*My only issue with this story is the A/n's. I would just ignore them tbh*
Summary: Reborn into DxD 20 years before Canon, Hei, a human orphan, must rise with his own will to the top, overcoming Devils, Angels, Fallen, Gods, a loli dragon, and most of all, the felines in his life as he spreads the name of his legacy, the Legacy of Lupa, a legacy of assassins. Come Join Hei on his journey as Lupus, the Nekoshou's Wolf. AU world. FUCKING READ THE WARNING
Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13961735/2/
Word count:223k
Chapters:12
Chapter 1: The Beginning and a Legacy.
[Welcome to your new life.
Contestant #78694, you have won the grand prize of the Reincarnation Raffle!
As you entered the reincarnation raffle in your past life, your prize is only available after you died.
And now you get to claim your prize!
You are being sent to a random anime world with a random power from said world guaranteed.
What world and what power are completely up to chance.
Spin the wheel and off you go!]
A blank ghostly face stared at these words while hovering in the void.
"I have questions."
[Go on.]
"Question #1: When did I enter a raffle?"
My vision blurred as a memory seemed to pop into my mind.
I was watching porn when a pop up advertisement came up. It wouldn't leave me alone until I accepted or declined, and I accidently hit accept without reading it.
Then I went back to my *cough* business and forgot about it.
My vision came back.
'….so that happened.'
"*cough* moving on, why is this a thing?"
[Who knows!]
I couldn't help but twitch at that, but it was a fair answer.
"Well is whatever the reason for this going to impact me at any point in my existence?"
[Not at all!]
"Great. Question #4: do I keep my memories?"
[Yes, it's part of the package.]
"Wonderful. So why are anime worlds my only options?"
[Anime was the theme of the raffle.]
"I see…. And it's any anime world?"
[As long as you have seen even one episode of it then yes, it's on the table.]
A cold drop of sweat went down my back at that.
'….I may not have watched a lot of anime, but I sure as hell started a lot and dropped them after a few episodes during all-nighters and brain dead online browsing while bored.'
[The wheel spins now!]
"Wait! My heart isn't ready for this!"
[I have things to do, hurry up.]
"Things like what?!"
[Things like not talking to annoying mortal souls.]
"…..That hurt. This is a depressing Isekai experience."
[Expectation breeds despair and pain. Or in other words, be careful what you wish for.]
"Yeah, yeah, just do it."
A wheel popped into existence with tiny font in a language I didn't understand on it and spun at rapid speeds before stopping on….
Something I couldn't read.
[World chosen! Power spin begins.]
A new wheel popped up and began spinning.
"Wait, what's the world?"
[Quiet, I'm concentrating.]
"On?"
[On the silence.]
'…..'
"Who hurt you?"
The wheel stopped spinning.
[Power chosen, World chosen, Female gender chosen, proceeding.]
"Wo wo! I am a man!"
[You sure about that?]
I felt my eyebrow twitch.
"I SWEAR TO F'N GOD, I don't give a shit what you are, but I will not deal with this fucking gender identity shit even after dying! I am a man, that is all, fuck you."
[Heh, sometimes people question it and it's funny to mess with them. Mortals are funny.]
A voice rang out in the void to accompany the next words.
[World set, Power set, enjoy your new life.
Please join our next raffle when the opportunity arises. Fairwell.]
Before I could say much else I was dragged off into the void like a fish caught on a line.
And all I could think of is how I was distracted from confirming what world I'm going to.
'Just give me something I know, and I'll be fine.'
Then something hit me and I panicked.
'Something I know aside from Hellsing and Attack on Titan!'
Those were my last thoughts as I faded into unconsciousness only to wake back up cold and in pain.
*Line Break*
"WAaaaaa!"
"It's a boy!"
'Yay!'
"WAAAAA!"
I was obviously a baby and I just got confirmation I was male, so that was a plus point.
I had my umbilical cord cut, got rinsed in warm water, and then I was wrapped up like a dumpling in a blanket and given to my mother.
A beautiful woman with brown hair and red eyes.
I blinked at the red eyes part but considering she had tan skin and I could feel heat from her, I knew this wasn't a vampire situation.
Her voice came out in a whisper.
"Hello, my beautiful little Hei, I'm sorry daddy couldn't be here, but he sends his love."
Tears fell from her eyes, and I felt the emotion coming from her, it was overwhelming.
But in the next second her eyes began to close, and the machine started beeping while doctors rushed forward.
"I love you Hei, thank you for being born."
And then her eyes closed, and I was taken away from her by a nurse.
It was an overwhelming situation, and I didn't even know how to react at the suddenness of it all, I was just born.
The emotional stress got to me, and I fell asleep in my weak state.
When I woke back up and heard the nurse taking care of me apologize for me being orphaned; she didn't think a baby could understand her and felt sorry for me; I knew I lost my mother and I cried.
I didn't know her, and I had the mind of a grown man already, but it was still emotionally stimulating, and her final words were full of emotion.
If anything, I was glad to at least have seen her face and I didn't want to forget it.
(AN: Might be a bit rushed, but I don't plan to focus on this part. So I'm moving through quickly.)
*Line Break*
Time moved on, and after a few months at the hospital, I was sent to an orphanage.
I had no listed next of kin to contact so it was just me on my own.
Not too bad considering I didn't want to have a new family and I had much more freedom even if it still had its own challenges.
But the thing that bothered me was that I still didn't know what world I was in and what my power was.
Nothing popped up to tell me, and any glimpse of the news or newspapers I could see wasn't useful since I couldn't read the language.
I was in Barcelona, Spain. Sometime in the eighty's it seemed; I didn't get an exact year at first but by the time I was two I found out I was born was on Dec 28th, 1987.
It was weird to be back in the eighty's but since I was a baby it didn't matter as much.
Thankfully I had Spanish as my second language in my last life, I wasn't exactly fluent, but it was a great starting point for the moment.
It was also nice since I wouldn't have been able to understand my mother's last words without it.
Life moved on in the orphanage and I got comfortable with my new self.
I was a kid with black hair and red eyes, it seemed my father was from Spain, my mother was Italian, and I was born in my father's home country.
No one really bothered me about my looks, it wasn't like my eyes were glowing or anything, it was just a rare eye color as far as they were concerned.
I learned to speak and walk much faster than other kids since I didn't have much inclination to act my age and I had a head start on the language.
I wasn't going to say or do something stupid for a child to know but I didn't plan on spending too much time on baby stuff if I could help it.
Thankfully orphan life doesn't have me watched to closely and in the current time period, it was ok for kids to be quirky without it being a big deal.
It wasn't 2021 where you make a weird twitch and get pumped full of drugs and claimed to have a newly discovered mental illness by an unqualified therapist.
I spent my time since learning how to speak and walk again, which is not fun, trying to read books to get a hint at the world I'm in as well as trying to discover whatever power I had.
Annoyingly I didn't know HOW to read Spanish for more than simple things, so that was my first goal alongside trying to discover my power. I could sound out the words but somehow it just didn't click to me for a while.
Thankfully again, it's not weird for a 3 or 4 year old to be acting weird.
I tried all kinds of stuff from making spiderman/superman poses, calling out magic words, meditating and trying to find inner energy, standing on my head, and anything that could come to me.
I wasn't exactly an otaku in my last life so there were only so many things I could try.
I was a simple guy who led a quiet life with a couple friends, girlfriends, and nothing crazy.
I joined the military out of high school and went into the marine corps but with a logistics and supply contract.
I was mainly in charge of organization and supply. Moving ammunition, weapons, vehicles, and all kinds of things.
It was when I went on my second tour to the middle east that I lost my life in an ambush while we were moving supplies.
Every marine is a rifleman so even if I put up a good fight, I still lost my life in the end to a lucky shot.
I wasn't to hung up on that, it's life and I did my best.
But the things I saw in my time serving made me aware of how cruel the world can really be.
It's a battle of survival and the only things you can really trust are your own skills.
Outside of all the fancy words politicians love throwing around, it really comes down to your worth in a society, and skills give you worth.
If this was really an anime world and I had a power, I wanted to try to be strong. To be more than I was in my last life as a normal human.
I didn't want to be stepped on and I didn't really desire to step on others if I didn't have to.
I've taken life before and I'm not against doing it again.
I'm selfish and I'm completely ok with that.
I'm also greedy, I want things and I'm not afraid or shy to fight for them.
So I did what I could in the time given to me.
That's not to say I was some genius that started understanding advanced subjects from the start, but I stuck to stuff I knew and tried doing a little extra while young to move my body to set a solid foundation.
It was when I was four years old that something finally happened after all my failed attempts.
The only thing I knew was that my power had something to do with my hand.
My reason?
I had a 'birthmark' that looked like a ring on my right pointer finger.
But for the life of me I couldn't figure out what the hell to do to activate it.
I was starting to think I had to experience a life and death scenario, until one day while sitting alone in the orphanage library, a small dusty room on the side of the orphanage that doesn't get much use by the young kids, I accidentally found it.
I was laying my forehead on the table in annoyance.
'Why doesn't this shit work? I've tried everything!'
I was thumping my head on the table and unknowingly shaking the bookshelf next to me until a dusty old book fell off and slammed onto the table, effectively scaring the crap out of me.
"What the fuck!?"
I fell backward on my chair and hit the ground.
Grumbling I sat up while rubbing my head and saw the book on the table.
I stretched out my right hand and lifted up the book with a stink eye.
"Book."
I rolled my eyes and went to put it down when my hand began shining.
My eyes widened in surprise as the glow seemed to focus on the ring tattoo before with a flash, the tattoo became an actual ring.
A beautiful silver ring with what looked like a green gem in the center that glowed softly.
Then the ring lit up again and a large binder seemed to materialize from the light of the ring.
My eyes moved to the binder and the words carved in elegant script on the front of it.
{GREED ISLAND}
If I was surprised before, I was shocked now.
"I'm in Hunter X Hunter? Wait, no, that's not possible, this world has all the continents from a normal earth."
The binder seemed to just hover in front of me, waiting for a command or action.
I looked down at the ring and thought about what just happened.
'Book. I said the word 'Book' out loud while focusing on my right hand and imagining a book. That's just like the Greed Island game from Hunter X Hunter….. this is my power?'
And then my thoughts went down another alley.
'This…. This is all I had to do…? All this time….all those embarrassing actions….'
My face god darker and darker until I balled up my tiny 4 year old sized fist and punched the floating binder with all my strength.
Then I froze and slid down to the ground holding a quickly bruising and swelling hand.
'Ow.'
I held back young tears.
'Not my best idea, I'll just be glad I'm a child in the early ninety's when none of my weird actions was considered strange instead of the modern era where every kid who sneezes wrong gets a medical condition assigned to them.'
Swallowing back my groan, I let out a breath and let it go.
'I'll be mad later, let's just see what this power is, aside from the binder being stronger than a 4 year old's punch.'
With some excitement, I used my other hand to open the binder and the first page had me raise a brow.
There was a message glowing with a holy sort of feeling.
[Hello there young one.
I am God of the Christian bible; I know not what your name might be but…
Ah what the hell, I'm writing this sort of as an insurance.
If there is anything I have learned, it's that nothing is absolute in existence. There are always chances of anything happening, no matter how small the odds.
So to start off, this is a world full of many races and humans are the weakest but brightest of them all.
I truly love humanities creativity and imagination.
So I made many tools for humans to have a chance fighting back against the other races, and I called them 'Sacred Gears,' tools built solely by me and attached to the souls of various humans through reincarnation.
Some awaken, some do not, it's a matter of luck and chance really.
Anyway, I made this Sacred Gear when I was bored one day.
You see, I can look into other dimensions from time to time when things align right, and I peeked into this world similar to my own, and I happened to stumble on this anime show by chance.
It was called Hunter X Hunter and I truly enjoyed watching it.
So I made this sacred gear in honor of my favorite arc of the show, the Greed Island arc.
To be honest, I truly never meant for this to actually get activated, I made it in a bit of inspiration and for fun.
I set two requirements for activation, aside from actually calling out for the binder.
First, the holder must have seen the anime, something that doesn't exist in this dimension.
And second, the holder must have actually enjoyed the anime.
The first one was the real safeguard, but the second was just to make sure it stayed under and lower the chances of some Isekai protagonist getting it.
I made enough world breaking tools as it is.
Anyway, if your reading this, then against my expectations, it really did get activated.
In that case, congratulations! You are most likely the first, unless you're not.
As you can imagine, the binder holds three types of spaces.
Designated card spaces, Spell card spaces, and Free Slots.
I had to adjust many of the cards to my world, and I even changed or removed a few of them.
There are 75 designated cards, 35 spell cards, and 40 free slots for a total of 150 card slots.
With Jan 1st as the cutoff date, you get 1 of each designated card a year, and 1 of each spell card a month.
Designated cards do not stack, if you don't use them before midnight on new year's, they are wasted.
Spell cards do stack, so you can save them up.
Then comes the free slots.
Similar to the anime, you can only turn nonliving things into cards. If it has intelligent life in it, it won't work.
Just hold the item and say 'Store' while thinking of making it a card.
To revert it, say 'Gain' while holding the card.
The same rules as the anime apply:
If the card is not inside the binder after 60 seconds, it's automatically reverted to an item.
Once a card is turned back into an item, it cannot be turned back into a card.
An extra rule, if it's more than double what you can physically lift, you can't make it a card.
Those are the three main things of this gear.
Oh and just like the canon, money is stored separately, I added a bank option for currency so you can switch between them if needed.
I left some wiggle room for the holder to adapt the power to themselves if they so desire, I don't imagine looking for a card and placing it in the slot would be very conducive to combat haha.
The power of the spells will scale with your own energy levels, it has the potential to match my Longinus grade gears, my greatest creations, if you can grow strong enough.
Which is funny because I just made this as a joke.
Well, that's really all I can say. Enjoy and have some fun my fellow Hunter fan.
I can't believe this might actually be used one day, what are the odds…]
'….is it wrong to want to punch god in the face?'
My face was twitching repeatedly while reading the damn message.
Sure it answered many of my questions but still, wtf man?!
'I'm convinced this world's biblical god had WAY to much free time with his power. Anyway…'
I waved my hand across the binders pages.
'This is my power huh? Greed Island cards… I wonder how it fits this world.'
I turned the pages and started looking over the cards.
My eyes couldn't stop from widening in surprise with each one.
'This..!'
*Line Break*
A few buildings over the orphanage, an old man was eating at an out of the way restaurant.
He had deep wrinkles, calloused hands, a set of stern and deep eyes, a balding head, and a cane was leaned against the table on his side.
His rose his head from his meal and turned to face toward the orphanage with a raised brow.
'Hm… a sacred gear awakening?'
The man threw down some money for the bill and stood up on slightly shaky legs before walking off with his cane toward the orphanage.
'Let's see if I get lucky this time.'
*Line Break*
I was looking over the cards in the binder, fascinated with what this power granted me, when there was a knock on the library door and the matrons voice came through.
"Hei?"
I admit I was a bit to engrossed in my new ability and got caught off guard and fell over.
"Oh s-shit…. *cough* Yeah?!"
I whispered 'Book' while thinking of returning the book and it vanished into the ring just as the door opened and the nice matrons face stuck in to see me sitting calmy at the table with an innocent smile on my face.
'*phew* to close.'
"Hei, a gentleman came by wanting to speak with you, he says he was a friend of your father, do you want to speak with him?"
She moved over to show an old man with a cane standing next to her and observing me calmy with a neutral look.
'This guy is giving me familiar vibes.'
"Yes ma'am, that's fine with me."
She smiled and nodded.
"Such a polite boy as always. Mr. Lupa, you can join Hei at the table, I'll come by in a few minutes to check up on you two."
She gave me a smile and pat on my shoulder for reassurance before leaving.
Some may question why she would leave a random man with a child, but this is an orphanage and it's normal for people to come by to speak to children thinking to adopt, it's happened to me a few times already and I manage to throw them off since I don't act like a normal child my age.
Plus it's day time and she is close by in case of trouble.
The old man walked over to the table slowly and the first thing he said was followed by his cane moving faster than I could blink to land gently on my finger that still had the ring on.
"Turn that off child, it's broadcasting energy like a flare in the night sky."
I blinked at that, caught off guard once again, before he coughed, and I refocused on what he said.
'It hasn't even been an hour since I got my power activated and I already attracted trouble?! Is the world set on hard mode or something?'
Looking down at the ring, I wasn't sure how to turn it back, but I just imagined it turning back into a tattoo and it seemed to melt away back into my finger.
The old man nodded and sat down opposite me with his hands resting on his cane.
"Good, your quick on the uptake. Do you know what you have child?"
I shook my head and his eyes narrowed.
"You're a few hundred years early to try lying to me boy, don't try, it's a sad attempt."
My eyebrow twitched.
"Fine, yes, there was a message for me when it activated."
"Did a name come with that message?"
I narrowed my eyes on him.
"And why should I tell you that? Who are you old man?"
Instead of being offended, he smirked.
"Got a bit of wisdom in there huh? Good, don't give information for nothing. If you can't lie then change the subject or stay silent.
You can call me Mr. Lupa, I am a retired mercenary."
"Ok, and what are you doing here?"
Instead of answering, he just rose a brow at me, and I got the unspoken message.
"It's called greed island. Now what are you doing here?"
He rubbed a hand on his chin.
"Hm… that's a new one to me. And I'm here looking for a successor."
"A successor?"
"Indeed. I have amassed many skills in my life, and I wished to pass them down to another before I lay down for good.
Unfortunately, my requirements are hard to fulfill."
"What kind?"
He held up a hand.
"Wait a moment, before I pitch my offer, I will ask you an important question."
I nodded and he went on.
"The matron tells me you're a smart child, and by our conversation so far I know your more than your age might seem, something I've seen a few times before, so I'll ask you a question.
What do want most in life?"
'Who asks a kid a question like that? Fuck it, this is weird as it is, I'll just answer seriously.'
"I want to be strong."
"Why?"
"To be free."
"Free from?"
"Everything."
He gave a small smile at that.
"Indeed more than you might seem."
He seemed to hum in thought for a moment before continuing.
"Listen child, you have two paths before you.
First, you can go on about with your life, make friends, go to school, find love, make a life for yourself. If you don't use the power on your finger, you can go about like normal, but if you use it, you risk any one of the dozens of groups in the world finding you and trying to sink their teeth in you.
The other path is to take my offer and come under my wing."
I eyed the man as seriously as I could and noticed he didn't change expressions or tone as he spoke, it was all spoken with assurance in his thoughts and like it was an everyday thing.
"You still haven't told me your offer."
The man nodded.
"Just testing your patience, you didn't rush to choose and sought more knowledge first, good.
My offer is for you to come with me where I will train you in all that I know so my legacy may carry on in the world.
The training will be very painful but very rewarding, there is no backing out once you go forward, I will give you my all as long as you give yours.
You shall be the successor and heir to my name, the name of Lupa."
I rose a brow at his words.
"Why me? This seems very generous of you, I read in a book that there is no free lunch in the world."
The old man chuckled at that and nodded.
"It's a wise saying indeed. My reason is because you fit my requirements.
The requirements I set were for it to be a pure human child who has never heard of my name before, has a unique ability, and is much more mature than others his age.
It is incredibly difficult to find orphans who fit all three and have yet to be gobbled up by other groups, let alone one as young as you who had already awakened their gear."
I tapped my finger on the table while thinking over his words.
'I didn't get much time to think about it, but this is the world of Highschool DxD, a truly broken as fuck world. The old man wasn't lying that groups would be looking to recruit me, willingly or not. Many would just eliminate me if they couldn't get me on their side.'
I looked up at the old man and noticed he closed his eyes, seemingly waiting for my answer.
'To be honest I might be able to handle things on my own with this power of mine, but that wouldn't give me skills I would need to actually survive in this world…'
"You said you were a mercenary?"
The old man's eyes cracked open with a light chuckle.
"Among other things, yes."
My finger kept tapping the table for a few moments before I recalled something, and my eyes lit up.
"I have a useful ability from my sacred gear that could help me with this, do you mind?"
His eyes narrowed but he nodded.
"One moment."
He lifted his cane and pointed it upward where a light shot out and seemed to form a bubble around us.
"You are not able to hide your energy yet, so this will have to do, it's very simple but it's enough for now."
I nodded at that and resummoned my ring.
'Book.'
The binder popped up with my mental command, and I flipped through the pages to the card I saw before.
'Here it is!'
I took the card out of its slot, it was a solid almost wooden feeling card, and slid it over to the old man.
He rose a brow but picked it up and looked at it.
"Interesting, very interesting."
Then he slid it back.
"Well go on child."
I took the card back and inserted it into the activation slot in the binder and hit the button.
The binder glowed before a soft light spread from the binder to the table and began forming into the item on the card.
The entire process after I hit the button took seconds.
Sitting calmy on the table before us was a golden scale.
Designated card #7: Golden Scales -B - When faced with a two-option choice, these scales will tell you which is better for your future. One time use.
Along with the scales came two small pieces of paper and a pen.
On one I wrote 'Go with the Mr. Lupa.' And on the other I wrote 'Don't go with Mr. Lupa.'
Then I placed them on each scale.
Whichever one weighed more was the better path for my future. And the more extreme the difference, the more it showed.
This one had me raising a brow in surprise.
The one that said 'Go' on it was almost touching the table.
It held the position for a few seconds before dissolving into light and disappearing.
The old man chuckled at that.
"Well, are you satisfied child?"
I slowly nodded my head.
'Not really.'
"I guess so."
*Bam*
His cane came down on the table and surprised me.
"I told you not to lie. You are unsure and that it normal. Using your ability in such a way is a boon to you, but do not rely on such things to make your choices in life, you need conviction when you step forward or you shall fall to mediocracy. So I will ask you once more, do you accept my offer?"
I swallowed a bit before deciding to trust my gut and my ability. This situation came up incredibly fast but opportunities in life are like that, you either take it or let it pass you by.
"Yes sir."
He nodded and stood up.
"Good, come with me, we must hurry."
He stepped away and I followed behind him.
"Why must we hurry?"
His eyes narrowed as he walked forward.
"I read that card, for such a drastic showing in the scale, it must mean your future would change for the worse soon, I fear someone else must have sensed your sacred gear awakening."
That logic made sense to me, and I didn't argue with it.
For an old man who walked with a cane, Mr. Lupa could be incredibly quick when he wants to be. I had to push my short legs to keep up with him.
When he told the matron he wanted to adopt me, she took me to the side and confirmed it with me that I wanted to go.
We sold her on the idea that he was a family friend to my father, and she didn't question it too much.
Of course there was the legal check on his ID to make sure he wasn't a criminal, but he passed and paid for the adoption while I packed my bag of the few pieces of clothes I had.
I didn't do more than wave to the other kids; we weren't friends or anything.
The matron gave me a hug and wished me well before we were off.
As we walked in the streets, I couldn't help but turn to him.
"She didn't seem to question things too much."
He nodded as he walked.
"Good, your observant. I gave a small mental nudge to push things along. Not as far as hypnosis but more of a suggestion. No harm done to anyone."
I shrugged at that and let it go.
Hypnosis is pretty normal magic in this world, unlike Harry Potter where doing it can damage the targets mind.
'I should find a way to protect from mental magic.'
Seemingly reading my thoughts, Mr. Lupa spoke out.
"There are ways to protect from such magic, I shall teach you soon enough."
I nodded again and we walked in silence.
The old man's eyes narrowed as he looked briefly at the sky before he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
"Come."
I felt a tingling sensation over my skin as he did something, and we walked off at a steady pace.
*Line Break*
A few miles above the city, two beings stood looking down with dark feathery wings stretched behind them.
"The signal came from this area."
"Another sacred gear awakening, who do you think it is?"
"*shrug* who knows, probably some teen in an emotional situation or something, they usually awaken around then."
"Yeah, let's keep an eye out for someone in their teens and search the general area. I don't want to report anything until were sure we can find it."
"Heh, don't have to tell me twice, damn superiors get so uptight about having to do some work."
"It is what it is, power speaks and all that, we're just the bottom rung so it's life."
"Yeah, yeah, come on, your depressing me with this topic."
"Haha screw it, let's go drinking later."
"I think I saw a nice strip club around here; it is Barcelona after all."
"Hell yeah, we got lucky to get assigned here."
The two fallen flew off in search of the signal, unaware that their target was already moving away from their search area, and that they guessed wrong on the persons age.
The case was never reported due to lack of information on the target.
*Line Break*
Mr. Lupa guided me toward the edge of the city by taking a bus and we got off at a quiet slightly forestry neighborhood.
Trusting in the golden scales card and my instinct, I didn't question much but stayed observant and soon enough we got to our destination.
A simple single floor L shaped home with stone walls wrapping around the home around seven feet tall and with a large courtyard in the space of the L.
At the back of the home the property stretched on to include parts of the forest that I couldn't see from my angle.
He unlocked the door and gestured me in.
The house was clean and simple on the inside, it had a nice homy but solitary feel to it.
We moved to a sitting room, and he gestured to a seat while taking a rocking chair to the side.
There was silence for a moment before he spoke up.
"I have been observing you on the journey here and I commend your mental state. To be alert and ready at all times without overtly showing it is very important.
Now, I shall ask you one more time if you wish to proceed.
If you don't, I can find a place for you to live in a rural town where you can grow on your own in a friendly close community.
If you still do wish to continue as my heir, it will be a very difficult path, but one that shall give you all the tools you need to reach your dream."
I tilted my head at his words.
'It's nice of him to offer a way out at this point.'
"Can you tell me more of what I will be learning?"
He nodded.
"The name of Lupa is not a family name but a legacy.
There are two faces to this world, the mortal and supernatural, and they are for the most part kept apart very well.
The supernatural are incredibly dangerous beings, some of their strongest can eliminate this country in seconds if they wished."
He paused to take a breath and I asked a question.
"If they are so strong, why don't they rule us?"
"Hm, good question, the answer is they technically do. All the races and factions look down on humanity as the weakest race while they all war with each other without a care for most things.
It has slowed down over the centuries and while still treacherous, there is a fragile truce between the main factions, even if the lower rungs still run loose.
You might be too young to understand these things, so I'll be brief for now, but I will constantly remind you and test you on your knowledge.
Most factions require humanity for survival even if they look down on it.
Devils make contracts with humans and recruit from them.
Angels gather faith and exorcists from them.
Fallen gather their own human resources.
Pantheons gather faith and soldiers.
Vampires gather blood.
Yokai and dragons for their own reasons.
But most races rely on humanity for reproduction and society.
Humans are the most fertile and widespread race, weak they may be, and no race desires to remove them.
They do however control human leaders from the shadows to not be a hindrance to them.
You should get the point, or you might not, you will understand with time and repetition.
Anyway, the point I was getting to is that there are two sides to the world, mortal and supernatural.
In both sides, the underworld is very active.
For generations, there has been a Lupa, a mercenary and hitman, an assassin that deals in both worlds.
Which one they are more prominent in depends on the generations Lupa.
Some do not have any unique gifts and remain solely in the mortal side of things, while others like you have had gifts and spent more time in the supernatural side.
It's a title passed down from elder to heir for almost two thousand years, not even I am aware of how exactly it first began but it is rumored to have begun with an orphan who tributed his name to the Roman wolf goddess Lupa before he grew into an assassin. For him it might have been a sign of gratitude toward her but as the years went on, and the legacy went on, it snowballed and became something more. Something special to those of the line.
Gender mattered not, with each generation, the dedication to the legacy itself became the prominent trait, one to take pride in, to bring honor to, and one that still goes strong today."
I couldn't help but interrupt with a question.
"But what happens if the current Lupa dies before finding an heir?"
"Mn, good question. Each Lupa is required to find a trusted person as insurance. This third party is handed a sealed box that shall only open if the current Lupa were to die.
The person they choose can be anyone they trust to do what they cannot, whether it be through a debt or trust, it has held true over the years.
For example, if I were to die without informing them, the box shall unseal with instructions on how to find a proper heir to carry on the name."
I nodded at that; it was a logical answer to the issue. Not guaranteed but it seems to have worked so far.
"To continue, I shall be training you in all aspects of stealth, infiltration, Interrogation, information gathering, hand to hand combat, a main weapon that fits you, a secondary weapon, weapon maintenance, how to build a spy network, etiquette, poison, torture resistance, and much more.
It will be painful, you might not enjoy most of it, but it will make you strong.
As for your gear and the supernatural side of things, you may tell me of its abilities when you wish and I will help or you can keep it to yourself, it's no matter. My job is simply to prepare you."
Rather than be put off, I was internally incredibly happy. This was exactly what I would have wished to have. But there was one last point I wanted to clarify.
"Is needing an heir really your only desire from this? It feels like I get the better end of the deal."
The old man hummed at that for a moment and didn't look directly at me, seemingly looking off into space.
"You are young, to an old man such as I, my legacy is what I hold most dear.
When you walk this path in life, you do many things you might not be proud of. You see things you would wish you hadn't. You lose people you wish wouldn't leave. At the end of my road, I only have my legacy left, and I will be damned if I don't fulfill my duty to the name of Lupa.
So yes child, all I desire is an heir to inherit the name and skills of Lupa."
I took his words to heart and didn't feel like he was deceiving me.
What is an assassin at the end of their road?
I looked up and met his eyes before bowing my head.
"Teacher."
He smiled softly and nodded. I accepted and no other words were needed.
"Go wash up in the bathroom down the hall, which shall be yours while you stay here, your bedroom is across from it. I shall leave your bedding in the room, and I shall have some clothes and utilities dropped off for you by the morning.
Training begins at 5AM, be ready."
I nodded and turned away before stopping at the door.
"Mr. Lupa."
"Hm?"
"Thank you."
He chuckled.
"Let's see how long you still feel that way."
A cold drop of sweat went down my back at that and I scurried away, unaware of the soft smile on his face as he stared off into space and his quiet words.
"It is my turn sensei; I shall pass on what you instilled in me."
The name of Lupa would carry on as a new generation rises.
*Line Break*
1 year later.
"Again!"
"Yes sir!"
I pushed off the elevated logs from my pushup and just dodged the sweep of a straw sword that passed just over the logs before falling back down into another pushup.
Sweat was pouring off me in the humid summer air as I repeated the movement over and over.
'I really know how Kenichi felt in that anime now, man I have so much more respect for that kid.'
"No wandering thoughts!"
"Yes sir!"
It's been a year since I began my training under Mr. Lupa.
I either call him Mr. Lupa, teacher, sir, or old man.
He doesn't really care for what I call him as long as it's not derogatory.
Life has been very busy for me in this year.
The majority of my time is taken up by theoretical knowledge the old man makes sure I learn. Using my past life experience, I 'sped' through the basic subjects fast enough to get them out of the way and the old man didn't question things.
I'm sure there is enough crazy bullshit things in this world, a child being a fast learned on basic subjects is damn normal in comparison.
He still gives me tests from time to time, but he told me to study on my own for such subjects.
He changed the periods to teaching me the theoretical side of the assassin/hitman/mercenary life.
Stealth, infiltration, interrogation, information gathering, hand to hand combat, weapons, weapon maintenance, how to build a spy network, etiquette, poison creation and identification, torture resistance, and much more.
It was all theoretical for now, I would have to wait until I thoroughly understand the content before I would move to practical work.
On the physical side of things, I was going full Kenichi training style to learn basic forms and build up my body.
I didn't have to worry about stunting my growth or harming myself for a couple simple reasons.
One, the old man knows many ways to train to limit such things, and he keeps a close eye on me.
Two, my sacred gear.
My sacred gear was really broken in the best way.
I didn't share all of the cards abilities with my teacher just yet, and he didn't push for them, but I did share ones that could benefit my training.
The designated cards were split into three groups.
#1 – 44 are one time use cards. Some have time limits, some stick around until they are used, and others are used immediately.
#45 – 62 are multiple use cards that can stick around after the first use.
And #63 – 75 are stationary cards that are set in a location and don't disappear until they are destroyed, or I cancel them.
The cards I used were:
#34: Mad Scientist's Steroids – Get all the muscles you want without exercise. You must drink a liter a day for a week, and it tastes horrible. One box with 7 one liter bottles. First use will transform the body to the users wishes. Further use will give boosts to growth and help break limits.
Contrary to how I first thought of it, my teacher smacked me with his cane for trying to rush to use it. He saw the true value in the card and had me use it to turn most of the muscles in my body into pink muscle.
(AN: This is slightly fiction. Having a full body of pink muscle is not possible and not ideal.)
Just like from the anime, Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple, my teacher went on to explain in detail to me how the body is made up of red and white muscle. Slow and fast muscles.
By turning most of my muscles pink with the first use, I saved decades of effort to slowly convert them. While I don't look very different on the outside, on the inside my entire bodies muscle structure is streamlined for optimum efficiency and I will get ten times the results on my physical training.
Furthermore, the card says that further use of it could help break limits. What does that mean? That means theoretically, the human bodies genetical limit could be breached and surpassed through training.
I could develop a body to match a dragon with enough time and effort.
#27: Instant Foreign Language School – Spend time studying a language at this school, Study for 24 hours straight and you will become fluent in the language.
With a single use, I could learn to speak, read, and write a language.
Don't let that fool you, I didn't sleep and barely blinked for 24 hours while using it.
It generated a room I entered with a strict teacher that shoved so much theoretical knowledge into my head in 24 hours that I fell asleep for three days after it finished.
But in the end, I learned Italian, my third language after Spanish and English.
#46: Memory Helmet – You will never forget things you see or hear while wearing this helmet. Unfortunately, it's extremely large and heavy. Ten uses, once removed it will count as a use.
The damn thing makes it feel like I have a mountain on my head, and I can't fully focus while wearing it, but my teacher had me use it for brief periods when he wanted me to be able to perfectly memorize certain information like identifying plants, poisons, and other such information.
#8: Angel's Breath – She cures one person of all wounds and ills, restoring them to perfect health.
I used this card on my teacher. I had no need for it as it was nearing the end of the year, and while I couldn't reverse his age with this card, I could at least ease his hidden pains from dozens of past injuries that left their marks on him.
It took me weeks to convince the stubborn old man to take it, but he eventually gave in when I pointed out that it would just go to waste if I didn't use it.
He didn't say more than a single thank you, but his shoulders seemed to lighten, and he smiled a bit more often. He also no longer needed to walk with his cane, but he kept it in hand as it seemed there was a hidden blade in there.
The effect of the card was very cool. Just like the anime, it generated a female angelic creature construct that blew air onto the old man and seemed to cover him until he was healed and then she faded away.
#19: Fledgling Athlete – Write a sport on the egg and warm this magic egg in your hand for three hours a day for one to five years, and you will become a top athlete when it hatches. Actively working toward the goal will decrease the time needed until the egg hatches.
There were a few 'fledgling' type cards, but I could only use one at a time. My teacher suggested I use this one first since I had to specify a sport, and we could see the benefits of its use.
We did a preliminary test on weapon use.
Meaning I was shown a table with dozens of weapons, anything sharp had padding on it for the moment, and I was made to try each one until I found one I felt comfortable with.
We quickly discovered I was NOT a natural swordsman, but I did have a natural talent for accuracy.
Whether it was with a bow or a pistol, I had decent aim for a beginner.
He left the final choice to me, and my choice was a pistol, specifically a double pistol since I was ambidextrous.
It just felt right to me.
So I wrote 'shooting' on the egg, and it glowed before I put it in my pocket and just left it on my person for most of the day.
That's not to say he didn't say I wouldn't be trained in other weapons, but he only cared that I had a basic skill level with others as you never know what can happen in life.
My main focus would be guns, specifically double pistols.
As for where I practice shooting, well, that leads me to one of the most broken cards in my entire deck and one I really love.
#70: Hideout Realtor – A - The agent will build a secret room just for you at a place of your choosing.
This was one of the coolest cards I have in my binder.
When cast, a fancy dressed agent appeared before me while holding a book and presented me with three options.
Underground, surface, inside.
The three options were for what type of hideout to be made, underground, on the ground, or inside a solid object.
The hideout itself was completely hidden and closed off from energy sensing and created a tiny pocket dimension based on my specifications.
I had chosen underground, and the only visual appearance was a hidden trapdoor that blended in perfectly with the earth. Unless I knew it was there, I would never notice it.
Not even my teacher could detect it with his senses.
After choosing one of the three choices, the agent presents me with a few models that I can pick from or slightly customize.
The space comes set with a bed, couch, kitchen, bathroom, utilities, supplies, and depending on the model you chose, an extra amenity.
It was a fully furnished hideout that was completely hidden from the world.
It was broken as fuck.
And my choice of amenity was a shooting range.
The underground hideout had an extra door to a closed off, soundproofed shooting range up to fifty yards.
Furthermore, there were cards that superimposed onto it to make it even better.
#67: Shield of Faith – Blocks all forms of teleportation and signals in or out in a radius of 10 M from the designated location. Can be adjusted up to 10 M at max and will only be removed when the user cancels it. Once canceled it is gone for good. User and anyone the user designates is exempt from the effects.
By placing it on the hideout, the effect is stationary and unless I cancel it, no one will ever be able to teleport into it, track me, or find me using any forms of connection, both magical and technological.
Unless I allow a signal to go through for let's say a cell phone, but even then it wouldn't be a traceable signal.
It's essentially a blank bubble that I disappear into. I can't even be seen from the outside.
As for defending the entrance in case someone did enter the bubble and happened to know where the door was, there was another card for it.
#66: Venomous Snake Golems – Summon a group of venomous golem snakes to defend a territory. Group of thirty snakes. Cannot leave the designated location.
These little guys were deadly looking. Their venom even made my teacher wary.
They spread out and dug into the ground before going inert and acting as sentinels.
Ten surrounded the trapdoor and were instructed to attack anyone aside from myself and my teacher who tried to open the trapdoor. Thankfully, the door was off to the side.
The other twenty I told to stay around my teachers home in case of emergencies and to warn me in case of danger.
They can't speak but I gave them a few simple commands to tell me what the situation is.
From the following 67 designated cards, 35 of them could be used and stored away rather than immediately used.
One of the few loopholes I've noticed.
I only get 1 of each designated card a year, and if I don't use it then it goes to waste.
So I can wait until the end of the year, and if I didn't use it, I can summon it and store it away for future use.
My plan is to make hideouts in hidden locations around the world and use them each for varied reasons.
One for weapon storage, one for product storage, and many of them for safehouses.
It would be a slow process but one I can steadily use to create a beautiful foundation.
There were four cards that I used on my teachers home with his permission.
#65: Healing Hot Springs – A hot spring that cures you of any skin condition. Bathing in it for half an hour a day gives you skin as soft and smooth as a baby's. Heal's minor wounds and soothes aches and pains. Continuous but slow healing.
Who would turn down having a natural hot spring in their backyard? And it's healing effects went a long way to helping with my daily training.
#63: Panda Maid – An endangered species. Very neat and loves to cook, and each has a hobby such as sewing or gardening. One panda per card, cannot leave designated location, does not speak.
It was a very strange feeling to get used to a panda in a maid uniform walking around doing perfect cleaning, cooking, and other chores, but we got used to it.
Me from being new and innocent to strange things, and my teacher from seeing enough weird shit in life.
We named her Joy. Not my best work but it was the first thing that came to me, and my teacher just shrugged. I thought about how it's one panda per card and I just thought of Nurse Joy.
(AN: My beta wants to add: For a different reading experience, read 'Joy' as 'Dave.')
And finally:
#72: Mystery Pond – Release one fish into this pond, and there will be one more fish of that type the next day. You can keep any combination of fish in this pond, even saltwater and freshwater fish together. The pond supplies food to all fish, user must select a fish each day to produce, or nothing will happen.
#73: Tree of Plenty – A tree that bears all sorts of fruit. No matter how much you harvest, it will be full again the next day. The type and number of fruit are random.
The two of these cards supply endless fish and fruit for us to enjoy, something both of us were happy to have as it saved time on grocery runs.
The pond made fish for any kind we placed inside so we had fresh fish, and the tree supplied a variety of fruit.
Neither stood out much and they were nice additions to the home.
Mr. Lupa didn't mind the additions to his home, they only added and didn't take anything away.
As for spell cards, I didn't bother using them as I didn't need to. They would stack in the binder and next to each card, there was a multiplier to show how many I had left.
After a year, I had twelve of each saved up.
I would have to waste some to test them out, but I was focused on other things for the moment.
The free slots were also mostly empty for the moment.
I didn't have many personal things to store in it, so I kept a few emergency supplies just in case.
Between the theoretical learning, the practical learning, the intense physical training, and the occasional things with my gear, I was packed all year long.
It was a gift to have Joy around for chores and the hot spring to bring my body and brain back to life.
Plus soaking in it from my age was doing wonders for my skin.
I'm not a narcissist but between the pink muscle, the training, and the skin care, I had a bright future for my external appearance.
So it was like this that time passed for my start in the world of Highschool DxD.
*Line Break*
Heaven: Michael's office.
Michael, leader of the archangels and first son of heaven was sitting calmy at his desk going through paperwork.
The true enemy of every faction leader.
Michael has the appearance of a handsome looking man with long blond hair and green eyes. Coming from his back were twelve golden wings, signifying his role as leader rather than the usual white wings of other angels. He has golden shoulder plates with a white sash and a golden halo set above his head.
After the fall of the god of the bible, Michael has been watching over heaven and working to keep things in order.
One of his duties was to watch over the Heavens System, an automatic system that dealt with the Sacred Gear system as well as the defense of Heavens barriers.
It was during one moment while he was pondering over a file while biting on the end of a pen when a short message from the Heaven System reached him.
'Hm? A new sacred gear awakened huh? God's gift to mankind is sure prospering. *sigh* if only the other races would leave them alone.'
It was then that he noticed a message waiting for him to activate it.
'Huh? A message from father?'
He accepted it with glee, wishing to hear his father's voice once more.
But the message made his happy face cramp up.
[Son, I left this message in case one of my experimental gears awakened.
It's called Greed Island.
Do me a favor and keep an eye out for its user.
I uh…. I didn't expect it to ever be activated, so um… well…. It could end very badly, or it could be perfectly fine.
Just wanted to give you a heads up.
Love you son.
*Mumble* Man I hope this thing never gets used, it was just supposed to be a joke.]
Michael lifted his hand to the bridge of his nose and sighed strongly with tears at the edge of his eyes.
'I'm not sure whether to be happy at hearing his voice or sad over what he said…..
Damn it father! You and your bad habits again! I always have to clean up the mess!'
*Bam*
Just then, his door slammed open, and his brother Raphael rushed in.
"Michael! Hurry! Gabriel and Serafall got into another cat fight! We have to stop them before they destroy another city!"
*thump*
Michael's head hit his desk.
'I give up.'