Chapter 2
After he started entering the Dungeons, Kyosuke's life had a drastic change. Though from an outside perspective there was no difference. He continued to be the most well behaved kid anyone at the orphanage had ever seen, but because this suited the workers just fine they did not think there was any reason to be concerned.
Now, Kyosuke thought of himself as an ordinary and easy going guy. Apart from his special powers due to being The Gamer, he does not possess any other characteristic which might set him apart from the common people.
He is not like a hero from an anime who will go around and help everyone he can, nor is he a cliche villain who wants to take over the world or someone who derives pleasure from inflicting misery on others.
Kyosuke just wants to enjoy life and his powers make it possible for him to be completely independent of the world and still thrive, so he has no desire to be famous or earn admiration or something like that. This is also why he hasn't shown himself to be some kind of prodigy.
So despite having special powers, he does not have a big head. He keeps his head down and prefers going into the Dungeons for at most 2-3 hours everyday, slowly accumulating Experience Points, Credits and power.
He is quite a miser too, though only for things which matter. It has been a whole year since he started levelling up and collecting loot from the Dungeons, but he hasn't spent even a single Stat Point or [Stat Crystal] yet.
Each time he levels up, he gets 5 Stat Points which can be allocated to any of his Stats. Sometimes he gets [Stat Crystals] from the monsters killed which can also be used to increase the respective Stat.
The reason as to why he is not using them and just saving is simple - he wants to increase his Stats by training while he can. It is common game logic that Stats are easy to increase in the beginning and the difficulty increases in direct proportion to their improvement.
So saving Stat Points and [Stat Crystals] for the future is wise, though he is tempted to use them on Luck, the sole Stat which cannot be increased on a regular basis. The rest of the Stats are easy to increase since he can do the actions required for them.
Strength, Agility, Vitality and Endurance can be increased by physical work. Due to his young age, Kyosuke cannot exercise properly. The most he can do are some exercises to be more flexible and consequently, more agile.
At least he won't be in danger of pulling a muscle while fighting any monster. And speaking of fighting monsters, going through a Dungeon was more intensive than he had initially thought.
More so because he has to take multiple steps to cover the distance which needs only a single step from a regular adult. He can acutely feel this while running away from monsters trying to surround him or dodging any attacks from the same.
But in a way this is beneficial to his physical Stats progression. He is satisfied with the rate of increase for his Stats, so after the initial grumbling he went right back into it.
Now for the non-physical Stats, that is, the Stats which cannot be increased just by physical exertion. These are a bit more tough to increase, mainly because he cannot just mindlessly repeat the same actions over and over for them.
Intelligence can be increased by reading new information and expanding his knowledge. Due to this Kyosuke obtained a new hunger for getting any reading material he could in this life.
The workers were quiet surprised when a kid his age showed more interest in reading than running around. But they did not think much on it. A quiet kid is a kid they don't have to worry about. So long as Kyosuke has something to read, he is the most well behaved child around, so the adults were only happy to encourage the habit.
Wisdom was a bit tricky to increase in the beginning. Initially Kyosuke thought it would increase the same way as Intelligence - that is, by learning new information.
He was partially correct.
The more knowledge Kyosuke has, the better equipped he is to make decisions. More knowledge equals a wiser person - this is true in a way. It's not wrong, but it's not the full picture either.
True wisdom comes with experience. By making decisions you learn things not possible to do from a book. Whether these decisions are correct or not, it does not matter. What matters is that you observe, gather information and based on that informationact.
And then in the end, whether the decision was correct or not, you learn. You learn why it was correct, why it was not or how it could have been better. Basically you just have to think productively, so you are better prepared for the future.
Fortunately or not, in each of his Dungeon run Kyosuke is always in a situation where he has to think about many factors whenever he needs to make a decision, which is mostly all the time. The consequences of those decisions are revealed very soon, so he does learns something, anything, continuously.
So his Wisdom has also increased steadily over the past year.
Then there is Magic, the Stat which is, in his opinion, the easiest to increase. All he has to do is work on different spells, study them, understand them and do some research on them and Magic will increase.
One thing to note is the distinction between spells and Skills. All spells that Kyosuke learns are a subset of Skills. This subset refers to those which need MP to be used.
But after a month of fighting in the Dungeons, Kyosuke discovered that not all Skills use MP as the fuel.
Stamina Points and, in rare and usually extreme cases even Health Points, can also be used to perform certain Skills and these are different from spells. The first and most important point is that these Skills are notmagic.
The perfect example for this is [Power Strike]. This Skill can be cast by using either MP or SP. The Skill will enhance the next physical blow, that part is common to both the power source. But they have a huge difference as well.
When used with MP, [Power Strike] also applies a thin protective layer of magic over the body part Kyosuke uses for the attack. This protective layer is very thin and one might even consider it negligible. So it is almost impossible for a novice to sense.
Kyosuke would have never have noticed it if not for his enhanced senses, and he did not sense it when his Skills were low levels. Anyways, this protective layer was an in-built defense for the Skill and its function was to ensure Kyosuke does not harms himself more than the enemy while using it.
This layer is missing when the Skill is used with SP and Kyosuke found it out very painfully. At least one good thing came out of that - he found that prolonged usage of Physical Skills improves physical Stats, so there was that.
Though since he did not get much time in the Dungeons, at least in his opinion, the improvement was not as much as it could have been.
This leaves only Luck. To increase it, Kyosuke needs to be lucky. As expected, that is not something under his control, so this Stat is quite behind the rest.
The conclusion from the above is that even though he trained hard whenever he could, his growth was not as absurd as it could have been. Mind you it was still absurd since no one in the world could claim to match his progress with the same amount of time and effort put in.
So the increase in Kyosuke's Magic, which translated into increase in his MP with some contribution from Intelligence and Wisdom as well, could be passed off as the result of natural growth for someone extremely talented in magic.
Because who will expect an orphan to practice magic in the dead of the night? Especially when his place of residence, the orphanage in question, lacked any sort of link to the supernatural?
So when one Kyouko Fujibayashi arrived at the orphanage, it was to recruit an ignorant but talented human before someone else could get their claws in him. She was not suspicious about him in anyway other than the small curiosity of his ancestry, because such talent has to be either hereditary or the person in question is among the few blessed to be born with such talent for no reason.
xxx
It was a day like usual. Kyosuke woke up on time, got cleaned up and after breakfast busied himself with whatever books he could get his hands on, which, considering he is only 6, are not much.
"Sachi-san."
His regular routine was interrupted by one of the workers. Standing at the door was one of the male workers. What was notable is the lack of his usual disinterest regarding the charges of the orphanage.
"Can you follow me? Someone wants to meet you."
Kyosuke was taken aback but did not dally. Takeru looked a mix of excited, apprehensive and impatient, so whatever the reason was, it must be something out of the norm.
"Okay."
Kyosuke got up and put away the book he was reading. It was one on some Shinto myths, a topic which not many at the orphanage were interested in, both adults and children alike.
But not Kyosuke. Since he knew this world had magic from the very beginning, he had started looking into any mention of it he could find. Magic, occult, supernatural - whatever information he can find involving these keywords, he read and memorized them carefully.
Sure they might or might not be useful, but it never hurt anyone to be more prepared. Also, he would be quite bored during the day since unknown to everyone else, he has already finished the children's books for those his age.
And because it would be really strange if he starts learning things like science or maths of higher grades at his age, that only left these. At least people will attribute his interest in myths and legends to a child's curiosity and not think much about it.
While Kyosuke was following Takeru, he was wondering who would come to the orphanage specifically for him.
'I wonder if it's my parents or some relative?'
In the current scenario, that is the first thing that comes to mind, a cliche from any fictional media. Maybe someone related to Kyosuke found his trail for whatever reason after all these years and now they are here to take him away?
'But then that brings me to this guy's behaviour.'
Kyosuke looked at how Takeru was straightening out his clothes and brushing his hair to look more presentable and was doubtful about that.
Unless the relative coming for Kyosuke is some young and beautiful woman, there is no reason for this single guy in his late twenties to try to clean up as much as possible.
Although Kyosuke hopes that whoever has come is not a relative. It would be really annoying if his current routine is disturbed just because someone he has no emotional attachment to starts hovering over him.
He did not think too much on it and focused on the present when they reached a door. Outwardly Kyosuke did not show any reaction when Takeru reached for the door, but inwardly he was on high alert.
Another cliche is that the one coming for him is not a relative but someone who will involve him with the magic side of things. Or someone who might pose as a relative but in actuality the opposite is true.
But [Danger Sense] did not show anything amiss, nor did it show any signs of being unable to analyze the situation. So whoever the mystery person was, at least they did not mean to harm Kyosuke. And they were also not so strong that he could not even apply his Skills on them.
He has tested that before and if the target is too above his level, then also Kyosuke will get some results. In that there will be no results. Like how a variable might be zero in value, but it is still there.
This is a wonderful way to gauge the strength of monsters in the Dungeons without using [Observe, which needs a direct line of sight to work. Maybe now Kyosuke will get to test the same on someone in real life?
"Please excuse me." Takeru said politely while stepping inside. "Fujibayashi-san, this is Sachi-san. Sachi-san, please come this way."
Kyosuke stepped inside and the moment he saw the visitor, he was struck speechless for a few seconds.
'Seriously? I only thought it like a joke.'
As it turns out, the person looking for him really wasa young and beautiful woman.
Sitting on one of the two sofas was the most beautiful woman Kyosuke had ever seen till date. So beautiful, in fact, that she could have been a model in this anime world and he would have believed it.
She had dark green eyes and shoulder length black hair which was done up in a ponytail. She was dressed quite modestly in a light cardigan with the buttons done up and plain trousers.
Her figure was quite stunning, as evidenced by how Takeru was suddenly more nervous. He was trying to not stare below her face and doing an admirable job.
Kyosuke took in her appearance in a second and then used [Observe] on her. By now it has become a habit of his and it gave him the real surprise of the day.
The woman, Kyouko Fujibayashi, was no ordinary civilian. She has more MP than the current Kyosuke, which means she is definitely a mage.
It would be ridiculous if someone with that much MP could not do magic.
"- so I would like to talk with him alone. Get to know each other a bit, you see?"
Takeru nodded along like it was completely normal for a young woman to seek out one of the orphans by name and then meet in private. Despite the woman in question being young enough that she should not want to adopt a kid.
But Kyosuke did not say anything to the contrary, because what she said was irrelevant. The words were suspicious, but he was more focused on something else.
When Kyouko spoke to Takeru, Kyosuke could detect a small amount of mana being used. It was not flashy like the magic he is used to and was very subtle. His gaze became sharper as he watched the interaction between the unknown mage and Takeru, trying to find some clues about her intentions.
After some more awkward attempts to look friendly, Takeru finally left. Kyosuke felt a little glad with his departure. Seriously, Kyosuke was getting secondhand embarrassment from watching the guy fumble his words. If he was so desperate for a date, he should just ask one of the other female workers out.
Personally Kyosuke thinks all of them look very pretty as well. They were also nice too, so that is another point in their favour.
Kyouko still had the friendly smile on when Kyosuke took the seat opposite her. He decided to be just direct, since he wasn't used to talking in circles. And as a small kid, no one will expect him to talk in circles either.
Besides, even though he has no idea about what this mage wants from him, she is not outright malicious, so Kyosuke is not in immediate danger. Plus he has no acting related Skill, so the chance of him being caught acting the fool is high.
On an additional note, he lamented the fact he has zero capability when it comes to reading the mind of others. Although Kyosuke has been obsessed with Mind Magic for years by now, it is only for the part which can be applied to himself.
He never thought the need to read others mind was urgent, so he did not buy anything for that and did not even try to attain a Skill by training.
'I should at least get some psychology Skill or something similar. Reading up on body language and behavioural patterns should also be on the agenda.'
Outwardly, he did not show any sign of his thoughts.
"Hello, I am Kyosuke Sachi. So why are you looking for me? I don't know you in anyway."
Kyouko was mildly surprised by his attitude. He did not show any nervousness of meeting a stranger. He also did not show any hope that he might be adopted, when that should be the most important for an orphan.
Kyouko's gaze became more analytical and she found some familiar signs in Kyosuke's expression and posture. She next focused on his magic power and cast a spell discreetly.
Her eyes could not hide her surprise at the result.
His reserves were only a bit less than her, which is very shocking. Kyouko has a pretty good idea of her reserves and although she is not very exceptional in that aspect, she is still an elite mage.
For Kyosuke to almost match her meant he has already surpassed the majority of the Japanese mages in that aspect.
The intelligence was right again. As expected from the ones responsible for those matters. She took note of how Kyosuke's eyes became sharper when she cast the spell on him and wondered if he had sensed the spell.
It would be amazing if he really did it without any formal training.
This made her a bit hesitant on what to do. Such talent was not what she expected at all. Having naturally large reserves is one thing, but having the instincts to sense a spell cast by a mage like her, and that too when she is deliberately making sure it cannot be sensed, shows high affinity for magic.
At least it means that Kyosuke is more talented than her initial estimation. It is giving her second thoughts on whether it would be better to follow the original instructions or not.
Kyouko did not ponder on it for more than a few seconds. Even if she wants to take Kyosuke with her, the military lacks any arrangement to take care of such a young child. In fact, it is due to Kyosuke's young age that he is set to join the Institute, the only place aside from the various clans with the arrangements to handle such young children with the affinity for magic.
Kyouko is just here to bring him away before someone else shows up.
She did not show any of her thoughts outwardly and finished analyzing all the facts quickly. Her analysis was way off, but with the current situation it made the most sense.
"It is nice to meet you, Sachi-san. My name is Kyouko Fujibayashi." She said with a friendly smile. "I am here for you and indeed, you are correct that we don't know each other. This is the first time that we are meeting."
She then leaned forward a little with her voice lowering in volume. "The reason why I am here is a secret. But I will tell you if you promise to keep it between us." Her grin was similar to that of a kid about to share something no one else knows about, most likely something the kid in question has done but no one else has found just yet.
Though that is obviously not the case in this scenario. It just points to this woman having good acting skills. "Do you think you can do that?"
If he wasn't used to being treated like this for years by now, Kyosuke would have been insulted by her attitude. As it is, he decided to do as he had done for years now and played along.
No need to waste time by acting indignant because of being treated like a kid. What's more, if he does say something like 'I am not a kid!' or 'Don't treat me like a kid!' that will only solidify the fact he is a kid.
So Kyosuke leaned forward a little and mustered the most serious expression he could. "I can keep a secret, no worries."
Kyouko studied his face and must have been satisfied by his answer because she moved on to the main subject without dawdling.
"Now watch carefully." She raised her right hand and channelled magic power there. "You are going to witness something very few people do."
Kyosuke grew visibly wary because it is obvious what she was doing. So while Kyouko was marvelling at his sensitivity to magic, Kyosuke was preparing multiple spells just in case.
'If this is a mental magic like what she did to Takeru, she is not going to get the results she wants.'
He might not know any offensive mind magic, but when it comes to defense he has practice of several years on his side. He is proficient in throwing off Status Conditions like [Charmed, [Confused, [Madness] and many more by now.
Fortunately for Kyouko, she is not here to harm Kyosuke. Otherwise she would not have survived the day.
When the spell she was casting was complete, a magic circle appeared on her hand.
'What?'
Kyosuke was taken by surprise. There was a magic circle hovering over Kyouko's hand. A magic circle like shown in various media, looking like a hologram but more solid.
It was the size of a dinner plate and glowed an ethereal gold. There were various symbols etched in it and they differed quite a lot in size. The largest took about half of the area in the circle and the smallest could only be picked up by Kyosuke due to his enhanced eyes which were several times better than any human.
Kyosuke remembered each symbol and how they were arrayed before his attention shifted to the result of the spell.
From the magic circle came a butterfly, the same gold as the circle. It flapped its wings and flew around, sending motes of light about. They glittered behind it in the air and vanished after a few seconds. It looked very pretty and fancy, perfect to show someone magic for the first time.
Kyosuke looked at Kyouko in shock, who straightened up with a satisfied expression. She has caught his attention and now all that is left is to make him come with her willingly.
She will never know, but what caught Kyosuke's attention was not the fact that magic was performed before him. The moment he found Kyouko was a mage, he knew she was there to recruit him.
The butterfly which she created is also not the reason for his shock. That was just a small trick done by manipulating light. Kyosuke can also do that easily. He is not just limited to specific spells now.
As long as the effect is not too out there and comes under general mana manipulation, Kyosuke can do that after some effort. So a light show with no other purpose is not enough to surprise him.
No, what really caught his attention was the fact Kyouko used a magic circle. Kyosuke has no idea what any of the symbols on it meant, and honestly, it looked very complex for something he can do just by willing it into existence without any movements.
It also didn't look like Kyouko was making the demonstration harder than it should be. The amount of mana used corresponded to the effect. What this implied did not need too much thought.
To cast a spell, a mage needs a magic circle like that. The magic circle acted kind of like a focus, similar to a wand or magic item.
As for why Kyouko did not need one to make Takeru go away? Most likely she is proficient enough in that particular spell that she does not need a crutch to perform it.
Also, as a regular civilian, Takeru has pitiful resistance against magic. This fact also contributed a lot.
Although he thought so, Kyosuke lacks information on the magic practiced by the mages of this world. For all he knows, doing magic without needing a magic circle, even if not really common, might not be that rare either.
'Still, it's better to err on the side of caution. No need to go looking for surprises. ' He concluded quickly. 'Showing off too much is idiotic, so I will keep quiet for now.'
"Magic is real." Kyouko said. It was redundant after that display, but since she was talking to a child, she said it anyway. "And you, Sachi-san, have talent for magic. In fact, your magic reserves are rather large for your age and are the reason why I am here."
She stopped speaking to let him digest the news. Kyosuke did not respond verbally, but he did nod and settled back into the sofa. Seeing him stay silent, Kyouko continued her explanation.
"You see, everyone in the world has magic power. It may be large or small, but without exception every living being has it. Yes, even animals have it." She said like that was a common question asked by beginners. "This means that everyone should be capable of magic, but that is not true in real life. The majority of people cannot sense magic power their whole life, so they remain ignorant about it. That is why it is a secret."
She finished with a wink. "So like I said earlier, you have a large amount of magic power for your age, so you have the potential to become a mage. And I am here on behalf of a place which accepts children like you. So what do you think? You can meet kids who are similar to you, make friends and grow up learning magic together."
So this is why she was here. Indeed, Kyosuke had not done anything to hide his growing MP. He honestly felt no need to do so and was kind of hoping something could give him an idea about what world he is in. Though he very much doubts that any kid can be like him.
As for Kyouko's offer, he had only one response. "Okay, I will join."
Kyouko failed to hide her surprise at the quick answer. When Kyosuke just continued staring at her, she gathered herself quickly and sent him an approving smile.
"That's wonderful to hear, Sachi-san. Then I will take to the head of the orphanage and we can leave today itself."
"So fast?" Now it was Kyosuke's turn to be surprised.
Kyouko's expression became severe as she got up. "With magic comes problems of its own. What do you know about the supernatural? Do you know any famous myths or stories about monsters or heroes?"
"You mean like yokai or spirits from the Shinto myths? Or demons or dragons from Western myths?"
Again, Kyouko was taken aback by his manner of speaking. Which 6 year old knew stuff like that? But she was glad for it since it meant things were easier to explain to Kyosuke if he already had some ideas about the supernatural, even if only through some myths.
"That's indeed correct." She nodded and gave him an approving look. "You are very intelligent, Sachi-san."
Then she continued sternly. "Yes, such beings do exist. Yokai are real, though not all of them are evil. Devils, fallen angels, angels, dragons, gods and many other beings from various mythologies are also real. So it is important that you learn to defend yourself from them because they will also be able to sense your potential."
Although she said so, just a larger than average magic power is not enough reason for Kyosuke to be noticed by any of the supernatural races. Plus Chiba is a large metropolitan city and is a few hours away from Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
Public security is very good here, ordinary and supernatural both. The reason she said so despite this is to make him take everything seriously.
In reality there was no reason for her to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. The moment she said various beings from mythologies are real, including even those like angels and devils, Kyosuke knew he had to up his training from this point.
He is not naive enough to think that Kyouko is being completely truthful with him, but he is not willing to take any chances at all. He can try to refuse, and suppose by some miracle Kyouko even agrees with him and does not bothers him to leave with her.
But what will happen in the future? Since Kyouko, or whichever group she belonged to, could sense Kyosuke's magic reserves, the same will be true for other factions as well. Most probably they all send people to search for prospective members.
Kyosuke can refuse this first option, he might even succeed in refusing multiple options which come knocking later. But there will definitely be some who will not understand words and need violence to be persuaded.
Kyosuke can already imagine devils or angels not taking no for an answer from a mere human. It is very common in various media and because he will not take anything lying down, things will escalate quickly.
Even if he is successful in neutalizing the first few waves, as long as he does not show overwhelming power, he will not be left alone. And he does not fancy escaping into the Dungeons after creating a huge commotion. That will ruin any chances he has of living an enjoyable anime life.
Not only will he have to grind non-stop for years on end in the Dungeons, he might also become at odds with whoever is incharge of supernatural Japan. Also common in various media is the fact that those who are incharge are not always the most powerful in personal power and rely on politics.
In such a scenario, a newcomer like Kyosuke, who shows power not proportional to his strength and background, will become entangled in needless trouble. In the worst case he might even be treated with hostility if people think he is a threat to their power.
'It's good to join a faction for a while. I can always take over or destroy it or whatever depending on the situation.' If he integrates into the existing system and creates a powerbase for himself then things should not be too troublesome or irritating.
Besides, in the worst case scenario he can always flip the table if push comes to shove. Being afraid to use his power is not something that will happen when it comes to Kyosuke.
xxx
The power of magic was shown to Kyosuke in all its gravity when used against those incapable of wielding it. Kyouko did not waste a minute and just like she told Kyosuke, she got him out of the orphanage on the same day.
In fact, it did not even take an hour. She got some papers ready and signed off in under 15 minutes and Kyosuke became a ward of the Modern Magic Research Institute, known to those unaware of magic as the Dawn Institute. It was an initiative by the government to test different methods of education to produce bright pillars of support for Japan.
Children from across Japan and of various ages were recruited into it without any discrimination. Though a bit more emphasis was placed on those who might not get as much opportunities as the rest of their peers due to some unfortunate circumstances.
Such as being abandoned at an orphanage. So Kyosuke fit the bill perfectly with his background, young age and good behaviour which would reflect on the orphanage favourably.
…How anyone could believe such nonsense, Kyosuke will never know. He had never heard about such an initiative. The way the matron reacted showed she hadn't either.
But Kyouko still got the papers signed easily by using a combination of her official rank in JSDF to show her in a respected light and some papers about this initiative whose authenticity Kyosuke could not check but were most probably genuine if only half right. There was also some magic thrown in to make the matron more trusting and speed things up.
Kyosuke did not think too much on it and moved on. He does not mind this being a little bit shady. Being recruited as a child soldier is fine with him so long no one thinks they can experiment on him.
He will be entering the Dungeons without hesitation in that scenario and anyone involved with this whole thing would be six feet under in a few years, no matter how strong or influential they are. That he swears on his life.
Though Kyosuke hoped things do not take such a turn. If he could get basic training in magic and combat and create a solid foundation without relying on his Free Stat Points and Credits, that is a wonderful thing. He can put those resources to better use on stuff which is difficult or even impossible to get.
Kyouko drove Kyosuke to a building in Chiba, a governmentbuilding. [Observe] showed it as a base for something called the History Compilation Committee, probably the faction behind wherever Kyosuke was about to land.
He followed Kyouko silently, his head swivelling around and spamming [Observe] continuously and without stopping. Everything will be stored in the Logs anyway, so he can read through them later. A very useful feature that he found during his Dungeon runs.
Kyouko did not speak while they walked. Only when they reached a door did she turn to him. This time her expression was one of anticipation though. "This way. You will see something incredible, so be ready."
The incredible thing turned out to be a magic circle inscribed on the floor of the room they were in. Standing in the four corners were four mages, two women and two men.
For some reason Kyosuke got the impression they weren't really interested in mingling with Kyouko and even seemed a bit dismissive of her?
"Stand in the middle and do not step out of the triangle." One of the men said without preamble.
Kyouko nodded and brought Kyosuke to stand at the correct position. She held his shoulders with both hands to keep him steady. Kyosuke had just finished observing the mages present before a bright flash erupted from the circle and they vanished.
They arrived in another room with a similar magic circle inscribed in it. Again, there were four mages at the four corners of the room. Though the difference between this place and the one in Chiba was very big.
For one, the mages in this unknown location were quite young. Definitely not more than late teens. Secondly, the room was a pure white. The floor, the ceiling, heck even the clothes of the mages were white!
'This place doesn't look very legitimate.' Kyosuke was 100 percent sure this place was shady just by the way those teens were acting.
It was not the excitement that one would expect from teenagers learning magic. Nor was it the arrogance of one who looks down on the 'commoners' who are ignorant of the reality of their world.
So Kyosuke kept a close watch on Kyouko when they exited the room and emerged in a corridor which was the same white as the room. Apart from being expressionless, Kyouko was also a bit tense.
Though it is unknown whether that is because of what is about to happen to Kyosuke or not.
'Whatever happens, if this is a trap I am walking into then this woman will definitely die before I escape.'
Kyouko had no idea the kid beside her was already thinking up ways in which he could kill her if necessary. She explained a few things about their destination as they walked, which Kyosuke memorized without missing a single word.
Basically, the Modern Magic Research Institute was founded to study magic through the lens of modern man's greatest achievement - science.
Since ancient times, magic was performed by communicating with the spirits of the world, lifeforms which are not made of carbon or any known element in the periodic table, but magic power.
Relying on such external sources worked all well and good even when early science came into picture. Branches of magic like alchemy actually benefitted from it instead of suffering.
But after the industrial revolution, things could not continue as before. Electromagnetism, thermodynamics and quantum physics are a different beast when compared to stuff like creating a large glass to concentrate sunlight and succeeding in burning a leaf or something.
Some mages wanted to move on from such reliance on what they deem as 'ancient' and 'outdated' practices, hence the idea of modern magic.
By the time Kyouko was talking about how unique the Institute was, they were already at their destination.
The woman who received them looked familiar to Kyosuke for some reason. Although he is sure he has never seen her before. She had long hair which reached her waist and was a deep purple which could be mistaken for black. Her eyes were of the same color and she had a beauty spot under her right eye.
She wore a red one piece dress which went down to her ankle and showed a cleavage Kyosuke had a hard time keeping his eyes away from. It was a far cry from the white shirt and pant combo the teenagers were wearing. Though that could be because her level was very high.
Even higher than Kyosuke's. So he was instantly onguard with the appearance of someone stronger than him despite her being even better looking than Kyouko.
At this point he was wondering if magic makes the wielder look better. It might be good if he can make himself more handsome for the future.
'Maya Yotsuba.' He looked at the name given by [Observe] and racked his brain. 'Where have I heard this name before?'
Kyouko looked very nervous when she saw Maya, so Kyosuke guessed those of her level are not common mages.
"So you are the one who is receiving Sachi-san."
Maya looked unperturbed by her nervousness. She nodded lightly and focused more on Kyosuke.
The moment the duo had arrived, Kyosuke's large reserves were detected. He was very deliberately letting out some magic power to seem like a novice, so it was not unexpected.
As a result, instead of the regular member incharge of such things, it was Maya who came. And she was rather pleased with what she found.
"Hello there. I am Maya Yotsuba and welcome to the Modern Magic Research Institute."
"Nice to meet you maam. I am Kyosuke Sachi." He gave a small bow to be polite.
Even after so many years, the constant need to be polite never fails to annoy him. There is being not rude and then there is the rigid way he has to act so no one thinks of him as a troublemaker.
"What a polite young man." She said with a small smile. "You will fit right in, though I don't mind if you are more casual around me. No need to act all stuffy all the time." She finished with a wink. "I am not that old."
Kyosuke was unsure how to react, so he just nodded. "Right, Yotsuba-san." She looks like she is in her twenties, but Kyosuke was doubtful.
Anyways, he can go through the Logs later and will find out her age then. The reason he only paid attention to her Name and Level is because he does not want to be found looking at something she cannot sense.
It wouldn't do to be labelled as suspicious the moment he joins this facility.
After the introductions were out of the way, Maya took the papers from Kyouko. The latter left after a wave at Kyosuke and then Maya took him to his new room.
While they were walking, she kept him engaged in small talk. Kyosuke was careful to not slip any damning information, but what he said still increased Maya's interest in him.
As mentioned earlier, Kyosuke has no Skill related to acting. The only reason no one at the orphanage found something wrong with him is because he did not act in any attention grabbing manner.
So the moment he started talking to Maya, the older woman knew he was smarter than almost all kids his age. If she ignored his appearance, then she wouldn't be surprised if the one talking to her was an awkward teenager who had little experience in being social.
Little did she know just how correct that thought was. Instead she thought it was a sign of him being a prodigy.
Kyosuke, for his part, had recalled where he had heard the name Maya Yotsuba before. He was speechless to find she was a character from another anime. But since she was clearly not a clan leader and magic is a secret from the wider world, it must be a coincidence.
Similar looks and similar name are not a big deal anyway. Kyosuke was more focused on his surroundings. No matter where they walked, all he saw was the color white.
It was sterile, bland and did not look like a place he will be glad to stay in.
When they arrived at their destination, a door which was a carbon copy of all those they had walked across, Maya gestured to the small screen beside the closed door.
"This is your room." She put the card she had been holding on the screen and with a green light the door opened. "Take a look."
Kyosuke walked inside and as expected, everything was white. But if you ignore that aspect, the room looked quite good. There was a single bed of a comfortable size touching the wall at one end. It did not look small and was larger than the room he had in the orphanage.
There was another door which must lead to the toilet. There was a wardrobe on the wall opposite the bed and a desk and chair beside it.
Maya had walked inside while he was looking around. She put the card on the table and patted a small booklet lying there.
"Read this as much as you can. Someone will come to take you for dinner and answer any questions you have then."
After she left and he was alone in his room, Kyosuke picked up the booklet and laid on the bed.
The booklet had the basic information about the Institute that the ones incharge had deemed necessary for the new joiners to know. There was the purpose of the Institute which was written as producing exceptional mages for Japan. It was followed by what Kyosuke recognized as propaganda to paint the management in a good light.
He skimmed through it and moved on to his schedule. It was just a rough sketch of what would be his schedule in the future. First he has to go through the basic classes which will cover knowledge that will be the foundation of his foray into magic.
Then depending on his instructors opinions and Kyosuke's affinity, he will attend classes which suit him. So all in all the booklet did not contain a lot of information and half of what was present was useless.
'Well, I guess everything will fall in place tomorrow.' He closed it with a sigh and got up to use the bathroom. 'I just hope I am not making a mistake by coming here.'
During dinner, Kyosuke was accompanied by a girl of about high school age. She was also expressionless, so Kyosuke kept his queries short and to the point.
After a night of sleep, Kyosuke's education at the Institute started without delay.
xxx
The first class was an introduction to the structure of the world and all the details which are common knowledge to those belonging to the supernatural.
The thing which surprised Kyosuke is that he recognized the background setting of the world. Namely how it is a combination of two different anime, though both have the ecchi genre in them. That explains the level of beauty and sexy he has seen.
To begin with, the core of the world is formed by the anime Campione!, a typical harem anime set in a modern day supernatural world with the protagonist being a Japanese high schooler. Though Kyosuke cannot recall anything specific about it, just that some teenage boy kills a god and gets a harem?
Kyosuke already knew that all humans have magic power. [Observe] had suggested that view strongly and then Kyouko had confirmed it.
He also knew that gods are real as said by Kyouko. What he did not expect was for the gods to be very different from how they are portrayed in most anime.
The simplest way to explain it is to compare them with the Heroic Spirits from the Type Moon franchise - beings formed from the faith of human beings.
Because all humans have magic power, their faith has real, tangible power. And since people will not just worship any random thing they come up with on a whim, all that faith has a target. When the faith received by this target reaches a certain threshold, a god is born.
Note the use of the word 'target' here. This means that any figure of myth or legend can be a god, they just have to be famous enough at one point or other in human history. They do not have to be explicitly referred to as a 'god' to be a god.
So those like Susanoo, Zeus and Thor, the gods mentioned in various legends all over the world are gods and they exist.
But then demigods like Hercules, Achilles or even heroes like King Arthur and Siegfried are also gods. Heck, even monsters like Behemoth from the Bible or angels and devils from the same are also gods.
Weirdly, even Oberon from Shakespeare's play is also a god. And yes, this is as unexpected and as far from the idea of a god as you can get. After all, who wouldn't be surprised when a fictional character from a playwright's imagination becomes a god?
But that is not what Kyosuke thought when the teacher was explaining that. His first thought was actually - 'Thank goodness this world has no HP Lovecraft.'
Just imagining that such 'gods' can exist sends a chill down his spine, so its good that those books do not exist and hopefully continue to do so.
Now, the gods do not live in the human world. Instead, they stay in a separate plane of reality called the Domain of Immortality in their myths. Now, what is peculiar is that the gods are both rigid and not when it comes to their identity.
Because they are formed from human faith, they can also be changed by human faith. As the worship of a god spreads across different places, their myths are modified by the people. It might happen because of word travelling orally and changing as people remember certain parts and forget the rest, hence making up things to fill any holes that crop up.
Because of this, a god can have multiple identities. The most common is the Greek monster Typhon and the Egyptian God Seth being the same being.
As can be imagined, not all gods can remain content in their myths when they are changed against their will by humanity. So when a god is dissatisfied with their myths and considers them a burden, they rebel against them. As a consequence, they descend into the human world.
These gods are called Heretic Gods because they have renounced what defines them. Heretic Gods are disaster incarnate. By rejecting their identity, they are very volatile and only bring destruction where they go.
Just by existing they change the world in the worst ways. A god of sea will bring a stream of tsunami that can devestate hundreds of kilometers of land beside the ocean.
A god of war will bring strife. Those in the area influenced by the god will become easier to anger and more prone to conflict. Small conflicts that can be solved with some effort will start spiralling out of control and might even become the trigger for a war. And if a war is already happening? Those participating will become bloodthirsty beyond reason and only focus on killing as many people as they can
A god of sky might bring a storm that can continue for days and ruin several cities as it traverses a country. These are just a few examples, but they are enough to show the danger that Heretic Gods pose.
Naturally none of those affected were going to just lay down and die. In ancient times, people used to band together and do everything in their power to stop a Heretic God. But unfortunately not even large armies of the strongest mages could defeat one.
As it turns out, divinity is the supreme power in the world. It gives an all around boost and elevates those who have it to a different league than those who don't.
A mage can be strong enough to wipe off a city from the map in one hit. But the same spell when used against a Heretic God will not even affect them unless it has some special properties. That is how crazy Magic Resistance they have.
But that is not all. Gods have what is called an Authority, or Authorities for plural. These are the powers as defined by their myths and make full use of their divinity.
A fire Authority will win against several of the strongest mages using water spells of the highest caliber. It will not even be a close match.
But not everything is hopeless. Just because the gods are leagues above the rest of the world does not mean they are exactly invincible. Sometimes, through sheer luck and will, some human will do the impossible and overcome overwhelming odds and be successful in killing a Heretic God.
Now, the first though anyone will have is - 'Oh, so this guy killed a god by some miracle. So what? Some other god will definitely come now and not give him another chance to pull off a miracle.'
But this is where things tilt away from the gods favour. Because the gods are formed from their myths, they are not a monolithic group. If someone tries to tally who is enemies with who by taking into the account the difference of religion and then combined identities, it will result in such a mess it would be easier to just say that multiple gods being allies is as rare as a human killing a god.
There is a goddess who performs a ritual when a human kills a god and the win satisfies her. It is Pandora, the one from the Greek myths. The one who let loose all the disasters in the world along with a ray of hope.
She takes one Authority from the slain god and gives it to the human, elevating them to the same level as Heretic Gods. These humans then have a magic reserve as large as Heretic Gods, which is to say thousand times as much as the best mages.
They have a magic resistance which makes all mortal magic useless against them, a physique which can withstand multiple uses of their Authority and lastly, but most importantly, one of the powers which make gods almost invincible.
These humans are called Campione, the title of the light novel from which this setting comes. Pandora considers them her adopted children and as long as they kill a Heretic God and the win satisfies her and is not unfair, she will give them one Authority from the dead god.
Campione are also called Supreme Kings. No mage can hope to stand against them, just as no mage can hope to stand against Heretic Gods.
Now, the second anime that comes into the picture is High School DxD. Yes, it is that DxD, the one with one of the most irritating protagonists in the history of light novels.
As for why Kyosuke can be sure of that? Well, Sacred Gears and Evil Pieces are a unique enough combination that it can only be DxD with these in the picture.
But with that said, the first question that comes to mind is how can the factions of DxD fit in the Campione worldview? All of those devils, fallen angels, angels, dragons and even yokai should be gods. How can they form entire races as well?
The answer is quite simple. The Campione! setting has something called the Netherworld. It is like a sub dimension which overlaps with the main dimension. The laws of physics are optional there and different points will have vastly different rules. So basically you can have different 'sub worlds' in a single world.
All the supernatural races originate from there. From devils, yokai, angels, fallen angels and elfs to even the monsters like trolls, dragons, giants and more. The Netherworld even branches out to some stable dimensions in which these races live.
To name the most famous examples, such dimensions form the Heaven of the angels and the Underworld of the devils and fallen angels.
As for the beings who should be Heretic Gods? Again, the concept is same as the Heroic Spirits from Type Moon franchise. If the being in question is alive as a non-god, then there is no god based on them. But the moment that being dies, a god will form based on them.
But the god is only basedon them. For example, the original Satans are long dead. But the gods made due to them are not an exact replica of the Satans. And they are definitely not the Satans ascending into a more powerful form.
And because for some reason only human worship can result in gods being formed, a Heretic God will not side with their original race and help them conquer humanity. The devils found this the hard way when the Heretic God Lucifer killed several of their Pillar Devils.
After the lesson, Kyosuke was deep in thought. The existence of Campione means that humans are not helpless, as shown by the First and Second Campione wiping out the vampires and Chinese yokai from their territories respectively.
The Campione are referred to by the order in which they became Campione. And this only applies to those alive to not make things confusing.
Anyways, Kyosuke thinks that this mesh of two anime is overall better for the human race. As someone with an outside perspective, he can see things others either cannot, or even if they do, then do not publicize it.
If it was solely Campione, then the Campione would be completely unopposed. As it is, with the existence of multiple dimensions and the various supernatural races, there are others factions which can attract the attention of both gods and godslayers, whether that is to just have a good fight or even conquer land and people.
If it was solely DxD, then humanity would be on the bottom of the food chain with only Sacred Gears being the sole hope to match the strongest of the supernatural. But as can be expected, when someone boasts they can kill a god just because they were born with a fancy power, they attract the attention of said gods who take offense at a mere mortal boasting of such deeds.
They also attract the attention of those who have already killed some gods as well, who take offense at mortals comparing themselves to the supreme kings.
But the point is, the gap between Campione and regular mages is insurmountable. But with the existence of various supernatural factions, that gap is filled with beings of differing power levels.
In terms of lifespan, the strongest humans can barely push 300 years. But when it comes to the supernatural races, even their common citizens live for multiple centuries without doing any training. So there are always a certain number of powerhouses one can expect to find in any faction.
'Though since divinity is the supreme power, it means that those who could surpass their limits in DxD cannot do so now.'
This is mainly in regards to the two Super Devils who were the sole reason the Devil Faction was not wiped out in DxD canon. They are still the reason why the devils have not been wiped out, but they are not a match for the Campione or Heretic Gods. This is true even with Sirzechs and Ajuka working together against a single opponent.
For this reason, humanity is the dominant force in the whole world. And that is including Earth and all the different dimensions. Because although Heretic Gods only descend in the human world and in most cases do not enter the territories of other races, the same is not true for the Campione.
When provoked enough, Campione have killed their way through different dimensions and various supernatural races. Usually this results in the Campione rampaging around eventually dying. But the cost of killing a godslayer is so huge that the faction or factions responsible usually deplete most of their power and consequently become vulnerable to other factions.
And persuading a Campione with mere words is impossible. Those who dare to raise a hand against gods in a world where those gods have supreme power are not right in the head. In fact, telling a Campione that one of their predecessors died because they went and fought a large faction on their lonesome is a sure way to earn the ire of the Campione you are trying to warn away.
Such warnings will be taken as an insult in worse cases and the one who spoke them will most likely die. The best case scenario is that the Campione just brushes off the warnings and then goes on to fight just to prove they are different from any other Campione.
This is why Campione have more authority and influence among humans than can be guessed at a glance. The numbers of threats that become non-existent just because a Campione is in the country is too large for the local mages to do anything but treat the godslayer as a king and follow their every order.
xxx
'Well, there is nothing else to do then.' Kyosuke went to bed that night with renewed enthusiasm.
First day at the Institute and he already knew a lot more things. What's more, all of this was important stuff that he might not have found for years if he had kept as low of a profile as he initially planned.
Having a concrete goal to work towards is always better than not having any specific target. When he did not know about the existence of gods and godslayers, Kyosuke learned magic according to his whim.
He only learned what he liked and whenever he liked, as evident by the large number of Skills he has. But the problem is that the the majority of them are all very low level. Only the few he uses regularly are at a respectable level, but it is nothing really impressive.
But now? Now he knows what he has to do.
'I have to study all the magic I can from the Institute. Since this place is clearly not a bastion of kindness or justice and they are not focused on improving the situation of the regular humans, they should have a lot of magical knowledge that would be expensive to buy for me.'
Didn't Maya say that what Kyosuke can learn depends on his talent? Well, he will show these people talent of such a degree they could never have imagined it in their dreams.
Kyosuke is only 6 years old. There is plenty of time for him to learn all that he can regarding the magic that exists in this world. Once he is done with that, then he can turn to the Shop for magic which no one else knows. Or which no one else can help him with.
But the benefit of the Institute is not just limited to learning magic. They should also have information which should be hard for regular or independent mages to find on their lonesome. Stuff such as how some of the Campione have succeeded in killing gods while being mortal would prove to be very helpful when Kyosuke goes after a Heretic God.
Because obviously, since Campione stand at the top, or more accurately speaking divinity is the top power, Kyosuke will need it to stand at the top. And there have to be some ways to kill a Heretic God. No matter how miniscule, there has to be a pattern. Otherwise it is impossible for there to be as many Campione as was implied in the lesson.
And speaking about the lesson, Kyosuke got the impression that Campione receive a massive boost only when they undergo the Ritual of Usurpation for the first time. Any subsequent iterations of the ritual only give them a new Authority, but their reserves and other aspects do not increase in a significant quantity.
Otherwise it makes no sense for a younger Campione to be abe to kill someone older. It does not matter that Campione defy fate and go against common sense. If there are two sides in a conflict and both sides cannot be measured by common sense, then wouldn't it mean if they are pitted against each other, you can deduce who can win by taking into factor their advantages and disadvantages?
One side can turn the situation around by doing the impossible. But the same applies to the other side too. So this should ideally cancel each other out and only leave raw numbers as the deciding factor.
Besides, even Kyosuke with his limited experience in fighting can tell that combat experience plays a big part in any conflict. No Campione can practice with their Authorities like he can without leaking the details after repeated uses.
But Kyosuke does not suffer from the same problem. He can fight and practice against those of the same level anytime and without anyone else knowing about it. He will not have to worry about the details of his capabilities being known to everyone with such an accuracy it becomes detrimental him.
There are many Dungeons with gods as enemies. Heck, Kyosuke can just choose the Dungeons which would have the gods from real life as enemies. That will make things even easier since he can get practice beforehand facing a god.
And even putting aside whatever qualitative improvement comes by possessing divinity, Kyosuke can always improve in a quantitative way by piling his Stats to an absurd degree. Logic defying or not, he would like to see if anyone can win against him when the difference in pure numbers is as absurd as a mortal killing a god.