Ok, time to go over the events that went down and their aftermath. Following the battle against Malachi and the last of the Stray Devils in Kuoh, the Stray population was reduced so drastically that Rias and Sona can both relax knowing the town was relatively safe. The few stragglers left are easy to deal with, and Sona has it all handled together with her peerage. On the other hand, Rias has been able to focus more and more on the issue of Riser Phenex that was looming over them.
Since Kuoh Academy followed a Western schedule, the 1st semester was bound to end come winter, but that is something Rias knew all too well. Kuoh Academy ends its first semester on the 10th of December, and currently, it is currently the 18th of November, meaning they had roughly 3-4 weeks until the Rating Game. She was nervous, rightfully so.
But Rias had her secret weapon.
Riser is bound to shit his pants once he learns that Rias has the Red Dragon Emperor on her side.
However, following that attack, Rias was reminded that the Red Dragon was still a mere human in all aspects. Whilst powerful and wielding odd abilities, he could easily be harmed if he is not careful. She had to admit, his allies would have been real balance breakers - no pun intended - in this Rating Game. A daughter of the Leviathan Clan and a wielder of Twilight Healing. Very valuable pieces indeed, but fully out of her reach.
By now, everyone had recovered and the incident was reported back to both the Grigori and her brother, letting them sort out the mess on a political level. For now, she was busy planning something else, namely a trip to train themselves. They had to be in top shape and do the best they could against Riser, since he was not weakling they could just walk over.
She will admit he wielded a fair bit of power, almost as much as he has an ego. And that was not counting his entire peerage. Rias knew her inferior numbers, although having higher overall quality, couldn't contest Riser's numbers with only the Red Dragon on her side. And even if Issei could retire Riser's entire peerage, what then? She'd be told she only piggybacked off the back of one of the strongest beings in existence, that she got lucky, or whored herself to him for this chance.
No, if she wanted to keep her pride and reputation, she needed to prepare accordingly. There were some preparations to be done, that being said.
At the Hyoudou Household, things were…relatively good. All things considered.
"[Blazing Heel Strike]!" Issei shouted, delivering a powerful strike to the dummy that was set within his dungeon. Ever since the assault done by the Strays, which was no less than 1 entire week ago, he has been working hard to level up as many skills as possible within his dungeon. Due to reaching level 30, he lost his daily training quest, which was a bummer, but he could still train his skills with no issue.
This week, he got his [Night Vision] maxed out, giving him limitless range now. He also trained his newly acquired Ultimate Skill [Parallel Mind], which worked perfectly to also train more skills. He managed to bump that one to level 5, giving him a new extra mind to use. However, thanks to that, since he was pretty much using 5 magical circles at once, meaning using a spell 5 times at once, he literally could fly over the progression with skill! Granted, the large EXP requirements for the skills were quite high, so it took him quite a bit.
Some skills had cooldowns, and some high costs, preventing him from spamming them. However, he did gain some extra stats from his training. His STR went up by 4 points, his AGI by 6, but his MGI jumped by a whopping 10 points! His DUR only grew by 3 points during this, but his ACC also grew by a good amount, that being 9 points in total. As far as his WIS went, he only gained one more point during all of this, same with his INT, and his CHA only gained 2. Those were the stats he had GAINED from training, but he also gained quite a bit of Stat Points from that event.
He had 20 to play with, so he put 6 more into ACC, since that was previously his weakest stat, then put 7 into his CHA stat as well. Granted, that evolved his perk. From [Novice Talker] to [Decent Conversation].
[Decent Conversation]: This perk grants you a bonus +7% chance of success to all skills that require the use of your CHA stat, and additionally, it grants you a 10% to gain a bonus +1 RP point with other individuals.
He was starting to get a sneaking suspicion with all of those bonuses. Like, since the system caused him grief for so long, it was granting him such bonuses to make up for it or something. But with no way of checking if that was true or not, Issei simply left it at that. The last 10 points were evenly split between his STR and AGI, which, predictably, increased his perk.
[Experienced Runner]: This perk enables you to run quicker using your [Run] skill! Whenever you use this skill or any related skills, you will gain a +15% to your AGI based on its current value (Original value)
Not bad at all, if he is to say so himself. The last 20 points were going to be stored for emergencies, as always, but as he trained himself, Issei did look over one particular quest.
The Fated Battle
Now that you know where he is, the time for the battle between the two Dragon Emperors is drawing near. Prepare yourself for the fight that lies ahead!
Main Objective: Battle the White Dragon Emperor and either just survive, or win.
Additional Objective: Raise your STR, DUR, AGI, ACC, and MGI to 100.
Additional Objective 2: Achieve Level 50 before the fight.
Quest Time Limit: N/A.
Main Objective Rewards: Removal of the [Lustful Desires] status effect, 500K EXP, 1 New Sacred Gear Skill, 1.2M Y
Additional Objective Reward: The perk: [Peak Human Body], 2 MAX-L Orbs, 3 Random Reward Boxes, 1 Random EXP box.
Additional Objective 2 Reward: ?, 5 Dungeon Seeds.
Failure Penalty: Possible Death
Apart from the high risk-high reward ratio on this quest, there were also side objectives he could complete for additional rewards. For example, getting his main combat-relevant stats to 100 would give him some kind of perk. He cannot access any info about it, yet, but he also noted the 2 MAX-L orbs it gave and the 4 boxes with rewards. He got his cool sword from one of those, albeit on a lucky draw more than anything, so he was having a good feeling that he will enjoy whatever rewards come from those as well.
Still, one entire week yielded semi-decent results when it comes to increasing his stats, whilst his skills had an easier time leveling up.
"This is enough for now," Solomon called out, announcing the end of his training session. "You may rest now, Ise."
"Alright," Issei replied, going to the side and starting to head out of the dungeon, taking a towel with him since he did work up a sweat from all the training. As he exited the dungeon and came out into the hallway of his house, his [Aura Sense] kicked in, announcing the presence of some guests over.
Going to the living room, he found Kiba and Shirone there, talking with Kuroka and Ingvild while Raynare simply sat to the side, looking as grumpy as ever. Asia was in the kitchen, apparently preparing some tea for their guests. "Hello there." Issei greeted them, getting their attention.
"Ah, good day, Issei."
"Hi."
Kiba and Shirone replied respectively. "We heard from Kuroka that you were in your…special place, training. I take it you are done?"
"Indeed I am, at least for today," Issei replied. "I was actually heading for the shower."
"Well then, don't stop there on our behalf. Me and Koneko here are not here for pleasure and chatting, unfortunately, but rather, we are here with some more important business."
Issei's expression strained a bit hearing that, but he retained his smile. "I see. I will be finished quickly." And so, he left for the shower, leaving the others in the living room just as Asia entered the room.
"Was that Issei?" She asked.
"Yes, but he went for a shower," Kuroka replied to Asia, then she turned her attention to the Gremory Peerage members in the room. "So, what kind of business do you have? Not that we dislike you or distrust you, but given the most recent event, we'd like to keep our involvement in anything major on a low for a while."
"Well, as you might recall, one of the main reasons Rias sought Ise's help was his position as Red Dragon Emperor to aid her in the upcoming Rating Game against Riser Phenex," Kiba replied formally, taking the cup of tea prepared by Asia. "The first semester is almost done, with only around 3 weeks left until the date of the Rating Game is upon us."
"Hmm. The approaching Rating Game must be causing Rias quite a bit of stress." Ingvild noted.
"It is," Kiba confirmed, taking a sip from the tea. "But she is also fairly confident in her current set. Still, and this is largely thanks to Issei's efforts in cleaning the Strays around Kuoh, she has proposed we go on a training trip. Rias's family owns a small mansion in the mountains we can stay at, and they have quite a bit of land we can use. The location is also on private property, so there is no worry about things like hikers or tourists. The business I mentioned is whether or not Issei would like to join us. Of course, everyone in this household is welcomed, even the fallen angel."
"Tch." Raynare simply clicked her tongue upon hearing that. If she did go, she'd just end up as a maid to the entire Gremory Peerage.
"Nya! That is quite the proposal!" Kuroka said, her smile betraying the excitement she felt. This could be a great chance to spend time with her sister, and maybe even help her with her abilities in Youjutsu and Senjutsu! "I am sure Issei will agree!"
"Training with you sounds like it'd be fun," Asia added.
"Well, in all fairness, our household does hold two confirmed Ultimate-Class beings," Ingvild said, bragging a bit about her and Kuroka's level of power. "So it'd be a waste not to join them. Especially since I still lack full control of my power…"
"Nya! I am sure Issei will agree!" Kuroka added further, and just in time, as Issei returned from the shower. He was dressed in fresher clothing, and his hair was still a bit damp. "Issei! Perfect timing! The Gremory Peerage is inviting us to a mansion in the mountains they own for a training trip!"
"A training trip in the mountains?" Issei echoed, looking at Kiba and Shirone. "So that is the business you were proposing. I'd certainly be grateful if I get to spar with you again, Kiba. I also have something I'd wish to show you once we get there."
"It will be my pleasure to train with you as well, Issei," Kiba replied politely. "I take it this means you will be joining us?"
"Certainly!"
"Joining the Gremory Peerage on their training, huh? This is bound to prove interesting. I never saw Reincarnated Devils in action before, so this will be a great chance to see how they utilize the demonic power in their bodies together with their already existing abilities." Solomon noted within Issei.
"This should also further aid Issei in developing his own abilities," Ddraig added.
"Glad to know you will be joining us then," Kiba replied, finishing his tea. "I will let Rias know. We will be departing tomorrow morning, so we expect you at the Occult Research Club's building by 8 AM. We were also wondering if Kuroka would be alright with teleporting us."
"Sure, it's no big deal," Kuroka replied to the devil.
"Thank you." And Kiba thanked her politely. "Since everything is sorted, we will depart. Unless you wish to remain some more, Koneko?"
"No thanks."
"Ahhhh. Why are you in a hurry, Shrone?" Kuroka asked her sister. "Come on, the time we spend is still not enough to make up for the lost years!"
"Sister, your smell says it all." Shirone then looked at Issei. "Careful for a while, she's nearing her heat cycle."
"Nya!" Kuroka perked up, embarrassed. "S-Shirone, that is not something you say aloud. Plus, I can control myself, unlike a kitten like you!"
"Given your perversions, I highly doubt it," Shirone added.
"Shirone…"
"Sometimes, it is hard to believe those two are sisters," Raynare muttered to herself.
"Yet they are," Issei said, then he heard the notification from the system.
Training of the Heart and Body.
Training with the Gremory Peerage? This is bound to be interesting. And a golden opportunity! Use this opportunity and make the most out of it!
Main Objective (repeatable): Complete a day of training successfully!
Main Objective 2: Gain 2 levels during this trip and raise at least two of your stats to 100!
Additional Objective: Gain at least 5 RP with Rias Gremory!
Additional Objective 2: Gain at least 10 RP with Akeno Himejima!
Additional Objective 3: Gain at least 5 RP with Yuuto Kiba!
Additional Objective 4: Gain at least 15 RP with Koneko(Shirone)!
Quest Time Limit: 3 Weeks.
Main Objective 1 Reward: 200K EXP.
Main Objective 2 Reward: 1 MAX-L Orb, 750K EXP, 10 Free Stat Points.
Additional Objective Reward (Must complete all Additional Objectives): 120K EXP, + 5 RP with all members of your household (Yes, even Raynare), 1 Random Reward Box.
Failure Penalty: N/A
DAMN! The System knows how to make something REALLY worth it! Now he can't wait for tomorrow…
Ok, perhaps, in hindsight, he should have gotten more sleep that night. Shirone proved to have been telling the truth about Kuroka being in heat, and after a week of 'punishing' him for bluffing with the Juggernaut again, she was insatiable for a good portion of the night. Whilst Kuroka was currently all glowing and satisfied as they walked down the road toward Kuoh Academy, Issei was looking a bit worse for wear.
Zombie-like, even.
"Are you sure you are ok, Ise?" Asia asked, worrying for his well-being.
"I will be alright-" He yawned. "After I get myself a coffee."
"Don't you think you went a bit hard on him, Kuroka? And for too long?" Ingvild asked with a slight blush since she could tell WHY Issei was currently tired, confronting the cause of his current weariness.
Kuroka's ears would have gone flat had they not been hidden so she could walk on the street without people thinking she was some perverted cosplayer. "M-maybe I did, a little…At least we used proper protection, so everything is good?"
"Hopefully it doesn't affect his performance with the Gremory Peerage today." Ingvild pointed out.
"Pff. As if. Show him a pair of knockers and see how his energy spikes." Raynare mocked lightly.
"Raynare! That is not nice!"
"But it is a bit true…" Kuroka muttered to herself lightly. Issei does get motivated by breasts.
"Hmmm." Raynare simply stared back at Asia for a bit. "Fine, sorry if I offended anyone by telling the truth."
Now, this has Issei perking up. "Did she just apologize?"
"My, Asia must be affecting her!" Solomon reasoned, but that was when Ddraig simply scoffed.
"Or she is playing nice since she realized she is nothing but discarded thrash now. Hell, she is not even fresh goods."
"That is a bit harsh, don't you think so, Ddraig?"
"I agree with Issei here, old friend. She might have seen her fair share of men before, but how is that relevant to her attitude shifting?"
"It isn't. Well, it might. More experienced women tend to know how to please a man."
"Huh. I didn't think of it like that before." Issei replied internally, then looked at Raynare, letting his vision wander for a bit over her frame. She was always tense and sour around them, for good reason, but that is not to say she didn't have a fair bit of advantages going on for herself as well.
-1 RP with Raynare
"Stop perving on me, idiot!" Raynare sneered at him, having caught his eyes. Issei, for his part, flinched.
"S-sorry! My eyes wandered by mistake!" He said, hoping his [Lie] skill would help him out.
Skill Level-up! Your [Lie] skill is now level 3!
"Yeah, right," Raynare replied, not entirely believing him, but still letting him off the hook. Now THAT was a close call, Issei will admit that. Perhaps it was worth playing it safe and not staring at anyone, sans Kuroka, until they got to their destination. And luckily enough, they arrived at the Occult Research Club's building swiftly, meeting the devils.
"Glad to see you could join us, Issei. Though, it may seem like you could use some extra hours of sleep." Rias remarked, staring at Issei's current state.
"I will be fine." He replied. "I just need some coffee."
"Well then, before we depart, I trust everyone here knows the main objective of this trip, correct? This is no vacation, but rather, we are to train to increase our chances in the coming Rating Game. As such, I don't wish to see any of you slack off. My peerage, that is. I have no say in how you spend your time." Rias said, turning to Issei's group.
"Nya! We were thinking of lending you a hand!" Kuroka added. "I will help Shirone with her Youkai abilities since I know for a fact they are still pretty neglected."
"And I would like to continue learning more about controlling my Demonic Power from you, Rias, and if possible, spar as well," Ingvild said, stepping forward.
"Oh my, I guess that leaves me and Kiba with the Red Dragon Emperor then," Akeno remarked, turning to the dragon in question. "Please be gentle with us."
"Actually, I think Issei here would rather have a bit of sleep," Kiba remarked, and sure enough, Issei nodded his head.
"I will see what I will do once I get there."
"Speaking of getting there, tell me where you wish to get, Gremory," Kuroka said, stepping forward with a smirk on her face. "I will teleport us there in the blink of an eye."
"I have the details of the location right here," Rias said, handing Kuroka a small piece of paper with the details, the cat took it and opened it, seeing the details and nodding her head.
"Alright, this should be a breeze!" She declared, then summoned forth her magical circle underneath them all. "Everyone stay close together!" Everyone gathered around, making sure to have their bags close by. "Here we go!" And in a flash, they were gone.
"Holy shit!" Issei said, his previous weariness was forgotten even if for a bit as he stared at the mansion before his eyes, then looked around the overall area. "We are in the middle of the mountains! And this place is huge!"
"Glad you like it," Rias said with a smirk. "My family owns a few such mansions over the globe, and they agreed to let us use this one to train. Whilst it has no advanced equipment, it would still serve us well thanks to the intimacy it provides and the large amounts of space as well."
"I have never seen such large houses before!" Asia said in awe.
"It certainly is better than a couch. Hopefully, I will get my room." Raynare said to herself but then noticed Rias clearing her throat.
"Actually, for safety reasons, you will be sharing a room with Issei."
"What?!" Raynare half-shouted in surprise, turning to Rias.
"Nya! What's the big idea, Gremory!" Kuroka said, turning to Rias.
"Well, I guessed you put her under some spell, hence why Issei was not killed so far in his sleep, so I guessed she is not a threat if she were to sleep in the same room as him. Plus, I don't feel like being that nice to a former enemy as to give them a room." Rias explained. "Of course, I hope those are not bad conditions for you, Issei."
"I-I guess I will make due," Issei said, but Raynare was REALLY not ok with those arrangements
-2 RP with Raynare!
Damn it, Rias.
"We should go and unpack," Kiba said, already heading inside the mansion. "We already received the keys to each of our rooms, so we know where to leave our baggage. Rias will hand you your keys as well."
"Later, Red Dragon~."
"Kuroka, don't try anything pervy until I come back."
"And so, my peerage is getting ready. Well, as promised, here are your room keys." Rias said, reaching into her pockets and bringing out the keys, giving them to Issei and his girls. "We will begin training in an hour, giving everyone enough time to unpack and prepare. We will be waiting for you in the backyard."
"Understood," Issei said, letting Rias go away toward her room. "Girls, I will go to sleep for a bit."
"Have a good sleep, Issei," Asia told him as he left, heading to his room.
As Issei walked into his room and placed his baggage away for now, he didn't even undress before collapsing on the bed, trying to catch at least a bit of sleep. He let Solomon and Ddraig know to wake him up in an hour or so, so he could go train with the others, which they agreed to do. With that in mind, Issei went to sleep easily, and swiftly as well, indicating he was quite tired.
However, as he remained lying on the bed, he failed to notice how his door creaked open.
"Hmm? Ddraig, did someone walk inside the room?"
"I think so. With Issei's eyes closed, we can only use his sense of hearing, and even then, it's difficult to hear stuff when he is asleep." Ddraig said, trying to focus on the sound. He thought he heard some kind of giggling, definitely female, and then both Ddraig and Solomon, whilst sharing Issei's sense of touch, felt how a new source of warmth washed over them. "Ah, crud. The cat won't like this."
Kuroka was currently heading toward Issei's room since almost one hour and 20 minutes had passed and he had yet to give any sign of life. Kiba was waiting for him outside, so that made the black cat of the group wonder what was taking Issei so long. If anything, she expected Solomon and Ddraig to wake him up so he wouldn't be late, but it seems she had to do it herself.
It kinda made her giddy, in a way. It was like she was a wife who was heading to her husband to wake him up after a hard day at work, so he didn't oversleep. Her tail swayed left and right as those thoughts flowed through her mind, and eventually, she reached his room, seeing the door slightly ajar. Issei most likely didn't bother to lock the door, given how tired he was. With a smirk on her face, Kuroka pushed the door open. "Wake up, Issei, everyone-" Then her words died in her mouth as she saw a sight that boiled her blood.
Issei was asleep, that much was for sure. But there was someone there she KNEW was not asleep, given their smirk. Kuroka's fists tightened as she came to face the person, their eyes meeting. Yet, they only gave her a sly smirk.
"Oh my…" Akeno said, wearing nothing but a bathrobe. "It seems I entered the wrong room after my shower."
"HOMEWRECKER!" Kuroka shouted, and sure enough, the loud noise had Issei spring to life.
"Huh?! What?! Whose in danger- BOOBIES!" Issei shouted as he looked around frantically, then saw Akeno's rack through her bathrobe, her left breast spilling out and giving him quite the nice sight, but the shock of waking up to such a sight had him stumble over and fall on his head from the bed. It was then he noticed Kuroka standing over him, arms crossed. "K-Kuroka?! I swear it's not what it-"
"Shush it, Issei, I know you wouldn't go behind mine or Ingvi's backs like this!" Kuroka said sternly to him, and sure enough, Issei went silent, but at the same time, he was relieved his girlfriends had so much faith in him. "My issue is with you!"
"Me?" Akeno pointed at herself. "Fair is fair, I thought he'd enjoy my company. After all, he is stepping on the same road other Red Dragons had over the years." She got up, then slowly, and making sure Issei was seeing it, she raised her hands over her head, putting her chest in a more pronounced position. "They all are known for hoarding massive harems."
"Nya!" Kuroka hissed at Akeno. "That is NOT up to you to decide!"
"Hehehe. I am aware of that." Akeno replied, then her gaze turned to Issei, who was getting up from the floor. "So, Issei, what do you say? Is there a place in your current harem for a girl such as me?"
Issei gulped, giving Kuroka a look, but he could see in her eyes that this was not the moment to be the usual pervert he was. Sure, physically speaking, Akeno had a killer body he'd be stupid to turn down! But at the same time, he isn't the kind of man that'd disregard the feelings of his current harem members. So, he decided to do the second thing he was best at being an honest pervert.
"Akeno, I don't lie. Your rack is great, and your beauty is top shelf!" Issei said, seeing Kuroka scowl at him, but then he continued. "But I cannot make such a call without first taking some other steps! I do not wish to make Kuroka or Ingvild feel neglected, and as such, whenever I do decide to add more women to my harem, I'd like the current members to have a say, and fair be fair, you haven't made the best of impressions right now with your sneaky maneuver."
"Hmm." Akeno stared at him for a bit, thinking.
+2 RP with Akeno Himejima.
However, then she smiled at him, looking satisfied with his answer. "I understand. Kuroka, I apologize for my little stunt, and I hope this won't affect relations between us."
"Apologies accepted," Kuroka said with a small smile on her face.
For diffusing the situation without hurting either of them, you have been awarded 2 WIS and 1 LCK.
"Now, how about we start heading to the training grounds?" Kuroka suggested.
"Sure, let me just get a change of clothes! Akeno, you should also…Well, get dressed in your room." Issei said, and sure enough, Akeno got up.
"Sure thing." She said, going past him and Kuroka, leaving the two alone in the room. Once she was out of sight, Kuroka turned to Issei with a small pout.
"H-hey, I thought you weren't mad at me!"
"Not you, Ise, but the two free-loaders living in your head! Why didn't you two wake him up?!" Kuroka half-shouted, talking with Solomon and Ddraig.
"My fair lady, if there is a thing I learned from my experiences, waking him up in that situation would have been counterproductive to his sleep," Solomon said. "We decided to let him sleep, so he could rest. The training comes first, after all."
"Solomon has a point. But also because it might have been worse had Issei discovered her there. Who knows what she planned." Ddraig said, voicing his small worry.
"At least you were asleep…" Kuroka muttered softly. "Anyway, I will be waiting for you outside. Don't take long, Kiba has been waiting for almost half an hour now."
"Alright!"
"Sorry for the delay, Kiba! Ddraig forgot to wake me up!" Issei said, apologizing to the Knight of Gremory.
"It's alright, Issei. We still have plenty of time for our training, so how about we begin?" Kiba replied, summoning forth a sword.
"Umm. Before we do, can you take a look at this?" Issei said, bringing out his two swords before Kiba, and almost immediately, the knight could sense the malice coming from the blood-related blade. "This is the Mystical Blood Moon Blade. Whilst I fought the b- The Strays, the strongest of them used blood magic. My sword can fix itself in exchange for magical energy, but it managed to take a piece of it and created this blade."
"Can I hold it?" Kiba asked, and Issei gave him the sword, letting him inspect it. At first, Kiba was careful, simply looking over the blade. When compared to Issei's sword, they were still pretty similar, but the knight knew when a blade was not normal. And this sword was screaming at him, and giving him very bad vibes. "It's a very thirsty blade. I can sense it." he held the handle of the sword, taking a few swings with it, and even sensing the power it held. But when he attempted to reach for it, he felt pain shoot out through his palm, forcing him to drop it.
"Are you ok?" Issei asked, seeing Kiba drop the sword. He noticed his hand was bleeding. "Here." Using his [Aqua Heal] on Kiba, he was able to quickly take care of the wound.
"Thanks," Kiba replied, appreciating the gesture.
+1 RP with Yuuto Kiba.
"What was that? I mean, I have not used the blade before, but it certainly didn't bite." Issei said, even joking lightly when he said the blade was biting. He then picked it up, returning the sword to his inventory.
"It was trying to use my blood," Kiba said, looking at his palm where he was hurt. "Unlike your other sword, which you told me before uses the light of the moon as fuel, this one uses blood. Fitting, considering that stray you told me about was using blood magic. Still, to be able to create something like this…He must have used your sword's self-repairing properties and corrupted them with their magic."
"That does sound like the most plausible cause," Issei replied. "So, what do you think I should do with it?"
"It's still a good sword, despite its malicious aura, but honestly, it might be damaging to use over long periods. I wouldn't use it much, if at all if I were you." Kiba advised him.
"Noted. So, now that this is out of the way, how about we worry about our spars?" Issei asked, bringing his normal sword out again. Sure enough, Kiba gave him a confident smirk as he brought out his blade using his sacred gear, facing Issei on the battlefield.
"Let this be a memorable bout, Red Dragon."
"Likewise, Knight of Gremory."
"Looks like Issei and Kiba have started their sparring," Rias commented from afar as she watched the two of them go at it. In the meantime, she was practicing more together with Ingvild. "I see you have progressed quite a bit with your abilities."
"I guess," Ingvild replied as she moved a large amount of water around her, creating a snake-like shape of some kind. "It gets easier the more I practice, and I have an easier time controlling more water as well."
"What about your Sacred Gear?" Rias asked, and sure enough, Ingvild allowed her eyes to glow slightly, letting her gear aid her in her control of the water. It was easy to spot the difference as she was able to split the water she was controlling in two, holding the water afloat above her palms. "Not bad."
"Water doesn't have many offensive or defensive uses in small amounts," Ingvild remarked, letting the water in her hands combine again into one, letting it snake around her. "Plus, there is also not much around here for me to control, and creating some using my magic is a bit exhausting if I were to use large amounts, even with my demonic energy."
"Well, training does make perfect," Rias commented, then looked toward Akeno, who set up some targets for her.
"Here you go, Rias!" Akeno said, getting out of the way as the heiress smirked, seeing the targets before her. Her biggest issue was not lack of control of her power, but rather, she lacked a fair enough amount of demonic power to constantly use it. It took a lot out of her to constantly use it, and as such, she thought about trying to create a smaller sphere or taking some inspiration from how she was told Issei reshaped his shadows from tendrils to spears once, she thought about altering the shape of her projectiles.
Her current aim was to deliver a 'fatal' strike, meaning she had to eliminate a specific part of her target, which was a mere log with red paint in the center, indicating her target spot. "Let's see…" Muttering to herself, Rias focused and managed to summon the familiar crimson sphere of raw destructive energy in her palm, then she tried to shape it. It was hard to command the power of the Bael, but with practice, it became easier.
Still, she didn't have her brother's talent.
She tried to command it to shape itself like an arrow and fly with speed at her target, but as the sphere's shape contorted and changed, she saw herself lose control of it and it vanished. "Damn it." She swore lightly, then she attempted to do it again. Despite this being the most dangerous ability of her entire peerage, she couldn't afford to be a glass cannon. She had to pull her weight as well, and she won't just sit around while her entire peerage worked their asses off!
"Hya!" Kuroka swiftly dodged a strike coming from Koneko, jumping around the small field with a smirk on her face as she watched her younger sister try and land a solid hit on her. Of course, her smirk and attitude were not seen kindly by Koneko. "Can you wipe that smirk off your face? This isn't funny."
"It is to some degree for me," Kuroka remarked as she stood straight, placing a hand on her hip. "You are relying so much on your physical strength, and even enhanced with your Youjutsu, you still lack a lot. Did you know? Issei has recently acquired Youjutsu as well!"
"He-" Koneko gasped a bit, but then she sighed. "Of course he has. So, what can he do?"
"Not much, all things considered, but he has some mastery over basic elemental control. He can control wind and fire, predictably enough." Kuroka replied to her sister. "Perhaps we can have him train with us to get his abilities up a couple more notches, wouldn't you agree? It might be beneficial for you as well."
"This trip is to aid us, Kuroka, not your boyfriend," Koneko said as she once again leaped at her sister, but Kuroka easily jumped, letting Koneko hit the ground where she sat, causing it to fracture and fly all over the place.
"I know. But if he wants to aid you, you need to be more open about it, Shirone. Who knows? I also wouldn't mind sharing him with my sister. If anything, it might bring us closer." Kuroka teased, noticing her sister's blush at the remake, but it quickly vanished, being replaced with a quick charge that she almost missed.
Almost.
Once again, she dodged, making use of her superior agility. "You need to work on your Touki to enhance your body, sister. I know! How about we work on that?"
"Touki requires years of training to master," Koneko argued. "Even if we started now, it won't do any good to us."
"Nya! That is what you think! But trust me, we Youkai have naturally higher affinity with things like these! I make no guarantee, but given how you are already a close-combat person, it should be easier. I think."
"What does Issei see in my sister?" Koneko muttered to herself as she charged once more at her older sister, the smirk she kept showing ticking her off.
"You are improving…Quickly, might I add as well." Kiba said as he dodged another attack from Issei's blade, stepping back to avoid the tip of the sharp object.
"I am still only getting myself warmed up!" Issei declared, swinging his blade again, but Kiba was able to deflect his strike, then used the resulting opening to charge past Issei's guard. However, Issei was prepared and brought out his Boosted Gear to use it as a shield again.
However, Kiba's smirk told him everything he needed to know, and his [Danger Sense] blurred in his ears as his arm went THROUGH Kiba's sword. Still, he quickly pulled back, getting some distance from the more experienced knight. "What the fuck was that?!" Issei asked, looking at Kiba with mild confusion. He knew this was most likely the hand of his Sacred Gear, but he needed details.
"This sword is my newest addition: Ghost Touch. It can make selective parts of itself intangible, allowing it to pass through various objects without difficulty." Kiba explained ."Pretty useful if I am dealing with a shield."
"Pretty smart, I am not gonna lie," Ddraig commented.
"Whose side are you on?" Issei asked the dragon back internally, but there was no time for a reply as Kiba charged at him again, and this time, Issei only had one option: Attack him back. He charged with his sword at Kiba, locking their blades together. This seems to have taken Kiba off-guard, as he didn't expect Issei to be charging in as well, meaning he had no time to make his sword intangible. Still, this works just fine for Issei.
Issei leaned his sword to the side, pushing Kiba down. But the knight was not done, and he let go of the hilt with one hand, using it to bring forth a new sword, which he immediately thrust at Issei, forcing him to dodge the incoming strike unless he wanted it stuck in his neck. But that moment where his focus shifted was all Kiba needed to bring his other blade up, now dual-wielding against Issei, who was forced to [Block] using his sword multiple times.
"What is it, Red Dragon? Can't keep up?" Kiba antagonized him slightly, likely trying to keep him riled up. There was no actual venom in his voice, yet, Issei replied with just as much gal.
"Wait until I bust out my Balance Breaker!" Issei declared, and sure enough, he brought out his Boosted Gear, making Kiba take a small step back, fearing the Scale Mail, but instead of that, Issei gripped his sword tightly, sending forth one of his lunar slashes of energy at Kiba, who got hit full-force by it, sending him back into a nearby tree. "Shit!" Issei panicked slightly, going to Kiba to see him wincing a bit. "Sorry, I put too much power behind that one!"
"It's alright," Kiba said, using his sword as support to slowly get up.
"Allow me!" Asia said, coming up to them and placing her hands on Kiba's back, activating her Sacred Gear. Since she was not too fit for training with them in combat maneuvers, she was currently acting as their nurse in case any of them got hurt during the spars. In a way, this acted as some mild training for her ability to heal others.
Kiba felt the relief wash over him as the soft, green light healed his fresh wound, not allowing it to start bruising. By the time Asia was done, he stood up fully, doing some stretches to test his back. "Like new." He remarked, then turned to Asia. "Thank you for your aid, Miss Argento."
"No problem! Any friend of Issei is a friend of mine as well!" Asia replied cheerfully, thankful that she was able to be useful.
"Gotta say, Issei, I am somewhat jealous of you. Having such a competent healer all to yourself is drawing quite a bit of envy from Rias, I won't hide the fact." Kiba told the dragon.
"Asia is free to heal whoever she wants around here," Issei added. "Speaking of that; Asia, me, and Kiba will be alright, so how about you go check Kuroka and Koneko? They are doing some more physical hand-to-hand, so they might have a few bruises that need tending."
"Alright! Shout if you need me!" Asia then left, heading toward the next group. But as she left, Akeno came forth, noticing her skipping toward the Youkai.
"My, quite the energetic girl, isn't she?" She remarked, looking at Issei.
"She is just glad to be able to help others as much as she wishes to," Issei told her. "As far as I know, she was not allowed to do much when she was with the Church."
"I heard you saved her from the Fallen, correct?" Akeno asked, receiving a nod from Issei.
"You saved her before knowing her. Quite noble of you." Kiba remarked.
"It was not a big deal. The Fallen were pretty much my main enemies during that time, so it was both a chance to stick it to them and do some good. But I am glad I did." He looked toward Asia, noticing her already healing a small wound on Koneko's forearm. "She deserves to be happy."
+3 RP with Yuuto Kiba
"That is indeed very noble of you, Issei," Kiba added further, then he turned to Akeno. "I am guessing you are here for your turn?"
"Why, of course!" Akeno replied, giggling slightly. "Given how busy everyone is, I don't really have a suitable training partner apart from the Red Dragon here. That is if he is done swinging that big sword around."
"If Kiba wishes to take a break, I am alright with switching things up, Akeno," Issei replied to her.
"I could use a cold drink, so I think I will take a small break and allow the two of you to get some training in. This first day is mostly to see what we can do, what we cannot do yet, and what we can improve." Kiba said, dismissing his sword. He then left the training field, letting Akeno and Issei do their own rounds.
However, with that being said, Issei was curious about Akeno's specific stats. One quick use of [Observe] should do the trick.
Name
Akeno Himejima
Title:
Queen of Gremory
Level:
39 (11972000/11975461 EXP)
HP: 65000/65000 (1 HP/Min)
STA: 28900/28900 (1 STA/Min)
D.P: 78000/78000 ( 1 D.P/Min)
H.P: 4400/4400 (1 H.P/Min(
Mana: 132000/132000 (1 Mana/Min)
STR: 93
AGI: 86
MGI: 173
DUR: 95
ACC: 166
WIS: 74
INT: 87
CHA: 98
LCK: 44
Status effects: N/A
Perks:
Normal Perks
[Expert Magician]: The user is an experienced magician and practitioner of the arcane arts. This perk grants a Mana Discount of 30% and +50% more damage to all your Magical Attacks.
[Fallen Angel Descendancy]: Since the user is a Fallen Angel as well, they have access to Holy Power (H.P.)
[Blood of Baraqiel]: This perk grants the user +100% bonus damage using Holy Lightning and +100 H.P. per level-up.
[Misplaced Hatred]: Due to this perk, the user's H.P. receives no increases from her stats as it would normally. (H.P. increases like D.P. - No default bonus, 50% from STR, MGI, DUR, AGI, and INT each.)
[Silver Skin]: This Perk grants you a -15% damage reduction from physical strikes.
[Expert Sharpshooter]: This perk grants you a 25% bonus chance to hit your targets at long range.
[Silver Striker]: This Perk grants you a +15% damage boost when striking using physical strikes based on your STR (Original)
Evil Piece Perks
[Queen of All]: Since you wield a Queen Piece, you gain balanced bonuses to all of your stats from all of your Evil Pieces.
[Speed Boost]: +15% AGI, +1 AGI per level-up.
[Strength Boost]: +15% STR, +1 STR per level-up.
[Durability Boost]: +15% DUR, +1 DUR per level-up.
[Magic Boost]: +15% MGI, +1 MGI per level-up.
"Holy shit, her Holy Power is at default values if anything!" Issei noted internally.
"Whatever her hatred is about, it has damaged her Fallen Angel side in terms of power. A true shame, as combining those two would be quite something to behold." Solomon noted. "Still, she wouldn't have had the same amount of power as actual angels. From what I noticed from our other fallen angel friends, they seem to struggle a bit wielding light, whilst normal angels can do it as simply as breathing. I guess that the Holy Power within their bodies is naturally inferior to that of pure angels. But I digress. The more complicated issue here is the fact she is quite the all-rounder."
"She seems to be favoring the Bishop aspect of her Queen piece, judging from her MGI and ACC stats. " Ddraig added. "She is a person who doesn't get close and personal, and despite her stats being somewhat higher than ours, we can make up using a boost."
"She also doesn't seem to share the same perks as us either." Issei noticed, looking over Akeno's stat page. "Still, she is considerably slower than Kiba. She IS close to leveling up, though, so we better watch out for that."
"Very well. Well then, let's get this started." Solomon said, letting Issei return to the battle at hand, summoning his gear and using one [Boost] to even the odds. Akeno, of course, noticed him preparing a bit more seriously than what he had done with Kiba, making her giggle.
"Oh my, taking me a tad bit more seriously than Kiba, are we?" She asked, slowly letting her demonic power seep through.
"She uses demonic power mixed with her mana." Issei noticed, receiving only a hum from Solomon. Then, suddenly, a bolt of lighting came his way, and he barely dodged the fast projectile. "Lightning magic! Safe for Light Magic, this is the fastest kind out there!"
"Oh my, you managed to dodge that?" Akeno asked with mild surprise. But then her smile grew. "Guess I shouldn't have kept my expectations so low for the Red Dragon Emperor. You will surely be a hard toy to break."
"Uhh. Come again?"
"This…Was not in her file." Solomon remarked, feeling worried now.
"Ah shit, I've seen broads like these before. Saddle up, Issei. She is about to put you through the wringer."
"Then I will answer in kind!" Issei declared, confusing Akeno before he made use of his [Parallel Mind] skill, Issei summoned forth three magical circles, not going for his current max of five, and began to launch multiple volleys of fire at Akeno. However, the girl simply took to the skies using her wings, taking aerial advantage. She then put a hand up, summoning forth multiple, small magical circles that generated ice spikes aimed at him.
"She must have some kind of multicasting skill to allow her to create so many magical circles but is not the same as us. Making so many requires her to reduce the individual power of each spell in accordance to the amount created."
Solomon's explanation did little good as Akeno launched the ice at Issei, who was forced to quickly cut his palm open using his gauntlet's sharp claws and draw a symbol on it using the drawn blood. Thrusting his hand quickly in front of the attack, the ice impacted against his [Crimson Barrier]. This had Akeno humm a bit, not expecting Issei to use his more uncommon magic so soon. But her grin widened as she came to realize that the reason must be because Issei didn't have a lot of actual defensive options in his magical arsenal.
For quickly using your magic to block the incoming attack, you were awarded 1 MGI and 1 AGI.
And she knew the perfect counter against Blood Magic. As the clouds gathered above her, specifically in a small area around them, Issei kept his eyes on her, not losing her out of sight.
Bad decision.
He noticed a bit late the magical circles that appeared below him, too big for him to block using his barrier, not that it would work anyhow. Water erupted from it like a geyser, actually sending Issei high into the air, completely soaked. He then noticed Akeno preparing another attack, so he put his hand forth to summon his barrier once again, only to realize the blood had washed away due to the water.
She was smart, she knew how to counter specific magics and in what ways.
Realizing his only defensive spell was shot, Issei changed tactics, bringing forth his own magic circles as Akeno launched a couple more bolts of lightning at him, the boy retaliating using his [Water Jet]. Lightning and water made a deadly combo, but additionally, the lightning traveled and was conducted by water, but if there was no other conductive body close to jumping to, it was stuck in the water.
This is what happened, as Akeno's spell and his intercepted one another, the water became charged with electricity, yet, Issei's spell was slow, and didn't have that much range, being unable to reach Akeno. Still, there was also the issue of free-falling now, which was easy to fix.
"Balance Breaker!"
[Scale Mail]!
Summoning his Balance Breaker briefly to use the wings of this form, Issei was able to land safely on the ground before he dismissed it, giving Akeno a cocky grin. She narrowed her eyes at him while maintaining her smile, lightning crackling between her fingers. This was merely the start of their little spar, and Issei had strong feelings things would only get more hectic from there.
Hopefully, he doesn't get shocked to death.