Unlike Rias, however, Gasper spent more than ten minutes sitting there and still made no progress at all.
Seeing how pathetically useless the shut-in was being, Rod decided it was time to raise the intensity.
Even if what he'd said that day had only been a passing whim, it had still made Gasper start wanting to change.
And considering Akeno, Rias, and the others, Rod felt he should at least put in a little effort.
"In that case, I'll put together a special training plan just for you."
Rod put his phone away, looked around for a moment, then took out the Desert Eagle he hadn't used in quite a while from his storage space.
"I'll need some time before I can buy the jeep, so for now, we'll just make do with a gun."
As he said that, he raised the muzzle and aimed it straight at Gasper, who was cowering inside the cardboard box.
Even if Gasper was a shut-in, he still had common sense.
Thanks to all the game knowledge he'd picked up over the years, he knew perfectly well what Rod was holding.
There was no cheap plastic look to it, and under the sunlight it reflected a bright metallic sheen.
This clearly wasn't a toy.
With the gun pointed at him, Gasper's voice trembled and his face turned pale with fear as he asked, "M-Mr. Rod... what exactly are you taking out a gun for?"
"It's part of the special training plan."
Rod smoothly removed the magazine, checked the fully loaded .50 AE rounds inside, then chambered a round and aimed at a pinecone hanging from a tree fifty meters away.
Bang!
Sparks burst from the muzzle, and the bullet shot out instantly under the force of the gunpowder, spiraling through the air and blowing the pinecone apart.
The sudden gunshot made Gasper and the other girls all jump.
If Gasper hadn't had the cardboard box to hide in, he probably would've screamed already.
"H-how exactly am I supposed to train?"
Gasper swallowed hard.
"It's simple. I shoot at you, and you run. That's it. But you're not allowed to run into the crowd, and you're not allowed to leave the barrier. Other than that, you can run wherever you want."
As Rod said that, he turned the gun back toward Gasper.
At that instant, every hair on Gasper's body stood on end, and his brain started blasting out danger warnings like crazy.
"Eh? Th-that's not okay, is it?"
Gasper's face had gone green. He had never heard of this kind of training method before!
"Relax. My aim is excellent. And as for the training effect, scientists have already studied this, when humans are pushed to the brink of life and death, they often unleash incredible hidden potential. You're not human, but you are devil plus vampire, so your talent should be even better. So when faced with danger, there's an extremely high chance you'll break through your limits and reach some kind of development. You might even unlock your genetic limiter."
Hearing Rod say all that, Gasper's eyes widened inside the cardboard box.
You're going to shoot at me?! Isn't that playing with someone's life?!
He might not be human, but vampire lives were still lives!
"Um, Mr. Rod, c-could I maybe apply for a different kind of training? I think the jeep idea sounds pretty nice..."
He was so scared that he unconsciously slipped into his usual verbal tic.
But then Gasper suddenly realized something terrifying.
If Mr. Rod could come up with a training method like this, then wouldn't any training involving a jeep be just as horrifying?
"Don't rush. Jeep training is also a necessary part of the experience. For now, just run for one minute. I'll come find you right after."
"Then what if I get hurt?"
"It's fine. With Asia and me here, even if you lose an arm or a leg, we can still save you."
As if hearing her name, Asia waved toward Rod from the distance.
"Now run. The one-minute countdown starts now."
Rod said it flatly.
"C-can I switch...? Waaaah..."
"If you cry, that still counts toward the time."
Hearing that, Gasper could only grit his teeth and start running off into the distance while still hiding inside the box.
He had no idea where he was running, but running was all he could think to do.
And behind him, Rod's countdown kept ringing out like a death knell, making Gasper run even faster.
"And the countdown's over~"
As soon as he said that, Rod fired a shot in Gasper's direction.
The two of them were only about two hundred meters apart. At that distance, Rod could easily hit him in the head.
But of course, he wasn't going to do that, so he only aimed near Gasper's feet.
The bullet struck the dirt, kicking up small stones that pelted Gasper and made him yelp loudly, after which he started running away while screaming at the top of his lungs.
Just as Rod was having the time of his life, Rias, now on a break in the middle of her training, walked up behind him.
Looking at Gasper crying as he ran under the hail of stray debris, she said disapprovingly, "Isn't this a little too dangerous?"
But Rod only laughed and replied, "Relax. I have full confidence in my marksmanship. If I aim for the little head, I won't hit the big head. And if the stones ricochet onto him, it'll only hurt for a bit."
"And besides, he's like this mostly because you all protected him too well."
"If he can endure this, then he'll absolutely become the strongest member of your peerage at this stage."
Gasper wasn't just an ordinary Sacred Gear holder. He was the reincarnation of a fragment of the Celtic demon god Balor's consciousness, which was why the Sacred Gear Forbidden Balor View could only ever reincarnate into him.
If he awakened the power of the demon god later on and fused it with his Sacred Gear, it could even evolve into a Longinus.
A complete cheat.
"I see."
Rias nodded seriously, and the worry on her face disappeared at once.
Still, seeing Rod smiling so cheerfully, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was just using special training as an excuse to tease Gasper.
And to be fair, a large part of it really was exactly that.
But since nothing serious would happen, Rias had no intention of interfering.
After all, Rod's training methods really were effective. In just these few hours of training, she could already feel her magical power improving.
The only price was being a little tired.
And so Rod chatted with Rias while taking shots at a constantly screaming Gasper.
"Oh, right. How much do you know about Grayfia Lucifuge?"
"Lady Grayfia?"
Rias looked surprised, not understanding why Rod was suddenly asking about her.
But since it wasn't any kind of secret, Rias answered without hesitation.
"She's one of the administrators who assist the Four Great Maou of the Underworld. Big and small policies alike are all issued through her. Her position is basically the equivalent of a chancellor in a human kingdom."
That alone was already different from the original story.
"I heard the Lucifuge clan used to be a family specifically dedicated to serving Maou Lucifer. So what exactly is her relationship with Sirzechs now? The special kind?"
The moment she heard that question, Rias immediately gave Rod a strange look.
So you're actually kind of nosy, huh?
She let out a soft laugh.
"The Lucifuge clan serving the Maou was something from a long time ago. Nowadays, they're just another noble family, and they don't need to serve Lucifer, that is, my brother, anymore. Though, speaking of it, there really were some rumors between Lady Grayfia and my brother a long time ago. Back then, Lady Grayfia was the spearhead of the Old Maou faction, while my brother was the spearhead of the reformists, so the two of them did cross paths on the battlefield. But it was only that."
"As for things like romance or mutual feelings, I asked my brother about it before too, but he denied all of it."
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