Speedrun And First Meeting

I was pretty much on my way to becoming the number one on the leader board of the any percent speedrun of getting transmigrated.

First up, the higher being - who I'll refer to as Rob from this point onward - didn't even acknowledge me and instead just droned on and on, sounding like he was reading from a script of sorts. Which he was, if the piece of paper he was holding in his hand was anything to go by.

Next, I didn't get to pick my wishes and it was entirely left up to the hands of the incredibly rude god called Rob. If he was a god, anyway. Not too sure on what he was exactly--Ahem, anyway.

The only good thing I can see from my perspective is that he at least told me what I'd be getting in the form of powers as he droned on and on, seemingly to himself more than me. In the end, I knew I'd be a human with the genetics of three great heroes. Heracles, Orion and Arthur Pendragon. And better yet, this union of hero DNA would be perfected through divine powers so the dissonance between the different DNA anything like infertility or other genetic disorders.

Even the chance I might look like a giant who dwarfed everyone around him, I was pretty excited at the time. I was a massive Fate fan and I'd always loved Heracles and Saber - I hadn't heard much about Orion but from what I remember he was pretty damn strong, even when compared to Heracles.

And from what I can see now, I look remarkably human for someone with my genetics.

That's where the good news ended. Seconds--nay, moments or instants after being told what I would become in this new world, I was thrown through whatever I was currently flying through and I genuinely think I'm in the top five transmigrations that involve a ROB in terms of time. No long chats, no questions, no time to think or even make wishes--I was just used and abused like some cheap escort and then thrown away to whatever awaited me now.

I think the only reason I'm still alive is because my physiology changed almost as instantly as I was thrown away, giving me the most robust physique a trio of legendary heroes DNA could give me. Which is quite robust, if you didn't already figure that out.

If I were still a normal human? I'm pretty sure I'd be dead. Because I was spinning and travelling so quickly the G-Force would no doubt fuck me up something fierce.

Who was I before I transmigrated? A soldier. Died saving my squad by jumping on top of a grenade. Call it stupid, call it brave - I call it doing my duty as the squad leader. Those men and women were my brothers and sisters as far as I was concerned, so sacrificing my life wasn't too much of a big deal. And look at what I got - a new life. A fair trade, right? I think so, at least.

Besides, I was born to my parents when they were quite old - older than the average parent - and they'd died shortly after I'd passed basic for the marines. I was an only child because of this and any relatives I did have were on an entirely different continent, so it's not like I was in contact with them.

No girlfriend or boyfriend, no wife or husband, no real connections outside the squad I'd sacrificed my life for. Nuff said, honestly.

So, as I was hurtling through space, time and the fucking universe for all I know, I was contemplating what I'd do in this new life. Become a soldier again? I honestly...don't think. I'd had enough killing for one life. I'm not one of those self-righteous bastards who think killing is unacceptable in any case. After all, I'd killed plenty in my time as a part of the Royal Marines and later as a part of the SBS but I'd never enjoyed it and if there was another way, I'd honestly take that rather than splattering their brains across the floor with a bullet.

A doctor? I don't think I'm quite clever enough for that. I went to the military rather than join Uni, after all. I knew plenty of boffins in the forces but I wasn't really one of them. More of a muscle-head than anything. Makes my new alien tribrid status and what two of those races are especially...ironic.

While I was contemplating my new life, I'd momentarily forgotten about my predicament. I hit the ground with a colossal boom, dirt flying in every which direction and sending fissures and cracks throughout the nearby surroundings if the sounds I was hearing were anything to go by. I stopped my thoughts for a moment and just felt my head spin, the sudden stop of all that momentum leaving me incredibly nauseous and dazed.

Shakily, I pushed myself up and out of the dirt below me, the ground that was kicked up into the air and fell back down on top of me moving as I did so.

There was something in front of my face but I couldn't focus on it, so I closed my eyes and shook my head, using all the experience I had in the military to push through the disorientation my crash-landing had caused me before opening my eyes again.

Everything was a little less blurry and the surroundings didn't seem like they were spinning as quickly as before, which allowed me to focus myself on the thing in front of me.

A stat screen.

[Name: Samuel Clancy]

[Age: 18]

[Race: Human/Hero]

[Personal Skills: Battle Continuation (Rank B), Stout Arm Of Brutality (Rank A), Pressure Of The Moon Goddess (Rank A), Magic Resistance (Rank B), Mana Burst (Rank B)]

[Noble Phantasm: God Hand (Rank C), Artemis Hagnos (Rank EX; Currently Locked At Rank C)]

Well, I wasn't expecting that when I knew I'd be given the genetics of three great heroes. From what I can see, I gained two things from Heracles, three things from Orion and a final two things from the Fate version of King Arthur. The ranks were a bit downgraded but not so much as to degrade their usefulness - especially seeing as I had no idea where I'd been sent.

God I hope it isn't a terrible place like Dark Souls or Bloodborne. My abilities would mean jack shit when faced with some, if not most, of the people there.

If I was lucky, I'd be in a movie universe which aren't too terribly dangerous when compared to some places. Hell, I might even be in an original world of magic/fantasy. If I'm less lucky than the average person - which I usually am - I could be in an anime world. Those places are dens of unreasonably powerful characters that can get even more powerful out of nowhere because of friendship or some stupid shit like boobs--

"Who do we have here?" a sultry and inquisitive voice came from my side and I turned my head to look at the owner of it. Black hair, tied in an unreasonably long ponytail. Violet eyes. Obscene body measurements that make porn stars look small or thin.

No. God no. Please not an anime world. Rob, you son of a bitch--

A blur hit the ground next to the violet-eyed teenager - with a lot more grace than I had - and once stationary, revealed a buxom redhead who peered down at me with curious blue-green eyes. She was just as ridiculously endowed as the other girl.

...And, worst of all, I recognized her. I knew the anime she came from because I'd been forced to watch it by one of my squad mates who was a bit...well, perverted. So I knew who she was. You son of a bitch, Rob. I'll get you, and I'll definitely make it look like an accident. Nay, scratch that, I'll make it blatantly obvious I killed you so everyone knows not to fucking send me to a harem anime world! Her identity was only made more obvious by the iconic devil wings from the show she was from.

So, even without looking exactly like an anime character - she looked like a real woman just with an incredible and out of this world body - I knew who she was.

Seeing the redhead not talk, the violet-eyed girl spoke up again, taking a step closer to me, "Hello~? It's rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you, you know?"

I only had one answer for this entire situation.

"...Fucking hell."

/ / /

"So, let me get this straight for the last time," I said with a sigh, rubbing at the bridge of my nose to relieve some of the tension there, "I died and woke up falling. Which is when I hit the ground and you two appeared," I said, knowing holding off on the basic facts would just make me look even more suspicious. I wouldn't tell them about how this world was an anime in my previous world and neither would I tell them about my meeting with a legitimate higher being.

But telling them the basics? It'd save me the trouble of making up some elaborate lie and risking tripping myself up in the future, causing a whole mess when people start asking me why I lied and which'd lead to people not being able to trust anything I said up until the point when they realized I'd lied.

And I'm not some mechanical robot - I'll make a mistake at some point if I had to lie. Which is why I'll have to tell the truth as little as possible instead of just laying on the lies.

"...You do realize how hard that is to believe, yes?" the redhead, Rias Gremory, asked as she sipped at her cup of tea. Hearing her, I rolled my eyes, near-silently scoffing.

"Like a highschooler with devil wings is easy to believe?" I returned the question and her mouth opened and then closed before she gave a weak smile.

"Touche," she said but shook her head soon after, "Alas, I know Devils and Magic but the thought of someone dying and coming back without the use of very advanced magic or an Evil Piece is very much out of my direct knowledge which is why I have to ask to be completely sure. Especially considering that Akeno's magic can't tell if you're telling the truth or not."

The violet-eyed girl, Akeno, sighed off to the side where she was standing before speaking up ashamedly, "I'm sorry, President," she apologised before looking to me with a different expression on her face; a confused yet curious one, "But whatever magic I try to cast on him just...doesn't stick. It's like he's covered in magical lubricant and everything just slides off him."

"Hm," Rias hummed, casting a glance at Akeno for a moment before looking back to me, an apologetic smile on her face, "As you heard, we're somewhat at an impasse due to your uncanny resistance to magic."

Fucking B-Ranked Magic Resistance. Grumbling mentally, I kept a more neutral look on my face as I looked over at the girl across from me, "So, how do we proceed from here?"

Rias put her teacup down and set me with a more serious gaze from the more understanding and frankly playful expression she'd been using for the majority of our talk, "That is the question of the hour, isn't it?" she rhetorically asked before she called out, "Yuuto, Koneko! Please come in," she said and moments later, an average height pretty boy and a very short girl entered the room.

"President," the blond pretty boy, who I knew was Yuuto nodded to Rias while Koneko just nodded to her without talking.

"You'll be staying in this building with these two for the time being. That is if you wish to stay in Kuoh Town, anyway," she said before continuing, "They'll look over you and make sure you mean no harm to the populace of the town."

I nodded, "Understandable," I said before rubbed at my jaw, noting the distinct lack of any stubble or a beard - had being sent here destroyed my wonderful facial hair? - before continuing, "I'll most likely stick around the town as I get my feet under me. I don't mind them watching over me either - not like I'm gonna do anything illegal or drastic anyway."

"Thank goodness you're so understanding," Rias gave a sigh before continuing, "Also, would you like me to use my authority to help you enroll in Kuoh Academy?"

"...Huh?"

/ / /

What. The. Fuck.

What the fuck? You not only send me to an anime world but you also de-age me into a teenager? You sick son of a bitch, Rob. You sick, sick individual.

I couldn't tell exactly what age I was but I was definitely much younger than before. Definitely had a more boyish face than last I'd seen as well. I'd, personally, put my age around 17 or 18. I was a late bloomer when it came to facial hair - couldn't grow a full beard until I was 19. So the fact I have no facial hair really narrows it down. Fuck.

Putting the mirror down, I looked down at my body. I'd say new but it wasn't really new. I was still generally the same but there were a few things different:

My height, for one. Probably because I had two giants like Heracles and Orion in my DNA. I'd estimate my height around a solid two meters tall. I was goddamn broad as well, plus I had muscles I never had at the age of 18. I was absolutely shredded right now.

Next up was my hair colour. My beautiful brown locks were gone, replaced by black hair that cascaded down from my head to about chin level. It was quite wavy as well. Not used to having anything other than straight hair, honestly.

The biggest change, however? I had strength that exceeded even my shredded body's image. The utter power I felt flowing through my body was intoxicating.

And it wasn't just pure physical strength either.

I felt a warm river flooding through my body, running alongside my veins - Mana. The knowledge on how to reinforce and Mana Burst came almost instinctively to me and if it weren't for the fact I was in a room under surveillance, I'd have no doubt tried it out. It wasn't just strength either but also speed, flexibility, stamina--and bloody hell, my body was as hard as a pillar of high-grade steel. No doubt the work of God Hand.

...It was still utterly surreal that I had a Noble Phantasm of my favourite servant, Heracles. Even more surreal that I had abilities and a Noble Phantasm from two others as well.

Even now, I could feel the pressure of [Pressure Of The Moon Goddess] flowing over my body and naturally training all the muscles. Even without any exercise, I'm pretty sure I'd get stronger and stronger as time went on. Alongside exercise and working out? It'd produce stellar results, no doubt.

Oddly enough, the pressure didn't stop me from performing normally - it only really fully effected me when I allowed it to. Every other time it was more of a passive pressure that slowly worked my body into something better. It was odd. Though, I guess it was divine in nature so it wouldn't go by normal rules, would it? Funnily enough, I feel like I can exude this pressure if I so wished and if whoever I projected it onto wasn't strong enough, they'd get crushed.

My new appearance and age - and my superhuman abilities also - aside, I wondered what I should do. I kept my surprise as hidden as possible and played off my outburst as me being surprised that she'd do that for me. Thankfully it went down well.

But it did bring up the question - should I enroll in this school? If anything, I don't care for interfering with what's going to happen because it'll all work out in the end even if I don't get myself involved.

Sure, there's the lusty bastard part of myself that wants to make a harem but did I need to stick around Rias to do that? Not really, no. Besides, if Issei exists I wouldn't be able to rest easy with his pervert luck. One minute it's he finds Rias' panties on the floor, the next second he's 'tripping' onto her and burying his face in her tits. It'd be a constant annoyance so I'd rather not stick around if that's the case.

I'll just go find some hot supernatural chicks and explore the world. That also brings up another question:

Is Issei still even in this world? Because if he isn't...well, I can't in good conscience leave because it'll lead to a lot of shit. Pretty sure the war between the Three Factions would kick off again, a bunch of bad guys would get away with their plans of evil or whatever...not to mention that if he doesn't exist, there'd be no reason to leave.

In the end, it all comes down to what I want to do. What do I want to do? Leave and live a frivolous life of hedonism? Or stay and clean up messes if Issei isn't around?

...Hah~ It all depends on whether or not Issei exists or not. If he does, I'm gone. If he doesn't, I'll stick around and take his place as the protagonist.

Either way, I'm gonna be having a fun time.

/ / /

After a good night's rest, I was up and about, exploring the town. Honestly, despite being in Japan, it had a very western feel to it - no doubt because of Devil influence. Still, there were still definite tells that I was in Japan so I didn't doubt it.

I'd went out of my way and looked through the town for girls of highschool age and asked them if they knew who Issei Hyoudou was. The results were rather definitive.

Nobody knew who he was. Even when I described him as a pervert who hangs around with a bald-dude and a guy with glasses. They knew who the latter were - the Perverted Duo as they called them with disgust on their faces - but they had no clue who Issei Hyoudou was. Which meant he doesn't exist in this world and maybe explains why I was sent here in the first place.

Maybe this is a reality where Issei was never born. A reality which was doomed because of the lack of it's main hero. So, someone sent me here to fill in for him.

...Not quite sure how I feel about being used like that. Makes me feel like a multiverse mercenary.

Suppressing a shiver, I picked up my cup of coffee and sipped at the hot beverage. Too hot, in fact, for a normal human to drink without scolding their tongue, mouth and throat. I, on the other hand, was perfectly okay because of my buffed up endurance and overall resistance.

It was honestly quite nice that I didn't have to wait for things to cool down anymore. Who knew boiling hot coffee is the best kind of coffee?

While I sat here, I watched the passersby as they went about their lives not knowing they were living in a supernatural hotspot. Part of me wanted to wash my hands of the coming situations and just go explore a very interesting world...but then flashes of war and civilians lying dead entered my mind and I sighed, putting my coffee down after having another sip. I'm such a stupid idiot. I don't owe these people anything but if I left and didn't sort out the coming events, it'd hunt me for the rest of my life.

Besides, if I don't nip these problems in the bud I'll have to deal with them sometime in the future.

...God, I hate being like this. Standing up off the chair a little too small for my new physique, the metal gave a groan of relief as I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few notes of yen I'd been given by Akeno and put them down on the table.

Putting my hands into my pockets, I wandered off back toward the old school building I was staying in. I'd be sticking round for a while, so I should probably figure out some sort of training routine.

What a situation I've found myself in.