If I had to describe the reincarnation process, the closest resemblance would be a flood. At first, it came in a trickle. Pictures of people I had never seen in my life flashed by, yet I knew them intimately. The trickle became a river and the river flowed faster every second. There were so many voices in my head and the pain of the memory and knowledge became unbearable. With an agonized scream, the world went white and back to black. For a while, I don't feel anything I hear something.
The shrill cry of an alarm clock ringing is the first thing I hear when I wake up. Opening up my eyes, I quickly notice something is amiss. Everything around me looks fuzzy and blurry. I wipe my eyes, rubbing away the tiredness and possible shock of being reborn. Despite my action, the room and its surroundings still look out of focus. Tossing the heavy blanket behind me, I stumble toward an oak desk with drawers, where my glasses and wallet are. Donning my glasses, everything in the room becomes crystal clear for me.
The bedroom is sparse and decorated with a few paintings. A black bookcase filled with various books and papers is bolted to the floor and sits next to my bed. The bathroom and shower are located a few feet away, separated by a door. Attached to the bathroom is my closet. As I get dressed, I notice my ID and pick it up to examine it. It is a white laminated identification card with my name, age, picture, and class number printed on it.
"Junichiro Marchosias" I mumble aloud. Placing the ID in my wallet, I check the room one last time before leaving. The route to the kitchen is imprinted in my memories as I quickly descend the stairs leading to the main hall. There is a sense of wonder as I explore my new home. Memories of my new childhood inform me about my new home, Marchosias Hold.
Originally built in the late 1850s, Marchosias Hold is located within a low basin in a mountain range near Kuoh City. It went through a series of renovations, its image transformed throughout the decades. Currently, it is a Dutch Colonial mansion that surrounds a quadrangle that serves as a training field. Surrounded by a ring of mountains, it's the perfect place for isolation.
The plastered brown walls are adorned with paintings, but it is the statues that catch my attention. Dressed in medieval armor, they always hold various items in their hands. Most of them hold medieval weapons, like polearms and short swords. Occasionally, they may hold a book or staff. Inscribed on the round stone plinths they stand on is a Roman numeral. However, the one in the main hall depicts an armored man pointing his M1 Garand rifle at the main entrance. In addition to the Roman numeral, the words 'Lost Battalion' is inscribed below it.
Passing the rifleman, I make my way into the kitchen where I make my breakfast. Poppinga slice of bread into the toaster oven, I pour myself a cup of milk while waiting for my toast. A loud 'ding' from the toaster announces that the bread is finished toasting Gingerly, I pull it out of the oven and placed it on my plate.
The tranquil mood is ruined when I hear someone laughing behind me. Spinning around, I turn to face a white featureless person leaning against the wall. He has no identifiable features save for his wide grin.
"Good morning, Jun. How are you?" the faceless man speaks cheerfully. Grabbing the jar of peanut butter, I walk over to the dining table, unscrew the jar's cap and yank out a dollop with the butter knife.
"Nervous but fine," I say as I spread the dollop across my toast, "Why are you here, God? Did you forget to tell me something?"
God walks toward the dining table and pulls a chair to sit across from me. "I'm here to help you in your orientation tour, Jun." I frown at him before drinking from my cup. "What orientation tour? Did you add new rooms to the mansion?"
The grin on God's featureless face gets wider as It chuckles at me. "Obviously, Jun. Let me show the new additions." Gobbling the last piece of toast into my mouth, I drain the cup of milk and beckon him to begin the tour.
The moment I stand up, my vision goes white as my head is wracked with pain. Bots of various colors fill my vision as I try to recover from the sudden attack. Falling to the ground, I howl in pain and try to blink my eyes. "What the hell was that?"
"Forgive me, I had to implant the last few additions for you.
Our first stop on the tour is the statue of the soldier I passed by earlier. God taps the statue curiously, "Tell me, what do you know about this place?" Confused, I give a short explanation of the Hold's history. It seems uninterested until I finish my long story. "What about this statue or the ones you saw earlier?" I shrug my shoulders, "I don't know. They could be my ancestors or family members who did heroic deeds". The grin on God's face grows wider, "You're right about them being your ancestors. But these statues are more than pieces of art."
I back away from the statue as cracks begin to form over its surface. Slowly but steadily, the soldier moves his arms and legs. Behind its visor, a pale blue light glows behind it. Jumping down from its short plinth, two blue orbs stare at me. Kneeling on one knee, the statue places a fist over his left breast.
To be honest, I am freaking out a little bit. I knew I was reincarnated in a supernatural world, but I didn't expect to be in this kind of situation. "They're all golems, aren't they?"
God claps his hands and the statue returns to its plinth. "All 1,200 statues in the mansion contain the souls of your ancestors. They will obey your commands until you die or you have chosen the next heir."
Following behind, my mind abounds with questions and I blurt them out, "How durable are they? How were they made?What are their weaknesses?" The featureless man chuckles softly and answers my questions with patience. Marching over to the basement door, we walk down the iron staircase. The smell of mothballs and dust causes me to sneeze, the sound echoing off the stone walls. Stacks of cardboard boxes line the wall on either side and I watch God stand in front of a gray stone wall.
"Behind this wall lays your base of operations, Jun. To enter it, place your hand on the wall and will it to move."
"What do you mean by 'will'?" I questioned him. God sighs and pulls me to the wall. Pushing my left hand against the wall, he looks at me with an expectant expression. "It's simple. Picture the wall moving aside like a door in your mind. Concentrate on that image and command it to open"
"it would be a lot easier if you had a keypad here," I grumbled and shut my eyes. The image of the gray brick walls appeared in my mind and an imaginary crack running through the center forced the wall open. The moment the wall was open, I mentally ordered the wall to break apart. The imaginary image fading, I opened my eyes to find a large gap in the wall. Behind it was a cavernous space illuminated by a hovering ring of white flames. A slanted stone ramp leads toward the bottom of the floor.
Carved on the stone floor was an intricate circular pattern with Sanskrit writing. As I get closer, I recognize it as the summoning circle from Fate / Grand Order. Beyond the circle was an elevator door that led to the deeper subterranean levels. The symbols and scripts that made up the pattern gave off a blue glow as we approached it. I gasped in pain and watched in horror as a circular pattern burned itself into the back of my hands. God didn't notice me as it examined the circle.
"Ah, good. It seems that my mark has imprinted itself on you." God notices me and snaps his fingers, summoning a roll of white gauze and a bottle of alcohol out of thin air. Pouring alcohol on my burned hands, he continues his explanation.
"That mark is a symbol of my power and your authority as the Gamer. The Mark of Divinity serves as your main menu, allowing you access to your inventory and other stuff. By the way, it's also your Sacred Gear if anyone asks." Unfortunately for me, I'm still reeling from the pain and shock, which means I never got the memo about Sacred Gears.
God carefully wraps my hands with the white gauze and I tap the spot where the circle branded me. A transparent menu screen pops up in front of me. There are four options to choose from.
Profile
Inventory
Crafting
Codex
Tapping the 'Profile' button brings up a screen of my current status for me to see.
Junichiro Marchosias / Lv. 0
Power: 25 / Mana: 1
Resistance: 1
Charisma: 1
Traits: Godsight, Loremaster [Novice], Sly Tongue
Ultimate: Blessing - N/A | Curse - N/A
"Hey God, where's the rest of my other stats? I don't see my Dexterity and Wisdom stats. Also, what's Godsight and Loremaster?" God looks over at the screen and grunts. "Power is a combination of the Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom attributes. I just simplified it to make it easier for you to understand."
"Godsight allows you to access another person's Profile. Loremaster is a trait that allows you to understand their background. Traits have four levels: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Deity. Right now, you can only see where they were born and where they died. It does not explain how or why they died."
Tapping the 'Inventory' button reveals the items I choose during the character creation section. The 'Crafting' button reveals a crafting system similar to Minecraft. Lastly, the 'Codex' is basically a series of basic lore entries about the world of High School DxD. For some reason, all of the lore entries are blacked out. I guess I have to explore the world and its people to get information.
Pulling me by my bandaged hands, I am dragged into a room next to the giant glowing circle. Flicking the lights on, I found myself standing on a mountain of junk. From rusted sword sheaths to glass vials containing unknown liquids, it is the messiest room I have seen in my life.
"What the hell is this, God? Why does it look like a junkyard?" I scream at the figure and wave my arms at God. Shrugging his shoulders, God speaks, "This junkyard is the most important room here. This is the Catalyst Room, where you can choose any item to summon your servant. It may look terrible, but it's useful if you what you're looking for." God leaves the room as he drags me behind him.
"Wait, you said something about summoning a servant," I grit my teeth as he pulls me along. "Ah, right. Have you watched the Fate series before?"
I nod my head. The only Fate series I watched was Fate Zero and Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Battlefield: Babylonia. I knew the basics about the Holy Grail War and the Master/Servant system.
"Well, in this world, fights are settled through a system called the Rating Game. Two teams of fifteen people fight on a battlefield to determine who is the winner. It's used for almost everything, from gaining prestige to business decisions." Holding his palm out, he conjures the image of several holographic chess pieces.
"The Rating Game uses chess as its basis and the team members' powers are based on which chess piece they absorb." Closing his hand makes the chess pieces vanish as we reach the next room. The room is small and adorned with metal shields. Behind a bartender's table, a man wearing a dark suit and a crimson silk blazer smiles at us. He would have looked like a normal hotel employee if it weren't for the racks of rifles and pistols behind him.
"Welcome, Master Marchosias. Do you need something?" the man warmly greets me. I look at God and he laughs, amused at my shocked face. Tugging on his hand, I discreetly walk away from the man behind the bar. "That's him, right? The Sommelier from John Wick?" I whisper to God.
"Gee, Jun. Who else could it be?" He sarcastically answers me. "The Sommelier is your weapons vendor and will train you in firearms usage." I grab his wrist before he leaves the Sommelier's room. "Who else is here?"
"In terms of vendors, just him and the Tailor," he says and pulls me to the next room. The medical room is divided into four sections: an examination room, a surgery room, a quarantine room, and an emergency care room. Both the examination room, surgery room, and quarantine room look exactly as I expected them to be, but the emergency room is slightly disappointing. The room is filled with six bacta tanks hooked up to a power source. Manned by a team of medical droids, we leave the room and return to the Summoning Circle in the center of the room. Passing the circle, we approach the elevator door.
The elevator door creaks as it slides open for us. Stepping inside, I notice the keypad is labeled with two buttons, B1 and B2. Above the keypad is a monitor Pressing the B1 button, the elevator groans and descends. After descending for a few minutes, the door opens to reveal a room. On either side of the room, two tall, bi-pedal bird-like machines stand ready for battle. Two pillars from the floor near us. The first one is a pedestal with a round inclined control panel on top consisting of two concentric circles. The second one is a leather book filled with lines of hieroglyphs. A cacophony of squawks and squeaks fills the room as the bipedal machines come to life. a low droning roar silences them. In the center of the room, a metal ring-like structure with reddish-orange chevrons activates. The sound of whirling machinery bothers my ear as it powers up. Section of the floor leading to the ring-like structure rise to form a ramp.
"Why do I have a Stargate here?" I asked as the noise dies down. "That Stargate is used to transport your team to your dungeons, which are worlds in the multiverse. Once you arrive in that world, you must complete the objective before returning home. Any item you take is considered loot and can be crafted once you have obtained the item."
God pointed at the bipedal machine staring at us, "These Gekkos will protect the Stargate from intruders and any uninvited guests coming through the Stargate. After you exit the Stargate, it will power down and descend into the floors to prevent it from being activated off-world." I yelp as he pulls me back to the elevator and we descend to the B2 level.
The B2 level is pitch-black and cold. The ice beneath our feet crackles as we walk. Guided by the bright light emanating from God's body, we enter a room full of sealed wooden boxes. Prying open one of the boxes, God lifts a shoulder pauldron for me to see. Painted in bright blue, a white upside-down Greek Omega symbol and a chevron is emblazoned over it.
I know what this symbol means and I turn around toward the door. Peeking outside, I can see columns of cryo pods stretching for miles across the room. Conflicting emotions inside me crash against one another as I feel a wave of giddiness and anxiety simultaneously. Turning, I see God nodding his head beside me.
"They are yours to command," the entity says, "I will warn you: the Thunder-Warriors can a bit too violent"
Thunder-Warriors? That doesn't make any sense at all. "I thought these are Space Marines!"
"They are Space Marines if you can get the gene-seeds," God says casually. "Besides, it's boring to use the Primaris Space Marines. They may be superior to the Firstborns, but they sorely lack actual combat experience. On the other hand, the Thunder warriors have fought for three thousand years.
A bell-like chime sounds in my mind and a transparent menu box pops up.
Exotic Quest: Novus Bellator Fulminare
Space Marines are great, but making your own supersoldiers is better.
Imbue the Thunder-Warriors with implants, organs, abilities to make them powerful.
Reward: ?
"As the quest says, make them powerful. There is no limit to how many abilities or organs to implant in them." God says.
"I can imbue them with anything, you say?" My mind is already filled with abilities that could easily overpower a Space Marine or even a Primarch. Grabbing a notepad in the armory, I jot them down before they disappear in my cluttered mind.
"By the way, how many of these guys are here?"
"Thirty legions or 300,000 supersoldiers." Snapping his fingers, It teleports me to the back of the room, where I can see more cryo pods.
God pats my back to reassure me and the elevator doors open.
In front of the circle, God hands me a leather pouch containing three gold coins. On the front side is an image of the summoning circle from Fate/Grand Order, while the back is engraved with a skull. "Consider them a free gift, Jun. These are Summon Tokens and they are used to activate the Summoning Circle." Ripping the bandages apart, I see the pattern that was branded on my hands for the first time. Outlined in black and red, it's a wolf with griffin's wings and a serpent's tail, with flames spewing from the wolf's mouth. The skin where the Mark of Divinity burned itself is rough like sandpaper.
"Why am I summoning Servants with these tokens?" I point at the circle.
"You're summoning them because they are your Peerage members. You could recruit some of this world's denizens to your Peerage, but that takes a lot of time and effort." God drags me back to the catalyst room and throws me into the mountain of junk.
"Summoning a Servant requires two things: a catalyst and a token," God said and summoned a chair to sit on.
"How am I supposed to find a catalyst in this pile of junk?" I kick a dented helmet nearby and watch it bounce down the mountain. God sighs heavily before speaking.
"Let's start with a question: do you think you're a skilled swordsman?"
"No, I'm not," I say. "What about magic?" God inquires. Again, I give the same answer. "What's the point of this?" I ask angrily.
"What's the point, you ask? It's simple: you need a warrior that can teach you swordsmanship and magic. Someone that has taught dozens of people who became famous warriors after finishing their training."
"But, there are dozens of people who done that. Like Chiron." I pointed out. God shrugged his shoulders, "That's true. You might summon Chiron or you might summon someone else. For now, focus on fulfilling the requirement."
Crawling on my knees, I search for the catalyst among the trash. Tossing aside a bone necklace, I howl in frustration and lash out at the junk around me. I don't understand why God is making me use an outdated method. Summoning Servants is just another phrase to say a gacha lottery. It's all about luck and no guarantees.
"Am I even guaranteed to get the person I want?" I scream at God. The smile on his face transforms into a pensive frown. "Of course you are. I am not lying."
At this point, I'm not sure whether I can trust his words. Pushing his smug smile out of my mind, I shut my eyes and take several deep breaths. Recalling his words earlier, I begin listing out the criteria mentally. One, I need someone who can fight with me. Two, I need someone who can teach me swordsmanship and magic. Three, that person must have trained and produced skilled warriors like him or her. I repeat the criteria in my mind when I feel an invisible tug on my hand. The tugging around my hand becomes faster and more urgent. Scrambling to my feet, I follow it until a burning sensation fills my hand. Opening my eyes, I can see something glittering under the light and I reach for it.
The object is an ordinary trinket, a rusted silver medallion. There are no markings or symbols carved on it, yet it feels important to me. I lift the medallion up for God to see and It nods in approval. "Good. You found the first one. Now find the other two catalysts."
Pocketing the trinket away, I think I understand how this catalyst room works now. Closing my eyes again, I brainstorm for a while until I reach new criteria to fulfill. One, I need someone who can fight with me. Two, I need someone who can teach me how to create items from scratch. Three, that person must know what materials are needed, how to make them, and what the final item will be. Again, I feel the tugging on my hand and follow it. Diving my hand into the junk, I pull out a rusted mask with a dented crown. On closer examination, the crown resembles a sci-fi version of a stovetop hat. Alien runes cover the mask's surface.
My requirement for the last catalyst is a bit different. I already have two people that could teach me some skills. I could have found another person to teach me advanced magic skills, but having three teachers is not fun. I don't want to be stuck in a perpetual cycle of learning skills forever. It would be a terrible and lonely experience for me. Speaking of which, I realize that I never made a single friend in my previous life. I was so hyper-focused on getting a job and money that I never made time for myself.
All I want is a friend. A trustworthy and dependable person. Someone who never got experience their life to the fullest potential and deserves a second chance to do so. A sharp yank on my hands makes me gasp in pain and I follow the invisible rope. My hand is numb from the burning sensation and I pick up a blue crystal rose. There are flecks of dried blood on it, but I ignore it. Carrying my catalysts in my pocket, I nod at God.
Placing my three catalysts in the circle, I toss the three Summoning Tokens at the circle. The tokens sink into the floor and the circle lights up. Lightning bolts arc from the circle as the summoning process begins. A whirlwind of light particles surrounds the catalysts, obscuring my view. Above us, the white flaming halo begins rotating and its speed increases every minute. Unconsciously, I find myself stretching my arms toward the circle. With the Mark of Divinity glowing a crimson aura, I hear a faint chanting in the background.
The pillars begin to solidify and coalescence into solid pillars. The chanting grows louder and frantic as the ritual reaches its apex. The pillar shatters into pieces and rains from above. Standing where the catalysts were are my three Servants. The Servants on the right and in the center are visibly confused as they try to take in their surroundings. The one on the left is as still as a statue.
The one on the right is an old man wearing medieval armor. A pair of swords swing at his waist as he walks around. Spiked metal gauntlets cover his arms while his body is protected by a chainmail suit and a leather cuirass. His face is craggy and creased with wrinkles and scars, his gray hair is swept back. Orange wolf-like eyes blink rapidly as he adjusts to the room.
The one in the center is a teenager with soft, wavy hair with the color of flax. The blue uniform he wears is wrinkled and stained. His green eyes dart around as he tries to figure out where he is. A blue sword with a crystal rose in its crossguard swings around at his waist.
For a while, the two disoriented people slowly get their bearings until they see the person on the far left. I chuckle as their eyes widen at the giant turning to face them. Towering over the two swordsmen is a giant man wearing a vermillion cape. In its left hand, the person holds a war hammer with a steel grip. Inside its blunt face are a pair of glowing blue crystals. Interestingly, the person is wearing the mak I used as its catalyst. No longer rusted, it is a golden mask that shines brightly under the light.
I take a moment to use Godsight on them and their profiles appear. I blink my eyes to make sure I'm not dreaming. I am quite surprised I summoned them. Unfortunately, I don't have time to revel in my glory as the two swordsmen unsheathe their swords and take a fighting stance. Taking a deep breath, I clear my throat and step forward.