Disclaimer: I don't own anything that isn't mine.
Kiba leads me to the clubhouse, the smell of freshly made tea clear, even from down the hall. Entering the room, I find the room set out for a meeting, Rias sitting at the large desk on one end, Koneko and Akeno sitting across from on another on the two couches in front, a tray set out with tea and biscuits on the coffee table that divides them. And a single chair set at the end closest to the door, directly across from Rias.
I sit in the chair, as Kiba sits down beside Koneko. The small nekoshou freezes, a cookie halfway to her mouth and glances at me, fear and something else visible in her amber eyes. Interesting, it appears she knows I'm not human, I wonder how. She quickly recovers but not before her king noticed. I'm curious about how this will play out.
The Gremory heiress leans forward, gesturing to the tea set as she says, "Would you like a cup before we begin?"
I give her a smile full of innocent guile and shake my head, "No, I'm not that fond of tea, but thank you for the offer nonetheless."
She leans forward, "Very well, I'm not sure how much you know already, but we invited you here on false pretences. You see, we are …" she starts before I cut her off.
"Devils? I know exactly who you are Rias Gremory, Sister of Sirzechs Lucifer and Heiress of House Gremory. My Patron was rather forthcoming with information that he felt I needed to know." Blaming Arhain for my meta-knowledge seems like a safe bet, and while it might be a risk to expose myself like this, I do have a sort of plan here.
"Your Patron? I didn't realise that a mage would allow their apprentice to live so close to devils." Rias leans back into her chair, a charming smile in place. So she wants to dig for information then.
"That choice was theirs to make, not for me to question it." I say, if that is what she chooses to believe that, then I'm not going to go out of my way to correct her.
"Well, if you know what we are, then let's cut to the chase. High Class devils such as myself can reincarnate other races into devils to join their peerage, I'm offering for you to join mine." she places a hand on her chest as she says this, evidently pleased with herself.
I lean into the armrest of the chair, "So you wish for me to become your slave? A tool for you to use at your whim." My voice was light, not betraying any of my thoughts.
An ugly look passes over the redhead's face, disgusted at my words, "No! Never! My peerage is my family, I would never treat them like that." She denies vehemently.
I make a non-committal noise, standing up, "I will make my decision and get back to you, don't try and pressure me, I shall come to you." Before turning on my heel, walking out .
Rias slumps into her seat with a sigh, "Well that could have gone better," she says morosely, looking at the door, getting a small nod from her queen. She looks over to Koneko, "And was there something wrong with him? I saw how you reacted when he walked in."
The nekoshou freezes, indecision flitting across her face before shaking. "Not human, predator, dangerous," she hisses out, before clamming up refusing to look at any one. Rias makes a small noise, curiosity at the strange new student evident.
I leave the ORC room, the sun sinking into the horizon, contemplation visible on my face. I was torn between taking Rias' offer. On the one hand it was a major power boon, and gave me access to a full new set of magic, on the other it put me under direct service to a petulant brat that amounted to little more than fan service.
My feet meander through the darkening streets leading me to a park. I decide to wander around it, not having much better to do, shuddering as a bitter wind blows through the place, my uniform not particularly suited to keeping me warm.
There was a set of small fire pits alongside several benches, clearly to be used during the summer. I spend a few minutes gathering some fallen sticks, setting them in one, lighting it with a small stream of [Flames].
The crackling of the fire echoes through the tranquil night, heat radiating towards me. My eyes close as I lean back in the seat. I enjoy the silence before my left shoulder erupts in pain and a crack echoes from behind me. I throw myself down, using the bench as cover as I peer through the darkness. Walking towards me, cackling like a loon was a white haired man, wearing a dark, gold edged overcoat, a blade of bright blinding light in his right hand and a gun in his left, the barrel smoking from when he shot me.
"Stop hiding shitty devil, I shall purge you and your heretical ways, come out, and I won't make you suffer… much." He calls over to me, a sadistic grin in place. I narrow my eyes, and raise my hand, firing an [Eldritch Blast] at him.
Unfortunately my aim was off, the bolt of force slamming into the gun, sending it flying into the darkness. The Exorcist scowls, charging at me with a blade of pure light energy.
I vault over the bench, and activate my kagune, the effort from doing so without eating for so long causing me some damage. The tentacles writhe forward, aiming for the mans chest.
Freed manages to dodge the first, but that put him in the path to the second, and the organ stabs deep into his chest, puncturing his lungs.
He gives a wet rasping cough, blood trickling from his mouth as he utters, "You stabbed me…" shock spreading across his face as I stare him down, uncaring.
The kagune tilts, and the corpse slides off with a bloody rasp, and Freed falls down to the ground, dead.
Level Up x2
Ignoring the pop-up I immediately put the corpse into my inventory, leaving behind a small pool of blood and his weaponry.
Picking up the blade-less hilt and the gun, I quickly [Observe] them.
[Light Sword]
Deals (150+STR) Radiant Damage
A sword hilt enchanted to manifest a blade of pure light energy, wielded primarily by Exorcists against beings such as Stray Devils.
[Light Gun]
Deals (50+DEX) Piercing Damage
and (100) Radiant Damage
A gun enchanted to imbue all ammunition fired from it with pure light energy, wielded primarily by Exorcists against beings such as Stray Devils. Uses 9mm ammo.
This puts a wrench in my plan, Freed being here indicates that the Fallen are here as well. While canon may not start for a couple of months, having even more potential threats to me is not on my list of priorities. I check my minimap, looking for a nearby dungeon. If I have to deal with the fallen any time soon, I want to be as powerful as possible.
The map leads me to an abandoned factory building, its brick walls looming above me in the twilight.
Enter Dungeon:
[The Mechanists Graveyard]
Y/N
I take a breath as I enter, the smell of oil permating the room. It was massive, filled with conveyor belts and machinery. I take a step in and hear the sound of metal rolling across the concrete flooring.
The golden orb begins to unfold, a Dwemer Sphere I presume, as it raises a single nozzle like hand. A gout of crimson flame shoots out of it, only to be forced back onto the machine as I cast an [Eldritch Blast], a second one shooting into its spine, splitting it in two. The corpse dissolves into a mist leaving behind a couple of silver coins and a strange gemstone.
[Lesser Soul Shard]
Rarity: Uncommon
A solidified soul of a lesser creature, this can be used as a fuel source for automatons and magical devices, animating golems, to anchor lesser enchantments or simply consumed for 500MP.
I pocket the gem, in the middle of a boss fight this could be incredibly useful. The clanking of machinery draws my attention further in the room, where two more of the spheres begin to charge, one armed with a crossbow and the other with a pair of bladed hands.
Another pair of [Eldritch Blasts] has the same effect, the two leaving behind some more coins, another soul shard and a scroll.
[Spell Scroll of Shield]
Costs 500MP
A shield of magical energy that can block spells from lower levelled casters, as well as some physical attacks.
Smiling, I summon my grimoire. Placing the sheet of paper against a blank page causes a flare of golden fire to dance across the book, the spell being copied into my collection as the scroll is slowly turned to ash. I repeat the process with the other scroll I earned before.
Spells Learned:
[Shield]
[Enshackle]
I head deeper into the dungeon, walking along a metal catwalk above a pit of molten metal, my footsteps echoing across the hall. The floor turns to concrete as I turn a corner, a large shutter in front of me. Two bronze spheres stand guard before it. I make a noise of contempt, and cast an [Eldritch Blast], expecting it to shred what was clearly more Dwemer Spheres.
A glowing blue shield erupts from both spheres, my spell doing nothing but bouncing off harmlessly. They unfurl themselves, revealing Droideka's. The twin blasters from the robot began to fire as I duck back behind the corner, pressing myself against the wall.
Mentally running through my spells I let out a growl, they would all be blocked by those damnable shields they have. I begin to plan, luckily they seem more interested in guarding the door than chasing after me.
Pacing up and down the hall, I eventually come up with an idea, one that might end badly, but it was my best shot at winning. Peering round the corner I steel myself, before sprinting round and towards the two robots. Casting [Shield], I manage to block their blasts as I move. Dispelling the shield at the last second, I force myself through the forcefield, the feeling of static electricity covering me as I move through it.
At this range I had no chance of dodging the blast, and ended up with a shot to the side, a smoking hole emanating the scent of burnt flesh. The inverse was also true though, and it took the full brunt of an [Eldritch Blast] straight to its head. As the force field for the first was vanishing I jump over to the other one, thrusting my hand through and casting another [Eldritch Blast], the robot shattering as the spell hit its center mass.
The two corpses slowly disolve into mist, leaving behind a lump of metal, the same colour as they were, a handful of coins and a new scroll.
[Spell Scroll of Mending]
MP cost varies
Mends broken items, the more damage that needs repaired means more mana needs to be used.
[Scrap Bronzium]
Rarity: Uncommon
Crafting Ingredient
A lump of scrap bronzium salvage from the corpse of a droideka.
I make a noise of satisfaction at my earnings, as I copy the spell into my grimoire, waiting for my health to regen.
Level up!
Laying down on my stomach, I roll the shutter up slightly, just enough for me to peer through and see what I was dealing with. The shutter led directly onto a catwalk above a massive main factory room.
A half dozen super droids were patrolling the catwalk, with seven droideka's on higher ledges, acting as stationary turrets. A dozen red and black humanoid robots, with tri-barrelled gun hands patrolled the main floor, while a trio of basic Synths work on a Dwemer Centurion in the center of the room, the brassy armour glowing white as the air around it ripples. That doesn't look good.
[Forgemaster]
Dwemer Centurion
Lvl 50
Damage Immunities: Fire
Damage Vulnerabilities: Cold
HP: 12,000
MP: 00000
Oh, that's problematic, this room might actually be the death of me if I don't plan properly. Sliding my hand through the gap at the base of the shutter, I grasp the cold metal of the catwalk before continuously casting [Sparks].
The magical electricity surges across the metal, zapping the super droids and droideka's. The spherical droids soon slump down, sparking and the super droids collapse shortly after, the magic killing them.
Sliding the shutter up fully, I crouch down and make my way through, firing of a few [Eldritch Blasts] to break the ladders leading up to the cat walk, leaving only one left.
The red and black robots begin to shoot at me, the bullets giving off mild explosions as they impact into the walls. Luckily the bullets themselves do nothing to me, clearly not magical enough to pierce my skin, and the minor damage from the explosions heal fast.
The remaining robots and the synths fall easily to my spells, leaving only the boss remaining. Not taking any chances I begin to cast, the bolts of force slamming into the behemoth as it begins activates, steam billowing out of its joints as it moves towards me.
However the monster was no match for my overpowered, low mana costing spammable spell, falling before it could even touch me.
Level up x6
Please Select 2 Pact Boons!
A massive list of the pact boons appear before me, with a variety of different powers. I begin to read through the list to see my options.
Eventually I pick the two I wanted most, [Agonising Blast] and [Spell Sniper].
[Agonising Blast]
Add your CHA stat value to your Eldritch Blast damage value.
[Spell Sniper]
Activate to increase spell range by 5x, in exchange for a 2x MP cost.
I was happy with the choices, both would allow me to deal with stronger threats much easier, greatly reducing any risks I need to take while fighting. I then begin the arduous task of gathering up the loot of everything that dropped.
Shoving the last of the loot into my inventory, I look at the few items I left out. Three stat crystals, for DEX, STR and LCK, two more spell scrolls and a Gatcha token from the Forgemaster.
[Spell Scroll of Unseen Servant]
Costs 250 MP
Summons a humanoid of semi-sentient magical force. This force will perform basic tasks to the best of its ability, the only stopping when the task has been completed or instructed to.
[Spell Scroll of Butcher]
Costs 750 MP
Butchers the targeted corpse, separating and processing the edible meats from the inedible.
The pair of spells are incredibly useful, especially the second one for dealing with my food situation. Now for my Gatcha.
[Doom Slayers Helmet]
Rarity: Unique
The helmet of the legendary Praetor Suit, worn by the Doom Slayer in his crusade against Hell.
I try to put on the large green helmet, only for it to wobble around like I was a bobble-head, the helmet was much larger than my head. I put it in my inventory anyway, at worse I have one of the coolest pieces of memorabilia ever, at best I end up with the full armour and VEGA.
I walk to the door at the far end of the main room, opening it to reveal a sprawling scrap yard that goes on for acres, piles of junk and twisted scrap metal towering above me.
I begin to walk along the dusty trail left between the metal cliffs, I take note of a few of the items in the piles, chitauri chariots, a seamoth, Titan Mechs, as well as a whole host of other junk.
As I walk deeper into the labyrinth the ground begins to rumble and quake as a robotic scorpion twists its way out from below.
[Scorponok]
Decepticon
HP: 50,000
MP: 00,000
I swear, firing off spells into the head of the Transformer to no avail, the metallic exterior not even denting. I narrowly dodge a swipe of its barbed tail, clambering up a pile of the scrap to avoid it. Scorponok gives off a rattling sound, akin to a beastail roar and burrows back below ground.
Eyes wide I activate Boosted Gear, the crimson and gold gauntlet manifesting on my left hand. A few seconds pass before it announces, "BOOST."
It becomes a waiting game, eventually I earn all twelve boosts as I wait for the robot to surface. The ground ripples and Scorponok bursts out of the ground, leaping through the air to get to me.
I summon an [Eldritch Blast] and apply the boosts to it, unearthly black and purple lightning sparking out of my hand as I thrust it towards the Decepticon.
"[Boosted Eldritch Blast]," I cry out as I release the spell, bracing myself. It spams into Scorponok, forcing him to the ground, flattened by the force of the spell as I was jettisoned backwards, forced deep into the pile of scrap I was standing on by the backlash of the spell.
I groan in pain as I begin to squirm my way out, having to put a few items in my inventory to get them out of my way. I stumble down the pile on wobbly legs, holding onto the metal to avoid falling as I get over to the destroyed Transformer.
It was at the end of a massive furrow, gouged into the ground by the force of my spell, the corpse sparking and leaking a glowing blue fluid. In the centre of its head, sticking out like a knife was another Gatcha token, my spoils of war.
Level up x2!
I take the token and snap it, the crack sounding of victory.
[Spell Scroll of Sanguine Manipulation]
Costs 175MP per second
Allows the user to manipulate blood, providing it is not in the body of a living being.
I smile, learning the spell as I leave the dungeon. It was still dark outside, so I decided it would be the perfect time to go and deal with the rogue Fallen angels and their exorcists.
As soon as I leave the doors of the factory, a pop-up appears, it's writing ominous in the dark of the night.
Legendary Dungeon Unlock:
Nemesis
My eyes narrow as I try to recall what exactly it was referring to, I think the Nemesis was a spacecraft for Transformers, yet I couldn't be entirely sure. I decide to leave it for another day, instead focussing on the goal at hand.
I walk into the abandoned church just as the first rays of dawn peak over the horizon. Two exorcists were guarding the way down, one attempted to pull out his gun but a single [Eldritch Blast] ended him, his companion meeting the same fate moments later. Their corpses were placed into my inventory for later.
As I head down the stairs to the basement I notice an old sprinkler system, the pipes slowly rusting. It might be cheap to use the same trick often, but what does it matter if it ends up with me winning.
Aiming upwards, a shot of [Flames] impacts the sprinklers sensor, causing an alarm to scream out and a deluge of rust ridden water to pour out.
Chuckling as I hear cries and groaning from the exorcists being soaked, I slam open the door, [Sparks] already flying from my hand. The electric spell dances through the room, sparks flying as the exorcists spasm in pain. I end the spell and they all drop to the ground, smoking slightly and very much dead.
Level Up!
I hear a cry of outrage behind me, turning to see all four of the Fallen walking through the door.
"You… You…" While the short blond Fallen was distracted, blocking her allies, I cast [Enshackle], a glowing purple chain shooting from my hand and winding around her, binding her tightly as she slumps to the ground.
Raynare and Dohnaseek begin to fly, ebony wings bursting from their back as they take advantage of the high ceiling, while the last one single throws a light spear at me, the glowing gold blade aimed at my chest.
It slams into my [Shield], causing both to shatter as I follow up with another [Enshackle] binding her as she tries to create a new spear. A sharp pain erupts from my side as the pale blue of Dohnaseeks spear stabs into my side. I snarl, firing off a trio of [Eldritch Blasts] in his direction. He dodges two, but the last hits his wing, shattering the bones, causing him to spiral into the ground, hitting it with a sickening thud.
Absentmindedly tying him up with [Enshackle], I look up to face Raynare, a tro of glowing spears of pink light surround her. I hastily throw up a [Shield] as she gestures down, the spears tilting before accelerating rapidly towards me. I brace myself as they hit, the first shattering my shield as the others stab into me.
My vision was red, my hp bar almost drained from those two attacks alone. Going on the offensive, I begin to cast, flames dancing and lightning surging out in harmony as bolts of force weave their way through. Raynare has but a moment to react, her eyes widening slightly before the spells slams into her, shooting her into the ceiling hard enough to crack it. She falls to the ground, already unconscious. But I wasn't taking any risks so tie her up as well.
I shift the Fallen so they were facing away from me, looking towards the wall, before casting another [Enshackle] to ensure I would not be faced with any problems.
I move to the corpses of the exorcists, half a dozen, as I loot them, taking money, ammunition, anything they had on them and storing the corpses in my inventory, no point in wasting food after all.
I pause, planning exactly what my next move should be, before casting [Message]. It forms a smokey raven, with glowing purple eyes. It perches on my shoulder and lets out a caw.
"Go to Azazel of the Grigori, ask him to meet me at Kuoh's abandoned church, that war may hinge on his actions here." It flies off, turning to smoke as it vanishes.
It was mere minutes before I hear movement upstairs, someone walking down them. He was tall, black haired with golden bangs and a small goatee. He was wearing a long maroon overcoat, its front left open as he leans against the door frame.
"Well, you weren't kidding," he states dryly. "Azazel, Governor-General of the Grigori, as you already know, and you are?" he asks, raising a hand for me to shake.
"Reo Taika, I would say its a pleasure but the circumstances deny me that much," I shake his hand gingerly, knowing he could crush me in an instant if he desired.
He lets out a hum, as he walks through the room, "So, what happened, I'm guessing you didn't just stumble here by chance and decide to go on a ramage," he says, kneeling down beside Raynare as he begins to examine her injuries.
"One of their exorcists, tried to kill me. He saw me casting magic, believed me to be a devil and attacked. I took offence. And this was the result." I say dryly.
"I see, and what happened to him," he points to Dohnaseeks wing, shattered and in dire need of extreme healing.
"He hit me."
He gestures to Raynare, "And her?"
"She hit me twice."
He sighs and straightens up, creating a spear of pure gold he presses it against the chains of my spell. There was a sound of shattering glass, and the chains fragment into thousands of tiny pieces, slowly turning into steam.
"On behalf of the Grigori, Thank you, this could have been a catastrophe. I owe you one." he says as a glowing blue circle manifests underneath him, encompassing the four rogue Fallen as well.
"You owe me four, one for each of them, one for each potential spark that could have burned away the fragile peace you so desperately want to keep." I say, not willing to budge on that.
He lets out a sigh, nodding, "Thats… fair, alright, I'll be in touch, you interest me kid." There was a blue flare and I'm left alone in the church basement. Time to begin the trek home.
As I slump down on my sofa, I scroll through my inventory, seeing the random junk I threw in there when I was trapped in the pile. Most of it was nothing of value, some scrap metal or part of vehicles, but two items drew my attention as valuable.
[Broken Cybertronian Handheld]
The broken handheld of a Cybertronion, used to store, transfer and receive data.
It's a Transformers smart phone.
I bite back a snort at the bottom line, clearly added in by someone that wasn't my Game System. But as interesting as this was, the other was potentially far more useful.
[Broken Organic Energon Extractor]
The broken device used to extract Energon from the bodily fluids of biological beings.
If I recall correctly Energon was the power source of the Cybertronions, and used to fuel practically everything they used. And it could theoretically be used to created new Transformers.
I place it in the corner of the spare room I had, a small room likely to be used for storage, but would instead be where I conduct magical experiments now. Pressing a hand against a dented metal side, i channel my mana and cast [Mending], my hand glowing faintly as purple lines dance across the machine, repairing it before my very eyes.
It was around the size of a large refrigerator, with a large blue tank in the center, clearly what the liquid Energon was stored in. At the top was a pipe, designed to be hooked up to another machine, where the fluids would be pumped into. The rest of the mechanics workings were hidden by metal panels, a dull grey hidden by a runic looking writing etched into it.
I nod at the work, as an idea hits me. I pull out an exorcists corpse, creating a small incision along the forearm. I cast [Sanguine Manipulation], pulling out the blood. It forms a dull red tendril as it leaves the cooling body, completely under my control. I direct it into the top pipe and the machine begins to hum, a soft mechanical whirring as the alien technology does its job.
I pull the corpse back into my inventory, and leave the Extractor to do it's thing. I move the 'Handheld', the thing was at least the size of a large flatscreen, to my living room. Quickly repeating the [Mending] spell leaves it in perfect condition, albeit without power. Carefully turning it over, I open the back panel, to see a mess of cables. Sighing I begin to work, attempting to jury rig this into being able to connect to Earth technologies.
The process took several hours, and most of my patience, but I managed to connect an adaptor of sorts to the back, allowing it to be used as the worlds most high tech t.v. Yawning I check the time, letting out a curse as I do so, I had half an hour before school started for the day.
I quickly get changed, throwing on a clean uniform and brushing my teeth to get rid of the grimy taste from them, making sure I had everything, and locking my door behind me, I run for school.
I make it there just in time, mere moments before the bell rings to indicate the start of the day. I mostly zone out, my INT score high enough to not need much effort to complete the work that was set before me. Before I knew it the day was over and my mind was made up.
I stride you to the ORC building, and push the door open wide, standing tall as everyone inside looks at me.
"I accept."
What's this, a new chapter after so many months. Fuck yeah it is, and before anyone bitches to me, Reo was always gonna join the peerage. As for how long that lasts, well that's a different story ain't it.
I also don't want to hear anything about him being too OP or getting too much to quickly. I roll for every loot drop so its as far and random as I can make it, and as for levelling, well this is likely the last major level surge for a while. Most of his levelling will be much much slower.
As always I can be found on The Dark Wolf Shiro's discord server, along side many many amazing writers such as the man himself, Mirlnir, USSRExplorer, Shifty Sword and fucking way too many more.
discord.
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