DxD Dragons Descent

by SerahWatson

cross posted from AO3 for TTS reasons

Highschool DxD: Dragon's Ascent Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at /works/54377068.

Rating: Mature Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con Categories: F/M, Multi Fandom: Highschool DxD (Anime) Relationships: Himejima Akeno/Original Male Character(s), Rias Gremory/Original

Male Character(s), Kuroka (Highschool DxD)/Original Male Character(s), Yasaka (Highschool DxD)/Original Male Character(s), Xenovia Quarta/Original Male Character(s), Toujou Koneko/Original Male Character(s), Shidou Irina/Original Male Character(s), Grayfia Lucifuge/Original Male Character(s), Venelana Gremory/Original Male Character(s), Asia Argento (Highschool DxD)/Original Male Character(s), Serafall Leviathan/Original Male Character(s), Gabriel (Highschool DxD)/Original Male Character(s)

Characters: Venelana Gremory, Grayfia Lucifuge, Rias Gremory, Sona Sitri, Rias Gremory's Peerage, Sona Sitri's Peerage, Himejima Akeno, Toujou Koneko, Shidou Irina, Xenovia Quarta, Asia Argento (Highschool DxD), Original Male Character(s), Ddraig (Highschool DxD), Three Factions (Highschool DxD), Azazel (Highschool DxD)

Additional Tags: Weak to strong, Alchemy, Magic, chaotic neutral, System, Harems, Romance, Comedy, Action/Adventure

Language: English Stats: Published: 2024-03-10 Updated: 2024-07-12 Words: 92,681 /tags/Action*s*Adventure

Highschool DxD: Dragon's Ascent by Bronz_Deck

Summary

It's not often you get a second chance.

Even less often that your second chance involves you being sent into a world where mythology is real and devils roam the world. Even less is that world being an anime you have watched before. That's right, I have been transmigrated into Highschool DxD.

So, how does one survive in the world of Dragons, Gods and Boobs?

Trough breaking the system of course!

Because when life gives you a chess board you flip it over./users/Bronz_Deck/pseuds/Bronz_Deck

Chapter 1: A world of Supernatural

I admit, this wasn't exactly how I expected to go out.

Now I won't say I am particularly angry or sad at the way I went out. Sure I wouldn't exactly rank it in the 10 ways I wanted to go out and it was really painful but it was kinda humorous in a way. Or that might be my way of coping with things who knows.

Of course, I am pissed off at the fact that I DID die. Who wouldn't be? I wanted to stay alive like any other bastard out there. I wanted to scream, break down a wall with my bare hands and cry out at the injustice.

Well, that was 10 hours ago.

I have been stuck in this kaleidoscopic purgatory for 10 hours now, give or take.

It is, exceptionally, boring and it hurts my eyes. But being stuck in the middle of a kaleidoscope with the only noise you hear being the occasional dragon roar for reasons my fragile human mind will not even begin to try and comprehend to preserve my sanity has allowed me to reflect on my life.

One might ask, "You handsome bastard, how did you end up here?" well luckily for you I already have an explanation.

I was delivered to God's doorstep, express shipping via pipebomb.

That's right, I had no glorious death, nothing like heroically wrestling a gun from a robber to save people before getting shot and succumbing to your wounds. I didn't push a child out of a speeding truck's way. I didn't go out in a blaze of glory while taking out my enemies. Not even getting slammed by an 18-wheeler isekai style.

Nope. Some particularly vengeful bastard left a pipebomb at my doorstep.

A particularly sad and pathetic death, fitting I guess.

At least it feels gratifying knowing that I managed to piss someone off so much to the point they resorted to mailing me to the afterlife with a pipebomb of all things.

I mean come on, I at least deserved dynamite or grenade.

Well, regardless of the method of delivery it didn't change that I was in this hell.

Or whatever this place was, maybe I could be in a hospital room bleeding out who knows? I could be so pumped up with drugs that I am freaking out right now.

No, that doesn't seem likely, you don't survive a pipe bomb at that range and expect to make it to the hospital. I had enough holes in me after that to make a bee's nest jealous.

So this must be the afterlife, honestly, I expected something more.

Was I someone deserving of the pearly gates treatment? That's up for debate. Sure I wasn't really someone evil but at the same time, I was never someone particularly morally sound.

While I didn't expect to be thrown into the boiler room with the key kicked away I didn't have the keys to the pearly gates on me either.

But I have never heard of a hell like this in any of the religions.

Whelp, nothing I can do about it for now I guess I will just keep floating until something happens. Or at least until I can do something about it.

Then, suddenly something changed.

I felt an immense force tugging on my "body"(soul?), it felt like I was being dragged through space and time at speeds beyond my comprehension as the world around me distorted, my view shifted from this Kaleidoscopic hell to space, to a rapidly approaching blue dot.

Before I could let out a string of curses that would make even Gordon proud my body approached the blue dot even closer, and I realized that somehow, that wasn't a blue dot, that was Earth.

And before I could think about what the actual fuck was happening my "body" reached the earth and I felt like I had run headfirst into concrete, knocking me out.

—••——••——••—

In a house in Kuoh, a young man was peacefully sleeping in his bed when suddenly he jolted awake and shot up with a horrified expression as he clutched his and started desperately gasping for air.

Huff* *Huff*

After spending a good few minutes getting my bearings, I finally managed to regain a semblance of rationality. And finally, I was at least calm enough to ask the million-dollar question.

''What in the actual fuck just happened?''

That had to have been a trip right? A friend decided to pull a prank on me and slipped 500ml of mind breaker or whatever into my water cup. I must be back in my house right now, right? That must have been a dream.

But...

I looked around the room and... yep.

'This isn't even my apartment... Where the fuck even am I!?'

I slapped my cheeks to offset the panic at the fact that I was probably in some stranger's bed right now. So just to get the facts straight, I got pipebombed, then I started floating in a kaleidoscopic void...? And now I woke up inside a room I don't recognize. Great, just... Great .

And I felt something off about my body.

Fearing the worst I ran my fingers over my waist, feeling no scars or stitches I sighed in relief before I froze.

Those aren't my fingers.

My fingers don't look like that nor does my waist feel like that.

Mild panic settled in as I jumped out of the bed and walked out of the room. Seeing the stairs leading down at the end of the hallway I realized that this place was a house, not an apartment.

Continuing in my quest to find the bathroom I found two more rooms that only had the bare minimums inside them, strange. After a while of searching, I found the upstairs bathroom and looked at my body in the mirror.

"My" body.

Reflected in the mirror was a young man around 17 years old with messy dark brown hair reaching past his neck. He also had greyish metal blue eyes along with a better than average but not enough to stand out face.

Thunk!*

"Haha..."

My forehead rested against the cool ceramic. I had somehow, somehow transmigrated into another body. I don't know how, I don't know why.

But I do know despairing won't help.

I lifted my head off the ceramic and took a better look at my new body. The first thing I noticed was that I was now younger, about high school age, with messy brown hair that reached about shoulder height, along with grey-blue eyes. Overall it was slightly above average in terms of looks, not enough to stand out but enough to say nice on a closer inspection.

Next, I removed "my" shirt and took a look at myself in the mirror. And I was pretty disappointed. I was pretty scrawny, I had the build of a teenager who never exercised regularly, not very tall either 170 - 174cm ish(5 feet 8 inches in what the fuck is a kilometer).

I got fully naked and looked all over myself. And well, I know where the extra inches I had went at least. I was never lacking in the downstairs department before and I wasn't now either and for that, I was immensely grateful.

At least god was merciful enough to not take away precious inches of my manhood.

Anyway, after I was done looking I put my clothes back on and returned to the room I woke up in to search for some much-needed answers, I am pretty sure I saw a laptop in the room.

Since I still did not know where I was I opened the computer that was in the room I woke up in. I just decided to claim it as my room for now as I haven't seen anybody else in this house and this body gave a sense of Deja Vu wherever I went. Anyway, after the computer booted up(with no password mind you) I noticed something weird.

The system language was set to Japanese.

I can't read Japanese.

Or well, I shouldn't be able to read Japanese.

But for some reason, the letters just made sense to me. As if reading Japanese was just second nature to me. Well, considering what had already happened this wasn't in the top 5 of the weirdest things in the hour.

Setting that can of worms aside to be opened later, I opened the browser and typed in; ''What's my location''. Although I could guess where this place was from the computer's default language, I wanted confirmation. So I pressed enter.

[Kuoh Town - Japan]

Kuoh...?

I don't think I've ever heard of a town like that in Japan. I mean to be fair I'm not the most knowledgeable person about Japan so I could totally be wrong about it. But something about that name feels oddly familiar but I can't put my finger on it.

Wait... Wait just a fucking second. I could feel the neurons in my brain firing up, the connections were suddenly lining up now. Died - Not in hell - familiar kaleidoscopic void place - woke up in Japan in an unfamiliar town called ''Kuoh'' .

That shouldn't be. But then again, nothing that has happened to me now has made sense either.

Maybe I was grasping at straws here, creating connections where there weren't any, but there was a way to potentially prove this conjecture and it wouldn't hurt to try. After a bit of taking deep breaths, I typed

''Kuoh Academy'' into to search bar and hit enter.

Now there were two ways this could go down:

1: I would just get a Wiki article about the fictional school DxD and if that happened I would probably drop dead a second time from sheer embarrassment at my stupidity.

2: I would get something like an official school site. Which would prove my outlandish theory right.

Steeling myself I pressed enter.

'...'

'Ha... ha... so fucking ridiculous... It's so ridiculous that it's almost believable.'

'Does this mean... that I have somehow been transmigrated into High School DxD?'

I grasped my hair with my fingers while trying to regain a semblance of calm. This amount of outlandish absurd and downright world-shattering news at once.

I was freaking out.

As would anyone in my situation. In fact, I would like to think I am handling this fairly well considering I am not screaming.

Doesn't mean I don't want to.

Finally, feeling fed with this I laid on my bed to properly process the sheer amount bullshit that happened to me in what felt like 10 minutes.

And suffered from a mind-shattering headache, and only managed to let out a 30-word string of curses before I passed out.

—••——••——••—

So uh... after 'that' I learned some things. Well, it was more like an infodump straight into the cranium. At least it let me calm down and helped me actually make sense of the situation.

And there was no denying it.

I was in High School DxD.

Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, Youkai, Satans, Strays, Gods, Dragons, Vampires, Werewolves, Reapers, and everything in between. Hell even outer robot gods or whatever

from what I heard.

Well, at least I could take solace in the fact that at least I wasn't sent to somewhere like Darksouls or Fate.

But the question still stands.

What the hell do I do now?

A/N: And so it begins.

What did you guys think of this start? Did you like it? What did you think about our new MC? I would love to hear your thoughts about it and what is going to happen next. Comments and opinions help me improve so don't hold back on me.

Chapter 2: Iter Melius

After experiencing that mind-shattering memory dump I was far more aware of my situation now. And now that I was as calm as someone who recently transmigrated could be I looked over the facts at the moment.

I was now Takumi Katsuragi, a second-year student at Kuoh Academy and was in the same class as Issei Hyoudou. He lived alone in his parent's house with no family or close friends.

And who exactly was this Takumi that I had become? Was he an important character in DxD? Or even a side character?

Haha, no.

He was a background character, literally. This guy is so far in the background he could be called an example for the Schrodinger's cat. Until you get closer and observe him he would be a shadow crowd person in an RPG.

How does that translate into his backstory?

Takumi's parents were killed in a car crash when he was younger, causing him to be a more withdrawn individual. He generally stuck to the back, never drawing attention to himself. He made no real attempts to socialize with others as an introvert.

A literal nobody.

I am starting to feel something wrong with how uneventful this person's life is and their physical resemblance to young me. It's almost like they are a blank slate.

Regardless, I was now Takumi, I don't really feel too bad for taking over his body (if I even did) because it was either him or me. And I choose me. For him, the afterlife was probably the pearly gates, for me it was the inside of a kaleidoscope with a dragon stuck inside, no thanks. Besides it wasn't like the kid had much will to live in the first place maybe he died in his sleep.

Anyway, he lived in his parent's house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen as well as a basement. That I was thankful for, he also had a good enough nest egg of 50,000¥ which was about 500 dollars.

I could live with that amount of money for now.

Now then. The elephant in the room.

DxD.

Draconic Deus.

Since I was in this world, what do I do about it?

I live in a town that is ruled by the sisters of two different Satan's, both with the power to glass Japan. Said town also has 3 fallen angels hunting for sacred gear users, a wielder of the {Boosted Gear} a god-killing weapon and {Absorption Line} a not so god killing but still pretty good weapon.

From what I know I seem to be around a few weeks before the start of Cannon.

Now then, knowing what I know, what do I do?

You see, in DxD. If I don't make things my problem, it most likely won't be my problem.

There aren't any monsters the average person has to face, hell with mind magic you won't even know it even existed if you did see one face to face. If I just keep my head down stay clear of anything supernatural chances are the supernatural won't involve me.

If I don't do anything everything should reasonably go the same way. Issei gets his Boosted Gear and goes on his harem boob adventure equipped with one of the thickest plot armours.

I don't have to do anything, after all, this world already had a protagonist, I was just a background character of this world. This world didn't need me.

Haha, screw that .

Are you kidding me? I was reborn in a world with magic! Do you think I would just put my thumb in my ass and just live a life of mediocrity again!? Especially knowing all of this?

Who cares about dragon pervert? I am the captain of my own ship and I plan to steer this shit toward the sky.

But, before I jump the gun and try to shoot for the stars too early I need to check something.

Something that would make or break everything.

Do I have a {Sacred Gear} or not?

Sacred Gears are abilities and equipment granted to humans by random created by the {God of the Bible} to help humans measure up against beings like {Devils}, {Fallen Angels} and other supernaturals giving them a way to protect themselves.

Some of them, especially the stronger ones contain the souls of powerful mythical creatures inside them that allows the user to borrow the abilities of the being contained inside.

So, if I did have one, I would be overjoyed even if it was some weaker stuff like {Twice Critical} or something. Because I was still, you know, a regular person.

Give me anything magical and I will freak out at how cool it is. After all, monkey sees banana and experiences neuron activation.

And if I didn't have one, it was plan B.

What was plan B?

Well, I would figure that out when I got there.

Anyway, let's leave plans for when I know what to do. Planning without knowing was planning your own grave.

I got up from the bed and stood in the middle of my room, extending my hand forward.

Good thing I remember a decent chunk of the anime. So I remember how to awaken my sacred gear. The key to activating your sacred gear is desiring power and visualizing power. The sacred gear will respond to your desires.

I closed my eyes and visualized the picture of power in my mind. A god in the skin of man, a bald head so impeccable that light scatters off of it, an invulnerable body and immeasurable power.

I focused on my want and desire for power. My hunger . With my hand stretched forward, I summoned it.

'Come to papa!'

...Nothing.

Fuck.

I feel stupid now.

But as I was going to bash my head against the nearest wall out of embarrassment I felt something different as something appeared in front of my eyes. A floating translucent panel.

[Congradulations! You have awakened the Sacred Gear: Iter Melius ]

"Haha..."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

I was overjoyed, ecstatic, happy even. I had a sacred gear, I don't care what it did for now, I had one. Granted I don't know why it looks like an interface. Or was the interface different from the sacred gear itself?

Can this thing give me an explanation?

[Adjusting to wielder preferences... ]

[Success! Iter Melius has been activated.]

Great, so what is Iter Melius anyway? I have never heard of a sacred gear like that in the anime or the wiki for that matter, but I guess that is expected considering how many there should be. Well, hopefully it's good.

It wasn't long before another window popped up in front of me.

Please Choose a Specialization:

[Warrior]

Specializes in melee combat and physical ability.

[Magician]

Specializes in magical affairs and magical ability.

[Ranger]

Specializes in ranged combat and sensory abilities.

[Rouge]

Specializes in remaining undetected, assassination, and espionage.

Production

Specializes in the production of various equipment and materials.

Wait, doesn't this resemble an RPG class selection screen more than anything? But how would a sacred gear work like that? WHY would a sacred gear work like that? After all, for all I am aware of video games did not exist while god was alive and crafting these things. And no explanation either?

Whatever, just ignore that for now. I can focus on that topic later. For now, let's take the facts at face value. Since this thing said it adjusted to me I can probably at least somewhat rely on the information I have on how those classes work.

I sat down at my desk and started writing down the strengths and weaknesses of each class down and started going through them through the process of elimination. And eventually, I came to a decision.

I would pick Production.

DxD is not a safe world by any means, whether that be evil gods, machine gods, satans, dragons, terrorists and everything in between.

But it is also a world that is in relative amount of peace.

And not only that, but it is a world where you can get strong allies. Most of the enemies are other people, not forces of nature or mindless monsters. Of course that comes with its own set of problems.

People can have incentives to seek you out but monsters usually don't.

Anyway, I think a production class would be best here for a certain reason. It is apparent when you look at it from the perspective of who made it.

Well, this "system" is created by the God of the Bible. And what was that guy known for again?

Yes, creating god-killing weapons and entire races.

So it should stand to reason that a system that someone who most likely specializes in production created would be a bit biased towards production. After all, a magician was the best at teaching magic and a warrior was the best at teaching melee.

And even if it isn't...

Well, picking the production class worked for him, didn't it?

Besides, I was a production kind of guy to begin with. When the game I am playing has crafting mechanics I usually focus on that.

I completed Jacksmith 3 times.

I am the type of person who spends more time on enchanting, smithing and alchemy than anything else on Skyrim to create their own god-slaying weapon or an amulet that gives them 9999999 max HP.

Besides, it's not like you can't spec into other things as a production class.

Overall, it seems like the best decision for me.

After confirming my decision another window popped up.

Choose a skill to specialize in

[Alchemy]

[Enchanting]

[Blacksmithing]

[Tailoring]

[Artificing]

Now that got me thinking about my options even more deeply.

I didn't want to hurry since haste made waste so I spent about an hour thinking about the pros and cons of every skill and going by the process of elimination elimination since that clearly worked the first time.

The first one out was tailoring. There is no example of basically any powerful tailoring in this world and I haven't read any novels that have had powerful enough tailoring to get inspiration from.

Yes, I am relying on game and novel knowledge I have, so what? The situation is absurd enough to warrant that being something I can at least reference.

Next out, Blacksmithing. Blacksmithing is cool and all, don't get me wrong. But it definitely isn't unique enough to stand out or give me a good edge over others. It has the reverse

problem of tailoring.

My blacksmithing would not become strong enough fast enough for me to make something like say Excalibur or Mjolnir by the time I need it. And there are should plenty of blacksmiths in DxD considering the other pantheons.

Well, using conservative expectations at least. I am expecting this gear to work at least somewhat decently but it would be foolish to expect it to perform on the level of something like a poorly balanced gamer system.

Then Enchanting, my argument for this one is slightly different. Enchanting requires things to enchant. And I don't really have a way to acquire said materials to enchant without a degree of importance and or power.

Besides Enchanting is not exactly a beginner-friendly skill. Besides, there is nothing that says that I cannot get enchanting later on, the same with the other skills.

Moving on, the last two options are really tricky to choose between but I eventually decided to drop...

Artificing.

Magitech sounds cool, is practical and powerful when you use it right. I could create golems, magic guns, and other magical contraptions.

But it doesn't speak to me.

So in the end I chose Alchemy.

If there is something I know about the DxD it's the value of potions. No matter what fantasy world you are in potions are in high demand. Especially in a world with a shortage of

Alchemists.

And if I am right the alchemy here is very strong. After all, that's how Durandal was created no? The power of Alchemy here is already a proven fact. Alchemy is also often more beginner-friendly I feel, I may not have an engineering degree but I was at least decent at chemistry.

And another power of Alchemy. Elixirs. As a spony weak pathetic human, I have nothing special compared to the bricked-up sulfur-smelling devils and radiant lamp-shaped angels. But with elixirs, I could make my body stronger, with alchemy, I could even modify my own body, giving me a chance to cover that gap.

Overall it is the most rounded and reliable choice here.

So, Alchemy it is.

[You have chosen the Alchemy specialization]

[Status is available.]

A/N:

Takumi means Artisan or skilled.

Iter Melius means Journey/Road to Improvement.

Staying true to DxD I have decided to create a sacred gear that while filling in the function of a system, also reasonably fits within the DxD setting(And not giving it a name like gaming gear because god died before the first steam engine). Iter Melius is not some reality-bending omnipotent system neither is it a god killing Longinus. It is simply a more unique sacred gear.

What do you guys think about it?

Chapter 3: Experimentation

Statistics:

Vitality: 10 (A measure of how much vitality you possess, dictates your perseverance and health)

Mana: 10 (A measure of how much mana you possess, dictates your maximum mana capacity and how fast you recover your magical power)

Endurance: 10 (A measure of your durability and stamina, dictates how much punishment you can take and how long you can perform activities without running out of stamina)

Strength: 10 (A measure of your physical might, dictates how much force you can exert with your body)

Agility: 10 (A measure of your speed and finesse, dictates how fast you can move, react and sense)

Magic Power: 10 (A measure of your magical prowess, dictates the power behind your spells and magical abilities)

Specialization:

[Alchemy]

All Alchemy skills improve 50% faster, all Alchemy skills are 25% stronger.

Abilities:

[Inspect]

Inspects the target, providing relevant information to the user. The level of inspection can be increased with skills and knowledge.

Skills:

[Alchemy(Novice) Lv.1]

Your skill in creating potions and other alchemical products.

I looked over my status. I think this sacred gear is the best one I could have gotten excluding the Longinus. And in my opinion. While I may not know that much about sacred gears mine seems like quite a unique one from what I learned about it.

How did I learn about it you may ask? Quite simple really.

This sacred gear started me with the ability inspect. Its function is quite simple. For example, if I use it on this desk for example.

[Wooden Desk]

-A wooden desk, it is fairly sturdy and durable.

I get information about it, just like how one would get information about it upon a closer inspection. Using abilities the sacred gear gives me is quite simple, it feels like I have a mental trigger that I can use to activate it just by willing to do it.

But then I thought, if it's my sacred gear that is supplying me with this data, I figured after a few minutes of experimentation that...

Why couldn't it supply data to me about itself?

So I used inspect on one of the game windows.

[Iter Melius]

-A sacred gear made for the purpose of assisting its wielder in improving their abilities through the conversion of karma. It is capable of granting abilities to its user under certain circumstances while also assisting them in creating their own skills and improving them. Its usage is customised to work with the wielder.

While it had no user manual this was about as close to one as I could get, and I was taking it. Would it have killed the man upstairs to add at least a tutorial to this thing though? Or maybe he tried and that's why he died.

Anyways.

Now that I knew at least somewhat how my system(that's what I am going to call it, Iter Melius sounds like a mouthful) worked it was time to finally start making plans.

I took my notepad out and started listing my immediate goals.

1- Basic Fitness: First of all, I needed to get my body stronger. Frankly, my body is pretty shit at the moment, which was disheartening considering all the effort I spent into maintaining my body in my previous life went to waste but no use crying over spilt milk. You can't build a tower on mud, you need a solid foundation and that foundation starts with a healthy body.

2- Alchemy for Dummies: I need to learn how to use my alchemy, how it works and most importantly how to abuse its mechanics.

3- You are wizard(hopefully): Figure out how to cast magic, alakazam and all that stuff.

Alright, let's get started immediately. Right now, I already know how to use alchemy, or I guess I have a sense for it.

When I got the Alchemy skill I also got knowledge on how to create potions too, like the information was downloaded into my brain. And best of all.

This method fo alchemy was similar to Skyrim.

Well at least in terms of its mechanics anyway, the process is still fairly different. The foundation to potion creation of the inherent {Alchemical Value} of every material.

What was this alchemical value you ask? It is what I decided to name the most important foundation of potion creation. Everything, well almost everything has a degree of alchemical value and it also has its own alchemical properties too.

For example, with a little experimentation, I discovered that a red apple(from the fridge) has the property of {Health Restoration} but its potency compared to something like let's say ginseng is lacking because its alchemical value is rather low.

Putting that aside for now I needed a base of operations. Or my own Alchemists Lab. I cannot call myself a true alchemist if do not even have a proper lab after all. For that I chose the basement, fairly empty, spacious and out of view in case something explodes.

I moved a wooden desk and a few other materials needed to start my work there such as fruits, several water bottles, empty notepads, pens, cutlery and a knife.

Using my newfound knowledge of alchemy I started painstakingly carving a complex magic circle into the wooden desk with the knife. This would be the alchemy circle responsible for

refining the alchemical property of the ingredient so that it would be useable.

Another for actually combining the ingredient with the base material(often referred to as water), sure my life would be way easier and more convenient with actual equipment but this will work as well, I just have to make do with plastic bottles.

Then I started my first attempt at making a potion, making sure to note down the details as I went about it too. First was refining my ingredient of choice, an apple using my magical power.

My sacred gear also gave me an instinctual sense of on how to use my mana, I pulled on the energy within myself and used it on the magic circle as started lighting up, and through the connection with the magic circle I started refining the property I knew the apple had while breaking the apple down to its alchemical property.

I could feel it drain my mana, stamina and patience but I persevered.

The last step was mixing the apple into the water aka. the base material using the magic circle. And voila!

My first try at making a potion was a success!

Yes, it was rather lacklustre being a {Minor Healing Potion} that could probably only heal a few small cuts over a minute. But it was quite a decent first try for someone who didnt know magic existed hours ago.

I looked at the light red potion in my hands. I did it, I created a potion. It took half of my mana and an hour to figure it out but I did it. This little juice in my hand was proof of my ability.

It feels good .

Now that I have proven that I can in fact can do what the system shows me its now time to test things. Experiment a little to find out what the boundaries to this thing are.

—••——••——••—

Alright, it has been a few hours now.

I am definitely going to have stomach problems.

You see, you can discover the alchemical property of an ingredient by tasting it too. And I spent a bit of time... eating things.

For example, a handful of flour.

I had to swallow too. No being a little baby and only licking it. A whole handful of flour down the gullet. And a whole raw egg(WITH the shell). And a pinecone. And a-

You get it, I ate some things my body does NOT condone eating. I am probably going to shit my guts out later but it's gonna be worth it.

With some examples of ingredient effects(all of which I have noted down) and a little speculation on what ingredients can have which ingredients I started doing some more alchemy. In the span of several hours, I was able to create 4 more potions. Which also increased the level of my Alchemy too.

[Alchemy(Novice) Lv.1] has levelled up!

[Alchemy(Novice) Lv.1] - [Alchemy(Novice) Lv.2]

Anyway, through a little experimentation, I was able to create these potions.

[Minor Healing Potion II]

-A minor healing potion created by a beginner alchemist. It can heal minor wounds within a short period of time.

Again. This one was made with milk and tomato this time so it was slightly more effective and a lighter pinkish color. I call this recipe Health Potion ver. II The second revision of the health potion. I will probably keep improving upon the formula. Replacing water with milk seems more useful for health potions.

But now though, this potion was a step in the right direction.

[Minor Stamina and slowness Potion I]

-A minor Stamina and slowness potion created by a beginner alchemist. When drunk restores stamina and slows the drinker down.

This kids, is what happens when you make a potion and don't fully know what aspects you are working with. I used honey and flour, which caused it to have to slowness aspect as a side effect, if I was a better alchemist I could probably stop that from happening but for now it isn't. Regardless, stamina is definitely a step in the right direction.

And then I managed to get it right.

[Minor Stamina regeneration potion I]

-A minor Stamina potion created by a beginner alchemist. When drunk increases the stamina regeneration rate of the user.

I made sure to note down the recipe for this success. I knew I was going in the right direction with honey, just had the wrong aspect, since I also knew that regenerating my mana took a bit of time as well I decided to not risk it and muddle the pot by adding something else.

And the last one was a hit as well, I decided to take no risks with this one as I had already learned the aspect from eating a whole tea bag of green tea.

[Minor Health Regeneration potion I]

-A minor Health Regeneration potion created by a beginner alchemist. When drunk increases the rate at which the user recovers from injuries.

Now then, why was I aiming for these two specific potions?

Well, it is because I am awfully curious about how stamina and health regeneration will affect physical training is all.

Ohhh yeahhh, it's all coming together.

GRUUUUUMMMBBLLLEEEE*

Oh yeah, it has been a WHILE since I last ate actual food and not handfuls of ingredients and all of this alchemizing and mana spending has made me nearly starve.

...I better eat something before I drop dead.

A/N: Takumi's approach is very methodical and experimental. First, he finds out the boundaries and limits. Then he tries to exploit whatever he can within those limits. Takumi is a munchkin type of gamer. This is him figuring out what he can and cannot do currently.

What did you think about this chapter?

Chapter 4: Transmutation

Turns out, there is a cooking skill in this system.

[Cooking(Novice) Lv.1]

Your skill in cooking and preparing food. The higher the level the more complex recipes are available to you and the better food you create.

I noticed this after making myself 4 eggs and sausages(I was absolutely famished and I would need the protein), right after I finished cooking it I got the notification that I created the skill and felt myself get better at cooking. I will have to grind that later, imagine making a dragon soup or... potion, there is a lot of overlap between the two.

After stuffing my stomach it was finally time to leave my man cave and experience the fresh air, touch the grass, smell the air and all that jazz.

I put on a suitable tracksuit and got out of my house, It was time to get MAD MUSCLES. I want to see how far I can push this body to its limits and if my recovery theory works. If it works then I can get a good level of fitness relatively fast. If it doesn't its back to the drawing board.

Exiting the house I felt fresh air hit me like a wall after staying for hours in my man cave(Alchemists lab). I honestly have to say, Kuoh is a beautiful little town. It's actually a little exciting considering I have lived most of my life in basically downtown Shitsville.

I guess it will be fun touring around too, this will help me get used to the town layout as well. Anyway, I started running, making sure to note every building I passed by.

Running in a body that was not used to running was... not very fun.

5 minutes into my run I was already panting like a dog in heat, my lungs burnt and my legs hurt. My knees were weak and my arms were heavy, I could picture my mom's spaghetti already.

Feeling myself get close to puking I found the nearest bench and sat down and sighed in relief as every single muscle in my body ached like hell. Giving myself a few moments of reprieve I took out two bottles from my bag. One light red and the other light green.

In theory, this should massively improve my physical training. It was now time to put that theory to the test.

I first downed the regeneration potion, it tasted like strawberry tea, immediately I noticed the soreness of my muscles quickly getting better. Then I downed the stamina regeneration potion it tasted like very sugary water, this time I felt myself quickly catching my breath and my body more energized.

In just a few seconds I was ready to take off running again. And so I did.

—••——••——••—

God, I fucking hate myself.

Or more so I hate how stubborn I am. I ran until I felt like I was about to fall over, then I took a rest, then I resumed running, and rinse and repeat.

Fun fact! The regeneration potions don't last forever!

FUN FACT ! : Y o u c a n n o t e s c a p e f a t i u g e.

My back rested against a bench as I contemplated every single life decision I ever made. My legs felt like jelly, I felt tired enough to pass out. Fair enough as within the timespan of me drinking the potions my body had been constantly going in and out of failure. With no choice left, I pulled out the stamina and health recovery potions I had and chugged it both.

Thankfully I had brought those potions with me or else I would be toast right now. I felt them take effect almost instantly the pain and exhaustion being replaced with fatigue and as an effect of the slowness aspect of sluggishness.

It felt like I was wading through water with my movements, annoying but the effect was temporary only for 30 seconds or so. While that was running out I decided to check out my status and was pleasantly surprised.

Statistics:

Vitality: 10 = 11

Mana: 10 = 12

Endurance: 10 = 13

Strength: 10 = 11

Agility: 10 = 12

Magic Power: 10 =11

An impressive display of Tenacity! You have acquired the perk: Tenacity!

[Tenacity]

Increases tolerance for pain and exhaustion allowing the wielder to perform for longer.

This was great, I now knew how to get perks from the system, it seems that by impressing the system I can get rewards from it which makes sense if you consider what this was made for.

In all likelihood, Iter Melius was made to create someone like a champion for humanity. It seems to treat the wielder like a god would treat their champion, helping them by nudging them in the right direction and granting them boons for accomplishing tasks like the heroes of myths.

My mana and magic power likely rose thanks to all the Alchemy I performed. But the most important part is that my theory is proven, I got 30% more stamina and 20% faster give or take. For that to be accomplished in a single day is mind-boggling but beginner gains adding a further multiplier to that result are a slight possibility too.

And my potions were sub-optimal too, I could optimize this method further, creating better potions for physical exercise.

It seems to me the best course of action is to focus on Alchemy first. After all, it's better to take time to sharpen your axe than to spend that time hacking away with a dull axe.

But right now I really need the sleep. I am afraid the moment I close my eyes I will drop sleeping. It took me a while to get home, and once I did I immediately dragged myself to the shower. While I desire to fall into the embracing warmth of sleep I am not sleeping in a sweat-soaked tracksuit.

After the shower, however, I fell asleep the moment I touched my bed.

—••——••——••—

I woke feeling refreshed and well-rested.

HAH! As if. I feel like I have been hit with another pipe bomb. But that's fine, I have been to college before, I would have been spooked if I HAD woken up feeling refreshed.

I panicked a little upon seeing the roof I woke up under, this whole situation still felt a bit too surreal. But hopefully, that feeling will fade out with time. For now, I had a mission to work on.

That being increasing my Mana and Magic Power as well as learning magic. Or more accurately figuring out magic I guess since there is nobody to teach me.

After whipping myself up a nice breakfast of grilled cheese with an omelette(note to self, grind cooking when you can, everyone likes good food) I went back down to my laboratory.

My goal for today? Teaching myself magic and increasing my mana and magical power. The biggest limiting factors for my alchemy is my magical power and budget. I decided to tackle the magic problem first.

I picked up one of the notepads and started writing down what I knew about DxD magic.

First of all, humans get shafted like always. Devils naturally have imagination magic, Angels and Fallen have light manipulation.

Humans have sacred gears, sometimes . Which is more of an advantage for the other teams really since they can take those humans into their own faction. It's tough being a human in

this economy.

Anyway, remember the wiki articles Takumi.

Alright, human magic works with calculations and formulas instead of imagination like Devils. Which tells me... not a lot.

All that says is that I can't just brute force magic like devils. Nor do I possess an easy way to acquire information on magic and magicians. And I don't remember how to use any of the spells in DxD if it was ever explained how they work.

So what can I do?

Well, I can try to do whatever I can with a little imagination and inspiration.

I already have a feel for the mana in my body thanks to Iter Melius. So I could start experimenting right off the bat. First of all, I tried using the usual standard methods for magic like chants and stuff to try and see if anything happened but as expected it didn't work very well. So I decided to retrace my steps and ask myself, what is human magic?

Unlike Devil Magic which uses the power of imagination. Human Magic uses knowledge and calculations to do magic. Basically, it works on the principle of "If I do this, this will happen".

Devil magic is simple and flexible while human magic is rigid and complicated but versatile. Human magic requires a solid understanding of what you want to do and how you can do it. At least that's all I remember about it.

So that should mean that as long as I know the result and the method I should be able to cast magic. But that's precisely where the problem lies; I don't possess any knowledge about magic nor do I know any of the calculations they use for their spells.

So the only thing I can do is improvise, experiment, and overcome.

Usually, magicians use magic circles and runes to do magic. And chaining together specific patterns, shapes, and runes along with magic power creates formulas that can be used to do magic. And it's possible to create your own unique formulas if you are skilled enough at magic like Rossweisse.

That means it is pretty flexible. Or at least flexible enough for me to have a chance to do magic without any access to teaching materials about it. So I have to remember, how did the first magician invent magic again?

By studying demonic power...

Fuck.

Alright, Instead of walking around in complete darkness, trying to piece together some form of magic without any knowledge about the spells in DxD. Maybe I can instead try to draw some inspiration from magic from other media I do remember. Preferably one that is better explained than DxD.

That should be technically easier than trying to use the magic of a system I am completely unfamiliar with. After all DxD magic is quite lax.

...Now now. My dear system.

I am an alchemist, aren't I? That means you BETTER accept this kind of alchemy alright?

What I was going to try and adapt was the Fullmetal School of Alchemy. Or at least in principle. I was going to try and apply the logic, method and principle of the alchemy or more specifically transmutation here.

I knew far more about Fullmetal Alchemy than I did DxD after all.

...10...hours...later...

My man cave is a complete mess. Scattered around were multiple books filled with ideas and theories scribbled down in neat-ish handwriting. I had also moved several pieces of furniture down here to make it more comfortable. Although it looks more like the study of an insane man.

And the hours of nonstop studying and remembering along with testing their plausibility had taken its toll on my body. But my magic power had increased by 2 and my mana by 3. And also my cooking had levelled up throughout the course of the day.

But now I have found what should work!

You see, magic works by placing values and meanings on the magic circles you create, the lines and shapes on that circle do not mean anything if you do not put any meaning into it. If you slap a rune down on a magic circle without knowing what it means then its as good as a scribble.

And with experimentation, I knew what I wanted it to do and how I wanted to do it. I took a lot of inspiration from Fullmetal.

Transmutation is done by channelling energy through a transmutation circle, then altering the shape of the target through said energy down to a molecular level. But transmutation circles aren't random scribbles on the ground, every shape has its own meaning that impacts the result.

The magic circle is a conduit which focuses and dictates your magical power to achieve the desired result. So after so many different attempts and tries I finally managed to find something that works.

On the ground was a precise but simple magic circle traced out in chalk, there were several circles and triangles inside, as well as a few symbols that worked like instructions or code for the magic circle.

I knelt down and put my hand on the magic circle and started channelling my mana through it, seeing the circle light up with energy and give me feedback I felt manic laughter brew within me.

I felt the ground below me obey my commands like it was an extension of my will.

Swoosh!* *Crack!*

"AHAHAHAHAHHAHA!"

My insane laughter was finally let loose as a large spike of earth emerged from the circle and stabbed into the ceiling of the basement.

An outstanding achievement! You have started developing your own magic formula!

An outstanding achievement! You have created your own transmutation magic without help!

You have created the skill:

[Transmutation(Novice) Lv.1]

An extension of Alchemy specializing in the transmutation and shaping of materials.

You have acquired the perk:

[Magic Pioneer]

You are a pioneer in the realm of magic through ingenuity or skill. Increases the rate at which you can develop and level up Magic.

10 Magic Power

10 Mana

Alchemy is truly the way to go!

A/N: When faced with a challenge you improvise, adapt and overcome. Imagination is the strongest asset you have in your possession. What did you think about Takumi's way of handling the challenge humans are met with?

Did you think I did a good job handling DxD's magic system?

Chapter 5: Back to Highschool

Ughhh, did someone get the number of that TRUCK that ran me over?

I pulled myself off the hard stone floor, looking around myself I noticed that I was in my basement, dozens of papers with scribbles of magic circles and text over them littered about in a haphazard manner.

Dammit, I fell asleep in my laboratory, didn't I? I can feel my bones in all the weird places, did I get attacked by a chiropractor in my sleep or somethin?

Oh, wait.

Shit.

Today is Monday.

I fumbled around for my phone and looked at the time.

8:11

Bollocks.

I started sprinting up the stairs. Quickly preparing for school.

Here I was thinking, 'Hey! Let's not draw attention to ourselves, lurk in the background and act like a mob.' but noooo , my body decides that I should be late for a school where a girl as strict as she is flat is the student council president.

Little bastard, is this your protest against me for eating raw eggs, pinecones and flour? You tryna pick a fight? You better learn your place before I start eating raw chicken alright you little bastard?

That'll teach you to stop picking fights you can't win. You are a thousand years too early to challenge me.

I quickly threw on the Kuoh Academy uniform which was wayyy too fancy for my tastes, with too many accessories especially the ribbon which I decided to ditch altogether and tied my hair in a messy low tail before taking off toward the school which was over a solid 15 minutes away at a walking pace.

So I started sprinting, I may be barely better than the average person but I was still better, so it took me 8 minutes to get there. Barely reaching there in time. Even if my body had to take yet another punishment.

Reaching the school while panting heavily at the gate I saw no other students than...

A bespectacled short young woman with a slim figure, black hair styled in a short bob cut with violet eyes wearing the Kuoh Academy uniform, she had an air of intelligence and strictness above her.

And goddam she looked way more beautiful than any model I have ever seen, it nearly shook me.

Next to her was another young woman with long straight black hair that extended all the way down to her knees, with split bangs and light brown eyes, she had large breasts.

Sona Sitri and her queen whats-her-name.

Curious, I used inspect on Sona.

[Sona Sitri]

-Heiress of the Sitri clan and a skilled strategist. She specializes in water magic and is confident in her skill in chess. Goes by Souna Shitori in the human world.

Well isn't that helpful? Entering the school I came to a stop as Sona narrowed her eyes at me and so did her queen. Was this because they viewed me as a student who was (almost)tardy or because they had a way of sensing my magic I did not know.

Alright, remember Takumi, slight slouch, no eye contact, a bit nervous. Head down eyes forward you are too early in your career, you cannot draw in attention already. Thus you must act your heart out, act unremarkable and throw the scent off yourself.

"H-hey uh, you are staring at me pretty intensely there. Am I late? I think there should be a few minutes left." 7/10. Could have done better. This got Sona to snap out and look at me in the eyes with a searching gaze as I averted my eyes letting myself blush(it was actually a bit nervewracking being examined so intensely.) A few moments later she spoke.

"...No, you are not tardy yet. But remember to not be so late next time. Also, what is your name?" Yikes, they definitely must have a way of sensing either magical energy or the sacred gear in me.

"Huh? It's Takumi Katsuragi, why are you asking student council president(Seitokaichou- san)?" After I said that she examined me with her eyes again before shaking her head.

"It's nothing. You should hurry up, the bell is about to ring."

"O-oh, right." Saying that I hurried to class and reached just before the bell rang, I sat in my seat which was in the back corner like any loner should have. And started pondering.

There was no avoiding the issue of politics. Since I am stuck in class anyway I might as well use the time to plan.

Alright, let's consider my current situation.

I am an unknown Magician(Alchemist), I do not know fully if the devils can sense my mana and how they do it but my encounter with Sona tells me that they can at least feel something from me. So chances are I will attract attention. Which can be slowed down by acting less conspicuous.

Whose attention would I attract? Let's see.

1- Sona Sitri, I can't exactly remember her title at the moment. She is basically the head honcho in this school. And I am fairly certain I already attracted her attention at least a little. There is... a chance she would try to recruit me I think.

She already has a record of recruiting people she finds interesting considering she has nearly a full peerage and she picked up the Absorption Line guy too.

2- Rias Gremory, Crimson Haired Princess of Destruction. I don't know if her sensing abilities are as strong as Sona or better but best to stay on the safe side. If I get noticed by her she would most likely try to recruit me, more than Sona honestly.

She has the pressure of arranged marriage hanging over her head. Since this is pretty close to the beginning of the anime it means she is willing to recruit any potential member considering she was willing to go for Issei of all people and was still willing to settle for him even though she knew he had a "Twice Critical".

I mean, while I am not trying to insult Issei too much here. You have to be pretty open- minded and have a severe lack of choices to consider him as a potential party member.

It's best to avoid any of her peerage members for now.

While I am not too deathly afraid of joining any peerage and becoming a devil I certainly would like to keep my choices open for the moment.

I say that but it isn't like either part would force me to join their peerage, well I am not so sure about Sona. But I know well that Rias views her peerage as a family even the new members. So she wouldn't be very inclined to forcefully make someone her peerage member.

She isn't Rykard.

For now, the best policy is...

Keep your head down and keep your eyes on the prize. I will get revealed to the heiress' at some point regardless. But I want to build myself up first.

Because I know that plot armour, or destiny or luck or whatever you call it works in her favour with how many freaks of nature she finds in a half-dead state while going for a walk.

If I were to encounter Rias right now I may just end up in a situation like her other peerage members.

Rias specializes in finding people with immense potential at the lowest point of their lives and recruiting them somehow.

If I encounter her right now I would be the alchemist who doesn't know what they are doing and needs guidance in developing their magic.

That girl is dangerous.

By the time the Devils try to recruit me, I want to have negotiating power. There is a big difference between trying to recruit a newbie who barely knows the m in magic versus a talented alchemist who can fend for themselves.

You need to offer up a lot more to recruit the latter. That's the basics of negotiation after all. You can't just make up empty promises like your protection and expect to draw them in.

With that out of the way, it's time to find another spell to adapt to my arsenal. I could practice Transmutation but I have a feeling that if I get caught doing that in school it will be pretty hard to explain without having a Jedi mind trick of my own.

On the outside, I looked like I was paying attention to the board while fiddling with my pen but that wasn't what I was doing right now.

The spell I had decided to plagiarize now as reinforcement from Fate. Because it was rather simple in nature. Basically, you use magical power to fill in the gaps in the object's molecular structure, as a result making it more durable or something of that nature.

I spent most of my school day trying to figure that out.

—••——••——••—

Alright, most of my pens were broken but my will wasn't.

Just trying to figure out reinforcement made me consider joining the Devils just for the ease of magic. This was very vexing.

You see, trying to fill an object like a pen with magic power and just hoping for the best was not a very good plan. I learned that after the 3rd pen shattered. It's best to pin on that for now and revisit the idea later.

So I directed my efforts elsewhere.

I started trying to meditate, in theory, I should be able to regenerate mana faster if I focus on gathering the ambient mana inside me more.

And that's what I tried doing for most of the day. Sitting down and shutting out other thoughts, just trying to feel the ambient mana and gather it within myself to recover my mana.

And it worked I would say.

You have created the skill [Meditation Lv.1]

[Meditation Lv.1]

-When activated you recover Mana 100% faster.

A benefit of the system really showed through here, because the ease of entering the state of meditation before and after I got the skill was almost baffling.

It was like I could just flip a mental switch and breathe out deeply to activate the skill, sure it still needed constant concentration to keep active, there is no such thing as a free dinner after all.

By constantly spending mana and meditating I managed to reach level 2 of meditation which increased the speed to 125%. And increased my mana and magical power by 3 and 2.

The school itself wasn't anything notable, to be honest. I had gone through High School before so these subjects were rather easy for me, even when the teacher picked me by

surprise I still managed to answer with ease. Going to High School again will SUCK no doubt but that's life.

Nobody approached me thanks to my loner nature which I was thankful for, I could practice my magic in peace thanks to it after all. The only problem was the extents I had to go through to avoid the Rias peerage.

Rule number 1. Stay clear of any window stills. The window still is where Rias has her moment of realization or attention. So I had to be cautious to avoid the line of sight of most window stills.

Rule number 2. Avoid crowds, her peerage members are basically the school mascots, chances are if a crowd is around it's formed around them.

Rule number 3. Forget going near the Occult Research Club room. Pretty simple.

Was I being a bit too paranoid? Definitely. But it was the first day and I was already noticed to an extent by Sona. I don't like my chances, to say the least.

Thankfully, the rest of the day passed without any disturbance allowing me a swift retreat to my house. I needed to get alchemizing.

That's right it was time to start grinding.

A/N: We are finally at the high school part of the DxD, well not fully, the main cast has yet to encounter our Alchemist but his motives are clear. Avoid contact until you are sure you want to make contact. But as one might expect things never go according to plan.

This does not mean he feels aversion toward Rias and Sona. It is more about power dynamics and the power of negotiation for him.

What did you think about the chapter? I would love to know.

Chapter 6: We need to Cook

As I was walking back home and buying some resources for my alchemy I noticed a glaring flaw in my plans.

I was going to run out of money.

Yes, that was certainly a problem. I sure as well wasn't going to get a part-time that was for sure, school took up enough of my time as it is. I wish I could either sell my potions already or mindfuck someone to give me their life savings or something but unfortunately, both of those avenues are closed to me at the moment.

But well, I guess I do have a way to make some money fast...

—••——••——••—

[Stealing(Novice) Lv.3] = [Stealing(Novice) Lv.3]

Wowie , the people in this town sure are very kind. They were gracious and generous to donate me money even though they didn't even know me or ever see me.

Sure, they didn't really consent to donating me their money but hey, it's the thought that counts doesn't it?

I am not stealing, that sounds bad. I prefer to call it the rightful redistribution of wealth toward the greater good.

Dumping the pile of wallets into a corner in some street for the cops to eventually find I used my own wallet which was suddenly 10x richer to buy myself a shit ton of supplies.

Especially the better stuff like ginseng or rarer mountain vegetables. And actual beakers and vials to perform alchemy, it feels kind of demeaning to be someone with a god-given ability to be making potions in plastic bottles in his basement.

Once I had gotten home I dumped the contents of my backpack and started getting to work setting everything up. Since my mana reserves had reached at least adequate levels I can make potions without having to spend so much time waiting for my mana to recover.

I looked at the table full of ingredients for me to use with bright eyes, I felt like a kid at a Lego store. All the building blocks were before me, I just had to let my imagination go wild was all.

Let's get cracking!

—••——••——••—

I am a mad scientist. And production was the right choice.

You have discovered 50 Alchemical aspects without help.

You have developed the perk:

[Alchemists Intuition]

-Using [Inspect] on an ingredient will reveal one of their alchemical aspects to you.

You see, my Alchemy has recently hit level 5. Because I managed to crack what makes it rise in proficiency faster. It feels like there is an imaginary bar I have to fill to make my skills level up, I have a sense of how much it rises every time I do something related to that skill. You know, like Skyrim.

Using that I managed to figure out what to do to get the most proficiency to raise my skill. First of all, the one that gives the least proficiency is discovering a new aspect, after that is brewing a potion I already know, then it's learning a new recipe probably(there is no one to learn from) and the last one is experimentation.

Creating new recipes and spending ingredients on seeing what works and what doesn't makes the proficiency rise very fast indeed. I spent most of my time at home doing nothing but alchemy and cooking myself meals.

Sure, throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks has led to me creating a variety of useless potions too. Most of them just being a mix of incredibly diluted effects due to being poor combinations, I call these Awkward Potions.

Why? Because they do basically nothing. Drinking them makes you just feel awkward because something did happen from drinking it, it was just that what happened was so underwhelming it was barely noticeable.

But other than those I have managed to improve my regular potion formulas. I am at Minor Health Potion Ver. IV which can probably heal from getting stabbed within a few minutes.

But more importantly, I have been working on a special blend for that muscle growth I talked about. Ladies and gentlemen allow me to introduce you to my latest creation.

[Minor Recovery Potion Ver. III]

-When drunk, slowly recovers the user's health, stamina and energy.

This thing was the key to achieving fitness, until I manage to give myself permanent regeneration or learn healing magic that is. I could drink this and start exercising and by the end of it my muscles will have grown several times, I can basically condense an entire week of working out into one session if I really hate myself.

Other than that I had a few dozen potions in stock, I had even made cure disease potions which guess what, cured diseases I created it because apparently your body doesn't like it very much when you keep eating random shit.

It also doesn't understand the concept of taking one for the greater good too apparently.

Also, do not drink many potions in a row. There is also a concept called potion sickness too. It's like drinking water, yeah a bottle is fine and you can chug another a bit later too. But drink 5 litres without stopping and you will question all the decisions that led you up to that point.

Just because I was focusing on making potions for now did not mean I was slacking on my magic however.

Transmutation was going swimmingly, it had levelled up twice too, giving me more insight into how I could utilize it. Transmutation is the perfect spell to help me train my magic power and control. My shaping the earth into statues and stuff it helped me train my magic power and helped me get used to using my magic power with more finesse.

It also helped to finally complete {Reinforcement}, well a knockoff of it more like, nothing like filling in the molecular gaps or anything(Because I have even less of an idea on creating something as complex as structural analysis). It worked off the same principle transmutation does.

By adding another layer to the transmutation circle I added it the ability to solidify the mana I was using to shape it allowing me to make the structure I transmutated to be more durable as long as I was still supplying the mana.

How did I manage to apply this to non-transmitted objects you may ask? It's simple I just cut out the middle man, as long as I have a good grasp of the object's structure I can run my mana through it before solidifying its shape like adding rebar to concrete.

It was pretty strong too, I could break a rock with a pen if I was strong enough to break a rock. But there is a flaw with it too, add too much mana and things can get bad. Like the pen exploding in your hand and stabbing you with dozens of splinters.

...Yeah I wasn't using this on my body anytime soon.

Other than that I managed to crack yet another code.

Sometimes my genius even frightens me.

You see, skills rise based on achievements, make better potions get higher proficiency, that kind of jazz. The same goes for cooking, make better food get better proficiency.

So making supernatural food would get me a lot of proficiency right? And how do alchemical products work with cooking do they boost each other?

Well, I can give you the answer.

Yes. They can stack to some degree.

I found this out when I made these bad boys. It took a bit of trial and error but I made cookies. And mixing potions into them really enhanced the food.

[Heart Cookies]

-Heart-shaped cookies imbued with vitality, eating them increases regeneration by 10% for 3 hours.

They taste absolutely delicious by the way, I am impressed at my cooking abilities. So I made another one too, one that was way more useful for me. But beware of eating too many different buff foods at once.

Because if you do they aren't going to get along in your stomach very well. If you are lucky you will experience nausea and spend half an hour on the toilet.

If you are unlucky you will probably the blasting out of both ends within minutes.

[Star Cookies]

-Star-shaped cookies imbued with mana, eating them increases mana regeneration by 10% for 3 hours.

I already had experience in baking so both turned out really well, I made the heart-shaped ones red and they tasted like sweet cherries while the blue star-shaped ones tasted like cool blueberries.

Packing them up for my lunch I headed for school. I had created a good routine for myself in Kuoh I would say. I was raising my magic stats steadily, fast enough to be noticeable but not enough to be alarming.

...I hope.

I don't know how alarming it is to them but my magic power has basically doubled since the start of the week(sleeping 4 hours a day is paying off). I don't know fully if the Rias' peerage has noticed me but I don't particularly feel like caring about it.

Them finding about me is an inevitability and it won't hurt me badly anyway. Besides it would be good to form some connections soon, nothing bad could come from befriending the sister of satan after all. Speaking of, I have noticed a lot more student council people talking to me recently, just chatting normally but it was enough to alarm me a little.

Why was Sona not approaching me directly if she already knows about me? Or does she want to build a good portfolio first, seem good and friendly in my eyes and then reveal the supernatural part of the world to me with the promise of eternal life and power because she suspects that I have awakened a sacred gear(not exactly wrong)?

Well, out of sight out of mind, if I don't get disturbed by them then I don't have a reason to care. If they do try to recruit me however they better be prepared to put a full banquet on the table.

As I was going through my usual routine of existing in class and meditating through it(helps clear the mind) which was what I did most of the time to the point that the skill had already reached level 5. What do I get if I reach level 10? Do I achieve enlightenment and become a Buddha or something?

But as I was going up to the roof to have my lunch I noticed something.

Something was tailing me. And they were doing it very blatantly too.

That's right, wherever I went since the lunch break began she was steadily following after me. Was this because Sona told Rias about me? Or did I encounter a stray windowsill? Regardless if she wants to approach me for a talk she should wait until after school, because my cookies are waiting for me to devour them.

Ignoring her presence I walked all the way up to the rooftops before plopping my cushy bottom down and opening my case of cookies, they smelled heavenly, I could feel my mouth watering.

Stare~~~*

And I can feel someone else's mouth watering too apparently. Sat opposite of me on the roof was Koneko Toujou, the idol of the school, she was an incredibly cute and beautiful small girl with white hair and catlike gold eyes she had a rather petite build. And I could feel her

eyes digging into my packed lunch, her nose cutely upturned as she sniffed the air and blushed when I stared at her inquisitively as she did that.

Well too bad for you little girl. These cookies are mine, find your own.

I felt a twinge of sadistic glee as I watched her eyes widen and shake as I took a cookie from the box and plopped it into my mouth, I couldn't help but make a noise of contentment at the pleasant taste which shook her even more. She looked at the luxurious boxed lunch on her lap and then at my cookies again, obviously starting to find her own lunch unappetizing at the prospect of my cookies.

But I ignored her presence regardless, taking another cookie and crunching down as her eyes wavered once more, she took out her own chopsticks and started eating her lunch but her eyes were still firmly on my cookies.

I could see her resolve wavering with every bite I took of my cookies. Her body subconsciously inching closer to mine, the longing in her eyes clear, as the number of cookies in my box got lower she started to get more agitated, giving me pitiful cat eyes and actually flinching as I grabbed another cookie.

Man, am I evil for enjoying this?

I am totally going to hell, aren't I?

A/N: Takumi is still figuring things out but he is figuring them out fast. Competence, determination and a little bit of imagination applied on a sacred gear designed to help the user improve and with the help of meta-knowledge is a deadly combination.

And who would have thought that the reason Takumi attracted attention to himself would be because of his Culinary Superiority?

What did you think about this chapter? I would love to hear your thoughts about it, suggestions and criticisms help me improve my works so they are more than welcome.

Chapter 7: Cute x Cat

Koneko flinched every time I took a bite out of my cookies while I relished the taste. She was eating out of her own bento but doing it painfully slowly, her gaze firmly affixed to my cookie box. The sheer desire in her eyes was clear.

I could see her making mental calculations on what to do as the cookies in the box slowly started disappearing one by one, she got more and more agitated the fewer and fewer cookies there were. I could see the indecision plaguing her.

Man, this was entertainment alright. This is way more fun than anything else I would be doing during lunch break instead. I really need some entertainment in my life.

As I lowered my hand into the box again Koneko suddenly moved closer to me, getting my attention and looking at me with eyes filled with longing, her gaze alternating between my cookies and my face. There was an unsaid plea in those eyes.

I raised my eyebrow at her, what did she think she would accomplish by simply looking at me like that? Did she think I was one of her fans that would grovel to her and give her my hard-earned cookies just because of a longing gaze?

Tough chance pal. This heart died years ago, you need some bigger guns than that.

To punish her for her naivety I quickly plunged my hand into the box of wonders and pulled out another ate it with speed shocking her. I was having entirely too much fun messing with her head.

"What do you want?" I asked, looking her straight in the eyes. I was very weak to cute things but I was weak to sweets too, especially when those sweets are my only meal of the day. But I was a man that could come to a compromise.

"...Can I have some?" She asked me in a monotone voice while pointing at my cookies. In response, I simply furrowed my brows.

"Why?" That simple question seemed to shake her as I wore a shit-eating grin on the inside. In truth I was not too opposed to giving away my cookies, I could always make more and for my current meal, I could always buy a sandwich.

I was doing this because I was bored and wanted to mess with her. And I don't want to give away my cookies when I could instead get something for them.

"...What do you mean?"

"I meant why should I give you my cookies?" Koneko took a step back as her eyes darted around cautiously searching for a response she could give that did not boil down to "I want it.".

Seemingly finding something she extended her own lunchbox toward me. It was half eaten.

"...Trade?"

"No thanks." She frowned a little, making a cute pouty face, I want to smoosh her cheeks and pat her head. Even though I said that, the intensity in her gaze did not falter in the slightest.

I sighed as if I was making a concession.

"Well, it seems like you won't give up on my cookies for some reason but they aren't free. I want something in return." Hearing my words Koneko got into a more defensive stance and I couldn't blame her, 90% of the male population of this school were perverts who would most likely demand something perverted.

...I won't throw stones from my glass house. I am no better. Yes, I admit I am a pervert. But at least I have class and enough self-restraint. I can hardly resist messing with a cute girl though.

"Since you are taking my cookies at least let me pat your head." Koneko narrowed her eyes at me, as if weighing the pros and cons to put pressure on her I slowly reached my hand into my container when suddenly she grabbed my wrist, stopping it in place.

Her grip feels like it is made out of tungsten.

"...Fine, you can. ...Pervert." She said that but her mood visibly improved as I handed her the half-empty box of cookies, well her expression did not change much but her eyes lit up.

She took a bite of the heart cookie and let out a noise of contentment as she closed her eyes, I wasn't at the foodgasm level but goddammit I would reach there eventually.

I extended my hand and placed it on her head, she briefly paused, just looking at me for a moment before she resumed eating her cookies. Her hair felt soft, in fact, it was probably one of the softest things I have ever touched. This was like petting a cat but even better.

This creature was, incredibly cute. If my inspect could measure cuteness or charm they would both be over 9000.

So I sat there, neither of us said anything as I petted her head. I don't know if I am doing it right or anything but she certainly didn't look like she minded. In fact, as I briefly retracted my hand for something she almost leaned into my touch before catching herself.

But her supply of cookies did not last forever as Koneko looked into the empty box in dejection while I also pulled my hand away. Honestly, even I felt a little sad for her. She looked like a sopping wet kitten.

...Hmm, I guess I guess I could do that. I got up from my seated position.

"Whelp, I guess I should take my leave for now and find some lunch to grab." I said as I took the metal case from her hands. Huh, from this angle as she is crouching I can see her panties, blue stripes, nice.

I will save this memory for later on if I ever give myself enough time to pleasure myself.

Considering how busy I am that may just turn out to be the distant future.

As I was about to leave I turned to Koneko and pulled out a sealed plastic bag with some more cookies inside(my emergency stash in case I did a little more donation collecting and got home late) and handed it to her as her eyes lit up again.

"Geez, don't look so sullen. Here, I have some more left, you can have them. Think of them as thanks for the fanservice." Koneko nodded at me with brighter eyes before she noticed what I meant and followed my line of sight to see her exposed skirt, she frowned and glared at me slightly with a slight blush on her face.

"...Pervert. But thanks." She said as she fixed her skirt while I was already heading down the stairs. This was a fun lunch break.

Of course, I didn't give her the cookies for that reason. Acting like this I make a good impression with the Gremory peerage, and I think a few cookies are worth the first impression.

—••——••——••—

-Occult Research Club-

"So, Koneko. Are you saying that there is someone with high mana in school?" Rias asked, receiving a nod of affirmation from her. She was rather intrigued by who caught Koneko's

attention, she was confident in Koneko's ability to appraise people.

She was looking for new peerage members after all, with her parents being more and more insistent on her arranged marriage to Riser Phenex she felt like she needed to find more peerage members to make her peerage stronger.

While she still did have some time left her and Riser's parents were really insistent on trying to push the date forward despite her vehement protests.

So this came as good news at a good time. From Koneko's words, it seemed like she encountered a student with unusual amounts of mana. Which could mean a few different things.

Either they naturally had more mana which meant they were great bishop material or even better than that, they had a sacred gear, which was incredibly rare. They could also be a magician but that was unlikely, she already knew all the magicians in town, so she decided to ask Koneko some more before coming to a conclusion. There was a chance they already knew him but missed him or looked over him.

"So Koneko, what is his name?" There weren't too many male students in Kuoh so Rias wanted to get a name to check who they were and if she recognized them. But she quirked her eyebrow up as she saw Koneko freeze up.

"...I forgot to ask." Rias rubbed between her eyebrows in frustration. This was going great already, she did not even know their name. She heard Akeno giggle behind her adding to her frustrations.

"Ufufu~ now now Rias, no need to get so worked up over it. Koneko-chan, what else do you remember about him?" Akeno asked nicely as Koneko thought for a second before answering.

"...He is a pervert, but he also gave me snacks. Maybe good at baking? He had brown hair and blue eyes." Rias sighed, at least she knew one thing about the mystery student. If he was a pervert like Koneko described it would actually be easier to get him into her peerage so that

she was thankful for. Plus Koneko did not seem to really dislike him so that was good. That meant he could also be a good fit for her little family.

Well then, it was time for her to look for this mysterious student. Maybe she should ask Sona first. She probably could get his name and information.

"Akeno could you look into him?"

"Of course. Leave it to me~"

Something about how Akeno said that didn't sit right with her but she decided to trust her Queen. In the meantime, she had her own homework to do on him.

—••——••——••—

-Takumi-

School was finally done and I had retreated to my laboratory with a thought plaguing my mind.

I should really work on some offensive capability.

While I do have some time until the cannon starts that doesn't mean I shouldn't start bolstering my power early. Especially since there is a chance the Fallen Angels may notice me as well. After all, they went after Issei because he maybe had a sacred gear and no other reason.

Who knows the next time I go out I will get ambushed with a light spear straight into the noggin. If someone wants to pick a fight I want them to regret it. And for that, I needed at least some way to protect myself.

So I got started on working on the most basic offensive spell I could think of, a mana arrow, a classic. The reason why I didn't go for something like a fireball was simple.

First of all, elemental magic was more complex and I didn't even know how to work on fire at the moment. Second, collateral damage. Missifre a mana arrow? You broke a poor sod's wall. Misfire a fireball? The neighbourhood caught on fire. Also, you are also a part of that potential collateral.

Figuring out the mana arrow was easy enough to give me some self-confidence back. It was just a solid shape of mana that I shot out. I just had to set the values such as the solidity, size, speed and such of the arrow and I could cast it with its magic circle.

To test its destructive prowess, I transmuted a crude stone doll out of the ground and shot the arrow at it, and it managed to break apart the doll which was good but not really good enough, Raynare was able to get rag-dolled through a wall with a punch and still get up. Hmm, I think I know an easy way to make it stronger.

You see, when you are good enough at science applied physics is your true ally.

I created yet another mana arrow, this one 75cm long(30 Freedom Inches) but before shooting out the arrow I modified the formula and added another variable. This new variable wasn't anything revolutionary, it was just rotational force.

I held the arrow in front of me, adding more energy into it as it started to spin faster and faster before I released it, the recoil from it forcing my arms up as the arrow shredded the stone doll and cracked my wall. It's really amazing how much stronger you can make a simple spell just by giving it rotation and more speed.

You have created [Mana Arrow Lv.3]

With more practice, I could deploy it faster and deploy more of it but I really need a shooting range or something lest I collapse my basement. Thankfully I was pretty good with transmutation already so it took me only a few minutes to paint some circles on the walls and restore them to a pristine state.

Well, now that I had the bare minimum I needed to be able to defend myself from some crow-winged hooligans skulking around in case I got jumped, it was finally time to improve my basics.

What was I talking about? Of course, I was talking about getting some roaring muscles!

Time to break down this weak body and build it back up into a body that is one that looks like it is sculpted from marble.

But as I preparing to work out it was on this day I felt my largest grievance with this world.

Most of the music I used to listen to while working out didn't exist here.

Pain.

A/N: Takumi likes teasing and messing with people. The Devils are slowly taking notice of Takumi but he is still managing their interactions with himself while also steadily building his power. Speaking of building his power it is time to grind those stats.

Also, Koneko is cute. I like her.

What did you think about this chapter? I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

Chapter 8: The Rumble of Alchemical Triumph

Do I have masochistic tendencies?

I would say, no, I don't.

But that sure as hell would not be apparent to a third party.

What I was doing wasn't so much as bodybuilding as it was bodybreaking. The amount of workouts I did was borderline abuse.

Actually, scratch the borderline part, it was straight-up abusing my body.

What I did was exercising until complete failure, until I couldn't lift my body up any longer and my legs refused to cooperate, and then I took a potion and did it all over again.

Each time my body recovered it was slightly stronger, I did exercises using stone dumbells I made using transmutation, I don't know how heavy they are exactly I just made them heavy enough for me to use.

I did every exercise I could imagine, I couldn't even think of making more spells while working out due to just how hard I was going at it.

I spent several hours without any major rest just abusing the shit out of my body. I only decided to give myself a small break when I started pissing blood(exercise-induced hematuria).

But it was worth it, I could see my body visibly improving, my thin frame being filled out with muscles slowly but surely, my body currently looked fairly lean. But it still wasn't anywhere near the peak human condition and beyond I was aiming for.

Still, my status looked rather nice now.

Statistics:

Vitality: 18

Mana: 49

Endurance: 24

Strength: 22

Agility: 14

Magic Power: 54

Pretty good improvement for a day and a half's work I suppose. Of course, even though I was focusing on training my body for now I was not slacking on my alchemy in the slightest. Because you know, I was an alchemist, not a muscleist.

My agility was the stat that had risen the least because I presume it rises the fastest with running and stuff, as for vitality maybe it is raised by food? I don't have too many guesses for that.

Anyway, it was time to start running to increase my endurance and agility. Before heading out with my tracksuit I tied my hair up high and made myself a chicken sandwich A damn good one at that since my novice cooking was at 8(Mixing alchemy with cooking yields great results alongside me being already decent at cooking). I also took some cookies with me too in case I lose their buffs and need a refresher, also the sugars give me the will to live.

Putting my earplugs in I set off to increase my stats through torture again.

—••——••——••—

Yep, it's still pretty painful. Yes, it's more tolerable, but that doesn't make it any less painful. The people around town kept giving me weird as I ran like a madman covered in sweat looking like a wet cat but if there was a lesson I had learned from my past life it was that not giving a shit was a pretty valuable skill.

But as I kept running I suddenly felt someone tap my shoulder, which startled me because I was running a solid 35km/h(or 22mph in freedom miles), I turned my head and saw who else but Koneko Toujou, the white kitty tapping my shoulder as she kept up with me with total ease, as if we were walking together slowly.

She was dressed in the Kuoh gym uniform which was a white shirt with blue bloomers. Very small blue bloomers that nicely clung to her ass.

Man, I want to find the man who designed the skimpy Kuoh uniforms and give him a firm yet polite and respectful handshake.

Slowing down to a slow jog I addressed her.

"What are you doing here?" It was pretty suspicious that we managed to encounter each other in this rather large town and for her to approach me of her own volition right?

"...Exercise." Oh really? I hadn't noticed.

"*Sigh* Anyways, what do you want? You must have approached me for a reason right?" With a girl as blunt as her it was a better idea to cut right to the chase. Besides my legs felt torn paper at the moment so I wasn't particularly in a mood to humour her.

"...I forgot to ask your name?" Was she serious?

"Isn't it common manners to say your name first before someone for theirs?" Koneko looked a bit startled, probably she was used to all her classmates knowing her name and being called out on her manners.

"...Kone-"

"My name is Takumi Katsuragi, nice to meet you Koneko-chan." Koneko glared at me as I gave her a smirk, huffing she lightly punched me in the shoulder.

Tumble*

"?" Koneko gave a concerned and confused look as I was knocked like a bowling pin. My legs were already like jelly, and that light punch was like a punch from Mike.

This is rather frustrating...

...

I was now sitting on a bench like a ragdall while Koneko still sat next to me giving me a slight stink eyes but I could see a hint of curiosity in her golden eyes. Taking some moments to catch my breath I downed a recovery potion as Koneko looked on in curiosity.

"...What is that?" Koneko inquired while pointing at the potion I was downing to not feel like death.

"My drink. Duh." Koneko narrowed her eyes and pouted as I laughed and placed my hand on her head which she slapped away.

Cute.

"Haha, I am just teasing you. No need to be so grouchy. Here, my bad alright?" I pulled out a cookie from my plastic bag in my bag and handed it to her as her eyes lit up and she hurriedly snatched the cookie away from my hands and started nibbling on it. Chuckling to myself I gave the hungry kitty a few more cookies as I placed my hand on top of her and started petting her without resistance.

"...Forgiven." Koneko said curtly before returning to nomming on her cookie. While the loss of the cookie will be missed I don't mind sacrificing pastry for scoring some more affection points with her.

"Well, I thank you esteemed lady for granting me the gift of your mercy." Koneko shot me a look that said 'Don't push it.' as I ruffled her hair for a bit.

Man, she truly looks so cute while chomping down my sweets like that. Almost makes it feel worth it to lose my cookies.

Eh, I can always make more.

"Whelp, it was nice seeing you here Koneko-chan but I have things to attend to. You can keep the cookies though, think of them as a gift from me." Koneko nodded as I resumed sprinting. Nothing can get in the way of me and my stats.

...

~Koneko Toujou~

As Takumi's figure vanished in the distance Koneko felt like she had forgotten something as she chowed down on the delightful sweets she had been gifted.

Then it clicked.

''Oh right, I was supposed to question him.'

Rias had explicitly told her that if she could she should learn more about him. And she had forgotten somewhat between his annoying teasing and his annoyingly good cookies and hands.

She shrugged her shoulders.

'Well, at least I know his name now. And that he has good sweets.'

Really, was anything else that relevant anyway? Not to her at least.

—••——••——••—

After finally arriving back home I took a shower and went down to my basement before entering my work mode.

Alchemy or more specifically potion crafting is fun. But I can only get so far with my current ingredients, and dabbling in other areas seems useful.

Besides, it's not like potions are the only thing under alchemy, transmutation and its family abilities also count under it. And I had a very, very useful idea.

You see, I have an idea of how I can acquire the enchanting skill.

First of all, what is enchanting ?

It is permanently or semi-permanently applying a magical effect to an item.

Sacred gears are things that are both conceptual and dependent on the user too. And if it is relying on concepts for skills(it must considering how transmutation and alchemy work)...

Remember Roy Mustang's glove from Fullmetal Alchemist? By all means it fulfills the criteria of an enchanted artifact. After all, it is an object imbued with a permanent magical effect.

It will be rather easy for me and give me yet another way to defend myself too. Profit baby.

But first I needed durable gloves, because imbuing mana into them over and over will wear them down fast. But I had an idea for that too.

That's why I popped down to the tailor and grabbed a lot of silk using the donated funds.

But silk isn't that durable right? Well unless it was spider silk of course. Why would I use it for my gloves and how would I even knit it?

Hehehe...

Alchemy.

You see, what is the difference between commonly available silk and spider silk?

In terms of materials? Functionally nothing. It was all about how it was structured.

What did transmutation specialize in again?

You get the picture. It took me a while to figure out and a specialized transmutation circle but now I could improve the structure of store-bought silk to be more like spider silk, significantly improving its durability.

So now, basically on demand I had access to silk stronger than steel. You better believe I am replacing my clothes when I have the time.

After figuring out the way to convert it it was pretty simple to create the gloves too by just shaping them with transmutation. For the circle on it, I simply mixed in some ink and voila.

In my hands was a white silk glove with a dark grey transmutation circle on the back of the hand. I put it on, it felt rather comfortable actually.

Of course, it wasn't the combustion gloves Roy had, I can't quite get that design made currently(Researching how to make combustion gloves would take a bit of time) so I settled for the earth transmutation I always use.

Curious I used inspect on it.

[Transmutation Glove]

-A durable silk glove with the transmutation circle for earth drawn on it. It is capable of performing transmutation on most earth and stone materials.

I put my hand up against the wall and was easily able to perform the transmutation that was familiar to me, pulling up a stone spear from the wall before letting it sink back in. And then I heard a familiar chime ring in my head making me grin evilly.

As expected.

You have created an enchanted object without help!

You have acquired the skill [Enchanting(Novice) Lv.1]

You have acquired a secondary specialization [Enchanting]

My hypothesis.

Was correct.

What was my hypothesis you ask? It's simple, when I get a skill Iter Melius tries to help me with that skill by supporting that skill by providing me its own data and helping hand.

So, while I have got the enchanting skill what I do isn't exactly enchanting. But Iter Melius doesn't care about that, it cares about the fact that I can enchant so it gave me the skill to.

So now, I know how to enchant things.

Adapt, improvise, overcome.

A/N: Takumi is slowly training the kitten to be receptive to his head pats and taming her using his treats, it won't be long until his evil plan is complete and the kitty will come to him out of her own volition demanding pets. Muhaha!

Also, while not exactly the Roy gloves(Maybe those will also be made later who knows) Takumi has started producing his own alchemy equipment. Also, he has finally started abusing how the system works to get himself the enchanting skill.

What did you think about the developments in this chapter? I would love to know.

Chapter 9: Enchanting and Alkahestry

Specialization:

Primary: [Alchemy]

All Alchemy skills improve 50% faster, all Alchemy skills are 25% stronger.

Secondary: [Enchanting]

Enchanting skills grow 25% faster, all Enchantments are 12.5% stronger.

[Enchanting(Novice) Lv.3]

Your skill in granting magical effects to items and objects.

Enchanting was pretty nice. Getting the skill for it really helped with using it too, it would have taken me a while to figure out how to do enchanting the way it is meant to be done.

Now then, what did enchanting do? It was pretty simple, it was the art of changing the nature of an object by granting it a magical effect.

For example, giving a pair of gloves the [Fire Resistance] enchanting would involve you essentially granting it a magical code that is enforced by magical power and made permanent by permanently altering the state of the object.

Basically, it was coding magic with items.

It is the most effective when you have something to base it off of. For example, if I make fire resistance gloves they would be pretty bad simply because I don't have the skill fire resistance and have nothing to sample the enchantment off of.

But it is far easier for me to make the transmutation gloves, because I already have transmutation it is simply much easier to create(and thanks to the nature of transmutation circles too, just slap one on).

Putting more than one enchantment on an object is more difficult because of the reaction between the code and the conflict it can cause. For example, you wouldn't put water and sodium in the same bottle and expect a good outcome right? So you need more skill to be able to better integrate enchantments.

A helpful feature was my skills recording what I can do with my skills. For example with my Alchemy:

[Alchemy(Novice) Lv.6]

Your skill in creating potions and other alchemical products.

Recipes:

[Minor Healing Potion V, [Minor Stamina Potion IV, [Minor Recovery Potion V]...

And with Enchanting the enchants I do successfully create get recorded in the skill, allowing me to able to replicate the success easily and improve my skill with it. For example my first and honestly my most important success.

[Enchanting(Novice) Lv.3]

Your skill in granting magical effects to items and objects.

Enhancements:

[Reinforcement, [Transmutation]

To make a good test I first created myself a long black cardigan made of better silk using transmutation, then I enchanted it with [Reinforcement] by applying the effect and permanently suffusing the object with it.

Took nearly all of my mana and over an hour.

But the end result was a silk cardigan that was just straight-up bulletproof, I was not able to pierce it with my earth alchemy at least.

And man this shit was comfortable, reinforced silk is just the definition of luxury. It felt like wearing a soft hug from a pillow. So I repeated and made myself black pants too and a white shirt out of the same silk. These ones were also enchanted, putting a large strain on my mana.

Sure they wouldn't protect me much since silk doesn't really absorb all that much impact so the kinetic energy would go straight through but it is the thought that counts right?

Figuring out more magic I could do was probably the core to figuring out more enchanting I could do.

For now, I should really head to school considering I had been tinkering and messing around with my abilities all night.

—••——••——••—

Now wasn't this intriguing?

I leaned back in my chair as I looked at the almost pamphlet-like paper in my hand with a magic circle on it with caricatures of naked women silhouettes in suggestive positions. Written on it was "We grant your wish."

So this was their approach huh?

I was handed this on my way back from yet another school day where I meditated and slept and messed with Koneko by a woman wearing a bat-like devil costume. A use of inspect revealed that she was in fact Rias' familiar.

They probably did this in hopes of me using it to summon one of them to establish a connection with me, this would also let them see if I was already aware of the supernatural or not and allow them to gauge my character more clearly.

If I used this chances are, the day after I would be pulled into the Occult Research Clubroom for the devil recruitment speech Rias must have prepared for me.

So, should I use it?

I am kind of curious about what I can ask for with a devil contract like this one and what I would give to them as payment. After all, do I give them money? Do devils even care about human money? I think some of the peerage members did get paid with money.

I also know that there are things such as contracts between magicians and devils where they provide services to each other.

Now, what exactly would I stand to gain from summoning one of the devils? A decent bit actually. If I am willing to reveal that I am supernatural I can actually ask the devil I summoned for supernatural ingredients or things otherwise very hard to obtain, even magic books would be possible.

The question is, is it worth revealing myself for?

Hmm, I would say it is, after all, If I keep trying to avoid them, the moment when they find me out will be out of my control. Whereas if I seek them out first I have the control.

But I will first wait a day or two, firstly to make some preparations and secondly to get them a little nervous. I don't want to look like I am looking forward to summoning the devils after all. But overall, summoning them seems to be the best decision.

Besides, it is slowly getting closer to the start of the series anyway. I need to start making some moves.

Because I had plans. And an important step of said plans was removing the crows from this town.

Their existence was a liability for me, I had a sacred gear and they were able to sense the sacred gear of Issei. And they weren't complete fodder either.

Racial advantages aside, they were able to cause a fair amount of trouble to Akeno. And the former exorcists on their side were able to stall Kiba and Koneko.

But they were opponents that were necessary for me to remove for me to able to continue with my plans. I needed to defeat them and that's not negotiable.

Why?

Because those bastards knew how to remove sacred gears and get them for themselves.

While I do have a certain level of confidence in my abilities I do not want to lie to myself or fool myself here.

I am not reaching Ultimate class anytime soon with just Iter Melius.

That is just a cold hard fact. Sure I could probably reach High Tier by myself but there is confidence then there is arrogance.

Just a simple High to Mid Tier Sacred Gear and my own wits won't let me climb up into the realm of the gods in less than 10 years.

But I can take a page out of Naruto's book.

What do you do when you aren't born with talent?

Well, you borrow talent from someone else of course!

From what I see, there is a method of taking someone's sacred gear in the church and there are two Sacred Gears up for grabs in Kuoh Town. One of them being the goddam Boosted Gear.

I have seen what Mr. Oppai Dragon was able to achieve with that overpowered gauntlet.

So, theoretically. What if someone capable of casting magic beyond "Strip" and "Boob Talk" and at least semi-competent with meta knowledge got their hands on that God-Killing Weapon?

Well, I for one think it would be pretty cool.

Getting Absorption Line would be incredibly great too. The ability to drain people of their mana and even powers is one that is incredibly useful under basically any circumstance.

To be honest, if they had the same level of Oomph behind them I would take Absorption Line over Boosted Gear. And If I could have both of them and not die instantly I would be overjoyed I tell you.

But there is just one tiny problem.

I don't really want to murder innocents.

Well, while I am fully ready and prepared to kill innocents to preserve my own life...

I don't know, killing two innocent people just because I wanted to power myself up leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

How should I say it, it feels like it puts me on the same tier of garbage as Raynare. Killing two innocents because "Sorry, you have sacred gears. If you want to blame someone then blame god for giving you them tehee~." is just really shitty behaviour. And I refuse to be put on the same tier as garbage like Raynare.

Don't get me, wrong I am taking those sacred gears one way or the other. If I cannot take them without violence I will take them with violence. But I first want to see if I can find a way to extract them without violently murdering the previous user.

Besides, if I do find a way I can stick it to the Fallen Angels who DO need to murder the previous owners.

It will be a fun project. Besides, I already have a lead on how to accomplish this.

Why does taking the Sacred Gear kill the previous wielder? There are two options.

First, It's because it injures their soul beyond repair. This is possible because Sacred Gears are a part of the soul after all. So tearing it out would be like tearing out someone's appendix.

Yeah, they don't need those to live, but at the same time, you plunged your fist into someone's guts and pulled out their appendix probably along with their intestines.

Second, it is because you are draining all of their Lifeforce. If there is a common unifier between the sacred gears it's that they love draining your life force. So it could stand to reason that trying to forcefully pull that shit out of the soul would expend all of their life force. Besides, it's not like Lifeforce and Soul aren't related.

It could be 1 it could be 2, it could be both too. Regardless, I have something that should help me both.

Fullmetal Alchemist helped me out before it's gonna have to help me out again.

That's right it's time to dip my toes into Alkahestry.

A/N: Takumi's actual future plans are slowly being revealed. Currently, his two most important goals are getting combat power and the preparations ready for stealing some gear. After all, Takumi is no fool, he knows his limits. But most importantly he knows how to break them or work around them.

What did you think about the developments in this chapter? I would love to know. Especially about Takumi's near future plans.

Chapter 10: Contract x Creation

Reference:

Alchemy = Potion Making

Alkahestry = Energy and Lifeforce manipulation

Transmutation = Manipulation of materials

Alkhestry was... more difficult than traditional Alchemy.

You see, while regular old transmutation Alchemy focuses on the change of matter while Alkahestry is focused on the flow of energy.

But I will say, I never thought having a good memory and being a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist would save my life someday.

The first thing I needed to be able to do to perform Alkahestry was to have a good grasp of the flow of energy and lifeforce. If I could learn from Youkai that would help immensely but by the time I get to Kyoto and learn chances are Issei would have somehow awakened his sacred gear or the arranged marriage would arrive.

So, as always, it was up to me to think on my feet and find a solution to the problem.

...I will be honest it's getting easier and easier to justify killing Issei and Genji though.

Well, in my journey to discover Alkahestry, I started training my mana perception. The ability to sense mana was honestly like a 6th sense. However, I found a way to increase my sensitivity and attunement to mana.

During meditation, I can tune out my other senses and just listen and feel for the flow of mana around me. Training this was exceptionally efficient in school where in class I just start meditating and try to tune into the mana of the devils inside the school.

Having distinct targets I could use to train my mana sense helped immensely. Trying to sense the mana signatures of the devils was like a game for me in my free time.

It also gave me this skill.

[Mana Sense(Novice) Lv.4]

-The ability to sense mana in the world around you.

Because of my currently frankly low proficiency with it, it was hard to sense mana accurately of even the devils. If I had to guess I'd say their mana sense would be at intermediate level to sense my unusually high mana even though I wasn't using any abilities.

While my mana sense might be low for now that won't be the case for long. Because it synergizes incredibly well with meditation, in fact, meditation is a skill far more useful than I previously thought.

Beyond increasing my mana regen for its duration it more most useful ability is sharpening my mind and giving me incredible control over my senses as long as I maintain concentration.

And I also made something to help me even further with my mana sense and that was enchanting a pair of reading glasses(that I bought with the money of the charitable people of Kuoh) with Mana Sense. And I must say the result did not disappoint.

[Glasses of Mana Perception]

Allows the wearer to see magical energy.

As long as I had these glasses on I could see mana no problem. Sure sensing mana was different from simply seeing it but seeing it also had its advantages. While it did not allow me to see the mana inside an object it did highlight any ambient mana-like blue particles floating around.

With the addition of this and meditation, my mana sense was rising incredibly fast, it had only been a single day since I started training it after all.

So, progress was being made with Alkahestry, so what about Alchemy?

Well, it was going fairly well. I had a BUNCH of potions lying around from my experiments with alchemy, ranging from dozens of minor health potions and mana potions to my crate of recovery potions that I burn through daily with my physical training.

Honestly, what the actual funk was I going to do with two crates of minor healing potions? Sure for the mundane person, this stuff can save you from getting stabbed with no need for surgery or rest. But for a devil with several times their vitality? It can maybe heal a few cuts.

This shit wasn't percentage based. It probably won't heal a cut on the lip of an ultimate-class being.

But there were percentage-based potions here. I don't know how they work, I just make them of course.

For example:

[Minor Slowness Potion]

-Slows the drinker by 20%. The higher the vitality and endurance stat the lesser the effectiveness.

At first, I thought it would be pretty useful when applied on a weapon but... this isn't exactly going off video game logic here. The difference between a 50ml dose and whatever droplets are on the weapon is vast.

So, the point is, I have a lot of potions in storage that honestly do not benefit me too much. There are ones that do obviously such as cure disease that can instantly cure something like the common cold or flu and energy potion which is basically a more potent energy drink.

The strongest potion I have right now is Minor Health Potion VIII which restores about 15 vitality worth of health which means it can bring a healthy and active man from the brink of death back to pristine condition, the downside to this recipe is that it was very complex and annoying to make since it had like 5 different ingredients.

It was getting rather... annoying, making potions with only mundane materials. I want to get my hands on some premium goods. I could try growing them myself but currently, the time investment to profit ratio was not looking very good since I would have to look after them too when I could be working on Transmutation and Alkahestry.

So then, it was time to get into the supernatural world I guess. If I delay it any longer it will be less advantageous to me. So I grabbed the pamphlet from the table next to me.

Hmm, maybe I should decorate my house with fake skulls and blood to make it seem like I was thinking I was performing a satanic ritual. That would probably freak them out.

Nah, too much effort. And plus it wouldn't be worth it anyway.

At least I had enough courtesy to clean my room before summoning a girl into it, I am such a gentleman.

Though I hope I don't summon Koneko. That would make things a bit awkward.

Or Kiba, I am going to be honest I do not want to summon a dude into my house.

Anyway, now how do I use this thing? Obviously not by inserting mana, it's supposed to be mundane-friendly after all.

Right, it was desire, that was how Issei summoned her after all, with his intense desire.

So do I just...?

Yep, it was that simple, I just held it in my hands and thought, "Man I really want to summon a devil." And what do you know a red magic circle was formed on the floor of my basement. I was sitting on my sofa watching it happen dressed in bulletproof silk clothes wearing my glasses looking like both a student and researcher.

From the summoning circle walked out a tall(relatively) young woman with very long raven hair tied into a ponytail, she had a very curvacious figure with the biggest pair of breasts I have ever seen in my goddam life, she had striking violet eyes and wore the Kuoh Academy Girls Uniform and its very short skirt.

Akeno Himejima. Rias' queen piece and the daughter of Baraqiel.

"Ara~ Thank you for summoning me, what are your desires?" Akeno said in a slightly sultry voice as she revealed a pair of jet-black wings that resembled that of a bat.

"Akeno-senpai? You are a devil?" I did my best to put on a mildly shocked face. In response, Akeno bent forward slightly to meet my gaze making her breasts jiggle... somehow.

"Yes, that's right~ Though I am surprised, Takumi-kun, you don't seem like someone who would summon a devil. And you don't seem too surprised either."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, I wasn't really too sure about the existence of Devils, and I definitely wasn't expecting you to be one Akeno-senpai. This is very surprising news to me." Akeno simply smiled in response.

"I see, does that mean Takumi-kun is a magician?" Well, isn't that one obvious to get more information out of me? At least I know they aren't very good at subtlety.

"Well, somewhat, I don't know if I can exactly be called one since I am self-taught but I do dabble in the supernatural arts." Akeno nodded at me hearing this, mentally noting it to report to her king.

"Pleasantries out of the way, what did you desire Takumi-kun? You must have summoned a devil for a reason right? You can ask for any~ thing~ you~ know~ ?" She said the last part in a seductive that made my sexually frustrated mind run wild with numerous sexual fantasies in the span of a millisecond before I snapped back and forced down the slight blush and gulp that threatened to come forth. It has been a while since I engaged in... carnal pleasures.

She was intentionally teasing me.

"Wait a second, first I want to know what I am putting down as payment here since I have never done a contract before. Because if you are looking for my soul I am not looking to trade, I'm sure I can find some use for that thing eventually."

"Ufufu~ Of course I won't ask for your soul. The payment is whatever you can pay with, whether it is money, mana or other things. The price depends on what you ask for of course."

Nice! That means I can just pay for it with my potions. It's not like they know their value. But on the other hand, giving them potions will make my value in their eyes rise while also being advertisement for my potions. Win-win.

"I think I know what I want." I said, my eyes firmly locked on her breasts as Akeno smiled with a slight blush.

"Yes, what is it?"

"A hundred-year-old ginseng."

"Eh?" I knocked Akeno out of rhythm with my statement but my voice did not change as I elaborated.

"I need you to get me a hundred-year-old ginseng, in exchange would you accept these as payment?" I walked away from where she could see and retreived 3 bottles each of Health, Mana and Stamina potions and set them down on the table in front of the wondering gaze of Akeno.

"Well, I will need to look into your request but I am fairly certain I can get it done. But what are those Takumi-kun?" She said pointing at the potions while I gave her an answer I had already decided on beforehand.

"Potions, these ones should heal your wounds as long as they aren't too severe, these ones should restore your mana and these ones should restore your stamina." Hearing my words Akeno's eyes widened as she looked over the potions before looking me in the face.

"Alright, I think these will be plenty as payment if they really do what you claim they do. Alright then, I will return with your ginseng later alright? I look forward to meeting you again~" Akeno said as she gathered the potions in her hands before blowing me a kiss and teleporting away. For sure to test the authenticity of the potions and share her findings with her king.

That's good, now all I have to do is wait.

A/N: For those that may say he is reckless by not hiding enough from the Devils but that is intentional. He is making them curious, he is not showing them enough to know about him he is showing them enough to wonder about him. He already knows their characters and knows they will eventually find out about it, so he is steering that eventual meeting in the direction he wants instead of trying to avoid it.

Takumi is playing their game but with his own rules.

What did you think about this chapter and Takumi's interaction with Akeno? I would love to know.

Chapter 11: Vitality or Viritlity?

~Rias Gremory~

In the bedroom of her house wearing nothing but a sheer nightgown Rias looked at the "potions" Akeno had handed to her.

She felt a bit cautious and confused at why and how potions had ended up on her desk.

Potions were a very rare commodity, almost unheard of in fact. For example, the only potions available in the underworld(Including fallen angels here) were the Phoenix tears and they were very rare.

Apparently, a handful of people from other pantheons could also produce potions but those were limited in quantity just like Phoenix Tears but she did not know much about that.

So, it was safe to say that she was very surprised when Akeno teleported into her room to report to her that the student she had been looking into, Takumi, had summoned her. Which were good news.

Takumi turning out to be a magician was not a big surprise to her, after all developing a mana capacity like that as a normal human, it was almost expected that he was a magician.

But what didn't make sense to her exactly was the fact that Takumi was both apparently a self-taught magician and someone capable of using Alchemy to create potions. His mana was also growing at a noticeable rate, which he made no attempts to hide or simply did not know how.

While she understood that what she did not understand was why neither she nor Sona had ever noticed him before? After all, they must have seen him in school at least once or twice before, and records confirmed that he had going to this school for at least a year.

So, what had changed all of a sudden? Well, there was a possible explanation for this.

He did have a sacred gear. One that he had awakened recently too. And for his mana to rise so quickly too, it must be a pretty high-tier one at that.

Not only that, he must be very competent in using his sacred gears to improve that fast even with a good sacred gear. Probably one that allowed him to create potions, she may not know a sacred gear like that but even still there were sacred gears that remained undiscovered so it wouldn't surprise her.

And then there was the fact that he was somehow self-taught in magic. She did not know to what extent but that fact alone was very promising itself. What could he do with actual magic training if he claimed he already could do magic?

So, he was a self-proclaimed magician who had most likely awakened a sacred gear and could create potions. She had already tested their authenticity by cutting her arm lightly and drinking the healing potion(did he just choose the name from an RPG?) which caused the wound to heal up nearly instantly.

Oh, Sona would so regret allowing Rias to have dibs.

Her friend and rival, knowing her precarious situation, although having found Takumi first decided to let Rias have the opportunity to recruit Takumi first.

Although their friendship was strong she wasn't exactly sure that Sona would have acted the same knowing how much of a golden goose Takumi seemed to be. He was perfect Bishop material.

That meant she had to get him into her peerage.

He was already getting along with Koneko which was very good news since he would be compatible with her family. He was basically perfect.

So she couldn't mess this up. Not with her arranged wedding with Riser looming over her. She did not have more than a few months to find a way out of it.

Well, Koneko did mention him being a perverted right? That was good. At least it gave her a method of approaching him.

She would call him to the clubroom as soon as she could.

—••——••——••—

~Takumi Katsuragi~

While I was waiting on Akeno I decided to create a new enchanted item that I wanted to test my transmutation with. While my spinning mana arrow was great and all, I want to have more variety in my arsenal.

So I came up with another transmutation circle, one that would focus solely on the transmutation of water. I had a clear example with that water alchemy guy from FMA.

Working on water alchemy actually gave me a better perspective on Alkahestry, when I shape stone it is basically reconstructing it in the solid shape I want. But doing the same with water is not exactly fitting.

You need to direct the water not reconstruct it, control its flow and form.

Thankfully working with water was easier thanks to its much simpler composition compared to stone. Why would I want Water Alchemy now? Simple, it was because I had an idea.

I like the element of ice and under the right circumstances, that element can be very lethal.

And adding a few more variables to my newfound water transmutation circle with more runes and shapes allowed me to use the variable of heat. So I could control the temperature of the water I controlled.

...I may or may not have created an instant coffee maker in my basement by enchanting a plate that stirs water and instantly boils water.

Anyway, the result was my new alchemy circle of water transmutation. There was no doubt in my mind that my higher level of transmutation helped immensely in making it.

I put a glass of water in the middle of the transmutation circle carved into the ground. And upon its activation with my mana, I instantly felt the control I had over the water in the glass.

The water in the glass started boiling in a single second, then it stopped boiling and started freezing ove-

Shatter!*

Right, the glass broke. Anyway.

The ice then started cracking apart and dissolved back into water that started spinning in a circle around the transmutation circle before freezing again but still continuing to move.

Succes. Time to turn it into a glove.

As always, I constructed yet another durable Enhanced Silk glove this time dying it black with some ink I bought(my wallet is in shambles). And then I added some light blue ink in

there and wove the colours into the glove itself with the pattern of the transmutation circle while also enchanting it with transmutation magic to increase its power.

The result was a sleek black glove with a light blue complex snowflake-shaped transmutation circle on the back of the hand.

I decided to name it...

[Kelvin Catalyst]

-A Transmutation Catalyst capable of transmuting water and its temperature, specializing in cooling it and creating ice.

Putting it on my right hand I tested the spell I wanted to make by first drawing the moisture in the air in my room. Once a decently large volume of water was swirling around my hand I turned it to mist form, and then I started lowering its temperature until I had condensed supercooled mist swirling around my hand.

With a simple gesture, the wave of supercooled mist hit the wall, releasing freezing cold air around the room. I walked up to the wall which was now covered in a layer of frost.

My new spell, [Freezing Mist]. I could hit things with supercooled mist to freeze them, if I had a larger volume of water I could hit them with a constant barrage of freezing, it would both drain their stamina and give them frost burn.

It's so cool .

I can also do this. With a wave of my hand, I re-gathered the moisture in the air before shaping it into an icicle and shooting it like a spear while reinforcing it. Making it get buried deep into the wall.

Isn't that n ice ?

Yep, I am keeping this glove on me at all times as well as a water bottle in my pocket. If anyone tries to mess with me, say a stray devil I can just pull the water bottle from my pocket, convert the insides into freezing mist and chuck that bastard and watch them get frozen while I nail a mana arrow into their forehead.

—••——••——••—

Thankfully, it did not take Akeno too long to come back with my ginseng, our interaction was brief, just her handing me my ginseng and saying I was welcome to call her back anytime while winking at me.

Now then, why did I want a ginseng of all things rather than something like I don't know, a spell tome?

Well, the answer is right here.

Missions have been unlocked.

New Mission: Path of the Alchemist

[Path of the Alchemist]

As someone who has taken on the title of Alchemist, you need to be able to prove your ability with Alchemy. What better way to prove your capability than to create an elixir?

Requirement: Create an Elixir of at least minor rank.

Reward: [Alchemy Perk, [Alchemy Proficienty]

Yep, apparently this thing had quests. Or now it does. I am not certain whether it's because I have unlocked another part of this sacred gear or it is changing to suit me better but you won't find me complaining, not at all.

So, I chose ginseng, it is already by itself potent enough to produce top-of-the-line healing potions and I know an older ginseng would have had plenty of time to soak up all that juicy mana and it should be conceptually more potent if something like that even exists.

Anyway, now that the precious ginseng baby I got to work on creating the elixir, I could probably create several peak intermediate healing potions with this but an elixir is a far better option as I could create that with any intermediate ingredient but I already discovered ginseng could be used to make elixirs when I discovered all of its traits.

I put all of my focus on creating this thing, making sure to refine every single complimentary ingredient to the utmost I could. I was like a surgeon with a scalpel level of precision with my potion crafting.

It took me over 3 hours but finally, it was complete, in my hands was a potion that was bright red in colour and almost glowed.

[Minor Elixir of Vitality]

Well then, here goes nothing!

Without hesitation I downed the potion, it tasted like cherries, blood and electricity. Instantly I felt a heat spread throughout my body, like I was suddenly dunked into a warm bath.

It was particularly hot near my heart and groin.

After a few minutes the sensation dimmed, I could still feel a bit of heat inside me though.

You have consumed [Minor Elixir of Vitality]

You have acquired the perks: [Enhanced Vitality(Minor), [Enhanced Vigour(Intermediate)]

[Enhanced Vitality(Minor)]

Your body is filled with vigour and vitality. Increasing your health, regeneration and vigour.

[Enhanced Vigour(Minor)]

Your body is noticeably more healthy and virile. Increasing your virility and stamina.

Oi.

Oi.

It is not going down. I am rock-hard. What is wrong with this potion? Did I invent fucking permanent Viagra!? What the fuck man!? I am already dealing with teenage hormones hard enough and now you boost those fuckers!?

...Dammit I should have chosen something else.

I think... the mission reward can wait for a bit. I have... something I need to take care of.

A/N: Rias decides to make her move, Takumi finally creates some much-needed upgrades to his arsenal and the system is updated to now include quests inside of it.

Also, there is no escape from the fate of the hentai protagonist Takumi. Better embrace your fate.

What did you think about the developments in this chapter? What did you think about the Kelvin Catalyst and Rias?

Chapter 12: Peerage x Proposition

...It finally went down. It took me 3 hours to finally get it down. Thankfully the effect got less intense over time after taking the potion but that didn't change the fact that I busted it 5 times. It was a lot of man milk too, at least way more than I did in my previous in life in one shot.

Though now, I am faced with a moral conundrum.

...Do I use my potion-enhanced sperm as a potion ingredient? It has the fortify health attribute on it after all(I used Inspect).

...No, even I have limits of what I am willing to endure for the triumph of alchemy. I may be willing to mutilate my own body but mixing my cum into my drink is a step too far even for me. To the trash it goes.

Now that I had the time to admire the effects of my elixir I was quite impressed. I felt more energetic than ever, I felt healthy, to the point I wouldn't wake with a pain in my back anymore. I also seemed to have a minor healing factory and enhanced stamina.

Taking a knife I made a shallow cut on my hand and watched as it slowly started fading away. Truly a great investment. I mean the sex drive boost is going to suck with it pairing with teenager hormones but...

Well, this was DxD no? Maybe I will be able to actually score in this lifetime. If Issei of all people could then I should be able to.

Anyway, right now I wanted to take a look at the mission I just completed.

Mission complete: Path of the Alchemist!

Rewards

[Alchemy(Novice) Lv. 8] = [Alchemy(Novice) Lv. 10(max)]

[Choose one of the 3 perks]

1 - [Receptive Body]

Increases the effects of ingested potions by 25%

2 - [Natural Alchemist]

Increases the rate of improvement of all Alchemy skills by 25%

3 - [Resistant]

Increases the resistance against all negative effects of potions by 50%

After a bit of contemplation, I decided to pick Receptive Body. For resistant I could simply not drink harmful potions, that seems like something you shouldn't do in the first place. And as for natural alchemist, I had a reason for not picking that.

I could increase the improvement speed of my alchemy skills by using the ancient and overpowered skill of working harder and smarter.

Receptive Body on the other hand was a permanent multiplier on the power of the potions I use on myself, I can't achieve that by working harder or smarter so it was the obvious choice.

After confirming my choice it had already reached midnight, and my goals for today having been met including maxing out my alchemy I decided to turn in for the night.

Because I had a feeling that I would have to deal with some devil heiress' tomorrow. And I don't want to tackle that while also lacking sleep.

—••——••——••—

The first lesson had passed with no devil confrontation making me furrow my brows in confusion. Regardless, I used the free time to catch up on some much-needed rest, there is only so much tiredness you can offset with potions.

'Perhaps I should try learning mana concealment? It shouldn't be too hard to learn with meditation after all.'

As I was entertaining such idle thoughts I suddenly noticed someone enter the classroom making almost everyone gasp and the notorious and infamous pervert trio jump out of their seat.

"W-wow! What could one of the top beauties of this school Akeno Himejima-senpai be doing here!?" Said one of the perverts in the trio, you could put a gun to my head and I wouldn't be able to tell you what their name was.

Obviously, Akeno strode right over to my seat as I made no effort to acknowledge her, just giving her a cursory raise of the eyebrow as she stood in front of my desk and bent over it slightly, making her supple and large breasts jiggle heavily.

Shut the hell up lower body. I need the upper half to think not the lower one.

"Good morning Takumi-kun. Could I borrow you for a moment?" I raised my eyebrow again, of course, I knew why she wanted me to come with her but she didn't know I did so I would play the part.

"Sure, but what for Akeno-san?" I smiled lightly in an attempt to appear more friendly.

"Well, I need you to come with me to the Occult Research Club Building. It's about yesterday, the president(Buchou) wants to meet you." I nodded and got up from my seat, following her lead as I ignored the trio cry about something something me getting the attention of Akeno or whatever.

I wanted to just shoot them a smug smirk and say seethe but I am not that childish.

...Okay, I am that childish, I just don't want to appear that way in front of Akeno at the moment.

As we were walking I decided to breach the topic.

"So. Is the Occult Research Club president also a devil?" This got me a nod from Akeno who faltered slightly in her stride before picking up speed again.

"Yes, you seem to well informed Takumi-kun, Rias-buchou will explain when we get there." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, after finding out devils also live in this town I of course did my homework." After that, we settled into light conversation as Akeno led me around the frankly massive school. Occasionally some wind would pick up and make her skirt flutter, allowing me a peek at her black lace panties.

I did not even bother hiding my gaze and Akeno knew, giving me a knowing and seductive smirk whenever the wind picked up. I am half certain she was the one doing the wind at this rate.

She was teasing me, and it was working. One time she dropped "something" and bent over to pick it up from the ground, exposing her thanks to the tiny skirts of Kuoh Academy. Safe to say that the sight was very stimulating, but that smile of hers felt like it was challenging me.

But I still stared. I have no shame. Plus this is DxD, a little perversity is tolerated, encouraged even considering how far that guy was able to get with solely his obsession with boobs fueling his sacred gear.

At least it did not take too long for us to reach the clubroom, and if the fact that all other clubs get one room while the Occult Research Club gets a large ass building doesn't tip you off that something is up with them then I don't know what would, that building is the size of an entire smaller school.

Entering inside she led me to what I assume was the main clubroom, inside I saw multiple people sitting surrounding one girl sitting on a desk with her legs crossed with her hand propping up her chin.

She had long ruby-like red hair cascading down to her hips with gem-like teal eyes, she had a curvy voluptuous body and looks all supermodels would envy. She wore the standard Kuoh Academy Girls uniform that highlighted her curves and put her smooth long legs on display, her skirt riding up her thighs slightly, but not enough to expose her.

Rias Gremory. The sister of Lucifer and the Red Haired Princess of Destruction. The main heroine of High School DxD was before me.

"Good morning Katsuragi-kun. Welcome to my clubroom, my name is Rias Gremory. And as you might expect, I am also a devil like Akeno." Rias smiled in a charming manner as she introduced herself, I could tell that she practised this speech.

Well, I am a sucker for theatrics myself.

Like a magician, I clasped one hand over my chest as I gave her a bow, like one expect from a noble.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Gremory. I am Takumi Katsuragi, a humble magician and alchemist." I could see my manner impress them somewhat while Koneko just shot me a weirded-out look.

"Take a seat Katsuragi-kun, there is no need for formalities you can just call me Rias. Though, I would like to know Katsuragi-kun. What do you know about Devils?" Her gaze scanned over me as she shifted her legs slightly, exposing her sheer red panties slightly, thankfully my legs were crossed.

"Well, I know enough, like the fact I am talking with the princess of the underworld, also my apologies for not contacting you sooner about my presence here. But, I guess you did not bring me here for just chatting purposes right? You can also call me Takumi, I don't mind." I asked with my posture being the picture of calm as Akeno put some tea in front of me, her breasts jiggling heavily as she did so, breasts seemed to have their own law of physics in this world.

"Indeed, I will be blunt, I am sure you are acquainted with my peerage members Koneko my rook and Akeno my queen, and there is also my knight Kiba. You know what peerages are correct?" As she said that both Koneko and Kiba gave me a nod that I returned.

"Indeed, the pyramid slavery scheme of the underworld. I admit it was certainly an experience learning about it. What about it?" I said dropping the formal speech.

"I see, Takumi-kun, would you join my peerage and become a part of my family?" Rias said, resting her chin on the palm of her hand while leaning forward, her legs parted slightly to give me a glimpse of her panties as she gave me a captivating smile.

I smiled softly.

She really had zero fucking idea on how to recruit someone huh?

That was a terrible pitch.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"And why should I want to do that?"

"Well, I am glad you asked. Becoming a devil comes with a lot of benefits, you become virtually ageless, you have access to demonic power, can fly and understand all languages. Also, if you join my peerage I can support you in your Alchemy and research among other things."

I motioned for her to go on.

"I treat all of my peerage members like family so you don't have to worry about that. Besides if you join my peerage and become a devil one day you may even be promoted to a high- class devil yourself someday getting a peerage and noble title yourself. What do you think?"

Her tone slipped into a more sultry one as she mentioned the other things part while I simply looked at her unperturbed my face not changing the slightest.

Did she really think that little speech would convince me? Sure it might work on someone whose brain is in their lower body like Issei but not for me.

Honestly, I am a little disappointed.

"That sounds tempting, but I refuse ."

A/N: You know I had to slip in the I refuse there.

Takumi may or may not join her peerage but he for sure will make it worth his while by milking all the benefits he can. Rias is not prepared for recruiting someone like Takumi

who is actually experienced in negotiation and knows his own worth.

This is what happens when all of your peerage members just fall into the palm of your hand with minimal effort.

Also, the plot of DxD is getting near, so Takumi will have to prepared.

That aside, what did you think about this chapter? What is your stance on the Gremory peerage?

Chapter 13: Keikaku Doori

"Eh?" This seemed to throw Rias for a loop and I understood perfectly well why.

This girl had no experience in recruiting people or negotiations in general. Almost all of her peerage members she had found half dead while taking a stroll and the other one had literally been gifted to her.

And I wasn't someone down on their luck or mentally vulnerable for her to recruit with ease.

"Why should I join your peerage? I am an alchemist, so becoming ageless is not a big issue for me, I can probably figure that out in a year or two. The same thing goes for flight as well, not too complicated. Language is tough but I can live with it." I said, my voice tone staying consistent as I sipped the tea Akeno had placed in front of me.

Wow, that is quite a nice tea.

I could see that they were taken aback, I am not surprised, they see me as yet another student after all, Rias most likely as an inexperienced alchemist.

To put it bluntly, they did not expect me to be so self-assured.

Right here, I was not the weaker party in this negotiation, I was the one with the upper hand even though I was the no-name mage while she was basically the princess of the underworld.

It was simply because they were the ones asking me to join, they were the ones that needed to satisfy me and my conditions, not the other way around.

After a few moments of thinking Rias replied to me with a more serious face.

"Well, that... may be true. But you cannot deny the fact it would help right? Besides, if you join my peerage I will also offer you the full support of the Gremory family and as well as my protection, after all, it must be difficult to be a lone magician." I nodded lightly at her reasoning and offer.

To be honest, it was quite lucrative, the full support of an entire Devil Noble house as well as the protection of both Rias and by proxy Sirzechs, the very strong guy. That coupled with the benefits becoming was a very tempting and frankly one of the best deals you can get.

Sure, you lose most of your political freedom until you can get strong enough to say fuck the rules. But Rias was someone that truly treated her peerage as family and would throw away her life to protect them.

But.

She did not know I knew that did she?

"Tempting as it sounds, I still have to refuse. While support from you sounds lucrative I do not it's worth selling my soul for and becoming a slave in my process."

"That may be the case but Takumi-kun, I can assure you. I treat my peerage members as family, if you truly don't want to I won't force you to do anything out of you really don't want to." Well, I believed the truth of her words.

She goes really easy on her peerage members and treats them truly like family.

Perhaps even too easy, to the point she wouldn't force them to even try to use their absurd- shit bloodline powers like Akeno's light and Koneko's senjutsu with her own freedom on the line. Not that it would have helped that much.

I am almost certain if I joined her now, she would treat me as a family, even fight on my behalf if I needed her to after a few months.

Hell, fucking Vampire Femboy Gasper exists, the pinnacle of being straight up a useless waste. He has fucking time-stop Sharingan-level bullshit eyes and can't even be bothered to get out of a coffin to help save the woman who saved his worthless ass.

Forget Issei, Gasper is the true definition of being a useless unworthy sacred gear user.

That aside, if she is willing to let Gasper waste away in a coffin chances are she isn't really going to force peerage members to do anything.

But this isn't about her and her character. It is about how much I can get.

"Maybe, but how should I know that? I met you today, I met Akeno yesterday, I never met Kiba, and I certainly don't know enough about you to know that. For all I know you could be lying through your teeth and will go back on that the moment I become a slave."

Rias' brows furrowed in offence but I lifted my hand and cut her off.

"You could be right. But do excuse me for wanting to be cautious with a devil. After all, if our positions were swapped would you sell your soul to me?" This made Rias sigh. But after a few beats, she suddenly seemed to have recovered her resolve to recruit me.

"That may be true Takumi-kun. But that just means that I have to try harder to convince you to join my peerage, doesn't it? And I have to say I can be very convincing ." She said, uncrossing her legs and re-crossing them again, flashing me once more as I grinned.

Keikaku doori.

Gambling on Rias' pride and general naivety as well as her arrogance was the right move. Now that she feels challenged and needs me as a very talented asset, she will try her best to recruit me. Which is something to my benefit, I am in no hurry to join anyone so why not reap the profits of them trying to make me?

Her plans should slowly escalate as the date of her arranged marriage gets pushed further and further. And unlike cannon, if I have my way she won't have a convenient Red Dragon Emperor dropped into her lap.

She won't have any way out of her fate, except for me that is. I will remain as the only key she can get to resolve her issues with Riser. But I am not so easy to get, after all, I am not very enthusiastic to fight Riser.

She will try to sway me to her side more and more. After all, if I prove my abilities to her I will become the solution to all of her problems that she HAS to get. And who gets the most benefits from her desperation?

Me.

Hell, who knows she might even offer some drastic things in order to save herself and her peerage from that fate.

I would be eager to see that.

"Well, maybe Rias, that remains to be seen. However, I do have a proposition, one that benefits us both. How about making me your contracted magician? After all, I am sure it would be far easier to convince me to join your side after we get to know each other better right?" Rias' eyes lit up at the prospect while I held back a sigh.

She was supposed to be the one to offer that. She really did not think about contracting the lone and talented magician in front of her even though he was friendly and not too against joining her peerage.

"Ah, yes. We should do that! But before that, I would like to know you a bit better Takumi- kun. You know, formalities. Besides I really do want to know more about you." Well, I have no objections to that so I nodded my head. Rias on the other hand shared a look with her queen before dismissing Koneko and Kiba from the room for some reason.

"Now that we are alone, want to play some chess? While we are at it we get to know each other some more." I agreed, I had quite a bit of confidence in my chess ability.

"Well, how about we make it a bit more exciting? A bet. Let's say, the loser owes the winner a favour, nothing too big of course." Rias nodded as Akeno came back with a rather ornate chess set, the pieces looked to be gilded in gold. Fancy.

"Of course, I do wonder what you would ask for if you would win Takumi-kun, but don't expect me to go easy on you." Rias started her move with the white piece while Akeno looked from the side in curiosity.

We played at a relaxed pace, taking sips of tea in between. Also making idle conversation too.

"So, Takumi-kun, do you happen to have a sacred gear?" Rias said while moving her pawn to make space for her other pieces. She was not very good at probing for information too, she was a very honest person and that was also reflected in how she played chess as well.

"Hmm, I don't know. Do I? Maybe if you won you could use your favour to find out." This got me a slight pouting but also a challenged look from Rias as I grinned internally, I won't give her any information for now beyond the very basics. Enough to wonder but not enough to know.

"We will see who is the victor Takumi-kun." Well, I already have.

I would estimate Rias' chess skill to be around... the 1500 - 1550-ish range, which is actually rather good. But I also used to play chess semi-regularly in my past life.

My elo was around 1900.

She thought that she was probably winning but in reality, it was a mate in 3 for me.

And lo and behold.

Rias looked dumbfounded at the chess board while Akeno placed a hand over her mouth while also looking amused.

"Ara~ ara~ this quite unexpected." Akeno said with a giggle in her voice as Rias frowned at her. But turning back to me she sighed and gave me a sigh of resignation.

"Well, good game Takumi-kun. I did not expect you to be so good. Well then what is it that you desire?" Well, what I wanted was quite simple. I could ask for materials but I can always get those from the contract we would make. No, I would ask for something different this time to build our relationship more.

Plus I actually want to do this. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Not everything is about getting a material benefit.

"I want to touch your wings." I said with a serious expression as both Rias and Akeno did a double take.

"...Eh? Come again?"

"I really want to touch your wings. I have never seen a devil before obviously, and I am really curious about how wings feel like." Rias blushed a little while averting her eyes while Akeno chuckled.

"Well... I guess it's fine."

...

"Hmmh~ How long do you plan on doing that?" Rias said in a downright sultry voice as I stroked her wings, they seemed a bit sensitive and her voice certainly tickled my big man downstairs but I was really taken by her wings.

They felt both leathery and soft at the same time, like real bat wings but in a more comical demonic shape. I kept stroking her wings while Rias moaned slightly on the side.

"Wow, your wings are really soft Rias-san." This was a genuine compliment from me and Rias while she did smile in pride it was a bit crooked due to me still gently stroking her wings.

"Geez, I get it but how... mh~ how long do you plan on molesting my wings?" I grinned at her a little before letting go of her wings making her sigh in relief.

"I have seen enough I am satisfied. This was a very valuable learning experience, thank you for the learning opportunity." I bowed deeply as Rias looked bewildered as she retracted her wings.

"Ara~ ara~ how naughty Takumi-kun. You have got Buchou panting already." Akeno commented from the side as Rias shot a small glare at her before turning to me.

"Well, since you are done playing with my wings, will we talk about that contract now?" Rias said while hiding her blush.

This will be fun. I can already tell.

A/N: Takumi is a bit manipulative.

While he is not malicious toward other people nor is he needlessly cruel he will manipulate others to reach his goals. He has moral boundaries(not killing innocents) but even those are loose. That does not mean he isn't capable of caring about others, however.

And as for joining the Gremory Peerage, well that remains to be seen. But what is for sure is that he will milk her for all she is worth.

What did you think about the interaction between Rias and Takumi? Did you like it?

Chapter 14: Level Up

Nothing much more of note happened after that. We mostly fleshed out the deal and I have to say, it is certainly a lucrative one.

Basically, it boiled down to:

Rias will support me with materials such as spell books and materials from the underworld like herbs and stuff. In addition, I would be under the protection of Rias Gremory. So that no one would harass me.

Well, I obviously know that won't mean Jack shit for the fallen. But it didn't have to. In fact, it was better if it didn't.

Because it would be another surprise card in my sleeve.

Politics is a tool like any other as long as you know how to use it.

Anyway, my part of the deal was that I would lend my magical expertise to the Gremory peerage as it is needed. Basically a contracted handyman. I could give things to them in exchange for getting things from them.

And Rias is one generous gal, I don't know if this is to butter me up or she is just that good but she gave me an advance gift.

A book on basic magic theory and a book on basic spells.

Very, very useful for me. I finally had access to the basic and usual form of magic and after reading those books I finally got a feel for magic that wasn't a part of my alchemy.

It was quite simple really. You just need to memorize the magic circle, its composition, and the meaning behind the factors that go into the circle, and then be able to visualise the result while also calculating inputs.

There was a decent bit of basic spells in the books that I would memorise all of it later but for now, applying the basic magic theory I had learnt and I bit of meditation I cracked the method to conceal my magic power which was great.

Being enigmatic really helps your case more often than not. They won't know unless I want them to. Did my mana increase? Did it double? Did it triple? Did it gain another property like a draconic smell? Was I hiding my magic power all along?

They won't know which gives me a lot of wiggle to pull out bullshit surprises without garnering too much suspicion.

You have learned the skill: [Conceal Magic Power Lv. 1]

But for now, learning traditional magic wasn't my focus at all, after all, it did not get a bonus from my alchemy speciality. My main focus right now was improving on Alkahestry and with the basic magic theory I had learned about. And I was making a good amount of progress.

Essentially, Alkahestry circles would work by channelling the natural mana and lifeforce of the world into the magic circle and would imbue whatever was on the end of the circle.

Its function was to converge the flow of energy to a point and harness it. And it was through this that I realized what I could do, I could create... Philosophers stones.

Well, something of similar function, I don't know how to trap souls just yet. But using Alkahestry alongside my alchemy I convert the life force of a person into natural life force that can be harnessed.

I could convert their vitality into a little stone that I could later siphon the life force from too. Obviously, it is far far less potent by trapping someone's soul inside the stone which is why it isn't quite it but the mechanics line up. Technically I could create a regeneration amulet that can match even the regeneration of the Phenex with it just for a brief period of time of course.

Well, let's file that to the idea cabinet for now. I can revisit that when I find some volunteers who are willing to help me create that stone.

For now, I had a much more important thing to focus on. And that was levelling up my Alchemy skill, it hit its cap and it's the focal point of almost all of my skills, basically the stronger my Alchemy skill the stronger I am. So how do I increase the stage of my alchemy skill? Well, thankfully my system actually had an answer for me.

[Skill Promotion: Alchemy - Novice]

Skill Promotion condition: 0/3 Intermediate rank potions created.

This skill promotion window was more than welcome and its objective was one I could accomplish with relative ease.

Creating intermediate-rank potions was an exciting prospect for me. Since now that I had access to actual supernatural materials I could create even better potions. No longer would mundane ingredients hold me back.

See, I requested a book on the herbs and plants of the underworld from Rias and requested several herbs that seemed to be good potion materials from what I researched from the book.

And I have to say Rias was very generous with her pricing. If this is for buttering me up it is working somewhat. That or the girl is just naturally that generous toward people she cares about(I wonder if I am included on that list already?). I would have to pay her back of course but that didn't change how generous it was.

Anyway, after a bit of experimentation with the things I requested from Rias which were things like Ash Wood Roots which were roots of a tree unique to the underworld, Kavalm Grass which was grass that was often used in medicine etc.

The point is, I have now access to brand spankin' new potion ingredients. And I was already at a level where I could probably brew intermediate potions I just did not have good ingredients to make such a thing possible. You can only enhance the effects of an apple so much.

Now, however. Nothing was holding me back.

The first potion I created was a strength potion. Made from Groud Grass and blood. My blood to be exact, turns out blood is actually a very good alchemy ingredient, I also added some more ingredients to increase the potency and voila.

[Intermediate Strength Potion I]

When drunk increases the strength of the user by 50 as long as their endurance is above 25. Lasts 3 minutes.

I don't know how to quite create percentage potions yet but this was better than a percentage potion for me. Just drinking this potion would add to my strength the strength of 5 men added together, it is rather lacklustre but pretty good for my first time working on supernatural ingredients and a strength recipe. There is no reason why I shouldn't keep it on me in the case of an emergency.

Next.

[Intermediate Healing Potion I]

When drunk restores around 50 Vitality of health over a short period of time.

Not really that useful for me since my vitality did not exceed 30 by much but it is a major improvement compared to the previous iteration. The scope of healing is now noticeable for even supernatural beings. If I improve on the formula and create mana versions of it before beginning mass distribution I could probably instigate a war. I shall also keep this on me in the case of an emergency. You never know when you need a full restore.

And the next one was one that I was rather proud of.

[Intermediate Enhanced Sight Potion I]

When drunk significantly heightens the sight of the user.

Turns out, carrots are actually very good for your eyes. Supernatural carrots are even more so. Drinking this should give me sight equivalent to a hawk, it's a good experiment and test of how I can apply effects to individual aspects of a person like sight, taste etc.

And creating this had pushed my skill promotion to completion. And the moment I saw the notification it was like experiencing post-nut clarity, I felt like a fog was lifted from my mind as new ideas and possibilities flooded into my mind.

Skill promotion complete.

[Alchemy(Novice) Lv. 10 - MAX ] = [Alchemy(Intermediate) Lv. 1]

[Alchemy(Intermediate) Lv. 1]

Allows the creation of a wider range of potions including the creation of potions with magical effects and harnessing the more conceptual aspects of ingredients.

[Recipe: Magic Water]

[Improved Alchemy Formula]

Ahhh yes, this is truly the shit. Just from Alchemy reaching intermediate I could tell my efficiency in potion creating had risen to a new realm Especially with the magic water and the improved alchemy formula that would allow me to access far more of the alchemical value of an ingredient.

But before I experimented more on that I needed to get some more ingredients from Rias by trading my services with her. I did not need to exactly supply her with potions as one she did not have too much need of them and two what was expected of me was to lend them my expertise as needed and not be their potion cash cow.

Which served me, I did not plan to introduce my potions to the worldwide market just yet.

But putting the issue of potions aside for now, if a simple jump from novice to intermediate for alchemy had this much of an impact what about my other skills?

Will such a big jump happen with transmutation too? Since the skills complement each other will it be even more beneficial?

Now I need to find out. So, I should put my focus on getting my other skills such as transmutation to intermediate too. Maybe get mana arrow, meditation and reinforcement to the max as well, best to have a sturdy base and slowly build up rather than rush to building to the stars just for it to topple over before it even reaches the sky.

Also, this will help me increase my immediate strength faster than just focusing on potions. And god knew I needed the strength for what was coming up next.

Because there was only about a week give or take until cannon. So I cannot just sit around any longer. I needed to start making moves, no more remaining inactive.

I had plans already in place, of course, I knew what I needed to do. And currently, the biggest obstacle in my face were the fallen angels. They are a problem and they have to go, the same thing with their excommunicated priest army and Freed.

Alright then, time to start making some moves.

A/N: Alchemy is booming and so is the system, Takumi has started improving on his skill and uncovering more features of his enigmatic system. And we are finally approaching the start of the cannon.

Takumi of course has his own plans for the start of cannon and what he can do in that time. But before he gets to implementing any of his plans he has to get rid of the crow and pries infestation in town.

In your opinion, how should Takumi approach the issue of the Crows in town? Also, what did you think of the new system function and abilities along with Takumi's deal with Rias?

Chapter 15: A Harem King?

--

Option 1 is the winner. The fallen angels will be given to Takumi as servants.

--

Oh boy, back to high school, but this time with a goal in mind.

I needed to approach Rias about some potion ingredients and I also wanted to show her what my potions can do.

There were several reasons as to why I would want to do this. First of all, she is basically like my Patron currently, impressing her will make her invested in me, wanting to provide me with more resources to see what I could do with them and with that the hope of recruiting me.

I was like a CEO trying to impress the shareholders somewhat. That's what a magician's contract is about after all. There was also another reason.

Rias was no doubt close with her brother, you know, that guy.

Satan.

Otherwise known as the guy who is destruction incarnate who can destroy the planet. Lucifer.

Showing my abilities to her also helps me... advertise indirectly to one of the strongest people in existence. Although that won't be too beneficial to me since he is more of a president of a country than a god, it might be good to be known as the talented magician who can produce potions that Rias is contracted to in his eyes.

If I was in his place, I wouldn't want me to die as long it wasn't too much effort. So if he noticed me I could throw his name around recklessly as a protection for myself regardless of the consequences for him.

Ah politics, you love to abuse it. If you play by the rules set by the boring old people who are the main players you are just falling into their trap. You don't need hesitation or wariness, be bold and brash or else you will end up in the trash.

After all, the easiest way to win in chess was to just simply flip the board over.

Anyway, it would be good to receive some funding and resources is what I am saying. By the day I am getting more tempted to start my garden but unfortunately, I do not have the time to look after a garden.

Hmm, this reminds of me something, it would really help me if I had some helpers. After all, I cannot be bothered to use the valuable time I have to clean my house or tend to herbs.

What if I get some slaves? I mean servants or workers or whatever is fine honestly. I just need someone to take care of the other tasks for me while I focus on the important stuff.

Oh, wait, I have an idea on how I could get a servant, one that I don't even have to pay for that matter. Sure it may take some investment of time and charisma but.

There is a stray Nun who will be heading to this town sometime soon. And considering that by the time she arrives, the fallen that called her here will be super dead there will be no one to take of her, especially no Issei since that Boosted Gear is mine.

She was raised in a church, she is already bred and trained for unpaid labour already. As long as I give her a roof to live under, give her food and do not treat her like absolute filth.

And I mean ABSOLUTE filth, that girl's tolerance is off the charts considering she was dealing with fucking Freed daily and still being kind to him.

I would have to break her bones daily for her to be mean to me. Even then I cannot picture her getting angry, just quietly giving up.

Fuck, you have to be the absolute lowest bottom-feeding scum of this universe for even a saint like Asia to give up on you, even Satan wouldn't take you into his boiler room at that point. And my heart is not prepared for treating someone that good that bad, not even remotely.

That's for after taking care of the crow problem. For now, I carried my happy ass over to Occult Research Clubroom(Club building?) with my backpack as I simultaneously practised mana concealment. While going inside I noticed a cartoonish bat lingering on the roof prompting me to raise an eyebrow.

That's her familiar right? Seems awfully useful, I should get one myself, if I remember correctly in a week or two they visit the familiar forest, I should ask to tag along when the time comes.

Shaking my head I headed into the main room when I noticed some things.

1- The lack of Rias.

2- The sound of running water.

A glance over to the side confirmed it, Rias was having a shower. In the middle of school hours.

Why?

You know what, I am not even gonna question it, not my problem, not my shower. As I was about to leave feeling weirded out, I heard a voice call out from the shower.

"Takumi-kun? Is that you? Could you wait a second, I just have to finish my shower really quick I will be right there with you."

Well, I guess I am not leaving. Letting out a small sigh I sat down on the couch, listening to the sound of the shower. A small part of me was rather excited, the hormones and unusually large libido were whispering to my ear about how I was a boy waiting for a girl to finish her shower for him waiting in the room next door.

I won't sugarcoat it, I died a virgin. Extra virgin olive oil trembled before me. I never had the time to get a girlfriend nor a desire to get one since I did not feel like putting in the effort for it.

So I died as a kissless virgin loser baby. Maybe this is God's way of telling me I am maidenless by sending me to DxD, the world where harems and dreams come alive.

A harem huh? Wouldn't that be nice? I am just like any other man, just with a touch more ambition and mental illness. Of course, I would take the chance of a harem of beautiful girls if I could, I am a rather lustful person after all.

New Mission: Harem King Beginnings

[Mission: Harem King Beginnings]

It's in your blood, it's written in your fate, it's also now written on your sacred gear. You aren't one to fall behind, besides isn't lust and passion the spice of life? Why not enjoy what the world has to offer that's rightfully yours? Build your own harem.

But for now? Baby steps.

Requirement: Kiss 3 different girls.

Reward: [Bond unlocked, [Random Trait]

Well damn, I am certainly surprised but not confused. The big man upstairs clearly liked the concept of harems considering Solomon had the biggest harem of all. As for the quest itself, I say hell yes, it is so easy for such a great reward. Plus I am in DxD, as it said, I might as well enjoy myself.

As I was thinking Rias stepped out of the shower and the sight stunned me for a few moments. Her hair still moist from the shower almost glowed, her skin still slightly wet and the only thing she wore was a small bathrobe that clung to her frame in a really erotic way.

Okay lower body, I guess I can think with you for a bit.

"Thanks for waiting Takumi-kun. What was it that you came here for again?" Rias said as she sat down in front of me as I tried really hard to concentrate on anything but her breasts and hips.

"You aren't going to change out of that?" Hearing my words Rias blushed slightly and smiled.

"Hmm? Should I? Do you dislike it?" Ah, she planned this. Clever girl.

"Not in the slightest, I still do have a member after all. And I guess that means you don't mind me staring also." Rias giggled at that, somehow her breasts shaking with even that small of a gesture. Boob physics operates on a level beyond quantum physics I see.

"Maybe I want you to, who knows?" Rias leaned forward slightly, her robes giving me a deep look into her cleavage but still covering her nipples. I swear the only thing saving my image was my underwear that I now cast reinforce on.

"Well, don't mind me then. But I don't we will get anywhere by flirting. I did come with some important things in my bag after all." Rias blushed a little when I called her out on her flirting but turned slightly more business-like when I mentioned work.

"I thought you might want to see what the fruits of your funding have given result to. This right here is an enhanced sight potion. Drinking it should improve your sight massively for a few minutes. If you want you can try it." Rias looked at it and nodded her head, taking the bright green potion a look over before drinking it.

"Oh! You are correct Takumi-kun. It isn't even too disorientating. How did you even make this? I have never heard of something like this in the underworld." Rias said in wonder as she looked around which tickled my pride very nicely. I appreciated being praised like any other person.

"Asking a magician how they do their tricks? I would think you would know better Rias." Hearing this Rias looked at me with a dissapointing gaze before puffing up her cheeks and looking away.

"You know what I meant you dummy. Also, what about your potion?" Hearing that I raised an eyebrow.

"How much did the potion I just drank cost?" Wow, she really is a nice girl. Even thinking about the cost of the potions she just drank from me. I was willing to let it slip as a friendship cost too.

"Well, it was a bit expensive since it was more of an experiment and proof of concept. What? Thinking of compensating me for it?" I said, giving a more coy and playful roguish edge to my voice.

"Well, I can't just take your potions for nothing Takumi-kun. Is there something you want from me in exchange for it?"

Oh I-

"Other than molesting my wings." She added bluntly.

Bummer.

"Well then. I want to see your panties." That's right, I got no shame. God forgot to implement that feature in me. While I am not a hedonist I certainly love fun. And I love messing with people.

"What?" Rias was now the one blushing since I turned the tables on her.

"I said what I said. I want to see your panties." Rias exhaled from her nose cutely before standing up and slowly pulling the hem of the bathrobe up, revealing her red lace panties as I got closer, crouching my face just inches away from her crotch.

"T-Takumi isn't this a bit too shameless?" Rias said, her hands shaking a bit but I could tell she was a bit excited from the added bit of moisture at the bottom of the panties.

"Says the girl trying to seduce me in a bathrobe. Also red lace? How scandalous, but I like it." I said, tilting my head up and flashing her a grin and thumbs up before she brought her hand down in a chopping motion on me.

"Alright, isn't it enough now? Geez." She said as we both sat back down.

"Haha, sorry, can't help it, you are too cute when you are flustered." After the words left my mouth a blush overtook Rias' face as she turned her head away.

"...Baka." She cutely pouted and said in a voice I could barely hear.

Case in point.

A/N: What do you guys think about the dynamic between Rias and Takumi? Do you like their interactions together? What about Takumi's flirting skills, what do you think about those?

Please let me know, comments help motivate me to write longer and better chapters!

Chapter 16: UNLIMITED POWERRR!!!!

After my meeting with Rias, I managed to secure some more funding and more ingredients since I managed to impress Rias a fair bit, she was more than willing to bankroll my Alchemy addiction.

This time along with supernatural materials I found interesting I also requested a decent quantity of rather asinine to acquire mundane materials.

It would be good to explore the more... offensive sides of alchemy I can make use of since my coming-up operation requires it. I had a thorn in my side I needed to remove.

It was my time to act on the crow issue, first of all, the fallen angels. They are a problem and they have to go, the same thing with their excommunicated priest army and Freed.

I can't rely on the support of the Devils because one: I don't want to owe them and two: Because I cannot let them know about the extractinator in the basement. If I do it would be quite easy to correlate the guy who is supposed to have a sacred gear not having a sacred gear but the local magician having one after taking down the crows.

So it's my job to take them down, they haven't tried to honeytrap me with Raynare nor have I gotten struck by a stray light spear so I don't know if they will approach me on their own volition soon or at all.

But that's fine too, maybe even better. I can take the fight to them if that's what they want. If I make some very combustible potions I could pipe bomb them or I could make some poison gas to either kill them or smoke them out of there and when they do I will strike them with my mana arrow.

Well, that's the ideal scenario anyway.

But just in case that doesn't come to pass I want to get some extra firepower on my side. After all, hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

For that, I decided to focus on a very useful aspect of Alchemy one that I had yet to touch on for good reasons.

Poisons.

After all, I was not going to go into a building full of battle-hardened exorcists equipped with nothing but my Kelvin Catalyst and exaggerated swagger.

No, in the first place, there was no need to confront them head-on. After all, there is no such thing as exp to gain from killing people. So, why not approach the fight as an actual Alchemist?

How do you take on several dozen enemies cramped into a basement with a single exit and no access to outside air outside of that?

You are right on the money. Poison Gas.

They already walked into the chamber of their own volition, I just needed to give them the gas.

But what gas would I use? Well, actually it was rather simple.

Turns out, there are a lot of fruits such as cherries that contain cyanide. So, with Alchemy you can extract that bad boy and mix it with some other painful stuff like Nightshade and Hemlock and you get this bad boy in my hands.

A large glass ampule sealed shut transmutation with a shitton of light green and purple poisonous gas condensed inside that is simply begging softly and sweetly to be let out.

I enchanted the glass with reinforcement so that no random tumble could break the thing, you would need to chuck this real had against a hard surface to break it now.

And after that, I focused on something that I could use to take out the fallen angels or at least injure them to a great degree. For that, I decided to try out the new feature of Intermediate Alchemy. Using the more conceptual features of ingredients.

For this potion, I used these ingredients, Sodium, Gunpowder, Sulfur, Firebloom(Underworld-exclusive dlc plant) and magic water as the base.

I used sodium as the base, for a specific attribute it had. Reacting violently when being exposed to air. So what happens if you stack some more attributes such as Explosion, Fire, Explosion and Fire to that base?

Hehehehe.

[Intermediate Explosion Potion I]

A highly reactive and explosive potion that will spontaneously combust and create a large explosion when exposed to air.

DO NOT DRINK

In my hands was a potion that looked like a lava lamp on the inside. This little thing could blow my house to smithereens if I dropped the vial on the ground. Very good. I just needed to throw the potion where I wanted and it would go kabloom.

Quite expensive and annoying to make but definitely worth it for the fireworks.

Also, the magic water I used as a base that came from the Intermediate Alchemy was quite simple to explain. It was technically a potion in and of itself, but it was simply water that was

suffused with mana through an alchemy circle for a period of time until it became a stronger base for potions, allowing it to hold more alchemical properties and properly express them in an even more potent manner.

Basically, it was Water 2, Electric Boogaloo.

Tasted like week-old tap water with hints of iron and static.

Speaking of static, I needed something to take care of close range, for long-range I had my explosive vial and my mana arrow, for mid-range I had my kelvin catalyst, for close range I just had these hands.

And while those are certainly more than qualified as weapons I should have something just in case.

So I started working on a new... catalyst, that's what I call my transmutation gloves anyway. One that was far more focused directly on combat, unlike Kelvin Catalyst which is more for versatility.

Now, what was the element that was the best for inflicting the most damage that was available to me? Not fire or combustion since collateral damage and all.

And then it came to me, a lightbulb shone above my head in inspiration.

My research on Alkhestry and the manipulation of energy would be very handy for this.

From the moment I was able to tap into the manipulation of energy one question rang through my mind.

How can I turn this into a weapon?

And now it seemed like that question would be answered with this new fresh and funky inspiration I had.

You see, I seem to have found a very practical application of Alkahestry and Transmutation combined together.

Alright, a science lesson with Mr. Takumi kids. Why does lightning happen and how does it happen? Or just electricity for that matter.

The answer is simple, lightning or electricity happens due to the potential difference between two points causing electrons to move from the positively charged point to the negatively charged point.

Alright, science lesson over, I know no one cares about how you create lightning in the palm of your hands, they care about the fact that you created lightning in your hands.

The main point was, with some clever manipulation of Alkahestry and Transmutation along with 6 cans of energy drink and an all-nighter resulting in a complex matrix of transmutation circles(That was probably twice the complexity it needed to be but if it works it works) dyed along a enhanced silk black glove with yellow ink enchanted with the effect desired.

Looking at the notification I felt a slightly manic smile grace my lips.

[Transmutation(Novice) Lv.9] = [Transmutation(Novice) Lv.10(MAX)]

[You have created the item: Ampere Catalyst]

[Ampere Catalyst]

Through the combination of Alkahestry and Transmutation, this catalyst is capable of harnessing and manipulating lightning. Scales with Transmutation.

I held my gloved hand up, running mana through it and activating the alchemical matrix inside as arcs of electricity formed in between my fingers like snakes of lightning slithering around.

Running even more electricity through it the arcs of electricity got larger and more violent, I could direct the flow of electricity with my thoughts.

I have to do it, or I will never be satisfied.

I held my hand outstretched in front of me with my palm open as light crackled in my fingertips, and then suddenly the lightning was discharged from my hands, several arcs of lightning electrified and started breaking apart the wall as I laughed manically.

"POWER!!!! UNLIMITED POWER!!!!"

The power of lightning I harness with my very own hands ravaged the wall of my basement bringing a sense of catharsis to me. This was what I was born for, this was what mad science was invented for.

I could finally strike my enemies with millions of volts of lightning. The range is quite short, and the power falls off significantly with distance but it is lightning in my hands!

With my physical preparations complete I opened up my status.

Statistics:

Vitality: 33

Mana: 73

Endurance: 41

Strength: 39

Agility: 35

Magic Power: 81

Not too shabby, my body was about as fit as the normal human body could theoretically become relative to my size. My abs felt rock and you could grate cheese on them, my body as a whole was sturdy too, when I wear baggy clothes like my uniform it doesn't show but I am incredibly athletic and my body reflects that.

I would say I have made all of the preparations I need to take on the Fallen Angels. Poison, explosives, a variety of elemental attacks, strength potion, healing and mana potions. With the time I have left, there isn't much more I can do if I want to meet my deadline of taking the Boosted Gear before Issei gets noticed.

Alright, I am going to start on my mission today.

—••——••——••—

After spending the school day training my mana concealment and hanging out with Rias and the other Occult Research Club I was walking back home after school to take care of the final preparations to assault the church when I noticed something.

Something felt eerie. Everything was too quiet. If I knew something from my previous life it's that if you had a gut feeling you should trust it. If I trusted in my gut I would have never opened that pipe bomb.

Silently without making much noise, I reached into my school bag and discreetly wore my Kelving Catalyst on my left hand and my Ampere Catalyst on the right.

I also checked if all my potions were in my bag, internally ready to create a mana arrow the moment something off happened.

And then.

An iridescent barrier was erected around the area I was in. My instincts screamed.

Swish!* *Crash!*

I jumped and rolled away just in time to dodge a spear of light that was embedded deep into the concrete where I stood prior.

Shit.

It wasn't that they didn't notice me.

They just just didn't bother with the honeytrap. No...

They were waiting to ambush me.

I turned my head mechanically toward the fallen angel hovering ominously in the air with her crow wings spread, she was a busty older woman wearing a rouge business suit with a lot of cleavage holding a spear of crackling energy.

This was not very great.

[Emergencey Mission: Fallen Fight]

A/N: Sometimes in life, things do not go according to plan and sometimes life does everything in its power to fuck over that plan. But when life tries to fuck you you have to fuck it back harder, and harder Takumi will.

What did you think about this chapter? And what do you think about the fallen angels and what should happen to them? I would love to receive your input about it, your comments help motivate me!

Chapter 17: Fallen x Fight

[Emergencey Mission: Fallen Fight]

[Fallen Fight]

Unfortunately, the fallen have taken the fight to you instead of you taking the fight to them. But are you just going to let them go scot-free? Turn this ambush on its head.

Requirement:

Incapacitate or Kill the 4 fallen angels. The quest is failed if you receive outside help.

Bonus Requirement:

Incapacitate or Kill all exorcists under the fallen in less than 4 hours. The quest is failed if you receive outside help.

Rewards:

[Random Trait, [Random Seal]

Bonus Reward:

[Homunculous Creation Blueprint, [Sacred Gear Extraction Knowledge]

I discreetly read the quest from the corner of my eye as I had a standoff with the fallen angel glaring at me, slowly I stood up.

"So, what do I owe the visit exactly? I don't know what I did to incur the wrath of the fallen angels." I said shrugging my shoulders as I too casually reached into my bag and retreived a potion with such relaxed casuality that she did not take note of it and instead glared at me before gripping her spear tighter.

"I have been ordered to make sure you die. If you want to blame someone, blame god for giving you a sacred gear." She armed her spear and threw it at me as I sidestepped it and drank the potion in my hand.

[Intermediate Strength Potion I]

When drunk increases the strength of the user by 50 as long as their endurance is above 25. Lasts 3 minutes.

I felt the invigorating strength fill my body as I shot toward her 3 mana arrows came to life around me and started spinning.

"I think I'd rather blame you instead." I saw shock creep up her face as her eyes widened as I dodged another spear before creating supercooled mist in my hand and blasting her with it.

'Frost Veil.'

"Kyaaah!" Kalawarner shrieked as she was hit by a blast of supercooled mist that caused frost to build up on her body. And then I ducked and sen my spinning arrows at her.

Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!*

"Kuak!!" one of them hit her thigh, the other her midriff, and the last one her wings, putting a giant hole in them causing her to lose her balance and get launched by the power of the

arrows.

Swish!*

Just as I was about to give chase I heard the sound of something cutting through the air behind me and instinctively rolled, narrowly avoiding 2 spears that passed by me.

Great, emphasis on the ambush. I raised my head as I saw another 2 fallen come into the scene and created another set of mana arrows.

One was a petite girl with blonde twin-tails in gothic lolita attire and the other was a shady middle-aged man in a trenchcoat. Both had their wings on display as the little brat snickered.

"Wow, Kala-chan, you really struggled against this fodder? At least we found our target now." Snickered the blond bitch.

"For such a low-class creature you are quite troublesome." Sneered the crusty fucking old man.

Great.

The reinforcements arrive in the nick of time. I put my hands in my pockets as I addressed them casually since they seemed to enjoy monologuing arrogantly.

"Are you guys really sure want to do this? I am contracted with the Gremory family you know?" They sneered, I of course knew they did not give a shit but I wanted to set up my alibi and get an opportunity.

"Hah! Then it's even more reason to kill you right no-"

His words did not last long before I chucked a vial toward him, he smacked it away with his spear but it was already too late as the vial broke apart and started violently reacting with the air.

BOOOOOOMMM!!!*

A giant explosion the size of a small missile swept through the air and hit them head-on, drowning out their shouts as they were sent flying.

Goddam, that thing almost made me deaf. That must be at least a mid-tier level of power contained in that little potion. But choosing to not dwell on my thoughts I instead gave chase to the fallen who were hit by the explosion. When I reached them they looked worse for wear, the middle-aged man looked slightly cooked as he tried to bring out a spear and shoot it toward me, but I intercepted it easily with my spinning mana arrow meeting it halfway.

I ducked under another spear he shot out and reached his body.

"Take a nap old man." *Crackle!* *Bzzzt!*

My palm met his midriff as I released a wave of lightning coursing through his body like a roller coaster, causing him to freeze up while the millions of volts cooked his body.

Woosh!* "How dare you!"

I leaned back just in time to avoid a spear headed straight for me, it instead grazed my chest, causing me to hiss in pain. It felt like a red hot knife gouging my body.

"Yes yes, how dare I defend myself?" I said in irritation, it was these bastards who were ambushing me. For me right now, they were nothing more than enemies, not people, just simply a target to overcome.

I looked over my opponent, Mittelt's dress was completely torn away unlike Donald who had his clothes intact. Putting her body on full display with burns marring her body.

She held a violet spear in hand and shot it toward me, poor aim. I intercepted it with my own mana arrow before rushing her.

"You look a bit burnt. Allow me to help." Supercooled mist gathered in my palm as I unleashed it like a blast at Mittlet who tried to dodge by going in the air, it managed to catch her legs which made her stagger.

"Kyah!" She tried to flap away but I suddenly gripped her ankle. Her body was strong, maybe even stronger than mine but in a burst of adrenaline, I decided to run reinforcement through my arm. Feeling the strength from the potion and the reinforcement fill me I dragged her from the sky, electrocuting her as I did so.

"Who said you can run away?" Using my immense strength at this moment I swung Mittelt like a toy as I threw her against a tree, shattering it with her body.

Then suddenly.

Swish!* *Stab!* *Stab!*

I felt two spears stab through my left shoulder and right kidney. I craned my neck powering through the pain to glare at the leatherbound bitch that just stabbed me, she had black hair and purple eyes, and next to her was Kalawarner.

I got caught.

"Maan~ I can't believe you guys needed my help with this. Did you really let a measly human walk all over you like that?" Her smug voice grated my ears. Without a word said my bloodshot eyes scanned over her body.

My eyes locked onto hers as I pulled out the spears with my bare hands uncaring as to how they burned me while gritting my teeth hard enough my gums bled, this made her furrow her brows.

"How scary~ is that supposed to be your last stand or your dying whimper human?" I did not care for her words as I still glared into her eyes, this time she started to sweat.

What filled my veins was now ice-cold rage that burned white hot.

Before this was just business, they simply stood in my way and I needed to take care of them.

Now?

It was personal.

"It's Raynare right?" This shocked her a little as I pointed at her.

"...How do you know that?" Raynare looked at Kalawarner to see if she told me her name but then I moved. Reinforcing my entire body out of instinct as I shot out like an arrow.

"Start praying." "!!!"

Because even the dead god you abandoned would be more merciful than me.

She hastily conjured a spear and threw it at me but I ducked under it, at the same time I created a wave of electricity that I shot out toward her, catching her off guard and stunning her a little with paralysis.

The moment I arrived in front of her I created a mana arrow and shot it into her foot before using my enhanced strength to nail my reinforced electrified fist into her gut, sending her staggering back, she was tougher than the others, it felt like punching a wall of meat.

But as she was stunned I changed my focus onto Kalawarner, sending 5 hastily crafted mana arrows toward her as she failed to dodge them, only able to put up a flimsy barrier as she was pelted. Taking advantage of it I slammed my fist down, the lightning travelling across the ground until it connected with her, paralyzing and cooking her.

Swish! *Crack!*

I leaned out of the way as Raynare tried to stab me with another spear, missing and hitting concrete instead. Weaving around her I grabbed her arm and released lightning like a superpowered taser.

"Guaaahkkk!" Even with that voltage, she didn't go down but it didn't matter, because she was stunned enough for me to lay it on her. I yanked on her arm, bringing her body down before I slammed my knee into her chin, producing a meaty thud as he head snapped up.

Bam! * "Puhk!"

I followed it up with another hook with my lightning-clad fist, I was running low on mana but...

What will run out first? My mana or her unbroken bones?

I am willing to find out.

Shifting my feet I put all my weight into a kick straight into her side, then turned that into another knee strike. Every hit followed into one another like a chain as I wailed into her, it felt like striking a wall of meat but I could see that she was feeling the pain from the strikes too.

Finally, I swept her legs as she wavered, having been struck with lightning for so long and enduring my beatdown, once she lost her balance I followed it up with a heel kick to her done that knocked her out.

Huff!* *Huff!*

My lungs burnt from exhaustion. My body hurt everywhere, I probably tore all of my muscles but now all of my enemies were knocked out cold. Wincing from the pain I dragged myself over to my bag and grabbed the intermediate healing potion before downing it. Almost instantly the wounds on my body started closing. Then I drank the Novice Mana Potion X and felt a decent chunk of my mana recover.

Now that I did not feel like I was going to die at any moment now I went out and gathered out the unconscious fallen. Switching to the earth transmutation gloves in my pocket to bury all of their limbs into the solid ground.

Of course, since they were vulnerable now I could just kill them but no. Since I already managed to subdue them without killing them(probably, the guy wasn't moving very much) doing it now would be a waste.

But.

I really am weak huh?

I only managed to take out a handful of fallen angels because they were inexperienced and didn't know how to fight. And I nearly died in the process.

Now that wouldn't do.

I need to get stronger.

A/N: As some of you may have realized Takumi is doing exceptionally well in this fight, he is skilled at least to a degree in fighting and wasn't just floundering around. I wonder why he is so casual and skilled at fighting.

That aside, what did you think about the fight and how Takumi handled them? And what do you think should happen to the fallen angels now? Be sure to let me know, your comments help motivate me to write.

Chapter 18: Coming Together

"Good morning Miss Fallen Angels!" I greeted the fallen angels who just woke up with cheer in my voice as they all looked up from where their limbs were buried. I woke them up by blasting them with freezing cold mist, as soon they regained their bearing Raynare started struggling.

"You! How dare you! Do you not kno- Gyaaaaah!!!!" *Bzzzzzzt!*

I put a stop to her struggling with a controlled shock until she stopped being able to resist under the scared gazes of Kalawarner and Mittelt(Donald was still knocked out or dead). I walked up closer to her and knelt down, grabbing a fistful of her and pulling her up to meet my eyes.

"I suggest you stop your rabid yapping you little bitch. Because if you keep struggling like some dog, I will just treat you like one. You will speak when spoken to alright?" Raynare trembled a bit, averting her gaze from mine before...

Ptui!* "I am a noble fallen angel, you think you would scare me like that!?"

She spat on my face.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

"Alright." I released her fistful of hair and stood up.

Stomp!* *Crack!*

I reinforced my leg and stomped her head into the ground, cracking the concrete. Twisting my leg to dig far face more into the dirt.

"Want to run that by me again?" I lifted my foot to give her some air.

Raynare lifted her head with blood dripping down her face just to see a large mana arrow spinning violently inches away from her making her shriek. Beyond the mana arrow, she could ice-cold eyes peering into her soul.

"You seem to be under the impression that I may be afraid to kill you. That is not the case, you being alive is simply a convenience. And if that convenience turns out to be an inconvenience instead..."

"Hyaaah!!!" *BOOOOM!!!*

The mana arrow was released, missing her face by a hair, gouging the ground next to her head instead.

"Do you understand?" *Nod!* *Nod!*

Now afraid for her life Raynare nodded, not daring to speak as she trembled.

"Good girl, seems like you can learn after all. Now what about you two? Will be obedient or will I have to perform another demonstration for the class?" I tilted my head, prompting them to quickly shake their heads, I am so proud, they learn so fast.

—••——••——••—

After I was done yanking the information out of the fallen angels I learned some important.

Firstly, it was apparently Azazel was the one who sent the 4 stooges to my doorstep and told them to take care of any sacred gear users they find. Which I was rather surprised by, I did not really get the "Kill all sacred gear users" vibe from Azazel especially since he had a team of them.

Secondly, they had 25 excommunicated priests including Freed waiting for them in the basement of the old church which I also learned the location of from them. They were apparently waiting for them in the basement.

By the time I was done siphoning all of the relevant information from their mouth, I felt 4 presences enter the barrier these crows had erected since I was constantly using sense mana ever since I encountered them.

Turning my head I saw the Gremory peerage with Rias in the lead come here, and upon seeing me standing on top of Raynare, bloodied up with 4 fallen angels of varying levels of health they wore shocked faces.

While I on the other hand only felt mild distaste.

'You will have our protection.' -My ass.

While I was thankful they couldn't interfere that did not mean my disappointment was any less. But I guess a situation like this could be benefited from too.

"Takumi-ku-"

"Wow, how fashionably late. What, was the giant barrier hard to notice?" I gave her a hard, disappointed stare sarcasm dripping from my voice like venom.

"Sorry, it took us a bit to notice the barrier and mobilize. Are you hurt? And what are fallen angels doing here?" Rias winced and asked. As if the holes with blood on my uniform screamed I am fine.

"Why yes I was, thanks for noticing. Allow me to introduce you, these three bastards are the Fallen Angels that were sent to kill me on the orders of Azazel for some reason. So I had to fight for my life a bit. So much for your protection. " I intentionally muttered the last words quietly enough to make it seem like I didn't want them to hear but loud enough for them to hear as Rias flinched.

I admit, while I don't enjoy purposefully hurting them like this it was true that she was the one who messed up here and I had a goal. Guilt is a very strong motivator.

"Wait, Takumi-kun, you managed to take down these fallen angels all on your own?" Akeno said in surprise as I made a 'Yeah, duh' gesture.

"Well, I don't see anyone else here do I? On a serious note, yeah, I did." Hearing my words Akeno nodded, giving me a concerned expression before looking at the fallen angels on the ground with barely disguised spite. Right, daddy issues.

Staying silent for a few more seconds Rias turned to the fallen as a red-black aura started enveloping her making her look like a true demon. I felt a shiver go down my spine at the sheer amount of mana she had and the sheer danger she emanated from that power of destruction.

"Regardless, you four. You invaded my territory and tried to kill my friend. I hope you are prepared for the consequence of this." She said as she raised her hand, gathering power of destruction on it, preparing to blast them to kingdom come before I raised my hand which made her stop.

"Maybe not do that? There is a reason why I didn't kill them myself you know? Let's not escalate a scuffle to a major political incident by executing the fallen here. Why not hand them over to Sona's sister? Isn't she the Satan of foreign affairs?" The logic in my words made Rias blush in embarrassment as de-powered herself.

"A-ah, right. Akeno, can you contact Sona for me?" Rias addressed Akeno who nodded and got to work while I sighed, drawing Rias' attention to me as I started walking away.

"W-wait, where are you going Takumi-kun?"

"I have some personal business to deal with, I hope you can deal with sending them to Sona unlike the fallen in the first place . See you later." Saying that I left while the words were stuck in her throat only getting a muted ''I got it.".

Guilt is a very useful thing, because people like Rias are people who are really keen on paying others back and have a large sense of responsibility, especially toward people who they are affiliated with. This guilt was a seed I could sow later.

Of course, the moment I was out of sight I started sprinting since I did not want to break the mood. Where was I sprinting to? My house of course. Once I was there I gathered the rest of my supplies before heading to the abandoned church as fast as I could.

—••——••——••—

Alright, poison gas? Check. Catalysts? Check. Recklessness? Check.

Yep, I would say I am just about ready to start murder on a mass scale. Or do only a few dozen qualify for mass? Or since they are at a church does it still qualify as a mass? Well, murder is murder, no need for a fancy label.

I approached the church slowly making sure to make as little noise as possible, mana sense would not help me much since none of these fellows were magicians as far as I know.

I have to be especially wary about Freed, while he may be weaker than the fallen he is way more experienced in killing people and likes to monologue AFTER he has dismembered you and not before.

Basically, the chances of him being my undoing were higher than a fallen angel. The good thing is he shouldn't be too much stronger than me nor should he have the annoying durability the fallen angels had.

Fallen may not be vulnerable to electricity but let me tell you humans sure are.

Quietly, I opened the door to the church to be met face to face with Freed... pissing on a church pew?

You know what? He is Freed, I am not surprised.

"Huh!? Who the fuck are you!? What the fuck are you-"

Well, this just makes my job easier. I raised my hand toward him.

"Unlimited Powerrrrrr!!!!!" *Bzzzzzzt!* An arch of lightning flew from my hands and shocked Freed who was trying to pull his pants up, after sufficient shock I stopped shocking him just before he died, causing his unconscious body to slump down and his face to land on the piss-soaked pew and ground.

Taking his non-responsive body I tied it up outside with some rocks transmuted into cuffs around him. I left him alive to minimize variables for the future. Whether this works or not I don't care much, it's not like not killing him will hurt me too much.

After I was sure he was secured I made my way back to the church before moving the wooden cabinet away to reveal the entrance to the basement. Good.

I retreived the ampule from my bag before chucking it as hard as I could down the stairs.

Crash!* "What happened!?"

Hearing the exclamation of surprise from the people inside I knew my job was done as I used my catalyst to seal up the entrance by fusing the ground together.

A minute later I heard people banging on the now completely sealed-off solid entrance with all their might, even if they managed to crack it I just repaired it and after a few minutes of the struggle slowing down all noise died down in the basement.

And, as confirmation.

You have completed the Emergency Mission: Fallen Fight

You have completed the bonus objective

Rewards:

[Trait: Enhanced Vessel]

[Enhanced Vessel]

Your body is far more adaptable and tolerant towards foreign factors.

[Seal: Preservation]

When this seal is put on an item the rate at which it decays is slowed down drastically.

[Homunculous Creation Blueprint]

[Sacred Gear Extraction Knowledge]

"Hahahhahahhahahaha!!!"

My sacred gear was really throwing me a bone here. All of the things here were geared toward alchemy and my immediate goals, hell the middle two were outright telling me what to do here. And it already uploaded the relevant information I was rewarded with into my brain, the knowledge itself was quite extensive, enough to write a whole book and more in fact.

But I couldn't help but smile in anticipation, my efforts were rewarded plenty.

I wore a gas mask(that I bought while shopping for ingredients and enhanced with alchemy) and moved to the basement, looking in glee at the mass of corpses scattered around.

Someone else would have seen corpses.

All I saw were ethically unquestionable research subjects and alchemy materials.

I started gathering the corpses in one corner and once I was done doing so I put the new seal I acquired and put it on each body by drawing with my mana as if it was a pen on the corpses then activating the seal.

Then I looked at the giant elaborately engraved cross in the middle of the room.

The sacred gear extraction machine.

Putting a hand on the smooth surface I cackled almost like a hyena but I couldn't contain my excitement.

This thing would be the thing that would turn me from an Alchemist to be beckoned to a force to be reckoned(with).

Oh yeah, it's all coming together.

A/N: The fallen fiasco is finally dealt with, and Takumi continues to stack the pieces in his favour. From Rias' perspective, he is her magician who got attacked right under her nose while he was under her protection, making her feel responsible and guilty. I wonder how these feelings will play out and if they will backfire on Takumi in any way. I truly wonder.

Also, some of you may have noticed that the things the Sacred Gear is giving MC are a bit too specific and convenient. And no, that is not purely because of plot armour, it is intentional.

Anyways. What did you think about this chapter? I would love to hear about it. Especially on how Takumi handled this.

Chapter 19: Path of Innovation

~Rias Gremory~

This was bad.

In fact, it was very bad.

She had messed up. She had messed up big time.

One day, everything is going fine, chatting with Takumi, helping him with the supernatural side of the world and trying to subtly convince him to join her family and then bam.

Fallen Angels that she didn't even know were in her town suddenly attacked Takumi, nearly managing to kill him before he managed to handle them before she was able to arrive there to help him.

Takumi, the person who she made a contract with. One of the largest factors in that factor was that HE was under HER protection. She was responsible for protecting him.

Yet he was attacked, nearly killed, in HER territory. The territory she was supposed to rule as the king of. Yet he was attacked right under her nose by Fallen Angels who were camping here for a while .

There were no words strong enough to express her frustration. She felt like she was slapped across the face and then had cold water dumped over her.

And then after that, when she was about to rashly execute the fallen angels, probably causing more work for her already overworked brother and even more so for Sona's sister. She was stopped from doing that by the man she failed to protect in the first place.

After all of that, even she would lose confidence in her competence if she were in his shoes.

To make up for that whole fiasco, she interrogated(interrogation in the lightest term, they spilt the beans the moment she asked) the fallen again herself after Takumi was nowhere to be found and she was baffled.

Takumi, who was already new to the supernatural side of the world, was able to beat 4 fallen angels by himself. Apparently skilled in martial arts enough to one-on-one fallen angels, capable of harnessing ice and lightning with ease, moving the ground, and even creating potent explosives in vials.

He was a prodigy, one that was either rapidly improving or was already strong and very good at hiding it.

Even Sona's sister, Serafall Leviathan was impressed with his feats and wanted to go see him herself but he was nowhere to be found at that moment. So she just took the hostages for negotiation and left with the promise of seeing him for herself later.

Speaking of nowhere to be found.

He was nowhere to be found.

Literally, she hadn't seen him in 3 days.

If she was frustrated before she was now downright anxious. Because it seemed like Takumi did not want to show his face anytime soon.

She was scared, rightfully so, they weren't able to find him. He wasn't in his house and he had called in sick for school several days and they let him on the understanding that he needed to recuperate.

But it was now almost like he had ghosted them.

To Rias, it seemed very likely that Takumi could have decided they weren't worth his effort nor attention since they couldn't even hold their own end of the bargain. He may have just decided to pack his bags and quietly leave.

Not only was her dad pushing the marriage harder than ever but she may have even fumbled the greatest bag she could have gotten.

Thankfully, it seemed like that wasn't the case for now. He may also be avoiding them.

Regardless, that frustrated her to no end. She wanted to at least meet face to face to at least talk about it like adults, but Takumi was just hiding from her. She couldn't even apologize.

She could only hope he hadn't made up his mind. She actually really did like him.

She wondered what he was doing.

—••——••——••—

~Takumi Katsuragi~

I am mad scientist. It's so cool. Sunova bitch!

At this point in time, you could put an emphasis on the mad part baby. I have been living in a dirty church next to 20 dead bodies for the last 3 days.

But you can't spell innovation without sacrifice. Well you could, but then you wouldn't be a mad scientist.

What was doing? What wasn't I doing? I spent hours upon hours perfecting my formula. My system gave me the knowledge I needed to not so safely extract sacred gears. And with that knowledge, I also learned why it killed the extracted party.

It was lifeforce baby! At least for an unawakened sacred gear that is. When the sacred gear is awakened it is attached to the soul and after a balance breaker, it is fully a part of it. Before it is awakened it just stays dormant, loosely connected to the soul. Taking it out would hurt but wouldn't kill you with just the soul injuries.

The problem is, when you rip out the sacred gear, the lifeforce is kind of ripped out along with it so after the intense pain, the victim gets real sleepy and eventually falls asleep never to wake up again since their life juice is run out.

So, if you were to, I don't know. Supply them with enough life force during the procedure they should be able to survive.

I will be honest, I am not innovating the surgery at all. I am not turning an 18th-century into a 21st-century one, I am just slapping a medic gun over the operating table so that the patient is at least alive enough after the surgery.

But you know what they say. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

So I spent some time creating a new potion and a method to incorporate Alkehestry into the ritual to keep them alive. Reaching this solution.

I would have several bottles of condensed lifeforce created by adding a bunch of health and vitality potions and basically reducing them using Alkahestry until all that is left is pure lifeforce(unsuitable for any form of consumption or use). Then you incorporate Alkahestry into the extraction ritual circle so that the condensed vitality you put on the table helps probably not kill the person you take the sacred gear from.

Hopefully anyway. At this point, I am willing to gamble. It is too close to canon for me to be willing to put more effort into this. So Saji better hope this works.

Anyway, it should be time to grab my victim.

—••——••——••—

Alright time to finally initiate my plan, first, I should try getting the absorption line, it is far weaker and consequently has way less of a chance of popping me like a balloon in the case of something going wrong with me taking it.

Besides, I remember him being recruited around the same time as Issei, so I can't risk him being recruited before can take that nifty little thing from his hands.

So I stalked Saji outside school. Waiting for my chance to strike as he reached somewhere that was decently secluded, that was my chance.

"Ghak!* *Thump.*

I walked up behind Saji slowly before giving him a controlled shock, just enough to knock him out but not enough to permanently damage him. Then I forced open his mouth.

After dumping the sleep potion that would ensure he would stay asleep for at least 2 hours I dragged his body with me to the abandoned church, since I was at this point beyond the peak of what a human could achieve it was rather easy and quick to haul him like a human-shaped sack of potatoes.

Once that was done, I strapped up to the sacred gear extraction machine. After that, I started up the machine, hoping for Saji's sake that he would survive as his body trembled violently, he moaned in pain in his sleep as the process continued for over a minute.

It was certainly an experience to see a man moan in pain for a minute straight strapped to a cross-shaped machine next to dozens of exorcist corpses.

Slowly, a purple light drifted down from the machine as I touched it with my hand in wonder, the light seeping into my skin as I felt it connect with me.

Immediately I felt the sensation of being immensely full, like eating way beyond your limits until your stomach was pushed to the limits. I writhed in pain on the ground as I saw multiple notifications pop up in my vision.

ERROR log:

Noticed the addition of an additional sacred being added to the user's vessel. Conflicts detected.

ERROR

Initiating self-repair...

Converting karma...

System Update complete!

You have achieved Sub-Species Balance Breaker: Path of Innovation.

Changed [Receptive Body] and [Enhanced Vessel] to [Path of Innovation]

[Path of Innovation]

Your being constantly innovates and aims to ascend even further. You constantly adapt to changes and so will your body. Allowing you to consume, digest, evolve and change beyond the limits that others cannot.

I rose up from the ground, my legs still shaking but the smile was still on my face. I felt the power inside me settle, I felt laughter bubble up in the back of my throat.

You have assimilated the [Absorption Line]

[Absorption Line] has been added to [Iter Melius] abilities have been adjusted accordingly

You now have access to the abilities of the [Absorption Line, they can be found under the abilities tab.

-[Absorption Line]-

One of the four Vritra sacred gears, also referred to as the black Dragons Pulse. It allows the user to manifest the sacred gear and create multiple power lines that can be used to absorb, transfer, and convert energy or simply be used as physical restraints.

[Absorbtion Line Lv. 1]

You can manifest absorption lines that can absorb, transfer, and convert energy. The durability of the lines and their potency is determined by magical power and proficiency.

Reading the notification I couldn't wipe the grin from my face. I felt the power inside of me, I knew how I could use it. I extended my hand in front of me. And then an ethereal blue cord

was shot out, sticking to the wall.

Crumble!*

With a mighty yank, I pulled out a chunk of the wall. Then I shot another cord into the ceiling and started reeling the cord back, I was pulled up to the ceiling like I had a grappling hook.

Reeling myself back down I landed back on the ground. I did it. I managed to steal his sacred gear, I now had two sacred gears. I was now the owner of the absorption line.

And soon enough, the Boosted Gear too.

I could barely stop myself from trembling in excitement.

But before I get carried away, I should really take care of this guy huh?

I pulled the body of Genji off of the crucifix. Fortunately for him, he was still alive, somewhat. I forced some more potions in his mouth such as recovery potions before dragging him back to town and setting him down on a bench.

Since I kind of not really felt bad about it I decided to give him some compensation for the utterly generous gift he gave me.

I bought a porn magazine and placed it on his lap for a little surprise for when he woke up since I was such a great guy.

And now that I was done getting Benji's sacred gear, why not go ahead and take the other one while we are at it?

That's right, it's time to get my hands on that beautiful Boosted Gear.

A/N: And finally it has paid off, Takumi now has access to the Absorption Line and its abilities and soon he will have the Boosted Gear in that arsenal too if everything goes according to plan.

All the while Takumi is performing his mad science however Rias is wondering in guilt how she can make it up to him. She thinks he is purposefully avoiding her while he is just making plans for absolute power.

What do you guys think of the balance breaker by the way? This isn't the true balance breaker, by the way, it's one it spontaneously developed to cope with the new sacred gear. Other than that, what did you guys think about this chapter?

Chapter 20: Longing x Longinus

While I wanted to hurry up and get the god killer 9000 on my hands right this moment I still had to make preparations. After all, haste makes waste. And god knows I would rather shove a jar up my ass than to waste the motherfucking Boosted Gear.

That thing was the key to my future, it was what would make or break everything. I was not going to mess it up.

So I went back to the church and checked everything over 3 times. Created some more condensed vitality before going to Issei's house. It was night already, and as I arrived in front of his house I gave myself a final moment to think.

Am I sure about this?

If I stop right now, the plot can continue without too much interruption. Issei will be his perverted but determined self and save the universe or something along those lines.

By taking the boosted gear here, I will be putting a stop to that. Which means if I take it here, I am ready to shoulder the responsibility that he shouldered.

If I take this, it will now be my job to fix everything that will go wrong, it won't be Issei who has to fight gods and whatever thingamajigs, it will be me.

Hah, bring it on.

A man's dream will never die.

Either I will exceed Issei, the original protagonist or I will damn sure die trying to.

There isn't much left to think. I walked up to the door, gathering moisture into a small ball of water that I fit into the door lock before freezing it and turning it, unlocking the door with a makeshift ice key.

"Huh? Who was that?"

Hearing their front door open the Hyodou couple got up from the living room couch to investigate, and seeing the strangely dressed young man Miki and Gorou were surprised.

"Wha-! Who-"

Snap!*

"Mental Stun." I snapped my fingers in front of me as Miki and Gorou suddenly stood still with dazed expressions. This was a basic mind control spell that would make the target dazed and basically unconscious for up to half an hour. The target would also forget around a minute of memory before the spell.

Of course, it couldn't be used on anyone with above-average mana but it was a good beginner spell that was mandatory for any supernatural to know until they learn better mind control. I learned how to cast it just for this situation.

Yes, I did get a skill for mind magic too.

[Mind Magic(Novice) Lv.1]

Your proficiency in mind magic. The higher the proficiency the stronger and more complex mind spells you can cast.

Spells: [Basic - Mental Stun]

I will be honest, I am very, very interested in mind control magic. Call me a creep or whatever but having control over someone else's mind can be a very useful thing.

Or even better, your own mind.

Well, that is another project for later. Because right now I was rock hard for one thing and one thing only, and that was the Boosted Gear.

I walked up the stairs and advanced to where I felt the very, very faint mana signature coming from. Without bothering to knock I opened the door.

"What the-! Knock before you open the-! Wha-?" Issei's were stuck in his mouth as he hurriedly pulled up his pants and shouted at the door expecting his parents to be there but instead, he was met with his classmate he didn't even know the name of.

Before he could freak out, however.

Snap!*

I stunned him before grabbing his arm and sending a non-lethal amount of electricity coursing through his body to hit nature's off button. This was rather awkward, I expected some wholesome kidnapping, I didn't expect to just walk in on the man yanking it.

...Well, I guess that's on me for expecting him to be doing anything else.

Shaking my head I held his collar and started dragging him back to my lair, before long I was back at the old church, strapping the young man to my inhumane extraction machine. Setting up the bottles of condensed vitality, linking everything to the ritual circle and finally...

"Kronk! Pull the lever!"

The machine started up, releasing light as Issei moaned from the pain but still remained unconscious as it persisted, even longer than when I did Saji in fact, which was concerning.

Well, time for some damage control, good thing I got the Absorption Line first. I extended my hand, shooting out an ethereal line that stuck onto Issei, and from that line, I started slowly pumping my own vitality into him to make sure did not die.

I wasn't really cutting lifespan by doing this. I was mostly pumping energy into him. Thankfully the process was completed before Issei died fully or I had to tap into my own lifespan.

...If this had not been operated with additional life force to help Issei, the chances are he would have died before it was finished, thus sending the Sacred Gear back. I may have gotten a bit lucky here.

Disregarding that moment of luck I fixed my eyes on the green light floating down to my level, it shone brightly like a miniature star.

My grin probably stretched to my ears making me look like a demon as I grasped the light and it entered my body.

I felt the light merge with my body, momentarily filling me with immense energy, like I had snorted pure caffeine and then started sucking on an exposed power line.

You have assimilated the [Boosted Gear]

[Boosted Gear] has been linked [Iter Melius] abilities have been adjusted accordingly. Some of the abilities have been restrained temporarily in order for the user to not

perish.

You now have access to the abilities of the [Boosted Gear, they can be found under the abilities tab.

Warning! your lifespan has been reduced by 75 years. Current estimated Lifespan: 3 Months 8 Days

A nigh impossible achievement! You are the wielder of 3 different sacred gears. Including a Longinus.

You have gained the trait: [True Wielder]

[True Wielder]

Your body has changed beyond the norm, it is resistant to your abilities conflicting, you can wield abilities and items naturally, granting you the qualifications to wield most abilities and equipment, and lessening the penalties of conflicting effects or backlash.

--{Boosted Gear}--

Boosted Gear, The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, one of the 13 Longinus it has the spirit of the Welsh Dragon, Ddraig, residing within it. Allowing the user to manifest the gauntlet to harness their abilities.

[Boost]

The signature ability of Ddraig, changed by the Boosted Gear it allows the user to double all stats every 10 seconds by drawing in energy from the Dimensional Gap.

Gasping and wheezing I finally caught my breath and read the notifications, my grin almost splitting my face apart. Sure the Lifespan part I would need to figure out sometime but that can be handled with potions. Right now, however, I have the Boosted Gear inside of me.

I brought up my right hand, and instinctively summoned it, a large red spiky draconic gauntlet with a large green orb in the middle of it manifested on my arm. I felt the power radiating off of it.

But before I started boosting myself, I needed to meet someone and hear their thoughts about this current situation.

So I started tapping on the green gem in the middle of the Boosted Gear.

"Wakey wakey, rise and shine."

After a few seconds, I felt a voice enter my head that wasn't the usual one telling me to eat a brick to test if it had alchemical value.

{Hooh? What is this? How did you manage to remove me from my host without killing him? No, ignoring that how can you still be alive with 3 sacred gears inside you even? Who are you?}

I felt the large presence speak inside my mind, it was not hostile, no, instead it felt more curious and fascinated than anything. That was good, I did not want a large pissed-off dragon soul inside me.

'...'

Nothing? Good, it seems like the telepathy is not too deep.

"Well, to answer your question, I am Takumi Katsuragi, an aspiring Alchemist, nice to meet you too Ddraig. I hope you are not too miffed about being relocated."

The voice scoffed in amusement.

{An Alchemist huh? That fails to explain much but whatever, since we are stuck together I guess I will eventually learn anyway. And to answer your question, not really. I doubt he would ever awaken me, and even if he did I don't think he would have managed to accomplish much with it. You on the other hand, I can tell are a much more promising Red Dragon Emperor. It's nice to meet you now, Partner.}

I smiled, for a Dragon of Domination he is rather easy to get along with. But I guess that's what being imprisoned for a few odd thousand years does to someone. It's bound to mellow you out at least a little.

"Yes, I am sure we will have a wonderful partnership Ddraig. So, if you don't mind me asking, can I speak to you in my mind, can you hear my thoughts, and do you share my senses?" These questions were the essential ones that needed to be established before anything.

{You really are a curious one. Well, to answer your question. Yes, you can, although I can't hear or read your thoughts I can listen when you directly intend to speak to me. And as for senses, I can only see what you see and hear what you hear and even that is a window I can look away from anytime. Don't worry, I am not too keen on invading your private life.}

'That's good, now that that's over with I want to give this thing a spin. I really want to see what the all-mighty Boosted Gear can do.' Hearing Ddraig laughed.

{Hahaha! Yes, I can basically feel the excitement radiating off of you, that ambition and that spirit of domination I can feel from you. It seems you have what it takes to be a great Red Dragon Emperor.}

'Oh please. Don't think I will just be a mere Dragon Emperor. I plan to go beyond, far beyond that. The sky is the limit.' I felt a flame being lit in my heart, a passion, a drive.

Ambition.

{That's the spirit.} I could almost Ddraig smiling.

But that wasn't wrong. Because now, I had what I needed. All the preparations were done, the prologue was finished. The tutorial was over and the training wheels were taken off.

It's time to get started.

A/N: Takumi is like a dragon, ambitious, greedy, lustful and driven. Now that he has the Boosted Gear and taken the title and place of the protagonist it is fully time to start kicking things into action.

What did you guys think about this chapter and most of all Ddraig? Do you guys like him(?) I would love to know.

Chapter 21: Boost x Boost

Excitement filled my body as I raised the gauntlet up . Finally, I internally commanded the Boosted Gear to work its magic.

"{BOOST}!"

I felt magical power fill my body spreading throughout evenly and increasing basically every aspect of my body and, doubling my magic reserves and potency. But I also felt a small strain on my stamina, like I was walking on a treadmill and someone turned the speed from 3.0 to 5.0.

It felt quite weird to feel yourself slowly lose stamina even though you aren't doing anything.

Even though I felt the difference I had to pull up my status to admire it.

Statistics:

Vitality: 35(70)

Mana: 79(158)

Endurance: 41(82)

Strength: 40(80)

Agility: 36(72)

Magic Power: 86(172)

Yep, that's indeed a massive improvement. Let's take it up a notch. Since 10 seconds had passed, my gauntlet lit up again.

"{BOOST}!"

I felt that same power enter my body again, improving my stats massively again.

Statistics:

Vitality: 35(105)

Mana: 79(237)

Endurance: 41(123)

Strength: 40(120)

Agility: 36(108)

Magic Power: 86(258)

I see, so the multiplier is additively, that's good to know. But wow was this potent.

Crack!* *Boom!*

I reinforced my arm which was now way easier to do after doing it once and punched the wall, digging into it and creating fissures all over while making a small shockwave. I removed my arm from the wall. Next, I sprinted across the basement for several laps, being as fast as a speeding car.

"{BOOST}!"

I felt my stats increase once again, the strain of boosts was getting a tad noticeable.

"{BOOST}!"

Now it was actually noticeable, I was losing stamina at a constant rate without doing anything like I was jogging. It also felt like I was wearing a backpack weighing my body a little.

"{BOOST}!"

"Haah, haah."

Yeah, now I am feeling it all right. Just standing still I am losing my stamina like I am sprinting place, I felt like dumbells were placed all over my body. I doubt I can boost for a 6th time. And as proof.

"{Burst}!"

Like a hole being poked in a balloon, I felt the excess magical power in my body drain away, leaving me feeling slightly weak and lethargic. As I sat down to rest a bit I heard Ddraig's voice ring in my head.

{Well, all things considered, you did rather well. Normally, with this many sacred gears inside you, just using a single Boost would cut your lifespan by months yet you only suffer from exhaustion. Your other sacred must be the cause. So, what do you think?}

'It's great honestly, though, what do I have to do to access the other features? Am I just not good enough or are they paid DLC?'

{Well, along with the usual restriction of the gauntlet your own sacred gear is segmenting the Boosted Gear so you don't die. Normally, you would unlock the Second Liberation in a moment of crisis or extreme emotion. But now, I am not exactly sure. Also, how do you know this much about the Boosted Gear? You did not seem surprised that Issei had it and you seem to be awfully familiar with it.}

Hearing that I simply laughed and shrugged.

'Hmm? Who knows? A magician has to have his secrets. Who, knows maybe you can figure it out on your own.' Hearing my words Ddraig let out a chuckle.

{Hah, fine then, I can figure it out myself too. What now?}

"Well, now, we should get our friend down from there and then it's time to figure out what I can do with this useful little thing. And best of all, how I can abuse its mechanics to break the world over my knee."

{Haha, you are certainly a unique one partner. But I am really excited to see what it is you aim to do.}

—••——••——••—

After getting Issei back home at breathtaking speeds after boosting myself twice I acted like a man of my word and got back home to truly stress test.

But before getting home I remembered one obscure function of the Boosted Gear.

You can store things inside it. And the storage space inside of it is seemingly very very large.

So... you can probably infer I put everything I possibly could into that green gem. Including the dozens of corpses and all. In fact, this whole function was a godsend for me, who needs an inventory when the Boosted Gear comes equipped with one. Though Ddraig did not seem as excited as I was.

{Really? You have a weapon capable of killing gods and you are most excited at the fact that it can store things? I don't know if I should be insulted.}

Poor guy, he doesn't know how exploitable inventories are.

Regardless, I packed everything up that was not bigger than my body(seemingly the size limitation of what could be put inside) and hauled my goods back home. Too bad I had to leave behind the extractinator but I am pretty sure it broke after I took the Boosted Gear anyway.

Ah, back home at last. Finally, I am back home. I missed the smell of not musty church air so much. And now that I got the Boosted Gear and the Absorption Line I could make a to-do list. It mainly consisted of:

-Find a way to evolve Meditation

-Raise Mana Arrow to max

-Raise Reinforcement to max

-Raise Sense Mana to Intermediate

-Raise Mana Concealment to max

-Evolve Transmutation

-Evolve Enchanting

-Train Mind Magic

-Find out whatever seals do

-Have big sex.

Hehehee, so much to do. So much room for improvement and evolution. For mind magic I first need to get a tome from Rias, maybe I can ask Akeno to help me train mana sense and concealment, she is the more experienced magician between the two of us. Maybe get a book on seals as well while I am at it.

Also, when I thought about evolving my skills it seemed like my system kicked in, as it gave me the mission to evolve them rather handily. Does it only give the quests depending on my intentions or was it lagging? Probably the former.

[Skill Promotion: Transmution - Novice]

Create a transmutation circle for each basic element [4/6]

Well, this wasn't too hard, I just needed to find a way to transmute Air and Fire, which are pretty adjacent in the first place. I would have done this regardless so it's fine.

[Skill Promotion: Meditaion]

Meditate for 12 hours straight.

Well, that's a little harsh. While I do not have ADHD sitting down and meditating for a dozen hours is a little intimidating.

Anyway, these were not that difficult. I could probably knock them off pretty quick when I put my mind to it. Speaking of something in my mind.

I need to find a way to increase my lifespan back.

Either making an eternal youth potion which... scientifically is not impossible, but restoring lost lifespan is another matter. I probably need a rather valuable ingredient to create an elixir. It is doable, I can create a lesser elixir and exchange it for the ingredient.

There is also the easy way out of just becoming a devil.

But I have plenty of time to decide.

Hah, funny, most people would shit their pants if they learned if they had a 2-month deadline until they dropped dead but not me. Because I know something.

Challenge breeds innovation.

Right now, I should practice what more I can accomplish by boosting.

—••——••——••—

Boosting is best.

It especially is when paired with Alchemy.

You see, Boosting increases my stamina drain right? So, I just made a stamina regeneration potion and drank it, which was potent enough to allow me to persist on tier 3 boost consistently.

Why was my stamina regeneration potion suddenly that strong? Well with Boost, since my magic power gets stronger that also means I can make stronger potions with it, not by too much since Alchemy is more of a skill thing but it helps regardless.

And once I get transfer...

Hehehe... Well, the world should better watch out then.

Would the Phenex's put a hit on my head? Almost definitely.

Do I care? Hah, fuck no. They can try, by the time they do I will be strong enough to fend for myself. I will also have enough to pull to make the consequences for daring to even think about hurting me actual hell.

Other than that, I experimented with Enchanting and Transmutation too which yielded about the same general results.

Anyway, I spent some time crafting general Healing and Mana potions before hitting the hay. Just because I can offset the stamina damage doesn't mean I won't get affected, I still get strained from carrying the boost energy for such an extended period of time .

—••——••——••—

Wow, I haven't been to Kuoh in a while. If I remember correctly, it should be roughly around the start of Cannon currently give or take a day. So soon, Rias' dad should start pressuring her, which will make her even more desperate to recruit me, which means she would be willing to accept more and more outrageous demands. She will also be more emotionally vulnerable if I want to be her prince on a white horse.

I cannot ignore the Phenex arranged marriage, Rias is too important and has too much potential for me to allow her to be wed to Riser. It does not matter whether I do it as a devil or a human but I will intervene one way or another. It is far more useful to have her on my side.

Besides, I am not completely heartless. Even I would feel bad taking the girl's only hope of getting out of the arranged marriage and then leaving her dry like that AFTER giving her the hope of me potentially saving her.

Also, I needed to speak with her today, I need more resources and I also accidentally ghosted her for several days so I should probably talk with her to smooth it over. As I was walking into the school building however I felt someone grip my wrist making the surrounding students gasp in shock. As I turned my head to see who it was I was met face to face with a really determined-looking Rias.

"Takumi, could you follow me, please? We really need to talk."

"Okay?"

A/N: I have changed how the Boosted Gear works because really, it never worked the way it said it did. If it did go like 2x 4x 8x 16x... Issei would have split the entire Underworld in half with a single punch. And if it went 2x 3x 4x... Issei would not have been strong enough. I will just chalk this up to the sacred gear system being buggy(Ishibumi forgot). How Boosted Gear or anything works really is not properly explained so I am going off of my own interpretation, if you have problems with it call it an AU or whatever. Also, Ddraig can only speak when the Boosted Gear is active.

What did you guys think of the Boosted Gear?

Also, we will be getting back to the flow of cannon after this, I needed to show just the sheer amount of doors the boosted gear has opened for Takumi first.

Turn into a Dragon and ascend.

Chapter 22: The Red Dragon Emperor

~3rd Person~

Rias hurriedly dragged the unresisting Takumi to the Occult Research Club. And both teens had wildly different ideas and thoughts in their heads.

'This is good, Takumi is finally back for some reason. I really need to set the record straight and apologize to him. I don't want him to avoid me anymore.'

'What the hell is happening...? My brain may be a little fried from not sleeping for 3 days and overusing Boost. She seems a little too agitated. Is this because of me not talking to her for a few days?'

The Takumi of right now was only held up by potions. He had been abusing Stimulant Potions(Coffee potion basically) for the past few days to make use of the most time he possibly could. This however led to a crash when he wasn't using the potions.

Eventually, Rias managed to lead the too-tired-to-care Takumi to her office(Club main room) and sat in front of him with her arms crossed and her head bowed slightly.

"Takumi-kun. First of all, I want to apologize. It was in our contract that I would give you my protection and I failed at that. But I don't want you to keep avoiding me. I want to make it up to you somehow."

Saying that Rias stared into Takumi's eyes in a resolute manner while Takumi just tilted his head in a manner that even she found a bit adorable with how out of it he seemed.

"I wasn't avoiding you though? Didn't I tell you I had something to do? It took a bit longer than I expected, that and recovering from the new holes put into my body. But yeah, you really did fumble that." Hearing his words Rias sighed in relief.

He did not seem like he intended to burn bridges with her at least. In fact, he only looked disappointed in her and nothing else. The casual manner of speech told her that he did not seem to think their relationship was too damaged.

She could work with this.

"Yes, I am sorry for that. That's why I want to make it up to you. But first I want you to have this." Rias handed Takumi a smartphone as he held it up in an inquisitive manner.

"That's a Devilphone, the latest best model that is not even commercially available. My brother gave me a few spares he got from Ajuka, I want you to have them so that we can contact each other when we want. Also, everyone's contacts are installed there

This made Takumi pause briefly before lightly smiling and nodding.

'A nigh unlimited access to information about the supernatural as long as said information is not confidential. Unlikely to have spyware considering who owned it.' It was truly a very useful tool.

"Thank you, Rias." Rias nodded and finally addressed the main matter.

"Now, Takumi-kun, what do you want from me? As long as it is within my power I will do my best to get it for you." Takumi raised his eyebrows at that.

"Are you sure about that? Anything?" Rias nodded seriously.

"Anything. As long as it doesn't my peerage members." This made Takumi close his eyes in thought.

'I can tell from her body language, she isn't joking or dishonest. I could even ask for something like a dozen magic tomes and she would try to get it for me. As long as I ask for anything within reason she would get it for me. But would it be worth it?'

'After all, if I ask for something big that will be what defines our relationship. It would show that I am only in this for the money/materials, while that could be rectified later it would still put a strain in our relationship. But also it could be a great opportunity

Looking up at the ceiling for a few moments Takumi.

"I have decided." This made Rias perk up.

"What is it?"

Takumi looked at her dead-on, locking his steel grey eyes with her teal ones, making her blush a little at the directness.

"I want a date with you."

"..."

"..."

"H-huh?" Rias stuttered and blushed as Takumi did not change his expression one bit, still staring deeply into her eyes as she took his face in, he looked a lot more handsome lately(due to vitality improvement), he had dark circles under his eyes that added to his charm, he had a low brown ponytail draped over his shoulder as he kept staring into her eyes without blinking, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

"Is that a no?" His words made Rias rapidly shake her arms in refutal.

"N-no, I am just confused. You want to go on a date with me? After that happened even though I couldn't protect you? You find me pretty?" Rias asked in confusion as she pointed at herself in disbelief while Takumi shrugged.

"Well, I am not too broken up about that although I was a bit disappointed. It isn't like I needed your protection in a physical sense in the first place."

"Oh right, you did manage to take down four fallen angels by yourself, how did you manage that?" Rias asked in curiosity, she actually forgot to ask how he, someone who was introduced to the supernatural just recently managed to fend off 4 fallen angels by himself as just a human.

This drew a small smile from Takumi as he raised his hand.

"Well, since you are so honest with me, it would be rude of me to keep secrets from you right? Rias, you asked me before if I had a sacred gear before right? You probably wonder where I get my information from too."

Rias' eyes opened wide as she saw a large draconic clawed gauntlet with a green gem in the middle manifest on his hand as Takumi gave her a slight smirk.

"I suppose I should introduce myself for real. I am a humble alchemist and according to the dragon in my head, I am also the Red Dragon Emperor, the wielder of the Boosted Gear."

Rias fell back onto her chair in shock as she stared at the gauntlet now manifested on his hand.

"Takumi... you are the new Red Dragon Emperor?" Hearing her words Takumi nodded.

"Yep, I don't know what exactly that entails but I awakened my Sacred Gear a short while back, I also learned of the supernatural from Ddraig. So you might imagine, I am not completely helpless."

Rias stared blankly at Takumi as the pieces started fitting in together.

Takumi was the wielder of the Boosted Gear, one of the 13 Longinus. It now made sense, his random power jumps, his random and spotty knowledge about the supernatural that he was likely being told by Ddraig who was the one sealed inside the sacred gear.

And on top of that, he was naturally a genius with the Boosted Gear, able to create potions she had never seen before too. Takumi was like a monster and that meant something considering that was what people called her.

Then when her mind was ground down to a halt with the implications of this revelation one of the intrusive thoughts emerged back onto the surface,

'Wait, what was that about a date again?'

"Wait, did you say you wanted to go on a date with me again?" Rias blurted out as she was met with the slightly exasperated face of Takumi.

"Yeah? I did? Is that too surprising? I think you are really attractive and charming, so I just shot my shot I guess? If you don't want to that's fine too." Of course, Takumi knew she probably wouldn't refuse. They already had a good relationship, she felt guilty about him and she really wanted him on her side.

Rias was easy mode.

"No no, it's just, a bit surprising. After messing up that badly I didn't expect you to want to talk to me let alone want to on a d-date." Rias coughed into her hand looking away from Takumi's face.

"So, is that a yes or no?" Takumi looked at Rias with half-lidded eyes, tired of how much she managed to dodge answering the question for. Manipulating others seemed easier than trying to understand the enigma that was a woman's heart.

"Oh yes, I would love to accompany you Takumi. I look forward to it." Rias smiled at Takumi after having made up her mind, heiress of a Noble Family she may be but she was still a kissless virgin schoolgirl ...against a kissless virgin schooboy.

—••——••——••—

-Takumi Katsuragi-

After having come back from school I retreated into my goblin lair. Rias and I had decided to go on the date tomorrow since it was Saturday then. I won't lie, I actually looked forward to going on a date with Rias.

Pragmatist advantages aside, I never had a girlfriend, and I have definitely never been involved with a girl so supernaturally pretty. This is DxD and I want to have a cute devil girlfriend, sue me.

{I have to say, I have no idea where you are going with the Gremory girl. And I don't really know enough to judge your actions. But I am curious as to why you chose to use me as a scapegoat as an explanation for your frankly indiscernible powers.}

I heard Ddraig's voice ring through my head as I was taking notes about Wind Transmutation, altering an Alkahestry circle because it would be the best fit. Putting down the pen for a second I addressed Ddraig.

'Maybe don't try to distract me in the process of miraculous innovation next time? But, for your knowledge, I use you as an explanation for my abilities because it allows me to explain my unordinary powers as just a by-product of me being an incredibly talented Red Dragon Emperor, it prevents people from questioning my abilities too much. Plus, it flips the script from someone with strange abilities who somehow is the Red Dragon Emperor to the Red

Dragon Emperor with strange abilities. It's just a minor convenience really, the clout of Boosted Gear will be really useful.'

{Hmmh, you and your schemes. But I can't help but be interested in what you are planning to accomplish and how you are going to go about doing such thing. This is the most entertainment I have had in years.}

I leaned back in my chair in exhaustion.

'Whelp, at least I am glad you find this entertaining. But maybe entertain yourself with something else in the meantime while I finish up this transmutation circle.' I only heard a slight laugh as the voice of Ddraig faded from my head, presumably going back to sleep as I shook my head.

Why did I work on transmutation with the Boosted Gear on? Well, I was training myself to get used to the Boosts, if I get used to it enough I should be able to increase the Boosts I can use without Burst'ing.

Anyway, that aside, I have finally finished the air transmutation circle, it was pretty simple really, basically the exact same principle of Electricity just adapted with different factors.

You can generate wind by just creating a low-pressure and high-pressure zone, then you can aim where the generated wind goes through Alkahestry. Not too useful for me at the moment but I am sure I will find some use for it later on.

For now, I just used an air transmutation circle as a ventilator I could activate by inserting my mana into it.

Truly revolutionary.

A/N: Never forget, Takumi has a master plan in his mind. I intentionally left most of his monologue out this time, what do you think he looks like from an outside perspective?

Is he hard to read? Do you get what he is trying to do? What do you think his plan with showing her the boosted gear is?

Nex chapter, Date With Rias also, what do you guys think about the interactions between Rias and Takumi this chapter? Did you like it?

Chapter 23: Devil x Date

"Hey, Ddraig how do I look? Presentable? Dashing? Handsome? Charming?" I asked out loud as I styled my hair preparing for my date.

{Passable I suppose.}

Harsh.

"Good enough." My goal wasn't exactly to knock off her socks or anything, I just wanted to look like I put enough effort into preparing for the date. Of course, I never had a date before so it is kind of nerve-wracking.

But hey, it's Rias. I know enough about her, this isn't really an event to stress over. I am cool as beans.

For the date I didn't do anything too big, I wore a casual button-up and black slacks, tied my hair low as usual and decided to leave the glasses off this time. And to top it all off I applied a bit of perfume, I was messing around with some potion combinations yesterday and found out that I could make perfumes that smelled incredibly good and lasted for a long while incredibly easily.

Literally just the scent I wanted and water worked. For this potion cum cologne, I chose fresh spring air since I liked the smell. To get the smell I grabbed a handful of whatever I could find in the backyard.

Now that I was prepared I gave myself a look over at the mirror. I really looked vastly better than how I started out here, becoming several times healthier than the average human and drinking an elixir of health really helped with the looks. My skin was as healthy as a baby.

Wow, did a handsome man invade my home and climb into my mirror or am I just that good- looking?

Shaking my head I unsummed the Boosted Gear that I used to get Ddraigs opinion before heading to meet with Rias. By the time I arrived, I saw a small crowd had gathered around a redhead I was familiar with.

She was wearing a flared skirt that ended before her knees with a light sweater that showed ample cleavage. Coupled with that she wore black stockings which did something very good to my lower body. Seeing me too she waved at me and I waved back, jogging a bit to reach her.

I smirked.

"Huh, and I thought I was being early, seems like someone was excited." My roguish tone of voice made Rias blush as she humph-ed.

"Be quiet, now, where should we go?" Rias asked as we started walking aimlessly toward the shopping district.

"I don't know honestly, I thought you would know about the city since I was basically a neet before this. So, lead the way I guess captain, I am under the mercy of your navigation skills." Hearing my words Rias smiled and took my hand to lead me as I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Alright then, I know my way around these parts, I guess I can find something for us to do. There is an arcade not too far from here. Let's go there." She said, grabbing my hand.

"Wow, hand-holding already Rias? How lewd, what a depraved woman you are. What more acts of hedonism will you perform Devil? Interlocked fingers?" Hearing my words Rias spun on her heel and booped my nose with her finger making me lean back but I could see her holding back a giggle.

"Well, this is a date, isn't it? Or are you saying you don't enjoy it? Besides, you would enjoy it if it was more lewd wouldn't you?" Rias said giving me a lusty grin teasing me back.

I like this girl.

I gave her a helpless look, shrugging my shoulders.

"How ruthless, the devil is already working on corrupting my pure innocent soul with such depraved acts." Rias hit me with her elbow while picking up the pace toward the arcade.

"Yes, how pure and innocent, now if you want we can go to the arcade or we could keep teasing each other." I gave her a silent arcade and allowed myself to be dragged to the arcade.

It was a pretty nice arcade if I do say so myself, a bunch of cabinets, crane games etc. It was rather exciting for someone like me who has admired the concept of arcades for a long time but never got to visit one before.

Rias dragged me to some game cabinets and I actually recognized some of them.

Well, they weren't exactly what I assumed. Besides most of mythology being real and alive right now there were some other minute differences in this world probably because of that.

An example in front of me was this "Alley Brawler 2" game cabinet.

I guess that is also why I didn't find any Fullmetal Alchemist anime here.

Now then, I guess it would be pretty easy to guess what we did in an arcade of all things.

Rias dared challenge me to a one-on-one. Someone who plays games so much that his sacred gear literally evolved to look like a game interface.

But I will say, she was pretty good, for a goddam chump that is. I beat her pretty handily at every game we played. But this helped me remember how fun it was to play with others again. I was never a too social person my past life and that reflected in my friend circle. Or the lack thereof.

"Mou~ Aren't you supposed to go easy on the lady Takumi-kun?" Rias whined playfully as we were leaving the arcade.

"What? And let you catch me by surprise? If I went any easier on you I would have lost. But I didn't expect you to be such an Otaku Rias, you knew even more trivia than I did." I jabbed at her playfully as she blushed.

"You say that but you seem to be an even bigger Otaku than I am Takumi-kun. Who knows how much time you spent perfecting your gaming skills for the occasion? Maybe I should call you the Gamer Dragon Emperor?" Rias smirked at me as I snickered and patted her head, making her look away from me.

The gesture did not look very awkward since I had gotten a few inches taller thanks to the vitality elixir, probably reaching my full genetic height.

"Anyway, now where do we go?"

—••——••——••—

"You know Rias, when I think of a date I usually do not think about sitting in a dark room together with a bunch of strangers while watching a movie and not talking for hours. " I said, holding Rias' hand as we entered the movie viewing place.

"Don't be like that. Who knows, maybe you will like it?" I was sceptical, I was never really a fan of movies in the first place. But I could give it a chance is Rias wanted. It's not like I would lose anything by watching it after all.

We both grabbed jumbo-sized Popcorn and coke. I had no fear of calories, if I ever were to get fate I could simply create a potion that burns 5kg of fat off of your body in a gruelling process.

—••——••——••—

Well, the movie was good I guess. It was a pretty good rom-com that drew out a lot of laughs from Rias and some exhales from my nose from me. By the time the movie had finished, it had become the evening, the sun was starting to set.

We flirted here and there during the movie, I didn't push anything for now. After the movie had finished and we were leaving the theatre I got an idea upon seeing a claw machine.

"Rias, wait here for a second." Rias was confused but stood there as I jogged over to the almost always unfair game, but I knew the trick to this one. Before long I was able to retrieve the plushy bear by reinforcing the claw to increase its strength before heading over to and plopping the bear plush in her arms.

"Here, I guessed you would like a memento for our date. Do you like it? I thought it resembled you with how cute it is." Rias looked at my face for a moment then at the toy before hugging it up to her face to hide her blush as she glanced at me.

CRITICAL HIT 4x!!!

I felt a sledgehammer slam into my soul after seeing that precious sight. God she was fucking cute and hot. I want her. I guess I can't blame Issei too much anymore.

"You are so corny." Her voice came out muffled since her face was fully buried in the plushie.

"Corn Dragon Emperor at your service my lady." I did a regal bow which made Rias giggle. Inside my soul, I could almost sense Ddraig cringing so hard he crumpled like cardboard.

Tucking the plushie between her armpit(Lucky bastard) she reached for my head with my hands.

"Then I guess I should reward you then right?"

Chu*

Rias' lips met mine as she pulled me down for a kiss. But I did not let the kiss be idle I quickly recovered my composure and wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me as I slipped my tongue into her mouth, she was hot, wet and slimy yet it felt so good. Her tongue and mine wrestled for dominance passionately.

I decided to get a little naughty as my hand slipped down her skirt without meeting any resistance from Rias as I grabbed a handful of her firm yet soft peachy butt, molesting it with passion as we made out.

For a virgin's first kiss, I think this is one of the best outcomes I could have gotten for my first kiss. I know she is also a kissless virgin but damn Rias is a good kisser, and somehow her mouth tastes a little like cherries somehow even though she just drank a litre of Coke.

Devil bullshit properly.

After a full minute of tongue wrestling that I totally won we had to separate due to the cruel reminder of breath. As we separated a trail of saliva was the only thing remained that connected our mouths. As we separated Rias gave me an honest smile while blushing as she looked into my eyes.

Fuck.

—••——••——••—

After that moment we had to separate, of course with the promise that there would be more dates like this. And currently, my sex drive was going maximum overdrive at the moment, and I needed to relieve myself before I went all wonky.

I prefer to retain my rationality when making any decisions. And a horny brain was a bad brain for deciding anything important.

As I approached my front door suddenly I felt an air of unease.

The lights in the living room were on.

I did not leave them on.

'Boosted Gear'

I discreetly manifested the gauntlet in my right hand and waited for 50 seconds for 5 stacks of boost before opening the door and walking to the living as I saw him.

A handsome older man with yellow-black hair lounging on my sofa in my living room casually greeted me.

"Yo! Takumi-kun right? It's nice to meet you."

Azazel the Governor of the Fallen Angels was in my house.

A/N: What do you guys think about the chemistry between Takumi and Rias? Do you like it? Did you like their interactions throughout the date? What would you rate Takumi's rizz out of 10?

Also, the classic supernatural power move of waiting for someone in their own house. It never gets old.

Chapter 24: Deal x Deal

I stared down the older man in front of me as he as he greeted me casually. My eyes narrowed as my brain started working overtime.

Azazel, the governor of the fallen angels. He is a man with a hobby of collecting interesting things, and that includes people too, in cannon Issei was basically his pet project since he took an interest in him.

He was in my house, even if I boosted even more right now I wouldn't be able to make his pinky move. But that doesn't mean this situation is inherently dangerous.

Azazel is not a violent person, nor is he someone too keen on kidnapping someone to turn them into his personal potion slave. The opposite, he takes in promising sacred gear users and trains as a semi-part of the Grigori.

So, the chances of this encounter going south is really low. Most likely explanation for why he is here is because he got information from Raynare and co that a simple human magician was able to defeat with weird "potions"(not exactly the term they would use) and weirder magic. So he took an interest and decided to come here.

"Well, what can I do you for, mr Governor? Or are you because you decided to finish what they started?" I should be more reasonable about this. I should be calmer, I shouldn't be so agitated.

But even I have limits.

He waltzed into my home like he owned the place, and greeted me so casually. Spat on the sanctity of my home, spat on my face by basically saying "Yeah I'll walk into your house, what can you do about it you little bitch?".

I guess basic courtesy is only afforded to those who are strong enough to wrestle it out of your cold dead hands.

Hearing my words Azazel laughed while I took a seat while sighing.

"Haha, no, no, it's the opposite actually. I was rather interested in the human magician who managed to take down 3 fallen angels by himself, and judging by that gauntlet in your right hand I can guess how. Well, I guess you could also say I came here to apologize and give you an opportunity Takumi-kun. Also, you can just call me Azazel." I looked at him deadpan.

"Really? From what I remember, when you want to apologize to someone you don't break into their house." Hearing my cold words Azazel laughed again.

I am glad someone is having fun.

Because I am not.

"Right, sorry about that, I was going to meet you first but then noticed you weren't here so I decided to wait. Don't worry, I didn't touch anything. Anyway, I came here to apologize for the actions of my stupid subordinates, they clearly cannot read orders correctly. I also want to thank you for going out of your way to spare them." I nodded.

"Well, you are welcome then. It is at least relieving to know that one of the strongest people in the world is not out for my blood."

"Yes, so before we get on to what I wanted to talk to you about I want to discuss your reward first. What do you want from me? As long as it is reasonable I am willing to do it for you." This made me think.

He obviously has a reason for this beyond that. He is probably trying to gauge what kind of person I am. A pragmatist would ask for something expensive but reasonable, a lustful person would ask for women, and a greedy person would try to scalp them.

Well, I already know what to ask from him.

"Alright, I want a dragonblood fruit." I stated what I wanted which made him smirk in amusement.

A dragonblood fruit was a fruit from a tree that grew where dragons were buried, it is said to draw upon the remaining vitality of the dragon it is planted over to produce its fruit.

"A dragonblood fruit huh? You sure know what you want, is related to those liquids you use?"

"Maybe. Why do you want to know?" Despite him being a rude-ass I did was not too reluctant about disclosing my potion business with him.

I needed connections. And Azazel might be the best person for that. A powerful connection that would be very interested in what I make while also not being overbearing. He is the chillest dude I can get.

"You see, I am really interested in the things you used against the Raynare bunch. A vial that explodes violently upon exposure to air? What about what you drank before you fought, or the one you drank after that healed you?"

I smirked as I saw the shine of curiosity in his eyes. Time to display my value.

"They are potions, my personal creation. I have a real talent for creating them I am an alchemist by trade. They can range from recovery to offence. Here is a sample if you are interested, it is not free of course." I pulled out an intermediate potion of hawk eyes from my Boosted Gear and tossed it to Azazel who drank it before grinning.

"Isn't this surprising? A Red Dragon Emperor who specializes in alchemy capable of creating potions. Do you have any idea of how valuable this can be?" Azazel said, looking straight into my eyes while fiddling with the vial I gave him.

"Do I seem like I don't? Of course, I am aware of my worth. From what I remember Alchemists are a commodity, and so are Red Dragon Emperor's ." I stated confidently while leaning back on my couch as Azazel laughed again.

"Haha, and you aren't afraid one bit of me deciding to take you right now? You are still a novice at the moment. If I was in your position I wouldn't show such important details so openly." This time I chuckled.

"Well, will you? I consider myself a good judge of character. Besides, I am contracted to Rias. If you do decide to take me as your alchemist slave you would have Rias knocking on your door within the day with Sirzech's standing behind her." Why the hell would I bother making connections if not for this exact same reason?

If someone kidnaps me, Rias would go looking for me. And if Rias is sticking her neck out for me her sis-con brother will stick his neck out for her.

Politics can be one of the best armours.

"I like how you. Since you are being so upfront. I suppose I will be upfront with you as well. Do you want to join the Grigori? Or at least become affiliated with us. I promise you I can provide you with full support for your alchemy and I can give you the best training possible, especially in terms of your sacred gear, I noticed you haven't even reached second liberation. You would also be under my direct protection, and unlike the Gremory lass, I would actually make sure you are safe."

This... was generous. Really fucking generous , in fact, it was basically a ticket to ride. The Grigori already has most of the research I am interested in, especially sacred gears and they are willing to provide full support. It was rather generous, almost too generous.

"Well, that is rather generous. Would you care to elaborate as to why that is so?" I said casually, hiding my inner surprise.

"From one researcher to another, this is more of my personal interest personally. I really want to see what your Alchemy is capable of and if possible want to keep in close contact, I can already tell that I like you. I want to see what heights your potential can reach. Not to mention those potions of yourself I really want to learn more of."

Yes, Azazel was this kind of person. In the first place, he was someone willing to shirk responsibility and play teacher because he was interested in Issei. He would totally provide me with full support to see what I can achieve.

"Well, that sounds a little gay, doesn't it? But I will have to refuse for now. I have no intention of picking a side on this war at the moment. I see no need to limit my options currently. But..." My words trailed off as I pulled out a dozen potions of health, mana, stamina, cure disease etc as Azazel's eyes shone like flashlights.

"I wouldn't be against being sponsored by you personally . I am sure we can work out a deal. You can supply me with what I need as well as allow me to borrow your name, and in exchange, I can provide you with the fruits of my research." Azazel smirked and smacked my back encouragingly as he laughed.

"Hah, I really do like you, kid. Scratch my back and I scratch yours? Playing all sides before deciding to commit to a single one? I really like how you think. I have to agree. This works for me. If you do choose to finally pick a side, the Grigori will welcome you with open arms. Until then, I am willing to personally sponsor you. Here." Azazel reached into his pocket and pulled out an obsidian feather pin with yellow details.

"You are welcome to use my name. Just don't wear it out. That pin is proof of our relationship. I look forward to our new partnership Takumi-kun. And since we are partners now I suppose I should give you a gift, it's only right since you are giving me these samples." *Snap!*

Azazel snapped his fingers, creating a summoning and I sighed internally, yet more people teleporting into my house. Yay. I should ask for some security spells from him. In case someone else decides my privacy is just not worth it.

Though as I saw what, or I should who popped out of the magic circle my eyes widened.

It was Raynare, Mittely and Kalawarner. All 3 wearing maid outfits with skirts that barely reached the knees. I looked at the 3. Mittelt trembling, Kalawarner looking resigned and reluctant, while Raynare looked scared and angered at the same time.

I turned to Azazel and gave him my honest expression.

"Azazel what the fuck?"

Snicker.*

Was this bastard drunk?

Does he get off on pissing me off?

"Ah don't look at me like that. Every dragon needs their servants. Plus you keeping these 3 would be doing me a favor. Maybe serving someone whom they used to view as inferior can help curb their arrogance and teach them to respect the ladder of command. You can do whatever you want to them as long as they are alive." Raynare hearing his words went to speak up, emboldened by the presence of Azazel and ignoring me.

"Azazel-sama surely you aren't thinking of making us serve this human. How about I serve you personal-"

"Hey." My voice cut her off as she froze up from the chill of my voice.

"Look at me in the eyes." The fear engraved into her from how badly I already beat her she slowly turned to me, avoiding my gaze.

"If you can't even look me in the eyes then shut your mouth. If you are going to say something either you are going to say it to my face or you aren't going to say it." This made Raynare shut up as I turned to Azazel who looked at me approvingly.

"Putting those 3 living spywares aside, how am I even going to fit them inside my humble abode? I can barely fit myself here let alone these stooges."

"Don't worry about that for now. I can take care of that for you. For now, let's drink to celebrate our new relationship." Saying that Azazel brought out REALLY expensive- looking alcohol from somewhere faster than I noticed.

Well, with how stressful it has been lately, I guess I can afford this. Plus, it would be rude to refuse.

A/N: The harem option won in DxD, what a shocker. Jokes aside, the Fallen Angels are now a part of the harem as servants/maids. And since Takumi now has 3 servants of supernatural capabilities this means that he has access to a nigh-infinite source of supernatural ingredients.

That aside, Takumi is aiming to fix that lifespan issue quickly. What do you think about his deal with Azazel? Did he play it smart? I would love to know your thoughts.

Chapter 25: Discipline

Fuck...

I feel like I got the hit by the alcohol truck. Whatever Azazel brought was some real heavyweight shit. But it tasted so damn good, I wasn't unused to alcohol. Maybe I should try making some alcohol myself. Making a potion, making wine, same tree different branch.

Holding my throbbing forehead I manifested the green gem of the boosted gear on my right hand and pulled out the hangover potion I made before drinking just in case and drank it, feeling the effects vanish almost instantly I sighed in contentment. It feels great to be an alchemist.

After Azazel brought out the drinks we drank and ate, just talking about things and deepened our friendship of sorts. After finishing 3 bottles of undoubtedly incredibly expensive drinks Azazel went back, leaving me with the gaggle of crows dressed as maids.

Well, I guess I could still profit out of an annoying situation.

Snap!* "All of you. Stand in front of me." I snapped my fingers to gain the attention of Raynare's gang who were scattered around the living room. Reluctantly, they gathered in front of me standing in a line.

"Since Azazel gave you 3 to me, I expect you to behave. If you don't give me a reason to treat you harshly, I won't. First of all. Which one of you is the best at cooking?" Since these 3 were mine I needed to establish some kind of order first. I sure as hell am not letting them be free in my house. Delegating some tasks will help keep them busy.

They nervously exchanged glances before Kalawarner stepped forward.

"I think that would be me."

"Alright, your job now is the cook. I expect you to prepare breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 1:30 and Dinner at 6:00. Alright? When you aren't doing that your job is to help clean." I said, getting a curt nod from Kalawarner as Raynare looked at her, flabbergasted.

"You." I pointed my finger at Mittelt who flinched.

"Y-yes?"

"Your job is to clean. If I find the house dirty, you are getting spanked." Mittelt flinched again as she nodded vehemently as Raynare looked outraged.

"What the hell are you all nodding along with this for!? Why should we obey this huma-" Raynare was cut off by Mittelt who looked equally as pissed and indignant.

"Shut up Raynare! It's all because of you that we are in this in the first place! If you-"

"Hey." My voice cut in harshly and made them turn to me.

"My ears hurt. If you are going to keep arguing so loudly I will punish you. Also, Raynare, I found a job for you. You will be my personal lab rat and assistant. Got that?" I honed my glare on them which made them shut up, Raynare glared at me but it faltered as she bit her lip and looked away.

"I am glad we have come to an agreement." I gestured for Raynare to follow me as I went down to my basement but not before shooting one more glance at them.

"Also, I hope none of you are planning anything stupid. Because if you are, I advise against it if you don't wish to be mailed back to Azazel without any limbs." This made them all gulp, assuring me they wouldn't cause any trouble in the near future , they did not have the bones to pull something like that.

—••——••——••—

I settled down my alchemy chair as I sighed in contentment at being able to return to doing some more alchemy. I want to test the effectiveness of supernaturally sourced ingredients since I had a source of it right next to me after all.

"Alright, let us begin testing Raynare, my dear assistant. First of all, I need you to slit your wrist for me." Hearing my words Raynare looked frightened and agitated as she drew away from me, steeling a glare on me.

"W-why!? Is this one of your twisted games? Why should I do that huh?" Sighing I shook my head.

"Did you forget the fact I am not allowed to kill you? I just need a few hundred ml of your blood to test some things." She was being unnecessarily annoying and I was being very patient with her in my opinion.

These 3 already tried killing me before and stabbed me. I have no qualms about abusing them. From my perspective, they were paying the price. And the price for trying to take my life is your everything.

Raynare drew further away as she sneered at me, seemingly having gained confidence from nowhere. Maybe she thinks just because Azazel told me not to kill them that I would be afraid to touch her?

"No way. Why should I obey you when I am a fallen angel? Just because Azazel made a mistake in-"

"{BOOST}!" Raynare's eyes widened as her pupils shrunk.

Alright, enough playing nice. Sometimes you have to slap a bitch to get her to understand her place.

"You seem to mistake my basic courtesy for weakness Raynare. I should remind you Azazel gave me full control over you. And what do you plan to accomplish with this anyway? I beat you down without using my sacred gear. Do you think I won't lay a hand on you?" The crimson gauntlet manifested in my left hand gleamed as Raynare trembled violently.

"{BOOST}!"

"Ah!" Raynare yelped as I grabbed her and suddenly pulled her down over my lap with ease, unable to resist since I was suddenly 3 times stronger and ran reinforcement full force through my body. Before Raynare could thrash around more I suddenly pulled her skirt up, exposing her large ass clad by her small thong before I pulled her thong down to her ankles.

Slap!*

"Ghk!" She went completely still as my open hand came down on her plentiful ass. I had a grown-ass woman probably hundreds of years old on my lap and I just spanked her.

"{BOOST}!" "If you know what's best for you won't resist. If you do I will continue after snapping your arms and legs like twigs. You need to learn your lesson, bad girls get punished." I drew a begrudging nod from Raynare as I smacked her ass again, drawing a yelp from her.

Just spanking won't do enough for a creature as prideful as her though, I need to break her properly. I grabbed her chin and made her face me as she glared at me with flushed cheeks.

"Thank me."

"Haah!? What do you mean thank y- hyah!" *Slap!* I gave another slap on her ass.

"Thank me for going out of my way to discipline you instead of killing you from the start. If you don't, I will spank you a hundred times. If you thank me I will only do 50." Her glare told me over my dead body as I shrugged, she was going to learn one way or the other.

—••——••——••—

"T-thank you! Please stop!" She cracked rather fast, only 28 spanks in.

"Thank you what?" *Spank!* "Eep!"

"T-thank you for educating me. P-please stop spanking me now?" My hand rested on her tomato-red ass, lightly caressing it she shivered.

"Nope~! There are still 21 more to go since you have been such a bad girl Ray." Raynare grimaced as she recalled the pain from the spanks I gave her as she put on a more cutesy voice.

"W-what if I show you how much of a good girl I can be?" Wow, she really is pathetic, it's either 'I am better than you' or 'Please don't kill me I am such a good girl' for her. I gently lifted her from my lap and got her down on her knees and leaned back as it clicked for her.

~~~~~~18 Start(Its been so long)~~~~~~

"Alright, you can show me your thanks to me in another way. If you are good enough at showing your gratitude better on your knees then I guess I can let you off the hook for this once." Raynare nodded as she pulled down my pants to expose my rock hard 9 inch cock.

It was 8 originally. After drinking that elixir it became 9, I am not even sure it would fit in a normal girl at this point. Well, that wasn't my problem now, it was Raynare's. I saw her

glance at my dragon {Oi. Don't call it that.} with slight disdain before she covered it up with fake cheer as she got to work.

"Fuck..." Raynare grabbed my throbbing shaft and ran her soft and slimy tongue over it before licking the tipi, drawing a groan from me, she handled my cock with expertise as expected of an angel that fell down due to lust. Before long she took my cock into her mouth. Welcoming my member into the warm and wet cavern of her mouth as she sucked on my cock, the suction force giving another layer of pleasure.

"Wow, you really are a slut, aren't you? Are you even fit to be a maid? Begging to get on your knees without hesitation." I did not intend to make it easy for Raynare as I grabbed her hair with both hands and slammed my cock down her throat she gagged a little but took it like a champ as she somehow sucked my cock that went all the way down her throat.

Gawk!* *Gawk!*

Of course, I was rather inexperienced and honestly hadn't masturbated in a week so I did not last long as I fucked Raynare's deluxe throat.

"Take it Raynare!" I thrust my hips, burying her face in my groin as I came down her throat, a tsunami of cum erupting from my dick for a solid few seconds as I released Raynare who promptly vomited a mouthful.

Bleh!* "Hah! For all your bravado you didn't last very long did you?" Raynare sneered at me before she stopped as she looked at my still-standing member.

"Did I say we were done?" I pulled Raynare by her hand back to my penis again. She had to earn her keep after all.

~~~~~~18 End~~~~~~

Wow, I needed that release 3 weeks ago goddam. I love Dxd, that pleasure was something out of this world, if I wanted to get a harem before, I sure as hell do now.

Also, once I was done with Raynare I got a notification.

Achievement: You have managed to subdue and take a fallen angel as a servant.

Reward: [Seal: Servitude]

The implications of a system made by god giving something like that for subduing a fallen angel had some interesting implications. Did the big G want the users of Iter Melius to reclaim fallen angels and bring them to their side or was it something else?

Anyway, after Raynare serviced me 3 times in a row she was way more obedient to give me the samples I wanted. For example blood, feathers, saliva etc.

Fallen angel materials are great. Having basically an infinite source of them by my side was even greater.

Countless ideas came to my mind. I already tested basic materials such as Blood, Saliva and Feathers with great results.

Blood is a great ingredient for vitality and life force, saliva had a cure disease effect and surprisingly a mild aphrodisiac. Feathers on the other hand were the full package. They straight up had the light element which I could plenty uses for, fortify light and even more applications I hadn't discovered yet.

As I was creating potion after potion in a roll I could see to the very envious and curious gaze of Raynare from the side. I could tell that she envied my power and she probably wanted to

know if it could make her powerful as well. This made me think.

When raising loyal and useful subordinates you have to balance the sticks and the carrot.

Without enough stick, they will be all too willing to deviate from what you want them to do and to disobey you since there is no punishment to fear.

Without enough carrot they won't be doing what you want willingly or because they see value or worth in whatever you are doing but because they don't want the stick. Which means if given the opportunity to betray they will take it. An enthusiastic worker was a great worker.

Well, it might be worth it to cultivate a Raynare I guess. Plus if she is obedient the others will also fall in line.

That aside I was finally done. Azazel had finally delivered me the fruit and I brewed it into a potion along with some ginseng, Fallen Angel blood, my blood and finally the Dragonblood Fruit. Ending up with a glowing potion in my hands.

[Intermediate Elixir of Life]

Raynare also looked at the elixir in my hands in wonder and want.

"What... is that master ?" She spat out the last words with spite but I didn't care.

"An elixir. A potion capable of permanently altering the body to make it stronger, faster, healthier, more powerful. A creation of my own, this is the elixir of life." I wasn't gloating for no reason. I knew how power-thirsty this girl was.

"A-are you really capable of creating things like that? How!? Can others use them!?" I revelled in the desperation in her voice.

"Yep, why do you think Azazel was so interested in me? And Ray, if you are good enough girl, I may even just help you grow stronger one day." I knew I had her at that as she fell silent, I am confident I can probably get her willing bouncing on my cock in a week at most.

But anyway, I don't want to prolong my elixir and long. Down it went.

A warm sensation went through my body. I felt invigorated.

You have consumed [Intermediate Elixir of Life]

Your lifespan has been restored to 200 years

You have acquired the perk: [Longevity]

[Longevity]

You don't age beyond your physical peak. You are immune to mundane illnesses.

Your perk [Enhanced Vigour(Minor)] has been upgraded to [Enhanced Vigour(Intermediate)]

[Enhanced Vigour(Intermediate)]

Your body is significantly more healthy and virile. Augmenting your virility, health and stamina beyond the norm.

Your Vitality has risen by 40

Wow, I feel like a god right now. I could do without the even more boosted vigour but it is what it is. Besides, I now had servants who were available to help me with such troubles.

But Alchemy triumphs once again.

A/N: Takumi has... issues and a sadistic streak. But to be honest the fallen angels deserve it. Takumi's plan is to tame them and turn them into useful servants. Some of the keen-eyed among you may have noticed his more sociopathic tendencies earlier on.

He may be too good of a match for the dragon of domination.

What did you think about the short 18 scene? I did not want to make it too long because it wasn't too important and I wanted to make time for some actual progression.

Chapter 26: Mind x Magic

-A/N Sorry for the chapter delay, I was dealing with some irl stuff.-

After having dealt with my lifespan issue it was time to deal with other issues. Currently, I have several things on my list.

One of them was finally finishing the transmutation quest. Then learning mind magic, of which I have already requested the tomes of from Azazel. After that, it was time to create homunculus.

In between those I had to make some time to grab Asia. Whom I have already selected to become my gardener who will grow me plenty of great ingredients. My plan is to eventually become completely self-reliant.

Having sponsors is great and all but being reliant on other people was never ever a great idea in the slightest. If that pillar support ever gets taken out your whole tower crumbles to dust.

So I got to work, working on fire transmutation. Which was, I won't sugarcoat it, easy as all hell.

I mean, it's as simple as increasing the density of hydrogen in the air and adding a heat variable to the transmutation circle.

I decided to call it Pyro Catalyst, the name is subject to change.

But regardless I finished the transmutation quest. I was now a master of all ...6? Elements.

Skill promotion complete.

[Transmutation(Novice) Lv.10(MAX)] = [Transmutation(Intermediate) Lv.1]

[Transmutation(Intermediate) Lv.1]

Allows for a wider and more complex range of transmutation. The speed and power of all transmutations are amplified.

[Biological Transmutation Circle]

[Mana Saturation]

Knowledge flowed into my mind as I felt the invisible pathways of my skills get reinforced. The feeling was as good as ever, nothing like seeing visible progress.

Now that my transmutation was at an intermediate level and I could manipulate biology as well as permanently imbue mana into objects to alter them I now had what I needed to create Homunculi.

Once I start creating homunculi I would start becoming a real threat, I would be able to mass- produce potions and enchanted items. I could create a factory. I love alchemy, it is so exploitable.

But first I want that Mind Magic, a lumberjack does not lose time by sharpening his axe. If I accomplish what I want to accomplish with mind magic the process of creating homunculi would be far easier.

I had a plan in mind when I requested mind magic books from Azazel.

You see. Mind magic is made to alter the mind, brainwashing, hypnosis, induce amnesia etc. It's mainly for convenience and hiding from the world. And almost all of the spells are developed with that in mind since that is the norm.

But what if you step back a little and ignore all of the established uses for it? What's there to mind magic outside of the mold most supernaturals have put it in?

It's a branch of magic that can manipulate the mind.

But that doesn't mean you can only manipulate the minds of others. After all, there are mental protection spells in there too, so you can apply effects to yourself.

So, hear me out here, what if you were to... manipulate your own mind? Fate style. The people of this world did not have the stones required to test brainwashing on themselves apparently .

Thought acceleration and partitioning were what I was aiming for here.

If I could somehow augment my own mind then the rate at which I would learn things would be massively upped.

With that in mind I got to work, categorizing and ranking the spells in the tome and working out which parts of which spells and magic circles would be the most useful for me.

'What do you think Ddraig?' I decided to ask as I had Boosted Gear on semi-constantly boosting myself because one it made my everything stronger and two because I needed to train myself to handle higher doses of boosting.

Also, having it on was like a constant workout which did wonders for my physique.

After a few moments, I heard Ddraig's disinterested voice.

{I don't really care all too much since from my perspective you are either looking at and writing dozens of papers madly or ranting in your head about the the superiority of alchemy.}

Hmph, I don't rant in my head that much.

{Oh please, you are borderline psychotic, hearing the mutters you unconsciously send to me, while entertaining are a little concerning. Also, why don't you simply try directing your boost to include your mind too? Without second liberation it will be a bit rough but it should be possible as you imagine hard enough. And with your unique mind and the path of innovation, as you call it, it shouldn't be too hard.}

'Ddraig I could kiss you right now.' I heard a snort of amusement.

{You are welcome, if really do want to thank me, try to spend some time watching television with the boosted gear active. It can get awfully boring, staring at papers all the time.}

Noted. With this information in mind, I released my current 4 fold-boost stack, and drank a stamina potion before starting to boost again, this time with the intention of boosting my mind along with my body too. If Issei was able to alter what it did by wanting to, then so could I.

And it worked!

I could feel my mind that was now 4 times stronger, while it wasn't thought acceleration it didn't need to be. All my mental faculties were 4 times stronger now with the cost of increased strain on my body. Even maintaining a fourfold boost was a bit difficult now.

But no pain no gain. I downed an intermediate stamina regeneration potion and got to work developing my own mind magic which is easier than you might think. Even though I was making a new spell of mind magic.

Pioneer, Path of Innovation and the basic function of Iter Melius was busted. It was like whatever I accomplished it would take it, pat me on the head before retrieving some information from god knows where and filling in all the blanks I missed. It also helps me make it in the first place somehow like an invisible hand of inspiration guiding me.

It felt like I had the pieces of the puzzle and was piecing it together. I think Iter Melius has somehow become stronger thanks to me getting the Boosted Gear. It felt like my mind was breaking down the data and compiling what worked and what didn't then piecing everything together.

I could do it. With parts from Boost, Alkahestry, Meditation and Sense Mana as well as the tons of reference from the mind tome and having Raynare teach me about her mind-wiping magic I was able to piece together thought acceleration.

After 2 days. 36 hours of effort, or more like around 180 hours since I forced myself to use fivefold boosting almost constantly during that time.

What the fuck is sleep am I right? Of course, I managed to maintain some decorum. I still went to school, interacted with Koneko, Akeno and flirted even more with Rias. But as much as I want a repeat date it is not the time.

It's time to take this baby for a roll.

I closed my eyes and used the spell in my mind.

'Thought Acceleration.'

My perception sped up vastly. I had increased my mental processing speed by 10x. A question that would normally take me around 10 minutes to solve would only take a minute.

You have created the 'Thought Acceleration' spell, a great achievement!

[Mind Magic(Novice) Lv.10 MAX] = [Mind Magic(Intermediate) Lv.1]

Turns out, studying mind magic for several days straight and then creating a spell by myself was apparently a feat worthy enough to place me in the intermediate level. Which boosts all mind spells and increases the rate I learn them and utilize them.

But that wasn't the best part of all of this. You see, thought acceleration boosts my thought procession speed by tenfold.

And then boosting 4 times on top of that.

40x thought acceleration.

That's right boys! We are aiming for supercomputer levels of MPU(Mental Processing Power). Now if only I could make general mental boosting I could become even more ridiculous but I will have to settle for being able to cram half an hour into less than a minute.

Well, there was the slight chance of my brain melting once I stopped boosting due to how much it is getting strained but that is a skill issue. My natural regeneration and vitality could handle that.

Now, I could start trying to produce homunculi, improve my spells, learn other magics in days. But before I do that.

Holy fuck I need a break.

My nose has been bleeding for the past 17 hours and 8 minutes. I have been chugging health and stamina potions hourly, I am pretty sure my body will soon decide to skip the dying part and just start decomposing.

Wobbling slightly I pulled my body out of the coffin that was my basement. Hundreds of papers scattered about, theories that the average person wince at just by glancing. Some of them having random scribbles of dicks on them. I am pretty sure I saw Raynare getting intimidated in the corner as I started having a mental breakdown, calming down and then having another one in the span of an hour.

I think it was worth it though.

As I finally arrived in the living room I saw Kalawarner just standing around, not doing much of anything so I decided she would do .

"Kala." My voice made her turn to me and flinch slightly at the state of almost decomposition I was in. From the curious gaze of hers and how Raynare acts she probably talked to the other fallen but I have no mind to care at this point.

"Yes?" I pointed toward the large couch in the middle of the living room.

"Lay down." She seemed confused but my levelled almost constant glare seemed to make her decide to obey without much question, maybe she was naturally submissive? Regardless.

"Wh-!" Going up to the couch I flopped down on Kalawarners body myself, taking her by surprise as I wrapped my arms around her waist and buried my head in her gigantic breasts.

Finally, a modicum of comfort. These must be the best pillows I have ever had, soft and warm. I buried my head even deeper as Kalawarner trembled.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"I need a nap or three and your new job is my pillow. And you don't want to see me any more cranky than I already am, do you? Or else I would then be willing to spend the effort to punish you for- *yawn* whatever. You get it, good night." I shifted my body slightly which made Kalawarner tremble a little and flush but I didn't care.

I need the sleep.

—••——••——••—

That was a very good sleep indeed. I am impressed that Kalawarner did not move or wake me up, her face was very flushed when I woke and she quickly excused but I let her since she has been a very good pillow.

Perhaps I should reward her, maybe it will make the other two more desperate for my approval.

Speaking about servants. There is a special reason as to why I woke up at all this Saturday. It's because it was now time, I confirmed it with Raynare too.

It was time to claim my new nun.

A/N: The brokenness of the Boosted Gear in the hands of Takumi is showing through. Takumi is a fan of getting every efficiency upgrade before starting a task. Speaking of, what do you think about Takumi's new exploit and upgrades? What do you think he could exploit next?

Also, what do you guys think about Asia? I would love to know.

Chapter 27: Total Nunsense

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poll Result: Authors Choice - Become Devil

The result of the poll was leaving it up to my choice(thank you for your faith in me by the way) and I have decided on Becoming a Devil because it was both what the most people were leaning toward and because it seems like the most logical and interesting way to progress the story.

No, Takumi is not becoming a slave. Have some faith in him. Do you really think Takumi would let himself fall into such a disadvantageous position?

Takumi is always a man with a plan. Even if he were to fall into such a bad position you bet your bottom he will find a way to crawl out of it.

Soon, the underworld will learn what kind of monster they have unleashed into their realm.

I do not want any complaints, I gave this as a poll for a reason, you guys chose this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting Asia was not too big of an event for me. It is an easy get in get out deal.

Oh, wait. Scratch that. Because guess what?

I am a fucking idiot.

Why such harsh judgment you may ask?

Well, it is simple.

I don't fucking know Italian.

It slipped my mind that Asia was Italian because of the devil magic Issei had when interacting with her causing him to interpret her words as Japanese.

So... uh... what the fuck do I do?

Do I just have the fallen translate for me? That is vastly inconvenient. Shit.

Fuck it, just swallow your pride Takumi.

I pulled out my phone and dialled Azazel's number.

{"Hm? Takumi-kun? What's up?"} I rapped my foot against the ground while scratching the back of my head out of nervousness, I screwed up. I feel like such a failure.

" Heyyy , Azazel, I know this is a bit sudden but please tell me you have some sort of item that acts sort of like the translation powers you guys have." After a few moments of silence, Azazel replied.

{"Yes, we do. It would be quite inconvenient for our human agents to not be able to communicate with each other after all. Why do you ask?"}

"Uh, I dun goofed. I forgot that I don't have a translator built into my genes like you guys. Any chance I could get a hold of one of those translators you have?" I heard Azazel chuckle.

{"Haha, don't worry, I can get you one, it's a freebie, it's not like they are worth all that much."} I sighed in relief but annoyance nagged at me.

I am a (soon-to-be)master of alchemy, I shouldn't struggle with such trivial things such as racial difference. Alchemy should be able to triumph over such basic troubles.

But I thanked Azazel anyway and hung up, my mind was still hung up on a bigger problem this situation was compounded in.

Humans suck.

I was facing a slight wall. It felt like my stats were slowly starting to reach a slow cap. It seems like the average human's stats do not go up much more than 50. And it does not help that they are naturally weaker at basically anything compared to the other races.

Boosting helps me improve a ton but it has its limits.

So, do I become a Devil?

I don't know. I am not exactly fiending for Devil magic and other than that they are middling compared to the other races with the exception of their bloodline powers which I obviously do not have access to... yet.

Fallen Angels just seems to overall be the best choice. Natural holy element manipulation, resistances, no glaring weakness to anything holy, etc.

But I am very reluctant to choose a race for a good reason.

I am too valuable. It is a fact I am very aware of, the Red Dragon Emperor is very important. An Alchemist is incredibly important. A Red Alchemist Dragon Emperor is; change a cold war to a hot war important.

Once the Devils get me, the one I have to worry about is not Rias. It is the hundreds of Devil nobles that will be watching me closely, trying to limit or sabotage me to their own benefit. It is the old terrorist faction that will definitely be on my tail if I join the new Satans and vice versa.

And considering that mess...

Psh, I can do better.

I mean, I can create homunculi, what says I can't make my body beyond human? I just have to look into biology manipulation is all.

Wait, wasn't there a stray devil here that was mutated beyond recognition? I should subdue them and take them as a test subject if it hasn't been dealt with yet. As I was entertaining such thoughts a box arrived in the magic circle I drew in one corner of my living room to receive deliveries.

Grabbing the black ring from the box I slipped it on my finger and headed out to Asia, it was about time anyway.

It did not take me long to reach there, a casual jog for me was already 20mph, I arrived in front of the bus station near the abandoned church and saw her standing there.

A beautiful young girl with long blonde hair reaching her waist and emerald green eyes full of life. She wore a dark teal nun outfit with light blue accents, a white veil over her head with light blue accents, a brown satchel slung on her right hip and brown boots with black straps in an X-shaped pattern. She also wore a silver cross necklace around her neck. Even her conservative clothes failed to hide her attractive figure.

I approached her raising my hand, making her jump slightly and turn to me with a smile that almost radiated light.

"Hey, Asia Argento right? I am here to pick you up, for reasons Raynare won't be able to host you so I will be doing it in her stead." Hearing my words Asia's smile widened as she bowed to me.

"A-ah yes! Thank you for taking care of me. Also, can I ask what your name is?"

Wow, she is so cute and innocent. Not an ounce of suspicion or questioning. God, it makes me want to pinch her cheeks and corrupt her.

"It's Takumi Katsuragi, you can just call me Takumi. Here let me help you with that Asia."

"Thank you very much-!" As I reached for her suitcase Asia tried bowing again but somehow she tripped.

On nothing, either this girl wasn't born with a sense of balance or she is the one Issei stole his absurd luck from.

Tripping on thin air Asia started falling down and without thinking I darted and grabbed her, stopping her from falling down by wrapping my arms around her.

"Nooo..." This however led to the suitcase in her hands falling down and bursting open, sending clothes flying out of it, and most of the clothes fell into a dirty puddle.

...What the fuck?

I mean how the fuck? Why the fuck? When the fuck? What the fuck? Where the fuck?

How can someone be this absurdly unlucky? Like fucking Christ, it's like the perverted laws of the world are working against her. This amount of luck shouldn't be feasible.

Doubly so considering that somehow I grabbed her by the ass.

It feels very soft and plump. Her ass is bigger than I expected. Without thinking I gave it a good squeeze before releasing Aisa who looked red-faced and despaired at the fact that most of the clothes were now dirty.

I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Asia, let's gather them back, my maids will clean them for you when we are back in my house alright?" I shot her a smile which made her blush as she nodded fiercely.

"Y-yes! Thank you very much!" Man, she is adorable, isn't she?

It took us a minute or two to gather the dirty clothes and shove them in the case, I must say, Asia's choice of underwear is adorable.

After having gathered them we started walking back to my house. Of course, I tried my best to help her around Kuoh, I wasn't exactly in a hurry at the moment and had been doing nothing but grinding for the past few days. I think I can afford to have a nice date with a cute girl every now and then.

I showed her around the place, notable landmarks such as the park, mall etc. Of course, I had to translate for her since you know, Italian and all.

...It was rather embarrassing that I was learning as much as her during this walk since I hadn't been to any shop besides resource gathering and my one date with Rias.

Well, good news, I managed to find an incredibly good pizza place which Asia liked too, though I had to spend a bit of time teaching her how to actually eat pizza. This girl was more sheltered than a bunker.

I was a bit worried that she might have been a bit critical of the pizza since she had Italian in her DNA, but I was worried for nothing.

Eventually, we reached my humble domain, which I am starting to realise is a tad too small for what was going on. As we entered I saw Mittelt who was wiping the table, upon noticing us arrive she flinched and greeted us.

"W-welcome back Takumi-sama." I nodded to her and gestured to the stunned Asia standing behind me.

"Mittelt, this is Asia, she is my guest. If she needs something do it. Oh, and take this suitcase and wash the clothes inside." I handed the case to Mittely who nodded to me curtly before scampering off like a scamper.

"W-wow, amazing Takumi-san, you have maids? But why is the miss fallen angel now your maid?" Asia looked at amazement around my rather humble home which I guess would be impressive for someone who lived in a church their whole life.

"Don't worry about it, they just did something they weren't supposed to and now are paying the price for it. Now, do you want to use the bath? I imagine you would like to clean yourself and relax after such a busy day. Up the stairs, it's the door on the right."

"A-ah yes! Thank you for letting me borrow your shower Takumi-san!" Bowing to me again Asia hurriedly left for the bathroom while I went down the stairs and decided to mock up some designs while Asia took her bath. But as I was scribbling some designs I heard Asia call out to me.

"T-Takumi-san. Could you come here for a second please!?" Wondering what act the universe decided to pull on Asia this time I went up to the bathroom to see Asia nervously peeking her head out of the door.

"U-um, I accidentally forgot that I don't have any other clothes since they got dirty. Do you have any spare clothing Takumi-san, I am very sorry for being so clumsy." Hearing the scared Asia ramble on I chuckled and patted her head.

"Don't worry Asia, I won't be angry at you for just making a simple mistake. Besides, I am fine with you being clumsy, it's just a part of your charm. Give me a second I will handle your clothes now." Hearing my words Asia blushed nuclearly and hung her head down as I chuckled again and headed to my basement.

I had a spare set of clothes here or three. Of course, none of them would fit Asia's smaller body. But I was a man of many talents as I grabbed a large white shirt of mine and then threw a bundle of silk on the transmutation circle, turning it into panties that would probably fit Asia since they were really stretchy.

Of course, I put my own design on the panties. Being a really sheer pair of sexy white lace panties.

Huh, making clothes is oddly fun, I should try making more, maybe even making my own clothing line. Making sexy costumes also sounds nice, I should get around to making my Homunculi so they can handle things like that.

Shaking my head I headed up the stairs with the clothes and handed them to Asia from the gap in the door as she made a noise of confusion and surprise but her timid nature made her offer no complaints as she wore them and headed out of the bathroom giving me a good look at her.

"Wow~ Takumi-san, this is very soft!" Asia said as she raised the shirt and rubbed her face on it as I gulped.

I saw Asia's moist skin just out of the bath, her pulling the shirt up exposed her all the way up to her midriff, showing off her fine body, the sheer lace panties showed off a decent size of her sacred place as well.

Fuck, I need her.

...Why did I think making an elixir that boosts the libido of a teenage boy as a side effect is a good idea?

As I was stunned silent Asia looked at me in curiosity.

"By the way, Takumi-sama, can I ask where I am going to sleep?"

Oh yeah, where was she going to sleep?

My house is cramped as fuck. Hell, I don't even know where the fallen sleep, I think they use the guest room or something. Man, my house really needs an upgrade. Anyway, my bed still exists.

"Oh, you are going to be sleeping with me since there isn't too much room."

"Ehhh-! Is that okay? If you want me to I can sleep on the floor." Such a good girl, makes me want to corrupt her even more.

"Don't worry about it Asia. You don't have any complaints right?" Blushing madly Asia shook her head as I nodded and brought her to my room. The bed was barely big enough for two people but that's fine, I am willing to cuddle.

I laid down first, I would normally remove my clothes but the tent I was pitching refused the sentiment. While I am not embarrassed I don't want to rush it and ruin it. You don't want to devour a Wagyu in two bites, you need to savour it.

Asia, with a bit of reluctance laid down next to me, without much room our bodies made contact, her body was very soft, making me nod wisely at my decisions, it was worth it even though it was taking every bit of self-restraint for me to not push her down right now.

"Sorry if it's a bit cramped." I said making Asia panickedly wave her hands in denial.

"No no, it isn't a problem! I am happy to even sleep in a bed, thank you very much Takumi- san! Good night!"

"Good night Asia." Seeing Asia try to overcome the embarrassment by trying to change the subject I obliged.

Besides, I needed the sleep.

The moment I let my body relax I was knocked out like a log.

A/N: Asia is fun, I like her. What do you guys think about her? I personally like how malleable she is, besides, I don't know about you but I am a sucker for corruption. But don't worry about the effect it has on Asia, the girl self corrupts herself the moment she reads a porn mag.

Also for all of Takumi's genius, even simple details can slip his mind and he can overlook crucial details. He is only human after all.

...Rather funny that this chapter is one where Takumi is talking about not wanting to become a devil.

What did you guys think about the chapter? I would love to know. Your comments help motivate me so they are always welcome.

Chapter 28: Amorous x Akeno

I woke up to the pleasant sensation of a soft body pressed up against mine. I had forgotten how good it feels to sleep and learned how good it feels to sleep with a cute girl in my arms.

Asia was still asleep and still adorable, and apparently, I was a very big cuddler. Since I was spooning her as the big spoon and her as the little spoon.

Which led to this giant erection in my pants pressing up against her sexy panties. I could just imagine the day when I get my hands on her, but this girl has been through too much for me to want to pull anything on her at the moment. Besides I have to go to school now.

So reluctantly, I extracted myself from the bed and then woke Asia up by gently nudging her arm. Which prompted her to groggily rise up , my oversized shirt falling off one of her shoulders exposing part of her nipple.

Self-restraint is a virtue.

"Asia, wake up sleepyhead."

"Mmh? Takumi-san? Good morning." Asia said, still rubbing her eye, she must have been exhausted after a long day.

"Good morning, I will have to school for now. If you want you can keep sleeping, if you need anything just ask the maids alright?"

"Alright, thank you very much Takumi sa~~n!" She yawned at the last part making me chuckle and leave the room wearing my clothes and adjusting my belt to hide my humongous dragon.

Alright time for school.

—••——••——••—

"Ehh~? You want me to help with your magic training?"

I had asked Akeno to help me practice the lacking parts of my magic abilities. Talented I may be but Akeno had years of magic learning on me. To be more specific I wanted her help to practice my magic sense and concealment.

Of course, she readily agreed to help me practice. However, the way she worded training was slightly concerning. Can never be too careful around the oneesan type.

Whatever, she led me to an empty-ish living room in the Occult Research Club as we both sat down.

"Alright, Takumi-kun, what do you want to practice first?" She said while smiling kindly, sitting down in front of me while I thought about what I wanted to get out of the way first.

"That would be sensing magic power. I am not particularly good at it so learning it better would really help. Do you have an idea on how I can practice it Akeno-senpai?" Once I said this the ever-present smirk on Akeno's face got larger.

" In fact I do!"

For some reason that sent chills down my spine.

—••——••——••—

"When I thought about training this wasn't exactly what I had in mind. Also, why am I in my underwear exactly?" I asked Akeno who was blushing and smiling in glee as I stood in the middle of the woods behind the Kuoh academy and was given a blindfold by Akeno.

Man, Daddy issues sure do give some really strange kinks to people.

"Ara~ ara~ Takumi-kun, patience. The best way to train your mana sense would be to dodge mana projectiles while only being able to rely on it right?"

Damn, she has a point.

"So, why am I naked?"

"Ufufu~"

Alright then, I would definitely be getting her back for this. Mark my words.

Regardless, I put on the blindfold and got ready, moments later I heard magical noises and activated my mana sense, sensing vague outlines of mana around me I leaned to the side, I could not leave a 2-meter circle.

I felt a projectile whizz by me as another two were launched from separate directions leading me to crouch to avoid them. And when those 2 passed by another 3 were launched.

'Holy shit this is intense.'

I was sweating by the time we reached 10 projectiles, focusing on my mana sense with so many projectiles at once was really intense. I started using thought acceleration to keep up.

But goddam it's so fun!

It's like playing bullet hell in real life!

"Looks like you are doing really well Takumi-kun. Ufufu~ I suppose you wouldn't be against me ramping it up then." Before I could ask what it was I felt what it was with my rapidly improving mana sense.

Crackle!* *Bam!*

I jumped to the side just in time to avoid the falling lightning. Then I crouched to avoid another projectile. Turning up my Thought Acceleration I started dodging even harder, I sweated like hell, doing acrobatics to dodge bullet after bullet and even the occasional lightning before I was struck by a stray pellet knocking me on my ass. Which prompted the projectiles to stop as I raised the blindfold to see Akeno looking over me with a smile and blush on her face as she stared at my abs.

"Oh my~ I did not expect you to do so well Takumi-kun. It's really impressive." Taking her hand I smiled at her and got up.

"Yeah, thanks for your help Akeno-senpai. I will be ready for round 2 in just a bit." I shot her a grin which made her cover her mouth as she blushed, I was well aware that my body was something nice to look at, especially now that it was covered in the sweat of hard work.

"Are you two training?" I heard come from above, making me look up as I saw Rias looking at us from the second-floor window sill.

"Ufufu~ indeed Rias, I hope you are enjoying the sight. What brought you here? Or are you just here to watch?" Hearing Akeno's words Rias blushed a little but did not deny as she brushed a bit of her hair behind her ear and smiled.

"It's hard not to notice when you are throwing lightning around Akeno. What are you two even training for anyway?" Giggling to herself Akeno replied.

"I am helping Takumi-kun train his sensing abilities by creating things for him to sense and dodge." Hearing this Rias looked in my direction.

"Is that so? You could have asked me to help you train too you know. I am always available." Rias said pouting slightly as I made a helpless expression.

"Sorry but I don't think doing dodging practice with the power of destruction is a very good idea."

"Ufufu~ Is it jealousy I hear in your voice Rias? Are you perhaps jealous that I am hogging your precious Takumi?" Akeno said, going to my side and hugging my arm, smothering it between her breasts as she smirked at Rias while I fought for my life with my nails digging into my palm to not pop a boner, I rue the day I created my vitality potion.

"Humph, not really. You two can resume training. And Takumi, if you ever want to train together I am available." Rias said, puffing her cheeks up and going back inside the clubroom as Akeno giggled again.

Man, their relationship is weird. But I do agree that pouting Rias is very cute.

"Alright, now we can resume training then. Are you ready Akeno-senpai?" Akeno hugged my arm tighter as she pouted slightly.

"Geez~ fine. We can get back to training now. But I am going to have you make up for this you know?" Is this because I ignored her teasing? It totally is. But you won't find me so easy to tease, especially when it's about grinding.

—••——••——••—

[ Sense Mana(Intermediate) Lv. 2 ]

The training went really really well. With my thought acceleration I was improving by leaps and bounds in a short amount of time which left even Akeno slightly speechless.

That aside I am pretty sure she was getting off of hurting me.

After mana sensing came the mana concealment training. For that, Akeno had a different idea.

"The most important part about concealing your mana is focus. If your focus breaks it will become harder to conceal your mana." Akeno had me sit down in a lotus position on the ground of the living room of the ORC.

The goal of the training was for me to hide my mana signature as best I could while distractions happened around me. Or at least that was what the premise was supposed to be.

As I was using thought acceleration to have finer control over my mana to conceal it better my thought process and acceleration were broken by my nemesis.

I watched as Akeno stripped off her skirt and stepped out of it before sitting down cross- legged in front of me just a foot away. I could see the outline of her pussy through her dark purple panties.

"Ufufu~ Your concentration is slipping Takumi-kun." Fuck it was.

At this point, even my rationality is slipping. My libido was unnecessarily large. I tried hard to refocus but it fell apart as Akeno undid her button-up shirt too.

Fuck it, if she is teasing me then she can deal with the consequences of teasing me.

~~~~~~r18 starts now~~~~~~

I released my hold and immediately my dragon rose up to soaring heights, creating a tent in my pants like none had ever seen. Causing Akeno to wear a shocked expression with a large brush across her cheeks, but I could almost sense the arousal off of her.

"A-Ara Ara~~ you seem to having a bit of a problem there Takumi-kun." I smiled at her, not even an ounce of shame left in my bones.

"Yep, you are making it really hard for me to focus Akeno-senpai. Think you could lend a hand?" I will be honest if she blueballs me here Raynare will be having a really rough day on her hands.

Thankfully, she was as horny as I imagined as she crawled toward me on all fours, her body pushing up to mine.

"Well~ if you ask for it like that. I can't really refuse my cute junior, can I? I guess I just have to take responsibility and give you a hand ." Akeno said in a seductive voice as she pulled my boxers down, revealing my full 9 inches of throbbing as she took it in and licked her lips.

Her soft hand wrapped around my length and started gently stroking it. Her hands were very soft and felt like a piece of heaving gliding around my length.

My hand also wrapped around her body, groping her plentiful ass. She breathed heavily as I did so.

"My~ my~ how naughty Takumi-kun. It almost feels like an affair you know? Doing this behind Rias' back." Akeno said, withdrawing her hand for a second before licking her own hand and adding some saliva to it before resuming stroking me with her now slick hand.

The added pleasure made me grunt.

"You are one to talk. Such a lewd girl teasing me incessantly. you wanted this to happen didn't you, you naughty girl?" Akeno shivered as I whispered in her ear, making her stroke me harder and harder as I approached my climax.

"Yes~ I wanted this to happen, I am such a bad girl~" She stroked me harder and then I was about to.

"Akeno I am cumming!"

"Yes! Do it! Cum for me!" Akeno got in front of me as she stroked me to completion, making me groan as volumes of cum burst out of my dick like a hose, raining down on Akeno who received it like an expert. My cum was splattered all over her upper body.

Goddam that felt good. I needed that.

~~~~~~r18 ends now~~~~~~

—••——••——••—

After that whole jerking me off thing things had become a bit awkward between us. Akeno was the type of person to get swept along with the mood without thinking too much about the consequences.

So I excused myself and started training by myself and actually thanks to achieving release through Akeno my efficiency in concentrating skyrocketed. With meditation and thought acceleration I was able to fit an entire day of training within 1 hour. By the end of the school day, I had reached intermediate 3.

As I was heading home after school came to a close I received a message on my phone from Rias.

'By the way, Takumi-kun I thought I should inform you that Lady Serafall Leviathan wanted to meet you personally for dealing with the fallen angels.' Reading the message I raised an eyebrow.

Well, this wasn't too out of my expectations. She must have learned of my potions somehow or just simply wanted to meet the magician in Kuoh who managed to defeat the fallen. Either way, it works for me, networking is always good.

'Sure. Did she mention when? Or am I supposed to be the decides the time.'

No response.

'Rias?'

'...She just said she would drop by.'

Great. I forgot how... eccentric the Satans were. I guess that's my bad. I guess I should expect her to drop by unexpec-

Woosh!*

A deep blue magic circle formed in my living room, and out of it burst a busty girl with long pigtails swaying in the wind, wearing a scanty pink and black magic girl outfit.

"Yahoo~ ! Maou Serafall Leviathan here ! "

She said striking a pose.

...I wonder if Azazel forgot some alcohol in my house?

Because I really need a fucking drink.

A/N: Powerful people have no need for such trivial things as knocking or not teleporting into people's houses. And everybody knows that it is mandatory for a magical girl to make a surprise entrance.

Besides that what did you think about this chapter and the development of Akeno and Takumi improving his abilities? Did you like the character interactions in this chapter? I would love to know.

Chapter 29: Magical Girls

Alright, it's decided, after this, I will be buying protection spells from Azazel.

Although I have my doubts as to whether it would be able to stop any other Ultimate Class Asshole kicking down my front door willy-nilly.

I looked with narrowed eyes at the Satan who just figuratively kicked my door down. The biggest question running through my mind was why she was dressed up as a magical girl out of all things.

A kink? The frick if I know.

The admittedly incredibly sexy and dangerous Satan turned to me and struck another pose before her curious gaze landed on Mittelt who was frozen in the corner while she was rearranging the cupboard.

"Hmmm~? What are fallen angels doing here? Especially the very bad ones that hurt Takumi- chan in the first place?" I could see that Mittelt was close to pissing herself in fear with how much she was trembling from Serafalls presence, making me step in.

"Mittelt, could you leave us alone? It's nice to meet you Miss Leviathan. Thankfully I knew you were coming beforehand, so no... accidents happened. As for the fallen, Raynare and her party were given to me as gifts from Azazel. I assume your business is related to said fallen?" If I did not know she was coming I would have blasted her out of reflex, I have been really wary of surprise attacks ever since the fallen angel fiasco.

Serafall assumed a serious expression for a second before sticking back to her magical girl persona.

"Hmm~, so Azazel gifted you the Fallen, is it? That's unexpected, but then again you can't expect anything from that old snake. Anyway~! I am here to of course meet the enigmatic

Alchemist in my little sister and little Rias' territory. And to thank you too."

I decided to play a little dumb.

"Thank me? What would a Satan have to thank me for?" Hearing my words Serafall puffed her cheeks and huffed.

"You can just call me Levia-tan~ ! you know? No need to be so strict, geez you are just like Sona-chan. But as for what I have to thank you for, it's of course for subduing the fallen and sending them to me. If it wasn't for that it would have been such a headache-inducing incident. Sorry I wasn't able to come earlier, I really wanted to meet you but Levia-tan~ ! may be strong but the evil forces of bureaucracy still pose to be mighty foe." She said, pointing her staff at an imaginary foe while I backed away a bit.

...What the fuck would backing from her do? She can glass Japan, a few steps back won't change anything stupid.

"Alright so... is that all? Because I don't think you take all the time out of your day just to see me and thank me right?" She smiled.

"You are right~! As thanks, I decided to give you a reward. So? What do you want? As long as it is within reason this magical girl promises on her magical powers that she will get it for you." She made exaggerated motions but I knew she was honest.

So I fell into thought.

What DO I want? Obviously, I want her but I am not that retarded just yet, maybe if I drink another vitality potion. I already have access to a magical ingredient supplier and a small favour like this won't really give me too good of an ingredient I can't get myself.

So what do I want?

"I want access to Stray Devils. Especially live ones."

Serafall tilted her head in a seemingly cute confused manner but I could see the cogs in her head turning as she tried to connect the pieces together.

"But what would you want with Stray Devils? They are nothing more than bad eggs who betrayed their masters."

"I am an alchemist you see. So having some test subjects, especially live ones are very important to me. More specifically I would prefer the bodies of Stray Devils who have mutated." I stated my reason and Serafall fell into deep contemplation and after a few dozen seconds she resumed her magical girl persona.

"Well~ I guess that could be done. It's not like we would lose anything by handing over live Stray Devils to you. But it is rare for a Stray Devil to be captured alive since they are usually killed on sight. But I think something can be arranged."

I bowed my head slightly in gratitude, this saved me from going out to hunt them myself. I should also ask Rias to try and keep any stray she finds in her domain. The mutation of the strays are very very interesting to me.

Snake lower body? How does that develop? An entire monster lower body? I must learn how that works asap.

"Well, I am thankful ms. Serafall."

However, hearing my words Serfall pouted and turned her head away like a kid.

"Hmph! Geez~ you are so formal and uptight aren't you Takumi-kun? I told you to refer to me as Magical Girl Levia-tan~ ! didn't I?"

I can tell that she will of course ignore the matter if I laugh awkwardly. But she wants to tease me like this? She is the one barging into my room in a magical girl costume she obviously has no qualms about me treating her that way.

"I see my apologies."

I took a deep breath in.

"As expected of the greatest Satan Magical Girl Levia-tan~ ! I am very grateful."

For a few seconds, Serafall just looked at me with a stunned face as I made direct eye contact with her.

Eventually, she scratched her cheek and me a thumbs-up with a grin.

"Yup~! That was perfect Takumi-kun, you get full marks! Now I will definitely get you that Stray Devil corpse! But first of all, do you have a DevilPhone?" I nodded and handed it over to her.

Watching intently as she handled my phone, if those fingers ever start hovering toward my gallery I am doing my damn best to restart the great war.

Thankfully, she just put her number on my phone and added herself to my contacts and handed my phone back to me.

"Alright! Here, I added my private number to your contacts so I can call you up anytime to inform you about the dropoff ok? But now I have to leave to arrange for that Stray you wanted. Don't worry, I will get them extra mutated just for you!"

Like that, she gave me a peace sign and teleported leaving me to slump down to my chair.

I don't know if she intended it but that was the most draining political interaction I have ever had. Shaking my head to clear it of exhaustion I pulled up my phone to message Rias.

It basically was a message asking her to refrain from executing the Strays under her jurisdiction and instead take their battered bodies to me. Thankfully she agreed without much convincing

Even better was that they already had a stray in their territory, apparently Viser just appeared. It took them a bit of time to locate her dwelling.

...Was my appearance causing slight butterfly effects already? It's not like I didn't expect it but it is rather intriguing. But for now, there shouldn't be any effects that derail my plans or need me to alter them for.

—••——••——••—

After the deal with Serafall, I had to make some preparations. More specifically I had to expand my basement. While I am comfortable in my man cave I cannot fit all of my experiments in this dingy space.

And I couldn't really expand underground without a permit due to the land of my house not exactly being too large.

But that issue was pretty easy to fix by actually asking Azazel for it. Within the span of several hours, I got the okay to expand my basement however I wanted.

This raised the question of just how much free time Azazel had to be able to basically answer my every request almost instantly but this wasn't unexpected. After all in "Cannon" this guy got a job as a teacher for shits and giggles.

Poor Shemhazai.

Anyway, once I got the go from Azazel I immediately got to work.

And by that I mean I got to work on how I would work on this.

You see I still have my basic baby earth catalyst that I can use to expand my basement but that will be excruciatingly slow. And as I was thinking of ways I could make the process faster.

Then it clicked.

Remember how the Boosted Gear can assimilate weapons into itself like Ascalon and Divine Dividing?

Well, well, why couldn't that be applied to my catalysts?

{Well, I see why no reason why it wouldn't. Though I still don't know how you know all these details about the Boosted Gear.} Replied Ddraig from my mind as we discussed the possibility of it.

If this was possible not only would the weakness of needing to switch out my catalyst be eliminated but I would also be able to increase the potency of any catalyst to absurd levels.

I raised my hand up high, the flair was actually important. Willpower was one of the most important components of making a sacred gear work after all.

And responding to my will and desires.

"{Boosted Gear: Terra Catalyst}!"

A voice boomed as the boosted gear in my hands changed slightly, taking on a slightly darker hue with metallic brown outlines around the scales.

I felt the connection to my catalyst immediately.

It works!

Holy fuck it works!

With a thought, I raised my hand again.

"{Switch! Boosted Gear: Kelvin Catalyst}!"

The Boosted Gear gained blue engravings all around it that were all cold to the touch. With a simple thought, the moisture from the air was driven to my very fingers. Dispersing it I raised my hands again.

"{Switch! Boosted Gear: Ampere Catalyst}!"

This time the Boosted Gear's yellow portions started glowing yellow as golden engravings appeared on the gauntlet.

"{Switch! Boosted Gear: Terra Catalyst}!"

I switched to the mode I needed as I laughed in glee. Truly I was a genius!

{I have to admit. You must be one of the most creative users of the Boosted Gear I have ever seen. Even I did not think of using it like this.}

Oh, you can praise me more you know? No need to be shy.

{Maybe it comes packaged with being clinically insane?}

...Pft, I am not insane.

{That is what most insane people say. Or are saying that putting both the Boosted Gear and the Absorption Line inside your body while having another sacred gear and just hoping to not explode was a thought a sane person would have?}

Ddraig my dear partner, the line between genius and insane is whether you can prove your theory is right.

{I... cannot argue with that I suppose.}

Takumi 1 Ddraig 0

Marking a win on my mental scoreboard I got back to what I was aiming to do. Waiting a solid minute for my Boosts to reach a sufficient level I started terraforming the walls of my basement, just by putting my hand on the wall I could move several tens of tons of rock and dirt.

I started pushing back, packing the walls further and further to make room for my basement, it was incredibly fun actually, like playing Minecraft.

By the time I was done, my basement was completely overhauled. The basement was now around 150 meters long and wide(500 freedom feet). And I could expand it anytime I wanted to. The walls were made of hyper-compressed dirt that had turned into some kind of stone. I do not what kind of stone it is since I just went about it randomly with my transmutation but is incredibly dense. Like really dense. Harder than steel.

I needed a large space to create my homunculus lab after all.

All in all, it was currently just a big open space at the moment with basically nothing inside. And I had to change that.

It was time to finally expand my operations.

A/N: Even Takumi is out of his depth when it comes to talking to Serafall. A Satan capable of glassing Japan acting like both an older sister and cosplaying as a magical girl is a bit of a doozy to deal with.

Takumi is gathering materials to learn more about devils and start finally creating his homunculi. Also, what do you guys think about the upgrade to the catalysts? I would love to hear your thoughts about this chapter.

Chapter 30: Expansion x Experimentation

I gave the gaggle of fallen angels a simple task for them to do. I gave them a catalogue and blueprint for how the basement should look as well as the furniture I wanted inside of it. I gave them around 10,000,000 Yen for the task, money wasn't really a problem for me since Azazel was willing to pay in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per decent potion I crafted.

Since the fallen were busy buying the things I wanted I started cooking breakfast for Asia and I. You only have so much time in a day so I haven't been cooking all too much, once I make my homunculi I will have much more time so maybe then.

As I was cooking up a storm in the kitchen, I am talking eggs and sausages, whipping out seasonings, like a baller. When I noticed Asia come into the room.

"Takumi-san? Why are cooking breakfast?" My eye shifted to Asia who wore casual clothes that fit her frame rather nicely. I smiled lightly at her.

"Good morning, Kala-chan had a task to do so I am currently handling cooking breakfast. Sit down it will be ready in just a second." Asia was about to refute when she smelled the air and gulped, quietly sitting down.

While Kala-chan was a decent cook it was nothing to the sheer cungus of my cooking.

A beat later I finally prepared everything and set it down in front of us, waiting for Asia to take a bite, and when she did she blushed and moaned in pleasure.

"Takumi-san this is so good! You are a very great cook!" She said, hurryingly eating my food as I watched her eat.

I don't even think I want to eat anymore, just watching her makes me feel like I have diabetus.

Regardless I started digging into my own breakfast, food is fuel for the engine that drives forward Alchemy.

"By the way, Asia, are you interested in gardening? You see, I was thinking of creating a garden but I don't really trust those stooges with anything alive and was wondering if you would be willing to help with it."

Hearing my words Asia's eyes shone as she was visibly happy at the prospect of being able to potentially contribute something.

"Yes! Gardening is one of my hobbies actually . I kept a garden back at the church, I would love to help you Takumi-san! I can also heal the plants and help them grow with my Twilight Healing!"

Wait a second. Do you hear what I hear?

Yep, that definitely sounds like profit.

If I can homegrow special ingredients and have Asia raise them I could revolutionize my Alchemy by leaps and bounds! Asia, you saint!

Putting the empty plates away I placed my hands on Asia's shoulders.

"Asia, I could kiss you right now." I stared into her eyes Asia blushed up a storm. I wasn't kidding, Asia was a golden goose in my lap.

"O-okay."

...Huh?

Wait what?

I mean what?

I was just trying to be funny. But seeing her cute expression with slight expectation said that I should forget about that go for it.

I placed my hand under her chin and tilted her head up slightly as I claimed her lips while wrapping my other arm around her. I gently kissed her, slipping in only a little tongue before separating, leaving Asia bright-faced.

"Haha, you are so cute when you are embarrassed, Asia. Wait for me a bit I will prepare the gardens." Hearing my words Asia nodded meekly with her face still aflame.

Man, she is adorable.

—••——••——••—

I spent some time of my day preparing the garden. Azazel had already bought out the houses around my house so I was able to expand my garden a bit. And using Terra Catalyst I did some terraforming.

Basically min-maxing the mineral content, ground toughness, etc of my garden the best I could, planting some seeds I bought I from Azazel and some experimental seeds of my own.

Asia would unknowingly run these experiments for me. For example, what happens when you water an apple tree with pinnacle-grade novice health potions? What about mana potions or stamina potions? That was the thought behind it at least.

After I was done I gave the enthusiastic Asia the job of maintaining my garden and helping my plants grow with the instructions provided. It should keep her busy and give her something to do. If I remember correctly she wanted to go to school in the original so I should look into that sometime.

Now, I was setting up my basement, Raynare and the gang had gathered whatever I wanted rather quickly. So I set up my basement, it had a few rooms set up to my liking.

Homunculous Lab: I already started on Homunculi production, this large room was for creating the homunculi I wanted. I put the exorcist corpses in the corner since those would be the ones I would convert into homunculi later.

Enchantment Room: This room was designing, creating and storing enchanted items, I am planning on focusing more on enchanting once I get done with the homunculi.

Library/Records: This room contained all of my insane scribblings, half-mad theories, and actual entire books of theories I had written, there were too many at this point to just randomly have on my floor so I made a library for it.

Alchemy Room: This is where the magic happens. It had all of my alchemy equipment there, including the ingredients stacked up on the shelves and all potions sorted.

Dungeon: This is where I will keep my dear test subjects. Stray devils already lost all their rights and such and would have died if I hadn't taken them in so they can't really complain about anything I would do to them.

Speaking of the dungeon, I got a call from Serafall, notifying me that she caught me a stray devil. So I quickly went back into my living room to see her teleporting in with a stray devil.

The stray devil she brought me was actually relatively unmutated compared to I think her name was Viser. Her arms were replaced with those of a feline with dark fur, she also had horns and a rather large scaly tail. She was bound by chains and given to me.

According to Serafall, she stabbed her master in the dead of night failing to kill her master before fleeing. She killed 18 humans before being found by a high-class devil on vacation.

I took her with me, apparently the chains were supposed to restrict the usage of magic in the target by preventing them from regenerating mana. Of course, I kept her in her chains as I bound her in my dungeons. She was actually rather physically strong so I had to enchant some chains with reinforcement. Then I started experimenting on her before Rias and the bunch came of course.

First of all, the Absorption Line.

I started trying to absorb her lifespan and found out something interesting.

I could suck out their lifespan, but not use their lifespan, more specifically when I try to absorb their lifespan I absorb their lifeforce which robs them of their vitality, reducing their lifespan. And as it seems, their Lifeforce is not particularly that groundbreaking. Looks like the absurd lifespan of the Devils seems to come from something else.

Maybe it's like my traits? Both my vitality and traits impact my lifespan, but even while my vitality is meagre I can get a trait like immortality and live forever.

Anyway, next I tested the effects of my more dubious potions on her, like paralysis, sleep, heat etc. The goal was to figure out the effectiveness and to what extent they would keep a stray devil down.

There was also a... worse purpose.

I moved the Devil to one of the large tables of my dungeon and bound her there, also putting her under Intermediate Ranked Anesthesia. Then I brought out my tools.

I spent my time dissecting her, finding out how the cat limbs connected to the human limbs, how their bones were structured, changes in the muscular structure due to the abnormal

limbs, and the makeup of her horns.

Of course, I did not have too much time to explore her body before I had to take her back to her cell since Rias and her Peerage had finally caught Viser.

I had to make up some bullshit to Rias about why I needed Viser which boiled down to harvesting her for potion materials which she readily agreed to.

I will say, Rias is one ruthless girl.

She did not even bat an eye when I said I would use her for human experimentation. I guess that's a devil for you.

Now though, there is just one problem.

Viser is big as fuck. Like big big as fuck. I had to first suck out all of her mana and stamina using absorption line then wrap her up with it before making a tunnel down to my dungeon with Terra catalyst to fit her, and then made an even larger cell before depositing her. I don't regret taking her though.

With how amalgamated she was she was like a walking bank of discoveries for me to uncover. But now there was an additional challenge.

I need someone to take care of them. I don't have time to cater for their needs and can't be bothered to make sure they don't keep trying to escape.

But I know someone who would be a very effective warden.

—••——••——••—

"You want me to look after your prisoners? Why?" Raynare scoffed slightly but still remained somewhat obedient when I brought up the topic. What better warden for Devils than a Fallen Angel right?

She was still rebellious but I actually knew how to finally completely earn her loyalty. She was a follower, she would finally bend the knee once I showed her the carrot I told her about.

I grasped her chin gently, making her look at me.

"Because I am not doing it and you would be a wonderful warden Raynare. Besides, you are a very good girl, aren't you? In fact, I think you have been good enough for me to reward you." I pulled out a ring from my pocket and slipped it onto the pinky of the curious Raynare before her eyes went from disgust to utter shock.

I could understand her since she must have felt her vitality increase the moment she put on the ring enchanted with Vitality - minor. This proved to her that I was not shitting her.

I could make her strong, must be the thought running rampant in her head at the moment. As she smiled manically at me.

"U-um, master what is this ring?" Master now huh?

"This Raynare, is your gift for pleasing me and being such a good girl. And if you continue being such a good girl for me, who knows? I may just reward you further. But the question is. Will you really be mine Raynare? Because I can't give these things out to those who aren't mine you know."

She nodded with fervour as if hopped up on drugs.

"Yes! Of course, I will be your good girl Master! I will even take care of these devils for you! So please make sure to reward your maid!" As she said that I slipped a collar around her unresisting neck.

"Then let this be the sign of your devotion. But first, I think I want to put your skills to the test."

Immediately getting my intent Raynare nodded with enthusiasm as she licked her lips, having done a complete 180 after realizing that I was where the money was at.

"Of course master~ I will show you my skill is unparalleled."

Hearing that I led her to my bedroom.

Honestly, she was almost too easy.

A/N: We are finally beginning the biological side of Alchemy, Human(noid?) experimentation has started now that Takumi has subjects and time. With this, his scope of alchemy will expand further than ever before. It is only a matter of time before the Homunculi workforce emerges.

Also, Raynare is very easy. As long as you can make her stronger she is one of the easiest girls. That means one fallen down , two more to go.

What do you guys think about the developments in this chapter? Did you like them? What about the scene between Asia and Takumi as well Raynare and Takumi? I would love to know.

Also, the plot will be moving along soon.

Chapter 31: Familiar x Forest

~~~~~~r18 Start~~~~~~

Echoes of lust rang throughout Takumi's room as Raynare bounced on Takumi's cock like a bitch in heat as she rode him like a horse. Takumi likewise thrust his hips upwards to try and meet her rabid rhythm.

"Ahh~ Finally~ it has been so long since I last had sex~! You are so big Master~!" The bed creaked as Raynare got wilder and wilder slamming her hips down as she stood on the very tip of her toes.

"Holy fuck, you *huff* really are a slutty bitch aren't you Raynare?" Takumi exclaimed as he felt his hips bruise from the impacts of Raynare slamming down on him over and over again.

It felt like getting wrung by a very violent succubus. He had already 3 times all cumshots inside Raynare yet she was still soldiering on.

Moan!* "Yessss~!!!"

Raynare moaned and came again she pinched her nipples. Takumi was completely drenched, from both his own sweat and Raynare's squirts.

Not even taking a moment to recover from her orgasm Raynare resumed jumping on Takumi's A-grade meat like an animal seeing prey.

"Master~ I have always thought that your dick was massive~! *Moan!* I am your bitch, your slutty little good girl! Please reward this servant with your cum!" She really had issues pent up, she always desired Azazel. And now that she found a master even better those pent-up desires had transferred over.

That was putting aside the fact that she was an angel who had fallen for lust in the first place. And having not had sex for a while. She was a lustful fallen angel who was pent up twice over.

'I am fighting for my fucking life!'

After the first half an hour of sex Takumi's goal changed from fucking Raynare to surviving fucking Raynare. He was genuinely trying to endure the onslaught from the experienced Raynare with all he had.

Takumi grabbed Raynare by the shoulders and pulled her down to himself, wrapping her in his embrace as he trusted upward with desperate vigour. He felt Raynare biting his traps, leaving a mark.

"Raynare! I am cumming!" With one more thrust, he slammed his hips into Raynare, filling her up to the brim again. He felt Raynare moan against him before he pulled out letting the cum drip out of her cavern.

Huff.* *Huff.* "Fuck." Takumi's chest heaved. It felt heavenly but draining. It was one hell of a way of losing your virginity. But he noticed that Raynare, although also heaving slightly was still reaching for his manhood.

And he wasn't a chump that would say he couldn't perform to his own servant.

Mission Objective: Survive.

...

So absorbed in their lovemaking Takumi and Raynare basically forgot about the other residents of the house. Especially since the room was not soundproof in the slightest.

They did not notice the guest peeking through the door.

'What are Takumi-sama and Raynare-sama doing...?' Asia watched in almost a hypnotic trance as Raynare bounced on Takumi's rock-hard cock. A heat crossed her face as she felt her core get hotter and her hand unconsciously drifted to her panties remembering her kiss with Takumi.

"Are they having sex? I shouldn't watch this!" Although she thought that her eyes remained glued to the scene of them, her hands reached inside her panties on instinct.

"Maybe I should ask Kalawarner-sama about this?"

Something inside Asia had awakened.

~~~~~~r18 End~~~~~~

—••——••——••—

~Takumi~

I rested my back against the warm bath as I let out a groan of relief.

I felt like I had just run a marathon and a half. My dick looked like a sad reddened sausage, my groin was literally bruised and bite marks were littered all over my upper body.

Hahaha.

I almost died by snu snu. Note to self, Don't challenge a thousand-year-old fallen angel that fell due to lust to a sex battle as a virgin.

[Sex Path(Novice) lv.5]

Your skill in sexual activities. Providing pleasure to your partners and your skill in receiving and delivering pleasure

Funny how the System has skills for even things like this.

Shaking my head I retreived a no-ingestion stamina and health potion and poured them into my bath and let myself relax. This was a better medicinal bath indeed.

Huh, when was the last time I took a bath or even a shower actually ?

I usually just use Kelvin catalyst to make water clean all bits of dirt off my body.

After having a nice bath I returned to my basement before asking Azazel for more tomes on hypnosis, giving him some paralysis potions in exchange.

My thought process was simple. Hypnosis works by affecting parts of the mind.

For example, you can use magic to make someone think whatever you are is usual, nothing to see there. Erase parts of their memory without them suspecting a thing. Hell, you could even implant fake memories in someone or repress their memories with some very advanced spells.

And, if it can be so precise that it can affect certain parts of the mind. That means you can actually treat the mind as having separate aspects.

I spent hours in my basement writing over a hundred pages of work trying to work out how my new spell would work. Hypnosis could make the mind work independently from the consciousness.

And after 6 hours, or well, 300 hours from my perspective. I finally created it!

Thought Partitioning.

The mind can already perform independently from the awareness.

When making a jump you don't actively calculate the distance, right? Your unconscious does it for you. So why can't it do more than that?

Because you don't have much control over it, you can train it but that takes a long long time before something becomes instinct.

You can only multitask so much. But now with thought partitioning that is no longer the case.

I can freely divide up my mental CPU with thought partitioning, I can make myself completely focus on a task even by shifting the CPU over. For example, I could both be reading a book and thinking about what to cook without either task being negatively impacted.

Since you aren't forcing multiple tasks through the same input but instead having a separate input for each task which makes it so that they don't collide with each other.

For the normal person, it wouldn't be the greatest since even though you are doing it nearly perfectly you are still giving each task half of what brain processing power you would give it.

Thankfully, I am not a normal person.

After all, I had thought acceleration.

It was near mental self-supremacy. Well, it wasn't really a skill I had.

I was essentially hypnotizing myself. Using mind magic to accelerate my thoughts, using hypnotization to target my mind and my thought processes and splitting them up accordingly.

A good side effect of this was the fact that I had hella resistance to mental manipulation.

Because I was already peeking into my mind from the third person almost 24/7 I would notice any foreign change almost instantly and eliminate it thanks to my control over my own mind.

[Mind Magic(Intermediate) Lv.9]

It's insane really, I don't even know how to cast fireball but I can probably neuter someone's mind with my magic.

Anyway, as I was running my new thought partitioning to the test by reading the book about seals I had gotten from Azazel in exchange for a crate of minor healing potions while at the same time preparing the homunculus process to convert homunculi I got a text message.

I raised my eyebrow at the text, cancelling my mind enhancements making blood drip down my nose and some from my eyes as I used a handkerchief to wipe them away.

''Whelp! I wonder what Rias is planning for. Let's depart Ddraig!"

{Are you not going to acknowledge that you were just bleeding from your eyes?}

'If I found it a matter worth addressing I would. My squishy bits are struggling a bit to keep up with my giga mind is all. But it is a sacrifice I am willing to endure. I will learn to mitigate it of course.'

I heard Ddraig let out a breath of equal parts fondness and exasperation.

{Sigh, you really are a scary guy you know that? But you should deactivate the Boosted Gear for now. You need to let your body rest too. You can't prove the triumph of alchemical triumph when your body is breaking down, can you?}

...Damn, Ddraig has a point.

'Okay fine~ Mom. I will rest a bit.' Saying that I retracted the boosted gear ending the conversation before Ddraig had a chance to respond.

...I am marking that as a win for me.

Takumi 2 Ddraig 0

Stretching a bit I left the house and lightly jogged to Kuoh Academy at 40km/h of course putting an attention ward around me as I did so(intermediate level mind spell learned during research).

After I entered the building I opened the door to Rias' office thingy to be met with the entire peerage in the room with Rias waving at me.

"Sup guys, what am I here for?" Hearing my words Rias crossed her arms and gave me a smile .

"I am glad you asked Takumi-kun. Since today is a full moon I decided to make it up to you for the Fallen Angel problem. My family actually owns a forest called the Familiar Forest that houses a lot of familiars that can be contracted. I was planning on taking you there so you could get a familiar since you don't have one yet."

A ticket to a forest where familiars are? Where supernatural ingredients are? Where animals with special properties I can dissect are?

Rias, you beautiful girl. I could kiss and do a lot of things to you right now.

"...Your smile is creepy." I heard Koneko commenting from the side making me shake my head.

"So, rude. I am rescinding your cookie privilege for a week." Koneko reeled in shock and Akeno and Kiba giggled.

"...Your smile is very h-handsome?" Koneko spat out the words in almost a desperation.

"..." I kept my gaze trained on her.

"...Please don't take away my cookies."

"...Fine. You will pay, however." I heard Akeno giggle from the side again.

"Fufufu~ who knew you had such a weakness Takumi-kun." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Whelp, I am willing to admit. I am always weak to cute girls." I winked at Koenko who upon hearing my words Koneko blushed and stepped further into the background to hide from my gaze.

After that, however, we actually got back on track, Rias giving me a rundown of the familiar forest and teleported us to it using a magic circle. Landing us in an eerie forest with a red cloudy sky, was this the underworld.

Before I thought about it further however a man jumped down from the trees.

"Get some! I am the familiar master Towji!" Landing in front of us was a man who looked like a 40-year-old Ash Ketchum who became homeless and started living in a forest and sold cheap gifts in the street for a living.

I raised an eyebrow at Rias who explained.

"He is the familiar master, he is a professional. His title is not for nothing."

"What kind of familiar do you desire young man? A strong one? Fast one? Poison? Flames? Wings? With me around none of them is out of reach!" I looked up at the man and smiled.

"All of the above. Tell me, poke master, what's the strongest creature in this forest?" The Pokemon trainer clucked his tongue.

"Peh, this is the problem with beginners, they all think they are hot stuff who can challenge the top dog. The strongest familiar in this forest is the Immortal Nine-Headed Hydra. How about you think realistic for once boy? That thing is too big for you." He said shaking his head.

For some reason, Rias and her peerage looked at me in concern. Why would they look at me like that? I don't think my smile is that out of the ordinary.

A mere Hydra too big for me? The Red Dragon Emperor? How about you speak for yourself you senile fuck?

"Is that so? Thanks for the heads up. Rias I think I will be going ahead by myself for now, I am certain I can find a suitable for myself without help from a bag of bones." I said, walking into the forest, uncaring of the call of Rias and Akeno as the Boosted Gear manifested on my right hand.

That washed-up poke-bastard was going to regret challenging me.

[New Mission: Hydra Hunt]

A/N: You do not challenge a Fallen Angel to sex as a virgin just like how you don't challenge a bear to a wrestling match. Takumi learned the hard way, but don't worry, this will just make him more determined to compensate further. Also, did you like the r18 part? I cut it short because Raynare already got a scene before.

Also, what do you think about the Mind Magic Meta Gaming of Takumi?

You don't challenge a prideful dragon, especially when looking down on them and their capabilities. It just gives them an incentive. Especially the Red Dragon Emperor of Domination.

What did you guys think about the chapters and the developments in it? What about the familiar forest and the new mission? I would love to know.

Chapter 32: Hydra x Hunt

New Mission: Hydra Hunt

[New Mission: Hydra Hunt]

You have been challenged, that will not stand. You need to prove yourself, you are the Red Dragon Emperor of Domination, not some nobody. And your familiar must be as remarkable as you. Subdue the Hydra of the Familiar Forest and prove who is the superior dragon.

Objective: Subdue the Hydra and take it as a familiar.

Reward: Familiar Seal, Random Skill, Random Trait

Thanks for the incentive system. I was already going to prove that old fogey wrong anyway, now I just have a better incentive to do so. Well besides having a hydra as a familiar of course.

'What do you think Ddraig?'

{Well, I can't provide you with much help, even when I was alive I rarely hunted Hydras since they tasted acidic due to their poison. However, I do know their strength can vary from Mid-rank all the way to Ultimate class so be careful. Especially their venom, it's bad news.}

'Well, how bad could it be? It's just a big ass snake with 8 too many heads.'

{You say that but I can feel you rifling through your inventory and organizing your potions so that they are easily accessible.}

'Duh, I am confident, not stupid. I did not develop Brainrot all of a sudden, this is a legendary beast that no High-Class Devil that has come here before has been able to subdue. These pants may really be too big for me.'

{So then why are you still going through with it?}

I grimaced.

'That fucking old man was looking down on me. I refuse to acknowledge that big snake as my better, I am the Red Dragon Emperor. If I am going to back down from every challenge I may as well give my gauntlet away.'

If I was going to take the spot of the main character then I have to prove that I deserve to. A mere hydra is nothing compared to the things I will have to face in the future.

"{BOOST}!"

6.

Feeling myself get closer to the largest mana signature I stopped and uncorked a stamina regeneration potion and drank it. Then I uncorked a mana regeneration potion and drank it.

Then I drank a potion of Ironskin, it would would improve my overall durability. And then a Hawk potion which would improve my field of view and visual prowess massively.

Those 4 were the utmost I could handle at the moment. Any more and I WILL start puking and shitting. Yeah, I am as ready as I could be.

After a minute of jogging at the speed of an overclocked Bugatti, I reached a dropoff into a lower portion of the forest. Looking down I saw a very large swamp but no Hydra in sight? But the mana signature is so close?

As I jumped down the slope and arrived in knee-deep swamp I noticed it.

Growl!*

A large LARGE creature rose up from the depths of the swamp with 9 heads full of sharp fangs and several times larger than my body, its dark and purple body screamed danger, all 18 of its yellow eyes locking onto me with malice clear in its eyes. This thing was at least 30 meters tall

How the hell did already detect me!?

{Lesser dragons would be very sensitive to my Aura. It's enraged thinking that you want to take its territory.}

Fuck this thing is terrifying. Releasing a shaky breath I smiled and moved my gauntlet as its heads lunged at me.

"{Boosted Gear: Kelvin Catalyst}!" "You want a fight you big fucking snake!? Then let's rattle!"

My gauntlet-clad fist hit the muddy water surface which flash-froze in a single second turning most of the swamp around us into ice, forming into a large glacier in front of me that blocked the Hydra's heads while at the same time, the ice crept up the Hydra's body but it simply moved its gargantuan body to free itself from the ice.

"{BOOST}!" *CRASH!*

"Shit!"

The Hydra's heads tore apart the glacier this time as I sent a wave of frost spikes at the Hydra who just took the hits, what little ice spikes piercing its body were broken and the wounds healed in seconds. I had to dodge the glacier pieces of the Hydra's heads lunged at me at extreme speeds.

I raised my gauntlet up high as I leapt back from the Hydra heads, a giant wave of frost gathering in my hands as I released it toward the Hydra.

"Frost Wave!" a massive wave of frigid winds hit the Hydra with force enough to uproot trees but the Hydra tanked it again, and this time, I wasn't able to dodge as one of the necks hit me like a club, launching my body flying away and sending me through the trees.

Cough!* *Cough!* "Fuck, that hits hard." I coughed some blood out, I felt my ribs shatter, my eyes focused on the Hydra that was fast approaching. Ice clearly wasn't working as well as I hoped it would. Summoning 5 mana arrows around me I changed my catalyst.

"{Switch! Boosted Gear: Ampere Catalyst}!"

Standing my ground I faced the Hydra's charge with confidence, 5 of the 9 heads descending down on me like bullets as I kept my nerves steeled and used thought acceleration to push my perception even further, and at the right moment.

BAM!* *CRASH!* *BOOM!*

I jumped on top of one of the heads lunging for me, landing on top of it as the heads tore apart the ground instead. Then I placed my gauntleted palm on its head.

BZZZZT!* *ROAR!!!!*

Giant arcs of lightning burrowed into the Hydra's head and into the rest of its body, causing all the heads to let out roars of pain while the head I was standing on was torn apart by lightning. But I was forced to jump off in time to avoid getting munched on.

Yet I still sent waves of lightning rolling over the air hitting the heads with bolts of lightning, running away as I did so, getting chased by the large beast who ran most definitely faster than me, forcing me to use the environment to my advantage as much as possible.

I ducked and weaved in between the trees, equipping Kelvin Catalyst on my off-hand to release waves of freezing mist to blind it. I parkoured to dodge head after head lunging at me, the debris buffeted my body, one direct hit and I was paste.

While dodging I weaved and sent waves of lightning alongside spinning mana arrows, but even as I gouged out the eyes with arrows, and turned heads into charcoal with lightning my damage wasn't enough, this motherfucker was just out healing my dps. I needed a bigger gun.

"{Switch! Boosted Gear: Terra Catalyst}!"

I stopped running, skidding to a halt as I spun on my heel, facing the Hydra with my hands on the floor.

"Earth Guardian!" *BOOOM!!!* *BAM!*

Two giant arms of earth punched out of the ground and hit two heads square on and grabbed a hold of them. And then spikes of earth stabbed into its body over and over and over in an attempt to immobilize it. But it just kept powering fucking through.

And then...

Breath!* *Woosh!* *Swish!!!*

A giant cloud of purple mist that turned my stone into little more than vapour on contact was rushing straight to me at alarming speeds and I couldn't dodge it since I had arrived in front of a hill, I was trapped by it. I couldn't switch fast enough. And as the mist was right before my eyes.

Clever bitch.

Shatter!* *Booom!*

An explosion swept away the poison. I felt heat scorch my body but I held on as I dropped the broken glass shards of the explosive vial with my now ruined hand.

Now I was pissed. The adrenaline was singing to my ears.

"Haha! If you like melting so much why don't you drown in it!?"

"{BOOST}!" My body could barely contain the power but I struggled to care as I put my hand on the ground this time creating and calculating an imaginary variable on top of the catalyst. Heat.

Sizzle!* *Roar!*

The Hydra reared up for another breath but at the same time, everything on the ground burnt away as the ground around us melted down to lava, sinking the Hydra knee-deep into lava.

The heads reared up to lunge again but my eyes choked full of malice and mania landed on them just before they struck.

"Hydra? Thanks for the idea!" My nose bled from the strain but at the same time dragon shaped heads rose up from the lava and struck the Hydra, their fangs sinking into its flesh, the constant damage from the heat and pressure kept their regeneration in check as the heads dealt with the with the Lava dragons with their breath but while they dealt with that I stood up and raised my gauntlet to the air with conviction.

I needed to strike down the Hydra and my power would let me do so.

Green lightning crackled and landed on me in a large pillar.

"{BOOSTED GEAR: SECOND LIBERATION}!" The Boosted Gear changed its shape to fit my arm better as more yellow spikes and engravings appeared on it. I smiled with malicious intent at the Hydra who was now kept busy by lava dragons.

I sunk my hand into the lava and pulled along a giant chunk, my reserves were running dry but I had one last move in my sleeve.

I aimed with my hand in front of me as the lava coalesced into a larger and larger dragon head and the mana intensified to the point the Hydra took notice and all of its eyes went wide.

"You see Hydra, this is what a true Dragon looks like!"

"{EXPLOSION}!"

All the stored energy of the Boosts coalesced into a singular attack as I let it loose.

"Draco Meteor!!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!*

The recoil sent me flying back as the mass of lava moved at hypersonic speeds and sheared through the Hydra's body like a red-hot knife through butter tearing off 6 heads and a massive portion of the body as the mighty beast fell to its knees.

I took a mana and health potion out of my inventory and drank it, feeling slightly better I let the ground return to its natural non-melting state while approaching the downed Hydra who trembled at the sight of me.

A hydra, cowering at the sight of a mere human dressed in nothing but rags with one of his arms mangled.

Laughable isn't it?

~3rd Person~

"{BOOST}!" Hearing the notification the beast closed its eyes shut, it was already on death's door, it was just awaiting the reaper's sickle.

"Do you dare get up?" The beast did not dare try and get up, it accepted its defeat and death against a foe beyond its league. Like a wild animal showing submission.

Takumi smiled.

"{BOOST}!"

"I guess you finally accepted who is the top do here." The beast still cowered, its heads lowered in submission while Takumi's eerie smile persisted.

"{BOOST}!"

"Do you want to live?" The beast stirred a little, its eyes peering at Takumi cautiously before nodding slightly still in a submissive pose.

"Good. Then become my familiar and I will allow you to live." Hearing Takumi's words the Hydra approached him cautiously and lowered its main head in front of Takumi just inches before him in submission.

It felt in its core that it must submit after being defeated. No, it wasn't simply defeated. It was dominated. By a dragon far beyond its league.

"Good boy... girl... whatever you are."

Takumi laid his hands on one of the beast's many heads, and a connection suddenly bloomed between them thanks to Iter Melius.

[You have acquired a new Familiar: Nine-Headed Hydra]

A monumental achievement! You have acquired the perk: [Tamer]!

You have completed the mission [ Hydra Hunt] rewards are available to be claimed.

Seeing the notification I smiled in relief and formed the seal of servitude on the unresisting beast just in case. And now so that it doesn't die I should have enough stacked up. Hopefully, a 5 stack works.

"Open your mouth. This should help you with kickstarting the regeneration process." The beast obediently opened its mouth as I pulled out an Intermediate Healing potion.

"{TRANSFER}!" All the energy in the Boosted Gear was imbued into the one potion, increasing its potency beyond reasonable belief for a period of time at least. I dumped the now glowing potion into the Hydra's mouth as it suddenly trembled and started regrowing its heads at a visible pace, recovering 2 instantly along with most of its body. How broken.

I slumped onto the igneous rock covering the ground in exhaustion.

"Man, you really are a tough piece of meat. Alright Familiar, first order, I need you to carry me, I am too exhausted to do anything else. Names and all else can come later." The Hydra nodded and one of the heads gently wrapped me up with its tongue before depositing me on its body while I smiled wildly.

I won!

A/N: As the better dragon Takumi has to prove his mettle as the top dog around to the lesser snake. But victory doesn't come easy, especially against something as annoying as a Hydra.

But now, Takumi has access to a Hydra on demand. A Hydra whose poison even Devil's fear. And whose regeneration is strong enough to regrow heads. Do you hear? That's the rumble of Alchemic Triumph.

What did you guys think about the fight and how Takumi fought? I aimed to give Boosted Gear my own spin. Did you like it?

Chapter 33: Expert x Experimentation

As I lay on top of my new friend I tried to relax and looked over my completed quests.

[You have acquired a new Familiar: Nine-Headed Hydra]

A monumental achievement! You have acquired the perk: [Tamer]!

You have completed the mission [ Hydra Hunt] rewards are available to be claimed.

Praying to RNGesus, the one true god ruling over everything I pressed claim rewards and hoped my sacred gear took pity on a man like me.

[Familiar Seal]

Allows you to designate a willing creature as your familiar. Familiars can be called to your location at any time using the seal, you can view the location of your familiar at any time using the seal.

[Random Skill - Barrier]

Allows you to create barriers out of mana.

[Random Trait - Mana Sponge]

You absorb mana exceptionally well, your mana capacity and regeneration increase. You can absorb a portion of the mana from the attacks you are hit with.

Alright, the skill could be better since I could have figured that out myself but other than that the trait is very good. Not the best but you can't expect the best every time.

After all, it's my job to turn mediocre to exceptional.

Also, there is another quest that is completed. What?

Oh, it's that one. It kinda slipped my mind since I was more focused on creating Frankenstein's monster.

You have completed the mission [ Harem King Beginnings] rewards are available to be claimed.

[Bond] is unlocked! You can view your relationship status with the girls in your attention.

[Perk - Harem Dreamer]

You dream of a Harem but it still remains just out of reach. But a man with a will is a man with a way. Girls are now more accepting of the prospect of you having a harem and are more willing to join.

[New Mission: Harem King Journey]

[Harem King Journey]

Your path to becoming the harem king has just begun. You will build your own harem beauties eventually but everyone has to start somewhere.

Condition:

Kiss 5 different women 3/5

Have Sex with 3 different women 1/3

Have a relationship with 3 different women 1/3

Reward:

[Harem Dreamer upgraded to Harem Journeyman, [Perk - Kink Spot, [Sex Magic]

Wow, that is actually rather very generous. Very accomplishable too. Sex Magic may sound like nothing more than a gimmick that would be wrong.

Issei constantly caught people out of the left field with his ecchi magic. It's actually useful because people never expect it. I wouldn't be able to keep my cool in a fight if suddenly all my clothes vanished and I started nutting.

...That seems like a damn good idea, I gotta complete that quest Asap. I can already have sex with Kalawarner and Mittelt. Kissing them should count too.

Hehe. It's all coming together. While I was at it, I looked at the new perk too.

[Tamer]

Allows you to instinctively have a feel of how to tame familiars and others. Makes it easier for others to submit to your will via taming.

Seems cool, but I have no ambition of getting more pets really . I only want this guy because he seems like a hella source of ingredients. He is way too hefty to use for conventional battle.

Speaking of, by the time we arrived back Hydra regrew all of its heads back and was in pristine condition while I still spotted a slightly burnt arm alongside charred scraps of clothing. I gotta make a new wardrobe, I have got an idea of making better silk and need to rebuild my catalysts.

Sitting on the main head I saw Rias and her peerage looking at me with mouths and eyes open with Ash Ketchum looking astonished.

Rias acted first, opening her devil wings and rushing towards me, landing on the hydra-head uncaringly as she grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a hug.

"Takumi-kun? Are you okay? Your arm is burnt!" She said looking over my arm as I sweatdropped.

Did she just jump on a Hydra's head just to check on my arm? Mama bear instincts much? Now I didn't get to make my boasting speech. I put my arm on her shoulder and grinned at her.

"Geez, calm down Rias. Have some faith in me will you? As you can see, I had a little tangle with rattler here. Thankfully for it, we did come to a compromise with it as my familiar."

Ris nodded relieved and equal parts surprised.

"Takumi-kun? That was what you were doing? You tamed the Hydra?" Rias said, looking down, realizing that she was in fact standing on a perfectly content Hydra.

"Oh my, I expected you to do something brash but I did not expect you to even tame the Hydra. You really are full of surprises aren't you Takumi-kun?" Akeno commented with a giggle while covering her mouth as I shot her a wink and finger gun that sent the message of ' you know it baby.'

"...Big." Koneko said, sizing up the building-sized Hydra several thousand times her size. I could she almost wanted to hiss at it as she slowly backed away.

Oh right, cats and snakes.

I will definitely slip a cucumber behind her sometime.

Jumping down from the Hydra's head I landed in front of Ash Ketchum with a smug grin.

"So, how about now Ash? Is the Hydra too big for me now? I don't know but the scene behind me looks awfully realistic." Hearing my words the Pokemon master sighed in resignation and took off his hat.

"Well, I'll be dammed, seems I was wrong about you kid. Didn't think you would go ahead and subdue the Hydra. Guess even a familiar master like me still has a lot to see." I could see Rias giving me a blank look that said 'You really hunted the Hydra because of that?'

Still grinning in victory, I turned to Rias.

"By the way Rias, could you help me acquire some land around my house? I kinda need to have this guy live somewhere. Haha." Rias sighed in resignation with a smile and shook her head.

I will take that as a yes.

Now, where the fuck do I put this guy? Gal? Thing.

—••——••——••—

Once I made it back home I created a giant ass swamp slightly underground for my new Hydra to live in. Of course, I wouldn't be taking care of it because honestly. I can't be bothered. So I gave the job to Asia who loved the idea.

I don't know what the deal with that girl is, the moment she saw the giant as Hydra, instead of being scared she petted it and the Hydra allowed it. She just seems to have a natural affinity with dragons, I remember that being a plot point or something.

Regardless I sure as hell am happy I have maids, because if I had to take care of everything myself I sure as hell would have gone mad.

I let out a relieved breath as I entered my laboratory, my natural domain, like an introvert returning to his cave. My batteries are spent, now I just want to return to being a mad scientist.

Though before I start I am curious about this Bond. Willing a single thought the page opened before my eyes.

[Bond]

Rias Gremory - Level 5

Relationship Status: Are we dating...? Regardless, I like him.

Akeno Himejima - Level 3

Relationship Status: Ufufu~ my cure junior. I want to spoil him~

Koneko Toujou - Level 3

Relationship Status: ...Great friend, like him.

Asia Argento - Level 8

Relationship Status: My benefactor! ...What are these feelings...?

Raynare - Level 6

Relationship Status: My new master, I hope he can make true to his words.

Kalawarner - Level 2

Relationship Status: My master, I will obey him, no other choice. He is stronger. But I wonder if I get closer to him will I get stronger like Raynare?

Mittelt - Level 2

Relationship Status: Shit, Raynare that bitch, she is getting ahead of me. What do I do?

Yep, it's about what I expected. I guess Raynare has been bragging to her buddies about the items I gave her. I don't know what's going on with Asia though.

Anyway, let's put my head down and get to work.

So, I got my ass beat.

Sure, I won. But I got beat up so badly. And I for one do not like that.

Any fight I am going into I want to wing overwhelmingly with no room for any dispute, not by the skin of my teeth. First of all, I need to re-create my Catalysts and make new ones.

I re-created the Kelving Catalyst with even better gloves, I call my new silk Mana Silk, made from spider silk suffused with mana over time. It is 2.5x more durable than spider silk without much change in texture. It's just harder to make, taking a long time in a mana bath complete.

I also replaced all of my Catalysts with slightly improved versions. They had better range and options. In my hands were now the:

Terra Catalyst 2.0 - Earth Manipulation

Ampere Catalyst 2.0 - Lightning Manipulation

Kelvin Catalyst 2.0 - Water/Ice Manipulation

Aero Catalyst - Wind Manipulation

Ignis Catalyst - Fire Manipulation.

Who needs offensive magic when you can just exploit the Alchemy buff of your system to make Alchemy your offensive power am I right? If I used any other spells at the same level they would be 25% weaker than my transmutation.

Alchemy smarter not harder.

Speaking of Alchemy. I think I have a good idea. Now I have Second Liberation, right? That means transfer.

...Can I use transfer during potion creation? I have to know.

—••——••——••—

"Hahahhaha... Hahahahhaha... HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!!!"

I laughed like a maniac as I spread my arms wide to the heavens.

I did it! I really did it! I broke it! I broke the world!

I found the exploit! I made it work!

{Partner... have you finally lost it? You have laughing at the air for a solid minute now.}

"Oh, Ddraig. You do not realize the breakthrough I have just made. I have broken through indeed. I turned potion-making from the novelty of a human alchemist to the divine levels of Skyrim!"

{I see. I still don't get it. Even though I was watching. You sure you didn't drink a strange potion?}

"Ddraig. I found a way to boost my potions."

I let that sink in for a moment as Ddraig took a bit to respond.

{Oh yeah, now I am starting to understand. That seems... very "broken" as you call it. Is this what you refer to when you say Rumble of Alchemical Triumph? Because I can tell you, with you capable of what you can you could probably choose a faction and win them the war eventually.}

Indeed! I am no longer an Alchemist to be reckoned with. And this potion in my hands was the proof.

[Boosted Intermediate Healing Potion]

A potion boosted by the Boosted Gear. It is capable of healing 825 Vitality.

It normally would have healed 165.

I just casually increased the power of the potion by 5x. It wasn't even a hassle. I just have to use Transfer with the Boost during the creation process to supercharge all ingredients and the result is this.

Granted, I have to create a new formula and make new calculations since I risk exploding the potion when I give it my total mana reserve times five but it is still possible and very plausible.

Oh yeah, this is what I am talking about.

A/N: The true might of the Boosted Gear is in Takumi's hands. Normally potions wouldn't be too out of the ordinary, since the power of the potions a human alchemist can make is limited. But with the boosted gear there is no such limiter. Takumi has turned his Alchemy from realistic to Skyrim bullshit.

Also, what do you guys think about the bond system and new Boosted Gear use? I would love to know.

Chapter 34: Making x Milk

I have been spending a bit of time grinding out my Alchemy. As well as enchanting.

The enchanting promotion quest was actually rather easy.

[Skill Promotion: Enchanting - Novice]

Skill Promotion condition: 10/10 different enchantments used.

Skill promotion complete.

[Enchanting(Novice) Lv.10 - MAX] = [Enchanting(Intermediate) Lv.1]

[Enchantment Stacking]

[General Enchantment Knowledge]

Levelling up enchantment was a very nice boon. Now I could put multiple enchantments on the same item as long as they did not conflict. But even better was that I just received knowledge of a bunch of different enchantments I could use such as elemental protection, magic resistance, damage resistance, mending, invisible etc.

In general, we were vibing.

I also finally replaced my entire wardrobe with enchanted silk clothes which were incredibly comfortable and useful at the same time. Maybe I should make my own maid costumes I can dress up the fallen in? Thoughts for later.

Another thing I was extending my grubby little alchemist fingers into was Seals.

Seals were really important. Anyone who watched Naruto could tell that. And that was no different in DxD.

My sacred gear was made by the man who was able to seal Trihexa. If even a little of the experience carries over that is immense. Seals could apparently get strong enough to seal Trihexa.

Plus, it fits my playstyle perfectly.

Why fight fair when you can just seal them?

Point is, I want to Mafuba jar my enemies instead of fighting them. Fighting is overrated.

And my research into seals was fascinating. They could do so many things and it felt like I had a natural affinity with them.

And my knowledge of the seals I already had really helped my progress into seals.

For example, the chains Serafall gave me to restrain the stray devil were apparently chains with seals that restricted magic. And after a few days of research(from my perspective 40x thought acceleration) I was able to grasp a bunch of basic seals.

And I must say, the knowledge difference between my systems seals and grimoire seals are miles apart. The knowledge gaps that are filled in by the system tell me that story very well.

According to the knowledge of my system the Seals it used were based on the concept of Restriction and Amplification.

For example, you can augment the power of a seal by setting conditions. Like my seal of servitude, because they have to accept it willingly the seal can work with full power with no problem since it doesn't have to deal with resistance. In contrast, one that can applied without consent would need much more oomph behind it to work.

I could also seal off someone's senses with seals. But seals are a bit difficult to use in combat due to them needing some preparation for them to be applied.

But they can be very useful if I can restrain my opponents for a bit and then I can just apply a seal on them and completely fuck them over.

So what if your enemy can regenerate from all wounds? Get sealed bozo, see you a hundred years later.

Maybe I can apply them to my barriers to make spontaneous seals? I assume I would have to level up my barrier and seal-crafting for that to work though.

Also speaking of barrier, it is a neat skill, I learned how to grind it alongside my mana arrow at the same time while I am doing other things. I can just allocate 20% of my ram into creating barriers and breaking them down with mana arrow to increase their proficiency and that's what I did.

Man, it feels great to exploit unintended mechanics.

—••——••——••—

I need more firepower. And by firepower I mean sex power.

I cannot keep up with Raynare. My pride as a man is in literal shambles. I feel like the Red Dragon Emperor of Inadequacy.

So, why not fix that problem like a true Alchemist?

First of all, since I am really just doing this for fun I want to figure out if I can make Aphrodisiacs.

Hah, who am I talking to, of course I can, if some sham pharmacist can make mediocre aphrodisiacs I can make Aphrodisiacs that could make god ahegao .

Especially since in a world like this there would be plenty of lewd ingredients.

So, I started on my new folder.

Hentai Potions.

First one I created was as expected an Aphrodisiac, since as I suspected there were plenty of materials for that in this world.

But I had to dilute it a bit.

Because a full dose can increase sensitivity by up to 20x. Which is a bit much for my liking. I made dilutions going from 2x to 10x with 10 bottles each.

And I also managed to find a clue to a new potion after creating Aphrodisiac.

Agony Potion. Increases the sensitivity of pain receptors by several dozens of times.

Quite a scary brew.

Next, elasticity potion. It makes your body much more pliable and receptive, even a virgin could take a bad dragon up the wazoo with it and not get injured.

Useful, I guess, not really needed since the supernaturals are built to last.

Then, Giga Girth potion. Maximum's your penis. Uncomfortable. I don't know why I even made this.

Next up was a clothes Melting Potion. I know, very juvenile.

Well, I am very juvenile and childish so you have no excuse. Checkmate.

It was quite simple to make, just create an acid that dissolves most common polymers, silk and cotton. Shouldn't work on my gloves or clothes since they are suffused with magical energy.

I know theirs aren't because they tear apart with the slightest breeze.

Hehehehe, now this one. This one was something I got a very good idea for.

Milk has been a very useful and versatile ingredient thus far, being used as the base for most of my healing potions.

So... What about the milk of supernatural beings?

In a world so charged with hentai rules I am SURE breast milk will hold power in this world. After all, Issei was able to power nuke lasers by touching breasts but I think that is also partly because of his mental illness.

Chances are, this could be one of my best potion ingredients.

So I created the...

Lactation Potion. It will cause the recipient to start lactating temporarily for 1 to 3 hours.

I set it temporarily since it is still an experimental drug. I don't know if it will work the same on Devils, fallen and humans.

So. I need testing.

Well, if I am going this way I might as well go all the way.

Heh, the me a month or so before wouldn't believe it, one moment you are pipebombed and the next moment you are creating a sexy cow costume out of bulletproof silk.

Then I repurposed a room in my underground villa to turn it into my X rated dungeon.

This would be where I test my special potions and of course for kinky times.

Now then, who would I test the lactation potion on? Of course, I can't waste the milk they produce either.

Well, I have an idea.

Why not the fallen angel with the biggest boobs among the 3? She seems like she already has this milk business under her belt.

—••——••——••—

"Takumi-sama, is this really necessary?"

Kalawarner said with a strained expression on her face as she held the micro bikini cow costume in her hands while I smiled sweetly at her.

"Of course it isn't Kala-chan. Neither was stabbing through my kidney with a light spear right~?" I smiled with closed eyes as I tilted my head at her.

I hold grudges.

Safe to say Kalawarner immediately rescinded all of her complaints and started getting dressed in the cow bikini I gave her and stood in front of me.

~~~~~~{18 Start}~~~~~~

She averted her gaze with crimson staining her cheeks as she clasped her hands behind her back, her large breasts barely contained by the micro bikini showing her areola.

I could see that her nipples were already hard, seeing her dressed in a micro cow costume alongside stockings and gloves really stimulated me beyond the limit.

I guided her to the "milking station" that I prepared personally for her, allowing her to sit still while it gave me a clear access to her breasts and for me to put the buckets under her to collect the milk since the pump I ordered would take a bit to arrive. Once she was comfortable I presented the potions to her.

"Thank you for volunteering for my potion experiments Kalawarner, don't worry I will make sure to reward you after. Now drink these."

"...Okay." Kalawarner said curtly as she gulped down the potions, not one for words huh?

Don't worry, these potions will make you sing.

"Unh *moan* that is..."

Aphrodisiacs and Lactation inducers. The combination will be fun.

I pulled up Kalawarners bikini, revealing her slightly swollen breasts with red nipples that almost seemed to beg for relief as milk dripped from her nipple when she took a deep breath in and out.

She was literally leaking.

I gently teased her nipples, my fingers drawing circles around her areola as Kalawarner whined and moaned as I flicked her nipple.

"M-master, please. Just do it already." She muttered in a needy tone laced with lust.

Well, I needed no more words of encouragement as my fingers wrapped around her nipple and gently tugged and squeezed at the same time making milk dribble down as Kalawarner moaned and orgasmed.

The aphrodisiac is working well I see.

I kept milking her, massaging her breasts to help the milk flow as the bucket slowly filled up.

"Wow~ you are really enjoying this aren't you Kala-chan?" I let go of her breasts and grapes her chin before locking our lips, making out passionately.

"Let me do a taste test."

Breaking our oral seal I grinned and put one of her leaking breasts up against my mouth and my lips around it, sucking on it and licking to my heart's content as milk flowed into my mouth tasting better than it had any right to.

A slight banana flavour to it. Absolutely delicious.

Letting go of her now swollen nipple I looked at Kalawarner who wore a pleading expression.

"Master~ please~ I cannot take it anymore. Please just fuck me!" I smiled broadly.

Who am I to refuse such an attractive woman just begging to have sex with me? Moving behind her I tore off her(pulled down, no way I have enough strength to tear this thing) skimpy bikini, revealing her absolutely drenched pussy in full view, all the foreplay and more already done I wasted no time in sticking my thick dick into her begging pussy.

"Huaaaahhh~~!" *Squirt!*

In sheer pleasure, Kalawarner actually pissed herself but I did not care as I hammered away at her from behind, grabbing her breasts and still milking them as I mated her like an animal.

Looking at Kalawarner moaning fiercely with her tongue out I sped up even further.

—••——••——••—

'I may have overdone it a little.'

I lightly spanked the ass of Kalawarner who didn't even respond, just twitching violently as cum overflowed from both of her holes, leaking out of them and onto the floor having already made a decently large puddle.

Kalawarner was in a daze with her tongue out and her eyes rolled back. The sight alone was alone to get my engine roaring again but I relented for Kala's sake, I had already gone for 6 rounds, 3 of them after she gave up.

Shrugging, I put a servitude choker around Kalarners neck and a ring of vitality on her finger as thanks for her service.

Whelp, the milk was made. That's the most important part.

A/N: This is a bit of a filler part to show what Mc is working on etc as well as to show how his branches of production are progressing. And as you would expect from a world like DxD, the power of breasts is always mighty.

What did you guys think about the progress made in this chapter and Kalawarner? I would love to know.

Chapter 35: Homunculation

Well played world, your perverted antics truly triumph over reason.

Perhaps this world should have been named Demented x Debauchery. It certainly seems far more fitting for the sheer girth of the tomfoolery this world is full of.

Breast milk is strong, like strong. It's like their very essence for some ungodly fucking reason.

I broke down the 4 most distinct alchemic values into these.

1- Fertility. Makes sense, Breast milk only appears and promotes childbearing. It only makes sense that it would increase fertility.

Also, on the topic of fertility, I am perfectly capable of creating fertility potions. Since my alchemy level was relatively high I could influence what my potion would do during creation.

I created a pair of potions, one for females, and one for males. Both drinking the potions would basically guarantee impregnation since both of these potions would be boosted by transfer.

Though I will need test subjects for it to see how it actually works, after all, if fixing the fertility problem was so easy I am sure Ajuka could have done it long ago.

...As morally flexible as I am ... very reluctant to actually impregnate any of my prisoners or the fallen angels.

Sure, a little mischief here and there doesn't matter since they do not have any worth as people in my eyes but forcefully giving them a child is...

Yuck.

Just ... yuck.

I refuse to forcefully bring a child into this world just because I wanted to see if my potion worked. And I also do not want to impregnate a test subject out of curiosity.

I know how it feels to not be wanted . How it feels to be brought into the world by someone who did not want to bring you into the world. How lonely and desolate it feels, the feeling that you are not a person or a child of your parents but simply their mistake they couldn't get rid of quickly enough.

...Anyway!

2- Nourishment. This one was big . Tremendous , probably the biggest I have found so far ever.

Why was it big you ask? Because this was different from the usual, boring mundane healing or vitality. Think of what nourishment truly means.

Nourishment represents a necessity for growth. What did that represent?

It allowed growth.

For example this potion.

[Boosted Intermediate IV Body Refinement Pill]

When consumed it puts the body under immense strain while providing for everything the body needs to improve, allowing the consumer to quickly improve their constitution .

Cultivation pills. I always had to option to make pill potions but I opted for liquids most of the time since I liked the flavours and they carried the alchemist vibe you know? This thing was rather expensive to make actually , breast milk, blood weed I had harvested from my yard which was made with general greens grown with pinnacle novice rank health potions and other miscellaneous materials.

3- Light. This wasn't simply Light Resistance or something. This was the most potent light element I have found in a potion ingredient, even more than blood somehow .

And since I had this I had to make it. If I did not I could not call myself a true person of culture after all.

[The Holy Hand Grenade]

A grenade of holy light filled with the righteous wrath of god. Explodes with the indignation of a thousand suns, annihilating any filthy ungodly abominations of the world with the all-mighty power derived from the subjects of god.

A demon-killing machine. This grenade was a very strong potion since I did not skimp out on materials when creating the potion. It took 10% of my current wealth to make but the meme is always worth it.

Plus this thing was strong enough to annihilate the entire school and reduce everything inside to ash. Especially the devils, with a well-placed grenade I could take out both Rias and Sona's peerage at the same time .

...Though I am pretty sure I am at a level of strength where I don't have to fear Rias or her peerage. I am too versatile and my magic was unmatched in efficiency. I am capable of calculating dozens of spells in a single second.

Although that, I prefer not to fight.

Just because you have strength does not mean you have to flaunt it. Just because you have muscles does not mean you have to brawl with them. Just because you can cast fireball does not mean you have to burn a forest down.

Am I afraid to fight? Of course not. But I do not like fighting nor am I a battle maniac. I was an ordinary person before coming here, if there is a scenario where I have to fight someone I much prefer to end it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

4- Unholy, this was a rather unique application. I could use it to for one example to weaken holy items and holy beings. Technically with a potent enough dose, I could theoretically make an angel fall forcefully but that is just asking to be brought the full force of heaven to be brought down on you.

And upon discovering all of these effects I was basically assured of my Alchemic Value theory. What was that? Basically nerdspeak for how I think my alchemy system works.

You see, my alchemy system does not seem to obey science or basic chemistry. Instead, it seems to follow a logic that is more themed around concepts.

How else can you explain breast milk having the light attribute? I shouldn't be able to create the holy hand grenade with only breast milk. Or the hyperacid I made with a lemon.

Or the Lemon Incindeary I made.

Gotta make Cave Johnson proud.

Sleep-deprived me has some very creative ideas.

Regardless, this meant my alchemy was way more versatile than I first thought. I want to get more ingredients to increase my range of potions so I am thinking about soon entering the wide market of Alchemy. But before I do so I have to make a way to mass produce potions right?

I am well aware that no one other than me can create the potions I can create . I don't know why it applies to Alchemy specifically but it feels like the most complex of the information- based abilities Iter Melius gives.

But. What if I could say create a being that is specifically made to be capable of creating the same potions I create and impart it the knowledge of potion creation?

Heheheh.

—••——••——••—

"At last! My creation shall walk the earth!"

I stood proudly in front of the vat of green liquid housing a humanoid inside it. I was in my Homunculus lab which looked just like an evil scientist's lair. Today was the day the hundreds of hours of research would bear fruit!

{You are being extra dramatic today, what is it?} Ddraig said languidly, half interested in what I was doing.

'Tsk tsk, Ddraig do you not understand the importance of this task? I am going to finally give life to my homunculi , my creations shall stand on their own two feet and peer above the clouds and into the heavens above!'

{So you finally finished creating your homunculi huh? Why did it even take you so long in the first place? I would have thought you would have created it much earlier.}

Well, I could have, but I am no third-rate alchemist popping out a 2nd rate Homunculus.

No, I don't want some mindless drone only capable of repeating a single task on repeat. That is a biological robot not a homunculi at that point. If you are making a homunculus you should create a homunculus right.

{I... fail to see the difference but go on.} This was to be expected I guess. For all their age and wisdom Ddraig was more of a raw power type fella . They had no interest in much magic when their breath far surpassed the might of all magic at the time.

'I am creating Homunculi with intelligence, but not free will. They will be able to act on their own and interpret my orders yet they will not have wants or desires, no ego, no voice to cry suffering.'

This was an incredibly hard feat, if it wasn't for the instruction already given to me that I could use as a half blueprint I also would only be able to create a 2nd-rate homunculus.

I had to edit a pre-existing brain to remove all the unneeded and redundant parts as well as the parts that included individuality and stuff. Keeping the brain alive during the process needed specialized and expensive potions annoyingly.

I went through so many textbooks and other such things that I am probably the most qualified human to perform brain surgery alive.

Regardless, the regardless the result was a homunculus brain. It was different from a human brain, the most important parts being the lack of ego and self-awareness. It can understand and interpret orders based on its knowledge but I wouldn't interpret an order based on something like "What do I want to do?".

{Well, that does seem rather impressive. You seem to be encroaching on the domain of god more and more by the day. Now you are creating life. Just like how God of Heaven created the Devils and Angels. I am really looking forward to what outrageous things you create next.}

'I look forward to it very much too partner. Couldn't have done it without you either. Without further ado!' I wasn't lying, the Boosted Gear was essential in basically everything I was doing now.

I released the Homunculus from the vat as it plopped down to the ground, then took a few seconds to recognize its surroundings and get up and start standing upright.

After a few seconds, it stood tall and saluted at me as I grinned.

It worked!

I looked over the homunculi I just created. This was the base prototype model, its body was completely androgynous without any reproductive organs but its build looked more masculine than feminine.

Why would I bother giving it a gender? It's not like it can reproduce, sexual reproduction is way less efficient than just creating another homunculus.

Of course, I will give later models genders, as open-minded as I am I don't really want to see genderless husks darting around my house. That would just be creepy.

I will just make them all female, why not? I want to have a full team of sharply dressed homunculus girls.

Anyway, now onto the features of my Homunculus model!

It featured an improved reinforced skeleton dozens of times more durable than the average human one that rapidly repairs itself. I call it Skeleton Mk. XII. I went through eleven iterations before I was satisfied with the design. Skeletons are annoying things to make.

Also, a special Homunculus core that is designed to hold tons and tons of energy inside it, redesigned from a Floxide crystal from the underworld that I paid Azazel a pretty penny for. The Homunculus naturally charges it through breathing and naturally drawing mana from the surroundings.

All in all, it was a way more efficient human around 10x better than the average human in all aspects other than intelligence.

The use of these bad boys was to mass-produce potions, sure, I could still make lower-rank potions myself but I cannot be bothered. Once I create an entire army of them I can mass produce so many things.

Perhaps thanks to Iter Melius I was actually able to impart my skills to the homunculi during the creation process, perhaps in the same way Iter Melius imparts knowledge to me.

Don't know, don't need to know. Maybe I will figure it out later.

As a first test, I made the homunculus now referred to as A-1 do a basic fitness that passed with flying colors. No stumbling or fooling around, just wordlessly executing the commands I gave it.

Oh yeah, it kind of can't talk, I saw no reason to give it vocal cords or even a proper digestive and waste system at that . I will probably work on that for the next iteration.

Shrugging, I sent off the homunculus to the specially designed cubicle I made for it as it got to work producing the potion recipes in its brain efficiently without complaint.

Waiting around a bit I watched it do its work before picking up the potion it created.

[Minor Healing Potion V]

A minor healing potion that has been mass-produced by a homunculus. It heals 20 Vitality over a short period of time .

This was good, not as good as me but good.

Very, very good.

A/N: The start of the alchemic empire is nigh. And Ddraig is right, Takumi is slowly dipping his toes into the territory of the likes of GOB(God of the Bible) creating life(not cloning like the Selzen's) is a very difficult thing to accomplish. That along with his ability to manipulate the world around him with Transmutation makes him seem a bit godly, doesn't it?

Takumi is shaping up to be a very, very terrifying individual.

What did you guys think about the chapter and the developments inside of it I would love to know.

Chapter 36: Rest x Relaxation

After a good day of doing alchemy and creating potions beyond mere human imagination, I decided to leave my Homunculus to make potions while I took a bath to rest and relax.

I filled the pool with my special bath solution which was made of a Rejuvenation potion that eased your muscles and increased recovery for both body and mind. Cultivating my own herbs really helped.

Lowering myself onto the tub of hot liquid I let my body relax and my mind wander to my current issue.

Creating Homunculi is very expensive. First, you need a preserved dead body without much damage, then you need the materials to create a preservation liquid, the creation of the advanced skeleton, the core, the potions needed to animate the dead body, it all adds up to a pretty penny you know?

I am planning to start selling my potions commercially soon to fuel my alchemy addiction, probably after the whole Riser fiasco passes by. I don't know why Rias didn't mention him to me but I am pretty sure it will happen soon. It seems to be a bit delayed somewhat.

I don't know exactly how I will handle it but I don't really fear Riser.

Sure, he might be a very strong beat stick with incredibly strong pyrokinesis and practical immortality but I have over a dozen ways I can deal with him.

Hydra poison, corrosion, seal mana, boosted holy water, alchemic holy water, absorption line, etc.

Though , I really should look into increasing my stats from my current hard cap. All it takes is one ambush and I am dead, which is something that I do not particularly enjoy.

I know how to, I have to make some expensive elixirs to do so. I have ideas, I just haven't gotten around to using them yet.

Ahh, procrastination, the arch-enemy of all men.

As I was relaxing and chillaxing in my bath I noticed the door to the bath open and someone enter inside.

"Ah." It was Mittelt, completely naked. Her petite body was on full display to my ravenous gaze.

Did she not notice the bath was occupied?

As I was thinking along those lines Mittelt looked a bit indecisive before stepping forward.

~ Mittelt PoV ~

Mittelt bit her thumb.

'Shit, I am falling behind! Dammit, Kalawarner that big tiddy cow and that bitch Raynare, why are they the ones getting all of the attention!?'

Mittelt was jealous, no that was an understatement.

She was originally scared of the job but also relieved. Instead of being executed or jailed she just had to play maid for the eccentric alchemist. Sure he was scary but he wouldn't kill them for no reason, just keep your head down and you'll be fine she told herself. He would probably die in a few dozen years anyway.

But that was before Raynare got a ring from her "master".

That bitch, got an enchanted ring that made her stronger just for sucking his dick and being his good little girl!

And even more, she was barely doing work! She got to do what she wanted, lording over the prisoners and sucking up to and sucking on their "master".

And that gloating of hers was insufferable, how she would wave the ring in front of them how she would say she was the favorite.

And then Kalawarner too, that Goddam sow spread her legs for him without resistance and she got the same treatment.

She couldn't stand it, while they were all living the life sucking up to their master she was stuck cleaning the house.

It was especially because she fell due to envy that it hit her harder. While all of the other angels had tits the size of their heads that fucking bastard of a "father" created her he made her tiny and petite for no reason, maybe for shits and giggles.

How the hell was she supposed to seduce him like this!? Never mind the fact she was the least experienced one out of them since finding someone to fuck with her appearance usually led to only creepy old men.

But as she was going to take a bath to relax she saw him, and she would be lying if she said he wasn't attractive.

A handsome face and a body that was, while muscular, was more on the lean athletic side was one that she very much liked. At least that was the type of people she searched for when

she looked for toys.

And seeing the locked-in gaze he had on her body she was reinvigorated with confidence.

So, Mittelt, invigorated with the confidence of someone who was born even before the great war strode toward Takumi intent to seduce him.

What could go wrong?

~ 3rd Person ~

~~~~~~{r18 Start}~~~~~~

Takumi watched in amusement and blatant arousal as Mittelt strode in with a seductive gait. While she wasn't exactly his preferred type(Milfs) he could do with Loli's.

For a former turbo virgin, a woman was a woman regardless of the shape, if they were attractive he could make do.

"Hello master~ I noticed that you were rather lonely during your bath. I thought maybe you would appreciate some company and assistance ~" Mittelt said in a sultry voice that reminded him of Raynare just with a different flavour.

He smirked, resting his head against his fist.

"Yes, I would appreciate that Mittelt, what were you thinking?" Mittelt grinned seductively as she grabbed some of the some of the soap(medicinal alchemic soap mk. III) and began lathering her petite body with soap body, her pink nipples hardening as she caressed her body.

"Thought I could help you with washing yourself~" Takumi relaxed and let Mittelt go up to him and press her body onto his, lathering his body in soap as she caressed every inch of his body thoroughly(minus ass, was stopped Takumi).

While Takumi relaxed into the feel of her soft hands caressing him Mittelt felt up his finely sculpted body, getting more and more erect. She also looked at the scars on his body, several star-like scars no doubt caused by their weapons as well a particularly nasty flower-like scar extending from his left hand up to his torse.

Pushing her wondering mind aside Mittelt focused on his body as she rubbed her hard nipples against his, body seeing his penis twitch in response made her wetter. She was plenty experienced in pleasuring the male body after all.

Granted, that was usually on unwilling young men chained to her bed under her heel for her pleasure but that didn't change a thing.

Finally, unable to control herself any longer Mittelt positioned herself so that she was sitting on his lap, with her arms wrapped around him with his penis trapped between her body and him with Takumi's hand firmly gripping her surprisingly plentiful ass.

"Now master~ let me give your penis a very good wash alright~?" Trembling in excitement and arousal having not had a lay for months Mittelt excitedly raised up her ass and slid down his giant penis, his penis slowly entering her-

'She looks a bit too smug doesn't she?' Takumi asked himself, unwilling to be a stationary object for Mittelt to play with.

"Uwoh~!?" Mittelt briefly saw the stars and even her home back in heaven Takumi's hands gripping her ass tightened and he pulled her down while thrusting up, sheating himself balls deep inside of her instantly as she came hard .

"What? Too used to being in charge my dear?" Mittelt could barely catch her breath before Takumi started pistoning upward toward the heaven with her in his lap like she was riding a horse, his giant cock filling up the very insides of her pussy, rubbing against the most

sensitives areas of her insides as she moaned like a bitch in heat as she felt Takumi sliding in and out of her with his rapid pistoning.

"Fuuuuuck yessss~! Fuck me master~!" *Slap!* *Moan!*

One of the hands gripping her ass gave her ass a hefty smack as Takumi pulled her lithe body tighter against his own, their bodies grinding against each other in the heat of passion Mittelt biting his shoulder with her fingernails digging into his sides as she endured his ruthless onslaught of thrusts before Takumi got suddenly got faster and pulled her body flush against his.

"Mittelt, I'm cumming!"

"Yes yes yeas~!!! Cum in me~! fill me upppp~!!!"

Mittelt made a guttural sound as Takumi unloaded his cum all the way inside the depths of her pussy with one last mighty thrust, he came for a solid 10 seconds, filling her all the way up before his mighty dragon's breath relented.

Pant.* *Pant.*

Mittelt and Takumi both released deep breaths as Takumi pulled out her , releasing a gush of cum to erupt from her pussy and make a little pool on the floor. Taking a moment to catch his breath Takumi saw the look full of heat and lust in Mittelt's eyes which encouraged his mighty pheonix to revive once more.

"I take it you are ready for round two Mittelt ~. " Takumi said breathily as Mittelt nodded with a lustful grin.

~~~~~~{r18 end}~~~~~~

—••——••——••—

Leaving Mittelt's now sleeping body couch I put a blanket over her and winced at the pain on my pelvis and shoulders.

I seem to keep forgetting that while I am only like 5 times stronger than an average human Mittelt and the like are several dozen times stronger. And god fucking knows I am not using the fucking boosted gear during sex.

I slipped the increased agility ring on her finger as I collapsed onto the opposite couch with the boosted gear active, hearing Ddraig addressing me with a mirthful voice.

{I suppose this is bingo.}

'What are talking about?' I said as I idly wondered how I could surpass my endurance cap while Ddraig explained.

{I was making a bet with myself on how long it would take you to sleep with all of the fallen angel's lasses Azazel gave you . Even got the order right too. I impress even myself sometimes. Don't look at me like that, I am good at finding creative ways to pass the time.}

I scoffed in annoyance.

Buzz off Ddraig, I just got my pelvis smashed in. And here was this guy betting on my sex life, where was this enthusiasm when I shared my excitement about the new healing potion recipe I had created?

Hearing Ddraig chuckle to himself I shut off the connection and dispelled the gear, before smiling lightly myself, at least he was enjoying himself.

Since I still do feel good after unloading a whole plastic bottle worth of dragonic baby batter into Mittelt I suppose I will work on some enchanting as a break.

Stretching a little I went down to my workshop and worked on some nice things. Since all of my maids have submitted to me and I collared them with seal of servitude I can do something nice for them, as a pet project.

I decided to remake all of their original outfits that I tore during our fight, because one, they were hot, and two because they literally did not have any clothes. Of course, they were made out of bulletproof silk because I refuse to make subpar products.

I also made my own maid outfits, similar to the ones that Azazel gave them with my own spin on them. The skirt reached only mid-thigh for easy access for me and because I liked the view, I also added a large breast window because I can.

Well, they are fallen angels, they won't complain about a lewd outfit when wearing it feels like laying on a comfortable bed.

They were very glad when getting their clothes, further reinforcing their loyalty to me. Did I forgive them for trying to kill me? Not really. But I do not have any reason to treat them badly when they are earnestly working for me.

Treating your earnest workers like shit just makes you an asshole.

A spectacular feat! You have completely subdued 3 fallen angels.

Reward: [Light Resistance - Minor]

Well, that is rather good , isn't it? Perhaps I should find more fallen angels to subdue. I honestly did not expect that to be counted as a feat. Perhaps the rank of light resistance will rise when I subdue more?

As I was entertaining such thoughts, it was now the evening and I was lying on my bed, deciding that for once I would let sleep claim me, I replaced my bed with silk and a special mana cotton blanket.

I was just about to hit the hay before I received a text on my phone. A quick check revealed it was from Rias, which wasn't anything new, the girl was rather nocturnal, with being a devil and all.

'Rias: Are you free right now?'

'I: Last time I checked, I wasn't chained in a dungeon so I am free as can be . Why?'

I didn't exactly get a reply as I wondered why before it was made clear to me why that was as the Gremory family magic circle appeared in the middle of my bedroom and Rias stepped out of it.

My eyebrows twitched in irritation. That was just plain rude.

Well, that was before Rias jumped on my body and looked at me with earnest and a little panicked and desperate eyes.

"Takumi, take my virginity, this is urgent!" Rias said, quickly starting to undress as I looked at her with blank eyes, her taking my absentminded nod as affirmation.

Nevermind then.

A/N: Raynare, as a fallen who fell from lust(not cannon) is hard mode, while Mittelt who fell from envy(not cannon) is slightly easier to please. Give Takumi's hips a break. Now, that all three of the fallen angels have had their scenes, maybe I will have a mini threesome scene down the line who knows?

You know the rules and so do I, plot comes in teleporting into your room and there is not much you can do about it.

What did you guys think about this chapter? I would love to know.

Chapter 37: Frustration

IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE:

Hey guys, Bronz here, and I will be blunt. I am pretty sure I got an infection so I spent a few days at a hospital. I am feeling rather down but I will still try to upload although I still need rest so expect the chapter release to be slightly slower for a while.

"Takumi, take my virginity, this is urgent!" Rias said, quickly starting to undress with haste as I looked at her with blank eyes, her taking my absentminded nod as affirmation. My hormones responded before my logic.

My stunned mind was trying to catch up with the situation. A bit unfair to throw this onto me when I was deciding to sleep for the first time in the last week.

Then I realized why she was doing this as my memory caught up with me.

The Riser arc must be starting. She was trying to get rid of her virginity out of urgency.

As I snapped out of my hyperfocus I noticed that Rias was already done unclipping her bra, revealing her perfect large breasts topped with cherry red nipples, seeing my gaze she smiled.

"You like my breasts right? Don't worry, you will get to enjoy them. This may be my first time but we will make it work." Rias said as she smiled nervously as she reached for my boxers before I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Rias. Are you sure you want to do this? Because if you go any further than this I can't promise myself that I can stop." I looked deep into her eyes as she blushed but did not relent.

"Of course I am sure. I thought about many things but this is the only wa- oh, my Satan." She said as she pulled down my boxers and my 9 inches of pure draconic steel-made pole erupted from its confines, making her stunned at the sheer size as she faltered slightly, her eyes were open comically wide.

"Oh- ahem, I mean. Of course, you are well endowed. Don't worry, I will just have to insert your thing inside of me." She said as she prepared to mount me before suddenly another magic circle emerged from the floor and I felt a wave of cold pressure suddenly hit me, stunning me slightly and knocking the wind out of me while Rias sighed in disappointment and reluctance as she got off me.

The person who emerged from the magic circle was a beautiful woman with silver hair and silver eyes wearing a conservative maid outfit which failed to hide her curves who glared at me before turning to Rias.

"Grayfia." Rias curtly addressed the intruder recognition flashed through my eyes, I recognized this person.

"Doing such things with a commoner, Master and Lord Sirzechs would be crestfallen Rias." Rias winced slightly and stood tall while Grayfia draped my fucking discarded cardigan over her shoulders to cover her breasts, that's mine you know?

While I stood lying on my bed.

Just great, in my bed with an intruder blue-balling me, calling me a commoner and ignoring me in my own house.

Was I aware this would happen? Halfl.

But that did little to ease the sensation of unease in my chest. The knowledge that you are going to get robbed does not make getting robbed better. I steadied my breathing in an attempt to calm myself down.

"Grayfia, my chastity is mine. What is wrong with giving it to someone I like?" As Rias said confidently Grayfia was about to respond before I cut in.

"Last time I remember I hadn't ordered any house service. What are you doing in my house, maid?" I settled a seething glare on the aggrieving maid. Strong devil or not, this... person was the one who broke into my house and insulted me.

I was not keen on keeping formalities with such a person.

"You will have to excuse my entrance, I am Grayfia, a servant of the Gremory family, I was ordered by Lord Gremory to keep a watch on Lady Rias. I will not allow you to claim her chastity as she is already bethroed . Now please remain silent, I need to discuss this issue with Lady Rias." Grayfia settled a cool gaze on me as I felt the pressure oppress me again.

Oppress me in my home?

I could see Rias getting angry on my behalf as she was about to address Grayfia.

" No ." this stopped her, making her turn to me. And as Rias glanced at me she flinched, I don't know why, I should look perfectly reasonable right now.

"You will leave. I don't care who you are, deal with your issues somewhere else ." My glare bored holes into Grayfia, if looks could kill I would have reduced her to slag by now. But Grayfia remained firm.

"My apologies, but I do not take orders from you."

crack.*

A silent barely audible subdued crack rang out in the room before Rias grabbed Grayfia's arm and looked at her with anger .

"Grayfia! I will not allow you to talk to Takumi like that understand? Let's leave, I want to have a word with you." Rias told off Grayfia in a fiery voice as the maid relented and said something that I tuned out, I could make out Rias saying sorry to me. In the corner of my vision, I could see red flash before both disappeared.

I pulled a potion out of the Boosted Gear by temporarily manifesting it before drinking the healing potion to heal my cracked teeth.

Deep breaths.

Breathe in.

I shot one last look toward where the magic circle had vanished.

Breathe out.

This was rather... frustrating.

—••——••——••—

~ The morning after ~

All three fallen angels paced around the house nervously while Asia tended the gardens unaware. They were desparately trying their best to avoid the basement.

A cold and dangerous air flowed from the basement. The chilly air was almost like razors against their skin the closer they got to it. And they saw the reason themselves.

While they were discussing(more like competing) between themselves about their rewards from Takumi at night they noticed him come down from his room and they all felt a shiver go down their spine when they saw him.

He looked completely normal, but was anything but, his stance looked unusually subdued and firm and his face. His smile did not reach his face, while his eyes...

His gaze made them feel like they were carcasses hung in the cold storage of a butcher shop. Even though they felt no hostility from him all they saw in his eyes was ice and desolation, like he was out of it.

So they made the smart decision to ignore him.

—••——••——••—

~ Takumi ~

My gaze swept over my undressed body in front of the ice mirror.

There were 3 prominent scars on my body, 2 star-shaped scars on my left shoulder and right kidney where Kalawarner and Raynare's spears hit me. And a flower/ripple-like scar extending from my left hand upto my shoulder from when I exploded the explosive vial in my hand to save myself from the hydra.

I kept these scars as reminders. I could easily fix them but I didn't. They were there to remind me not to get cocky or arrogant. Or the worst of them all complacent.

You can't improve without failure, that was why I kept my failures to remind me. Those scars existed because I wasn't strong enough or because I did not pay attention. You are bound to repeat a mistake if you forget about it.

Currently, I felt... pissed? Angry? Rage?

Whatever it was I felt like I still wanted to punch her smug face in. But I stifled those emotions as I let the ice mirror break apart.

In my own home, in my bedroom, I was frozen by mere aura, suppressed like a dog being muffled by a muzzle. Attacked and disrespected in my own domain without being able to even raise my voice .

It felt rather repulsive.

I wasn't powerful enough to afford even basic courtesy apparently .

{I can understand the emotions you are feeling. Believe me, I do. But such is the law of the world , the weak suppress the strong. You may be the red dragon emperor but you are still young, faced with a devil out of your league.}

Oh, do believe me Ddraig. I know that well. Very well.

I know I could not do anything against something like that.

But that does not quell the jagged and sharp anger in my soul one bit .

You know, if I really wanted to, I could hurt them. I could find the old Satan faction, supply them with my potions and knowledge let them start another civil war and restart the great war. I would profit from the dead bodies rather well.

...That is the rage inside me talking, at least. Such nuclear scenarios help me feel less vulnerable. It allows me to feel like I have control.

As unshakable as I like to seem, I am only human after all . My rationale can get disturbed by my emotions, in the heat of the moment, emotions are the ones doing the talking rather than logic.

So, what am I going to do about this situation instead of moping exactly?

Well, I have come to a conclusion. It seems like I have been having too much leisure. Having the kiddie gloves on has left me complacent. Things were going my way so well that I forgot my place.

I am in a world full of people who want to start wars, genocides, dangers in the shadows and hundreds of people who could just teleport into my house and kill me at any time.

I have the value, but not the power to back up my value.

I am still a speck. A slightly large speck but without my Boosted Gear I am nothing.

It seems like... I really did get complacent. I lost my edge a little, lost my head in the clouds.

Let's not get caught so off guard again all right ?

Walking to my chair I sat down, resting my head against my hand.

It would be a wise idea to revisit my plans.

First and foremost, improving myself. I should kick alchemy to the back burner for a bit so that I can focus on myself. I have a bunch of skills that I have neglected in my pursuit of more alchemy. Can't let myself get too focused.

Secondly, expand my homunculi army. Automation is key, there is a reason why the strongest beings still have their own factions instead of slinging it out solo. Having an army of obedient servants cannot be bad.

Third, space magic. An extremely underutilized branch that can get a lot of things done. But especially in preventing rude guests from teleporting into my house.

Now, then. Let's take a look at the skills I can evolve.

[Skill Promotion: Reinforcement]

Skill Promotion condition: Unlock Ki

[Skill Promotion: Cooking - Novice]

Skill Promotion condition: Cook 0/3 intermediate rank meals and cook with 0/5 intermediate-ranked ingredients

[Skill Promotion: Mana Arrow]

Skill Promotion condition: Create and maintain 50 mana arrows at once. Create 1/5 variations of the mana arrow.

[Skill Promotion: Sex Path - Novice]

Skill Promotion condition: Cause 19/50 orgasms(yourself excluded).

Well, these are not too great. The only skill I am really interested in here is reinforcement and that is not really a goal that I can achieve in a short period of time . How frustrating.

I suppose I should work on bringing my subpar skills up to par first rather than aiming for immediate gain. The foremost candidates are enchanting and seals, I can tell will work phenomenally with each other.

So, to try and forget the utter humiliation from today I put my head down and got started on working on seals with fervor. Going through all the seals I have, sorting them, analysing them, theorizing on how I can create more, taking inspiration from the books Azazel gave me and such things until it became the morning.

And as I was working on a seal that would contain mana in an object I felt 2 very immense prescences enter my house. Judging from the position they are probably in my living room.

So, I decided to do what was reasonable.

And decided to ignore them. I don't want to deal with that right now. If they wanted to meet me they should have asked first.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Also, Takumi is not a very happy camper, his natural pride combined with the influence of the Boosted Gear makes him rather annoyed when his boundaries are crossed so blatantly with complete disrespect.

Grayfia being a typical prideful devil did not help the case one bit.

This gave Takumi a waking call, making him remember the nature of this world. There are problems you can't solve by peacefully making potions in your basement after all.

I sure do wonder why those 2 are in his house. Why do you think they are? And how do you think the meeting will go down? I would love to know.

Chapter 38: Devil's Offer

~ Takumi ~

"U-u-umm, Master?"

My eyebrows furrowed a little in frustration because Raynare interrupted me while I was drafting up a new seal idea I turned to her to see her actually shivering in fear.

"What is it?"

"S-satan Sirzechs Lucifer and Grayfia Lucifuge are in the living room and they are looking for you."

Oh right, them , I forgot about them since I actively made an effort to ignore their existence. How long has it been now? 10 minutes?

"Right, them, just ignore them. They will probably go away on their own after a few hours." As I was turning back to my workstation Raynare stuttered out again.

"I-I don't think that is very wise? They seemed really insistent on meeting you. I don't think it's a very good idea to make them wait any longer." I frowned slightly, she was out of line but also right, I have to meet them eventually.

...Eventually.

"Fine, tell them to wait a little. I will go there when I am finished with this."

—••——••——••—

~ 3rd Person ~

Slurp*

Taking a sip of the tea Grayfia prepared for him Sirzechs scratched his cheek in slight embarrassment as he glanced at the frosty Grayfia next to him.

"Well, this is starting to get awkward isn't it?" Sirzechs said in a hushed tone. He wasn't exactly used to being made to wait, especially in a matter like this. Furthermore, he had been waiting for 30 minutes, it wasn't that he was too bothered by it, but he was more concerned about how personally Grayfia was taking this.

"Sirzechs-sama, I will go and retrieve him at once." Grayfia said bowing but he could tell she wanted to drag him here.

Before he could stop Grayfia he heard a voice coming from the basement before a figure stepped out of it, a young man with dark brown hair tied in a low ponytail wearing black slacks and gray shirt with a black cardigan over it. He looked unassuming at a glance except for his eyes.

His eyes held everything except for friendliness. If there was rage in them even Sirzechs couldn't tell.

"Impatient much?" The boy strolled in casually, sitting down in front of Sirzechs with one leg crossed over the other in a relaxed posture as a tick mark appeared on Grayfia's forehead.

"You are in front of Lord Sirzechs Lucifer show some respect, you are already late." Grayfia said coldly as Takumi...

Snort*

Snorted.

"Late? Late for what? My appointment with who? Late for what time exactly? I don't remember having a meeting due with anyone today? I am just here to see who broke into my house." This angered Grayfia who emanated a cold aura as she glared at Takumi who met her gaze with a thousand-yard stare with sweat running down his back from the pressure.

Before Grayfia moved to retort Sirzechs raised his hand silencing her.

"He is right Grayfia. He must be quite shocked to see us here and he had no obligation to hurry. That aside, it is nice to meet you Takumi-kun, I have heard a lot about you from my sister. I am Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the 4 Satans ruling the underworld and she is my Queen Grayfia." Sirzechs announced himself, not taking offence from Takumi.

"So? Why are you here exactly? I can't imagine Satan would take time off just to see little old me. Especially in such a hurry that he would feel the need to break into my house instead of making an appointment like a reasonable person." Takumi looked over to Grayfia to see her getting madder by the second, not surprising him in the slightest.

Sirzechs sighed a little in irritation, usually, people whom he would pull this trick on wouldn't point out such things, for good reason, no need to get nitpicky with the man who could destroy the underworld. Classic politics, it was a show of power.

But it only worked when the other party actually cared about such politics or your superiority.

Takumi cared about neither.

Rules did not matter to those who weren't playing.

"Unfortunately, you are right. Since you want to, I will cut to the chase. Are you aware of Rias' engagement to the Phenex Family's second son Riser?" Sirzechs bit back his slight irritation, Takumi was a valuable asset, incredibly valuable. He wouldn't want to aggravate him more for such a small thing. He was trying to recruit him here after all.

"Somewhat, I am aware that they are engaged, and that Rias doesn't seem too enthusiastic about it. So what?"

"Indeed, Rias is looking for a way out of her arrangement and unfortunately due to our father, the date of the wedding has been pushed even closer. Her only hope out now is a rating game and she cannot win against the Phenex boy."

"And how does that involve me exactly? Aren't you Satan? Just say I don't want my sister married to this man and it would be the end of it." Takumi raised his point, somewhat genuinely invested in why he hadn't done it already.

Sirzechs let out a rueful chuckle.

"Unfortunately it is not that easy as much as I would like it to be. It hasn't been too long since the last war and the Devil race is very divided, arranged marriages are buried deeply in Devil tradition , and if a New Satan like me broke up an arranged marriage of such magnitude between two large noble houses, it would lead to massive blowback from the more traditional houses and the old Satan faction. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say that it could even cause another civil war that would for sure end the Devil race for good this time." It was an unfortunate truth, the Old Satans were looking for any and all opportunities to undermine the New Satans.

'About as much I had expected.' Takumi noted coldly, leaning back in his chair and raising his chin.

"So? How does any of this relate to me? I am a simple man sticking to my own lane."

Sirzechs leaned forward and clasped his hands together.

"I want you to join Rias' peerage and help her win against Riser." That was obviously not all of Sirzechs reasons, the desire to have a red dragon emperor capable of alchemy in the devil race and with the new satan was an equally important reason as saving his sister from an arranged marriage.

Takumi raised an eyebrow.

"What? No."

Just a simple answer, one that gave off the feeling of someone responding to an obviously stupid question rang out as Sirzechs raised an eyebrow while Grayfia furrowed hers.

"Why not? You are her friend, aren't you? Or something more than that from what she told me."

Takumi sighed, looking at him with an exasperated gaze.

"I don't know what to say to you. But kids these days don't swear their eternal loyalty and obedience, abandon their race and join the biggest pyramid scheme in the underworld just because their friend is in trouble."

Sirzechs frowned.

"You know Rias wouldn't mistreat her servants like that. Besides, you are a solo Alchemist, aren't you? You could use the protection from becoming a devil, you could even become a noble yourself, with my endorsement and your own accomplishment you could become a high-class devil in just a short few years."

Hearing this Takumi faked cheer and pumped his fist up.

"Oh boy really!? I can't believe I would have to opportunity to become a servant for protection I don't need, from a race led by a man who can't even save his own sister from the shitty traditions of , and I get to spend years of effort to climb up your triangle scheme of a society you yourself admitted to that was shitty while I get treated like a mere servant by them? Oh boy, sign me up!"

Stopping his fake cheer Takumi sat back down and glared at them with his frosty grey eyes before they could respond.

"Are you kidding me? Am I just that much of a joke in your eyes? That I would give up all up all I have worked for to your race and work for you and your sister for what? Recognition and respect from people I don't care about? The oh-so-great benefits of becoming a High- Class devil?"

The Gauntlet of the Red Dragon Emperor, Boosted Gear manifested in his right hand accentuating his point.

"I am the Red Dragon Emperor of Domination, I am an Alchemist capable of creating miracles in bottles. Yet you offer me what? The privilege to have a chance to become a noble in your fucking race? Degrade myself down to a servant in your race? That's your offer? What a fucking joke, might as well tell me to go fuck myself."

Takumi's gaze grew heavier.

"Do it yourself, for all care your race can bur-"

Before Sirzechs thought to say stop Grayfia's patience had finally snapped as she flashed forward at speeds faster than Takumi could perceive and grabbed him by the throat lifting him up while bearing down her full aura on him.

"This is a Satan you are talking to! Know your place and show some respect!" Takumi shivered and strained under the full brunt of her aura as his gauntleted hand grasped her hand in futility, Grayfia was fed up with the constant disrespect and disregard that the juvenile dragon emperor showed for her master and herself.

Takumi showed signs of being unable to breathe under the pressure when suddenly, he gritted his teeth, his dull grey-blue eyes turning into a glowing shade of cyan as he glared at Grayfia.

" Put me down...! " His struggle under the aura turned to sheer rage, emotions bubbled up within him embarrassment, rage, indignation , spite, hatred, his voice turned into a more guttural and animalistic tone as his teeth sharpened and his eyes looked more like a reptile.

Her figure blurred lines with his memories of a woman strangling him and screaming. His vision was filling with red his grip on her wrist tightened but it didn't budge. The sensation was unbearable and disgusting.

Before anything more could happen, however.

"Grayfia release him right now!" Hearing Sirzechs' hurried and stern order Grayfia released her grip on his throat letting him drop back onto the couch before she moved behind Sirzechs.

Sirzechs was planning to let Grayfia continue as a move to show him the sheer difference between status and power to show him the dangers of the world and the powers of devils while showing who was in power in the negotiation at the cost of vilifying Grayfia however he quickly dropped the idea when he saw the expression of Takumi.

If he let that go on for any longer there was a very real chance he would have to deal with a Juggernaut Drive Red Dragon Emperor while at the same time the alchemist losing his life.

"Takumi-kun, I am very sorry fo-"

Takumi raised a hand to stop him, rubbing his throat with the other hand when oddly.

"Hahhahaah! Haaaah... no need. In fact, you know what?"

Takumi raised his head again, his eye still glowing cyan looking oddly excited and malicious as if having made up his mind on something. Sadistic intent seemed to leak off of him.

"Fine, I will join your race and become Rias' servant. But I just one simple thing in exchange, just this one thing and nothing else."

Sirzechs did not know what to think with the sudden switch in attitude but he leaned in to listen more attentively. Takumi was important, to the extent that he could shake up the peace between the 3 factions important, he couldn't afford for him to not join them .

Because, with the anger and spite he held toward them at this, it was almost assured that he would join any side opposing them wishing for their ruin seeing how Rias hadn't convinced him to change races to help him, she wouldn't help convince him of the opposite.

"Say it, as long as it is within my power I will do everything I can to meet that request." He was being serious, there was little in the list of things he wouldn't fulfil for him to join them.

Takumi smiled widely.

"It's simple really, eye for an eye right? You wish for me to become an obedient servant right? The only thing I want is this."

Takumi pointed his hand toward Grayfia with a malevolent expression.

"For 10 years, I want her to become my servant for that duration. That is my only condition." Takumi declared, leaving everyone speechless.

Seeing their blank faces Takumi giggled to himself again.

"Haha, I mean. Isn't it such a great deal? Just for her serving a 10-year sentence you get me on your team? I find myself a great deal you know? You get a Dragon Alchemist combo in exchange for a rude and brash beat stick of a maid. I am being a saint for you here you know?"

As Grayfia was starting to get mad Sirzechs raised a hand to stop her, looking at Takumi with a blank expression.

"...We will need some time to talk about it. We will be leaving for now, and again, sorry for my wife's actions." Sirzechs said emphasising the word wife, standing up while Grayfia stood up with a bitter expression.

"Oh wait, before you go here. Just in case you want to entertain the idea of rejecting the deal and then disposing of me to be rid of a future trouble." Takumi said, dropping an obsidian feather pin on top of the table between them that Sirzechs recognized which made him curse slightly inwardly.

That was Azazel's personal pin, Takumi was already involved personally with Azazel and the Grigori.

"I am not one to not have any contingencies. I will leave the rest to your imagination." A warning, that they couldn't touch him without heavy consequences.

Sirzechs elected to say nothing as they both teleported away. Leaving Takumi behind as the cyan in his eyes reverted to the usual grey-blue and his teeth regained their usual shape.

But even then the malicious smirk on Takumi's face did not fade.

A/N: And it is checkmate. Takumi has all but fully cornered Sirzechs. Makes one wonder who the real Devil in this offer was.

This kids is what it looks like when you roll a nat 1 in negotiation and persuasion. Power moves do not work on someone who doesn't care for your authority, offers of status do not work on someone who doesn't need them and intimidation doesn't work on someone who willingly took on the mantle of the Red Dragon knowing he will face gods one day.

Especially after Grayfia triggered some repressed trauma (I wonder what that was about) in Takumi he will make sure that she "Knows her place." Takumi is not a very kind person at heart. And he for sure is a very spiteful person. Like a dragon he holds grudges.

Oh and to clarify, Takumi would have helped Rias regardless. He just would have created a regeneration disabling light nuke or something along the lines and helped her as a third party.

Also, why do you guys think his eyes went cyan and he suddenly stopped faltering under Grayfia's aura? I would love to know your theories about it.

Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts about this chapter so make sure you leave them in the comments alright?

Chapter 39: Path of Domination

~ Third Person - Sirzechs' Office ~

Sirzechs frowned, sitting on his desk with his chin resting on his hand, his fingers tapping away at his desk in frustration.

His meeting with the Juvenile Red Dragon Emperor could have gone... better.

It went downhill from the beginning, him and Grayfia were used to coming and going without notice due to the fact that they were powerful enough that objections were hard to raise against them, it was a move to establish who was in charge of the negotiations.

That move, however, only worked if the target actually respected your power. And he had forgotten to consider that the Juvenile Dragon Emperor was not one of subjects, he held no power over him and he did not seem to fear him using brute force.

Which made the move just seem rude and annoying rather than imposing and domineering.

Perhaps he had relied on Rias' thoughts on the boy too much when imagining him instead of what he was. He had treated the boy like a diamond in the rough who refused to join Rias out of pride not knowing how wide the world was.

His original plan was simple, and he had done it before too. Teleport into their hose to establish his position, and show them the danger, that strong people could appear before him at any time before making the offer to join the devil race to receive both protection and status.

But the boy hadn't budged, he was hostile from the beginning, refusing to comply one bit . Seeing through their plays and calling them out on it. Those weren't the eyes of an ignorant diamond in the rough but someone who knew what his value was and what people could do.

So he let Grayfia act hostile, albeit too much, it allowed him to show him the disparity between them without making himself look like the bad guy so they could still negotiate after they showed him where he stood, albeit at the cost of making Grayfia out to be a villain.

Although he did not like using direct fear like that, sometimes it had to be done.

He, however, hadn't expected the sheer hostility of Grayfia, she pushed him too far.

Perhaps even further than he would expect from something like that. Grayfia really seemed to touch a sore spot, to the extent that if she had gone any further he feared he might have gone full Juggernaut Drive.

There was a reason why Azazel went ahead and took care of problematic high-tier sacred gear users if they were unstable individuals . Because the ones that go off the deep end with a longinus are threats to the entire world.

Anyway, that's when it all went from downhill to abyss.

Sirzechs hadn't done his homework and now he was dealing with a very very angsty Red Dragon Emperor Alchemist. He only had the choice of recruiting him now, he entertained the idea of eliminating him and picking someone else untraceable to join Rias' team but the boy had read through that too.

Depending on how deeply he was known in the Grigori and his contingencies, the peace between the 3 factions he was trying to push could go from an uneasy understanding to all- out war if he killed him.

Letting him be was not an option either, he knew how capable he was from Rias, how much he had accomplished in such a short period of time . If he let him be, there would be someone with a mind comparable to Ajuka wielding a Longinus that bore a grudge against the Devil Race.

He did not want to imagine a mind like Ajuka against the Devil race. Just the chance of such a scenario had to be shut down at all costs.

Then there was his condition. That Grayfia became his servant for 10 years. On paper, it was a great deal, too good even, he would be a devil which meant Grayfia wouldn't really be changing sides. In exchange for her service, they would have a Red Dragon Emperor capable of Miracles on their side and guarantee they wouldn't have to face him.

But he did not like the prospect of leaving his wife and queen in the hands of a vengeful teenager for 10 years . Regardless of whether the crux of this mess being her fault.

Releasing a weary sigh he turned toward Grayfia who stood still like a statue.

"What do you think Grayfia? What should we do?" Although he said this he knew there was little choice, he had seen those eyes, those were not the eyes of someone open to negotiation.

"...I think we should accept." Sirzechs looked at Grayfia for a second.

"Are you sure Grayfia?"

Grayfia nodded again.

"Yes, Sirzechs-sama. Don't worry, he might try to act otherwise but he is still simply a teen, he is simply throwing a tantrum. If I am with him I can keep an eye on him for you and guide him in the right direction. He will realize how foolish he was." Grayfia said sternly, Sirzechs could see her point. Grayfia could be really scary when she wanted to.

But there was still something that really nagged at him.

"Grayfia you do realize he is a teenage boy right?"

Grayfia sighed.

"I am aware Sirzechs, and I am aware of what may happen and what he may do. But I can handle a teenage boy Sirzechs, 10 years is not as long of a time as he realizes."

Hearing the reluctant acceptance in Grayfia's Sirzechs closed his eyes in frustration. Trying to move his mind away from the implications. Grayfia was thinking too lightly of the dragon boy and underestimating him, which is what started this mess in the first place.

But reluctantly, he had to agree. No matter how much he might dislike leaving his wife in the hands of a teenage boy he had to. Grayfia thought the same, with her motto being "Maid first, wife second" it wasn't a surprise.

Besides, she was right, Grayfia could handle one boy, he had seen how scary she was firsthand numerous times.

So he swallowed his regrets down like always.

"...Alright Grayfia, I guess we should prepare for tomorrow." A hint of hurt flashed across Grayfia's face at how easily Sirzechs accepted the deal but Sirzechs missed it.

Grayfia steadied her spirit, she was a maid, and a maid must be willing to do anything for her master. No matter how much she disliked the prospect of being in the hands of an angsty teen.

After Grayfia left the room to prepare her briefcases Sirzechs pulled out some liqueur from a hidden compartment in his desk and took a swing, feeling the alcohol run down his throat he put the bottle down on the desk.

Even though he may dislike it, this was his job. He had a duty to his people, his race that he fought tooth and nail for in the civil war, it was his job and responsibility to lead them. And it was his job and duty as a Satan. He had to make difficult decisions for the good of his race. He was a Satan before he was Sirzechs.

Taking one more drink of his secret stash Sirzechs put it back and resumed his work, he had many things to set up now that he had accepted Takumi's deal.

—••——••——••—

~ Takumi ~

Letting myself sink into my medicated bath I let my muscles relax, trying to coax out the exhaustion inside me. I felt both thrilled and exhausted.

There was the sensation of elation at the fact that I showed and asserted my dominance in front of Grayfia and Sirzechs, not willing to bow down to either of them and having the last word.

Then there was the sensation of cold anger and irritation. I was humiliated and attacked. They treated me like an ignorant child who needs their help, then a fucking animal, someone who needed to "know their place".

Though I said such things to Sirzechs in haste I do not have regret for them. I was fully aware of what I was doing after all. I will not let people walk over me, not now, not ever.

As for becoming a devil, well that was fine. I am not particularly against becoming a devil despite the fervour I showed to Sirzechs and Grayfia. Sure, I do not want to, but with enough benefits provided, I cannot reject.

Honestly, the perk I would get in exchange for joining was basically the best one I could have possibly gotten.

I get to take my sweet and savoury revenge against the humiliation I suffered in her hands. Plus there is the humongous benefit of her being, you know, a smoking hot Maid Milf.

You can hardly check off more boxes in my list than that.

I will enjoy letting her "Know her place".

To be honest, there was a still voice telling me to tear her apart, burn her corpse down and dance in the ashes, perhaps the draconic inside of me influencing my already agitated emotions.

Wincing I rubbed my throat, being forced to remember... that time.

I do not want to be reminded of that, I took great pride in forcing myself to get past that. And I was vengeful toward her for forcing me to relive that.

Personal vendetta aside there was a practical benefit that was beyond anything else I could else I could have asked for.

An Ultimate Class Devil ingredient factory.

I am salivating .

Oh, and also the bodyguard aspect for it but I am sure as hell am not putting the safety of my fleshy body in the hands of a woman who probably wants nothing more than to reduce me into a pile of censored gore.

There was also the fact I was pretty sure I could turn to my side after my revenge was done, getting a Satan-class maid is never a bad idea. 10 years may not seem like a long time to her

but it is in fact very much, a lot can change in such a period of time . Especially because by that time I would be a godlike being, I was confident in that much.

Well, because if I hadn't reached that level by that time I would have the experience of getting all of my orifices stuffed by all the gods that seem to want to kill everyone.

There is a certain desire in my heart, telling me to conquer her. And honestly? My logic and heart are on the same page for once. And this is probably the result of that.

Updating...

Iter Melius has been altered.

You have achieved Sub-Species Balance Breaker: ~{Path of Domination}~

It's in your blood and your soul, domination runs through your being, You who are the Dragon Emperor who has inherited the Principle of Domination.

Prove the Draconic Power stirring in your veins. Show the world your power. Ascend and become a true dragon.

~{Principle of Domination}~ Has been partially unlocked.

The storage function of the Boosted Gear has been linked to Iter Melius .

Ability [Draconic Aura] has been unlocked

[Draconic Aura Lv.1]

You can emit aura from your soul. You emanate an aura of dominance, allowing you to resist attacks against your mind and being while also suppressing those with a will weaker than yours. Does not work on people

Quest added [Maid of Vengance]

I nodded, the same thing happened when I took on the Boosted Gear too. It seems too radical of changes can majorly influence the Iter Melius, though I don't think I did anything TOO radical for Iter Melius to change this much. At least compared to stuffing a Longinus inside of me.

And it felt like this change was very fundamental too, like something deep inside me had changed. No, it wasn't that it changed me, it is more like it opened a door of possibilities in the depths of my soul.

I summoned the boosted gear in my hand to ask Ddraig what was up. After a brief summary(I mean, he had a front-row seat to watch what I went through).

{Yes, I did notice the changes too, partner. I don't know how exactly to describe it but it feels like you have become more in tune with the Boosted Gear. That Iter Melius as you call it, seems like it has started matching wavelengths with the Boosted Gear. I wouldn't go so far as to say they have fused but in all my years of existence, I can say I have never seen something like this before.}

So, you mean to say that Iter Melius has gone from treating the Boosted Gear as a separate entity to now linking up with it fully?

{Just about so yes, I do not know what effects this will have on you, there has never been someone to be so in tune with the Boosted Gear, by design. After all, it's supposed to be passed on from person to person, yet it seems like you started fully integrating it into your roots. I myself can feel my connection to you grow stronger too. But don't worry partner.}

{I trust you. You are capable. Perhaps it's your fate, the Boosted Gear already fit you like a glove after all . Now let me sleep, after that whole Devil fiasco I am quite tired.} I could hear Ddraig grin, making me smile.

What a reliable partner.

Now though? I really look forward to the future.

A/N: Things are now really kicking into high gear, the Dragon will begin his ascent.

What do you guys think about the new evolution of Iter Melius? Previously there was a real distance between it and Boosted Gear due to the tier difference between the two but now Iter Melius has somehow linked itself properly to the Boosted Gear and itself has been boosted by it. Whatever does that mean? We will see. I would love to know what you think about it though.

Takumi looks forward to his revenge and new servant. Sirzechs was checkmated, he has no other option but to give Takumi what he wants even if he doesn't like to, he will do it for the greater good.

What did you guys think about this chapter? I would love to hear about it.

Chapter 40: Feels good to be (D)Evil

I stood in front of Sirzechs and Grayfia with the smuggest, most punchable face I could muster. I knew they would accept. Well, they did not really have a choice.

Already I had texted Azazel about my decision to become a devil, getting some shock from him before he essentially said 'Sure, go ahead.' I knew he didn't really care for my race but the man is chiller than ice most of the time.

"So? Come to a decision?" Grayfia frowned, I could see a vein on her forehead as Sirzechs nodded.

"Yes, we have. We will accept your deal, in exchange for joining Rias' peerage my wife will be serving you for 10 years." Sirzechs said, putting emphasis on the word wife to show me what I was doing, as if warning.

Hah. I can't feel any fear. Either because my mother intentionally dropped me when I was a kid or I am just that mad.

Here I am, two months before I was delivering food on the side to cover my bills. Now?

I was asking Satan for his wife in front of him and he couldn't do anything about it.

Well, he could but I am too valuable, he can't pass up on an alchemist Ajuka and he can't afford to antagonize me either since you don't want alchemist Ajuka against you. And he can't kill me because Azazel is definitely not the only one in the Grigori who knows me, probably all scientists there and the cadres know my existence so killing me is out of the question unless you want to risk war.

I smirked.

"Alright then, how are we going to do this exactly? I don't think Rias is strong enough to revive me with any of her pieces." Not to toot my own horn or anything but Rias was nowhere strong enough to revive me as a Devil even with a mutated queen piece.

"For that, we will simply revive you using Grayfia's evil pieces and trade you to Rias, Grayfia has never touched her evil pieces. It will obviously be a Bishop piece as you would want I assume."

I nodded, that much was acceptable. I would prefer a queen piece but you can't really trade two queens into someone's peerage. Besides, my physicals aren't so high that I would benefit largely from it.

"That's alright I guess. But before that. I want my end of the deal fulfilled, as you might imagine I would not want to get fucked out of my end of the deal after becoming a devil." Sirzechs raised an eyebrow.

"And how would you do that? I don't plan to not fulfil my end of the deal and neither does Grayfia, it will be written on paper." I scoffed shaking my head.

Poor Sirzechs, he really takes me for a fool, doesn't he?

"Do I really seem that much of a fool? What's stopping Grayfia from not obeying my orders? She could just say no and what could I do about that? Slap her? I'd break my hand. Punish her how? I wouldn't be having a servant just another piece of living spyware in my house."

Grayfia looked angry at my doubting of her capabilities as a maid while Sirzechs simply raised his eyebrow.

"And how do you plan to ensure that?"

"Oh please. Do I really seem that inflexible? I am not just an alchemist you know? I am also an enchanter and sealer in my free time. Before I get transformed into a devil she has to

accept a seal of servitude." I stated firmly as Grayfia scowled and Sirzechs frowned.

"A seal of servitude? What is that? And will it harm Grayfia?"

"Hah! If I could harm her with my seals I already would have don't you think? A seal of servitude is a seal that can only be placed with consent, which allows it to enact its penalty regardless of the resistance of the

other party since they already allowed the effects to affect them since they gave consent. I will not accept the deal without this condition I thought I should inform you."

Sirzechs thought for a moment and replied with a straight face.

"And how can we trust this seal? And how can it be removed, you could put it on and not choose to remove it as far as I can tell." I

I sent him a look that conveyed my questioning of his intelligence.

"Well, you can't tell much I can see that. First of all, I never said it couldn't be removed. She" I pointed at Grayfia "Could just brute force its removal. And for fucks sake you guys have goddam Ajuka on speed dial, if you guys fear the seals of a man who has been in the business for less than a month you guys have bigger things to worry about."

Sirzechs at least had the decency to look a tad embarrassed as he scratched his cheek while Grayfia sighed.

...How the fuck did these people make it to over 300 if they miss such a simple line of thought?

"...Fine, go ahead." Grayfia said as I nodded getting up and motioning her to follow me to my basement. She begrudgingly nodded and started following me with Sirzechs in tow before I stopped him. Making him look at me with confusion.

"Sorry no sorry, but confidentiality, once I put the seal on her she can't spill the beans about my seals but if you were to see it I would see it reproduced by Ajuka by the hour. So no thanks, I prefer to keep my secrets." Sirzechs nodded with apprehension sitting back down on his chair while I wordlessly led Grayfia into my enchanting cum sealing room. Pulling out a brush I prepared beforehand I faced her.

"Alright, skirt up and panties down please."

'...'

Grayfia's expression dropped into a chilling glare as she looked down on me while I roused up my dragon aura, not affected by her killing intent.

"What are you implying?" I just gave her a smug smile in response to her anger.

"To apply the seal dummy, what do you think the penalty is? I can't exactly hurt you. Well, it's okay if you do not want to do this, we can call off the deal, I am sure the Grigori is hiring, maybe Kokabiel could even teach me how to use light powers that would be cool."

I gave her the illusion of a choice and a thinly veiled threat, as she glared at me, if glares could hurt, I would be a limp corpse right about now, but unfortunately for her, they don't. She huffed in anger but I could see the resignation in her posture.

But reluctantly and giving me a death glare she reached down and lifted her skirt as I preened under her spite.

She was wearing black and white frilled underwear, I was given a full window of view into her supple thighs semi-covered by stockings held up by a garter belt.

"Hmm, nice choice of underwear but a bit plain, the presentation is also rather lacking. Overall I rate it a 6/10, nice." Grayfia scowled, I could tell the words also hit pride even though she hated me, no woman wanted to be rated subpar, especially a devil.

"Do not mess around! Just get it over with!" I shrugged pulling her panties down slightly to the extent that while it hid her pussy but nothing else, I wanted to save that present for later. Reading the brush I started working on drawing the seal.

"Tsk, tsk, that impatience of yours is what got you into this mess in the place you know?" I tsked as Grayfia trembled from anger and humiliation, it would be so funny if she burst a vein.

Regardless, I drew the seal immaculately, I did prepare for this a decent lot, modifying the seal and making the paint specifically, Hydra Blood, Vitality Banana, refined devil blood mixed with refined Takumi blood and then Boosted by the Boosted Gear. This seal was a strong one.

When I was done with drawing it I put my hand over her soft mound as the sound of her scowling rang out, imbuing my mana to make it take effect the womb tattoo was finally finished, and the moment it was Grayfia immediately pushed down her skirt.

"There. Now anything else I should be aware of?" Barely concealed spite laced her voice as I nodded getting up I snapped my fingers.

"Yup, let's confirm it works. I know pain wouldn't hurt you much and I can't damage you so I went for another penalty." *Snap!*

Immediately when I snapped Grayfia's expression went from stoic anger to bewildered and flushed as she bent over slightly, her breathing ragged.

"What did you do!" She growled, unfortunately, the seal recognized that and turned the punishment up feeling the hostility.

Moan.*

Grayfia quickly covered her mouth looking slightly mortified that she moaned as I laughed.

"The penalty is aphrodisiac effect. I suggest you stop acting so hostile unless you want to experience what it can fully do. But if you really want to I guess Sirzechs can wait." Grayfia closed her eyes in scorn before returning to a prim and proper stance, but I could still see the slight flush and ragged breathing.

I am a genius beyond compare, truly.

With Grayfia quietly seething in tow, we made our way back up to see Sirzechs quietly sipping tea, putting it down when he saw us arrive.

"I suppose you are finally finished?" I nodded smugly while Grayfia scowled like always.

"Yup, time to pull the devil trigger and become a dweller of the night I guess." Sirzechs gave me a reproachful look at the seemingly nonsense I spouted but clapped his hands regardless. Grayfia summoned a red crystal bishop piece into her hand. She held it while I signed the contract with Sirzechs.

Basically, it stated some things like allowing Grayfia to return to Sirzechs side for important things like official meetings and some business and such, since I had no intention of making this public, it would humiliate her but I don't want that attention on me right now.

Also, it also gave her some time off to see her son and stuff, I had no intention of separating a mother and child, plus doing that would guarantee Grayfia's eternal scorn. The good news was that I could call Grayfia to my side whenever as long as she wasn't busy.

Once I was done signing the contract, I looked up to Sirzechs.

"So, how do we do this?"

"You don't need to do anything, just relax and try not to resist." I nodded my head in acknowledgement as the crimson crystal bishop piece floated over to me and entered my body like it wasn't even there. Then I felt foreign energy permeate throughout my entire body.

The changes felt so smooth and natural that I almost felt like I wasn't changing at all (I need to meet Ajuka). After only a few brief seconds I felt the changes come to a halt as I felt my new body.

I felt... stronger, faster, and my magic power almost tripled. So not really anything new, if anything it's weaker than a 3rd stage boost but the base magic power getting tripled was worth way more than that and I knew it.

I also felt a tingly sensation on my back, instinct said I could unfurl a pair of batlike wings from just below my shoulder blades. The sun felt brighter and a bit more annoying. And my magic power felt different.

So this was becoming a devil huh?

...I am feeling motivated ...

You have changed your race to Reincarnated Devil(Bishop)

All stats have increased by 1.5x

Your magic power and mana have increased by another 2x.

Vitality: 154 - 231

Mana: 218 - 654

Endurance: 50 - 75

Strength: 50 - 75

Agility: 50 - 75

Magic Power: 239 - 717

You have acquired the ability {Demonic Power}

You have acquired the ability [Tounge]

You have acquired the ability [Flight]

You have acquired the trait [Holy Weakness(Major)]

[Light Resistance(Minor)] has been downgraded to [Light Weakness(Medium)]

I looked at my hand, instinctively calling upon my demonic power as energy crackled in my hands, and a smile crept up to my face. Seeing this Sirzechs smiled smugly.

"How is it? Becoming a devil? Feels good doesn't it?"

I made a non-commercial noise and gave a shrug .

"Eh, 4 out of 10. Could have been better."

Seeing Sirzechs and Grayfia's eyebrows twitch in irritation was worth it.

—••——••——••—

~3rd Person - ORC~

Rias frowned deep in thought behind her desk.

Nothing was going her way recently and her life seemed bleak. She needed to apologize to Takumi for putting him on the spot like that but she didn't know how to, his expression of pure hatred made her hesitant to approach him.

As if that wasn't enough, her father pushed the wedding from several months to basically right now. Her only hope right now was challenging Riser to a rating game that she knew she would lose.

Sighing from the feeling of helplessness Rias started thinking about what to do when suddenly.

BAM!*

Her door was slammed open and entering into the room in a bold and brash manner was Takumi wearing the confident smirk that she loved on him.

"Local Dragon Alchemist here! Did someone order a bishop?"

And he had... wings!?

A/N: Time to conduct (D)Evil!

Takumi has finally become a devil and fitting as his first act of becoming a devil he has started taming the ferocious milf maif waifu. Slowly but surely, of course, haste makes waste after all.

And luckily for Rias her knight in white armo- err, Alchemist in strange clothing has arrived to save her from the clutches of marriage. Things are finally kicking into high gear and we will now start cooking with some real gas.

What did you guys think about this chapter? I would love to hear your thoughts about it.

Chapter 41: Cooked x Chicken.

~A/N: Here is an extra long chapter, as a treat~

Rias looked at me in disbelief and so did Akeno. And I understood why but I could not sacrifice my dramatic entrance, it's not always that I get an opportunity like this.

Rias stared blankly at my face for a solid 5 seconds straight, just trying to comprehend the words and that just came out of my mouth and back respectively.

And when Rias.exe finally finished rebooting she managed to squeeze out some words.

"Takumi-kun? Did you become a devil? How!? Who!? Whose peerage did you join!?" Rias shot up from her chair in a panic-like state while I shook my head fondly.

"Well, I was planning on yours but if it is a bad time I can come back late- Puhak! "

I tried jesting before I was hit by a crimson-coloured human-shaped heiress missile called Rias pulling me into a hug. I could feel my ribs crack when she slammed into me and pulled my body into a crushing hug. In the corner of my vision, I could Akeno smiling fondly in happiness.

Not knowing what to do I also wrapped my arms around her, supporting her as she looked up at me with equal amounts disbelief and happiness.

"Really? Are you sure? I thought you didn't want to join? I mean I would be as happy as I could be if you did-" I just put my finger to her lips to silence her ramblings.

She must have been really stressed to be like this.

...Now I feel bad.

I will make it up to her later.

"Well, clearly I changed my mind, didn't I? I can't really stand by the sidelines and watch you handle that burnt chicken by yourself, can I? If I couldn't make this little sacrifice I wouldn't be able to call myself your boyfriend." I decided to put a title on our relationship because referring to her as my not friend but also not really my girlfriend in my mind.

And I wasn't even lying here, even if I did not plan to become a devil at first I would have pumped her peerage full of elixirs and made a light nuke potion with a feather from Azazel and Hydra venom to put down the Phenex scion.

Letting her go was never on the list of possibilities despite what I made Sirzechs think.

Chu!*

Instead of choosing to give a verbal answer, Rias slung her arms over my neck and pulled down for a quick kiss, not a lustful French one but a quick one filled emotion. Releasing her arms from around my neck she backed off slightly, red still staining her face she took a moment to recompose herself before posing the question.

"I am very glad Takumi, but, how did you become a devil already?"

Ahem.*

It was at this moment that Rias noticed Grayfia who had been standing in the corner of the room ever since I got here, she looked both happy at the fact that Rias was so happy and annoyed at the fact that it was the perverted brat she served who was making her happy.

Man, I think my psychoanalysis skills are improving.

"Grayfia? What are you doing here?" Rias was slightly surprised and initially put a foot forward in front of me, putting herself between me and her while looking at Grayfia who sighed slightly seeing the scene.

"That would be thanks to me, lady Rias. I reincarnated Takumi as my bishop piece because you would not have been able to otherwise. I am also here to trade him to you." Hearing myself being addressed like an object being passed around was a bit irritating but I was the picture definition of a stoic.

"Well, you heard the maid, let's hurry with it, you didn't hear it from me but I don't feel safe under the cold scrutiny of her gaze." I joked pointing at the cold Grayfia with my thumb as Rias chortled.

"Alright, let's do that. I look forward to you joining us Takumi-kun." Rias said, giving me a thousand-watt smile that gave a bit of warmth to my heart.

Yep, that's the smile I am putting some elbow grease into protecting right now.

—••——••——••—

It was a rather quick process, just a small ritual to exchange Grayfia's Bishop piece, yours truly with Rias' unused Bishop piece. After that, I was at the mercy of the teenage girl.

After Grayfia left I let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the couch, letting myself relax.

"Well, now that that's over with , anything I should know about your peerage Rias? Any rules? Mandatory human sacrifice gatherings?" Rias smiled while shaking her head, sitting next to me on the couch, out legs touching as she flicked my nose.

"No need for that dummy, I am not going to impose any rules on you just because you decided to help me. Though I would appreciate you joining in on peerage activities, it would help you become a high-ranking devil faster too. Right? My boyfriend~" Rias said the last part teasingly, lightly jabbing at me the fact that I was the one who declared our relationship first.

While my thoughts resembled something like.

'Wow, I actually have a girlfriend.'

This is the first actual relationship I have been in, the weird fucked up shit with the fallen angels being obviously excluded.

Rias leaned onto me, giving me a good whiff of her scent, strawberry and cherry mixed with a bit of a floral scent . As I was letting my mind wander with her body pressed up against mine, I suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around me as boundless softness pushed up against my head, cranking my eyes open a tad I saw the irritated expression Rias looking above, making me notice a familiar seductive voice.

"Ara~ ara~ President, you can't hog him all to yourself now you know~? It's good to share." I felt Akeno also looking at Rias, imaginary sparks almost flying between them.

"Akeno? Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself? Besides, I think he prefers me more, doesn't he? After all, he is my boyfriend." I could feel the pride of Rias challenge the pride of Akeno while I stood still, eager to watch the sparks fly.

"O~h~ is that really so~? It didn't seem like that when I was training him~" Akeno countered, the playful tension between them was clear to see when my live drama show was interrupted by the door opening.

"Koneko-chan?" Rias and Akeno noticed Koneko suddenly enter the room but neither retracted their shows of affection and Koneko did not seem to care as she walked up to us, sniffing the air slightly and looking pleased as she did so.

"...Did you become a devil?" She asked curtly as I nodded with a smile and put my hand on her head patting it slightly as she leaned into my hand with a ghost of a smile.

"Yep, that's right, I have finally succumbed to the temptation of evil. But I guess that makes us Peermates doesn't it Koneko-chan?" Koneko smiled slightly, nodding and surprisingly sitting on my other side opposite of Rias, staying right next to me as both Rias and Akeno smiled.

"Ara~ ara~ President, it seems we may have further competition." Akeno teased Koneko as the small cat girl blushed slightly narrowing her eyes at Akeno.

"Akeno, it's not good to tease so much you know? By the way, Takumi-kun. I heard from my mother that Riser was planning on vising the human world today." Rias, said, a hint of worry dyeing her voice as I chuckled and put a hand on her head to comfort her.

"Heh, don't worry about that fried chicken Rias. Don't worry, I have a plan, he can come whenever and however he likes."

After all, what is a chicken in front of a dragon?

—••——••——••—

While Takumi and Rias were cuddling on her couch with her peerage around them, suddenly, an orange magic circle appeared in the middle of the room.

The magic circle bearing the crest of the Phenex family lit up in the middle of the floor as the figure of Riser Phenex escorted by Grayfia stepped out of it. He was a tall individual with golden blond hair with the middle slicked back and blue eyes wearing an expensive red suit with a white dress shirt underneath, he held an expression and air that screamed arrogance.

Riser looked around for a second before his eyes locked onto his bride-to-be, but unlike what he expected, she had an unknown man hanging off her . Seeing this Riser sneered in anger and disbelief, marching over to her.

"Rias! What is the meaning of this? I come to the human world for the first time in a while and I see an unknown man hanging off of you. And you! Get off my fiancee." Rias spat out, releasing his magical power in all directions as a meagre attempt at intimidation.

Rias's grip on Takumi's hand tightened as she glared at Riser defiantly while Takumi's expression did not budge a smidge, despite Riser throwing around his presence Takumi looked cool as beans.

"I don't remember needing to ask your permission for anything Riser. I have told you time and time again that I do not want to marry you." Rias said with heat in her voice as Riser shrugged his shoulders smugly.

"Really? You are still going on with your childish protest Rias? Are you really in a position to be so selfish Rias? Can you really afford to do this while the Gremory family is the one struggling? It's your family that benefits the most here, not mine." He came closer, looking down at her directly.

"Is this man also one of your little protests? Your new pawn from how little mana he has. Stop being so childish Rias. And you, I remember telling you to get off my fiancee don't I?" Riser shot Takumi a glare that almost felt cute to him with how little he felt threatened by it.

It felt almost like an ant pulling an appropriately ant-sized knife on him.

Still sporting a lazy smile Takumi got off Rias and walked over to Riser, standing mere inches in front of him.

"Really? And why should I be taking orders from you? You do not hold any power over me. Or should I also come over and kiss your ass just because you asked your highness ?" Takumi said in a mocking tone, successfully employing his mastery of pissing people off as Riser grinned in anger.

"It seems you do not understand your place, you are a mere servant, barely a devil. Someone like you doesn't have the right to talk to me like this , in fact, since you are in Rias' peerage you will refer to me as master soon enough. Let me show the distance between you and me." Rias did not even try to come to Takumi's defence, her full confidence lay in his abilities.

Snap!*

Riser snapped his fingers again, making the circle light up again. This time a whole group of people emerged from it.

All flavours of girls dressed in skimpy outfits were standing behind him. Takumi's eyes glanced over all of them quickly, his eyes falling mainly on two of the people behind him, the skimpily dressed mature purple beauty standing closest to Riser and his sister who was dressed like a princess. He made sure to commit them to his memory for later.

"I have a peerage, a full one, I am a noble high-class Devil while you are a mere servant. Do not overstep your bounds or else I will make sure you will regret it when you are serving me, after all, when I marry Rias our peerages will functionally be the same."

Takumi looked unimpressed. Sporting a mocking grin of his own as he raised his eyebrows challengingly.

"So what? Is your little harem supposed to impress me? What's with all the fanfare? Is it compensating for something? By something I mean your small dick, of course, I thought I should elaborate since you seem like a little too bird-brained to understand the nuance of a joke. After all, it would take a special kind of retard to think this would impress me." Riser glared at Takumi with molten blue eyes from anger.

Snap!*

"If Rias refuses to disciple you it seems like the task falls to me as her Fiancee. Mira, teach him some respect." After snapping his finger his pawn dutifully stepped in front approaching

Takumi rapidly.

Riser smirked, sending his weakest pawn forward, sensing what little mana Takumi had, as expected of a panic pick from Rias.

A girl with blue hair tied into 8 tails wearing traditional Japanese festival clothes holding a wooden staff stepped forward toward Takumi with her weapon braced.

Just when she went in to strike him with her staff suddenly she fell to her knees as an aura was released throughout the entire room, a domineering presence made itself known and forced her down to her knees with its full pressure bearing down on her.

Riser glared in indignation at the young man who went from unassuming to dangerous looking in one moment his eyes now glowing teal as he approached Riser even closer, both parties staring each other down.

"Was this pathetic display what you were supposed to show me? I sure learned some respect. But I guess this is partly my fault for expecting anything impressive from you, seems like this pathetic display is all you are worth, I am impressed, I had no expectations of you and I still ended up disappointed." *Clap!* *Clap!*

Takumi clapped mockingly as Riser looked like a vein had burst on his forehead, his stance turning hostile.

"Then I guess it falls on me to teach you some respect myself!" Riser's hand shot forward and gripped Takumi's shirt, lifting Takumi into the air, but even then Takumi's smug expression did not cease. Then, Riser suddenly burst into flame.

"Urk!" Rias felt the heat rolling off of Riser, it was rather unpleasant, and it would feel like a furnace for anyone next to him, let alone someone directly in contact with him.

"Well? Regretting your words now? Or is it too hot to speak?" But then Riser saw Takumi's face, which was now grinning maniacally. A Red Draconic Clawed Gauntlet manifested on his arm and gripped Riser's arm, putting his feet back on the floor.

"{BOOST}!"

Riser's eyes widened.

"The Red Dragon Emperor?"

Still gripping onto Riser's arm who still hadn't let go of him Takumi smirked maliciously.

"Really? Is this meagre flame really the pride of the Phenex family? I have experienced summer days hotter than this joke. More like the shame of the Phenex family I say. Or maybe it is just you who is a disgrace?" Riser saw red, but just before he was about to attack a chilling presence bore down on both of them, smothering his anger as he faced Grayfia who had her eyes narrowed.

"I will no longer tolerate any more fighting here. Please cease your hostilities." Grayfia's chilling voice rang out as Riser spat to the side. Still glaring daggers at Takumi who casually dispelled his boosted gear.

"I will remember this peasant, and I will make sure you will regret this disrespect. I swear it on my name. Rias, you wanted to challenge me to a rating game right? I will accept it. Only on the condition that he participates as well." Riser said, pointing a finger at Takumi.

"Of course, who do you take me for? There is no way in hell I would miss a chance to stomp your worthless ass to the dirt. I take it that's fine with you Rias?" Rias nodded to Takumi's words.

"Yes, that's fine with me." Hearing both parties' intent Grayfia nodded.

"I see, then I shall arrange a rating game between Rias-sama and Riser-sama," Grayfia said bowing slightly. Riser turned back to me his eyes molten with unconcealed anger.

"I will give you a week to prepare, I want to crush you at your best so utterly that there will be no room for any doubt. It isn't rare for there to be a lost limb or two in a rating game." Just before Riser was about to leave Riser shot one last glare at Takumi.

"Prepare yourself."

Takumi glared in kind.

"You should worry about yourself."

That was not a threat or an attempt at intimidation.

Takumi meant it.

As Riser vanished with his peerage in tow Takumi stood in place. A malicious smirk adorning his face.

'That could not have gone any better.'

A/N: This chapter was originally supposed to be 2/3rds its current length. But I decided to write the entire Riser confrontation in one go to not leave you guys hanging.

The plot has finally started kicking off, Takumi employed his honed speciality of pissing people off, he may not like cussing all that much but he is very skilled in talking shit and pissing people off.

Riser does not know what he is dealing with and he will learn it the hard way. The very hard and arduous way. His near future is not a kind one.

What did you guys think about the scenes between Takumi and Rias' peerage? Did you like it? What about the Riser scene? I would love to know your thoughts about it.

Chapter 42: Hydra x Healing

I arrived back home with Grayfia in tow, after Riser left I hashed out my plans with Rias, which boiled down to a training camp for her peerage, me included.

Which I did not have any problems with. Because currently, I actually needed some training instead of going even more all in on potions. Sure that Intermediate VII Fire Resistance potion allowed me to flex on Riser hard and it would help me immensely in a peerage fight but there are two things.

First of all, Riser is not a pushover. Sure I may have treated him like a chump but he is in the upper crust of the high class, has immense mana, strong as hell body strong enough to contend with Issei's balance breaker and I do not have to mention his cheaty regeneration, you have to kill him dozens of times to have a chance at him to stay dead.

Secondly, I am not particularly used to being a devil. Sure the process is seamless but I feel a bit awkward, and while I do have a general feel for Demonic Energy I can't say I have a full grasp of it. I especially do not its inner mechanisms and thus can't exploit it fully.

Receiving some training from Akeno and the like would be extremely helpful. I can't get Grayfia to do since while I can force her to not do something but I can't fully make her teach me well.

I need to focus on my personal strength and also getting Rias' peerage up to a respectable level of power. I am planning to give them some Elixirs for semi-free, since in the end, they stand on my side, and strengthening them does not make me lose out on anything.

The training camp would start tomorrow and I needed to get some things ready by then.

First of all, however, I should introduce my new maid acquisition.

I ordered all of my maids to regroup in the living room while Grayfia stood behind me like a statue, unwilling to talk or interact with me. As my maids gathered I could see the shock and fear in their eyes as they all stood in front of Grayfia's gaze of scrutiny.

So I decided to introduce them. Slinging my arm over Grayfia's shoulder I presented her.

"Hey guys, this is Grayfia, she is my new maid and she will be joining you three. She may be a little cold and inhospitable but have some patience with her all right? She is a little new and may mess up sometimes but be kind to her okay? It is her first day on the job after all."

Gulp!* *Shiver.*

The fallen maids shivered as Grayfia gave me the coldest stare I have ever seen, if hell had seas, they would have frozen over with that glare. I must have hit her sore spot by treating her like a child and newbie maid when she took so much pride in it.

Unphased by her glares I also motioned to the fallen angels.

"And Grayfia, these are your new co-workers, say hi to them! They are your seniors and if you have any questions you can ask them for help okay? Don't be shy. I hope you guys can get along."

Inhale* *Exhale*

I could feel the strands of Grayfia's patience being stretched taut.

"...I do not think I will need any help. Just show me my duties and I will fulfil them." Grayfia replied coldly while I crossed my arms and shook my head.

"Tsk, tsk, Grayfia, is that any way a maid should present herself? Don't be so cold and hostile. Come on show a smile, be hospitable it is one of the duties of a maid. Or are you

incapable? I guess I should have expected something like this."

I smiled at her, challenging her. The first step to training such a prideful person is playing with their pride first.

As expected she cracked, being a maid was the most important thing to her.

She slowly forced a smile to her mouth. And I was impressed, this was the first time I had seen a smile that looked more hostile than a scowl.

I smirked and patted her shoulder.

"See? Was that so hard? I have something to do now so you guys can get familiar between yourselves. Try not to burn my house down in the meantime." Saying that I left them behind to enter the basement, leaving the hot- I guess Inferno is a better fit, potato with my fallen angel maids.

—••——••——••—

I sat in my office, rapidly drafting up a mansion plan, it went by so fast that the average person would not be able to follow me making the plan. My mind moved more than 50 times faster as 75% of my mental processing power went to drafting up the blueprint for my mansion while the other 25% worked on what I was going to be doing.

I had an idea, born of inspiration from what just happened. I wanted to create an elixir, I hadn't made one in so long because I was waiting for better ingredients and skill and now both were here.

What I wanted was a regeneration factor, like the Phenex family of course not to the same extent. But I had the core ingredients needed for it basically within 100 meters of me.

More specifically, I was going to try and replicate the healing factor of my Hydra. The reason I hadn't done so before was simple, creating a potion was a balancing act, an elixir even more so.

If I don't strike the balance between changing my body and regeneration I would just get a regeneration potion or a cancer potion. And if I used a base that was far weaker than the regeneration factor the result itself would be downgraded too.

So I needed a strong base to hold the regeneration factor of the Hydra. At first, I thought of Grayfia's breast milk as the obvious choice but after a bit of contemplation, I decided against it.

While [growth] was basically the best for elixirs... regeneration was not so much. Because when you combine the aspect representing growth with regeneration there was a good chance you would create a hyper cancer potion instead.

I was planning to get her breast milk eventually but not now, I know I will get carried away both with messing with her and with experimenting with the breastmilk of an Ultimate Class Devil. Also, pushing her too much too fast was not a good idea.

The fastest way down a hill is falling down after all.

But that didn't mean I wouldn't harvest her other resources right now .

My will for revenge may burn, but my desire for alchemic triumph burns harder.

—••——••——••—

Grayfia stood behind me, looking at what I was doing with actual curiosity and I did not blame her, even for her watching an alchemist at work must be something she has never seen before.

Especially a refining setup to this degree.

I had extracted some samples from her without too much hassle, I knew she was trying some not-so-loyal things by how she as flushed and occasionally squirmed, probably trying to pick a fight with the fallen when I said not to.

I wasn't going to push her on that matter right now, I was going to let her simmer for now. Slow and steady wins the race.

...Besides I was too preoccupied with Alchemy at the moment.

As expected Grayfia's blood was an incredibly alchemical catalyst. Far beyond anything else I have ever seen, It was rated as an Ultimate rank ingredient by the system after all.

But I forced myself to keep my head in the game and focus on making the elixir or else I would be messing with the blood all week.

The elixir I was making right now was very dangerous if done incorrectly . Not in the sense of a volatile explosion but something much much worse.

A Regeneration elixir sounds cool and all when viewed from the perspective of a game but in reality, it was dangerous.

If I fail to calibrate the settings and the intricacies to my own body perfectly do you know what will happen?

The regeneration factor will override my own natural regeneration and cell division, forget about getting just cancer, I would be left as a giant lump of cancer on the floor within the hour.

So it was a necessity to also use my own blood in the creation process too . For the regeneration factor to realize that it was what it was supposed to be regenerating.

It was mostly made up of refined Grayifa blood as the base with refined Hydra blood as the main ingredient with my blood and other vitality herbs mixed in.

It took long hours of blood tears and sweat to complete the elixir but I finally made it. I had tested lesser versions of it on some captured wild animals... the sight wasn't pretty but hey, one of them was successful and now there is a rat with a downgraded Hydra's regeneration factor loose in the world.

I am sure that will not cause disasters like a rat bloodline mutating to become a race like ratkin.

And the proof I succeeded was in front of my eyes.

A tremendous achievement! While your alchemy is still at intermediate level you have created a High Tier Elixir

You have acquired the perk: [Alchemic Inspiration]

[Alchemic Inspiration]

You can reverse engineer the effects of your potions into the spells and vice versa more effectively.

I stored the information about my new perk in my mental cabinet as I observed the glowing red vial in my hands, it almost pulsated with power.

"So? What is it that you created?" Grayifa asked impatiently since she had been watching do this for hours while being pent up. I shrugged and laughed at her of course.

"Really? Is that how you ask for something? For a maid, you really don't know your manners." I knew for a fact she was trying to reclaim a semblance of authority here by referring to me casually and domineering but I wouldn't allow her an inch.

Grayfia took a moment to regain her composure and push back on her desire to rip my head off my body and asked a bit more nicely . Possibly because this was important on her mission to spy on me.

"*Sigh* My apologies. Could I know what you are holding?"

"Well, at least that's a start. And for that, you will see." Leaving no room for hesitation to take hold of my actions I gulped the elixir down.

Immediately I felt a heat spread throughout my body, thankfully not a searing pain but it still felt like I was submerged into a hot tub.

You have gained the ability [Regenaration Lv.1]

[Regenaration Lv.1] - [Regenaration Lv.10(MAX)]

[Regenaration Lv.10(MAX)] has evolved into [High-Speed Regeneration Lv.1]

[High-Speed Regeneration Lv.1]

You rapidly regenerate from any wounds inflicted on you, including dismemberment.

Success baby.

"I suppose I could afford to give you a demonstration." I grabbed a knife from my inventory and reinforced it before slashing my arm, putting a deep wound on my forearm as her eyes widened.

"!"

Whatever words she thought to say got stuck in her throat when she watched the wound on my forearm start stitching itself back up immediately. The sensation was rather itchy and painful but I would rather that than not having regeneration.

"Is that... the Phenex family's regeneration!? How?" Grayfia's mouth was wide open as she tried to understand while I shook my head. Man, I love acting like a smartass.

"Bzzt, wrong, zero points for you. It is a homebrew, it is the Elixir of Hydra that gives me regenerative abilities comparable to the Hydra, though I am not keen on trying beheading anytime soon, that is for later down the line. I was thinking about working on physical resistance next." Grayfia was still dumbstruck, looking at me like I was speaking gibberish that even the language of devils couldn't comprehend.

Of course, I wasn't afraid of her knowing this. She can't leak it even though she doesn't know that. The seal will prevent her from even trying.

"You... can create such things? These are comparable to the powers of the 72 pillars yet you act so casual about such a thing? Can you create more? How does it even work?"

I shrugged my arms.

"I mean, didn't the abilities of the original 72 pillars originate from god creating them? That means such abilities can be recreated if you are good enough, and I don't know what to tell you but the facts seem to talk for themselves. I am just simply that good." That and I have a cheat code given to me by god himself.

Well, there was actually a flaw to this regeneration, it and Boosted Gear both pull from stamina so it will be harder to manage how much stamina I want to allocate to both. Maybe I should work on energy regeneration next.

Hearing my words Grayfia fell into silence, not the silence where she usually wanted to strangle me like a rubber chicken

A/N: Grayfia is in my top 5 waifu's of DxD, coincidentally, most of the top 5 are milfs. What a coincidence. That totally does not say anything about my taste in women.

Also, Takumi is choosing to take things slow instead of just pushing Grayfia even though she would have reluctantly agreed to it. There is a reason why pyramids are built the way they are, if you chase your ambition with no foundation it is inevitable that it will topple over. Though it makes one wonder what is going on inside Grayfia's head.

Takumi is finally doing what all respectable alchemists do starting to modify his own body seriously. The regeneration is just the starting point.

What did you guys think about the chapter I would love to hear your thoughts about it, your comments fuel me to write more.

Chapter 43: Dominator's Touch

A/N: The new season hasn't started on my p*treon yet, I just released an omake on p*treon and felt it's only fair to release a chapter here as well .

~Also check out my new fanfiction: My Hero Academia: Restless Gambler~

"Wow, so this is your Family's summer house? Looks pretty snazzy to me."

I said, my eyes looking over the mansion in front of me, it was one of the, if not the biggest house I have ever seen personally with my own two fleshy eyeballs. It had a lake and everything.

Personally, I was extremely jealous. I needed to have a house like this. I was still living in a small house meant for a small family. Thankfully before coming here, I sent my blueprint to Azazel and he said he would take care of the construction for me.

Speaking of before coming here, I sent Grayfia on an annoying fetch quest before I came here, first to avoid an annoying conversation explaining her presence and to exploit the utility of an ultimate class under my belt.

I may have sent her across the 4 corners of the underworld to hunt down obscure beasts for me so I could use them as materials for my alchemy but that's what a maid is for.

I had plans to elixir up the Rias peerage to the best of my abilities. Elixirs may not obey game logic so I will have to be careful in consideration of that.

If I give someone too many elixirs it may disturb their biology, even I in my peerless knowledge don't know what the fuck I can do about that. The body is a very complicated machine, so unless you are me who is built different, drinking too many elixirs without taking to adjust can end in unforeseen circumstances.

Shaking my head to clear up my thoughts I turned to Rias' peerage, they were all dressed in gym outfits. Rias and Akeno wore red and white tracksuits while Koneko wore her usual bloomers gym outfit.

...Oh and Kiba was there too. He wore a grey and white tracksuit.

"So, Rias, do you have any plans for training?" I faced her and asked while Rias nodded.

"Yep, I was thinking you could train with us and help us train in order Takumi. While you are not completely used to your devil body and abilities I know you can help us train with your speciality. But for now, I was thinking you could train with Akeno to get a handle on your demonic power since she is the best mage among us while the rest of us trained separately. Is that okay with you?" Rias presented her idea which was logical , at least I had no gripes with it.

I flashed her a thumbs-up.

"Yep, sounds fine to me. When do we start?" I was rather eager to learn more about the fabled demonic power and its application.

Akeno stepped forward giggling to herself.

"Ufufu~ How eager. We can start soon Takumi-kun, meet me by the lake." Akeno said, her wings unfurling from her back, through her clothes apparently as she took off toward the lake.

Likewise, I too unfurled my wings from my back, I have no idea how I felt no resistance from my clothes. I should study that in further detail when I have the chance, right now however, I have to catch up to the flying Akeno.

—••——••——••—

We both sat in front of the lake near Rias's summer home. I still wasn't very good with Devil flight so it took me a minute to reach her. It was less flying with wings and more controlling the direction of your movement with a controller. I have not the slightest idea how these wings work still.

Regardless, as we stood in front of the lake Akeno turned to me, the ray of morning light shining behind her framing her beauty, it was almost like a painting with the crystal blue lake glittering behind her.

"Takumi-kun? Are you there?" Akeno's soft caring voice snapped me out of my semi-trance.

"Yeah, sorry, was just lost in your beauty, what is it?" Akeno seemed taken aback by my statement as she blushed and gave me a smile .

"Mou~ that was bad for the heart Takumi-kun. I asked you what you knew about Demonic Power." I replied to her honestly.

" Basically nothing. I know it's vaguely related to imagination but that is where my wisdom meets its end."

Hearing my words Akeno nodded sagely and turned to the glittering lake and raised her hand while making sure I was watching. She motioned with her hand, making water rise from the lake like a blob before with a twist of her hand turning into a spiky ball of ice .

"You see Takumi-kun, demonic power is all about imagination and visualization. Imagination is about knowing what you want to do and how to do it and visualisation to actualize its effects onto the world." As she explained to me she turned the icicles back to water, letting it back to the lake.

Well, that answered only a few of my questions and raised many more.

"But what are the limits to it? For example, why doesn't every devil imagine the power of destruction?" Akeno dutifully listened to my complaints before giggling to herself.

"Nope, if that were the case the bloodline powers of the devil houses would not be nearly as valued. Demonic Power cannot do what you aren't capable of. Why don't you try to do what I did first? It would be easier to understand if you had a feel for it first."

Well, that was reasonable. I guess I should give it a try.

I raised my hand toward the water while I heard Akeno talk to me from the side.

"Now, imagine the shape you want the water to take, and how you would want it to take that shape, then focus on that image." She gently instructed me from behind as I focused.

I had a picture of the lake in my mind, the water from it rising up in the shape of a sphere and collapsing into a smooth icicle.

I focused on that image and the power inside my body and I felt it, I felt the water rise up and collapse into itself.

I felt the power within me assert itself onto the world around me. Forcing the world around to bend to its will and follow its direction, like the touch of a dominator.

My mana turned into a direct influence on the world, like an authority I held over the world around me.

The feeling was... intoxicating.

I felt like I was pressing onto the world, crushing and oppressing the will of the world around me, bound in chains, unable to refute my desire. My very hands crushing all resistance around me.

"Umm, Takumi-kun? I think that's enough?" I heard the voice of Akeno call from the side snapping me out of my thoughts.

...Why is it so chilly all of a sudden? And when did become night?

"I... don't know whether I would call this a success or not ." Akeno looked with slight worry as I looked up following her gaze.

The lake had vanished, instead, a titanic chunk of spiky iceberg was floating above us. I could see the edges were jagged and cracked, I could still feel my influence over it.

...Holy fuck.

Ow. Fucking devil weakness.

What the hell happened?

"O-okay, Takumi-kun, how about you try to put the lake back in the lake? Don't worry, I will help you with it." She said, raising her hand, I felt another influence come over my iceberg in the sky, I had to let it, I slowly and steadily put the iceberg back into the small lake and melted it back to water.

"Haah, what was that just now?" I released a breath I didn't I had been holding as I looked over to Akeno for advice.

"Well, that was probably your demonic power. What you can and can't do with it is largely influenced by who you are. For me, while I am good with all elements, I am largely best at

lightning. The Phenex family are the best at Wind and Flame yet have little to no power over ice and water."

I see, so the demonic power was basically an expression of your natural affinity. It is like all other abilities, not everyone can do the same thing with demonic power because, in the end, it is about their affinity.

It is a natural manipulation of the world instead of magic which relies on calculations to manipulate the world around it.

This raised a theory in my mind.

"Is this also how bloodline powers work then? It is still based on their demonic power but they have a special affinity that allows them to use them in ways others cannot without said level of specialization and affinity?" Akeno smiled and looked at me weirdly.

"I... maybe? I didn't really think about it that way but you might be right Takumi-kun. Say, did you get a feel for how to use your demonic power?"

Akeno asked me as I noticed a notification pop up in front of me.

~{Path of Domination}~

[Demonic Power] has been changed to [Dominator's Touch Lv.1] by the {Principle of Domination}

[Dominators Touch Lv.1]

Assert your dominion of the world around you. Allows you to control the world around you by consuming your mana.

Now wasn't that interesting? It seems because of my jailbreaking of the Boosted Gear I have limited access to the Principle of Domination Ddraig stole from God of the Bible.

I guess this can be equated to how Issei does it. Because of him being frankly a simple idiot with nothing but breasts on his mind the only things he was capable of were weird breast magic and the simplest magic blast and literally nothing else.

While on the other hand, my demonic power was completely transformed by the principle of domination. And by the description it resembled telekinesis more than anything.

"Yeah, I think I got a feel for it."

I decided to test it out, this time putting some more restraint on myself to not end up last time. I reached out toward a large rock, and imagined my mana wrapping around it.

But nothing happened.

'Assert your authority...'

Forgoing all logic I decided to just obey the instructions on the can . I extended my hand toward a boulder and focused on it.

Domination.

I focused on asserting my control over the rock. I wasn't grabbing the rock, I wasn't even doing what I did with catalysts, I wasn't manipulating them by interfacing my mana with the material.

I was bending it to my will, forcing the rock to adhere to my will .

Crack!*

The rock cracked under the pressure.

Manipulate it as if it were an extension of your very will, like a loyal subject.

A peasant dancing in the palm of the king.

Boom!*

Unable to withstand the sheer pressure the rock shattered completely as I slumped over slightly.

Huff* *Huff*

This... ability was rather taxing. More so on the mind. It feels like it is stronger the stronger my will to dominate is, and the more I focus on it the more negative seem to emerge from me.

It is hard to control.

And I think I know why. The negative energy inside of the Boosted Gear was influencing me, and so was the principle of domination. The more I pulled on Dominators Touch the more I was pulling on the collection of negative energy left by dozens of the Boosted Gear users who were also influenced and perished.

I need to learn how to properly use this power first . It has the potential to become very powerful, because duh, it's telekinesis, what else do you expect? But I needed to solve the Boosted Gear better first.

Seeing me exhausted, Akeno walked up to me and put a hand on my back.

"Are you alright Takumi-kun? Want to take a break for a bit?" She asked with some concern in her voice , and I appreciated her concern.

Well, people never really gave a shit about me before. Maybe that's why I care about this so much. It was simple really.

They cared about me, so I cared about them.

I wanted to bring my A-game here. And to do that I had to be at peak performance, that included mentally. I guess this is as good time as any to listen to Ddraig's advice.

"...Yeah, I could use a break."

A/N: I put my own take forward about Demonic Power, you can call it Au or whatever but it may as well be Cannon since all the explanation we do get in Cannon is "Imagination" and a shrug of Ishibumi's shoulders. This way, it allows everything that has happened in canon to happen while providing a concrete limit and explanation of it .

Also, for a little explanation, Dominator's Touch is basically a bloodline ability that Takumi spontaneously developed due to the Principle of Domination. It is a type of kinesis that Takumi can't fully use just yet due to his inability to control the dark urges from the Boosted Gear.

The Boosted Gear is not all good, especially when you start jailbreaking it and find all the corruption inside.

The training camp won't last long, it's mostly for Takumi to get used to becoming a devil and to give the Rias peerage a little boost while building relationships.

What did you guys think about this chapter? I would love to know.

Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their /works/54377068/comments/new

Preface

Chapter 1: A world of Supernatural

Chapter 2: Iter Melius

Chapter 3: Experimentation

Chapter 4: Transmutation

Chapter 5: Back to Highschool

Chapter 6: We need to Cook

Chapter 7: Cute x Cat

Chapter 8: The Rumble of Alchemical Triumph

Chapter 9: Enchanting and Alkahestry

Chapter 10: Contract x Creation

Chapter 11: Vitality or Viritlity?

Chapter 12: Peerage x Proposition

Chapter 13: Keikaku Doori

Chapter 14: Level Up

Chapter 15: A Harem King?

Chapter 16: UNLIMITED POWERRR!!!!

Chapter 17: Fallen x Fight

Chapter 18: Coming Together

Chapter 19: Path of Innovation

Chapter 20: Longing x Longinus

Chapter 21: Boost x Boost

Chapter 22: The Red Dragon Emperor

Chapter 23: Devil x Date

Chapter 24: Deal x Deal

Chapter 25: Discipline

Chapter 26: Mind x Magic

Chapter 27: Total Nunsense

Chapter 28: Amorous x Akeno

Chapter 29: Magical Girls

Chapter 30: Expansion x Experimentation

Chapter 31: Familiar x Forest

Chapter 32: Hydra x Hunt

Chapter 33: Expert x Experimentation

Chapter 34: Making x Milk

Chapter 35: Homunculation

Chapter 36: Rest x Relaxation

Chapter 37: Frustration

Chapter 38: Devil's Offer

Chapter 39: Path of Domination

Chapter 40: Feels good to be (D)Evil

Chapter 41: Cooked x Chicken.

Chapter 42: Hydra x Healing

Chapter 43: Dominator's Touch

Afterword