17 [Challenge]

After waiting a bit to make sure Mittelt was gone, I decided to check my surroundings for something.

Something I noticed about the people here is that they like being dramatic and cool-looking, and they tend to set things up so that they look the most aesthetically pleasing. I don't know if that's by design or not, but it's something to exploit.

'Like you don't do the same thing.' Cain grumbled in my head.

I mean, yeah, I do sometimes. I try not to 'act cool' when there's an actual threat but if I'm so far above someone it doesn't matter you best believe I'm gonna be flexing for fun.

The difference here is that most do it despite the difference in power being so little. Hypocritical of me to say this, but it probably stems from arrogance and being alive for so long and going uncontested.

That was why it was easy to find this little thing after just a bit of looking.

Taking out my phone, I snap a picture.

Written on a brick near a dumpster is a small little blue magic circle. It's fading away slowly as the caster has already left, but I can still study it for later.

A bit reckless to leave it here but I guess if it just fades away no one will be able to see it. And I think it's a barrier that makes people ignore the spot anyway so it'd probably be ignored forever if I wasn't looking for it.

Too bad I can't read this magic circle. It's written with Fallen Angel magic.

Magic, usually, has a formula to it. It's a bit hard to explain but it's like each type of magic has a different language it uses, and then it also fits into a specific category.

For example, my magic would fit into strictly 'Katsuo magic' since I have a unique formula. But most would use Devil Magic, Angel Magic, etc.

At least, that's what I assume. I tried reading magic circles from other people and they just don't make any fucking sense whatsoever. This spell should fit into Fallen Angel Magic – Barrier Category. Something like that.

The only issue will be trying to translate their brand of magic into my own.

But that's for later. For now, I need to find Sona. I'm fairly certain I understand their dynamic by now. Sona deals with the logistics and the actual governing of the town, Rias is the attack dog.

Battle Power was a measurement of the person's raw energy levels. That's why mostly every human was a 0. Battle Rating, however, is a measure of their overall combat capabilities. If both Sona and Rias are A Rating, yet Rias clearly had a higher battle power, that means Rias just has raw power while Sona has more refined skills.

That's probably why Rias wanted me to join her Peerage so bad. Sona seems to have too many technique focused people, while Rias' peerage lacks control.

Personally, I'd be more afraid of Sona's team but that's neither here nor there. I just need to find her.

...And the school gate is closed. Wait, why did I even think to go back to school? They've gotta live somewhere else.

Fuck it. I'm just gonna go back home and use the contract paper. I really need to get some teleportation magic, this walking shit is so ass.

As I'm walking back, I get a text from Aika. I honestly can't stand texting at the moment, since it's the weird email-looking texts, not normal ones.

But, whatever.

Aika: So... how'd it go?

Katuso: How'd what go?

Aika: You know, with that girl! You obviously knew her, so something must've happened after I left.

Katsuo: Don't speak to, trust, or even think about that girl. She's bad news.

Aika: Oof, trouble in paradise already? Gotta learn to please a girl, not just ram it in hog wild man.

Katsuo: Aika…

Aika: Fine, fine, I get it. I figured she was an ex or something from the way you looked at her.

Aika: Anyway, are you free later? I'm gonna be home alone, bored out of my mind, all weekend.

Katsuo: Nah, I'm gonna be busy almost all of next week. I don't think I'm coming into school either.

Aika: Really? That sucks. What are you gonna be so busy with?

Katsuo: Religious things.

Aika: Hmm... Okay! We can hang out after next week though, right?

Katsuo: Yeah, for sure.

Aika: Okay, Talk to you later.

Katsuo: Yep.

Of course, our texts weren't as coherent as that since nobody texts like that, but I automatically translate the shitty text speech into words in my mind.

Putting my garbage phone away, I walk into my house.

I kept both contract papers in a place no one would find them. A place no one would think would randomly have secret devil papers in.

The microwave.

Why? Because for one, if someone randomly walks in and turns it on, I don't care. It's not like I'm gonna rely on the devils anyway. And two, I don't use the microwave so it's unplugged. Anything I eat is made from the stove or the oven.

I've gotta level up that cooking skill somehow, and microwaving TV dinners isn't gonna cut it.

Taking out what I think is Sona's paper, I activate my magic through it so I can just directly talk to her instead of having to wish really hard for her to appear or something.

It shines with a red gleam for a moment before bursting into a red magic circle that floats in the air. Spinning, it gets smaller and smaller until it's just the size of my hand. Staying there, I wonder if it worked or not until I hear a very annoyed voice bark out at me.

"What." Sona's voice is damn near venomous.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" I ask, a little guilty.

She sighs, "Not exactly. I was sleeping and I just don't like getting woken up. That spell is like an alarm but for my entire body."

"...Why are you sleeping? School ended like an hour ago?" Seriously, what. I expected something like that from Rias, not her.

"And you care why, exactly?" Her tone is exasperated, but I can't help but agree with her.

"You know what, that's fair. I don't give a fuck when you sleep."

"So? What is it? Did you get attacked again, or something like that?" Her tone is a little less sleepy, but I can tell she still hasn't fully woken up yet.

"No, but one of the fallen did approach me and said they were gonna kill me. I called to tell you that I'm gonna deal with them by myself and that I won't be in school next week so I have more time to train." I immediately tell her, wasting no time.

"Katsuo, I really don't care what you do with your time as long as you're getting your education. Plus, it's Friday. I don't care at all what you do on the weekend.

"That being said, I can't exactly just let you fight the fallen on your own. That could potentially harm innocents if handled badly and it could result in your death on the assumption that you're overestimating yourself." Her voice getting more and more sleepy as she talks.

Maybe she just works really hard all week and then sleeps all weekend.

Though, I don't think she gets it.

'I can tell you right now, what you're about to say is a bad idea.' Cain mutters. I ignore him.

"I think you misunderstood something, Sona. I wasn't asking permission. I'm just informing you of what I'm gonna do next week so don't try and-"

A huge gush of water flies out of the magic circle, interrupting what I'm about to say next and soaking me completely.

"Shhhhh. I'm not saying you can't go. But I need assurance that you won't just die and then mess things up."

The water drips from my body onto the floor, pooling under me in a gross puddle. One of my eyes twitches.

"Hmm, how about this? My pawn, Genshirou Saji, doesn't really like you. He's also a Low-Class, around the same level of-" She yawns, "-power as those fallen. If you can beat him like you said you were able to, I'll let you go. He already wanted to 'challenge' you, or whatever."

"...You splashed water on me," I state blankly.

"Mhm. Astute observation, Naoki. The spar will be on Wednesday. I'll tell Rias to hold off for now." She sighs in comfort, probably as she lays back down.

"And clean up that mess. Goodnight~!" She chirps and the magic circle starts to get smaller, slowly fading away.

I hear a slight snort as it's about to close, and a faint "Boys." from Sona as an afterthought.

'Is it a bad time to say I told you-'

"Don't!" I snapped.

I know she only did that to goad me into listening to her and fighting her pawn... but fuck it, it worked. I'm gonna kick that blonde guy's ass since I can't get direct revenge.

Well, I might have to prank her as well but I'm not too good at those. Note to self, ask Aika to help out with a good prank.

Moving on, I need to make a training plan for the next few days.

'No, you need to clean up.'

Cain... shut up. I can do both.

The only issue with my training is, what do I focus on? Sure, I should probably focus on my body but I can't fly no matter how strong I get. And I'm pretty sure both fallen angels and devils have mastered aerial combat.

'I can help you with that one. There's a Ki technique I know of that lets you move in mid-air.' Cain suddenly offered.

Wait, you can use Ki? Can you use magic too?

'Of course I can use Ki. It's why I'm telling you to focus on your body first before trying to make new techniques. Without a strong body, your Ki is bound to be weak.'

I guess that makes sense. Though, you didn't answer about the magic thing. You've gotta have a magic formula or something from ancient times, right?

'...My brother was the one talented with magic. I abstained from it in repentance.'

Oh... Sorry.

'Your sympathy is appreciated, but unnecessary. I asked God to seal me here after I died. My mere existence here is my repentance.'

Well, if you're alright with it. Though that does mean I'll have to learn magic from some other mysterious source.

Learning new magic is much harder than I thought it would be. For each new spell I steal, such as that barrier spell, I have to translate the formula into something coherent. Then, I have to actually understand how the spell works and the calculations used. And finally, I turn it back into my own formula so that it's more powerful.

Decryption, Translation, Encryption.

That's why I think, for now, I'm just gonna focus on the more physical side of things rather than the esoteric.

Shroud should make my healing go faster, letting me train my body for longer. Meanwhile, Physical Conditioning makes my workout sessions more efficient.

I'm gonna need some weights soon because pure calisthenics isn't gonna cut it. Either a gym membership or some sort of gravity magic. Ooh, gravity, that's a nice idea. Straight out of DBZ.

And finally, I guess I can try and keep Shroud up for the entire day. Including sleep.

'I can help with that as well.'

Oh, right. You can totally just fuck with me when I unconsciously turn off Shroud.

Besides that, I'm gonna try and make some items with my neglected Invention skill. That's what the obsidian was for, sure, but I wanna make something else as well.

This is gonna be one fun week.