An: SURPRISE BITCHES! I GOT SOMETHING FOR YA!
Now before y'all yell at me for breaking my own rules let me explain this shit real quick. This story USED TO BE Constellation's RPG. But upon reading back on it and seeing what I was doing I came to a conclusion.
IT WAS A FUCKING MESS!
SERIOUSLY! THE SYSTEM I HAD PUT IN PLACE WAS WAY TO COMPLICATED CAUSE I TRIED TO GO THE ROUTE OF OLD SCHOOL RPG STAT PAGES AND SYSTEMS WHEN THOSE WERE SO MUCH TO KEEP TRACK OF AND I MAY HAVE HAD THE SYSTEM IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT WOULD HAVE MADE ISSEI OP WAY TOO SOON FOR MY LIKING, EVEN IF I FIXED IT WITH A PATCH IT STILL WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO MUCH TO KEEP TRACK OF.
So. What I've decided to doooo~ is simple. Look for a newer more modern system that I know better than any other out there. (Because I'm fucking addicted to the series it comes from) so be excited about that.
ANYWAY there will also be Review sections before each chapter, I will randomly pick up to 5 reviews each chapter and answer them accordingly.
So! without further ado. Let's get started shall we?
(Note: each chapter will take longer to update then they normally would with my other stories simply because this one is a passion project that my good friend inspired me to do. so yeah.)
Game of The Stars.
Chapter 1
Location: ?
In a place unknown, deep within the starry night sky, stood a boy around the age of six with his eyes closed. He seemed to be fast asleep as he stood at the center of a massive circle with the sigil of a dragon under his feet.
"Mnm...Mmmmmph. Wha?" The boy opened his eyes and looked around, curious as to his surroundings as he saw the starry sky above and below him, the boy looked confused for a moment before realizing that this is likely just a dream.
What is it that you seek?
This got the boy's attention as he bolted his eyes open as he frantically looked around, the voice sounded deep and scary to the child as he seemed to mildly freak out when Three podiums appeared around the boy.
The first to appear was a sword with an axe pointed in the opposite direction. the vision of two warriors doing battle with each other appeared behind it before freezing at the last possible moment, when the sword was pressed against the axe wielder's neck and the axe being inches from the swordsmen's head.
Do you seek to become a Master of Combat?
Suddenly from behind the boy another podium began to shine before showing a massive shield being held by a suit of armour before the vision of a knight doing battle against a vicious monster that spat fire out at the man before he blocked it with his shield as children behind him ran.
Do you wish to be a Wall and Tank for the weak?
Then, the last podium showed a simple staff with a star-like jewel at the head of it. Behind it showed a Wizard practicing all kinds of magic and spells alike.
Do you wish for all the knowledge of the Arcane arts?
This honestly had caught the boy off guard as he scratched his chin a bit. "What a strange dream, honestly never had one like this before. Kinda reminds me of that game I played when Rin was staying the night a few nights ago... Oh what was its name?"
The boy thought to himself for a moment before looking down and seeing his reflection before seeing something that made his eyes sparkle with wonder.
Below him behind his reflections were two massive western Dragons twirled around and facing downward at the boy, one was Red, and the other was Black. Their eyes being black voids that stared into his soul as he got down on a knee to take a closer look, before suddenly falling down and into the reflection.
"Whaaa!" The boy shouted out before catching himself as he looked around, the podiums nowhere to be seen until he looked up and saw the Dragons encircled around him, looking down at him with their black voids for eyes.
"Uh, ok. This dream is cool, but very VERY weird. What am I supposed to do anyway?" The boy asked in confusion when suddenly a podium started to appear below his feet, causing him to jump back in surprise as it reached above his head, the height of this was taller than the boy himself. This caused a pout to form on his face as he jumped up and started to climb up the podium, slowly yet surely making his way up till he rolled onto his back as he got on top of it.
"Huff, Huff. Dad was right, I need to do some training." The child said before standing up slowly and looking around, only for fire to leave the chest of the Red Dragon, followed by a literal small star to leave the chest of the Black Dragon as they both made their way down to the center of the podium. They suddenly flashed a brilliant light causing the boy to cover his eyes from it. when he looked forward, above his head a clawed gauntlet rotating in a circle around a gem they shined as bright as a around in a circle, The gauntlet was Red with Gold spikes and accents to it as well.
And at the center of the podium was a star-like gem sitting floating there, as if calling out to him. They both were rather beautiful and cool looking before he heard the voice again.
Or do you seek the path of the Dragons?
This got the boy's attention, for all his life he liked the stories his mother told him that involved dragons, he always thought they were amazing creatures and honestly wished he could have one of his own. He thought about it for a moment before reaching out and putting his hand inside the Red gauntlet.
You seek to become one with Dragons, mighty and feared by all as the true rulers of the sky.
Is this the power you seek?
Without any doubt in his heart, the boy nodded his head with determination as the gauntlet shrunk around his size and fit nicely to him. The gem on the other hand flew gently into the boys chest, giving him a warm and gentle feeling. He smiles as the world around him begins to crack and break apart, leaving the boy floating in the air as he closes his eyes once more.
Then awaken, Issei Hyoudou.
You have chosen the path of the Dragon. Growth potential unlocked.
"Hey Issei?"
...
"Issei?"
...
"ISSEI!"
"BWAAH!"
Awoken from his nap laying in the grass under a tree overseeing Kuoh, a six year old Issei Hyoudou jolted up from where he slept and nearly headbutted his friend.
"What the... Oh gimme a break Rin, I was just taking a nap is all." Issei said with mild annoyance as he scratched the back of his head.
"Eheheh, not my fault that you were sleeping though our little playdate Issei. Come on you know it's my last day in Kuoh." Rin said with an annoyed pout as she pounded against Issei's chest a few times while Issei pretended to be in pain.
"Gah ooh why must you beat on me so much Rin?" Issei said in a playful way as he pulls his best friend into a hug as they rolled around on the ground, getting dirty and messy as they do so.
"Ehahaha! I'm gonna win this time Issei! Don't you dare doubt that!" Rin shouted as he rolled into a ball and bounced out of it, landing on his feet falling on his but as Issei laughed at his antics.
"Hahahahaha! Come on Rin you gotta be cooler than that! you're trying to be a hero alongside me aren't you? Then ya gotta get better with it!" Issei teases as he helps his downed friend up and strikes a goofy yet heroic pose, causing Rin to laugh a bit.
"Hey come on now don't make fun of that! It's our dream to become heroes isn't it? So let's get to work! I heard a cat in trouble on my way up here! Let's go save it!" Rin proclaimed as both he and Issei ran off down the hill towards where the cat was.
"We're coming to save you kitty! Ahahaha!" Issei shouted in child delight as he played with his best friend, in the back of his mind sad that he will have to say goodbye to him one last time.
For Rin's father had gotten a job offer over seas in Europe for a manager position and both he and his family had to move there, meaning both Issei and Rin would be separated from now on, and this truly upset Issei, but he did his best to ignore that fact for now as he played with his best friend as much as possible today.
As the two played on and on throughout the day, Issei decided to ask Rin a question.
"So Rin, doesn't your dad work for a big foundation or something? What is he going to be doing?" Issei asked as he and Rin laid in the grass at the bottom of the hill, a bit tired from all the playing they had done throughout the day.
Rin became a bit quiet for a moment before answering. "My dad works for the Church actually, like the Christian religion Church. I'm not exactly happy about that either since it's that very religion that is making me have to stop seeing you." Rin said with a downcast expression as he begins to sob a bit. Not wanting to lose his best friend ever.
Issei lay there for a moment, thinking on how he could cheer his best friend up before sitting up and giving Rin a light chop on the forehead with his hand before giving a warm smile. "Hey don't you start crying now, I don't want my best friend becoming lost in their emotions now, you gonna be working for God? That's pretty cool, maybe you will even become someone's hero!" He said with enthusiasm in his voice which grabbed his friend's attention.
After a few moments Rin sniffled and wiped his eyes and nose with his forearms before replying. "You... you really think so? You think I can become strong like you?" Rin asked as he looked up at his closest friend in awe.
Issei nodded and pointed his own thumb at himself. "I know so! You'll make a great hero Rin! You just gotta give it your all and never give up! That's what I do anyway." Said the boy with a goofy smile on his face as he faced his apparent sidekick. "Heck if you work hard enough you may even surpass me!"
This put a fire in Rin's stomach as he leapt to his feet and clenched his fist tightly. "Right! I won't let you down Issei! And hey, it's not like it's going to be goodbye forever right? I'm sure we will see each other again one day so why not make a deal to see each other again!" Rin said with an equally goofy smile as well as a red tinge on his cheeks.
Issei smiled, proud of his friends resolve as he held his fist out and fist bumped Rin! "Yeah! it's a promise! I'll be sure to get stronger too! don't want you catching up to me now so I?" Issei teased as Rin grew a pout on his face.
"Hrrm, god why are you always teasing me Issei?!" Rin said as he tackled Issei and they began rolling around in the dirt some more, not aware of their surroundings until they started rolling down what was left of the hill and smacking Issei's head against a tree.
"Gah! Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!" Issei cried out as he held his head as he curled up into a ball while Rin crawled over to him.
"Issei, are you ok?! That looked like it hurt!" Rin shouted out as he crawled towards Issei before he heard his father call out to him.
"Irina! It's time to get going! We're going to be late for the airport!" Rin's father called out as he turned around.
"Oooh, it's time to go already? Aw man." Rin pouted as he looked over to Issei who had recovered from hitting his head on a tree trunk. "So... Guess this is goodbye huh?"
Issei began rubbing his head where he had struck the tree before replying with a bit of a somber tone in his voice. "Yeah, guess it is huh? But hey, don't forget our promise remember?"
Issei gave a warm yet confident smile. "Next time we see each other! We will be stronger! Strong enough to become heroes like we saw on those videogames and TV shows!"
Rin paused for a moment before becoming teary eyed, and hugged Issei suddenly with a surprising amount of strength before replying with a wavery voice. "Y-Yeah! We will be True Heroes!"
As they sat there and hugged for a few moments, not letting go of the hope of seeing the other again, they both got up and made their way to Rin's home where his parents were finishing up packing up the car as Rin's mother closed the trunk and turned to see her child filthy and she smiles, admittedly a bit annoyed that Rin was covered in dirt as she just shook her head.
"Rin what did I... I-its fine. Did you tell your goodbyes?" His mother asked as she looked over to Issei with a bit of a somber look on her face, as if she really didn't want to separate the two children, but it has to be done.
Rin while wiping the tears and snot from his eyes and nose nodded in agreement that he in fact did say goodbye before turning around to give his best friend one last time before hopping in the car.
As the Shidou family got into their car, Issei's own parents came out of the house and said their goodbyes to their long time friends, Miki and Gorou admittedly very sad to see their friends leaving as well.
Soon the car started as they began driving away from the house, away from friends... Away from Issei for a long time.
Once the car was out of sight, Issei actually let go of his emotions, and began to sob, over losing his best friend.
Later that day, Issei sat in his room, holding a necklace that he had gotten from Rin when he won during a carnival game. it was a twin set that resembled an upsidedown flame made from steel. The steel itself was stained a deep red, nearing the color of blood while Rin's was stained the color of gold. Issei hadn't really opened his yet from its packaging but noticed that Rin never took his off even when they bathed together. Realizing that it meant A lot to the boy, Issei finally opened up the packaging and put on the necklace, feeling somewhat warm and safe with it on, almost as if his close friend was with him even now.
Knock knock knock.
"Issei? Sweetie, is everything alright? You've been up here since Rin left." His mother slowly peeked her head through the opened door as she had a worried expression on her face, not sure on how her son is feeling right now since Issei was surprisingly good at hiding away his emotions.
Issei just stood there, facing the window playing with his necklace that he finally put on, vowing to never take it off much like with Rin. The boy sighed before turning to his mother.
"I'm fine mom, just... I wish Rin didn't have to leave for erglend." Issei said while struggling with the English word.
Issei's mother Miki sighed in understanding as she opened the door more and entered the room before giving her son a hug, knowing what it's like to lose a friend. "Oh I know it's hard sweetie but that's just how life can be sometimes, you lose those you were close too. But maybe one day you can see each other again?" She said to cheer up and comfort her son before Issei gave her a strained yet confident smile.
"Eheh, momma. We promised to see each other again! So there's no way I'm just going to stand by and do nothing!" Issei replied while returning the hug his mother had given him. "Besides, I can't let Rin catch up to me, I gotta get stronger too so we can be heroes in the future!"
This caused Miki to smile brightly at her son's antics and determination as she kissed her son's forehead which made Issei squirm a bit. "Ah! Mom come on! Kisses are gross!" Issei complained which got a laugh from his mother.
"Ufufufu, so I'm gross now am I? Well maybe I should make this boy who is even grosser take a bath before dinner, after all your covered in dirt." She teased as she poked her son's chest and smiled a bit playfully.
"Awww do I have too? I hate bathing!" Issei whined as he made a pouty face before his mother just shrugged.
"Hm, then I guess you won't be getting any dinner tonight, shame too, we're having ramen!" She said with a cheeky smile before Issei squinted his eyes at his mother.
"...Instant noodles or actual ramen?" Issei asked with concern, he didn't like instant noodles but loved ramen. A bit too much for his mother's liking honestly.
Suddenly Issei bolted out of his mother's grasp and out of the room as he made his way to the bathroom, completely forgetting about his change of clothes, this action honestly made his mother roll her eyes in exasperation and amusement as she moved her way to the dresser and picked out a change of clothes for Issei.
"Oh that boy will be the death of me one day I can tell." Miki said in slight tiredness as she carried the clothes over the bathroom while Issei was pouring a bunch of bubble-soup into the tub which alarmed Miki. "ISSEI NOT THAT MUCH!"
10 years Later
Issei Hyoudou age: 16
Ten long years had passed since Rin had separated from Issei and moved to England. And Issei didn't waste his time sitting on his hands, he had been training to get stronger like he promised his best friend, granted he had been doing light training so he didn't grow that much, mainly some martial arts thanks to his father allowing him to enter a dojo even though it was expensive.
"Come on Issei you can do better than that! put your weight into your fist and HIT ME HARDER!"
"HAAA!"
Right now we are witnessing Issei in the middle of a sparring match with one of his instructors. Since the boy didn't want to practice just one martial art, he decided to take up MMA. Granted he isn't very attuned for fighting so his progress has been very slow, him only reaching the second rank in the time since he started three years ago.
Issei had cocked back his arm like a shotgun and launched his fist at his mentor who had swiftly deflected the blow and grappled Issei away from him, making the boy roll on the ground and bounce back up onto his feet in mild annoyance as he went for a low sweeping leg kick which while succeeding in hitting his mentor, failed to do what it was supposed to in knocking him off balance.
"Heh you're getting better skill wise Hyoudou." The instructor said before sending a downward axe kick at Issei which he was forced to dodge by rolling away before delivering a roundhouse kick to the instructors side, who felt it despite the boy only being ten years of age, he had a good deal of strength for someone his size, even if the strike itself just left a minor sting in the elder martial artists side.
"I'm going as hard as I can and I can barely hurt you, how is this fair at bwah!" Issei exclaimed before being punched in the gut lightly and thrown to the side and off of the sparring Mat, making Issei lose the match once again.
"Heh, you've come a good amount from where you were Issei, but you still lack focus and strength. martial arts requires a certain finesse that you're currently lacking. Perhaps focusing on the basics for now will do you some good for now, you're not going to get that third rank over night you know, it takes time and practice." The instructor stated before holding his hand out to help the boy up, which Issei begrudgingly accepted as he hoisted himself off of the floor.
"I know sensei, it's just so frustrating that I'm stuck like this, I don't know what I'm doing wrong? It's like I'm overthinking everything and becoming too tense because of it. Ugh!" Issei pouted and groaned as he vented out his frustrations to his mentor.
Suddenly a voice called out from the front door of the dojo. "Issei! It's time to go home sweetie. We don't wanna miss your father getting home from his trip now do we?" Miki Hyoudou called out to her son with a smile on her face and some bags of groceries in her arms.
"Coming!" Issei said as he began to run to his mom before pausing, turning around and bowing to his sensei. "Thank you for your training today sensei! I will work hard in becoming stronger!" He said before then running off to his mother.
"Heh that's alright kiddo, you just focus on doing the basics for now while figuring out how to relax a bit while you're in a match. Can't have you too wound up now can we?" His sensei said while calling out to him as the door closed behind Issei and Miki, the boy waving at his teacher as he does so.
"So Mom, whatcha got there?" Issei asked as he tried to peek at the bags of food in his mother's arms when she handed him one to carry.
"Oh nothing special, just some things for curry tonight. Your father wanted something filling for dinner and that will keep him warm throughout the night, it is getting colder after all." Miki said as she laughed a bit while they walked back to their home.
"Ooooh that sounds good!" Issei commented with stars in his eyes, as much as he loved Ramen, the boy loved Curry almost as much.
This caused Miki to laugh a bit as she shook her head. "Now Issei, you know you can't eat all of it, you have to save some for your father." Miki said with some firmness in her tone as she spoke.
"Aw mom! That's not fair!" Issei pouted as they walked further and further down the street, not realizing that they were two strange creatures who were watching them with malice and contempt.
"So that's the target? He's just a boy. So much for this job not being a waste of time." The first being said, who turned out to be a tall man with long blonde hair that went down to the bottom of his back. He looked to be about in his mid twenties.
"I couldn't agree more, but apparently the higher ups consider this kid to be an actual threat. They said he has Sacred Gears." The smaller of the two being spoken with a uncaring tone as she walked forward, she was loli with pinkish hair tied up into a long ponytail that went down to her feet. if the man next her her was around 6" 1/2 feet tall. Then the girl would be around 4" 3/4.
"Gears? As in he has more than one?! Well that certainly is rare, do we know what class they are in exactly?" The man spoke with curiosity in his voice as he watched the humans leave his line of sight, which didn't exactly matter for now since they both knew where they were headed.
The Pinkette rolled her eyes and laughed a bit. "Oh you'll get a kick out of this! One of them is supposed to be a Longinus, can you believe that crap? THIS human pipsqueak having a Longinus Sacred Gear?!" She said while laughing aloud in bewilderment over the info on the kid.
"Really?! There's no way in the nine circles that he has a Longinus, what about the other one?" The man said while holding back a laugh as he faced his tiny friend.
The tiny woman whipped a tear from her eye as she then shrugged while trying to calm down. "Ohohoh, ehem they have no idea, they just know it's a powerful one. So having him around when he grows up may become a problem even if we made him into one of us so they decided to just have him terminated." She said without a care in the world, like she would rather be doing anything else rather than this.
The taller of the two raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before nodding. "Well that certainly would be an issue if he became powerful enough to stand against us even if he's on our side. But if I'm being honest I don't really wanna do this, killing kids isn't exactly my kinda thing." He said as he scratched the back of his head before looking at his companion. "Any ideas?"
The woman finally caught her composure and looked over to the man with a disappointed look on her face. "Seriously? You pansy! You and that moral compass of yours, fine how about this? We send a few imps down to his place, they drag the kid back to their dwelling and kill him there, the worst thing his parents will do is think he ran away." She said as she summoned a magic circle and opened a small portal to the more wild parts of the underworld and about five or six imps crawled out of the portal and looked around before spotting the one who summoned them.
The man frowned a bit at seeing them, finding them to be disgusting as they froth from the mouth and have buggy eyes. They look like rabid animals. "Ugh, you and your obsession with feeding these disgusting things, when are you going to stop playing with your pets and get stronger the normal way?" The man chastised his partner who rolled her eyes at him before speaking.
"When they stop being useful and absolutely adorable!" She said as she then turned to the imps and started talking in a way that resembled a dog mom talking to her beloved puppy. "Now then, I got a job for you sweeties! There's a boy that needs to be gone! Go grab him and have some fun with him back home ok?" She said as she pulled out a large steak and threw it into the group as they all ravaged and fought over it.
"Oh who are my good little babies! Have fuuuun!~" She said before they started to crawl and fly away towards their target as she turned to her partner with a smile and shrugs. "See, job's as good as done, we won't even have to confirm a body since they love to eat bones too!"
The man scowled in disgust at what he just witnessed and shook his head. "I have no idea why you keep those things around Jambalaya. It's so weird." he said before getting elbowed in the gut by the apparently named after a dish Jambalaya.
"Hmph, don't go talking shit about my babies Xavier. You have creepy stuff about yourself that I don't wanna hear after all." Jambalaya said in a huff as she summoned another magic circle and stepped into it. "Well come on then, we got to at least make sure that they get him into the portal."
Xavier held his stomach in slight pain as he looked at the magic circle before sighing before stepping forward and into the circle. "Very well. May as well do this correctly before heading home." He said before having a longing look in his eye.
Jambalaya laughed a bit before nudging Xavier's side with her elbow. "Oh yeah didn't you recently get married? How is that going for you so far? Missing the single life at all?" She said before they both teleported away, making the magic circle disappear.
A few hours later at the Hyoudou household Issei had in bed for a few hours now as he was fast asleep, enjoying a dream about flying through the air and firing stars like bullets from his fingers before a circle of fire appeared in the corner of his room, slowly yet surely imps crawled out of the circle and made their way towards the boy sleeping in his bed, after a few moments of smoke gathering in his room, Issei awoke to the sight of three imps in his room as he then screamed at the top of his lungs when they jumped at him, squirming and yanking the boy out of bed while Issei was kicking and screaming!
"AAHHHH MOM! DAD! HEEEELP!" Issei screamed out with tears running down his face as he was dragged towards the circle as one of the imps propped the door shut with Issei's desk chair to buy them some time.
"Issei?! ISSEI ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! WHERE DID THIS SMOKE COME FROM?!" Issei's father Gorou shouted as he banged against the door as the smoke alarm went off, blaring in everyone's ears.
"DAD HELP ME! THEIR GOING TO GET ME!" Issei shouted as he dug his nails into the wood, causing splinters to be left in his fingers as he cried before being dragged completely into the circle as his father pounded away at the door.
The fire grew around the boy as he was engulfed in it yet feeling no pain at all. "MOM! DAD SAVE M-"
Suddenly the circle disappeared along with the imps and Issei at the exact moment that Gorou burst the door open and looked around the room in a panic, desperately looking for his son while Miki ran to the window to open the window to let the smoke out in case Issei was still in the room with them.
"ISSEI?! ISSEI WHERE ARE YOU?! SON!" Gorou shouted as he frantically looked for his son. Only to spot something odd, a trail of blood where Issei's fingers started bleeding from the wood leading to the corner of the room where Miki gasped upon seeing it.
A circle burnt into the wood of the floor about a yard in diameter that had an outline of a small humanoid body imprinted onto the wood.
One thing became clear to the Hyoudou parents.
Their son was taken from them.
PART 2
"Gah let me go you freaky things!"
Keh keh keh keh, scree!
Issei cried out as he tried his best to get free from the grasp of his captors, not exactly realizing where he was at the moment before he finally got hit in the face, forcing him to look down to find himself HIGH in the air of an unknown decrepit landscape. the sky was mixture of weird colors like purple, green and red as the imps struggled to keep afloat due to the weight of the boy.
"Ah! On second thought don't drop me! I don't wanna fall!" Issei screamed as he clung to the arm of one of the imps before they collectively had enough of their prey fighting and thrashing around before decking Issei in the face and throwing the boy down towards the ground, causing the boy to free fall.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEE!" Issei cried out in panic as he fell from the sky.
Danger to host's life, detected. Host Will to live, detected! Premature activation underway!
Awakening the Cyber Star.
Suddenly a gem that shines akin to stars started to form and appear on Issei's chest as he fell from the sky, as this happened, Issei began to slow his descent towards the ground to where he floated safely about a yard of the dirt floor. Then everything turned grey around him, even the imps that were flying towards him froze in mid air.
Booting up world pause. Analysis of the world at 87%.
Analysis of Host at 99%... 100% has been reached, creating hud.
Suddenly Issei began to have a bit of a headache while his eyes began to strain as a picture of his face appeared at the bottom right hand corner of his field of view with a green background with the number one hundred appearing inside the picture while a blue bar began to appear below the picture with the word aura attached to it, the number of ten appeared within the bar as Issei began to see what was going on, and even though he was terrified for his life right now, he was getting excited as to what he was getting.
"N-no way? Is this what I think it is?! Am I my own videogame character?!" Issei shouted out in excitement as the Hud continues to grow with an experience bar under the aura bar. it stated Issei as level one which bummed the boy out a bit before words appeared in his field of vision again.
Ability acquired!
Proficiency skill (Martial Arts Novice) has been added to your ability page.
The Skill (Martial Arts Novice) Has been auto equipped.
Issei was astonished that he had already received an ability he had received before smacking himself on the head. Of course he would have an ability like that since he had been training in Martial Arts for about three years now. Suddenly more words then appear, this one catching Issei off guard and confusing him.
Would you like to awaken the Power source (System Guide)?
Y/N?
This made Issei pause for a moment, as much as he hated tutorials, he would really appreciate the help said guide could give him since he not only has no idea what's going on, but also has no idea where he is. So after a moment's thought, he clicked the Y key before receiving a massive headache.
Awakening the System Guide, Aurora the Star Dragon. Please hold.
"Mnmmm five more minutes boss... Wait. Yawn, is it time to aid my host finally?" A voice asked out, it was a somewhat light voice yet it held massive power behind it Issei flinched from the loud yet seemingly tired voice.
"O-Oh, hello! U-uh who are you?" Issei asked a bit nervously within his mind as he floated within the air. This makes the unknown being laugh a bit as it started waking up a bit more as it raised its own question.
"Hoh? Did the System not just say who I was? The voice questioned before clearing it's throat and begins speaking once again. "Eh it doesn't matter, right now however, I see that you woke up this gear early. Seems like your in a bit of a bind, never to fear however since me and my little System here are going to help ya out." The voice spoke as another screen appeared before Issei's eyes.
The screen mentioned had three choices to it, Strength Dexterity, and Aura. This confuses the boy before the voice starts to explain. "Since you woke me up early and your body isn't up to par with the current situation, the System has decided to give you a freebie. Pick one of the three choices and the system will give you a weapon designed around that attribute." The voice said, making it sound like this was an on the fly tutorial based on the current situation.
Issei, remembering that he was still in danger from the imps freaked out a bit and pushed Dexterity without thinking causing a glow to appear within Issei's right hand. Suddenly a light, double edged dagger a little under the length of Issei's arm appeared in his hand as he grasped hold of it in wonder.
"Whoa... Ok this is pretty cool."
You have been gifted a Bronze DaDao.
Bronze DaDao has been equipped onto the main hand.
"Oooh kinda a poor luck of the draw there kiddo, Bronze isn't exactly the most effective metal to work with, but eh it will do against the little buggers your dealing with right now." The voice spoke up after breathing in through its teeth.
"I mean it's better than nothing, although I don't know how to use weapons." Issei said as he stepped onto the ground and out of the air as the world began to move once again and everything started to gain color once more.
"So it seems, sadly there's nothing I can do about it and that's not the System's problem. I'll guide you through this fight a bit to help you out but other than that there isn't much I can do that the System will allow." The voice said as the world got back into full motion as Issei then looked up as he heard a screech.
Weapon has been chosen. Ending World Pause.
"Yeah I guess that's fair! Time to get active!" Issei announced as he got into a fighting stance while clumsily holding the DaDao.
SKREEEE! SKREEEE!
Suddenly as time seemed to return to normally the imps begin flying down and see that Issei is alive which confuses them for a moment before snarling and growling out. Two of them land on the ground as one stays in the air.
Demonic Imp LVL 5
Issei gulped as he saw the level of the imps and that they were at a higher level than him, if Issei was a better boy he would have to guess he was at level one right now which is not good for him at all.
Suddenly one of the Imps lunged at the boy which forced him to dodge out of the way by diving away, landing on his stomach and facing away from the imp as the other began charging at the human as he began to get up. Issei slashed at the imp as hard as he could with his DaDao and left a nasty cut across its face, making it jump away and grasp hold of its face as it rolled and cracked around in pain as the other imps looked at it in shock. The one in the air then pointed a finger at Issei and screeched at the boy, now seeing him as a potential threat as Issei got to his feet and trembled a bit, honestly terrified as to what's going on.
Suddenly Issei was clawed on his back by the Imp that has lunged at him before, leaving a deep cut on his back as Issei cried out before being sent to the ground, losing grip of the DaDao as it skittered across the ground a few inches out of his reach as the human reached for his back in pain.
"HAAA my back! THAT HURT!" The boy shouted out in pain as he then looked down and saw the imp prepping to jump onto him with its sharpened claws as Issei instinctively went for the DaDao that was out of reach as the boy frantically scrapped his body on the ground in pain, crawling before finally he reached it right as the imp jumped, Issei spun around onto his injured back and stabbed the DaDao right into the chest of the imp as it landed on the boy, pushing the weapon deep into its chest and poking out of the other side of its back.
The imp screamed loudly for a few seconds as it flailed about before suddenly dying, its body going limp as it does so.
"Gah. Get off!" Issei shouted as he rolled over and threw the imp off of him while pulling out the DaDao, it was slightly damaged but still in good use. Issei slowly got up off of the ground, struggling due to his injury when suddenly, a glow appeared around his body which fully restored the human's body of all injuries.
This caught the human off guard before a screen popped up in front of his face.
Congratulations, you have reached level 2. All injuries have been healed.
You gained
STR 1
AGI 1
DEX 1
DEF 1
AURA 1
"Oh hey look at that, the imp was strong enough to where you leveled up from it. nice work kid, kinda a sloppy start but hey a kill's a kill." The voice said as Issei stood up straight and felt himself out, while the imps looked stunned that the boy had healed from his injuries.
"Huh, I feel stronger than I was a second ago, so I can grow stronger as the fight progresses if I keep killing monsters?" Issei asked as he checked out his back, happy to see the injuries were gone before looking forward at the imps with a wicked smile on his face.
'Alright, I'm still scared out of my mind, and I have no idea where I am. But there is one thing I do know for sure.' Issei got a determined look on his face as the image of his parents appeared in his mind.
'To make it back to my parents!'
Then an image of Rin appeared in his mind as well.
'And to keep the promise I made to Rin!'
Suddenly the last two imps rushed forward with the intent to kill the boy as the one in the sky has fire glowing in its hands as it intends to burn the human to death while the other zig zagged around as it advanced before Issei looked back up with fire in his eyes as he charged in himself with the sword held in his hands with more familiarity than he did before.
'If I want to see any of them again!'
Suddenly the boy began to glow a purple color as he focused his body into overdrive.
"THEN I HAVE TO GET STRONGER!"
SKILL UNLOCKED: (AURA BODY REINFORCEMENT) HAS BEEN AWAKENED DUE TO THE UNDYING WILL OF THE HOST.
"HAHAHAHA! I LIKE YOU KIDDO! LETS SEE HOW FAR THAT WILL OF YOURS PUSHES YOU!" The voice cheered in glee as Issei lunged forward at twice the speed he was able to go before.
"RAAAAAH!"
This caught the imps off guard as they were expecting the human to be on the defensive while shivering like a leaf, instead this brazen human dares to attack them head on as the boy swings his DaDao at the grounded Imp and slashes it across the chest again before kneeing it in the face. Causing the imp to go stumbling back a few feet due to the unexpected power behind the blow to its face.
'More! Go further beyond! If you hesitate at all it will kill you!'
Issei than spun around and with a reverse grip stabbed the imp in the throat before twisting the blade and pulling into downward, causing a deep and nasty gouge to run down the demons chest as the DaDao went across its heart. Killing it as it fell backwards onto the ground.
'Alright that's another one down! Now for the last one!' Issei shouted within his mind before seeing a fireball inches from his face as he flinched from the surprise.
"DODGE IT YOU IDIOT!" The voice called out in panic as Issei snapped out of it and ducked out of the way, only his hair being singed in the process as the final imp flew within the air with another fire ball the size of a baseball appeared within the imp's hands.
'Crap, it has the advantage with a ranged attack! Not good!' Issei thought to himself as he began to panic, his mind racing over and over as to what to do about this when the voice came up with an idea.
"Bait it into diving at you so it's within melee distance. It can't keep flying and throwing around those fireballs forever." The voice suggested as Issei grit his teeth with tears running down his cheeks, he was terrified, but at the same time he was feeling it, he's getting stronger! Strong enough to fight these things and possibly win.
The imp then threw another fireball at the boy over and over again as Issei began to run around in a circle while keeping an eye on the flying imp.
Fireball after fireball was thrown at the desperate child who wanted nothing more than to survive and go back home. Dodging and jumping out of the way from the incoming fire attacks before the imp started to try to catch its breathe, breathing heavily as it was sweating up a storm, it used up a majority of its mana as Issei began running towards it with a fierce look in his eye as the imp began flying lower towards the ground due to exhaustion of spamming its abilities.
"Now kid while it's tired, bait it into charging at you!" The voice shouted out as Issei threw his DaDao at the imp as the blade spun in the air, lightly scratching the horn of the beast as it regained its focus to the boy and dive bombed at him.
But Issei threw his sword on purpose as to make the imp would think he was defenseless. As the two got closer to one another Issei grabbed hold of the corpse of one of the imps by the leg and spun around and swung it at the dive bombing imp, smacking it across the face and sending the damned thing to the ground.
'NOW WHILE THE IRONS HOT!'
As Issei realized that an opportunity has shown itself, Issei bolted over to the downed imp that was dazed from the strike it had taken to the side of its head as it went to sit up, before Issei knocked it back down onto its back and raised his leg high above his head.
'DONT HESITATE! IT WOULDN'T SHOW YOU ANY MERCY AT ALL!'
Issei slammed his foot down onto the imps neck with all his might, crushing the things windpipe and causing its neck to snap as well.
"Huff... Huff.. Huff. Did... Did I win?" Issei asked himself as his leg and body were covered in blood from the imps.
Suddenly, a window appeared.
You have survived your first ever battle against monsters that were stronger than you.
You gained the perk: Desperate Underdog.
Desperate Underdog:
A perk that was granted to you by the System for surviving a fight you were thought to die from. From now on, whenever you defeat a monster 3 or more levels above you, you gain a 20% boost to your EXP gain.
Aura Body Reinforcement has reached level 2
Congratulations: You have reached Level 3.
You gained
STR: 1
AGI: 1
DEX: 1
DEF: 1
AURA: 1
As Issei's body glowed with the sign of recovery from the fight and and once again gaining more strength from the fight, Issei clenched his fists in wonder and amazement. "Whoa... Is this really me? It was just a few minutes ago that I was so weak, but now I feel like I can beat sensei in a spar now!"
"Dang, not bad for your first fight kiddo! But you may wanna get away from this area, those imps likely had friends that won't be too pleased when they find out that you off'ed them." The voice said, making a good point as Issei began to run off into the trees after deactivating his Aura Body Reinforcement and retrieving his DaDao.
"Huff, Huff. Do... Do you think this is far enough?" Issei asked his new friend as he looked around while hiding within the branches of the tree.
"Yes this should do nicely, good job kid! Rest up, you've earned it after that fight." The voice said after thinking for a moment.
After the confirmation of that Issei slumped up against the trunk of the tree as he sat on one of the dead branches of the massive tree he was sitting in. "Ha finally, I was starting to get worried that I'd pass out from all the running it was doing, as well as the adrenaline wearing off as well from the fight.
"Phew... So now that we have time to talk, who even are you anyway?" Issei asked as he looked at the gem in his chest with curiosity and some wariness.
"Ha! Seriously? I thought you were joking earlier. Did the System seriously not tell you who I am?" The voice asked with mild exasperation before it clicked for Issei.
"Wait then you're!"
"Names Aurora, I'm the Star Dragon. Not to be mistaken for the Constellation Dragon mind you, that's someone else entirely." The now named Aurora stated with pride in her voice as she then cleared her throat. "Anyway, I'm what's known as the guide of the System as well as what powers the whole damned thing. It's nice to meet you my Ninth Host."
"N-Nineth Host? What do you mean by that Aurora?" The boy asked in wonder and as well as a bit of confusion.
"Well I'm inside of what the plagiarizing Biblical God Yahwah would call a Sacred Gear. It's a device that is used to help little humans like you get strong enough to battle the gross and disgusting monsters of the other side of the world. Although Officially, I'm not a Sacred Gear, I'm much older than those things and also made from tougher stuff than that fools work."
"Ooooh, so wait, you're inside me or something? that's, not weird at all." Issei said with a nervous laugh as he scratched his cheek.
"Pfft that's one way of putting it kiddo. But yeah I am, more specifically I'm attached to your soul as well as the gem you see on your chest, normally you could activate or deactivate a gear so they appear and disappear for you. but you have no such luck, this is a constantly active gear, no turning me off!" Aurora said with a laugh at Issei's expense who was just trying to comprehend what he was told.
"Eheheh, uh. Ok. So what exactly is this system you keep mentioning?" Issei asked his resident Dragon who was happy to answer.
"Allow me to boot up the proper tutorial and explain, trust me kid you're gonna love this." She said before a new screen popped up.
Hello, Welcome to the tutorial of the Cyber Star System. (Or C.S.S. for short.)
Thanks to the activation of Aurora and the System, you now have gained access to the tutorial as well as the unlimited potential that lies within you.
Would you like to start the Tutorial?
Y/N?
"Wait, unlimited potential? wlWhat is it talking about Aurora?" Issei asked a bit confused as to the wording of the text.
Aurora was quick to answer however. "Oh, every living being in this reality has a set limit on how strong they can get, once they reach that limit, that's it. They won't get ANY stronger than what they are capped at. YOU however, have been granted the ability to break through said limits as well as the potential to reach into the domain of the gods, maybe beyond it if you work hard enough." She said which made stars appear in Issei's eyes.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I CAN GET AS STRONG AS A GOD?!" Issei said in alarm and excitement over the idea of becoming that powerful. This put a smile on Aurora's face as Issei stamped his thumb on the Y button.
You have activated the tutorial of the System. Please hold while the Tutorial boots up... 20%... 67%... 94%... Tutorial activated.
Please state to open your stats page by saying, "Open Stats"
Issei was astonished by this as he looked at the words on the screen before complying. "Open Stats."
A page then opened up to show Issei's stats.
Host: Issei Hyoudou
Age: 16
Level: 3/20
HP: 135
STA: 58
AURA: 16
STATS
STR: 9/100
DEX: 10/100
AGI: 9/100
DEF: 10/100
AURA: 8/100
AP: 13
STAT POINTS SAVED: 0
This is your Stats page. You can Allot points you earn through training or through leveling up here. As you can see, each stat has a CAP on it, once you reach the CAP you cannot grow any stronger until your limit is broken.
Note: that you can gain stat points for later use once you max out your strength, those points you save up can be used later so keep up with your training.
"I see. So if I wanna get stronger I can either level up like I did before or do some normal training, can't say I have a problem with that at all." Issei says with a smile as he checked out his stats, and wasn't really impressed by them at all. "Seriously though what did I start off with all around stats of 5?"
"You originally did yes, but due to that training you did since you were a kid, you gained stat points, although since you didn't take it seriously, you didn't gain much. Can't say I'm surprised though since it normally takes FOREVER to gain a single point for normal people, you however will be on a faster track than everyone else. Just don't get cocky kid, you ain't killing any of the heavy hitters in this forest anytime soon." Aurora said which caught Issei's attention.
"I'm in a forest? Uh, ok so if vocal commands are what navigate through this then. Open Map!" Issei said as a map of the area opens for him, it's not even 1% covered but the name of the area he was in was clear as day.
Familiar Forest: (Outer Edges)
Recommended level before entry: 25
Issei's face pales when he sees the recommended level of this forest. 'Level 25?! that's nearly eight times my current level! From the looks of it I'm not even in the forest proper and the level is already higher than my own level cap! How the hell am I supposed to survive this place if I have to deal with monsters like that!?'
"Heh yeah it's going to be rough for you since you just got the system and you're already in a fairly high leveled area. You're going to have to do a lot of training if you wanna catch up with all the monsters that live in this forest, not to mention those who visit this forest aren't exactly the most friendly, so you may have to fight other people too." Aurora said as she scratches her neck with her claw.
"O-other people?! I don't think I could kill anyone if I'm being honest." Issei said with a nervous laugh as he began to follow the System instructions again.
The map page allows you to learn the lay out of everywhere. This function is temporarily nerfed due to the System not having fully analyzed the world yet.
Please make your way to the Equipment menu.
Issei, deciding to leave the Map Menu alone till it's fully awakened moved onto the Equipment Menu which gave him a bit of a surprise. "Ohohoh?!"
Equipment menu
Main Weapon: Bronze DaDao.
A bronze version of the ancient short sword from Chinese descent. It's wide curved blade is considered one of the strongest out there, perfect for cleaving and could easily cut off parts of an enemy's body in a single swipe so long as they are unarmored. This weapon was very popular throughout the 20th century.
ATK: 10
DUR: 21/25
Sub Weapon: N/A
Armour: N/A
Bangles: 1/2 slots equipped
Necklace of an Eternal Promise.
a necklace that symbolizes the promise and bond you made and held with your childhood friend Rin Shidou.
Gains 2 DEF points and 1 STR points while equipped.
This caught Issei by a bit of a surprise, seems like it was a good idea to keep the necklace around his neck for all these years, it gave him a stat buff. Something however catches his eye.
"Wait, why is there no slot for a shield? Only a Sub Weapon." Issei asked in a bit of confusion while Aurora pipes up and answers.
"Oh that's because you're not yet strong enough to reliably carry around a shield. even the most basic wooden shield requires a stat level of 15 from STR and a 10 for DEF. You simply can't lug a shield around right now." She said which worries Issei a bit as he puts a hand on his chin in thought.
'Still that's just going to force me to have to be a Dodge build rather than a Tank. I would have to rely on my raw defense and agility to get me out of tight situations. that doesn't exactly sound practical at all.' Thought the boy as he looked at the screen in contemplation, this really is like a videogame.
"I'm glad to see you are taking this seriously. Now then, do you want to learn about your ability list first or quests?" Aurora asked as she got her Host's attention.
"Oh uh sure, Ability menu!"
Ability menu.
Welcome to your Ability menu. This menu is to catalog all of your skills whether passive or active. Every skill you acquire (aside from proficiency skills.) Have a cost to equip them. Each skill has a total number of (Ability Points) needed to use them.
For example your (Aura Body Reinforcement) is an active skill that requires 5 AP in order to equip it.
Now, onto your list.
AP: 5/13
Proficiency skills
Martial Arts Mastery (Novice) LVL 1
The oldest form of combat known in known history. The act of fighting with one's own body is considered an art form throughout the human and supernatural worlds. At the Novice level, you have a basic familiarity with hand to hand combat.
Basic fighting techniques such as Blocking, Dodging, Grappling as well as any active skills that fall under Martial Arts will contribute to the growth of this skill.
Block LVL 1
Dodge LVL 1
Grapple LVL 1
Grants a 5% attack damage increase based on your STR stat.
Active Skills: N/A
Sword Mastery (Novice). LVL 1
One of the oldest methods of fighting in the known world. The act of using a sword is considered an elegant and graceful art form, requiring more grace and dexterity to properly use one. At this level of mastery, you have basic familiarity with a blade, but have no real skill in using it.
Basic Blade techniques such as Slashing, Blocking, Stabbing, and any active skills that fall under the Sword Mastery will contribute to the growth of this skill.
Block LVL 1
Slash LVL 1
Stab LVL 1
Proficiency skill grants a 5% attack increase based on your DEX stat.
ACTIVE SKILLS:
Aura Body Reinforcement: LVL 2
A skill that allows the user to call upon the power help deep within their souls to reinforce their body.
Grants a 20% increase to all physical stats while skill is active.
Requires 5 Aura to activate, and 2 aura per Min to maintain.
(Can currently be used for 5 1/2 min.)
"Man I have been training in hand to hand for three years! how come I'm still at a Novice stage?!" Issei shouted in outrage at the systems treatment of his hard work. As Issei was fuming the system decided to answer in the place of Aurora.
The System has acknowledged your effort and thus will give you 2 additional points in STR and AGI.
"Oh, then I guess my STR and AGI are at 11 then? I guess that would be a fair trade." Issei relents as he sighs and slumps his shoulders.
'That aside something is bugging me, What is with the Aura Stat? Is it supposed to be a substitute for magic since I'm human?' Issei questioned himself as he held out his hand and clenched his fist, feeling the strength of the gifted STR and AGI points.
"That's, actually our fault." Aurora said a bit sheepishly before clearing her throat. "Dragons are beings of pure unfiltered power, but we are unable to use magic in any way, shape, or form. Instead we have to use our aura. Every being in the world has it yet being able to utilize it is something exclusive for Dragons, and since you wield not only me but also someone else, that limitation extends to you as well. Sorry kid, your not going to be any sort of mage in the future so you can get that job out of your head."
"I see, well that's a bummer, I was kinda hoping to be a battle mage, would have been a neat way to fight, but you're right, I suppose I can't be picky with what I've been given."
"Good of you to think that kiddo, with the stats you have and the limitless potential at the palm of your hands, what do you plan on doing Issei?" Aurora asks with a hint of curiosity as to her Host's goals.
"Well obviously I want to get home... But for now it seems like I'm stuck here." Issei said as he jumped down from the tree and landed on his feet, his knees popping as he did so, his body shivers.
"Gehh... Well I'm not going anywhere as I am now, can't hang out with Matsuda or Motohama and look at tits either." Issei then has a fire in his eyes as he looks onward within the Familiar Forest, before getting a bit of a nervous smile at coming to realize that he is massively under leveled for this place.
"I-I guess I have nothing else to do than to grow stronger! Strong enough to get back home at least."
"Then how about we start that off with the Daily Quest? Look at your Quest List before asking." Aurora said as Issei remembered the last bit of the tutorial.
"O-Oh! Right, I had forgotten about that. Quest List!"
Opening the Quest List. Please hold.
Quest List:
Daily Quest:
Strength Training:
You're out powered and out leveled, best to find a safe place to do some training to get stronger.
0/100 Push ups.
0/100 Sit ups
0/100 Squats
0/10 k Cardio.
Quest reward: 1 Full Recovery, 1 Stat point you can put wherever you wish, 1 Random Loot box.
Quest failure: Penalty Quest.
Time Remaining: 5 minutes.
"Penalty Quest? You have to be joking? For not working out?" Issei asked a bit sceptically as he looked down at his Sacred Gear on his chest. "What's that all about? Does it seriously expect me to just start working out right away? From what it looks like I'm going to be failing this quest anyway so what gives Aurora?"
"Simple, the sole goal of my System is to make the Host as strong as possible. And although I am more lenient of the two of us, the System HATES it when the Host doesn't listen to its orders and will actually penalize you for it, depending on what the quest may be determines the proper punishment. For this one it's just a penalty Quest that you will have to do instead."
"The two of, you make it sound like the system is an entirely separate being from you." Issei said while Aurora just blew him off.
"Anyway, while I'm sure you want some rest, you're going to have to be ready, cause not even I know what the penalties will be. Best be prepared." Aurora stated with a bit of worry in her voice as she looked at the screen from within Issei, she had a bad feeling about this.
Issei sighed as he stretched his body and popped his neck in exhaustion, he had been sleeping when he was pulled out of bed and dragged her, and if the clock at the upper left of his field of view is anything to go by, it's damn near midnight. "Man, as much as I wanna get stronger, I'd love to be able to stare at a lovely pair of tits right now."
"Erm... You're a pervert aren't you?" Aurora asked in mild trepidation.
"AND PROUD OF IT! Look my goal may be to get stronger. But my Ultimate Goal is to become a Harem King!" Issei proudly declares as he clenches his fist with fire in his eyes.
"O-Oh, oh boy I seem to have been assigned to a very... interesting Ninth Host." Aurora sighed as she scratched one of her horns with her claw before speaking up again. "Well at least you won't be a boring kiddo. Now get ready, cause I won't be able to help with penalty quests."
"Seriously? So I'm going into these things alone?!" Issei nearly shouted as the timer clicked down from the ten seconds mark.
10
9
8
"Oh you'll be fine, the system hasn't gotten a full analysis on your world yet so it's not going to open gates into other dimensions anytime soon." Aurora said in amusement.
7
6
5
"But what am I supposed to do if I get in trouble?" Issei cried out in a bit of panic as to not getting any sort of help with the upcoming penalty.
4
3
2
"Oh that's simple kid."
"Eh?"
1
"Good luck.~"
"OH YOU MOTHER FU-
0
Daily Quest has been failed. Initializing the Penalty Quest...
Suddenly a blinding white light appeared within Issei's vision, blinding him very briefly before sending him off to the Penalty Quest.