Chapter 27

In a flash, the [Gamer's Gear] appeared on his arm. One thing different about it immediately was that it had two lines of light on it. One was red and had a '10' at the bottom, leading him to deduce that it was an indication of his current level. It was a third of the way up the gauge.

The second line was sapphire blue and had a '1' at the bottom of it. It was a bare millimetre from the top of the gauge.

[What in the stars…?!] Ddraig growled. Issei looked up and saw a blue gauntlet-like object on the Welsh Dragon's right foreleg that looked just like the [Gamer's Gear].

Experimentally, Issei dismissed and re-summoned the [Gamer's Gear] a couple of times. The blue armour on Ddraig's foreleg vanished and reappeared as his own did.

"Looks like the [Gamer's Gear] is on you too." he remarked.

Ddraig muttered something and a screen popped up. [Level 564?! Ridiculous!]

Issei deadpanned at the dragon. "Ddraig, you're over fifty times my level."

[I am also one of the Ten Strongest…or at least I was…ah!] The dragon looked annoyed, [As I thought. Being killed and imprisoned in this Sacred Gear has cut my level to about a third of what it was. That thrice-accursed God of the Bible!]

The Sekiryūtei deadpanned again. Ddraig's original level was…1692? That was so broken.

[Hmm…looks as if I can set quests for you.] The dragon mused as he waved his taloned claw through screens, [That actually seems to be the reason for me being linked to you with this thing. I can't actually get stronger, but once you complete a certain number of quests, the [Boosted Gear] will automatically upgrade to its next form.]

"How many forms does it have?" Issei asked curiously.

[Including the current [Twice Critical] form…three gauntlet forms.] Ddraig replied, [Then there's the [Balance Breaker] form.]

"Balance Breaker? What the heck's that?"

[A bug in the Sacred Gear system created by the God of the Bible. When someone with a Sacred Gear feels heightened emotions and a change in their spirit, the [Balance Breaker] is unlocked.] The dragon explained, [Most Sacred Gears have a standard [Balance Breaker], but some wielders unintentionally create unique versions known as [Sub-Species Balance Breakers]. They are usually at least broadly similar to the original [Balance Breaker], but often have differences in power, appearance and execution.]

"Cool. So what's the [Boosted Gear's] [Balance Breaker]?"

[It's referred to as the [Boosted Gear Scale Mail], a suit of armour that vastly increases your strength, allows for flight and can absorb the force of a tank shell if needed.] Ddraig replied, [It is the only [Balance Breaker] the [Boosted Gear] has ever had and all my partners have ever needed to face the White One in combat.]

"It sounds kick-ass!" Issei said with a grin.

[It is, rather.] Ddraig replied proudly, [Now, according to what I'm reading here, you come here when you turn Level 10, followed by Level 15 after that until you become Level 20. At that point, we will be able to communicate directly without using dreams as a medium.]

Issei nodded at that.

[Looks like our time is almost up.] Ddraig pointed at the encroaching darkness, [So then, I'll give you a quest…Dragons need a place to live. A cave, an eyrie, whatever works. In that trend, my hosts, as well as Albion's, usually create a base or home where they create stores of wealth and other resources. You must find or create a suitable lair for the Sekiryūtei!]

[Quest Alert!]

Here be the Dragon's Den…: The Welsh Dragon, Ddraig, has charged you with creating a suitable lair for your status as the Sekiryūtei. You must accomplish this before you turn LV20.

Quest Rewards: +3000 EXP, ¥10000, Special Status [Blessing of the Dragon Emperor], +5 AP.

Quest Failure: +5 AP

Accept?

Y/N

Hitting 'Y', Issei saluted the dragon, who watched in amusement.

"On it."

That Night

Rias Gremory's Home

"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about, Rias?" Sone Sitri asked as she moved a pawn forward. The two Heiresses were old friends and the bespectacled devil liked to think that she knew her crimson-haired contemporary as well as anyone. Rias was barely concentrating on the game, which was irritating as Rias was still doing a pretty good job of beating back her assault.

"Sona…we might be in trouble." The Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess said with a troubled sigh.

This made Sona raise an eyebrow inquisitively. It was then that Rias told her of the ratmen infestation that had snuck into Kuō, right under their noses, and what the likely targets for an attack by them would be.

"Son of a bitch." She swore, quite out of character for the usually cool and in-control genius of the Sitri Family, but realising that someone had been planning on murdering her and her entire Peerage, along with her best friend and her Peerage tended to do that to a girl.

"My sentiments exactly." Rias said with a haunted look in her eyes, "And we'd still be unaware of it if this human hadn't started going after them."

"Yes, Akeno told me about you turning up the heat on them." Sona said dryly.

To give her credit, the other devil blushed in shame and embarrassment.

"I had just started my period, which always makes my bitch-switch go up to eleven." She said in irritation at her body's actions, "I did apologise the third time we met and he accepted it. He was very wooden though."

"Bad acting?" the other devil asked.

"I think so. He was trying to act tough, but came off as a robot." Rias said thoughtfully, "I think he knows me somehow and was afraid I could recognise him by the way he speaks or something."

"Are you even certain he was a he?" Sona asked in a clipped, business-like fashion, "And didn't you say he was wearing some sort of enchanted item that disguised his voice?"

"The way he stood and acted was definitely male." Rias said with certainty, "Plus his body shape was male. Yes, he had some kind of voice disguiser, but it just made him sound monotone and inflectionless, with a bit of decibel altering as well, but it was still definitely male."

"So…what? Are you thinking about possibly recruiting him into your Peerage to help you against Raiser?" Sona asked shrewdly. She had little respect for the Phenex Scion; he was arrogant, rude, lascivious, lazy and sexist. That Rias was forcibly engaged to him left a sour taste in her mouth.

"…I don't know." Rias admitted after a moment, "I need a game changer; something that Raiser doesn't expect and takes him off guard. Just any random person wouldn't be able to help."

Sona frowned at the defeated tone in her usually confident friend's voice. She knew the likelihood of Rias getting out of the marriage with Raiser Phenex to be abyssal at worst and just slightly short of impossible at best, but she had never voiced her lack of confidence like this.

"Members of the Phenex Family have been defeated before, Rias." She said bracingly.

"Usually when the Rating Game isn't about pure power." The Gremory Heiress pointed out, "I may be getting a Rating Game, but it will be skewed in favour of Raiser's superior strength and experience. It won't be a Game where we have to steal something from the opposition or take and hold territory for a certain amount of time; it will be one where I have to defeat Raiser and his Peerage to the last man."

.

.

.

Subscribe to me Patreon for more advanced content ...

Read the complete novel in PDF, available at my Patreon Store!

patreon.com/Nesto_