Seidoukan Academy – Underground Vault
The dimly lit space was illuminated only by the faint green glow of Manadyte crystals, scattered across the room.
Bang!
A shattering sound echoed as one of the Manadyte crystals crumbled into dust. The Mana within leaked out, flowing like a stream of green light, slowly drawn toward a single direction—toward Kaiser.
With his eyes closed, Kaiser firmly gripped Ser-Veresta's Activator. The red Urm-Manadyte embedded in the hilt pulsed with a radiant glow, guiding the Mana toward him.
Under its influence, Kaiser's Genestella abilities surged, his strength rising with every second.
"Hah…"
After a while, Kaiser let out a slow breath and opened his eyes.
"That's enough, Ser-Veresta."
At his command, the brilliant crimson glow faded. The surrounding Mana stopped converging toward him, instead dispersing into the air.
Stretching out his free hand, Kaiser clenched his fingers into a fist before relaxing them again. A pleased smile crossed his lips.
"Not bad. Another perfect enhancement."
This was the third time he had used Ser-Veresta's ability to absorb Manadyte energy.
Despite only doing it three times, the effects were already remarkably apparent.
His physical strength and Prana capacity had skyrocketed, and his overall combat ability had grown exponentially.
Compared to when he had first arrived in this world, Kaiser had become immeasurably stronger.
"At this point, I could probably defeat Arkadi Fankenn even without using Ser-Veresta."
A surge of confidence welled within him.
Back when he had challenged Arkadi Fankenn, Kaiser had only absorbed Manadyte once. At that time, in terms of raw physical ability and Prana, he was still inferior to the former Page One.
Had it not been for his Ultimate Authority Over Weapons, allowing him to fight with sheer combat instinct, he wouldn't have even been able to stand on equal footing.
But now—
With two additional absorptions, his physical capabilities and Prana reserves had far surpassed what they had been back then.
In all aspects—strength, Prana, technique, combat intuition—he was now on equal footing with Arkadi Fankenn.
And since they were now equal in every regard—
There was no longer any reason why he would lose.
Even without using Ser-Veresta, if he were to face Arkadi Fankenn again, he could defeat him in ten moves.
That alone spoke volumes.
"Now, I finally have the strength to compete with the Page One… I'm truly among the academy's elite now."
Kaiser's smile deepened.
"Even without Ser-Veresta, I should be able to break into the Top 10. Maybe even the Top 5 isn't out of reach."
In fact, Kaiser was certain—
If he were to face Julis right now, the way she had fought outside the girls' dormitory, he wouldn't lose, even without Ser-Veresta.
Unless she had hidden power she had yet to reveal—Julis, ranked fifth, would likely fall to him.
And if he did use Ser-Veresta…
"I don't even need to wait for the next Official Ranking Battle. I already have the strength to challenge that little girl."
Thinking of Kirin Toudou, Kaiser muttered to himself.
"I wonder how she's doing…"
Ever since the incident outside the dorms, news of Kirin Toudou saving Julis had spread like wildfire across the academy's forums.
Naturally, Kaiser's involvement had also been mentioned.
Specifically, it had been noted that after Kirin saved Julis, Kaiser had stepped in to protect Kirin from an attempted ambush.
Because of this, Kirin had reportedly gone into hiding.
She was still attending classes, but people had noted that she seemed unwell, as if she had suffered repercussions for her actions.
"Did her uncle scold her again?"
Over the past few days, Kaiser had found himself thinking about Kirin more often than he expected.
Unfortunately, he hadn't run into her since.
Beep!
Just as Kaiser was adjusting to his new strength, a holographic screen suddenly appeared before him.
Someone had sent him a message.
"Hm?"
Glancing at the sender's name, Kaiser raised an eyebrow.
"Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld?"
Indeed, the message was from Julis herself.
Its contents were simple.
As a thank you for saving her during the ambush, she was inviting both Kaiser and Kirin out for a meal over the weekend.
"Didn't expect the princess to offer a treat."
To be honest, Kaiser was a little surprised.
If he remembered correctly, despite Julis' noble background, strong abilities, and striking appearance, she wasn't well-liked.
Her righteous personality and blunt way of speaking often made her difficult to approach.
She had enrolled in Seidoukan Academy during middle school, and though she had been there for over a year, she had almost no friends.
The only exception was Claudia, who occasionally interacted with her.
For someone like her to actively invite people out…
"Is this just an excuse?"
A knowing smile played on Kaiser's lips.
"Outside, huh?"
Now that he thought about it, he had been in this world for some time, but had never left Seidoukan Academy's campus.
Asterisk was a Duel City, but aside from its six academies and the Festa venues, it also had residential districts, shopping centers, and entertainment areas.
"This might be a good opportunity to take a look around."
At the same time, he could check in on Kirin and see how she was doing.
Though, given her uncle's control, he wasn't sure if she'd actually accept the invitation.
With that thought, Kaiser typed out his response.
"I'll be there."
Weekend – Outside Seidoukan Academy's Main Gate
For once, Kaiser didn't wake up early for training.
Instead, dressed in casual clothes, he made his way to the meeting spot.
"Kaiser! Over here!"
The voice that called out to him wasn't Julis.
Instead, it belonged to someone who hadn't been mentioned in the invitation.
A young man with messy black hair, wearing a loose-fitting shirt and a thin jacket over jeans.
A completely ordinary appearance.
But for Kaiser, this was no surprise.
"So it's you, Ayato."
Indeed—Ayato Amagiri was standing there.
Next to him stood Julis, her arms crossed.
Compared to Ayato's plain outfit, Julis was dressed in a black and pink one-piece dress, its short hemline revealing slender thighs wrapped in lace-trimmed knee-high stockings.
She even held a small parasol in one hand.
It was a surprisingly girlish look, far removed from her usual commanding presence.
If anyone who only knew Julis as the fierce Glühen Rose had seen her like this, they'd probably react as if the world had turned upside down.
Even Ayato seemed a little overwhelmed, standing beside her with an awkward expression, looking very much like an underdressed boyfriend out of his league.
"You're here," Julis said, briefly glancing over Kaiser. After seemingly approving of his attire, she nodded in satisfaction. "Good. This is how you should dress. Unlike a certain someone, who looks too casual to be taken seriously."
Although Kaiser hadn't gone out of his way to dress up, his white shirt, black jacket, and matching black pants—paired with sneakers—gave off a sleek yet effortless coolness.
"It's just whatever I grabbed from my closet," Kaiser admitted
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Author's Note: Will be releasing 4 more chapters today, also extra chapter for every 50 powerstones!
And if we get to top 5 then I'll release all the volume 1 chapters this week and we'll get to the DxD world!