I've always wondered what it would be like to have a supernatural affair. To be able to go to various legendary places, conquer girls like a mythological hero and be able to fight against the greatest tyrants in the world.
I, James B. De Gaulle, always wanted to be something more. I always wanted to become a legendary figure... Unfortunately I was not fortunate enough to be born as a boy of great charisma or exceptional talent. Basically I was like you.
My life was mediocre at best.
As a student I was relatively exceptional but thanks to that and my fixation on fantasy and science fiction stories, I was never a very popular guy. I wasn't an athletic guy either, so I was never able to enter an important club and obviously didn't want to be a bullying target so I stayed away from cultural clubs.
Actually, my only superpower was to be almost completely invisible to girls and I wasn't even the coolest guy in my social circle... If having just one friend at the start of high school counts as a "social circle"
My best friend since elementary school stopped talking to me when he discovered his great athletic ability and started rubbing elbows with the popular guys on school. The girl I liked had to leave town for mysterious reasons, I think her uncle took her to give her a better life (her parents were first-rate jerks). And my only friend was a lovable lunatic with twisted humor sense; he wasn't the "Wild Card" of my group of friends for nothing.
Oh, I forgot to mention it... A couple of months before my grandmother died. It wasn't impressive because she died of a heart attack, it didn't make it any easier.
So if you were expecting an "I will avenge your death!" moment I am sorry to disappoint you. The only irony I discovered from that experience is that life simply goes on.
In short, I was just a normal asshole with a slightly deductive ability, hand-eye coordination and tolerance to pain higher than average and I had the desire to be someone important.
But—
Suddenly I met this Old man by chances, and then my life changes forever…
========[The Unlucky Gamer]========
Brooklyn. New York. Unite States of America.
In the famous state of New York, our young hero was in a tough contest against the greatest enemy in every teenager's life.
Absolute boredom!
[Game Over!]
"Shit, this is the thirty-sixth time I've lost at Donkey Kong! And I haven't even made it to the top levels!" The dark-haired guy complained as he watched his character die from a barrel that (literally) appeared out of nowhere, and ended his life.
The hero in this story was a young man with short black hair and hazel eyes along with glasses. He wore a gray hooded jacket on top of a blue short-sleeved T-shirt, which had the image of an eagle on its back, he wore long blue-grey pants and a pair of silver tennis shoes.
"Man. Life is much simpler when you have more than one life and you're a character in a video game" He complained bitterly as he watched his character revive after he pressed the 'Continue' button.
The young geek spent the next half-hour trying to enter the game's high score table, only to lose again and again for the most absurd reasons imaginable.
On one occasion he tried to use the hammer to eliminate as many barrels as possible, but he sneezed and accidentally went straight to a fireball. Later he tried to evade all the barrels by jumping but a scoundrel tried to steal his backpack, obviously he fought with nails and claws, and as he got distracted, he lost again. And in his last attempt, the glasses boy tried to study the patterns of the game but by chance of fate a dove entered the Arcade and began to harass him until he finally lost in the game, again.
The boy sighed resignedly and took his backpack so he could leave the local Arcade. Today was a day off from school so he shouldn't have to worry about homework or exams.
*RIIIIINNNG RIIIIINNNG RIIIIINNNG RIIII—*
At that moment, the boy's phone began to ring and he immediately answered the call.
[James, my man! How have you been, my friend?]
"Winston...?" The dark-haired boy arched an eyebrow at this particular person's sudden call "Now what are you calling me for? Do you want me to do your report for history class again? Or do you want me to finish your science project for you again? James asked without much encouragement to continue the conversation, even one of his eyebrows was a nervous tic.
[Oh, don't be a party pooper! Can't I call my best friend since Third Grade?] Winston argued without losing his (false) enthusiasm.
James frowned at the guy's nonchalant attitude "Don't try to play with me. Since this semester began you've been ignoring me to spend more time with the 'Cool Guys' and the only times you're talking to a 'Nerd' like me is usually to ask me for help with homework. It's incredible that you can't remember the name of a national heroine from France"
[Hey, that's unfair man. How will it help me in football to know the name of a peasant woman who played the soldiers during the war of a thousand years? In my opinion that Yeana didn't think very well how things would end]
"Don't be disrespectful, Winston. Jeanne D'Arc is an example of what True Steel Will is! And just so you know, the conflict was called the Hundred Years' War," James replied, clearly offended that the heroine of the Hundred Years' War was undervalued by a brute without culture.
[Whatever you say, buddy] Winston commented with little concern [Anyway, I called to see if you've seen Tobias recently. It's been a week since I've seen him and I'm starting to worry]
"Toby disappeared?" That question resonated like lightning in the Geek's mind.
Tobias 'Toby' Grimmwood was a good friend of both boys. He was possibly the kindest and most joyful person everyone could ever meet. In addition, everyone at school knew him by his kind nature and his particular sense of humor. It was literally extremely difficult to hate that mass of extroverted joy.
[… I have no idea, Jimmy...] This time the boy's voice on the phone was heard a little more agitated giving hints of concern [The last time I saw him, he was helping a strange old man find his briefcase at the airport, and after that I never saw him again. I thought he would be with you but apparently I was wrong] Winston explained to Nerd.
"…" James really didn't know how to respond to that. It was usually normal for Toby to decide to hike every week but he has never been away so long. This was worrying.
[Anyway, I'll go home and hopefully I'll get a call from that idiot or he'll be there to greet me with one of his pranks]
With that said, Winston cut off communication with the boy.
James kept his phone slowly as he began to think about the possibilities behind the disappearance of one of his friends (or rather his only friend). Toby is probably just playing one of his jokes but for some reason he felt a bad feeling running down his spine.
He was immersed in his thoughts for so long that he didn't realize he was going straight to an area under construction and a steel beam almost crushes him, but fortunately a Good Samaritan saved his ass by grabbing him by the neck.
*CRASH*
"HOLY SHIT!" James exclaimed, falling on his ass against the pavement and watched in awe as the metal beam fell hard to the ground making a dull sound.
"Hey, brat, you should learn to look around"
An old man's voice behind his back made the boy turn around.
He was a dark-skinned old man with a pair of sunglasses, a shiny hairless head and a somewhat muscular physique – that guy looked like he was in his 60's and yet he has a better body than him! – His attire consisted of a black suit next to a black tie and a gold ring on his right pinky.
"Huh?" That's all the Geek boy could say, which apparently offended the man.
"Are you deaf, boy? I said you should stop wasting your time in Lala-Land and start seeing what's in front of you!" The man exclaimed as he helped him get up.
"O-Oh, sorry, sir" James apologized by looking down.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Be a man and look me in the eye, you brat! The fact that you're a weak child doesn't mean you should be so submissive!" The man roared frighteningly at the boy, who shrugged from fear.
"Aaaahh! So— Ouch!" He didn't have time to finish his prayer as the man in the suit hit him with a flick on his forehead.
"Stop apologizing for everything, just be more careful! Words and thoughts have no value unless you fight back; otherwise you will be stuck as a nobody for the rest of your life!" The old man declared, adjusting his sunglasses as the light reflected on them, "If you spend all your time thinking and do nothing with your life... Well, needless to say, your life will be fucked as hell"
"Oh, I'm so—" James was about to apologize but the man's steel look made him change his choice of words "I mean, I will! Thank you very much for your advice, sir!" He quickly spoke before receiving another blow on his forehead.
"Good" The dark-skinned man nodded before looking at the boy with a curiosity, "Hey, brat. Shouldn't you be with your friends or your girlfriend? I mean, it's rare to see a boy wandering unaccompanied in this part of town," he asked, crossing his muscular arms.
"Well... The truth is that I don't have a girlfriend... And I don't have many friends either" James confessed with some sorrow as he scratched his neck, clearly leaving the latter in his mind.
The man in the suit rose an eyebrow "Hm, that's funny, you seem like a good lad... You look physically weak and frankly I bet you must be a Geek boy, though. That aside, I doubt you're a bad person"
James sweatdropped at the man's blunt statement and he couldn't help but sight. He was a Geek and while he wasn't exactly a pretty boy, he can bet his face is not ugly either.
"Well, I really prefer to spend my time playing video games or studying so I guess I just don't have time for those things. And I certainly doubt that girls would hang out with someone like m—" The guy commented with a bitter look at the harsh reality.
"What a bunch of bullshit you say, lad!"
"GAAA—!"
Then he got another flick on his forehead, again. But this time the blow was stronger than the previous one as the boy was sent flying comically into the wall of a convenience store.
"Can you stop doing that?!"
James screamed in anger as he rubbed his forehead. He wanted to yell at the man for his rude attitude but fell when the dark-skinned man hit the ground hard generating a large crack where his foot fell.
"Listen to me, son. You can't spend your whole life locked up in a box just because you're afraid to go out into the outside world! That's the same as surrendering in life, if you want a girlfriend or some friend then you must be more proactive!" The dark-skinned man frowned.
James was intimidated by the man's presence. Despite being an old man in his sixties, this man had the vitality of a young adult. That, combined by the toned and muscular physique he possessed, was a lethal combination. He certainly looked like someone very capable of knocking out a tiger in hand-to-hand combat.
But even so, the boy found the courage to face the man with that imposing aura.
"What do you know about that? We can't all literally leave our mark on the ground" The teenager with glasses replied irritably "Honestly life would be much simpler if I had some extra strength or lives".
"... So you're saying if you had any strength or power, you wouldn't be afraid anymore?"
James only grunted in anger but decided to go with the muscular man "Yes. A boy as skinny as I would never be able to be noticed among the masses unless it was in a Comic-Con or a video game competition... And yet my shit luck prevents me from doing something right".
The old man frowned, "Basically you want to have the opportunity to prove your worth and the power to be able to do it without fear of death, don't you?"
"Yes, if I could be able to, I don't know, defeat a Demon King or a fucking dragon then I assure you I would be able to turn my life around" He snorted rolling his eyes.
To the teenager's response, the muscular man surprisingly smiled, confusing the teenager, "All right, that's it".
"Huh?"
The man simply let out a loud laughter and put his hand on the boy's man "Don't worry child, you'll know what I mean when you wake up" The muscled old man elaborated with a smile.
And that was the last thing James heard before receiving a powerful blow to the back of his neck that knocked him out.
========[The Unlucky Gamer]========
Familiar Forest
The next thing he knew he woke up to the sound of birds and other animals in the... forest? Was he in a forest?
"Wait a minute, since when do we have beds made of leaves and herbs?"
James opened his eyes in confusion... And he saw how a huge carnivorous plant tried to eat him alive!
"He widened his eyes and stood up to prevent the pods of the plant from catching him and ran as fast as possible until he reached a large rock several meters from the monstrous plant.
"What the fuck was that?!" James exclaimed in shock "The last thing I remember is walking on the sidewalk and I ran into... That old shameless piece of shit!" The answer hit him as fast as lightning bolt.
That shitty old man had kidnapped him and left him in some kind of unknown jungle or forest!
... Honestly, James didn't know what to expect. His mother always told him to never trust a stranger he had just met on the streets but please, it's already gone to the absurd. How is he supposed to have anticipated this kind of outcome? James knew his luck wasn't the best but being knocked out and then abandoned in an unknown place is something unexpected to him...! Ok, possibly not so unexpected. His luck has always been a shitty one since the moment he learned to crawl.
"Wow, today really isn't my best day. At least this day can't get any worse, can it?" He commented aloud (And unknowingly he fucked himself).
"▂▂▃▃▄▄"
"Me and my big fucking mouth!" He exclaimed as he watched as the rock on which he had leaned began to move and from it emerged two, three, five... Nine heads?!
Evidently the "rock" was a scaly monster with nine snake heads... And he didn't seem very happy when he spotted the little human in his territory.
James' sweat fell like a cataract and he couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle forming a forced smile. He knew that monster wasn't a hologram or an animatronics by the simple fact that this giant reptile had such rotten breath that it could kill a flock of vultures…! And the monster was disturbingly similar to a hydra from the Greek myths.
"Such Misfortune!"
But such a thing was impossible! Hydras were not real unless someone could honestly confirm to him that supernatural beings existed.
[Oh, but in this world supernatural beings exist]
"What the actual fuck?!"
At that moment a blue screen appeared in front of the boy with glasses. Ok… Officially this has already raised a rank in the scale of the oddities of his life. Did he suddenly get the Gamer Power?
[Yes, that's right]
"... What?" James couldn't confirm if he was having hallucinations caused by some drug or if all this was real.
[All this is real, and if you don't hurry the Hydra will kill you... Duck!]
"James barely had time to react and was barely able to dodge the enormous claw of the mythical animal, which tried to crush him like a fly.
"Ok, all this is real... And I am about to be devoured by a hydra" The boy declared as he dodged another blow from the multi-headed monster.
[Thank you for stating the obvious, Sherlock. You get +1 INT because I pity you... And I think you should escape because the Hydra is about to release a poisonous mist!]
Ok, so he was not only abandoned in a magical forest in the middle of nowhere but he also received a Gamer System with troll personality. Why can he never have good luck?
"Wait a minute, if I have the Power Gamer then I should be able to observe the statistics of my enemies with the skill [Observe]" He thought before taking some distance by throwing pepper spray on one of the monster's faces, which began to cough violently in an attempt to regurgitate the item.
Through a certain action, a new Skill has been created!
[Observe] (Passive/Active Skill) (Level: 1| EXP: 0.00%)
One of the most basic skills of all Gamer. This skill allows you to observe the level, Status Effects, Perks, History, Flaws of your enemies, etc. The higher the skill, the greater the data obtained. You can view information of people and beings 20 levels higher than you
· You can scan the targets' Names, Levels, HP and MP
"… Okay, this is absurdly convenient but I'm not complaining" He burst out with a nervous laugh and then he focused his sight towards the target "[Observe]!"
The moment he casted those words, the very world and time got freeze as a blue screen appeared on the top of the main head of the creature.
Nine-Headed Hydra (Full Growth Adult)
Level: 80
HP: 88,000 / 88,000
MP: 30,000 / 30,000
"... Are you fucking with me?!" He exclaimed with fury, fear and amazement when he looked at his enemy's level. Why the fuck did he run into a monster with such an absurdly high level?!
Hydras were feared during the Ancient Greek era and in other myths because they were sea monsters (though in some cases they were considered land creatures) whose venom was feared even by the Gods. We must only remember how poor Chiron died when he was poisoned with this powerful toxic substance.
However, it is completely absurd that James met a monster whose level was close to one hundred.
"Wait a minute, what's my level?"
At that moment a question arose from the poor boy's mind, who immediately decided to check his own status in order to know what his own level was compared to the multi-headed monster.
Name: James B. De Gaulle
Race: Human
Class: The Blue GAMER
Level: 4| EXP: 0.00%
Title: Geek Moron, Game Nerd, Otaku Geek, The Comic Geek
HP: 200 / 200 – Regen: 0.04 HP per Minute
MP: 500 / 500 – Regen: 1.11 MP per Minute
VIT: 4
STR: 6
DEX: 8
INT: 46
WIS: 37
CHA: 2 (-10)
LUK: -40?
Attribute Points: 5
Money: ¥26,054.4 ($240~)
Needless to say, their statistics were insignificant when compared to hydra. He was level 4. JUST LEVEL 4?! Why was his level so low?! This was stupid! It seemed that the System itself was mocking him by showing him how pathetic he was!
And also, WHY in the seven circles of hell his Luck was so low?! He knew he wasn't the luckiest guy in the town but this is ridiculous… Then again, his bad luck was anything but normal.
Leaving that aside – There was literally no way he could beat the hydra! And even without the Gamer System, it was completely impossible for a human to defeat a mythical beast whose size dwarfed a friggin whale! What the fuck is this?! He was surely going to die in a blink of an eye and—
[Gamer's Mind] On!
Ugh, Gamer's Mind helped him calm down a bit. Well, at least James wasn't scared to death anymore but that didn't change the fact that he was in the presence of a monster that could crush him like an insect and, even if he fought the hydra, the punch of a normal human must be less than a mosquito bite for such a big beast.
However, there was still a way in which he could defend himself from the Nine-headed Hydra. One of the advantages of being a Gamer was that he was able to use your manna more freely than other people, or at least that was the case if you possessed the potential to be a magician.
When the world returned to its normal state, James watched as the monster began to prepare to eat him out of a bite, but then the boy used his geek knowledge to formulate a simple method for invoking his mana.
James closed his eyes and focused on a clear image that will help him unleash his mystical energy, a mental image that acts like a trigger to unlock his mana. And then he imagined a hammer being swung down by a blacksmith forging a sword.
The imaginary spark was enough and then a powerful light was released from his hands.
"!?" The monster slightly widened its eyes when a powerful flare from the hands of its prey pushed it back and blinded it temporarily "▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅██!"
"… I have to be frank… I didn't expect that to actually work!" James confessed as he felt a sudden current of energy circulating throughout his body.
By means of a certain action, the ability [Mana Manipulation] has been created!
[Mana Manipulation] (Passive/Active Skill) (Level: 1| EXP: 0.00%)
Mana is the impersonal source of energy that is both external and internal, that exists in people, places and objects, and that can be transmuted by the user into magical powers that produce outstanding results both in practice and combat.
Missionary Robert Henry Codrington defines mana as "a force altogether distinct from physical power, which acts in all kinds of ways for good and evil, and which it is of the greatest advantage to possess or control"
That said, this skill allows the user to freely manipulate mana.
· Passively Increase Mana pool by 10%
· The ability to perform magic
"Oh, that's awesome! Now I can actually do something ama—"
Congratulations! You have unlocked your Sacred Gear!
Now the [Sacred Gear] Icon, Tab and Sub-Tab has been added to your Status Window!
"What?! Do I have a Sacred Gear?! Am I in the world of Highschool DxD?" James exclaimed in disbelief at the sudden turn of events.
Certainly he accepted the fact that he was abandoned in a magical forest for unknown reasons but he doubted that this old man somehow sent him to a FICTICIOUS WORLD! THAT WAS EVEN MORE ABSURD THAN THE FACT THAT HYDRAS EXISTED AND—
[As matter of fact yes, you are currently in the DxD Universe. To be precise, you are in the Familiar Forest]
... Well, at the moment James did not have time to ask questions as the hydra was preparing to charge against him... And the monster was not very happy to be blinded by a Lower Life-From like a mere human.
If that was true then that must mean that that mysterious old man somehow managed to not only kidnap him but also threw him into another world like an Isekai LN! But that just opened a lot more of questions within James' mind.
Why this happened to him to begin with? Why HIM of all people? What's the purpose of all of this? Will he ever be able to return home?
In truth, being transported to another World/Universe was an adventure like those of the videogames and he could be actually able to meet the Main Cast of the series and the major Characters In-Universe like Ikuse Tobio, Vali Luficer, Ajuka Beelzebub, Dulio Gesualdo, Vasco-fucking-Strada, or Azazel. So many possibilities.
But—
"Does that mean I will no longer be able to return home with my parents?"
Living an epic adventure in one of your favorite's series is amazing… But what about the people you left behind? Not all of people out there are dumbasses with no family or friends and – While he himself doesn't have many friends or even a girlfriend – he has two parents that love him and care for him.
What will they feel if he suddenly disappears without a trace? They much likely will suffer by the loss of their son and that made James' heart to ache. It was a horrible sensation.
"It doesn't matter right now… I have to escape from this guy and then I can find a way to return home" James was an intelligent guy, thus he knew it was pointless to cry and wine at this moment because right now he was in one of the deadliest places in the Underworld, and one of its more dangerous residents was trying to kill him.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄" The giant beast grunted at the boy with its vicious glowing red eyes. All head prepared for another dive and now it has all intention to kill the pest before it.
A new skill has been created by the circumstances at hands!
[Detect Bloodlust] (Passive Skill) (Level: 1| EXP: 0.00%)
This skill allows the user to detect any bloodlust directed to him/her. Detect danger within a set distance of the user's location.
· Detection Range: 3 meters
[You will only get a general idea of the location and it is not pretty accurate, though]
James tensed up and tried to imagine some form of offensive in order to hold the monster long enough to escape. He couldn't use his Sacred Gear because it would be betting on luck and he didn't know what kind of Sacred Gear it was, and his luck sucks.
An idea came when he remembered one of the most basic attacks of the Mana Manipulation. It was a skill that was used for medium distance combat.
He began to concentrate a small amount of mana in the palm of his hand and then a sphere made of pure mana formed in it. The sphere was the size of a soccer ball and was light blue in color.
The boy smiled, pleased to have managed to form a sphere of mana in such a short time and then received another notification from the System for having created a new skill.
Through a certain action, a new Skill has been created!
[Mana Ball] (Active Skill) (Level: 1| EXP: 0.00%)
This is a close-mid ranged technique that constitutes the basics of [Mana Manipulation]. The user focuses mana into the palm of his/her hand in the form of a dense orb of magical energy and can release the attack as a projectile towards the enemy. But be careful, the further the orb travels the weaker it becomes though it can grow stronger if more mana is used.
· Base DMG: 50 + INT
· Extra DMG: It depends on the amount of mana used to enhance its effectiveness.
· Range: 10 meters
· Cost: 20 MP
"It's not a breakthrough, but skill is still useful. And it will become even more useful once I put my plan into action." The young Gamer commented with a confident smile.
The next thing he did was to decrease the size of the orb of magical energy by decreasing the amount of mana used to invoke it, and then he began to create a large amount of small mana orbs around it. At the very least, the mana spheres number exceeded two dozen.
"Now eat this, you oversized lizard!" He shouted as he launched the orbs as if they were bullets "Mana Machine-Gun!"
The magical orbs moved upwards with great speed and they hit the body and heads of the monster like a rain of bullets, generating a large number of small explosions at the time that hit the scaly skin of the monster.
Through certain action, a new Skill has been—
"You know what? Let's skip it, System. Just put those notifications on the [Progression Log]… If a have one to begin with" He replied sighing, he doesn't need a screen appearing every single thing he create a new skill.
On the other hand, the beast simply received the attack and dissipated it with a simple movement of its heads. It seems that this attack was so unthreatening that the Hydra could not help but let go of what seemed to be a laugh and looked at the teenager with arrogance.
"Tsk! This bastard is a lot stronger than I thought… Well then, I will simply create another skill" He snarled as he gathered more mana around his body, he knew that he has to use another strategy with this guy – Seem a huge monster obliterating your attack as if it was nothing was bemused for him and it was a huge blow to his pride (no pun intended).
A new idea fell into the adolescent's mind. By manipulating the mana around his arms, James began to devise a new method of attack that could surely do some damage to the monster.
James began to resonate his mana by making it vibrate at a high speed, the ionizing factor of the magical particles showed up when an electric current began to form between his two arms with the large arcs.
Through the super-fast movement of any gas in conjunction with a sudden rise in temperature, James formed a new skill using the humidity of the air, the heat of his own body and mana, and the movement of magical energy. This resulted in flashes of lightning that emerged from his hands.
While mana itself is less a tangible element and more and astral one, it doesn't chances the fact that it could be shaped as a gas-like element and by constant vibration it was theoretically possible to create a replica of a lightning. It wasn't as strong as a natural one though.
This is Electrokinesis. The ability to create, shape and command electrically charged particles at will. Although it was just an incomplete version due to James' lack of formal training, it still an impressive feat by a novice magician… Well, he certainly won't call himself a magician per se, but he could become one with more training.
"All right, multi-headed lizard. It show time!" James shout with a wide grin full of confident while the monster prepared himself to dive at the boy.
Certainly the Hydra was not a cowardly being who would be intimidated by a simple display of Elemental Magic of such a basic level as this. A head-on fight was child's play for this immortal monster, which possessed a poison that no devil could overtake by normal means.
James knew this was a meaningless fight.
So—
He didn't fight the monster head-on at all!
"Catch me it you can, ugly face!" The adolescent mocked the hydra and channeled the electric current in his legs, amplifying its effectiveness at least ten-fold, and began to undertake a strategic retreat.
Now that pissed the prideful hydra. It bear understand if the enemy surrender, it bear understand if the enemy called reinforcement, heck, it could bear if its opponent used dirty trick in battle.
But the one thing that could piss it off was a cowardly enemy. It was the most insulting thing you could do in the battle field. Acting brave only to run with your tail between your legs when the situation was unfavorable was simply unbearable and insulting.
If that asshole wanted to die he must at least have the integrity to die as a man!
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅██!"
There was no room for chit-chat; this disrespectful Lower Life Form has to die. That's it.
"Shit, now he's pissed!"
[Yeah, anyone can see that, Captain Obvious. Now run for your life, you poor idiot! The Hydra is going to uses its Poison Breath!]
Well, to be fair this was part of James' strategy. In order to leave this part of the forest he needed to get away from the hydra or incapacitate it somehow. And since it was impossible for him to defeat a nine-headed hydra in its present state, the best he could do was escape. And if the monster chased him, he already has a countermeasure for that.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅██!"
"Fuck you too!"
The chase started with the hydra demonstrating a surprising starting speed. If James had to make estimates, the Hydra had already broken the sound barrier with one simple step!
In any other scenario, that was more than enough to catch a moving prey. Even if a peak human could move ten times its normal speed, the speed of a bullet could still outrun him. In a place with open space this was only reduced to an extremely short hunting scene, fortunately they were not in an area full of open spaces like a savannah.
Good news: this was a forest full of obstacles and a huge monster like the hydra could not maneuver at its full capacity due to the number of trees, the rocks and the other residents of the forest.
Bad News: Only a few creatures could fight on par with a Nine-headed Hydra and there are even less that could actually beat it singlehandedly.
Fortunately for our protagonist, he didn't need to fight the powerful monster to survive, all he had to do was keep running until he got to the hunting area of one of the most powerful residents in the forest, The Dragon King Tiamat.
You see, while the LN never specified where the powerful dragoness resided, there a few hints that could help you locate the Chaos Karma Dragon. Also, even if he doesn't find Tiamat, there other creature that could keep the hydra busy for enough time to allow him to escape.
"First I need to slow him down in order to make him strain his body. I could accomplish that by making him fight other monster while chasing for me and, with a Cosmic Misfortune that always made me run into troublesome beings, I think I don't need to actually look for them to begin with"
James channeled more electrical energy in order to accelerate and extend the distance between him and the hydra. Using the huge, dense trees of the forest as obstacles, James made sure to make hydra collide with as many trees as possible so that it lost its mobility and slowed down.
Despite such a powerful body and hallucinatory speed, hydra was not really the kind of beast that was designed for racing. Yes, this species of monsters possessed speed and reflexes that were on par with the Upper Class Devils, some specimens could equal the Supreme Class of Devils, but their muscular structure and tendency for violence made them creatures designed for combat and therefore they were not specialized in hunting fast prey.
Hydras generally focused on rest and waited for the prey to approach, their other method of hunting was to attack any creature stupid enough to enter a hydra's hunting territory.
But how is it possible for a simple human to have such detailed information?
The answer was very simple indeed... James was an Otaku, Geek and Gamer expert on various topics of Pop Culture. He has seen, read and played. He has extensive knowledge about fantasy and science fiction creatures, has played a lot of video games and has certainly seen many Anime, LN and Mangas.
And in many cinematographic, television and other adaptations, hydras were not depicted as the fastest creatures within the animal kingdom. They were powerful and had acute instincts, but they were beings whose physical structure specialized in fighting. And this hydra was apparently no different; otherwise the monster could have eliminated James in a blink of an eye.
Ah, that was similar to a proverb said by one of the most iconic villains in fiction: "It doesn't matter if you possess all the power in the universe, if you are not able to touch your enemy then the fight is pointless in the first place"
It was Cell (Dragon Ball series) if anyone couldn't catch the reference.
"Hm, it looks like I entered the territory of an Undine" James commented as he slid under a trunk to avoid the whipping of the tail of the multi-headed monster.
At this time they were in a huge river where the teenager could see a creature emerging from the liquid surface.
"Ugh, it is incredible how relentless the character designers of Highschool DxD were when they introduced the Undine and the Yuuki-Onna"
According to popular culture, the Undine are water spirits whose existence was similar to that of fairies and therefore people often assume that they are beautiful creatures with the bodies of beautiful maidens... Well, in Highschool DxD this was not the case. Quite the opposite in fact.
The Undine could not be classified as beautiful - Unless you were a freak with a fetish for orc-looking female bodybuilders - they had very muscular bodies and battle auras that embarrassed many experienced soldiers from the Human World. And the worst part is that both males and females had the appearance of ogres rather than beautiful water spirits.
This was really disconcerting to James, especially because the Undine didn't really have very conservative clothes. Ugh, not a pleasant sight at all.
"Now I know why Issei was devastated when he first saw them... It's just not natural for a woman to have such an appearance. It doesn't matter if their hearts are pure and they're good people, I'm not able to find THIS attractive"
Well, at least their bad fortune was of some use as there was a group of five Undine fighting right now... And let's say they weren't very happy when they saw a male enter their territory without permission. Now they wanted to annihilate him.
[▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅██!]
Yes, right now James was starting to wonder if this was really a good idea as the Undine were now charging against him!
"Shit, sometimes I questioned my mental health myself"
The poor dark-haired boy simply prayed to Buddha, Amateratsu, Indra, Shiva and all deity throughout the multiverse for his plan to succeed.
========[The Unlucky Gamer]========
And that's it! That's all for now, ladies and gentlemen!
For all who are reading this, I am going to inform you that this story was not something you decided to write unilaterally. This story is a simple request (or rather demand) from a college friend. He has helped me a lot in the last few months and the least I could do was write a story in his honor.
It's not a Self-Insert story per se since the protagonist doesn't look much like my friend (whose name is Ricardo Pacheco), it's more of a tribute to Kick-Ass (From the Movie) in the sense of personality and appearance.
You can expect a lot of action and moments of drama in this story. I'll also include M-rating moments, i.e. Lemons (If I can write a good one in the first place) and Gore scenes.
Another important fact is that James will have a Harem (Come on, don't tell me you didn't expect it) and the number of girls may vary depending on my future plans but frankly I don't want to make a harem that exceeds 15 (And yet I think that's a lot!). At the moment there are only two girls confirmed.
Harem: Xenovia Quarta, Kuroka...
The rest is up to my semi-professional/novice dedication, but you can give me suggestions of girls in the DxD universe. They must be people who can help James grow as a person and a warrior or just someone who you guys like.
They are also free to give me suggestions for future powers or weapons. I'm a big fan of Nasuverse and its incredible weapons (EX-CALIBUUUUUUR!). DxD's weapons are interesting but pale in comparison to those that appear in other works like Nasuverse, Devil May Cry, Dragon Dogma, Infinity Sword, etc.
How is it possible that Excalibur was reduced to this? The Lady of the Lake was supposed to have recovered it after Arthur Pendragon's death! The sword was not even created by God in the first place!
And what the hell is wrong with the damn nerfing in this Fictitious Universe?!
There are mythological weapons that could obliterate a Maoh in a One-Hit Kill motion. Rongomyniad, the Asthras, Caladbolg, Balmung, Gram, Gae Golg (All these versions in the Nasuverse are worthy of a King ala Gilgamesh!).
Regardless of my opinion, you can suggest special feature weapons from mythology or give me ideas for forging weapons using special material (If I remember correctly, in Arthurian Legends, there are thirteen high level magical treasures; from special vehicles to magic blades. Tudwal Tudelud's Sharpening Stone/Whetstone can basically give you enchanted swords or boost the power of any mystical blade!).
Now is Previews time!
(PREVIEWS)
"Oh, sorry! I think I was daydreaming again" James said scratching the back of his head shyly.
"Don't worry, it doesn't matter"
"Uuh… Well, the least I can do is introduce myself… My name is James B. De Gaulle… Uuhh"
"Hm, what a strange guy you are. You have an odd aura… Anyway, I am Vali"
"It's good to… Meet you…" He stopped when his brain recorded what he had just heard right now.
"Huh? Something wrong?" She tilted her head in confusion.
WHAT. THE. FUUUUU—
~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~~~~
The red eyes glowed with malice and a twisted smile began to form on the face of the psychotic killer.
"Ohoho~! So you're the plague that's been ruining my killings, huh?! Well, it's nice to meet you skinny boy, now get ready to die~!"
"OH NO, I DON'T THINK SO! I LOVE LIVINGTHANKYOUVERYMUCH!" He simply turned around he began to run.
"Oh, don't be a spoilsport! I just want to gut you alive~!"
Well, now he has a serial killer who wants to kill him, and said killer was a psycho rogue exorcist labeled as a threat by the Crimson Ruin Princess herself… At this point there are only TWO words that could describe the situation at hands.
"Such Misfortune!"