Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.
This Is It
Sunday was a new day of experiments for Joshua and also one that felt pretty productive too, if someone were to ask him. Through it, he found that the Storage Seal could, indeed, hold containers. Both the water bottle and a box of things were easily put inside the pocket dimension. The young man found it interesting that they still occupied only one square though.
That meant that he could probably put a bunch of things inside a box or bag and have them occupy only one square instead of putting them separated and have them take up several spaces. It would certainly open up some possibilities for the future. To do what? Joshua didn't know at the moment, but having more options couldn't be a bad thing. Especially when he had so few regarding the magical side of the world he now lived in.
Back to the productive part of the day, not that the experiments weren't productive themselves. He gained a few levels too, which left him feeling much more satisfied than the testing had. With an extra level in Magic and Meditation, he had felt bold enough to try a third time during the night. He had felt like shit afterwards, but he hadn't passed out, which he counted as a win.
During that attempt, Joshua found that no, the Storage Spell couldn't hold liquids without a container. A bummer, really, but he took it in stride. It had felt like a longshot from the beginning, anyway. On top of the discovery, he had also gained a level in the spell, which added yet another square to his circles.
On a different note, Cheshire still unnerved him a little. He tried to tell himself that if the cat wanted to do something to him, it would have already done so. It wasn't as much of a reassurance as he wanted it to be though. Who knew what someone could do to him with magic?
His Bond skill ended up being not only an excuse for the cat's intelligence, but also a comforting sight. Why? Because it told him that there was, for lack of a better word, a bond between himself and Cheshire. And that, in his mind, meant that she was on his side, to an extent. Following that thought, the level he gained during that week felt like a bigger reassurance than anything else.
Through the days too, he gained two more levels in Drawing, as he worked through his Storage Notebook and his Storage Cards. It was a lot of circles to be drawn, so he wasn't really surprised.
He really would have liked to use at least one spell during the weekdays, but between work and his physical exercises, he was tired enough as it was. Putting more strain on himself could end up with very bad results, so he decided not to push himself. At least, until he got better Vitality and Magic stats. He was getting there though, it was a matter of time.
[}-o-{]
"I mean, really, what am I supposed to do if the guy doesn't even know the name of the drink he wants?" Joshua complained as he huffed and sat down once he arrived at his apartment. Cheshire, the listener in this one sided conversation, simply pushed her head against his arm, that was resting on the table.
It had been almost a week since his worries about his… cat? had appeared, and he was now… okay-ish with it. He wasn't over it per se, but he hadn't had the heart to just kick the feline out in his paranoia and he was done being uncomfortable in what was his home at the moment. As such, he had just… decided to go with it. He was getting good at that, Joshua realized.
Once his resolution settled, he started talking with the cat. Cheshire didn't seem to be overly intelligent, since most of the time she would look more confused than anything else. But sometimes it would be clear that she wasn't a normal cat at all. More than once, Joshua found himself calling for the feline's Status screen to see if there was anything new that could explain that. Since there was nothing, he continued chucking that to Bond's effect.
Joshua's easy acceptance of the situation might have had something to do with how lonely he would have been if not for Cheshire's company, but he would never admit that.
"Anyway," He sighed, one of his hands absentmindedly starting to pet the between her ears earning a content purr. "How was your day, girl?"
He received a pitiful whine at that, as the cat cast a forlorn look at the window.
"Wanna go outside, huh?" Joshua guessed, getting another whine in return. "Well, I'm going to go out for a run. You ok with that?"
The cat answered with a meow and a rub of her head against his palm.
"Give me a minute to change and we'll be on our way," He nodded, stretching his arms up and gathering his energies for his daily exercises.
[}-o-{]
The dull sound of something hitting wood reached Joshua's ears during his break from magic training that Saturday.
[Throwing Weapon Mastery has gone up a level.]
"A pity that I can't store them," He thought out loud as he looked wistfully at the kitchen knife in his hand. The man had taken to speaking out loud instead of just thinking, more to see if his animal companion had anything to, for lack of a better word, 'say' in the matter.
[Throwing Weapon Mastery – Lvl 2/100
Determines the user's ability to fight with throwing weapons.
Increases accuracy when throwing a throwing weapon by 2%.
Increases Dexterity when fighting with a throwing weapon by 0.5%.
Increases damage output when fighting with a throwing weapon by 0.5%.]
The skill had a similar format to Unarmed Combat Mastery, Joshua had realized instantly when he gained the skill. It had led him to believe that all combat masteries would be like that. It wasn't really useful information, but it was an interesting tidbit about the system that he had.
The skill in itself had been the product of one of his experiments. He had wanted to see if items retained movement when they were stored in the spell. The result of that test had been… Negative, sadly. 'No pointing a card at someone and having a knife come out just yet,' He thought dejectedly. He'd kind of been looking forward to having his own Gate of Babylon... 'It's what it is.'
The idea though, still had merit, and he shelved it for later. Maybe he'd be able to modify the circle in the future or something of the sort. It would take a while, but it could be done. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that at that point a knife would be a viable weapon. He didn't know if he would find any other spells though, thus the reason he wrote the idea down.
"Ok so," He sighed, pulling the knives that were stuck on a wooden plank he had set as a target. "Back to the spell," Joshua said, cracking his neck and absently petting Cheshire as he sat at the table. He pulled up his storage notebook and started activating the circle again, storing inside a can of food in one of the pages.
With most of his experiments done, he set his training to also prepare for 'just in case' scenarios. Like, for example, storing food and water inside the notebook, in case he needed to run away for whatever reason. He would also buy a tent and a sleeping back, the former of which he was expecting to occupy more than one square. The storage spaces weren't much of a problem though. Five squares per circle meant a hell of a lot of space, he soon realized.
The downsides of the Storage Spell compared to the Inventory that a normal Gamer would have came in the shape of detection, really. Since he used an… in-universe means to store his things, people that knew magic could probably notice if he used it in front of them, Joshua theorized. There was also the fact that the spell didn't stop time inside its pocket dimension, which meant that anything that could spoil in the short term was a bad idea.
A meow distracted the man from his musings as he distractedly traced the outside of the circle with his thumb.
"Yeah, I know," He gave a small smile to Cheshire, who had been staring right at him. "Next one is for your food, girl, I know," Joshua reassured with a growing smirk. "I think I'm spoiling you, honestly."
The feline's response was an affectionate nip at his hand before she rubbed her head against it until he started petting her.
"I'm definitely spoiling you."
[Bond: Cheshire has gone up a level.]
[}-o-{]
[Joshua Davis
Title: None
Race: Human
Strength: 7
Speed: 8
Dexterity: 6
Vitality: 8
Perception: 4
Magic: 5]
'It's… huh… going, I guess,' Joshua thought wryly as he looked at his Status screen. His progress was a lot less impressive when one considered that it had been a whole month since he had arrived into the world he was now in. 'I need to get myself some weights or something. Magic is going as fast as it can right now, but my physical stats could go faster… I need to get more serious with the Throwing training for Perception too...'
Joshua was worried, he would admit as much easily.
After all, he still had no idea in which world he was now in and what stats would be reasonably high enough for survival. He knew one thing though, if his physical stats were important, he was screwed. He knew they weren't all that. If the world he was in leaned more in favor of magic, he might stand a chance… once he got his hands on something more battle related at least, otherwise he was screwed.
Granted, he had entertained the optimistic thought that he might be in a world where he wouldn't need to fight for his life. However, he wouldn't let him stop being paranoid. Until he saw visible proof that the world wasn't a death trap, he would consider it just that.
Shaking his head, he lazily turned his head towards the side.
[Cheshire
Title: None
Race: Cat
Gender: Female
Strength: F
Speed: F+
Dexterity: F+
Vitality: F
Perception: F+
Magic: -
Perks: 2
Skills: 3
Altered Status: 1]
"Did something change for you, girl?" Joshua wondered out loud with a frown. He was pretty sure there was a stat difference somewhere. He ignored the confused tilt of Cheshire's head and narrowed his eyes at the letters. "Did a stat get a plus somewhere? I should note this down so that I can track it better. I don't get notifications for you."
Out of curiosity, he called for the cat's skills screen.
[Scratch – Lvl 2
Defines the damage the user can do with their claws.]
'Progress is progress, I guess,' He mused as he scratched her behind her ear. 'Now,' I thought, suppressing a groan. 'Let's get started with the knives, shall-'
[}-o-{]
A splash of water to the face was what woke Joshua up.
"You awake now?" A voice asked, amused. Confusedly, he looked around for it, his mind trying its best to adjust to the situation it was now in. Soon enough, his eyes found a pair of wide, brown ones. "You there, sleeping beauty?"
"What?... What's going on?" Joshua asked, blinking repeatedly as he processed the sight before him.
"Well, you, my little friend, are enjoying my great hospitality, for one," The man standing in front of him said, stepping back and spreading his arms to signal their surroundings. Said surroundings being what seemed to be a basement, if the stairs in a corner and the small window that seemed to be at ground level were any indication.
'What…?' He wondered as he tried to move only to find very clear resistance. Looking down he felt the blood in his veins turn cold as ice.
He was sitting on a metal chair, his arms seemingly cuffed behind the seat's back. Another pull told him that they weren't normal cuffs either. They were firmly holding both his arms to each of the stiles. A desperate movement revealed that his legs were cuffed to the legs of the chair too.
"What's going on?" Joshua repeated, this time with clear fear in his voice. Looking back up to the person in front of him, he saw the man that had spoken before, standing there and looking at him like he was the most entertaining thing he had ever seen. Grinning widely and with his wide brown eyes staring as if he didn't want to miss anything, short brown hair on his head. The man was also wearing simple jeans, a plain white t-shirt and brown boots… Joshua couldn't have told him apart from a crowd if his life had depended on it…
Or that would be the case, if not for that wide smile that spelled nothing good for him.
"Well, you see, I'm a hunter and I am, you know, hunting. Or was, at least," The man explained casually, walking around Joshua until he stood behind him. The young man almost jumped, or would have tried to, when his captor put his hands on his shoulders. "My prey was a bit boring this time though," The man added with a disappointed voice. "So, I guess I'll have to get my fun another way."
"Why are you doing this?" Joshua breathed out. He sounded pitiful, even to his own ears. But he was afraid, so very afraid, that he didn't care for that.
"Because I'm a hunter, and hunting is what we do," The man replied easily, as if that answer should have been obvious. The matter-of-fact way he used to speak didn't help the growing dread in the tied man. "Now, what to do with you?"
"Let me go, please," Joshua pleaded, his face feeling increasingly paler and his expression contorting in desperation. 'I… this can't be happening,' He thought. 'This… out of nowhere… why?' His distraught mind asked.
"No, I don't think I will," The man shot back with an uncaring shrug of his shoulders as he walked away towards…
Joshua almost whimpered as he saw the working table put against one of the walls. On top of it several tools that looked completely normal… if not for the circumstances. A hammer, a saw, pincers, a drill… And their purpose became even more obvious when they sat right next to a series of different knives.
"Please… please don't," Joshua tried again, his voice shaking.
"This is the best part, you know," The man said, ignoring his pleas.
"HEEELP!" He screamed. He knew that it was a futile attempt. But he had to try. "PLEASE! HELP ME! HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"
"Magicians always think that they are above dying," The man kept on, as if he couldn't hear Joshua's wailing. "Especially by mundane means… So… seeing them bleeding to death from simple cuts… or drowning in a bucket of water… or burning with normal fire… It's just the best. By the way," He added in the end, turning an amused expression towards the captive. "There's a spell keeping all sound from leaving."
"Please..." Joshua whispered, although he wasn't speaking with the man anymore. He wasn't really sure who he was speaking with. But what he did know was that he didn't want to die. He had almost died once. He had lost all that he knew in the process. 'And this is what I get? This is my second chance?' A part of his mind wondered, utterly demoralized.
"Now, back to the question," The man continued talking. "What to do with you?" He wondered out loud, looking through the tools on the table. "You were kind of boring as prey. No defenses, no struggle, no nothing. As boring as a normal human, really. Such a shame. I got excited for nothing."
'What could I even have done to avoid this?' Joshua wondered, only half-listening to his captors mad ramble. The young man's shoulder sagging dejectedly. 'All that training. All that work on skills… But did I even have something that would have stopped him… Did I even stand a chance to begin with...'
'Magician...' His mind finally picked up. 'He found me through the magic? He picked up on the Storage Spells I used?... Was I screwed from the moment I decided to use the spell the first time?'
"But I think I know what to do," The man seemed to conclude after a long series of mutterings that Joshua didn't catch. "If the hunt wasn't fun. Then I'll have to make the kill be fun," He decided, apparently. As if that was the only logical solution to his 'problem'.
Joshua stared at the man, his face falling into a hollow mask. Flashes of metal and blood assaulted his mind. Crashing sounds and broken glasses.
"I love you."
"I love you, son."
"I'm proud of you."
His hand twitched and his eyes regained a bit of life. If he was going to die, he would die trying, at the very least.
"You were trying so hard. It won't end like this!"
"You'll be alright, you'll be alright."
His mind pulled up game screens in front of him. Reading through every skill and stat he had. His limbs moved slowly, searching for a way to break free from their bounds. His Strength was certainly not enough to actually break the things. He couldn't squeeze his hands through the metal rings, much less his feet.
Despair filled his mind as he realized that there was no way out. As much as he looked, as much as he schemed. He just didn't have the tools to escape. His only idea was the Storage Spell. To try and just… make the chair as a whole disappear. But he didn't have a circle on him. The madman had evidently taken the card he always kept in his pocket. He had taken all his cards, if the deck sitting innocently in a corner of the workstation was anything to go by. And without a circle, he was sure to die from the magic consumption.
'Still an idea… better than dying by whatever he's thought up,' Joshua decided, filled with grim determination. The source of all his problems had apparently chosen to use something that he didn't have readily available in the basement. The captor seemed to chuckle at his own idea while climbing basement stairs.
Left alone for the moment, Joshua looked around in a last attempt to find another option. Some path that had eluded him before. No such thing appeared for him though. The chair he was bound to wouldn't move the slightest bit no matter how much he struggled. And nothing was even remotely close to it, even if his limbs hadn't been useless at the moment. Besides the work station, there were a few shelves with random stuff and a sink. The latter of which he had a vague and disturbing idea what its owner could have used it for.
Pulling his eyes away from it, and his mind from its own assumptions, he looked out the small window at the top of one wall. It was right in front of him too. 'He probably wants me to see the outside,' Joshua realized bitterly. And see the outside he did. The stars greeted him from just outside the glass, making him wonder how much time had passed. The last thing he remembered was it being the day. The moon peeked the smallest bit from a corner, almost hidden, much to his dismay. It would have been nice, to at least get a good look at it before...
His appreciation of the night sky was interrupted as the basement door opened. The Hunter, as he called himself, came in holding a small cardboard box in his hands. Joshua's blue eyes couldn't help but lock on the innocent looking object, dread growing back up inside him. The relative calm he had had when by himself disappearing as if it had never been there to begin with.
"Are you curious?" The man asked, and Joshua dragged his eyes back to him. "Are you curious about how you'll die?" The Hunter prodded again. Joshua, for his part, remained silent. "Acting brave, are we? I've already seen how much of a whimp you are, brat. Why don't you cry for me? Maybe if you do I'll end it quickly."
'He won't,' Joshua thought to himself, dissuading the part of him that wanted to do exactly as the man said and beg for his life. He was sure he wouldn't. He had gloated about how he had killed others, which meant that he wouldn't be sparing the young man's life no matter what. And a quick death… was still death. 'Metal. Blood. Broken Glasses. Pale Faces.'
"Just do it already, you crazy bastard," Joshua said instead, drawing an amused expression from his captor and soon to be executioner.
"Right then," The man cheerfully exclaimed as he brought the box up. "Straight to the important stuff, I see. Well, here's the thing. I found this by chance, you see, didn't even need to buy it or anything, a good while ago. I was saving it for a particularly boring prey, which turned out to be you. I thought it would be fitting. I got it without effort and I would use it on someone that turned out to be just as easy."
Joshua would have snarled, but he was more… resigned, than he was angry or afraid. Mentally, he readied himself to use the Storage Spell. If he was lucky, he might stay conscious after it… or die from using too much magic… both were better than the alternative. He just hoped that if neither of those happened, then he wouldn't have to suffer too much.
Just as he was about to use his magic though, both men turned to the door of the basement when they heard the sound of glass breaking from above. 'A window?' Joshua wondered, a flicker of hope coming back to life inside him. 'Did he lie about the silencing spell?'
"HELP!" Apparently, the man didn't think it was much of an issue, since he ignored Joshua and instead moved to the side with a grumble. A dragging sound was followed and soon there was a table set right in front of the captive. So close to him that the wood pressed against his abdomen, just below the chest. Afterwards, two ropes were quickly tied around him. One on Joshua's neck and the other on his abdomen, both keeping him firmly against the chair. The first one even choked him if he did the smallest of movements.
Another glass broke above them.
"I would have loved to see the whole thing. But, apparently, something came up," The Hunter grumbled, clearly displeased that his 'fun' had been interrupted. "But I might get a good look at the later part of the show, if I deal with this quickly. Have fun, buddy," He told Joshua, finishing with a pat on the young man's cheek as he set the box on its side, the open part facing right at the captive.
With that done, the Hunter moved outside the basement once more, the door left slightly open and letting a thin ray of light cut through the shadows on the stairs.
Joshua, left alone once more, tried to peek at the box on the table, barely able to move his head without the rope strangling him. He could see part of the box, yes, but, unfortunately for him, he couldn't see the most important part.
The open part.
He wondered, for a long moment, if he should use the spell now. It was the best chance he would get. But he hesitated, because he knew that it wouldn't work. He would either die or he would fall unconscious. After all, he barely could use the spell with circles. And now…
Now, whatever had caused that glass to break had given him hope he didn't want to give up on.
In the end, the decision was taken from him as he felt something. Something small, very much so, touching the skin of his chest, just above where the table pressed against him. Then something else followed, just like the previous one. And he realized that there was something walking on him.
'But what-' His thoughts froze as he processed his situation. It was obviously going to be something that could kill him. 'Spider or scorpion,' He guessed instantly. The deduction didn't help his panic at all.
"Don't bite me. Don't sting me," Joshua breathed a plea, carefully not taking deep breaths, so that his chest wouldn't move much and make the thing bite or sting him. After that, he went silent again. He couldn't even use the spell now, he realized, because if he did, that thing would still be on him.
And then…
The door was pushed open again.
[} Chapter End {]