Torturing the Devils

I duck under a swing from a zombie using a crude sword and slice its head off with my ice one. I deflect an arrow and shoot a Swordbeam at the undead archer while parrying another warrior then stabbing it in the heart, killing them both.

You know, I thought that after dealing with the two bosses, I'd get an even stronger one. Or every special zombie that has appeared in CoD.

I certainly didn't expect zombie warriors, knights, archers, mages, etc, etc. The Medieval era zombies.

It was a little challenging at first because they actually know strategies, and not like their modern counterparts, but after getting used to it, and with the insane growth of my saber class, I easily dispatched most of them.

I mean, really.

Cryo-Master Akane Amamiya

Level - 167

Class - Saber - LVL 43/100 [35%]

Secondary Class - Engineer - LV 24/50 [45%]

Race - Human

Rank - Mortal

Alignment - Neutral Evil

HP - 3120 [682 per minute]

MP - 16710 [15990 per minute]

SP - 2600 [682 per minute]

STR - 415

END - 260

DEX - 411

INT - 1114

WIS - 1066

CHA - 60

LUK - 50

Perks gained

[Giant's Strength] - 250 STR

All Physical Damage is increased by 25%

[Graceful] - 250 DEX

Your skills in dodging improved significantly

DEX checks are easier

[Warrior's Endurance]

Once a day, your SP refills fully once it hits zero

SP regenerates 10% faster.

Skills gained

[Swordbeam]

Deals 75 Physical damage + current weapon damage

Costs 30 SP and 30 MP

[Nimble]

Increase DEX by 20% for 2 minutes

Costs 100 SP

[Circle Sword]

Create a ring of swords to protect you, or throw it at your enemies like a saw.

Equals the base damage of your current weapon

Costs 150 SP

[Light Armor Proficiency (Apprentice)]

You have some knowledge on the use of Light-Armor

Light armors are 10% more effective

[Sword Proficiency (Apprentice)]

You have some knowledge on the use of Swords

Swords deal 10% more Damage

[Magic Resistance+]

You are 15% resistance to magical damage

[Physical Resistance+]

You are 15% resistant to Physical damage

They're not much of a challenge anymore.

It's been two days since my meeting with Sirzechs, and he showed up yesterday to finish up the deal and work on the details of it.

He showed interest in giving a hand in building the human faction and discussed that once it is relevant enough, I'll become his ally should a war break out, giving him weapons and gadgets to help his army. I'm not particularly against it since I have no love for anyone, and I will most definitely want Sirzechs' friendship if shit hits the fan.

And what I get for this agreement? Why a huge facility under my home course!

I'll tell you, the devils work terrifyingly fast. One day and they're done with a room three times the size of my home.

I did manage to dismantle stuff and make a few turrets, but not much to make a difference.

Leveling is still hard, even with the 4x multiplier. I say insane growth because I still level up when almost everything I kill is 100 levels under me.

Is there any way to get a new dungeon?

Once you finish this one.

I see...

I flip over a flail as I spot a big zombie wearing spiked armor and a snarl etched on its face. I raise a brow in amusement.

Undead Berserker

Level - 63

HP - 10000

This will be easy.

I dash while buffing myself with [Nimble], blurring behind it and striking its back. It roars in agony and turns around, but I'm already on the other side, continuously slashing its unarmored spots. It falls down as I slice one of its legs off, and as it tries to counter-attack, I end it by beheading it.

This place isn't fun anymore... Oh well.

I kick the chest open and take my loot.

81 Credit

Health Potion

Heals 20% of your HP

Elven Armor

Increases Defense by 55

Elven Gauntlets

Increases Defense by 22

Gacha Token

...This is quite strange.

Before getting my saber class, I only got items that benefited me as a mage, and when Issei came along, it started to change, suiting us both instead.

Now... I only get things that will help out my melee class.

Does it spawn things that benefit the people inside the dungeon? That's the only thing I could think of...

Whatever. If it helps me, then I'm not complaining.

Let's see what The Game gives me this time...

Gravelord Sword

Sword wielded only by servants of Gravelord Nito, the first of the dead. Crafted from the bones of the fallen. The miasma of death exudes from the sword is a veritable toxin to any living being.

Deals 400 Physical Damage + STRx5 + 850 Poison Damage.

A greatsword for Issei then. And poison damage isn't very common, so good enough.

I need to go back for now. Rias and her minions will be coming soon, and I need to greet them when they do. Once they're finished, I'll get back to work on my engineer class.

From what I've seen, a card pack costs 500 credits, and I have a bit more than 1500.

I'll buy the packs once I'm done with them.

I bring up the quest that popped up yesterday and read it over once more.

[Training Montage]

Objective: Get Rias and her Peerage up to level 80

Rewards: 1 Gacha Token, 2500 Credits, 10 Stat Crystals of your choice, Greatly Increase Reputation with Occult Research Club members, Greatly Increase Reputation with Sirzechs Lucifer, Greatly Increase Reputation with Grayfia Lucifuge

Bonus Objective: Get Rias and her Peerage up to level 100

Bonus Rewards: 1 Gacha Token, 5000 Credits, 20 Stat Crystals of your choice, Massively Increase Reputation with Occult Research Club members, Massively Increase Reputation with Sirzechs Lucifer, Massively Increase Reputation with Grayfia Lucifuge

I'll... try and get the bonus. I honestly don't care how much stronger Rias gets; she will die sooner or later. And the REP gain from Sirzechs will be very helpful in the long run.

I wonder what machine cards I'll get?

I stood outside my home waiting for my 'guests' to come in, and once I picked them up with my radar, I smirked.

"Took you guys long enough," I call out, spotting Rias walking up to me with her Peerage in tow. "I was beginning to think you chickened out."

Rias smiles a bit and rolls her eyes. "Please." Then her smile turned into a frown. "...Did my brother force you into this?"

I raise a brow. "Why would you think that?"

She grimaces. "He's... Too overprotective. Dangerously so. I'm already angry at him for interfering with my problems, but if he threatened you too, then..."

I hum in acknowledgment. "He didn't. We just came to an agreement."

She tilts her head curiously. "Agreement?"

"That's not important." I wave her off. "I take it you're ready? It might be easy at first, but we'll stay there for a while, and there will be neither breaks nor rests."

"We are." She nods. "But... where are we going?"

I smirk. "You'll see soon enough."

Rias Gremory added to your party

Akeno Himejima added to your party

Koneko Toujou added to your party

Kiba Yuuto added to your party

Let's check their stats real quick...

Rias Gremory

Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess

HP - 11000

SP - 7500

MP - 17500

Race - Devil

LVL - 42

STR - 51

END - 55

DEX - 52

INT - 130

WIS - 115

CHA - 100

LUK - 50

Akeno Himejima

Priestess of Thunder

HP - 80000

SP - 8000

MP - 15000

Race - Devil

LVL - 37

STR - 54

END - 40

DEX - 51

INT - 129

WIS - 112

CHA - 100

LUK - 50

Koneko Toujou

The White Cat

HP - 90000

SP - 9000

MP - 6000

Race - Devil

LVL - 33

STR - 74

END - 45

DEX - 51

INT - 102

WIS - 94

CHA - 100

LUK - 50

Kiba Yuuto

Prince Charming

HP - 80000

SP - 8000

MP - 5000

Race - Devil

LVL - 35

STR - 58

END - 40

DEX - 84

INT - 105

WIS - 100

CHA - 100

LUK - 50

Hmm... I could probably take them all on my own and emerge the victor. But this isn't a dick-measuring contest, this is a training trip, and I'm the trainer, so I guess it's reasonable.

"Grip your weapons and ready your magic," I announce. "We're entering in three, two, one..."

The reaction was immediate. All of them flinched simultaneously, with Koneko more violently than the others, no doubt feeling the transfer between dimensions.

"What happened?" Rias asked me.

"We arrived at my training grounds," I answer.

I point at the walking EXP points and they gasp.

"What... happened to them?" Kiba whispered.

"They're not real," I assure them. "They're simple projections of this dimension. They feel and look otherwise, yes, but I promise you that they're not."

Rias nods. "So we just have to kill them?"

"Yup," I respond and spread my wings. "Keep killing and you'll feel the difference. Anyway, I'll stay out of your way for now. Once we're done we'll go back home."

With that, I fly away to a nearby building, monitoring the devils as they get to work. I'll stop once they finish the two bosses, then come back tomorrow with Issei to see what's after the medieval round. We'll try to reach the final boss, but I don't know if we can reach that point so soon.

We'll see what happens...

(Hours later...)

It's been five hours and they've finally defeated the bosses... and they were three tanks and two witches. Not just that, in fact, all rounds doubled or tripled the number of zombies they had to deal with. It was probably because there were more than one or two people in the dungeon, and there had to be some kind of retaliation.

I fly over to them and a quick [Observe] told me that all of them leveled up at least 10 times. That's good.

Next time we'll go even further.

"That's it, everyone!" I descend to the ground, smiling at the exhausted forms of the devils. "We're done for today. How do you feel?"

20 Reputation with the Occult Research Club

"Tired." Koneko pants.

"Yeah," Rias agrees. "But I do feel stronger. How does this even happen?"

"That's a secret." I replay, making her pout. "Now, I showed you this first in good faith, and now I want you all to swear to me that you will not tell anyone. No matter who asks."

The sudden change in mood caught them off guard. They look at each other, silently communicating before nodding. The master looks at me in determination. "I swear on my family name that no one will know about this."

I stare at her blankly. "Not even your brother?"

She hesitates for a split-second before nodding again. "Not even him."

I smile warmly. "That's good. Thank you for understanding."

5 Reputation with Rias Gremory

You seem... Very trusting.

I don't trust them, I trust Rias's naivete. Knowing her, she won't break a promise because her conscience won't let her. Her followers won't go snitch either. They love her too much to do that.

That's a risky move.

One I'm willing to do.

"Of course." Rias smiles back. "It's only fair if we do this much for you, right?"

So naive. "I appreciate it, really." I look at the others. "We're done for today. Get on your feet, we're leaving."

They do as they're told and I exit the place, causing them to flinch again.

"Does it have to do that every time?" Rias whines. "It's so uncomfortable."

"Sorry," I reply. "But you gotta tough it out. I'm not exactly an expert on it either."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Meet me tomorrow, same time," I tell them. "We'll go further than today, so I need you guys to be in top-shape, got it?

They all nod.

"Good." I grin. "I have something to do now, so later."

"Um, Akane?" Rias stops me. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. I swear I'll pay you back one day."

Oh, you will pay me alright.

I don't respond and walk to my home, feeling a bit excited as I close the door behind me.

Buy me two packs, please.

-1000 Credits

[Card Pack (Machine)] Added to your inventory x2

Cards added to machine blueprints

Robot Knight (2 Star)

Plasma Rifle (3 Star)

Worker Bot (1 Star)

Robot Factory (5 Star)

Type-1 Energy Sword (3 Star)

Hoverbike (2 Star)

Mjolnir Mark VI Assault Armor (7 Star)

YoRHa Android Type-B (5 Star)

Energy Shield (2 Star)

Plasma Turret (3 Star)

Two cards added to the Halo collection.

For adding one card to the NieR collection, the NieR pack has been added to the store

Master Chief's armor and a sentient android... My luck just keeps getting better and better.

I'll start on the weaker ones first to boost my class. Then I'll see what I should make first...

(Hours later...)

"And done..." I mutter, finally finishing the first YoRHa android. "Now we just need to program you..."

And I believe that programming is a profession, so I need to max out my Actor one quickly. It wasn't there when I first chose but finishing your first profession unlocks more. That's what The Game told me at least.

The other robots, like the knight or worker, don't need programming. I believe it's because the YoRHa one is very advanced and the others are too low-leveled to need any.

I bring up my status and read it over.

I reached 43 in Engineering, and once I hit 25, I unlocked three more skills.

First, [Create Gadget]. I think I got this because gadgets aren't lumped in together with [Create Machine/Weapon]. I don't think it needs any explanation.

Second, [Upgrade Machine], which does as it says. It's tied to Technology Mastery, so to upgrade my machines better, I need to level it up.

Third, [Create Original Machine]. It requires a bit of research to get an idea, but it makes me able to create whatever I think of if my level is high enough.

Also, I reached Apprentice in Technology Mastery. It doesn't matter what you dismantle, it will count it even if you dismantled it before. The next level requires me to make 50 Machines. It shouldn't be too hard...

My acting profession seems to be at level 23. I don't know how I managed to get it to this level so fast, but I'm not complaining.

"Come on, Issei!" I shout. "You're better than that!"

He struggles against a berserker, the gem on his gauntlet glowing. his Boosted Gear shouts "BOOST!", and that makes him overpower the undead, stabbing it in the heart with his fire sword.

"Good," I smirk. "Get ready now. I have no idea what's gonna appear now."

He nods and takes a breath, gripping his blade tightly.

A moment of silence was cut off when a guttural roar was heard. Suddenly, zombies and skeletons started coming out of the ground, groaning as their disgusting hands tried to grab our legs. I pull Issei close to me and fly off the ground as he screams bloody murder.

I sense the use of magic close and look around the place spotting an undead mage slightly hovering over the ground.

Lich

Level - 84

HP - 6000

MP - 10000

I click my tongue and fly away from the place and on top of a building.

Letting Issei fall to the ground, I aim an Ice Cannon at it... before dispelling it.

Hm...

Issei Hyoudou

Red Dragon Emperor

HP - 994/1020

MP - 200

SP - 831/1020

Race - Human

LVL - 42

STR - 78 (Boostx1 = 156)

END - 102 (Boostx1 = 204)

DEX - 56 (Boostx1 = 112)

INT - 20

WIS -13

CHA - 15

LUK - 100

Affection - 68

Thoughts about you - Savior

"Hey, Issei." He looks at me. "Surprise test. Go take care of the lich."

"W-what?!"

"You heard me." I raise an eyebrow. "Why are you so afraid? Your Gear should make this very easy. Go on."

"I-I..." He looks between me and the huge cluster of the undead. After a few seconds, he steels his eyes and nods. "Got it."

He sprints and jumps off the building, stomping on a skeleton before rushing fast towards the boss. He deflects and dodges the attacks from the weaker ones, not wasting time to attack back. A berserker flings its Morningstar at him and he slides under it, evading it by hair's width. I raise a brow as he boosts again, increasing his speed.

As he reaches the boss, the Lich shoots a dark ball at him which he gracefully dodges, causing him to smirk. Once he's close enough, he boosts once more and swings his fire sword, slicing its head in one hit.

This... turned out to be much better than I expected. I knew he had a lot of potential but this? I did not expect it all.

If he keeps this up, then by the end of this week... He'll unlock his Balance Breaker. No doubt about it.

Once the Lich died, all the summoned monsters died with him. I quickly approach Issei wearing a huge grin.

"Seriously, why the hell were you so scared?" I shove him and he laughs nervously. "You did that better than I could!"

5 Reputation with Issei Hyoudou

He blushes. "N-no way. You could've ended it in way earlier than me."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Of course, I could've. But can you please take a compliment?

"That's not the point, Issei." I shake my head. "We barely started training a few days ago and look at you now! You killed something much stronger than you. Not mention the smooth movement you did while dodging. Where did you even learn all of that?"

"Ah, well," He scratches his head with a smile. "Ddraig helped me out."

What?

"Yeah, the day after I first unlocked my Gear, he appeared in my dream and started teaching me things." He explains then grimaces. "He said that he knew swordsmanship from ancient heroes and the like, and he also said that my skill in the sword was abysmal to the point it hurt him physically."

This is... New. Why did Ddraig teach him here but not in canon? Why did he even appear this early? Did my interference change something?

"I see..." I reply. This needs to be looked into later. "Well, whatever it is, you certainly impressed me. You scored a ten out of ten, which means you get a reward."

"Huh?" He blushes. Oh, what is he thinking now? "W-what kind of r-reward?"

"Yes. Close your eyes." Whatever. I'll mess with him a bit.

He does so and his blush intensifies. I pull out the Gravelord Sword and smirk.

"Open your eyes."

He slowly opens them and stares at the sword in confusion. Soon, his face turns into one of disappointed.

"Oh."

"What's got you so let down?" I question with a knowing smirk. "You don't like it?"

His eyes widen. "No, no! that's not it... It's just-"

"If you want that kind of reward, then you better work your ass. Hard." He blushes at my wink "I'm not that easy."

He nods slowly and takes the sword while I walk to the treasure chest.

"Anything good?" He asks.

hm...

124 Credits

Leather Helmet

Increases Defense by 11

Iron Boots

Increases Defense by 22

Fire Resistance Potion

Increases fire resistance by 15%

Life Crystal

Permanently Increases the user's HP by 100

Lesser EXP Bottle X2

Increases the level of the primary equipped class by 1

I frown. "Not much." I throw the iron boots, the leather helmet, and the life crystal to him. "Take these. Crush the crystal and wear the armor. I think we're close to the end."

He nods and does as he's told. Once he was done, a loud roar shook the buildings and ground. He grips his sword tighter as I see a flying beast coming over to us.

Zombie Dragon

Level - 124

HP - 100,000

MP - 25,000

I bet that's the last boss... Finally.

I look at Issei's terrified face and smirk.

"Issei." He looks at me. "Remember what I told you about transferring power?"

He nods.

My smirk widens. "Transfer it to me at my signal."

Without any more instruction, I fly up to the dragon's level and charge Absolute Zero.

Let's see what this ultimate skill can do...

The dragon approaches quickly and my smirk never left my face, slowly charging the shot as Issei panics.

Once it gets close enough, I shout. "NOW!"

"Transfer!"

Absolute Zero 27K Ice Damage + Boostx4 = 432K Ice Damage

Excuse me, what-

Once the attack was unleashed, I was flown back from the recoil. I open my eyes and see the dragon completely turned to ice as it starts to fall down. It shatters to thousands of pieces when it hit the ground, leaving me and Issei gawking.

+25 STR +22 END +10 DEX

Level up x7

Skills gained

[Light Armor Proficiency (Adept)]

You are skilled in the use of Light-Armor

Light armors are 20% more effective

[Sword Proficiency (Adept)]

You are skilled in the use of Swords

Swords deal 20% more Damage

[Magic Resistance++]

You are 25% resistance to magical damage

[Physical Resistance++]

You are 25% resistant to Physical damage

[Flash Step]

Travel small distances at insane speed

Costs 200 SP

[Sword Coating]

Coat the sword with your magic, enhancing its power.

Increases the current sword's damage by 1.3 and adds 250 magic damage

Lasts for 3 minutes

Costs 500 MP

[Octoslash]

Strike the target eight times in a split-second, dealing an extra 1.2x Damage

Costs 500 SP

"Holy shit..." Issei utters.

I slowly get down, blinking my shock away.

"Well... That was a lot more powerful than I initially thought."

"You don't say?!" He yells. He shakes his head. "How do you feel?"

I raise an eyebrow. "I feel just fine. Why?"

"You don't feel... I don't know, tired?"

"I'm good." I look at the chest that appeared. "If you're worried about the Boosted Gear's backlash, then it's pointless. Three boosts aren't really that much.

"Hell, you should be able to handle five boosts now." I open the chest and smirk. "I'm pretty sure you're ready for it."

500 Credits

Gold Coins x512

Gacha Token

Ring of the Frost King

Ice magic deals 50% more damage

Ice spells cost 20% less MP

Increases Ice Resistance by 50%

Quicksilver Boots

Increases Defense by 33

Increases movement speed by 20%

Frost Katana

Deals 20 Physical Damage + DEXx2.5 + 210 Ice Damage

Ring of Strength

Increases STR by 25

Ring of Dexterity

Increases DEX by 25

Not bad at all.

first, of course, is the Gacha.

Celestial Cuffs

When enemies die, they have a chance of dropping a mana star. Mana stars restore 1000 MP

Allies can absorb mana stars too

You restore 5% MP every time you're damaged

Oh? More MP regen I see? I wouldn't say no to that.

I wear the ring and the cuffs, raising a brow at the sudden disappearance of the cuffs.

I see their effects but I don't see them... Oh well, they looked like they were gonna be in the way of fighting, so whatever.

Also, the moment I slid the ring in one of my fingers, it changed from Frost King to Frost Queen.

Hm...

"What did you find?" Issei asks.

I throw the rings to him. "These are yours. They should make you a bit stronger and faster." I point at the piece of armor. "Same with the boots."

"Right."

Now let's see...

Dungeons Available

[Zombie] [Orcs]

There we go. A new dungeon.

"Issei." He looks at me. "We're still not done training. We'll take a break, but we will get back here and re-do it all."

"Huh? Why?"

I smirk at him. "You're meeting your training partners for the rest of the week."

His confused face told me that it's gonna be hilarious.

(The next day...)

It was quite difficult holding my laugh after seeing Rias's reaction to Issei being with me and his knowledge about the supernatural. And it was a bit amusing seeing his reaction. Distrustful, irritable, and not really happy being with them.

Was he traumatized by Raynare? Or was it because what I said about Devils in general? Whatever it is, it will be helpful. He doesn't trust them, which makes it more unlikely for him to betray me. Good for me.

Rias was a little annoyed that I told him about the supernatural but understood that he will know about it sooner or later, so she didn't get too annoying. It was a little funny seeing her so disheartened about it, knowing that she can't get him anymore.

I wonder what she'll look like after she knows what Sacred Gear he has.

The rest of the day was boring, or at least for me.

I didn't participate because nothing gives me a good amount of EXP anymore. I simply watched them slashing and killing everything in their path while monitoring their stats. The special infected didn't stand a chance, and neither did the bosses. They arrived at the point where medieval zombies started appearing and they easily crushed everything.

It was when the Lich, or should I say, Liches appeared that they started struggling. Four damn liches shooting dark magic everywhere and hundreds of minions swarmed the group.

Their levels were in the 60s, including Issei, but they still had a hard time with hordes of zombies and skeletons, but after around 30 minutes, they finally dispatched of the bosses.

I grin at seeing Issei's grim face as everyone pants and laughs. He knows which they don't.

"Get ready!" He shouts. "The boss will be here any second now."

"You mean that wasn't the end?" Rias asks.

I smirk as her question was answered by a roar. Surprisingly, there was only one dragon, but Observe told me another thing.

Undead Dragon

Level - 156

HP - 150,000

MP - 50,000

"Undead Dragon" not "Zombie Dragon"

And it's a little stronger too...

I see Rias almost panicking but she got control of her emotions quickly. She ordered her Peerage to get in position while Issei jumped from building to the other. He stood on top the tallest one as the Rias and her Queen started shooting it with magic.

The Power of Destruction seemed to take away a good chunk of its health, while Akeno's thunder stunned it. Yuuto and Koneko got together with Issei and they started to discuss a plan. I'm too far so I couldn't hear.

The dragon released a fire breath attack, of which Rias and Akeno got away from just in time. As it kept breathing fire, Koneko jumped up as Issei transferred power to her. Falling from the building and on top of it, she struck its head, closing its jaw as the fire exploded in its mouth.

Good plan.

It roared and flung Koneko away. It tried to attack the Nekoshou but is interrupted by Rias's power of destruction to its face. It growls in annoyance and turns to Rias but again, is interrupted by Akeno's thunder.

It roars again in anger, and charges at the fallen hybrid. Yuuto sees the chance and sprints, becoming a blur and managing to stand on the moving form of the dragon. He uses his Sacred Gear and several swords are plunged into it and completely destroying its wings.

It falls down to the ground and I spot Issei boost once more, making it four times after he transferred to Koneko. With a yell, he runs off the edge of the building and brings his Gravelord Sword on its neck. The word "Explosion!" was heard across the city as Issei beheaded the dragon, slaying it and taking the EXP for himself.

I laugh loudly. This was too much fun.

I fly over to congratulate them, clapping my hands slowly. "Good job, all of you. I'll say, you blew my expectation out of the water. It might not mean much to some of you, but I'm really proud of you all."

20 Reputation with the Occult Research Club

20 Affection with Issei Hyoudou

Seeing them look so abashed was a bit amusing.

Issei needs a few more points and I'll max out his Affection.

I wonder what I'll get for it?

A quick check on his stats told me that he's level 81.

He might get the Balance Breaker even earlier than I thought.

"We'll keep doing this for the rest of the week," I tell them then I look at Rias. "We have three days before the Rating Game. Do you think it's enough?"

After a minute of thinking, she nods. "Yeah. If we do this for three days, then we should be able to match Riser and his Peerage."

I nod back. "Good."

"Wait, Rating Game?" Issei questions. "What's that?"

"Ah," I look at him with a smile, noticing how he immediately looked down with a blush. "I'll explain that later. For now, we should all go back home."

They all voice their agreement and we leave the dungeon. We say our goodbyes to Rias and her Peerage as they teleport away.

"So..." Issei mutters. "Rating Game?"

"Tomorrow." I sigh. "Too tired."

"But... You didn't even do anything?"

"Later." I ignore him and walk back home.

Once I arrived, I search for the key. Just as I was about to open the door, I freeze.

"You." A monotonous voice that sent shivers down my spine called out. "You're strong, right?"

I slowly look behind me.

My heart drops and my blood runs cold.

The Infinity Dragon's soulless eyes stared back at mine.

...When I joked about Ophis being here, it was that, a joke. Why the fuck did fate take it too literally?

"P-pardon?" I couldn't help but stutter as dread fills me.

"I said you're strong." She says, er, it? I'm gonna call her a she. "Help me get rid of Stupid Red."

What the fuck am I supposed to do?

"C-come in." I invite her in. "We should talk inside."

"Why?" Oh, for fuck's sake.

"Because it's comfier in there."

She thankfully nods and I open the door, getting inside as Ophis follows me.

I sit on the sofa and Ophis sits next to me.

Why next to me?

"N-now." I gulp. "Can you tell me what do you want?"

"I want to kick Stupid Red out of the dimensional gap." I could almost see a frown cross her terrifyingly blank face. "He's noisy."

"Okay, got it." I nod. "And why do you need my help?"

"You're strong." She says. "If I get a lot of strong beings to help, I can get him to leave."

Right, the Khaos Brigades. I forgot about them momentarily.

How can I use this to my advantage? I know that Ophis is not exactly experienced. She spent her whole life sleeping. She has the naivete of a six-year-old.

But if I say one wrong thing, then I'm dead.

"I see. And who are these beings you got help from?"

"Khaos Brigades."

I had to bite down a snark because of the dumb response. Like that told me everything.

"And who are these Khao Brigades?"

She pauses for a second before answering. "Cao Cao?"

Ah, she doesn't remember their names.

"The wielder of the True Longinus?" She nods. "You do know that he hates all manners of supernatural, right?"

She tilts her head.

I get closer to her, even as my instincts tell me otherwise. "He wants to betray you."

She stays silent.

"He won't help you find silence because he wants to kill you," I reveal. She doesn't react. "Same as everyone in Khaos Brigades. They never wanted to help you, they wanted to use you."

"Why?"

I smile sadly. "Because people are greedy." I ignore my screaming instincts as I pat her head gently. "They all want to take and never give."

5 Reputation with Ophis

Good. That means I'm on the right track.

"They're all evil. They never cared about you, nor wanted to help you." I repeat. "But you know who might care about you? Who can help you?"

Ophis blinks. "...Who?"

I hide a sinister smirk and smile warmly. "Me."

She blankly stares at me. "...You'll help me?"

"I will." I nod. "But I only ask you to give me time. Is that okay? Once I get strong enough, I swear I will help you get your silence back."

If she was any other person, she would've narrowed her eyes. "Are you gonna use me?"

"No."I shake my head. "But I'll need your help sometimes. I help you, you help me... Doesn't that sound nice?"

10 Reputation with Ophis

I held in a huge sigh of relief.

"...Okay."

"That's good." I pat her head again, noticing how she slightly leaned closer. "How about you stay the night? It's pretty quiet at this time of the night."

She nods and I lead her to my room. I can simply sleep in my mother's room, it's fine.

Once she laid down on the bed, I leave the room and close the door quietly.

Quest Added

[True Dragonslayer]

Objective: Slay The True Dragon, Great Red

Rewards: 50 Gacha Tokens, 50K to all stats, 5M Credits, [True Dragonslayer] Title, Max Affection/Reputation/Loyalty with Ophis, [Strongest in the World] Title, ?, ?, ?

I chuckle quietly. That's too far away, game.

Whatever.

I'll just go and tinker with robots. At least they're not scary...