Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamer
A tall dark man with pointed ears walked inside an undisclosed area with the gait of a ruler. He frowned upon hearing the screams and cries of many who were being experimented inside the dark dungeon. He didn't pay any attention to that as his mind was focused on several other things, such as shattering the fragile truce between the three fractions and change the outcome of this world. Prove to everyone that the people of his race were the ultimate beings to ever come into existence.
One of his agents, a rogue cleric named Roberto was supposed to perform an action which should have caused a long lasting conflict between Youkais and devils, It would have been such a joy seeing all those wretched dirty beings tearing each other apart, however he was robbed from his excitement and thrill because Roberto had failed to carry out his mission.
It didn't matter much to him though. This was supposed to be just a test mission. He was not foolish enough place all his hope into that mindless bumbling buffoon's hands.
Instead, he was planning something much much bigger. Finding ways to rectify the most pressing issue of his race that idiotic Azazel never bothered to address. Increase the population of his race. Fallen Angels were under a lot of stress , probably since the last great war ended. Devils had their evil pieces and according to his sources, heaven was now this close from developing Angels their own method which rivaled the evil pieces. It wasn't that Azazel wasn't capable or resourceful enough of finding a solution to this puzzle but he was just too much obsessed with those sacred gears. Although he himself found those artifacts interesting but that didn't give Azazel any excuse for neglecting his duty and upholding his pride as the leader of all Fallen. However, he was determined to not fail his race like most of his fellow leaders did. With the way things were going, his race was about to go absolute unless they started procreating with humans. Which wasn't something Kokabiel was fond of, considering the only reason they went to war against Heaven after falling for their grace because those bloody damn goody two shoes murdered their wives and slaughtered their children. Referring to them as monsters They tried it many centuries ago but it didn't work out as much as they expected to be. Besides with how much influence Devils and Angels had out there, it wasn't that easy for them to pick up daughters of Eve as their wives without others catching the drift of what they were up to.
He himself had tried to start a family with a strong willed female magician whom he came to respect and adore over the years, Only for some magicians associated with devils to attack her and a child they fathered together, killing both of them altogether in a very violent and disturbing manner.
The fragile truce didn't matter. It never did. That was nothing but a clever excuse they were using to strategically and skillfully wipe out his race one by one and their so called leader didn't care about any of it.
He had seen the pain and anguish in his brother's eyes when those good for nothing lowlifes took in his daughter, not only brainwashed her against her father and her race but also turning her into one of them.
Those vultures...they have nothing better to do than to just snoop in unnecessarily.
Denying a father chance to be with his wife and children...that was unforgivable! Barakiel knew that his wife's so called "relatives" were up to no good but their leader, perhaps one of the smartest minds in heaven, only second to their own father, insisted that he needed to go and work on making some pact with Asgardians. Seriously, what was he thinking? Granted that establishing connections with the likes of Aesir and such seemed like a great idea but Wasn't he already aware of the disturbing amount of animosity those fanatic Himejima clan members held towards Barakiel's wife and his daughter?
Kokabiel insisted that they should at least consider taking some sort of security measures against them or even move Barakiel's family in one of their owned territories, just so they could have stayed protected , even in Barakiel's prolonged absence, against any and every individuals who wanted to cause harm to them. However Azazel was having none of it. Unfortunately, during that time, he held Azazel in high esteem, having a disturbing amount of respect and honor for that man's past achievements. He thought Azazel had a plan to deal with this. Perhaps he knew something that they didn't. And last but not the least, he expected Azazel to handle this matter in a much sincere manner. After all, he had a duty to protect Shuri and her daughter. Not just as the governor general but as a family. Barakiel wasn't just a comrade or one those massively produced two, four or six wingers by creator to aid them in the war against Underworld.
He was one of their own flesh and blood. He was one of the great seven. He was their brother.
The leader they trusted, The leader they revered so much was nothing but a failure who didn't give a damn even about his own family, let alone their race. He was always busy with his stupid research which never seemed to make any major changes to their life.
And that was the time, he finally snapped.
"Why should ' they' allowed to be happy when the people I care about are in pain and suffering? They should be allowed to know my fury." Kokabiel seethed in fury and sadness as he gently grasped the edges of nearby table, his eyes turning watery for a moment.
Taking a brief moment to calm himself down, he recalled his new purpose. The current goal of his life. The reason behind starting this operation, most if not all apart from trusted few from his organization were entirely unaware of.
"We need an army!"
Which was easier said than done. That's why he was forced to pick the brain of a certain very unique minded individual.
Valper Galilei also known as genocidal archbishop, a nickname he gained due to infamous less than stellar he carried out to increase the number of holy sword wielders which he likely had done so (much towards ire of Gabriel and Michael) despite getting life time banishment from church. And he was among the very rare individuals to get a Ph.D in genetic engineering at a very early age. Which was a good thing because such skill could come in very handy for the mission Kokabiel needed him to carry out.
The said man stood in front of a computer screen , going through various calculations and simulations as several individuals locked inside shook violently with a white colored foam forming on their mouth.
"Nine out of nine dead. This isn't what you have promised to me, Valper." Kokabiel frowned
"We have came a long way from where we began , making considerable leaps and bounds in progress and it seems that things are progressing at a steady rate. All we need is a bit of time." The priest/scientist raised an eyebrow in annoyance but chose his words carefully. Being very much aware about that man's ill tempered nature.
"That's not what you promised when we brought you in. " The dark angel scoffed in an humorless tone.
"It's far more complicated than you are assuming m'lord. the main issue we are facing right now that mortal bodies can't seem to handle the "Angelfication" their very DNA explodes the moment we add our serum in their system." Valper said as ran another simulation, " I am working on how to make the formula OZ more stable and adaptable to foreign genes."
"Seriously? Formula OZ? are you that defunct in the concept of originality?" Kokabiel glared at the rogue scientist/priest.
"Ah, I have always found those fictional tales quite fascinating. It would be highly amusing if you could refer me as Nor-..." Before Valper could finish his sentence a sharp spear of light embedded on the back of his neck. "I will just keep this thoughts to myself, Mi'lord." He concluded with a nervous smile.
"My patience is wearing thin Valper, If this series of failures continue any further...
"Wait, Mi'lord. There is a way. During my tenure as an archbishop I have heard about a certain nun that possessed a sacred gear which could heal all forms of injuries for everyone, be it devil, angel or Youkai" Valper's fingers frantically ran on the computer, running several sets of calculations at the same time. " Our chances of success would increase by 80% if we were to get our hands on that."
Kokabiel dangerously narrowed down his eyes, "Hmm...then I shall inform my agents at once, So what is the name of this particular nun?" The dark angel asked once again, his lips twitching in a small smile.
Breathing in a sigh of relief, Valper replied in a calm tone.
"Asia, Asia Argento."
...xxxx...xxxxxxx...
Despite all the 'trouble he went through to get every single item on the list with a certain amount of discount, his level didn't increase as he initially hoped. It seemed he will need a lot more experience points than he calculated beforehand to get anywhere near Yasaka or that evil bastard Kokabiel's level.
Ben asked himself the greatest question, Yuuma...he was pretty sure he saw her disappearing after rubbing what appeared to be some sort of bird feather. It looked like some form of teleportation but Ben wasn't sure about that. Last time he saw someone performing such supernatural feats was the time when he saw Yasaka. Which wasn't that big of a shock considering she was the freaking Kyuubi empress.
Aside from the fact, he also found the quest's reference a bit cryptic. When he received the quest in the morning, he thought that system was probably just messing with his head. But he was gravely mistaken. The words like Dark angel slayer and Angel from hell...it seemed like the system was trying to warn him...that something was wrong. Did that mean Yuuma was some sort of angel? But why an Angel would want to harm him? Of course as a Winchester fan that wasn't a big surprise but as Yasaka explained , The real supernatural was a lot more different. However, if she turned out to be a fallen angel then it spelled big trouble for him. It was the third time he had gotten into trouble thanks to direct or indirect involvement from fallen angel side.
Did Kokabiel know about him witnessing the Priest's murder and sent one of his subordinates to deal with him? or this was about the first time he saved Kunou?
None of that made sense to him right now . And as much as he hated to admit, he was no Light Yagami from Death Note to figure out everything at the first glance.
"Damn! Get a grip Ben. It's not like anyone is going to murder you in sleep." Ben thought to himself, Trying to reassure himself but it didn't help him much with his anxiety and fear. Only thing which was keeping him calm and composed was his Gamer's mind but even that couldn't stop him from worrying about his future in this world of Gods, Demons and Dragons.
"Like you initially suspected, Anyone matching the description of Yuuma Amano doesn't exist in the area. But How did you...figured it out?"
I get this really strange feeling when certain individuals approach me, got really tense, I felt it around you guys too but when she approached me, I felt shivers running through my spine as if she was going to murder me and steal my organs right there and then.
Hmm...Interesting. Perhaps the Dragon has a way of instinctively protecting you or it's just Kyuubi powers acting out against threats.
Gre-Rias-san! Do you think they know about...?"
"I honestly don't think so. Fallens do not leave victims behind. The grigory who committed murder is most likely unaware about you catching him in the act. However, I can't deny they might be interested in you for the same reasons I am. As I explained to you already, you are a very special individual Ben and not just because of your Sacred gear.
"But why? It's not like I started spitting out fire or something like that. Though I don't deny it would be pretty cool"
"He he, true, but I believe you will be able to learn all those cool things within no time."
"Rias-san, M-my family...They are not in any sort of danger, Are they?"
"Don't worry Ben-kun. You are under the protection of Gremory Heiress. No harm shall fall upon you, I will give you my word for that."
Eventually he managed to make it home.
"Hey Ben!" Carl called out to him as he walked past the living room.
"Benjy! How was your day?" Sandra asked.
"Amazing..." A sarcastic Ben mumbled under his breath as he made his way upto the stairs. The entire day had taken a surreal turn ever since he stumbled upon that dying priest and it just went downhill from there. Besides this wasn't something he could discuss with his parents. He didn't want them to freak out and panic or put them in some sort of danger..
"Are you alright Kiddo? " Carl spoke out in concern.
Stopping at top of the stairs, Ben straightened up, brushed the droplets of sweat forming on his forehead and turned around with a casual smile. Rias' words held a lot of conviction behind them, perhaps he didn't have to worry about this as much as he was doing right now
"I was just going to take a nap, It's been a really long day."
"Oh, Do you want me to make a Chicken soup?" His mom gave him a worried look.
Ben shook his head and responded with a sigh.
"Nah, This is just a one day thing. Let me just sleep off the crumminess. Later guys."
And just like that Ben receded into his holy sanctuary where no one could disturb him for rest of the day.
...xxxxxxx...xxxxxxxx...
"So what is it you wanted to talk about Rias?" Sona Sitri, the demon heiress who went by her human alias Souna Shitori asked as she moved her knight forward. Rias and Sona were old friends and the little sister of Leviathan thought that she knew her fellow heiress better than any one else. Meanwhile the crimson haired devil was barely paying any attention to their ongoing game. Which was quite frustrating for Sona as Rias was actually having a lot better time dealing with her assault and turning the heat back on her.
"I dunno what to say Sona but it seems that there is a storm brewing and this place is in the center of everything." Rias let out a troubled sigh.
"Are you talking about the murdered cleric?" Sona raised an eyebrow.
"Not just a normal cleric Sona, he was a natural born holy sword wielder entrusted with one of the heaven's most treasured swords and he was murdered by a fallen angel." Rias explained further. Informing her how Akeno stumbled upon Ben in the morning by witnessing his fight against Kuoh University's resident wrestling champ, who was considered to be "unbeatable" in certain circles. In fact, even Sona was somewhat impressed by his athletic prowess and considered to make him her pawn at a certain point. The minor background search she ran on Ben during last few hours , what the young Tennyson truly was in reality and the powerful dragon residing within his arm.
"What the fu...?" Sona swore, almost out of character for the usually calm, composed and always in control Student Council President, but learning that a Kyuubi no Kitsune who also happened to host one of the five great Dragon Kings lived right under their noses and they didn't have any idea about it, not in the slightest. No wonder she was definitely caught off guard after learning about that.
"I said the same words when Akeno informed me." Rias said with an amused look, "If it wasn't for our encounter with him we'd be still unaware of these nefarious schemes."
"Poor guy, he must have been pretty shaken after seeing all that." Sona said thoughtfully
"I think he is but at the same time he comes off as a very balanced minded individual. He also has a certain air of dignity around him." Rias said with a light hearted smile, "When I talked to him today, it was like talking to someone who saw me an equal and I found myself enjoying it."
"Tennyson may not have a lot of friends but he is referred by most as an overall decent individual. However from what I learned about him from reliable sources, he has too much of an independent streak going for him. Pushing him in a submissive position might not be that easy." Sona responded in a calm tone.
"I don't treat my subjects in that manner!" Rias threw her old friend a nasty glare, her anger flaring up at such ridiculous claim.
"You are misunderstanding my words Rias." Sona smiled, slightly bowing her head in apology, "What I mean is, he is a little bit too much strong willed to let go of certain not so attractive aspects of our system."
Rias smiled back at her friend , taking the Sitri heiress' hand and squeezed it with a thoughtful nod, "I have already taken that into consideration. No matter how it might seem on the contrary, Ben-kun is a loner. He doesn't seem to have any close friends or acquaintances. Someone whom he can trust at such chaotic stage of his life Besides his entire world has turned upside down. He is really afraid right now, he has no one to talk to. His life and probably that of his family's are in danger due to all these abilities he possess. Right now...I just want to be there for him as a friend and allie. I am also planning to introduce him to my peerage and perhaps, join our club if he his willing to. Perhaps given some time...he will open up to me and his perception about evil pieces may completely change. He is an individual with immense aura and enormous potential. I am not saying I won't be disappointed if things won't work out between us but I would be more than happy to have him as a friend, rather than having nothing." She concluded in a soft tone, her voice strained a bit at the end.
There was a moment of silence in which the blue haired devil heiress drank in the full info. She was no stranger to reading between the lines and as someone who knew Rias ever since she was in her nappies, she could sense the very well hidden tone of desperation anyone except her would have definitely missed.
Rias was getting desperate and it wasn't her fault. Even she would have felt the same if she happened to be pushed into same scenario like her. She had little to no respect for phenex scion. Unlike the rest of his family, who were by far some of the most well mannered, highly sophisticated and humble individuals Sona had ever encountered in her life, Riser was a complete turnaround . Despite coming from such dignified and noble background, he turned out to be a rude, arrogant, aggressive playboy who looked down on everyone except Ultimate Class individuals or members of his own clan. He had some sort of twisted sense of honor but that didn't make up for him being a complete douche bag with an extremely lascivious attitude. The fact that her childhood friend was forcibly engaged to him left a sour taste in her mouth.
Deciding not to beat around the bush any further, Sona asked in a kind tone.
"How long?"
"Five months. He could possibly try to jump the gun and start pressuring me in three but I don't think my brother would allow that." Rias shook her head with a sigh.
"Rias, members of phenex clan have been beaten in the ratings games before." Sona said with a supporting smile, "Besides you already have a really terrifying peerage, Your knight is a survivor of the holy sword project, Your rook belongs to a specific species of nekomata, which is so rare and feared that it's almost extinct with only three survivors, One of them is the leader of the entire northern sect of Youkai, another one is her sister and last but not the least is she herself. Your bishop is born with a sacred gear so powerful and rare that he had to be locked away for his own protection. And don't even let me start on Akeno!"
Rias coughed sheepishly, looking away in embarrassment, "Well I have a bit of devil's luck, I absolutely can't deny it but you have your own peerage and I have mine. I wouldn't ever trade them for the world."
"I share your sentiments Rias but are you sure you can't convince...
"Gasper is not a fighter. I really wish there was some way to get him out of that room and make him get over his fears but sending him in his current condition, It would be nothing short of a death wish . Thankfully, Akeno and Koneko are much more functional in society than Gasper but just like him, both of them are still very much traumatized by their past. No matter what the outcome may be, I won't force them to use their abilities any more than they are willing to." Rias explained with a smile. For all her beauty and appeal, the redhead didn't show even the slightest bit of regret or disappointment.
Sona sighed in response, "You care too much, Rias."
"I am a Gremory afterall." The Crimson haired ruin princess shrugged indifferently.
"Do you think that they plan on making it all about power?" Sona raised an eyebrow.
"It makes much sense for them to do so. If it were to be about stealing something from the opposition or holding your territory for a certain time limit, Riser wouldn't have as much of an advantage against me. Granted he will be a tough opponent to deal with, regardless of the chosen format for the game but if I were to face him against a pure power based Ratings Game, where I must defeat him and his entire peerage to the last man...It's game over for me. No matter what I do." Rias pointed out with a groan, not very happy about the favoritism higher ups and especially her parents were showing to that bastard, "I have no doubt the chance they have offered me is nothing but an illusion. Ratings Game is already skewed in favor of Riser's superior strength and experience. The likelihood of me getting out of this engagement is abyssal at worst and slightly short of impossible at best. Unless I happen to get my hands on a wildcard, something that Riser can not expect, not even in his wildest dreams. "
"Interesting. As sympathetic as I am to your plight old friend, I hope you make your move soon because I surely plan to make mine." Sona smirked, her violet eyes focused on her friend as she licked her lips in anticipation, " I can't even think about letting go of someone like him."
"Well, you definitely would So ~Taan , You have always liked to come after my possessions after all." Rias smirked at her childhood friend, referring her by her infamous nickname which made the usually elegant and uptight girl blush like a tomato.
"...shut up, Ria!" Sona rolled her eyes in irritation, causing Rias to giggle a bit. Very few people such as her brother and parents tended to call her by that name, Surprisingly Sona was the one who came up with it during her 6th birthday party.
Sona did feel quite a bit sorry for making her feel so much embarrassed back then but Rias wasn't someone to quickly forgive and forget, She returned the favor ten fold by coming up with an embarrassing nickname of her own, something her beloved but borderline incestuous big (Seriously, She loved her sister to pieces but sometimes she really creeped the hell out of her) sister liked so much that she decided to use it every single time from that point forward...
Certainly, That wasn't a great experience for her. Not at all
She glanced at the chess board again, wondering how to get her queen out from Rias' grasp and block her nasty back front assault. The redhead appeared to be having a great day. Perhaps meeting her little fox friend worked wonders for her luck, Sona was really having trouble registering all the possible moves which could lead her to her victory.
Then it hit her.
More precisely, the image of red metallic gauntlet appearing on her new and only pawn's arms.
Of course, hearing about that would totally ruin Rias' victory parade before it even began. Normally Sona would have cut her some slack, considering what the redhead was going through.
But now that she had brought up So~Taan...
Needless to say, she was asking for it. She had to bring her down a peg or two. At least for the sake of her own pride which was completely obliterated by her big sister and that name.
And just like that, the sitri heiress did pull a complete one eighty as far as her mood was concerned, She called out Rias in a surprisingly jovial tone.
"I am really happy that you have found yourself a powerful allie who may or may not end up joining your peerage, Ria, but I have something very important to discuss with you as well."
Rias narrowed down her eyes at hearing that, As far as games were concerned, Sona wasn't the most graceful when it came to accepting her loses. So it didn't make much sense for her to be in such a good mood, especially when she was about to beat her in today's game of chess.
"I never told you exactly what sacred gear Hyoudou-kun possessed, did I?"
...xxxxxx...xxxxxx...
A Few Hours Later
Issei wasn't having a great day. When he agreed to become a devil underling of Sitri household by joining the Student Council President's peerage, the last thing he expected was to run into was to travel through entire city on his bicycle , delivering leaflets from one end to another end of this darn town. Hack! He had no freaking idea Kuoh could be this huge and he spent seven years of his life in this town. Thankfully, he didn't feel that tired during the nighttime and his devil body worked at its peak when sun was absent. He wanted to go out and do contracts instead of roaming around the city in his bicycle, the last thing he wanted to do was to be named the "Bicycle Devil", however for some reason only known to herself, Sona insisted that he had to hand out flyers at least for his first month as a Devil.
Anyways, it wasn't like he was complaining. Before, he would have never gotten the chance of hang out with the cute girls like Momo-chan and Ruruko-chan! Now he could spend his entire day around not only Souna Shitori but also the ever beautiful and elegant Tsubaki Shinra, Two of the most popular girls of this academy. His cheeks turned rosy as he fantasized about each one of them. After all these years filled with humiliation, failures and lots of pain, It looked like his dreams of having a harem were finally about to come true...all the breasts he wanted squeeze...
However before his imagination could run wilder, a strange feeling came over him. A chill suddenly ran down his spine and his hand started to shake. It was sort of feeling he got before Yura-chan beat the crap out of him during their "spar" but much much different. This was much much sinister as the feeling of utmost fear and panic crept up to him.
"Interesting...so that is the Sitri family crest."
Issei froze at the voice behind him, letting his bicycle fall. Trying his best to regain his bearings he turned around only to see a middle aged looking gentleman with short black hairs and dark blue eyes walking into the light of a street lamp towards his direction. He wore an outfit which consisted of a pale violet trench coat over a white dress shirt with a matching ascot, black pants and shoes alongside a black fedora.
" You are not what I thought but surely you are the one boss lady sent to find." With a dark smirk, the man traced his fingers alongside the edge of his fedora.
Issei stood there for a moment, his senses going completely haywire. His entire body was shaking with fear and panic. He couldn't stop trembling and start thinking straight.
"This man...he is bad news." Issei said to no one in particular, brushing beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead. Obviously, this guy was dangerous and seemingly wanted to kill him. It hadn't been even a whole week since he became a devil and from the spar with Yura-chan (which was more like a one sided beatdown) he had a pretty good idea that he was no Bruce Lee when it came to fighting. So it would be very stupid of him to take his chance and fight against this guy. Not interested in sticking around any longer and feeling somewhat terrified by the amount of killing intent he was pouring towards him, Issei did the only logical thing which came to his mind.
He turned around and ran off like a possessed madman.
...xxxxx...xxxxxx...
Meanwhile, Several Blocks Away
Unfortunately, sleep didn't come for young Tennyson and he found himself wandering into an abandoned construction site, not too near but not too far from his home, where he could practice his skills and probably increase his stats by a bit if possible. Despite it being nearly 3 AM , Ben didn't let the time of day bother him as he didn't have any reason to fear the human thugs and criminal that may or may not be walking around that area.
He stretched out his arms and grabbed the aluminium coated baseball bat in his hands. He then thought about the most chaotic technique he had at his disposal. Something which had saved his life at the most crucial time.
Soul Crash- A powerful attack he could only use five times in a single day and even required him to sacrifice a significant chunk of his HP but considering the power behind it, that was totally worth it. He had already performed it one time on a huge sturdy looking human sized boulder and just one strike had managed to sent the entire thing flying away in the sky to god knows where with a sharp violent bang which echoed throughout the area. Startling the birds peacefully sleeping in the nearby tree, causing them to scatter in fear and panic.
Such explosive strength? What was the reason behind it? It was almost unreal to believe in. However once he thought about it, he managed to somewhat understand the the principle behind it. This technique allowed him to concentrate his life force in a single point, drilling a sort of ejection point . Through this point imprinted on the surface channeled an explosive amount of energy within the atmosphere with enough power behind to uproot human sized boulders or probably even a tree if he were to practice upon that with a speed that an object of that size and density shouldn't have. As he was yet to know the skill to handle the effects of absorbing life force within the nature, This had some adverse effects on his body. Leading him to lose a chunk of his HP every time he used this attack.
There was a reason he was given this simple, yet really extraordinary skill. Sure he would have liked pretty sparks, spew out fireballs or probably something which he could use to flood places but this was something which was most suitable for him and his body. At least going by the preferences of what he needed to defend himself. However, he didn't have much control over it. That hurt like hell (just for a few moments) even though that wasn't mind numbing and he couldn't control or pinpoint the exact direction where he wanted to throw stuff. Anyways, who cared? he was just shooting things in space for fun.
Despite his newly improved body Ben could feel a slight amount of pain every time he used this attack. Surprisingly it was a lot less extreme than he initially expected it to be, The fact that he could withstand so much damage without really feeling anything simply sounded astonishing for him. Ben laughed out excitedly before pumping his fists into the air in triumph. Closing his eyes for a few moment, he took a few deep calming breaths and started stretching out all of his limbs. Staring at his palms with intense focus . Opening and closing his hands for many time, searching his fingers for any lasting damage, making sure each of them were alright. So far he felt no abnormalities in his movements, no muscle cramps, no diminishment in his spirit or anything wrong with his head, he was completely and perfectly alright. Despite using the said explosive attack for three times in a row.
In fact, he couldn't help but feel even more energized than before. But damn it, this wasn't even the best part, he could just slap an object using blunt weapon and watch it exploding into the sky like a rocket, that was something else. This attack had a lot of potential, if he could learn how to properly wield it someday without causing himself too much harm.
Your HP has been reduced by 300
Congratulations! You are a glutton for pain, [Physical endurance] has leveled up by 1
Congratulations! You are a glutton for pain, [Physical endurance] has leveled up by 1
[Blunt Weapon Mastery ] has increased by 1
[Blunt Weapon Mastery] has increased by 1
Continuous struggles and absorbing damage has caused your VIT to increase by 1
Ben stared at the floating screens in front of his eyes, dismissing them with a wave of his hand. He felt pleased with himself. No blood was spilled. The pain administered was already forgotten and with a bit of [Pranic Healing] and [Life Energy Cultivation] he should be as good as new. Without wasting any further moment he started focusing on recovering his lost HP.
Taking a long breath, he tightened his grip on the aluminium bat and charged towards another boulder and slammed the glowing blunt weapon with as much ferocity and strength he could muster, causing the entire thing to start shaking. Albeit, quite mildly though . As the effects of [Power Strike] were much less focused and lacked the intensity and power [Soul Crash] did.
For Ben, This was new beginning. He knew it. He could sense it. He could feel it, the excitement and thrill rushing through his veins like a pulse of electricity. A lot had happened since the last month and going through all these life altering events, It made the young Tennyson hardened. It made him humble. Many things have happened to him. He had encountered some very exceptional individuals. He saved lives and there were times he also failed to act in time in order to help someone. He had made some very dangerous enemies, at the same time, he had also made some very interesting allies. It was time for him to start a new chapter on this book called his life. He was having hard time wondering if he would be able to keep up with this new way of living without losing some of his virtues.
He tried burying the feeling of unease he felt at seeing that priest taking his last breath, He tried to ease the fear he felt at knowing that one of the fallen angels have taken interest in him and not in a very pleasant way. Instead, he focused his attention on something entirely else.
"Skills...Skills..." Ben wondered out aloud, " What kind of skills I can come up with?"
The brown haired youth gritted his teeth in frustration as his mind kept presenting him with the same set of problems over and over again.
"Man...how hard developing a new awesome skill could be? Did Ben-Prime face the same problems when he got the Omnitrix for the first time? Or is it just me?"
Leaning back against the pillar, he sat in a meditative pose. With nothing but the chirping crickets to keep him company in the otherwise awfully chilly night. Ben frowned as he suddenly recalled something. Rias told him about some very powerful Dragon dude residing inside his arm and he also had someone referring themselves as the world serpent asking to join his party.
"Alright, If I have world serpent living inside me, There must be some way I could access his powers. If I just meditated and thought about it...no not thinking...I must concentrate about the strongest thing which comes to my mind. It's how those guys from wuxia shows (Gwen keeps bragging about them in her emails all the time )get their powers anyways." Ben thought to himself, however there was always the chance that things could go wrong at the worst possible moment. He didn't want to end up being dead just for the sake of his curiosity.
Perhaps if I use Unitrix with this, I won't have to fear much about my safety.
It sounded like a better alternative and in his mind, it actually made a lot of sense.
"I wonder how cool it would be, having powers of the actual World serpent. Face it Paradox! I am no longer one of the uncool Ben 10s"
[Rookie Kitsune Mode]
He whispered under his breath. The moment he uttered those words, a faint outline consisting of bluish flames swirled around him. Starting with surrounding his ears, giving it a much more pointed and canine appearance, his eyes now flashed a much brighter and lively emerald aura, nine barely visible fox like tails emerged behind his back for a moment before dispersing into air as if they were never there in the first place.
Deciding to test his theory, Ben started focusing on what he learned about meditation, breathing and inner energy since past few weeks. Like what he did during the first time he got his abilities, he focused on getting a feel on the flow of his life force and the directions it took while moving through his body. This was something he didn't have much trouble doing. Which meant he had to take the entire thing up to next level. Ben had read enough on internet and even bothered to read some books before coming here. He started gathering all his energy and focus on a single point, now all he needed to find was the right trigger.
"Okay, think Ben think, what can you do to draw forth your dragon powers?" He asked himself.
"HA! This should work." The young gamer spared himself a smug smile , his mind going back to the moment where he first got to wield the awe inspiring species shifting device, Omnitrix.
"IT'S HERO TIME!"
The result was instantaneous. A blinding flash of light, a vortex of bluish flames engulfing the pillar he had been leaning against and his body getting smashed backwards by what appeared to be thousand grenades exploding on his face.
An earth shattering explosion rocked the entire area. The resulting shockwave was so much violent that Ben was clearly thrown towards the very end of this site, making him spin in the air several times before smashing him against a dead tree a second later.
Despite possessing Gamer's body, it definitely had Ben reeling in pain. Host of World Serpent groaned in misery and pain as he picked himself up from the small crater created by his little explosion. He glared towards his usual training ground. Which seemed like it had been rampaged by a bunch of dinosaurs. A couple of training dummies he brought with him were completely obliterated. The boulder he was practising upon had now shattered into multiple pieces. Pillar he had been leaning against moments ago had now completely disappeared not leaving even a single chunk behind. In it's place emerged a hurricane of bluish intense flames, which twisted and retorted in a wild manner.
Ben rubbed his eyes multiple times in an attempt to clear his blurry vision "What ...the...hell..was...that?"
"Darn it! What the f #* are you upto, Boya?"
Huh
He heard a voice. The same one he heard today at the school.
Once again.
Ben shook his head multiple times. This can not be. There was no one here. He had made sure about that before coming here. The place was completely devoid of his life except him and a certain number of annoying bugs.
So who the heck was that ? Why and how that individual kept talking to him without appearing in front of his eyes?
"Perhaps all these crazy events have started to get to me." Ben breathed in a sigh after taking another very good look around him. Then he felt it. The strange tingling sensation around his back. Something inside him clicked, as if someone flipped a switch inside his mind. Quickly he stared at his own reflection, he was quite astonished to see a metallic grey accoutrement almost appearing like an armor, engulfing his entire torso, a pair of dark silver wings emerged behind his back, which had a burning ethereal glow radiating off of them. As if they weren't made of flesh and bone but by bright cerulean flames.
Even he himself had taken a rather "different" appearance. His eyes were now glowing with orange fiery aura and they were slited, as if he was some sort of animal. His ears were now pointed and pointed upwards. He also appeared to have gained a lot of muscle and height too. Almost resembling an adult. Nine fluffy orange tails which gave off a fiery aura swirled behind his back.
"Now what?" Ben groaned and almost on cue several orange screened windows started floating in front of him.
Your HP has been reduced by 120
Congratulations! You are a glutton for pain, [Physical Endurance] has leveled up by now.
A special skill had been created through a special act. Through mixing your youki and foxfire with the hidden traces of draconic energy inside you, an Ultimate skill to create a huge explosion on contact, [Vortex of Fire] has now been created.
By unleashing a swift surge of youki, The user can form an assembly of fox fire which rotates upto cyclone like speeds. and is hurled at the enemy at tremendous speed. The power of this attack is fearsome, for it generates significant explosive force alongside its burning power, and could easily leave anyone below level 32 as nothing but a pile of ash.
Requires 100% MP points as penalty till the skill [Battle Kitsune Mode ] is learned
Can only be used only once in a day till the skill[Nine Tails Transformation: Lord of Kitsunes] is learned
The sacred gear [Blazing Shift: Fang of Jormungandr] has now been activated.
Ben forced himself to calm down , even with [Gamer's mind] this was a little too much for his fragile brain to process all at once. He could read all of this later. Right now all he needed to do was to figure out about Blazing...
GAAH!
Before he could decide his next step , a pained scream broke through the calm of this night. Immediately forcing him to turn around in a neck breaking speed.
At first, Ben blinked in confusion. That voice did seem familiar.
Actually a bit too much familiar now that he thought about it. The young gamer shook his head, his eyes widened in realization as he recognized the owner of that particular voice.
Issei.
...xxxxx...xxxxxx...xxxxxxxx...