One Punch Issei:
The Strongest Highschooler: Chapter 1.
"So, you are telling me that your little expedition ended up being pointless, right?" Inside a rather obscure building on the campus of Kuoh Academy known to very few people as The Occult Research Club, Himejima Akeno was serving tea to her best friend/master.
"I wouldn't say that it was completely pointless Akeno. We did end up finding the corpse of that Fallen or at least whatever remained of her corpse." Rias Gremory for lack of a better term was a breathtakingly beautiful girl. At 18 years of age, the redhead was a widely renowned figure even outside of Kuoh for her beauty. However, what was less known about her was the fact that she was a devil, the heiress to the prestigious Gremory House at that.
"And we still have no idea who or what did it, do we?" Akeno sighed. As big as her hatred for the cursed creatures was, the death of this particular one was giving her master quite a lot of trouble.
"From the state of the body, I most certainly am sure that there was some form of magic involved since even her internal organs and mana circuit were completely obliterated. Koneko, are you sure that Issei isn't behind this?" Rias asked the third member in the room who was snacking on some sweets which she had been rewarded for her scouting job.
Koneko Toujou who was a first-year at Kuoh High was one of the most popular students in the entire school and was widely regarded as Kuoh"s own Mascot. Her popularity was in fact so high that it was only second to that of Rias and Akeno. Although she was rather petite as compared to her clubmates and fellow devils, her lack of development was mainly caused by age. "Positive, Buchou. Issei-senpai has no mana or chakra in his body."
"And what do you think about Issei now that you have followed him around for a while?"
"He is alright."
"Now that your plan of reviving Issei after he reached the brink of death, which I told you was stupid has failed, how do you plan on pulling him to our side now?" Akeno asked.
"I am rethinking the decision to try and get him to join us. While we can be sure that he has some sort of a Sacred Gear, I don't think he'll be powerful enough to deal with Riser even with training especially since he has little to no mana."
"At least you should try, it's not like you'll run into a Sacred Gear user every day."
"We'll see."
As far as Issei was concerned, the fact that there were no cops in front of his house in the morning was a good sign. As strong as he was, he didn't want to explain to his mom what happened. The woman could be scary when she wanted to. He went to school like normal and the entire day went by quite smoothly. That is until he ran into a weirdo.
"So let me get this straight, you are here to accompany me to visit your 'Occult Research Club' even though it is the middle of the school year and I have at no point in time shown interest in joining said club?"
"Yes."
The guy standing in front of him was so popular in school that almost everyone knew who he was. Yuuto Kiba was arguably the most popular guy in the entire school if his nickname "The Prince of Kuoh" was any indication. Even though both of them were in the same year, it was the first time he ever talked to Issei.
"Fine then, lead the way."
"Just like that?! I thought you might need a bit more persuading."
"If I refused, would you leave me alone?"
"Since the President asked me to, I wouldn't."
"I guessed. Something tells me that this isn't a regular club invitation. The faster we are done with this, the faster I can go home so lead the way."
The trip to the club building was quick and uneventful barring the large amount of fangirls swooning over Kiba. He could even hear a few fujoshi in the crowd screaming out about their fantasies which caused him to cringe a bit. For a second he even felt bad for Kiba for having to go through this every day.
The 'club' if it could be called even that, was a large building which, like most things in Kuoh, was modeled after a European manor. It was about ten times the size of his house and the interior was even furnished to look like a noble house. Now, his expertise on furniture was limited to breaking it over people's heads when bored but even he could see that the ones in the building were quite expensive.
They soon reached a room that looked like it was some form of a living room with the arrangement of the chairs and the coffee table. There was even a large desk that looked like it was used by the club president. The room was inhabited by two people aside from them and judging by the sound of a shower running in the background, there was a third one in the building. However, his sharpened hearing soon picked up a small sound coming from what appeared to be the basement of the building.
"Welcome to the Occult Research Club, Hyoudou Issei. My name is Himejima Akeno and I am the vice president of this club. The President will be with us in a moment. Would you like to enjoy some tea?" Like all students in Kuoh, he knew one of the Two Great Ladies but this marked the first time they had a conversation.
"Sure, why not?"
He was soon served what he could say without any doubt was the best tea he ever tasted in his life.
"This is really good stuff Ms Himejima." Issei complimented.
"Thank you for the praise, Issei." Akeno decided to drop the honorifics to see how Issei would react but she was sorely disappointed with what she got.
It took Rias five minutes to get dressed and Issei could say without any ulterior motive that she looked perfect in it. Her modified uniform covered everything that needed to be covered yet left nothing for imagination.
"I suppose you would like to know why you were summoned here, wouldn't you?" Rias asked.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Issei replied.
"In that case, would you like to tell us about what happened in the park last night?" Rias asked while trying to sound like she was interrogating him.
"You know what happened last night? Don't tell me you were the one who cleaned it up. Is this one of those scenes where you now try to blackmail me because I must tell you, I have no money to spare." Issei said with mild irritation.
"I wouldn't go that far." Rias was amused. "In the first place I never said anything about you committing a crime, did I?"
"I confess nothing."
"As amusing as this is I must tell you that none of us have any problem with the death of that woman. We would just like to know what happened."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Well, she asked me out on a date, and at the end of the date, she took me to the park before she started to transform like a magical girl. She then tried to kill me with a glowing stick so I kind of retaliated. Mind you, this was purely self-defense." Since Rias looked like she knew what happened, Issei decided to come clean. It wasn't like she could do anything to him in the first place.
"And how did you manage to do that?"
"I punched her."
"You punched her?"
"I Punched her."
"That is interesting. Tell me Issei. What do you know about the Bible or Christianity?" Rias was now a little amused.
"Not much if I'm being honest. My family is traditionally a Shinto one. But I do know that there's like one God." The entire room flinched when he said that. "And he sent his son Jesus to Earth to cleanse sins or something like that." He finished. Issei was never a huge fan of mythology.
"That's good but do you know anything about devils?" Rias asked.
"You mean like the ones in English movies wearing a suit and offering deals for your soul, kind of devils?"
"That will suffice for now. You see Issei, every single person in this room except you are devils." As Rias said this, two jet-black bat-like wings sprouted from the back of every single person in the room except for Akeno whose one wing was featherier and more resembled that of a crow's wing.
"Cool wings. But I must say, I don't want to sell my soul and I don't know any virgins I can sacrifice except maybe those two perverts so I don't know what a devil might need from me." Issei was unperturbed but given his lack of strong emotions, that was to be expected. However, Issei could say without lying that he was a little bit confused.
"I must say that I expected a bigger reaction from you Issei but I can't say that I'm surprised after our brief conversation. However, I would like to ask you this. Would you, Issei Hyuodou, like to join my peerage?"
"What's a peerage?" Issei asked.
And so, Issei was briefed on the history of the Devil kind and the Evil Piece system developed to keep Devils from dying off due to underpopulation. While it was a little surprising to know that supernatural beings were hiding in plain sight of the general populace, he was happy to know that he could get away with murdering the Fallen since she didn't exist on any record.
"Well, I get the basics of what you are telling me but what benefits do I get from making myself a slave to you? I mean, no offense, you seem like a cool girl and all but why should I accept eternal servitude?"
"None taken and to answer your question, you would get money and power and if you work hard enough, you can become a high-class devil yourself and have your own peerage in the future. Your own harem if you want. You also get a long lifespan and eternal youth. Plus, as a member of the esteemed Gremory clan, I treat all my servants like my own family so you don't have to worry about being harassed." Rias said. If Issei was being honest, she sounded like one of those corporate ladies that try to sell you stuff that you didn't want to buy.
"Hmm, it seems like an okay deal to me." Issei pondered. To be honest, the only thing that Rias offered that interested him was money since he definitely didn't need any more money and his lack of lust meant that a harem wasn't the most attractive prospect in the world. However, Issei wasn't sure that becoming a slave for money was worth it since he didn't need much money in the first place.
"I'm sorry, I will have to decline your offer." Issei decided.
"I see. I was hoping you would say yes but I definitely can't say that I didn't expect this. Regardless, thank you for coming here Issei. I would like to ask you to keep what you saw here a secret." Rias wasn't really keen on recruiting Issei so it wasn't a significant loss for her to let him go. His admission to killing the Fallen was interesting but the dead Fallen was one of the weakest so it wasn't a huge deal. From what she could say about Issei from their limited interaction, he wasn't the type to gossip.
"Sure." With this, Issei had his first and last interaction with the Devils of Kuoh.
Or so he thought.
"Um, Rias?"
"What is it? Akeno?"
"You forgot to ask him about his Sacred Gear."
"Shit!"
"Why are you here now? I thought we discussed everything yesterday?" It was lunch break once again and Issei was face to face with the Prince, again.
"The President wants to ask you something Hyoudou. Could you please spare us a bit of your time?" Kiba was impeccable as always.
"Fine. Let's get this over with." And so, he went to the Occult Research Club once again.
"I am sorry for calling you again Issei. But I needed to ask you something." Rias was apologetic.
"It's not an issue Ms Gremory." Issei was not mad or anything, he was just a little surprised to be called up again.
"Do you know anything about Sacred Gears, Issei?" Rias asked. She did not want to beat around the bush at all.
"What's a Sacred Gear?"
And so, Issei was given yet another lecture about Sacred Gears and how they are weapons that are supposed to be the hope of humanity and all but still manage to end up in the hands of the Biblical Factions.
"So, you are telling me that I have some sort of sealed power in me? Because I haven't felt anything like that before." Issei said.
"I am positive that you wield one but it might not be a strong one if you haven't seen or felt it before," Rias replied.
"How do I use it?"
"It varies between users but you might be able to call it if you try to emulate someone strong with all your heart."
"You mean like Son Goku from Dragon Ball Z?" Issei could swear that he saw a small glint in Rias's eyes when he mentioned Goku but it disappeared in a flash. He decided to leave the fact for another day and focused wholeheartedly on the advice he was given. Now Issei didn't desire strength at all but he would be lying if he said he didn't want to see if he had some sort of secret power hidden in him.
And so, Issei spent the next five minutes trying to be like Goku when he went Super Saiyan for the first time and the result didn't disappoint. A bright light enveloped his right hand and when it died down, there was a red gauntlet in his arm. It was bright red one with lizard-like scales and a big green gem in the middle. In Issei's unbiased opinion, it looked cool.
"A Twice Critical?" Issei heard Rias say to which Akeno nodded.
"Well?" Issei asked.
"Your Sacred Gear is most definitely a Twice Critical. It doubles your strength for a period depending upon your mana reserves. It is one of the more common Sacred Gears out there although it is a part of the Draconian family." Rias explained. Any interest she might have had in trying to recruit Issei died out quickly.
"Oh." Issei felt a little deflated but, in his mind, he had already made plans to punch the next person to challenge him with the gauntlet on. It could add some style points to his moves.
"I suppose we are done here then. I apologize for any inconvenience, Issei."
"No problem Ms Gremory."
The rest of the day went normally for Issei. If he was being honest, the knowledge of supernatural beings existing in the world didn't change much for him. Although he wondered whether there would be any supernatural being stronger than him, it wasn't his style to go out of his way to find out.
"I'm Home," Issei called out as he entered his humble home.
"Welcome back Issei." His mother replied from the kitchen.
At the end of the day, this was everything he needed and more.
"Hello human."
Issei might have been a little too optimistic. The last thing he remembered was going to bed and the next thing he knew, he was standing in front of a rather large red dragon.
"Who are you?" Issei asked. He could feel that there was something off with their communication but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"My name is Ddraig, The Red Dragon Emperor and one of the strongest Dragons in history." The Dragon, now identified as Ddraig introduced himself.
"Okay, now what business do you have with me?"
"I suppose you deserve an explanation. I believe that devil girl briefed you about your Sacred Gear, am I right?"
"Yes. She said it was a Twice Critter or something."
"Twice Critical. Well, she was wrong in her assumption. And long story short, I happen to reside in your Sacred Gear. It's called the Boosted Gear and believe it or not, it is one of the Longinus class Sacred Gears." Ddraig was much more friendly now.
"That's great and all but what's a Longinus? Also, while we are at it, where exactly are we? This place is way too dark for my tastes."
"We are currently in your mind. Since I am sealed in a device that is bound to your soul, I can access your mind while you are asleep in the real world. You can change this place if you want to. You just need to imagine what you want it to be." Ddraig explained.
Issei did as he was told and soon the black room changed into a much more colorful one.
"Anyways, as I was saying, Longinus Class Sacred Gears are the strongest class of Sacred Gears in existence. The Boosted Gear, the one that you wield and I reside in, has the ability to double the user's strength every ten seconds." Ddraig explained. For a Dragon who was said to be extremely powerful, he was uncharacteristically cooperative.
"Double power every ten seconds? That seems insanely broken. There has to be some drawback, right?" If his years of playing RPG taught Issei anything, it was that most OP abilities had some kind of extreme drawbacks to make those balanced.
"The only drawback to say is that the amount of Boosts I can provide is dependent upon your mana reserves. Well, if I'm being completely honest with you, I don't think it matters anyways in your case." The Red Dragon emperor sighed.
"Huh? Why?" Issei was a little confused.
"You are too strong, kid. I don't even understand how you can be so strong and I have lived inside your body your entire life. The only real flaw of the Boosted Gear was that you cannot boost yourself to a level that I myself cannot reach. However, none of my previous wielders have ever reached that point. Even now, the only reason I was able to call you to this place is because you opened the link between us by accessing the Boosted Gear. Under ordinary circumstances, I could just overpower the mental barrier to talk to my host if the need arises."
"You mean I can't get any stronger? I think I'm fine with that. Now what's this mana thing you were talking about? Is it the same as the mana in games?" Issei wasn't sure that an ancient dragon about games was the best idea but he had uttered the words before he thought about it.
"I don't know much about games aside from the memories of you playing it but I believe it is something similar. Mana is the life energy of every living being and is the catalyst for casting magic. Every being in the world has it."
"Does that mean I can use magic myself if I train for it?" Like every man in the world, Issei was ecstatic at the prospect of casting magic.
"I would love to say yes but currently, you have no mana whatsoever. Not even a minuscule amount. I suppose we can try training to gain mana in the future but I can't give you any guarantee that it will work."
"That's great. And what do you need in return?" Issei wasn't stupid enough to think that the Dragon would help him for free.
"It would be great if you can allow me to talk to you outside the mindscape through the Boosted Gear. And I would like you to defeat my rival, The White Dragon Emperor if he ever comes to challenge you. Although, I don't think he can even do anything to you in the first place." The terms Ddraig put forward were extremely simple and doable.
"Who's the White Dragon Emperor you speak of?"
"Albion, my rival, as the name suggests is a White Dragon who is my opposite in every sense of the word. Just as I can double the strength of my host, he is able to halve his opponent's strength. We used to battle each other throughout the eons until God decided that we were too dangerous to be left alone and sealed us off." Ddraig explained.
"We'll see."
And so, Issei's dull daily life got a little colorful. What impact it would have on the supernatural world, only time will tell.
That's all folks. It's been a long time since I wrote something but creative block is a bitch to deal with. I'll try to update the other stories next. On a positive note, I bought a new laptop so at least my wrist wouldn't kill me anymore.
As for the chapter, there aren't many things to say. Reviews are appreciated.