Obviously, I don't own High School DxD.
[=-CHAPTER 3-=]
(Katsuo)
It seems like I run into something interesting every day in this new world, but this one is probably my favorite thing to happen so far.
Instead of doing my homework like I vowed I'd never complete, I meditated. For much longer than I thought I'd be able to.
The first forty minutes were rather boring and more than a bit strenuous but I managed to pull through. From there, things started to get weird. Like, really weird.
Since my eyes never opened during my meditating, I was just staring at the darkness all day. Nothing new, I was in the void for a while so it's not like I mind the darkness. It's just uninteresting to me. Though, I probably would be more traumatized by the void if I was a normal person.
Unlike most, I've never really had a dream before, so when I sleep it's either darkness or nothing. And by nothing I mean I technically had a dream but I forget it when I wake up so it feels like nothing happened. So infinite darkness? Meh. Been there, done that.
But a few hours into my meditating, which is much longer than I expected to be able to handle, I started seeing things move in the corner of my sight. (Or lack thereof since my eyes are closed.) It was irritating, to say the least like something was trying to interrupt my meditation time.
In fact, I spent so much time trying to catch whatever it was that I hadn't realized how much time I spent meditating.
It takes a few seconds for my eyes to clear up, but when I do it seems like it's midday again. Which it is, just almost a full day later. Twenty-three hours. How? I don't fucking know.
The only reason I stopped was that I felt an instinctive feeling of push back. As if I somehow knew that I was wasting my time by meditating anymore.
Maybe my skill page would have more answers for me...
[Meditation] Lv.9/20 (Active)
You have looked within and found... something. As a result, you've changed slightly. Sleep is only needed every 48 hours and Food/Water is needed 90% less. Now that you've mastered your inner self, maybe it's time to look outwards.
...But I like food. Whatever at least I'll have extra money now that I don't need to buy much food anymore. That sleep part does explain why I haven't fallen over during my meditation though, I was confused why I felt more refreshed than before my twenty-three-hour session.
And having days between sleep lets me grind my skills throughout the night while others are sleeping. I still will have to force myself to sleep normally though, because I'm fairly sure the human body heals faster when asleep. And my muscles still will have micro-tears when I work out so I need to heal efficiently.
I could probably substitute that healing with a high enough cooking level though, right? Questions for later.
On another note, what does it mean by looking outwards? Like, meditating with my eyes ope-
~Nuh-uh.
The fuck? I could feel something flinch within me when I thought about just meditating with my eyes open. It felt familiar to the speck in the corner of my vision that annoyed me for most of my time in a trance. But it just pulsed with a firm rejection.
So if it's not meditating with my eyes open, maybe it's meditating while thinking of-
~No, silly.
Okay, so not that either. I even felt a bit of exasperation in there. Whatever you are since it's clearly not just my pride ability doing this, cut me some slack. This whole meditation experience has just been guesswork.
Outward, outward, outward. Out. Out...side? Should I meditate outside?
...
No negative feeling that time. Guess I'm meditating outside then. I already missed school since it's six pm so I guess I can start again right now. If I start now I'll have quite a bit of the weekend to play around with magic if this does indeed grant me magic of some sort.
That being said, I take a shower before putting on some casual clothes. I've avoided going outside at night because I was afraid of getting ambushed by some random person hundreds of times stronger than me, but I've got no choice this time if I want to make progress.
After all, if my calculations are correct, I should have to meditate for more than a day to achieve level 10. Then again, if my calculations were correct I'd have already meditated for more than a day just to reach level nine.
Now, I should probably head over to the park or something to meditate. Doing it anywhere else would probably make people approach and interrupt me, extending the time needed to get to level 10.
(Koneko)
Koneko watched from afar as her target started to become a bit harder to keep up with. He was still moving at baseline human levels but he started to take random turns and cuts through alleyways, all the while his presence slowly faded more and more.
Luckily, she could sense him so he wasn't going to escape her anytime soon. Despite that, she frowned.
She'd only been watching Katsuo Naoki since the day before when he went into his home and didn't come out for a full day. President hadn't actually given her much information about what to look out for. Only that Sona found something interesting about him and that was enough for her to consider him a peerage candidate.
She was getting desperate, after all. That fried turkey was getting more and more uppity as the days went by.
Katsuo, though, wasn't that interesting as far as she could tell. He had a normal amount of magical power for a human and a body that was typical of a high-school boy. Frankly, she didn't understand what Sona saw in him to gain her interest.
That was, until today.
Something had changed about him. In a day where he was simply secluded from everyone else, he was now a bit different. According to her senses, nothing about his physical body or magical power had changed. And if he had a Sacred Gear, it was most definitely still dormant.
Yet she couldn't shake off the fact that he was different.
Maybe it was the fact that he somehow caught onto the fact that she was following him. It was obvious now that he knew she was doing so, as he blatantly turned his head and looked her in the eyes.
It didn't matter, though. Wherever he was going, she would be able to find him. She should tell President about her thoughts, even if they were seemingly unfounded.
Frowning in slight concentration, a red teleportation circle appeared beneath her and she disappeared completely, transported to the Occult Research Clubroom.
(Katsuo)
Finally reaching the Park, alone, I let out a breath of relief. About halfway through my peaceful walk, I had the feeling that someone was watching me. Normally I would've just ignored that feeling because I don't really care who watches me, but I don't trust the people around here.
I think that Sona girl's power traumatized me a little. Knowing that someone can one-shot you in real life doesn't feel very good.
It took a while but I finally caught who was following me when they probably got frustrated from me using Stealth and leveling it up while moving in random directions. It was a little girl with white hair.
Shirone "Koneko" Toujou – Battle Power: 135
Unique Ability: [Senjutsu]
And my mistrust of others continues. Honestly, what is wrong with this world? She barely looks like a teenager, clearly under five feet, and she can probably fold me like a lawn chair.
I really hope this meditation pays off and actually makes me stronger. If it doesn't I'm gonna be pissed.
Also, Senjutsu? Does that mean there's chakra in this world? The only Senjutsu I know about is the one from Naruto and it is overpowered. If it works the same then her Battle Power should increase a ton when using it.
Can I use it eventually? That'll be fun to figure out. But for now, it's time to meditate.
Finding a nice place among the grass and trees of the park, I sit down under the shade of an oak tree. Getting into a zazen posture, I let my mind clear as I sit there unmoving, like a statue.
Immediately, I notice a change. Instead of just seeing darkness from my eyes being closed, the world fades away and I'm standing in a pitch-black place. I don't know how, but I can tell that this isn't a different world or anything. It's inside of me.
Er, inside my mind? My soul? Something like that.
In the far distance is a source of light, flicking between predominately white and then every other color. Shrugging my shoulders, I start walking towards it. There's nothing else in here, so why not?
Hours pass, as the world around me slowly trickles into existence. With every step I take towards the light, a piece of darkness fades into reality. At first, it was other little lights that I thought were trying to distract me from my goal. Flickering in and out to catch my attention.
But on closer inspection, I realized those little lights were stars. With each step, a piece of the universe made itself known. Planets, moons, stars, galaxies, nebula, black holes, and everything in between. It was a beautiful sight, but I stayed true to my goal.
I kept moving forward.
Eventually, everything shrunk into this world. Clouds, the sky, buildings, trees, grass, water. Now, I was seeing everything on the planet. Once again, it was a sight to behold. But the light grew ever closer, revealing that it was two lights, not one.
I was just so far away that it seemed like one. There were two balls of light in the distance, floating. A white one, and one that randomly flickered each and every color except white and black.
Once again, I moved forward.
Until the world around me shrunk even further, showing the very park that I was in. I saw myself and every little thing around me. From the birds and squirrels that peacefully roamed. To the random people who glanced at me and kept moving. An ant that ran over my legs, not even registering that I was alive.
I can't help but think that I'm extremely small when gazing at the entire observable universe. If I'm that unimportant, why should I care about things that don't interest me?
Law, Order, Evil, Good. None of those things really matter. With an existence that trivial, the only bad thing is imprisonment. To be negligible and still be unable to do as you like? It's tragic.
With that in mind, I took one more step.
Hours had passed since I started walking. Two bright balls of light stood in front of me. One, which emanated a feeling of serene calm. Yet it was also the same light that changed its color every so often. The other, a light that buzzed with excitement and zest. Contradictory to its constant and peaceful white light.
Without knowing what else to do, I slowly brought my hands towards both balls of light and faintly touched them. The lights turned into streams that flowed into my arms and moved toward my chest, coalescing in the middle.
And then I opened my eyes.
«DING!»
[Meditation] is now level 10.
Skill Description changed: You have comprehended yourself and the insignificance of your existence. Sleep, Food, and Water are unnecessary. Leveling this skill up any further will put you down the path of an Ascended Being. (Buddha, Sennin, etc.)
[Skill Unlocked: Ki Proficiency]
You now can manipulate the life force within you. 99% of Ki will be wasted while using a technique.
[Skill Unlocked: Magic Proficiency]
You nowcan manipulate the magical power within you. 99% of magical power will be wasted while using a spell.
Finally. It begins.
Magic, sure. But Ki? If this functions how I think it does…
Standing up and closing my eyes briefly, I get a feel for the Ki within myself and observe it. It's still reminiscent of a glowing orb, but the color has changed to a soft gold. Concentrating, I condense it further into itself before letting it abruptly go and watching as it explodes throughout my body.
[Ki Technique Discovered: Touki (Novice)]
You manifest your life force outwards, letting it envelop you in its power. Raw power increased by 25%.
Looking up, I notice that my Battle Power has jumped from 1 to 25. But as I turn off Touki, it goes from 25 to 20. Meaning just by unlocking my ki and magic, I've gained 24 BP.
Placing my hand on a tree, I squeeze causing the bark to crack under the pressure. If I tried that before, I would've just looked like an idiot squeezing a tree.
A smirk begins to grow on my face. I squeeze again, causing the chunk of the tree I was grabbing to completely break off.
I actually have powers. Like, really real powers. Not just the ability to cook extremely well or assess how weak I am in comparison to everyone.
"Hehe…"
A chuckle escapes my lips as my smile grows slightly.
"Hehehe…"
My chuckle evolved into a giggle, my smile threatening to split my face.
"Hahahahahah!"
I couldn't hold it anymore and laughed with triumph. I didn't do much work to get here, just meditating and coasting on my Pride ability, but damn if it doesn't feel good.
"HAHAHAHAHAH!"
I let out the heartiest laugh possible, on the edge of sounding deranged. I could feel my magic stir, following my emotions and flaring, swirling around me in a kaleidoscope of flashing lights. There's just something about power that is addicting.
I want more.
Finally settling down, I start to walk out of the park before I stop completely. There's an, uh, incident blocking my path bringing me back to reality off of my power rush.
A bloody body. One with a huge hole in the back of its head. It's laying face down and there's a pile of black feathers beside it. Looking up, I catch a glimpse of someone with the same black feathered wings flying away.
Sadly, I think I recognize this dead person even without touching the body.
It's the Issei Hyoudou kid. That one with the weird battle power and unique skill. Out of the corner of my eye, my main quest completes itself and asks for me to choose things, but I close it for later. That does confirm he was the protagonist, but I need to go fast.
Being the only witness to a crime scene would be troublesome at best.
Turning around to quickly walk away I stop in my tracks and awkwardly stare at the unnaturally beautiful red-head staring at me with wide cerulean eyes. Why do I have such shitty luck?
Rias Gremory – Battle Power: 850
Unique Skill: [Power of Destruction]
Power of Destruction?! Fuck.
As we just awkwardly stand there, I consider my life choices up till now. Maybe I should've done my homework. Something that little could've changed everything. I'd be a little late to the park because of it, avoiding this situation. That little stalker probably wouldn't have followed me if I left the house at a later time.
Er, maybe not that last one. I think she was watching me since I ignored that Sona chick.
Speaking of Sona, the hell is up with this town and demons? I purposefully ignored it the first time but Sitri and Gremory in the same place? And they're both strong as fuck?
This smells of demon bullshit.
And why did it suddenly just get dark- OH SHIT!
I jump back as something- no, someone- lands on the ground I was just standing on. The impact was strong enough to make spider cracks in the ground. If I didn't react fast enough I would've died right then and there.
And of course, as the dust settles, a white-haired loli stares at me with barely hidden disgust.
"Koneko!" Rias admonishes the one referred to as Koneko. I think I'm gonna refrain from saying her first name. I don't know if Shirone is a nickname or something but it's confusing so I'll just call her Toujou.
"But, president, didn't you hear the evil laughter? He did it." She says resolutely. I didn't do it, but this doesn't set a pretty picture.
"Maybe so, but Akeno also has evil laughter and she's not evil, is she?" Rias continues, mirth clear in her eyes.
"She might be." Toujou replies, pouting. It'd be adorable if she didn't just try to kill me a few moments ago.
While they're talking I activate Stealth and slowly and steadily sneak away. I think I'll just move into the woods or something. My parents went on a vacation spanning 5 years at the least, they obviously don't care about me.
Plus, I don't need food, water, or sleep anymore. I'll be fine.
As Sun Tzu once said in the Art of War, 'Always run away from your problems, it's just free training'. I think he said that anyway, I only know like three Sun Tzu quotes from looking him up on google.
Also, there are more of them. I don't know who this 'Akeno' is, but if they're anything like these insanely strong people I want nothing to do with them.
I make it a few steps before a lightning bolt strikes down in front of me, causing me to stumble and fall onto my butt, my Stealth deactivating out of surprise. It's sickening how powerful these people are. And who the hell is stopping me now?!
"Trying to run away now, are we? Can't have that. Ufufufu…" a girl's voice rings out from above.
Another girl with a voluptuous figure, excessively long black hair, and violet eyes lands down in front of me. At least she doesn't break the ground when doing so, but I have a feeling from that look on her face that I'm in even more danger.
Akeno Himejima – Battle Power: 675
Unique Skill: [Holy Lightning]
Ah. That's Akeno. She does have an evil laugh, doesn't she?
"Okay, I admit it. I didn't read the Art of War." I blurt out, raising my hands into the air in surrender. All three girls look at me with confused faces, well except for the loli whose expression doesn't change. Oh right-
"Oh yeah, and I didn't kill that guy," I say as an afterthought. I probably should've started with that.
Now back on track, the strongest one recovers first and replies from behind me. "Oh? Then why are you trying to run away before proving your innocence?"
"Because the small one was stalking me yesterday and tried to kill me like thirty seconds ago? It really isn't rocket science." I could've been more polite, but I'm just tired. Plus, it looks like this one is the leader and doesn't want to kill me.
A small blush appears on her face before she ruthlessly suppresses it, "That may be true, but then how do you explain this?" She replies, gesturing to the body of the deceased teen.
"Honestly? No idea. I was just meditating here and then when I was about to leave I saw him like that," I say with a shrug. I hope she can't detect lies, even if I'm not lying.
"And the laughter? Surely you couldn't have been laughing at a dead body," She inquires, not giving up on this line of questioning.
"Oh, that! Yeah, I was just excited that I managed to achieve something with my meditation and couldn't help but start laughing," I say honestly. If that girl could find me even after I lost her, I think they can sense where I am by my magic anyway.
"Yeah, I can see that you've definitely achieved something." She says with a thinly veiled covetous look in her eye, "But that doesn't explain why you're the only one here with a dead body."
"Well, there was that one person with the black feathery wings escaping from the scene. Plus, there's a hole in his head. How would I even do that? The only things I have on me are my wallet, keys, and phone." As I say that, Akeno gets a dark look on her face. Maybe she hates phones?
No, let me not be stupid. She probably just doesn't like whoever has those black wings. Maybe they know each other.
"I… see. That changes things. You can go, for now, I can tell you're… shaken. But we need to have a talk later. An errand boy will come to get you after school hours, so come to school." Rias says, obviously not believing her own words about me being shaken.
It's probably my abnormal reaction to a random dead person that is making her confused about my character. A normal person wouldn't just shrug off a dead person and try to leave. But at the same time, it's obvious that I haven't really done anything.
It's understandable for her to be a bit put off, really it is, but after that meditation junk I don't think my mindset is the most stable. Or maybe it's too stable. I don't know.
Given permission to leave, I activate Stealth and Touki before jumping away as fast as possible. My one priority at the moment is survival. I have no problem being around strong people, but being around people who can one-shot me, are strangers, and think I'm a murderer has put me a little on edge.
Plus, I think it's time for me to start playing with Magic. School starts Monday, after all, so I have the entire weekend to get stronger. Even if only marginally.
Okay, if you haven't caught on by now, Katsuo is a chaotic neutral megalomaniac. Not the most creative of characters but I think it can make some of this decisions… interesting, at best.
To Ahmeddmotazz: the ability description was "the ability to master any skill at a faster rate and to perfection", meaning that he can master skills in way less time than everyone else. Not that he just gets maxed skills off rip.
[Sloth] does give you maxed skills without trying. But the skill book has to have objectively accurate information, not theories or anything like that. Otherwise, the person with sloth either can't learn it or it is detrimental.
Personally, I think the most powerful is Wrath. You basically have no shame or empathy and always make the most logical decision with the information you have. Ruthlessly climbing your way to the top.
Hope you guys liked the chapter. Leave a review if you did, or if you have any questions.