Chapter 6

The Shop available to Kyosuke had a ridiculous number of items for purchase in each category. Properties are not an exception. There are the options commonly seen in many games like small houses, apartments, mansions, castles and even fortresses. Even skyscrapers and islands can be bought.

But these are just the properties. When it comes to what qualifies as a home, the list increases exponentially. Cars, planes, ships and spaceships of a certain quality can also double as a home on top of being a means of transportation. Even magic beasts such as a whale which have internal spaces can also be bought.

And each option has a lot of further customization possible. There are templates which can be modified to an extreme degree as long as enough Credits are poured in.

Kyosuke had spent a lot of his free time over the years going through the Shop. As a result he already knew what he would be buying. Thankfully. Otherwise the decision would have been a mistake if he decided in haste.

The Gamer's Home. As the name suggests, it is the home of The Gamer, tailored to his specifications.

Basically it is an evolving home that he can change as and when he requires. Again, as long as he has enough Credits. He can never have enough of those since anything overpowered couldn't be done without them in the short term.

Kyosuke bought [The Gamer's Home] and designated the home he owned as part of it. And just like that he could erect impenetrable defenses around his home and modify the interior as he likes.

He put up defenses against all kinds of spying, both magical and mundane included. This made it impossible to wiretap his home or hack the internet connection he had installed among the other things.

No information about what goes on inside the home would be recorded in the Akashic Records. Nor could the interior be divined in anyway. So this outwardly unassuming house became a true blind spot in the world.

Then Kyosuke threw himself into grinding Credits and Levels in the Dungeons. When he had earned enough of the former, he modified his home so now it connects to a personal dimension where only he can enter and exit.

It was his personal world and he could do whatever he wanted in there. In the worst case scenario, he could just seclude himself in there and leave the world entirely and turn this place into a world of its own, complete with an ecosystem like how Earth is.

He added a plain and built a mansion there. The mansion had four floors, a large library filled with magical books which will soon leave even the oldest and best in the world in dust with their quality after he fills it, a large indoor swimming pool, a sauna, many bedrooms, a fully automated kitchen which could make top quality food and an anime room filled with DVDs and other stuff he never got the chance to buy before and what trinkets he had bought before.

He planted many exotic plants and flowers all around the mansion. He stopped after finishing his mansion and turned his focus on improving his strength.

Later, after he becomes a Campione and earns enough Credits, he will slowly add more things and expand the area of the dimension.

Various biomes like swamps, mountains, deep seas, lakes and even places which did not follow laws of physics were on his list to be added. In those places he would cultivate various plants, animals and minerals with the long term goal being to stop relying on grinding as the only source of rare materials.

Since the initial resource points will have been bought from the Shop, he can sell the harvest back to it. It will form a positive cycle and he would have a steady flow for earning Credits and collecting resources.

He got the idea for the resource points from a Chinese webnovel of his previous life - Reverend Insanity. The cultivators in it used various Gu for all purposes. The immortals had their own internal worlds where they reared their Gu and the resources need to feed those Gu. After a long time of good management they were able to sell resources unique to their inner worlds for things would need.

Like the protagonist of Reverend Insanity said, killing and fighting are just tools. Those who only know how to kill will not be a match for those who are able to use other tools and sooner or later will suffer.

Since Kyosuke has no desire to suddenly flood the world with precious materials and attract undue attention, he will just sell them to the Shop. It is the same thing since he will turn a profit either way.

Also, these resources can converted into his war potential by churning out shikigami, magic items and weapons and other strategic items necessary for winning any conflict.

But that was in the future. In the short term he had to focus on becoming a Campione. And for that purpose he had to go through the intelligence on the various Campione available to the Institute and which he had managed to get without anyone else being the wiser.

"Lets see. That is all of them, I think."

In the study room of his mansion, Kyosuke looked at a holographic projection before him. It was something he bought from the Shop along with a smart all-purpose program to assist him in many ways, chief being the operation of this and any high-tech stuff he buys in the future.

After studying the data, he had drawn a solid picture around the ascension of Campione. The common points were listed before him.

"Very interesting. Without the arrogance of Heretic Gods and the would be Campione's luck, none of these would have been possible."

Yes, more than any skill or talent, these two factors are most vital to a mortal killing a god successfully.

This is because godly magic, or Authorities as they are more commonly known, operate more on concepts than any calculable basis. Or in gaming terms, they deal in absolute numbers like immunity and advantages and disadvantages involving different type of attributes.

For example, suppose someone has immunity to 100 points of damage. Now a few thousand enemies have encircled this guy and they are bombarding him with a continuous stream of attacks. The attacks are so numerous that they blot out the sky.

It is not an exaggeration to say it is aking to a scene from a disaster movie and seems like the world is about to end. They come in all sorts of different types like fire, water, wind, ice, lightning, light, dark and so on and on.

But not one of them can deal damage more than 100 points. So the moment the rain of attacks falls on the guy, they don't do anything. There is no effect and the person on the receiving end is just standing there, bored out of his mind as these beings who are lower than even ants in his eyes fruitlessly try to kill him.

The person surrounded and looking bored is obviously a Heretic God and those surrounding him are a coalition of the strongest people from multiple factions. After the god is bored, he waves his hand and starts wiping them out with his Authority.

Again, the difference in quality allows his attacks to ignore any defenses and go through them like they are non-existant.

This is a difference in quality that is impossible to overcome with numbers. So when two gods fight, it is a very interesting affair.

Suppose one god is immune to fire type damage of a certain quality. His opponent's fire does not exceed that number and aside from his fire he has nothing else. The first god will win 99 percent of the time aside from exceptional circumstances.

This is why a Heretic God's arrogance of dismissing a mortal as a threat and a massive amount of luck on that mortal's side are crucial for the kind of reversal that births a Campione.

But the combination of arrogance and luck only provides a chance for a killing blow to land. As for whether that killing blow will be able to affect the god is a different matter.

Most of the Campione in history have made use of some sort of grimoire to do so. A grimoire is a magic artifact in which an Authority is sealed. Since its an Authority, of course it can injnure a god.

But if the previously talked about immunity triggers because of a bad matchup then…

Aside from grimoires, Campione have used legendary weapons, weapons of a quality that can injure even gods. These are mostly those who are insanely skilled as well since they were able to use an weapon instead of an Authority which would act out on its own.

Though some are lucky enough the god doesn't realize the dange until it's too late. It is as much shocking as laughable in a way when you think about it.

Very few Campione somehow manage to turn the god's attack back on them. The absurdity of such a feat usually results in a one hit KO.

The last few are able to affect the god they face for some circumstancial reason and their skills and luck do the rest. Like the current Sixth Campione for example. His is a very well known and well documented case coming straight from the source.

Salvatore Doni was a genius at swordsmanship but a zero at magic. Because of this he couldn't even become an ordinary mage. One day he was suddenly possessed by the Heretic God Saint George because that is apparently something the gods can do without warning.

Kyosuke was quite shocked and hurriedly set up various anti-possession measures in case he falls victim to the same.

After Saint George possessed Doni, he travelled from Italy to England for some reason and managed to get the Celtic God Nuada to come down as a Heretic God. Saint George and Nuada fought and obviously Nuada won.

One side was only possessing a human while the other was present as a full fledged god. It would be crazy if the reverse was true.

Anyway, so Nuada has managed to kill Saint George and now turned his attention elswhere, away from the dying Doni. Who then struck and because of the lingering divine power in his body and on his blade managed to kill Nuada in one hit, skewering him completely.

After much deliberation, Kyosuke looked away from the hologram thoughtfully.

"A way to surmount the quality and affect the god. I also need to make my Skills diverse enough that I don't get stumped by damage immunity."

The second part was also equally important. His current skillset has [Ice Magic, [Lightning Magic, [Shikigami Creation, [Healing Magic] and [Barrier Magic] at an adequate level for fights of a godly level.

He can use the last two to tank through some direct hits as long as he steps in the fight decked out in full gear crafted from divine materials. He cannot hope to make a barrier to stop a Heretic God fully, but interferring in their tempo is doable. He can also heal himself quickly and keep on fighting as if he had stepped foot there in that moment.

[Shikigami Creation] is very versatile. Again, as long as he prepares a diverse enough set of catalysts made from divine materials he will be fine. Having helpers who won't be afraid of death in a fight is always welcome.

That leaves ice and lightning magic. If the god has an Authority related to either of these elements, then Kyosuke won't be able to use it. In that scenario, any spells he uses will only fuel the god's Authority.

And if the god has Authorities related to both ice and lightning then… He might have to flee in that case.

"What would be a good attribute to grind now?"

He looked at the Shop briefly. He knew some gravity magic and space magic but they weren't anything special. [Space Magic] consisted of teleportation and sensing different spaces while [Gravity Magic] included stuff like increasing and decreasing gravity on himself and any thing he touches.

None were useful as main offensive options.

Although he very dearly wants to learn offensive spells involving space and time, that is unrealistic. The time needed to level them up will be huge because different Skills have different levels of difficulty.

Stronger Skills require more time and space and time magic are on another level compared to the stuff everyone knows.

Kyosuke scratched his head turned his eyes away from the Shop. "Ah well, I will think on it later. I still need a reliable weapon. Preferably a few backups as well."

He hadn't used any weapons before using Giant Slayer against that gashadokuro, so he hadn't put any effort in learing to wield any. All his missions were done easily using magic and unarmed combat. Not even divine beasts could trouble him as he had shown before Kiyotaka by chopping off that eagle's head using his bare hands coated in [Lightning Blade].

But a weapon and some backups are necessary for a fight against a god. And since there are no legendary weapons lying around conveniently for him to pick up, he has to either buy them or grind for them.

So all in all, he has a busy year ahead if he wants to get it done as per his initial estimations.

xxx

"Alright, everything is ready."

It had been an year since Kyosuke became free. Nothing much had changed about him aside from his getting a lot of white hair. So much that about a third of his side profile and a fourth of his front side was white.

He was helpless about it and hadn't expected there to be such effects from what he put himself through. Though he didn't mind it much considering he had such white hair in his previous life too.

It makes him look like an exact copy from his previous life, just more lean muscle and a body he couldn't have imagined before.

Moving on. It is currently the spring break and Kyosuke had just finished his second year of middle school. It went without saying that he was always first in his year whether it be academics or sports.

But he wasn't interested in socializing, so he experienced being a loner for himself. It was an experience.

So now he is ready to venture into the Netherworld, kill a goddess and ascend to become a Campione. He had prepared and planned a lot, collected intelligence on the Authorities of the goddess he is about to face and adjusted his skillset accordingly.

He is confident of victory. So after one final check of his equipment, which included the pants and shirt he bought from the Shop just for this combined with the necklace and the rings he wore now, he was off to the Netherworld.

He vanished from his living room and appeared in a large plain. Although it looked like the African plains, this place was not on Earth.

Kyosuke squinted his eyes but the plain stretched on for as long as he could see. And he can see a very long distance, so this meant he was on a major terrain in this layer.

Contrary to what would be usual for such places, there were no divine beasts around. No echoing roars or feel of divine power in the air, just a simple breeze which made the place feel all picturesque.

The sky was also a bright blue and combined with the small grass around to paint a relaxing picture.

Kyosuke focused his senses and found his target who wasn't bothering to keep herself concealed from others. Turning to his right he took off in that direction, not bothering to conceal himself either.

Since he wasn't planning on assassinating the goddess, there was no need for stealth. Not that he could hide from her if he tried. He hadn't focused on becoming an assassin the past year, so any attempts will be completely useless.

He flew at a speed which was fast without seeming like he was on a stroll. It wasn't his maximum, but sufficient to show that he was putting in effort.

He dropped down to the ground when he spotted a single building in the distance. It stuck out from the surroudings like a sore thumb.

Even Kyosuke, someone with no knowledge regarding Greek architecture, could tell it was a grand palace. Made from a deep earthen colored stone, it looked very sturdy.

It was sturdy considering each brick was seeped with divine power. When Kyosuke reached the large doors, they opened on their own as if inviting him. Entering, he could feel the magic which satured the place and was impressed.

If the him from an year ago were to come here, he would barely escape with his life. As it is, Kyosuke's magic power slowly trickled to the surface, shielding him from the spells and wards present.

It won't do to be cursed just because he got careless, right?

So he walked into the palace hall while radiating confidence without giving the owner any chance to finish the fight before it even begins.

Sitting on the sole throne on the opposite from where he entered was Circe, a Greek goddess of magic. The place was empty apart from her.

She was very beautiful. Appearance wise she left all the women Kyosuke has seen over the years in dust. There was no doubt about it.

Circe had long silver hair, blue green eyes, olive skin and looked young, about early twenties. She was the picture of a young maiden and no one will connect her with a goddess who wouldn't mind turning hundreds or thousands of humans into animals for her entertainment.

The reason she was in the Netherworld is because she had been recovering till now. Kyosuke already knew she was fully healed and confirmed it visually in person with a sweep of his eyes.

Circe had a quirk of wanting exceptional men as her consort. Many years ago, Fourth Campione, Alexander Gascoigne, had run into her and she had tried to seduce him.

That guy went with the flow and probed her for magic items or legendary weapons.

Yes, the Fourth Campione did not start fighting her or became her lover on their encounter. That guy is a thief who likes to pretend to be a gentleman, basically a lowlife liar with a lot of power who loves his facade, no matter how thin it is since everyone knows he is a thief.

Anyways, most likely after it became apparent that Circe did not have any magic artifacts for him to steal, Alexander dropped the act and tried to flee. God and godslayer fought and Alexander fled while leaving Circe with heavy injuries.

Why he did not finish her was beyond Kyosuke's comprehension. But it was most likely some nonsense which he is better off not knowing.

Later, Circe entered the Netherworld started recuperating there. The reason Kyosuke found her trail is simple. He was keeping an eye on the Utsusemi Agency - the villain organization in DxD canon who were the ones attempting to create Artifical Sacred Gears.

It was formed by the outcasts of the Guardian Clans which was really ridiculous. Those morons expel people at the drop of a hat and these numbers have swelled so much that a whole organization formed when they gathered together.

The reason Kyosuke was keeping an eye on them is because the protagonist who defeats them in DxD, Tobio Ikuse, does have his Longinus in this world.

Kyosuke had double checked and was shocked to find that. Issei Hyoudou had the Boosted Gear but Tobio was out of the picture where the supernatural is concerned.

This taught Kyosuke a valuable lesson - there is no single protagonist with respect to this world. There is no single person around whom the world will revolve, even if they are Issei or the protagonist from Campione who Kyosuke doesn't know about.

The world has deviated enough from any individual anime that constitute parts of it that any plot armour will be non-existent.

So with that Kyosuke kept an eye on the Utsusemi Agency. Those terrorists will do anything if it means they can wipe out the Guardian Clans and get their revenge. They will experiment on innocent humans without hesitation and no price is unacceptable to them.

Unfortunately the Committee did not take the anonymous tip Kyosuke sent them seriously. Mainly because of those dammed Guardian Clans who are so set in their superority that they won't even entertain the thought of some rejects being a threat to them, no matter how many of them have gathered together.

Kyosuke did some digging and found that the Director of the Institute had been in contact with them. This was the source of rumours which had sprung up sometime after the Institute's closure.

But again, those morons from Guardian Clans had to brush every sign of things not being right aside.

As Kyosuke had previously thought, power in any clan is divided among the clan head and the elder. And the current Guardian Clan Heads are all young and are only the clan heads because of inheriting their respective clan's Guardian Beasts.

So the real power in those clans is with the old elders, the type of old and obsolete fossils who just don't understand that the world has not stayed in antiquity and moved on.

Kyosuke was pleasantly surprised when he found the Utsusemi Agency was in contact with Circe. It was easy to guess they were helping the goddess in exchange for help with their aims.

It's not that they were strong enough to bargain with Circe as equals. Rather, it was feasible to convince a goddess to wave her hand and deal with the Guardian Clans who don't have a Campione to protect them.

The Utsusemi Agency was quite eager for this approach too. If the Guardian Clans are destroyed by a foreign goddess, the expression on the clan elders faces would be a sight to behold.

But now all their plans are about to go up in flames since Kyosuke is facing Circe this moment. Looks like they will have to look for some other god who would liste to them and not just turn them to dust, which is very unlikely.

There is a better chance of them turning to the Artificial Sacred Gear project. Kyosuke has heard that the fallen angel Cadre Satanael has gone rogue just recently. The Grigori are suppressing the news, but it won't hold for long.

Kyosuke made a mental note to increase surveillance over Biblical Factions assets in Japan. If he can pit them against each other then it would be good. But he has to at least ensure that no conflict treats Japan as the place to settle things.

When Kyosuke entered the hall, Circe was initially bored and indifferent. Since his looks weren't anything special and he was, in fact, the most plain looking human she has ever seen, she wasn't interested in him.

It's not that she couldn't sense the large amount of magic power he had, but she just did not put in the effort to think that it is more than what humans usually have. The strongest mages she has seen included.

No, Circe was more focused on how Kyosuke had zero deference for her and just walked in like he owned the palace. The mindset of a Heretic God is seeped in arrogance, so what they think is hard to guess aside from the fact that they are easy to anger at the slightest of imagined slight.

Circe's expression slowly became colder, her brows furrowing and her lips pursing together to form a thin line. But even that expression had a charm which was hard to shake off.

Kyosuke controlled his expression and clamped down on any ridiculous thoughts that came because of his hormones. Then an invisible pressure fell over the hall, blanketing it fully.

Circe was displeased, so she had to show that displeasure. Usually this much is enough and the pressure exerted would have brought many Paladin to their knees. For those who aren't Paladins, they would have been pressed down flat against the ground.

Even the strongest of Paladins struggle to stand upright before a Heretic Goddess who is expressing her displeasure openly. They would show signs of being affected even if they can remain standing.

But none of them would be like Kyosuke who continued walking forward like nothing was amiss. The divine power sweeping the room increased in intensity at the slight.

By now the ground was slowly shaking, feeling like something heavy was continuously striking it and increasing in intensity with each second that passed. Circe's expression was also becoming worse, the irritation slowly transitioning to anger.

Kyosuke sent her a disdainful look which wasn't fake. He really felt she was too volatile. If it was Kyosuke who was facing someone who acted directly opposite what was expected, he would inwardly be on guard, no matter what emotions he projects outwardly.

But he could tell easily that Circe was not putting up a facade. No wonder no faction dares to cooperate with a Heretic God long term if they are this quick to be riled up. The fact they quickly act on their emotions without wasting a moment and without hesitation is the cherry on top.

Without speaking a word, Circe waved a hand and the inside of the palace lit up with the brightness of a thousand suns. The yellow was everywhere and for anyone else it would have been nothing but an expanse of white. Nothing else was visible and even sinses other than sight were affected by that.

But contrary to expectations, Kyosuke did not close his eyes and use magic to protect them. He did not put up any shield or retreat, but instead rushed forward into the attack.

He felt the searing heat be reduced to a managable level as [Magical Damage Resistance] ensured he wouldn't turn to ashes despite only using [Reinforcement] to boost his durability. It also allowed him to see despite the world being turned into a pure yellow, like someone had painted a screen fully with a color that pricks at eyes.

While running, wisps of black smoke rose from his body and expanded. They started devouring the light hungrily. It looked like a black line was being drawn on paper as Kyosuke closed in on the goddess.

There was no explosion or any other sign to indicate a clash between attacks which could raze a city to the ground easily were happening. There was just the unending light originating from one side and a black streak closing in on that, devouring all light in the way.

So Kyosuke continued on unimpeded. Circe was naturally taken aback by the scene. A human matching a goddess like this was unthinkable, but it was indeed happening.

A moment later Circe found why it was so. For those who could sense it, they would see natural energy rushing to Kyosuke only to be absorbed seamlessly. The rate of absorption was terrifying and it seemed more like he was devouring it, just the way he was devouring the light spell Circe was using.

This was Kyosuke's answer to overcoming the quality gap which exists between gods and others - Sage Mode.

A Sage is someone who can manipulate the natural energy present in the world. They are most proficient in purification and pacification of spirits and the world. They are the best sensors across all the factions, with even beginners being better than the majority of the scouts.

The best sages are also very adept at healing. They can heal anyone irrespective of race and, very rarely in history, they have also been able to regrow entire limbs.

But these are all non-combat abilities a sage can have. But this does not mean they are weak in combat. They can imbue their attacks with natural energy. If this is successfully injected into the target's body, even a Campione will feel it.

Natural energy has a quality, a weight about it which allows it to match divine power as an equal for a short time. If gods and the faith they are formed from are the pinnacle of humans as a race living on Earth, then a sage who has mastered the use of natural energy is their opposite with the power of the world behind them.

Although no one in history has actually managed to kill a Heretic God using sage arts in single combat, they have consistently been able to drive them off from a defensive position. But there have been many successful cases of multiple sages being able to seal off gods and their Authorities by working together.

And a few Campione have died to teams of sages who make use of the fact a Campione still needs air, food and water to survive and after they have been weakened from a fight against a god.

Now, the people of this world use natural energy as a separate power source. So Kyosuke had initially thought that trying the Sage Mode from Naruto would mean he will be able to use natural energy like no other and instantly get a large boost in strength.

But the truth is that people had attempted to mix natural energy with their internal power long ago. The reason it was discarded is because of the malice present in the world.

Natural energy is the energy of the world. So if the world 'suffers', it will lash out in a way. Metaphorically speaking of course. The world isn't sentient like that, which is a mercy. But nevertheless this malice present in the world makes it hard for one to not go crazy if they enter Sage Mode.

Then there are the gods influence on the world whenever they descend as Heretics. If an area is warped too much by Authorities, it influences the surrounding natural energy to a large extent. As an example, if one takes in natural energy from an area where a god of death had stayed for a long time, that natural energy will actively work to kill the one foolish enough to do so.

It will do it in many ways which cannot be predicted for sure, such as weakening the sage or inflicting them with a disease. Or in the worst case naturally accelerating the body's time to reach the end of their lifespan naturally. And this can happen even when using the natural energy as a separate power source. Imagine what will happen if it mixes in with your internal energy.

So overall sage arts are powerful but come with their own drawbacks. As for what Kyosuke was currently doing, it required a level of skill which only a few sages ever reach in their life. And they only use it as a last resort, when they see no other way out of a desperate situation and are prepared to die.

The reason Kyosuke can use this not as a last resort but as a regular technique without fear of backlash is simple - [Parallel Processing]. The process goes like this - he uses natural energy by mixing it with his magic power to get natural power, shown as NP on the Status.

Really unimaginative, but what can you do? That is how it shows on the Status.

Anyways, he assigns one thought to the task of creating NP and depending on the situation, he creates more thoughts to use that NP to cast magic. As time passes, slowly but surely these thoughts start degrading.

At first the efficiency drops slowly. Casting magic will feel sluggish and his mind will start feeling less than his 100 percent. The moment this happens, he immediately erases the affected thoughts and creates fresh ones to replace them.

The cycle is repeated again and again until he wins the fight. Other mind magics are very useful in supporting this and act as safeguards in case of unexpected variables.

[Thought Acceleration] ensures he can react in time if the speed of corruption suddenly increases or the natural energy gets affected by his opponent deliberately to inflict some curses or status condition on him.

[Occlumency] ensures that the small amount of corruption he stays in contact with cannot affect him. Mastering your mind is a very powerful thing and being able to conjure up and entinguish emotions at the drop of a hat is very useful too.

So Kyosuke had nothing to fear when facing Circe. Any sort of method that could be used against him, he has already faced it and so knows how to defend against.

So the mind magic he has been working diligently on for his whole life has showed its prowess yet again by giving him anothercheating advantage over others.

On top of that he also got a new Skill while experimenting with sage mode in some Dungeons whose natural energy was even more malevolent than the real world's - [Abnormal Status Resistance]. It is a mighty Skill and falls in the same league as [Magic Damage Resistance] and [Physical Damage Resistance].

They are ridiculously hard to level up. But just their existence makes Kyosuke's life so much easier.

So he continued on without fear, his eyes open and locked on Circe and his steps not faltering at all despite the ground heating up without any signs of slowing down. If this were happening on Earth, then the floor would have been replaced by molten slag.

But Circe chose a good place to set up her palace. The ground was not nearing its melting point even as the palace walls were looking softer than earlier. Kyosuke's ears picked easily picked up on that detail.

So he grew more focused and got ready to finish the fight quickly. It the palace gets destroyed and the fight moves on to the open plains, it will be more beneficial for Circe. She will be able to use her divine beasts to surround him and then he would have to use his divine beast shikigami.

The fight will only become more chaotic and Kyosuke really doesn't want to spend more time than necessary on this. It is for this reason he hadn't spoken a word since the beginning.

Fights to the death in the real world have to be finished quickly and without dragging them out. Seeking excitement or thrill in such cases is the height of stupidity and Kyosuke will not stand for that, especially with his high Wisdom and Intelligence.

He can always get the same in the Dungeons. Not to mention that any he kills in the real world won't be providing any Experience Points, loot and Credits. Even the experience his Skills can get from a real world fight is paltry compared to the experience he can get by research and spamming via mind magic shenanigans.

So Kyosuke closed in on Circe and got ready to bring out the next trump card for this fight. The goddess was just moving past the initial shock and the understanding as she figured him out. She was gawking at him as the natural energy was billowing about him.

Or at least the equivalent of gawking for a goddess anyway.

When Kyosuke was at a good distance, a sword suddenly appeared in his right hand. It was a three feet long double edged sword. It was a bright bronze in color and intermittently shimmered blue.

It fit perfectly in Kyosuke's hand and looked like it was made for him. Which was actually the truth since he had made it himself.

Yes, in the past year he had taken up [Blacksmithing] and [Alchemy]. He had to process the divine materials he had anyways, so he decided to just buy the respective Skills for these two crafting professions. Since he wasn't planning on focusing solely on them, just the Skills were sufficient and he didn't need to buy the Classes.

As for why he did not just buy a sword from the Shop? Well, Circe is a goddess of magic. It means that she can connect to the Akashic Records as easy as willing it. In that case, waving a sword before her that can out Kyosuke's most vital secret is just asking for trouble.

Whether it be the lack of history the weapon would have or the materials which would not exist in the world, it would all be one giant question mark on how something like that could exist. And that too when the weapon fits Kyosuke perfectly.

Saying something is wrong would be the understatement of the century then. The same goes for the catalysts he has brought to the fight. Hence the need for Kyosuke to make them himself using materials from the Netherworld.

But that's not to say he spent a long time levelling these Skills. Not at all. Since he has been earning Credits without problem now, he put them to good use. He bought all the knowledge needed to craft everything needed for this fight and only focused on them.

Circe's expression changed when she saw Riptide.

Yes, Kyosuke had named the sword after another famous sword from fiction. Although this Riptide was not made from celestial bronze contrary to what its color would suggest. It was instead made from bone steel, another divine metal from the Percy Jackson franchise.

Bone steel actually exists in the real world as well. In ancient times, vikings first found that smelting iron with ground bones resulted in a stronger metal. It was a primitive form of steel due to the carbon present in bones. Then the mages of the time started experimenting and for a time blood and bones from magic beasts were used while smelting iron.

The practice faded after a while due to the process being very wasteful. The final product did not correspond to the investment, so less and less people used it and the knowledge fell out of favour.

So naturally Kyosuke did not follow outdated and antique practices while crafting Riptide. In the Percy Jackson universe, the Norse Pantheon had perfected the process for crafting bone steel and made it their stape divine metal. Even the Norse Gods weapons are made from that, so obviously it is incomparable to the method of this world.

As a bonus, the end product while bone steel has different effects based on the materials used. They can be made more effective against certain type of beings, so Kyosuke did just that.

He swung his sword with a grin at Circe, aiming to take her head off and finish the fight instantly. The goddess had panicked when faced with a legendary weapon appearing so abruptly and so close.

So she did not hold back her next move. She has just recently recovered from the injuries received during her fight with the Fourth Campione. She is not eager to test how much she will suffer if this blade strikes true.

Kyosuke was prepared for the geyser of divine power to erupt from her. It was like a volcano had erupted at point blank. Though what came at him was not lava or smoke but scorching heat in the form of more light.

It was accompanied by beams of divine power, an upgraded and divine form of [Mana Strike].

Kyosuke just smirked and Riptide shimmered blue. Then all the heat around him vanished. He had come very prepared and Riptide had heat nullifying enchantments woven into it during the creation process. These were effective against fire and sun based attacks - which were Circe's preferred magics.

While this happened, the black smoke around from earlier was also working to absorb the light which was weakening continuously. This increased Kyosuke's rate of approach without warning.

He cut through the beams of divine power coming at him expertly. He twisted around and weaved through them with a flexibility that would make any gymnast green with envy. The attacks he couldn't dodge because of the difficulty or because it would hamper his approach, he cut through them with Riptide.

Circe tried to overwhelm him but was unable to. She sent an ugly look at the legendary sword which was cutting through her attacks and even weakening her speciality spells.

Seeing that if she doesn't change tracks then the fight will be over very quickly, she did just that.

The ground where Kyosuke was about to step on burst upwards. Midair it transformed into a lion which lunged for him. The same repeated thrice and from different angles, boxing him in the middle.

He quickly took in their trajectories and their strength. They did not have any solar powers and from his experience he guessed they were specially made for close combat. Entangling with them will give Circe the chance to create diatance, so Kyosuke did not stop.

He focused on the lions and used [Gravity Magic]. But instead of stopping or blowing them away, he pushed them some more along their trajectories. They accelerated and Kyosuke was able to spot a gap ahead.

But he did not try to break out. Instead he threw Riptide like a dagger. It crossed below the lion ahead of him and curved a little as it went for Circe. The goddess was not expecting him to just throw his weapon like that, so she could react properly.

Plus [Throw] was at a pretty high level considering Kyosuke used this Skill intermittently and it was also among the first Skills he knew.

Circe conjured a shield of blinding blue but the makeshift dagger pierced through. It did slow down though and Circe managed to twist out of a headshot just barely. But it did manage to stab through her shoulder.

The goddess screamed in pain and rage. She grabbed the hilt when she felt the sword digging into her shoulder. Her expression twisted further because it felt like someone was holding the sword and still trying to bisect her…

She was a bit confused but that confusion turned in shock when she saw Kyosuke focusing on her, specifically the sword lodged in her shoulder. He was dodging the lions pouncing at him without giving them a glance and was fully focused on the sword.

Kyosuke preferred to use [Telekinesis] as a hidden blade rather than the blunt weapon he had first deployed it as all those years ago. He handled the lions attacking him easily using [Lightning Blade].

Lightning gathered in his hands and coalesced into a blade. He ducked to dodge the claws of one lion and stabbed through its stomach as it passed by, easily cutting it and turning it into motes of light midair.

The other three followed suit since they didn't have the ability to maneuver midair. All the while he was contending with Circe regarding the matchups of light against dark and his [Telekinesis] against her attempts at stopping the sword.

"Enough!"

Circe screamed in outrage. No, she was beyond outraged. Being pushed so far so soon by a mortal was an embarrassment of the highest degree. So she put away all the initial disdain and the subsequent shock and surprise out of her mind.

She kept Riptide from digging into her shoulder any further with one hand and the other started the process of activating her Authority.

Kyosuke sent many spells at her but Circe grit her teeth and just pumped more and more divine power into her Authority and herself.

The space before her darkened and suddenly a new figure materialized. The spells which Kyosuke had sent were blocked by a few punches which shook the air inside the palace. These strikes obliterated the attacks coming at Circe and then a giant hand reached for Riptide.

Kyosuke quickly yanked it towards him. Since Circe was trying to push it away earlier, it flew at him far faster than he was confortable with. Circe did not expect to take his head by that but still tried to manipulate the sword as payback.

By now the giant cyclops was covering Circe fully, its giant stature reaching the ceiling. Or what was left of the ceiling anyways, considering chunks of it were falling like hot sludge.

The single on the cyclops head narrowed and it brought its hands together. Kyosuke sensed the build up of divine power outside the palace and brought up a shield in time. Then a massive bolt of lightning struck the palace.

Circe cleared away the roof and everything in the way so the attack came down unhindered. It encountered the light and dakness already clashing and a massive explosion followed suit.

The palace was blasted outwards and the cyclops and Circe burst through, the goddess not caring about her home being destroyed. All she wanted now was to kill Kyosuke and wash away the humiliation from earlier.

Meanwhile, Kyosuke dispersed the shield and walked out of the destroyed palace unhurt. He used [Observe] on the cyclops and the result was one he already knew.

Circe had a very special Authority called Hero Confinement. It allowed her to steal Authorities used before her if they belonged to a 'heroic' god. The stolen Authority could then be used in the form of divine beasts which would possess the same powers as that Authority.

This Authority is why Kyosuke was here after all. This was the closest he would get to an Authority that can copy other Authorities in the current times. Since he already knew about it, he wasn't surprised at all. He had done his information gathering thoroughly and also knew what else Circe could summon.

'As expected, rushing an Authority reduces its power.' The cyclops was weaker than it should have been.

The chant of an Authority is basically the owner commanding the world. Now, one can do the same just by thinking, but it lacks the oomph that a spoken order possesses. This is why gods and godslayers always scream chunni stuff in the middle of the fight.

Kyosuke looked relatively unperturbed even as dark clouds continuously gathered overhead. The cyclops that Circe had summoned had super strength which it used to block to spells previously. And as shown by the lightning strike, it could manipulate it as well. But the prerequisite was for it to gather those clouds.

'Well, it wasn't going to be a walk in the park anyway. But since I already know what her summons will do, it won't be that difficult to win this.' He took out his catalysts to summon his own divine beasts. Since Circe wanted to turn this into a group fight, he would oblige her.

The reason he wasn't worried is because he has fought better and more dangerous monsters in the Dungeons.

The main difference between monsters in the Dungeons and those out in the real world is not power or skill but their mentality. Monsters in a game have only one goal - kill the player. The same applies to those in the Dungeons whose sole purpose is to kill him, The Gamer, to the best of their capability.

Unless it's a story type Dungeon where the monsters will show greater capacity for non-combat related actions and roles, or a type of monster which will retreat when wounded enough to recover and then come again, the rest typically rush Kyosuke with everything they have.

All of their being - physical and mental - is dedicated to the fight. They ignore injuries if they can exchange them with him and won't hesitate to take fatal wounds or even die if it means some other monster can take him down.

Obviously the same is impossible for any living being with even a hint of self awareness. No matter which lifeform, so long as they are alive they will have emotions and not be some killer robot equivalent.

This is a large reason why Kyosuke had such efficiency during his missions. He has fought and observed monsters who have such efficiency when it comes to killing their target, so some of that has been incorporated by him into his fighting style.

So when he sees someone like Circe wasting so many good opportunities in a fight and be swayed by her emotions so easily, he can't help but find the fight somewhat easy.

Two small orbs fell in his left hand from his Inventory. One was grey in color and looked like metal moulded into a spherical shape. The other looked like it was made from a lump of dirt and looked like wet soil. Despite not looking like regular catalysts, only a fool will judge them based on their appearance.

The divine power emanating from them denoted them as high quality catalysts, the kind that can be used as a trump card to summon divine beasts. Because divine beasts are trump cards, make no mistake. It's just Kyosuke who treats them as resources to harvest.

After learning [Alchemy, he moved on from the typical catalysts of fangs, fur or bones. These orbs were the result after much processing and modification on his part and he can say with absolute certainty that no one else in the world can match their quality.

The goddess facing him was of a similar mind if the way her face tightened was any indication. She started a chant the same moment Kyosuke threw the orbs on the ground before him after pumping them with an absurd amount of his magic power.

Magic power, not natural power. A shikigami created from a divine material is a divine beast. Injecting natural power in it would only disturb what is already the absolute best in the world.

No need to fix something if it is not broken and not redundant, right?

The grey orb did not touch the ground. The moment Kyosuke released it, it streaked into the sky and entered the clouds at a rapid speed. Meanwhile the brown orb touched the ground and sinked inside, like it was thrown into a lake.

Divine power surged from the clouds and below the ground. Then two divine beasts appeared on Circe's side as well and the world seemed to stutter. None of these were average divine beasts and they would be able to trouble any god or godslayer on their lonesome for a short while.

Circe had chosen to summon one in air and one on the ground.

An eagle appeared in the air above her and strong winds kicked up around it. Its power was very obvious and it started flying around Circe in a circle with the goddess sending more divine power inside it.

The second divine beast was a giant armoured warrior. It materialized beside Circe, dressed in Greek armour. It had a metallic shine and its face was carved from steel. It held and bow and arrow, with zero weapons for close combat.

Kyosuke gave the eagle a glance and turned to the warrier. The former was a very common summon and he has seen plenty of such. But the latter was different.

It was only in the Campioneverse that an attribute like Steel existed for the gods. It was different from the Steel in Pokemon or the metal in other fictions which is weak to fire.

In this world, Steel refers to overcoming adversity and triumph on battlefield. This means that most of the gods of steel are the demigods or other such figures who have won against enemies either their equal or superior. So they are easily the strongest at a direct confrontation.

They are also the gods who overthrew the matriarchy of the earliest Mother Earth Goddess, from the time before the investion of weapons and when women were the ones incharge instead of men.

So Kyosuke was more interested in the warrior. Although he has seen many divine beings with steel type attribute, it is far less than the common types like the elemental ones.

Just then a screech sounded from the clouds and something dive bombed the group gathered opposite of Kyosuke. The warrior turned its bow up only for the ground to shake. That made it reverse course and focus on locating where the underground divine beast will come out from.

Circe directed the eagle encircling her to take off and sent it crashing into the divine beast Kyosuke had created. It was revealed to be a bird. Only instead of being of flesh and feathers, it was made of steel.

The entertainment of this world is different from what Kyosuke is used to. That is understandable since at the very least, the anime that form this world won't be made into an anime.

But when it comes to books, games and movies, there are differences there as well. Pokemon is one such franchise which is missing from this world, so the divine beast Kyosuke created would not be recognized by anyone else.

Skarmory crashed into the eagle with a screech of metal and cut into it like a bunch of blades impacting a pillow, shredding everything they could find. It was an apt description because each wing of Skarmory was a blade.

The moment the clash in the air happened, the ground below the warrior trembled and something crashed into it. A whale like divine beast came out from the ground like it was breaking out of water, its mouth already open wide to gobble it up and letting out a bone shaking keel. It was akin to large slabs of earth grinding against each other, a sound no living being should be capable of.

The Leviathan Hound was made to be a frontline tank. It looked like a whale had been modified to allow it movement on ground. It had no flippers or tailfin. Instead it had four legs and three tails which acted as both a means of attack and to balance its body.

It was an earthen brown in color and what seemed to be stone deposits spread across its body in sploches of grey. It lacked eyes and ears. There were many dog statues present on its head which acted as sensory organs.

It managed to clip the warrior despite the latter moving very fast for what was supposed to be a long range specialist. And then the fight started in earnest, on the ground and in air, amidst the skreeching of metal and keeing of earth as stolen manifestation of Authorities fought against divine beast shikigami made from knowledge surpassing this world.