Thanks to MyraidSilver for looking over the chapter :)
"Come on, wake up Asia, it's almost noon," I call out while shaking her gently.
Slowly, Asia wakes up, letting out a cute yawn as she does so. Yesterday, after leaving Kuoh Town the two of us arrived in Kyoto. Using the money I 'acquired', we booked a fairly cheap hotel room. The room is fairly bare, only two futon mattresses filling the small room. Thankfully even though it is simple, at least it's clean. Before leaving Kuoh, I decided to release the zombies I had in Kuoh, all they were doing was reserving mana. It would've been practically impossible to sneak them out of Kuoh anyway, and that's not even taking into consideration Asia's reaction if she finds out. Hopefully, the Fallen would be deterred by the presence of the local Youkai faction even if they managed to track us down.
Sitting back, I watch as Asia dresses herself. At my advice, she has chosen to wear a white summer dress instead of her usual nun habit. With her appearance, she would attract enough attention while wearing regular clothes. She turns around and blushes upon seeing me watching her but says nothing to object, instead turning bright red.
Asia and I leave the hotel, heading to the nearby cafe for a quick breakfast. After entering, I order some food for both of us from the lethargic cashier.
I bring the two meal trays back and sit down at the metal table with Asia. As we sit down, a wave of sleepiness hits me, briefly making my eyelids heavy with drowsiness before the urge to doze off passes.
[Host resisted [Sleep]]
Wait what the fuck? Jolted awake by the notification, I look around me only to see people slumped in their chairs, their eyes shut tight in sleep. A man lies on the floor, his face messy from falling headfirst into his food. Asia sits slumped in her chair; I shake her shoulder trying to wake her up but it's clearly a futile effort. Tensing up, I jump out of my chair, activating my light sword. There's no way this is natural.
I turn around upon hearing the fluttering of wings. In front of me stood a pale man, his red eyes staring at me amused. Out of his back came five pairs of wings spread wide, their colour far darker than those of Raynare's. His entire posture screams confidence and superiority, from his amused red eyes to the twisted smirk on his face. Just by being near him, I feel a suffocating presence that reminds me of my meeting with Ddraig. Weirdly enough, he has two pointed ears which is definitely not a trait of Fallen Angels. His face is ghastly pale and unusually ugly for his race. From the ten black wings on his back to the pointed ears, all of the signs pointed that this Fallen is Kokabiel. Kokabiel is a Cadre and more importantly far beyond my power. His power at the very least reaches the level of a fairly strong Ultimate-class combatant. Right now, I probably can't even scratch him, let alone beat him. Glancing at him, I check his stats.
Kokabiel
LV76
Tier- Elite
Race- Fallen Angel
SP- 44,600
MP- 42,400
STR- 289
END- 223
DEX- 219
INT- 212
WIS- 190
CHA- 123
So this is the strength of somebody who's Ultimate Class, huh? Even though the stat numbers don't seem too outrageous at first glance, except the stamina and mana bars, that doesn't take into account the 4x multiplier given by the fact that Kokabiel is Elite tier. Look at those MP and SP stats! They eclipse mine by a ridiculous amount. What the fuck am I meant to do against Kokabiel? His stats are fucking bullshit.
Ok, I need to calm down. If Kokabiel wanted me dead I would be...unless he just wants to prolong my suffering, fuck. He was more than capable of taking down Rias. I take in a deep breath, trying to calm down. Slightly calmer now, I deactivate my light sword and look at Kokabiel whose amused eyes make it clear that he's enjoying my panic. Fucking Fallen Angels, all of them think they're so much superior to me… one day I'll show them otherwise, not today but still.
"Raynare is dead, killed by the Devils, before her death however she did manage to send an interesting message out, that the holder of Twilight Healing has gone missing along with a Stray Exorcist," Kokabiel looks deliberately at Asia and me.
"In normal circumstances, a task force would likely be sent to hunt you down and kill you for desertion while the girl's Sacred Gear would be ripped out and given to a more…. trustworthy holder," Kokabiel pauses for a second before continuing, "Luckily for you, I decided to interfere and interrupt the message. I have big plans, and as much as it pains me to delegate it to lesser beings, I cannot do everything by myself. Aid me and I will ensure the Fallen do not hunt you down. Besides, I read your file Freed, by all accounts you're a battle fanatic, a man who enjoys the slaughter. I promise you if you aid me, I will ensure the usher of a new Great War!"
"And if I decide to refuse?" I ask warily.
"Then I wish you good luck in escaping the Grigori. I have no need for unwilling fighters, forcibly recruiting somebody always overcomplicates things." Kokabiel replies confidently.
So he wants to recruit me, huh? I'm getting incredibly tired of being ordered around by people, but honestly, this is the best-case scenario. With any luck, I'll get ahold of the Excalibur pieces like Freed did in canon, granting me a pretty powerful artefact. Also at least on the surface, Kokabiel doesn't seem to want to force me to work for him despite still viewing me as inferior. Only problem is in canon he loses to Vali and ends up captured, I don't want to end up like canon Freed, turned into some kind of abomination. Still, going with Kokabiel is the smart choice, he has a lot more resources and information and according to canon, I should get Excalibur soon.
"What would joining you entail?" I probe.
"Initially you will be dealing with Stray Devils and other similar pests in my territory. Later, I will enlist you in a series of missions with the end goal of sparking off a resurgence of the Great War. In exchange, I offer you protection and resources. As a Cadre, I possess many means a normal Fallen does not… and I'm not unwilling to reward my subordinates. Besides, I plan to steal the Excalibur shards eventually and if you prove yourself worthy, I am willing to give you both the blades themselves and the capability to wield them," Kokabiel promises.
This is actually a lot more reasonable of an offer than I expected, he's willing to offer resources and protection if I work for him and later give me Excalibur shards if I prove myself. I don't mind working for others as long as I get the opportunity to kill people thus gaining experience points, and I get rewarded for it. Accepting the offer is the only smart decision considering I'm not exactly confident I can hide from the Grigori.
"And her?" I question, gesturing at Asia, still unconscious from whatever magic Kokabiel had cast.
"The holder of Twilight Healing?" Kokabiel tilts his head towards the sleeping former nun, "It's a powerful Sacred Gear but not one I'm particularly interested in. If you wish to bring her along, I have no objections. So, what do you say?"
I think about it briefly but this is really the best option available to me right now. The only real danger is when Kokabiel loses to Vali but I unlock [World Jump] after the Kokabiel Arc so as long as I manage to escape the initial fallout, I can leave this world before I get hunted down.
"Sure, as long as you hold up your end of the deal, I'm willing to work with you," I reply.
Kokabiel smiles sardonically, before handing me a sheet of paper. I take it curiously, on the sheet the sign of the Grigori is etched onto the paper with several complicated looking magical sigils surrounding it.
"When you're ready to leave, activate the circle. It'll bring you two to a city under my influence, the overseer there will give you further instruction," Kokabiel informs me.
Having finished giving me instructions, Kokabiel soars upwards with a beat of his pitch black wings. As he soars away into the horizon, the spell he cast to lure the surrounding people to sleep slowly begins to wear off.
As Asia slowly wakes, I ask the system a question. What allows me to resist Kokabiel's sleeping spell while somebody like Asia fails, anyway?
Your Wisdom stat determines your ability to resist magical conditions. Additionally your [Blessing of the System] trait grants you bonus resistance to mental conditions.
So Wisdom isn't just mana regen huh? It lets me resist magical conditions as well.
"What happened? I suddenly felt so sleepy." Asia murmurs drowsily.
"A powerful Fallen Angel tracked us down, don't worry I made a deal with him. I'll keep you safe, no matter the cost Asia." I say with faux determination.
In response, Asia smiles brightly.
"Thanks, Freed. I- I owe you so much. You saved my life from Raynare and even now you're doing your best to keep me safe"
I pull Asia into a tight hug, before replying to her softly.
"Don't worry about it, just finish your food and we'll get ready to move."
Asia nods understandably in reply, her green eyes staring at me gratefully.
"Asia, are you ready?" I ask.
Upon seeing her nod in reply, I pour some of my magic into the spell circle in my hand. The circle illuminates the room with its purple glow before the paper smoulders away into cinders. As the ashes slowly flutter to the floor, a circle mirroring the one on the sheet comes into existence at my feet. After a slight delay, the circle bursts into bright flash, briefly blinding both of us.
As my vision slowly comes into focus, I find myself in an entirely different room than the minimalist hotel room we spent the night in. Instead, we are in a fancy office room of some kind, the type you'd find a CEO in. The room is large and spacious, tastefully decorated with a large desk at the top. In the corner of my eye, I spot a glass cabinet, seemingly filled with expensive looking wine. Turning to the right, I'm met with a large glass window, beyond which I see the busy streets of a city. What city? No clue, all I knew is that it's clearly a modern one. The hustling streets and high-rise skyscrapers easily gave that away.
As I look around the room, I hear a gentle cough behind me. Asia lets out a shriek of surprise. Standing at the doorway is an elegant looking man. Compared to Kokabiel, he suited the image of a fallen angel far more. Despite his elegant appearance and relaxed posture, I could still feel a sense of danger emanating from him… the six dark wings spread wide from his back didn't help.
"Ah, you must be the guests Lord Kokabiel told me to expect. Please have a seat. You can call me Anauel. Let me extend a warm welcome to Bursa."
"Turkey," he adds after seeing my confused expression.
Accepting his offer, I sit down on the sofa cautiously, Asia following soon after. Glancing at Anauel, I check his stats.
Anauel
LV43
Tier- Veteran
Race- Fallen Angel
SP- 10,100
MP- 11,200
STR- 142
END- 101
DEX- 156
INT- 112
WIS- 123
CHA- 189
Since he's in the Veteran tier, his stats are actually double what they say. Even though that's still crazily high compared to my own, it's at least comparable, unlike Kokabiel's stats.
"I'm Freed, and this is Asia," I say, gesturing to the blonde nun next to me, "Kokabiel told me that you would have further instructions on what to do."
"All business I see," he sighs before passing me a list, "Fine, there's various monsters as well as some Stray Devils skulking around in the city. Your task will be to deal with them, preferably without causing too much havoc and damage in the process. Try not to attack anything on the list unless it's blatantly attacking people. I just finished negotiating with the local spirits, and would rather my work not be ruined yet again."
"Only kill those on the list, try not to cause too much damage, got it," I say, "What about accommodation and food?"
He lazily tosses an envelope at me.
"Your bank card, the keys and directions to an apartment are in there," he replies, "Now if that's all, I have some paperwork to get to."
Somewhat offended by the curt dismissal, I nonetheless leave the building with Asia. First thing's first, time to go shopping. While it's hardly my favourite thing to do, Asia has only two sets of clothes - including her nun outfit. My wardrobe was similarly lacking. Even beyond that we had no groceries, and while we could order food every day, there was something to be said about the taste of a good home cooked meal.
A few hours, and a couple bags heavier, we make our way to our apartment. Compared to my previous apartment when I was with Raynare, it is both more spacious and luxurious. It's no penthouse but it's well furnished, with two bedrooms. Somewhat a shame, since watching Asia dress herself in the morning was quite a sight… still overall the living situation was a stark improvement.
I take out the list of targets and start to read it. The list is pretty long, twelve targets in total including a group of swamp monsters who had continually lured and drowned people in the area. Other targets included a number of Stray Devils and a Stray Magician who had released some of his twisted experiments on the innocent population… not like I really cared, but more exp is always good. Besides, the financial support I already got for joining Kokabiel is nice if nothing else.
Asia and I cook up a quick dinner from the groceries we brought. After I finished my dinner, I start to talk to Asia.
"Asia, as part of the deal, we have to deal with some local monsters who are terrorizing the town. I could do it on my own or-"
"I'll help you!", she says determinedly.
I smile at her naivety, before replying.
"Ok, our first target is a rogue vampire. It's preying on the people of the city. There have been children missing in the area it frequents apparently."
Asia lets out a gasp at that. Her face clearly horrified at the thought.
"Freed...you'll stop him, right? Those poor missing children…", she says in a sorrowful tone.
"Of course," I say assuredly.
Taking out a map, I mark out the areas the monster was known to frequent. Thankfully the brief Anauel gave to me was quite detailed in its description of the targets and their habits.
"The monster hunts at nighttime," I note, "So try get some sleep before then so you won't be sleepy during the hunt."
Asia nods in agreement.
Several hours later, the two of us are prowling the moonlit streets, waiting for the monster to show itself. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long. Apparently, the vampire is fairly active in this area, even having been spotted by humans a few times resulting in the Grigori being forced to wipe memories and destroy evidence.
"Asia, you remember what I told you about the vampire right?" I ask.
"Yes! It's weak to holy objects, so I should throw my cross and holy water at it if it gets close," she says while clutching her cross tightly.
"Good," I reply, "I'll do my best to protect you but it's important that you have some form of protection if it gets past me."
I already spent a lot of effort on Asia, effort wasted if she dies here to a vampire. An all-purpose healer is quite valuable after all. Not to mention that Asia knew quite a few spells that I didn't. While they didn't actually damage or harm anyone, she knew how to set up various barriers and other spells that would help me trap targets. For instance, currently, she has set up a hidden surveillance spell that allowed us to observe the area from a bird's eye view. With this spell, we should be able to spot the vampire as it flies around as a swarm of bats.
Now, all there is to do is sit and wait… my least favourite activity. All there is to do is to watch the top-down view of the area, waiting for something to happen. Eventually, almost an hour later, I notice a dark shadow swoop through the night. With the help of Asia's spell, we track it down to the specific apartment it broke into. Only problem is it's pretty far away, thank God I got the [Flight] skill from the harpies, even though it's not incredibly fast, it beats walking through the crowded city. Asia would have to slowly make it there on foot but I should be able to defeat the vampire alone. By the time we make it to the decrepit looking building, the vampire is already on his way out. He stands at the doorway, the light of the moon glinting off his crimson eyes. The sanguine liquid dripping off his sharp fangs indicates that we're clearly too late to stop him. All I cared about though is the chance of having a good fight again.
Jagger
LV58
Race- Vampire
SP-1575
MP-550
STR- 82
END- 63
DEX- 94
INT- 55
WIS- 25
CHA- 45
Shit, he's higher level than me so this is going to be a difficult fight. Still, with Boosted Gear, I'm confident I should be able to win this. Taking a step forward, I let loose several shots from my light gun. The vampire lets out a shriek of surprise as he recoils away from the bursts of light, showing clear discomfort as the bullets near him.
Taking advantage of the vampire's surprise, I jump forward, sword in hand. The vibrant blade cuts downward, yet it only hits concrete. Despite his surprise, the vampire had managed to cleanly evade the blow. Not dissuaded, I continue with an arcing blow aimed at his chest, only for that too to be dodged. My follow-up kick however, giving off a satisfying crunch as it hits him straight in the ribcage. Despite being sent a few metres back, the vampire recovers quickly. His pale face twisted in rage, his eyes glowing in anger as he snarled at me.
"Filthy exorcists, always meddling in the affairs of others. Why can't you just leave me to feed?" he snarled.
"When you're killing our people, it's hardly the affairs of others… Besides slaughtering so-called superior beings is always fun. So why don't you just stand still and take my blade," I reply while slashing at the elusive vampire. Frustrated by the lack of progress, I push forward, only to be jabbed in the gut, his sharp claws gouging out deep bloody holes. I gasp in pain, blood gushing out of my body. As he moves in for another attack, I barely cast [Steelskin] in time to defend myself. Despite my toughened defences, his blow still leaves a dull pain.
Clutching my stomach, I swing my blade, augmenting my strength with [Boost] as the vampire tries to continue his assault. This time the vampire is too close to dodge the blow completely. The light sword cuts deeply into his shoulder, the strength of blow turning his shoulder into a mangled mess. He shrieks in pain as the light poisons him. Continuing my attack, my sword leaves a long bloody gash on his chest. Fueled by anger, his other hand flies up to grasp my throat tightly. I choke, struggling to free myself as he strangles the life out of me. I futilely struggle to pull his hand from me, while I slowly grow weaker. Dark spots appear at the edge of my vision, my sight growing darker and darker as I fade into unconsciousness.
[You gained 44,171 EXP]
[You have gained two levels!]
[You have gained eleven class levels!]
[You may choose a new spell to learn]
[You have completed the quest 'A Solid Foundation']
[You have received 3x Gacha Tickets, 10,000 EXP and 2500 Credits]
[You have unlocked the Shop function]
Quest Added
[Blood, Sweat and Tears]
Objective: Reach Veteran tier
Rewards: 3x Gacha tickets, 30,000 EXP, 5000 Credits
"Freed!"
I gasp, desperately taking deep breaths, as I find myself suddenly being released. I feel a gentle warmth, as all my pain is being washed away. My health bar rapidly filling where previously it was almost down to ten percent. Standing over me is Asia, her hands outstretched emanating a soft green light. Her face is wet with tears, her eyes wide and worried.
As I regain consciousness, I look around for the vampire, only to see it dead nearby. His face grievously scarred in a way similar to severe burn victims. Looking around for the cause, I notice his face is wet with water, holy water to be exact. A discarded vial sits near him, its contents emptied.
"Thank you, Asia, without you… that could've been bad," I reply, still shocked at how close I came to death.
"I'm just glad you're ok," she snivels, "when I saw him strangling you, I was so worried you were dead. Thank God you turned out ok."
She wraps me in a tight hug which I return.
"Don- don't scare me like that again Freed."
I rub her head gently, as I think about what just transpired. I was almost killed by a no-name vampire. Despite all my advantages as a Gamer with Boosted Gear, I still almost died. I know DxD is a scary world but the dangers are supposed to be country levelling monsters like the Satans, not some shitty ass no-name vampire.
Gently breaking out of Asia's hug, I make my way to the vampire's corpse. Touching the dead body, I cast [Harvest] causing the now-familiar list of traits to pop up. Unfortunately, most of the traits were useless or the downsides they brought with them were just too much. I had no desire to be forced to skulk away from daylight or have a debilitating weakness to holy weapons. Especially since I used holy weapons myself. Eventually, I settle on a trait.
[Hypnotic Gaze]
Your gaze is mildly hypnotic, allowing you to overwhelm the minds of those with drastically lower WIS stats.
Honestly, it isn't that good of a skill, but the most of the other traits had such crippling weaknesses that I frankly couldn't see myself ever using them while at least this is useful for covering stuff up when we don't have the Grigori to back us.
"Freed… what are you doing?" Asia asked hesitantly.
Crap, I just spent the last couple of seconds touching a bloody corpse for seemingly no reason. Well when there's no other explanation, I might as well tell the truth.
"Just like you have been gifted with a healing touch, I have my own gifts. I can take the abilities of those I kill," I reply. "Naturally I try to shy away from using it but if he's dead, I might as well improve our own chances of survival."
"Oh," Asia murmured oddly relieved, "as long as your chances of survival improve…"
With that mess finished, I call Anauel informing him on the demise of the vampire as well as the need for a memory wipe. The vampire did manage to kill his targets before we arrived after all. Anauel didn't seem to mind though and just seemed glad that the vampire was dealt with without needing his personal intervention. When I mentioned Asia had used up most of the Holy Water we had stocked up, he promised he would send some more as soon as possible.
The battle was a stark reminder of how weak I am in this world. I need to get stronger, fast. The first step of that is to allocate the twelve stat points I gained from levelling up. Actually, I really need to ask something, what is WIS even used for except mana regeneration?
It's also used to calculate your resistance to certain magical effects such as [Charm], [Time Stop] as well as other assorted effects.
Ok, not really something I can ignore then. In the end, I choose to put three points into strength and two points into everything else except charisma which I put a single point in. I would focus more on INT and WIS but even though I obviously don't want to neglect those stats, they automatically improve as my class levels up. Besides the physical stats just give so much immediate power considering my lack of truly powerful spells.
Now, time to choose a new spell to learn. Since I need more powerful spells, either Necromancy or Alteration spells are the obvious choice. While I love the concept behind necromancy, what I learnt from my first spell choice was that it was sadly impractical in a modern world. Transporting undead in secrecy is a difficult task, not to mention what Asia's reaction would be. She might be fine with me taking their powers but desecrating their bodies and using them as a meat shield might be too much for her right now.
With this in mind, I turn my attention to the three tier two Alteration spells. [Telekinesis] is a fairly bog-standard spell but one with many uses making it a very versatile choice. On the other hand [Mistform] is a defensive spell that would let me invalidate most physical attacks, which are the majority I face. Lastly [Paralyze] was a strong offensive choice letting me immobilize my enemies.
I contemplate over my choices briefly before deciding to go with [Paralyze]. An offensive option is just what I need right now since I already have a defensive option in [Steelskin].
[Paralyze]
Cost of MP is dependent on the target. A successful cast slows or completely immobilizes the target. Can be resisted by WIS.
Moving on, I look at my quest rewards. I got three gacha tickets so I might as well use them I guess.
[Fast Thread Boots (Common)]
A pair of simple boots that grants its wearer slightly enhanced speed.
[5x Lesser Healing Potions (Common)]
A magical concoction that heals the drinker for 30% of their max HP over five seconds. Overuse of potions in a short time can cause [Potion Sickness].
[Cloak of Levitation (Rare)]
An enchanted cloak that grants its wearer the ability to levitate up to ten metres above the ground.
Overall I didn't get anything too good sadly, the boots and potions were useful though nothing insanely powerful. The cloak is pretty much useless considering I had the [Flight] skill though I guess it would be useful if I wanted to swap the trait out. Unfortunately, I didn't get anything overpowered as fuck.
Finally, there are the 2500 credits I earnt. Opening the newly unlocked [Shop] interface, I'm met with a wide array of options- most of which are beyond my budget. While there's a large selection of options, they mostly fall under the same two categories. Firstly, there's the [Supply Bundles] which seem to be similar to the gacha but with more limited rewards - both in type and rarity. For instance, there was a [Mage Bundle (Rare)] which offered five rewards, three of which were guaranteed to be useful to mages and one of those three would always be an [Rare] item. Then there's the [Dungeon Keys] which allow the user to enter a dungeon to grind experience. According to the description, if you die in the dungeon you would lose access to the dungeon but not stay dead so that's a tempting choice.
The dungeon has a higher risk; but when looking at the guaranteed reward, I feel like the risk is worth it. I need to grow more powerful, today taught me that, so a [Dungeon Key] is the logical choice here. The ability to farm EXP without any of the consequences or risks inherent to a world like DxD is incredibly powerful.
Looking over the very limited selection, I eventually decide on the [Terraria Dungeon Key] for 1000 credits.
[Terraria Dungeon Key]
Grants you access to the Terraria Dungeon. Dying in this dungeon results in you losing access to the dungeon. EXP gain is halved in dungeons.
It's a world that has a large power range but is also relatively easy to deal with in the early stages. The worst thing to happen would be to purchase a key and instantly lose access to the world due to dying after all. Choosing a world that I quickly outgrow would also be a poor choice.
Looking over the other options, I see nothing that sparks my interest and decide to conserve my credits for now. With the dungeon key in hand, I decide… not to use it for the time being. While training is important, I just spent more than an hour waiting for the vampire to show up, not to mention almost getting strangled to death. All I want to do for now is to go to sleep.
The next morning, rested and replenished, I sit alone in my room, holding the [Terraria Dungeon Key] tightly in my hand. This unassuming green key will be my first step to true greatness. I take a deep breath before using it.
Upon use, the world around me cracks and shatters revealing a verdant green plain peppered with unbelievably tall trees. A pitch-black sky loomed over it all, darkening it all.
You have entered the [Terraria Dungeon].
World Modifiers:
[Dungeon World]: [Harvest] disabled.
Harvest being disabled is annoying but fair, otherwise the amounts of traits I could get considering how many monsters there are with powerful abilities. So, how do I leave?
Unlike a 'true' world, you can leave whenever you want as long as you're not in combat. Simply reactivate the key and you're out.
Good to hear, I told Asia I would be busy for most of the day so I guess I'll just stay here and grind until I'm either tired or happy with the progress I made.
Moving around the plains for a while, it didn't take long for my first enemy to appear. A triad of floating eyeballs stares menacingly at me. Red veins sprawled across the surface of their eyes; fleshy membranes trailed their ends. Despite their vicious appearance, a quick scan of their stats reveal they're actually fairly weak [Demon Eyes] with levels ranging from twelve to fifteen.
A quick salvo of shots leaves them smouldering in the ground. Their sluggish movements far too slow to dodge the rapid speed of my exorcist gun.
[You have gained 1758 EXP]
It's not that much experience and the [Demon Eyes] aren't the most satisfying things to kill but I guess if I kill a lot of them, it'll stack up. I guess I'll just pick a random direction and go that way, killing any monsters I see along the way. Humming to myself, I start my journey east on a whim.
So yeah, this took a long time to get out. No idea when the next chapter is going to be out since I'm busy with university lately. Been a while since I wrote, so this might be pretty bad idk.