsettling differences — the chill in the air, the dim lighting, and above all, the eerie silence. He wondered if the key had really worked, or if he was still in the same place.
"Hello?" Issei called out, his voice echoing off the unseen walls. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for any sign of a response, but there was only the darkness that surrounded him.
But then suddenly, from the enveloping darkness, a group of menacing creatures emerged, their green-skinned faces twisted into malevolent grins. None of them stood taller than his waists, but all of them were dangerously armed with crude weapons, from rusty swords to jagged spears. The way that their eyes gleamed in the darkness made his skin crawl.
Goblins, all level 2. Issei thought nervously as he took a step back from them, his breath coming in shallow, rapid gasps as they slowly approached him. Instantly, he turned around to bail, to leave the dungeon before it was too late, but all that he found at the door was a solid wall.
"What the hell?" Issei cried out. A notice then appeared before him, telling him that he could not leave until he had defeated the boss of the dungeon or used a teleportation stone, which he didn't have on him at that moment. Turning back, he eyed the approaching goblins nervously before noticing a passerby, an older man wearing a track suit, jogged slowly down the street just outside the park toward the group of goblins.
Panic, Issei waved his arms frantically, his voice breaking into a shout. "Run! There are goblins over there!"
To his surprise, however, the man didn't even glance in his direction and ran straight through the goblins as if they were not even there, completely oblivious to the danger. The goblins ignored the passerby as well, and their focus was solely on Issei.
It was then that the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
Seeing no other choice but to fight his way out, Issei turned his attention back to the goblins, swallowing his fear and nervousness to replace it with newfound determination. "Alright, let's see what you've got." he said, trying to sound braver than he felt as he prepared for his first real battle.
Gripping his fists, Issei summoned Boosted Gear, making the weapon materialized on his left arm, and then charged at the goblins, finding his body to be light as a feather. At the same time, the goblins charged at him, brandishing their rusty weapons wildly. Issei raised his arm to block the first strike with Boosted Gear. The impact was enough to rattle his arm, but he held firm, pushing the goblin back with a shove.
"Hah!" Issei shouted as he swung a punch at another goblin. His knuckle connected with its jaw, sending it soaring back and crashing into a wall. The bonus stat points he had put into his Strength finally showed its impact, but Issei barely had time to see the damage that he had done as the others thrusted their spears at him.
Quickly dodging to the side, cursing quietly as he stumbled and narrowly avoided a spear that lunged at his midsection, realizing the reason for his clumsiness was due to the lack of attention to his Dexterity. Issei recovered and sent a quick jab at the nearest goblin before punching it with his other hand. His knuckle hurt as the goblin fell to the ground with a broken jaw, but not as much as he thought.
Another goblin rushed at him, with another right behind it, their feral eyes locking onto him as their hisses filled the air. The first lunged at him with its club, but Issei swiftly sidestepped the attack, and yanked the weapon from its grasp to swing it across its head, bashing its face in before turning the second goblin with a cry. Blocking its attack with the Boosted Gear, he then swung the club in a wide arc, knocking two more goblins off their feet, and slammed the weapon across the head of the second goblin.
"I am not done yet!" Issei cried as he held the club in hand, barely paying any attention to its stats as he charged at the remaining goblins. In the chaotic battle that followed, Issei barely noticed the sweat dripping from his brow or the fatigue settling into his muscles. All that mattered was the fight in front of him, and the burning determination to grow stronger.
"Hah!" Issei found himself collapsing to one knee and allowed himself to exhale in relief once the final goblin had fallen, its body disappearing to be replaced by a bag of gold just like the rest. "I did it... I actually did it."
Mummering that to himself, Issei went around to collect all the loot, finding himself a sizable fund once he was done. A couple of them also left behind [Goblin's hat], which he could see for extra gold in the shop, although it's not much. He then looked at the gate and saw that it was still locked, meaning that the fight was not yet over.
Finding a spot inside the slide at the corner of the park, Issei hid there and opened his shop to search for something that could help him, as punching with Boosted Gear might not be the most optimal choice. The majority of items in the shop were locked behind level requirements, but it didn't take long for Issei to find a weapon with an affordable price.
"Confirm, buy."
With that, the item went to his inventory, but just before he could take it out, his sense alerted him of an incoming danger. Instantly, he dove out of the way just as a massive club smashed down where he had been sitting, shattering the slide into splinters. He rolled across the ground, barely avoiding the second, crushing swing of the club that splintered the ground where he had just been.
Looking up, Issei widened his eyes as he saw the towering figure of a massive goblin, its muscles bulging violently as it brought the club overhead for another swing at him. Seeing that it was a Hobgoblin with a level 4 next to its name, Issei quickly scrambled to his feet and dodged the attack, flipping to the side before quickly opening his inventory to select the weapon.
[Iron Sword. +10 ATK]
Just as the Hobgoblin began to wind up for another attack, Issei put his hand through the inventory window and grabbed the hilt of the iron sword. Energy flared around the blade as he yanked it out and charged forward, aiming for the exposed side of the Hobgoblin when it swung its club down "Take this!" He yelled, swinging the sword in a wide arc. The blade cut through the Hobgoblin with ease, causing it to roar in pain as it stumbled backward while holding its bleeding side.
"Now this is more like it." Issei smirked as he pressed the advantage, not waiting for a response. The group of goblins who were on patrol earlier noticed the commotion and charged at him, but he hacked and slashed his way through them with a flurry of strikes, feeling his confidence building with each and every goblin he took down.
[!] Notice – Level up
The Hobgoblin roared and swung its club wildly at him, hitting even its allies in its furry. Issei dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a deadly blow, and retaliated with another fierce slash. More goblins swarmed the area, but Issei defeated them all with the sword in his hand while using Boosted Gear like a shield, blocking the attacks that he could not dodge.
[!] Notice – Level up!
Every time that Issei leveled up, he felt himself getting stronger. With all of his stats going up by two each time, Issei soon found himself having a much easier time killing the monsters as well as dodging and avoiding their attacks. The hobgoblin tried to attack him once again, but issei swiftly leaped into the air, putting one hand on its club as it swung at him to launch himself further up, and punched the goblin in the face with Boosted Gear. The Hobgoblin staggered from the blow, and Issei quickly took the opportunity to drive his sword into its chest with a powerful thrust, making it let out a guttural cry before collapsing to the ground, its body dissipating into a pile of loot.
[!] Noticed – Level up!
Level 2 of Boosted Gear acquired
Issei barely noticed the notification as he kept his attention solely on the fight, missing the transformation of his gauntlet as it became more dragon-like. Bringing the iron sword back, he dashed toward the remaining goblins and finished them off in quick succession.
[!] Notice – Level up!
You have earned the title: Goblin Slayer.
As Issei eyed the title he had just been granted, with the last goblin falling at his feet, a shiver sudden ran down spine. An eerie feeling of something powerful approaching gripped him, and he glanced around warily.
"What the..."
Before he could finish voicing his thoughts, he felt something coming at him, emitting an orange hue light that illuminated the entire area. Instantly, Issei dove to the side, dodging as a fireball as it soared past him and exploded where he had just been standing, sending him sprawling across the ground. Quickly recovering, Issei looked up, dazed and reeling from the explosive, and widened his eyes as he looked at the source of the attack: a tall goblin clad in dark robes, its eyes glowing with an eerie red light. The creature held a gnarled staff, and dark energy crackled around its form.
[Goblin Chieftain – The Dark Spellcaster]
[Level 10]
"That level..." Issei whispered as he picked himself up. The Goblin Chieftain locked onto him with a menacing grin, raising its staff to cast another spell while chatting in a guttural language. Shadows coalesced around it, forming into shadowy figures cloaked in darkness that floated menacingly around their summoner, their hollow eyes glowing with eerie light.
The Goblin Chieftain launched another ball at Issei, forcing him to dodge again. As the fireball exploded and destroyed an entire building behind him, Issei rolled to his feet, scanning his surroundings as the phantoms circled him, their presence adding an oppressive weight to the air.
"I see. So, you must be the boss of the dungeon, huh?" He said, his hand gripping tightly at the iron sword as he stood up and readied himself. "Come at me then!"
Current stats:
Name: Issei Hyoudou
Level: 6
HP: 755/755
MP [Current Attribute: Demonic]: 235/235
Strength: 29
Vitality: 27
Intelligence: 18
Dexterity: 20
Perception: 20
Charisma: 16