Chapter 23-I'd Rather Fail Then Not Know

Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD.

I'd Rather Fail Than Not Know

"This is fun," Joshua commented while grinning. He could see, off to the side, how both Jeanne and Nagini shook their heads at him. He ignored them though, because he was having the time of his life.

A spear came straight at him from the side. Now, normally, he would have used his daggers to block. That day wasn't a normal day though. His smile widened as a dim, grayish blue circle appeared between him and the tip of the weapon, stopping it before it could reach its target.

[Magic Shield has gone up a level.]

'Absolutely amazing,' He thought to himself, parrying as another one of Jeanne's training sword-dummies, this one with an actual sword, attacked him from the front. Behind him, he could hear the one that had daggers still struggling on the ground against his Magic Rope.

As he attacked the swordsman with his daggers, he summoned another circle pointing towards the spearman. This one much smaller than the last one, shooting a flash of energy and hitting it straight in its illusory chest.

Those were the three spells he'd decided to focus on from the Neutral Magic books that the Devils have given him.

Magic Bolt, Magic Shield and Magic Rope.

And he was very much enjoying putting them to the test. They'd already doubled his combat capabilities, as he could fight four of Jeanne's dummies at the same time. 'Speaking of, there's one mis- Oh, there it is,' He thought, noticing another swordsman sneaking behind his back, its attack stopped by another barrier.

[Perception has gone up a level.]

'Neat.'

"And, enough," Joshua determined then. Fun as it was to fight with magic, it drained his reserves a lot, since he couldn't very well use drawn circles in the middle of combat… Well, he could, but that would require at least one of his hands to be dedicated to holding cards or a book and that would just make things more complicated than it was worth.

"Good to see you are enjoying yourself," Jeanne said with a supremely unimpressed expression as she handed him a towel, which he gratefully took to dry his sweating forehead. "Your familiars are following your example too," She added then. She meant that as a critic but Joshua took it as a compliment, really.

"I know, right?" He replied, looking positively proud of them.

Nagini was "resting", if it could be called that. Most of the training session, the snake would be coiled around a tree branch, squeezing it for all she was worth with Wrap. Also, from time to time, the serpent would hit unsuspecting victims - read, the rest of them - with either a Leer or a Disable.

On the other side of the clearing was Morag, who had been greatly motivated by her increasing number of skills. She was especially proud of the two she'd created that consumed magic, which he guessed made sense. She was very happy to have gone from being the one with the lowest number of skills to being the one with the highest. At least if one didn't count the Resistance skills.

First was the Skill she had made to shoot poison around.

[Poison Shot - Lvl 2

Determines the user's ability to spit poison.

Consumption - F]

And then, there was the one she'd made most recently, which she was practicing at the moment. Being that she was doing so by simply weaving a web of silk like she usually did, it could almost pass as just her working on her Silk Weaving and nothing else. However, if one looked closely, they would notice that the threads had a slight purple shine to them.

That was her new skill at work.

[Poison Web - Lvl 2

Determines the user's ability to create silk threads covered in poison.

Consumption - F]

The Consumption of the skill was probably calculated by an amount of silk or something, because Joshua couldn't otherwise explain how Morag could tailor so much of that webbing in one session otherwise.

Then, there was his first familiar, darting around as she trained a new skill too. Cheshire had taken offense to Morag developing a new skill right when she… evolved, for a lack of a better term. Thus, the feline had worked until she made a new skill of her own too.

[Agility - Lvl 1

Defines the user's ability to increase their Speed and Dexterity.

Consumption - F]

Cheshire loved that skill too, apparently, because she would usually have the dim light blue shine of the skill around her anytime she could run around freely. Joshua almost felt bad for whatever animal in the forest his familiar set herself to hunt. At this point, he was sure it was positively unfair for her to go after normal animals, especially if they were smaller than her.

"Besides," He started, turning towards Jeanne again. "You've been training a lot too, don't think I haven't seen you."

At that, the girl pouted, crossed her arms and looked away. Then, she kicked the ground and grumbled something that he thought sounded like "left behind". He shook his head at ther.

"Jeanne, you don't have to train as much as we do," He told her with a soft smile as he ran a hand through his increasingly longer hair, the sweat in it helping to keep it out of his face. "I told you to train so that you would have a fighting chance if something happened. We train more than we need to, honestly. I kind of like it, and I'm sure my familiars do too," He explained, said animals giving their agreement. At least Nagini and Cheshire did, but he was sure Morag did too, just unnoticeably so. "You don't need to push yourself too hard."

"I know," The teenager mumbled. "I just… I worry that you are working too hard, Josh."

That… was a valid point, he supposed.

"I guess we can afford to take it easy for a bit," Joshua agreed slowly. "Anything you want to do then?"

It was kind of sad, he supposed, but Joshua really didn't know what to do with his free time. He could draw, of course, but that was more something he enjoyed while on short breaks at home, really. He could do what he would have back before he died and look for something to read or see, but the man didn't see the appeal anymore when he now lived in a world of magic.

"I was thinking, maybe we can spend the day in the city? Now that we don't have Khaos Brigade to worry about?" Jeanne asked hesitantly, as if she hadn't expected him to give in that easily. Which… she probably didn't.

"Sure, sounds good," Joshua nodded. "Let's drop these bunch back in the apartment and go, yeah?"

"Yeah," Jeanne replied with a wide smile that he happily returned.

[}-o-{]

He was an idiot.

Joshua had come to that conclusion just a few moments before. Why did he think this? Well, it was rather simple, really.

[Magic Bolt - Lvl 4/50

A Neutral Spell which the user can cast to create a bolt of energy.

Consumption with circle – G

Consumption without circle – E]

He'd been using the Magic Bolt a lot during training lately, but he'd stupidly ignored a rather important part of the screen that described the Spell. The Consumption values, to be precise. He'd grown used to just looking at the cost with the use of the circle. After all, he'd struggled doing that, what was the point of looking at the without-circle one?

And with this one, he'd barely glanced at it, making sure that he could cast it without circles, since that had been the whole point.

Joshua had forgotten that his other spells also could be used without circles.

Thus, he was an idiot.

[Storage Spell – Lvl 13/50

A Spatial Spell which the user can cast to create a pocket dimension to store inanimate objects.

The user can create a storage space of up to 13 squares.

Consumption with circle – F

Consumption without circle – D]

'Considering the number of times I've been using spells with a Consumption of E and that the system classifies me as Rank D with my highest stat being Magic… I'm fairly sure that I should be able to cast this without circles… I might pass out though, but I don't think that's likely.'

As his internal monologue went on, he felt someone pinch his cheek.

"Rude," Jeanne grumbled while pouting. "You are supposed to be helping me, Josh."

"Jeanne," Joshua sighed. "I think we've established that you are good at picking clothes that make you look even better than you usually do. I don't see why you need my opinion on this."

Seriously, of all things they could do to relax… shopping hadn't been in his list, that's for sure. He was fairly sure that he could be excused for letting his mind drift off, really. He wasn't even her boyfriend, he was her brother. Why must he suffer through this?

"Meanie," Jeanne said, her pout, against all odds, got even worse.

"Come on, let's get you that outfit, yeah? I think it's the best so far," He told her with a smile. That was a small lie, really, because she'd looked pretty good with basically everything she'd tried, but if they waited for her to find something better then they would never leave, he was sure. Thus, he settled for that and a little trick he'd picked up. "Then we can go and get some ice-cream, how does that sound?"

"Fine," She huffed and turned away. Joshua could still see the corners of her mouth twitching up though.

'I'm definitely trying the Storage Spell without circles,' He thought, before giving his sister his full attention. Last thing he wanted was to get on her bad side. Jeanne, meek and nervous as she usually got, could be a true terror when she wanted to be.

[}-o-{]

"So, this is where you want to set up the wards?" Joshua asked, looking around a bit.

"Yes," Sairaorg nodded, grinning as always. The human had come to realize that was how he always looked. "How goes the circle creation?"

"It goes well," Joshua nodded. "If you only want detection and such, I can already start setting up some, as I told you. If you want defensive and offensive wards though, it'll take a while."

Once upon a time, he'd been worried about making such a statement to a Devil for fear of disappointing or something. He was beginning to think that there really wasn't more than met the eye regarding Kuisha and Sairaorg. Jeanne certainly had started to relax, the girl happily chatting with the Devil woman off to the side.

"Detection is fine," Sairaorg reassured. "We can do the rest by ourselves." Considering that they had taken out Khaos Brigade in a matter of weeks, Joshua was inclined to believe him.

"Then I only need the wardstones and I can get started," He replied with a grin that he hoped looked as friendly as the Devil's. If it did or not, he didn't know, but Sairaorg certainly grew even more cheerful at that.

"I knew I was right about you, Joshua." The bigger, and certainly stronger man clapped a hand on his back, almost making him stumble. "Have you thought about that contract, by the way?" He added as he signaled something to Kuisha, who made a series of wardstones appear on the table. Joshua needed only a skimming look to know that they were exactly what he'd asked for.

"I have," The man admitted, suddenly nervous. Much as he was coming to like the Devils - something that he never would have expected to think - he wasn't about to bet on that for a long term contract. It sounded simple enough when they explained it to him. They got his skills as a magician, particularly his wards, and he got an ally in them. Joshua wasn't sure there wasn't something else going on there though, which was why he was hesitant to just sign the thing.

Then again, he'd been thinking about something as of late.

"Is it really necessary? Why can't we continue making deals like this?" Joshua asked, trying his best to keep the question sounding friendly. No need to accidentally insult the really powerful Devil. At least the look Sairaorg gave him wasn't an angry one. He seemed more confused than anything, really.

"Most Magicians aren't fond of using their magic and knowledge for Devils," The Devil spoke slowly, as if still trying to process something. Joshua was struck by the fact that he was explaining this at all, since it clearly worked against what he was trying to do. "Most of them are envious of our own system magic."

Joshua could only blink at that bit of information.

"Why though?"

"Because humans have many more restrictions in the use of magic. Devils, on the other hand, can make anything they want, since our magic is based on imagination alone," Sairaorg explained.

That revelation floored Joshua for a whole second. That is, until he realized that there was something more going on there. If Devils could really make anything they thought up happen, then there wouldn't be a need for Magicians' magic. Moreover, Sairaorg wouldn't have needed his help at all either.

"But…?" The man tried, asking if the Devil would tell more than that without really doing so. After all, that felt like asking for a weakness, and he didn't think that was a good idea.

"But we spend a lot more energy "filling the blanks" as it were. It's why Devils still use magic circles, albeit, simpler ones. It reduces the toll on our reservers," The "lesson" for lack of a better term continued. "Human Magicians resent us for having a much easier time at it. They take great pleasure at rejecting any of our requests. Thus, why Devils try to formalize any long term arrangement with Magicians."

Once more, Joshua took a moment to process that. It could very well all be a lie and there was a much more valid reason for Humans not to help the Devils. Or, that's what the paranoid corner of his mind told him, at least. He was increasingly more inclined to not listen to that part of his mind though. Sairaorg and Kuisha had been… alright, so far. It was surprising, shocking even, honestly.

Joshua still was reluctant to sign anything, especially a long term contract with Devils.

However…

"Can I be honest with you, Sairaorg?" The man asked then. With a raised eyebrow, the Devil nodded slowly. "I want to trust you, I really do. I can't, however," That got the other man grimacing, but Joshua continued on. "I want to try this long term thing though, so why don't we do that, but without the contract part?"

That made Sairaorg straighten and narrow his eyes. The human could almost see what was going on in his mind. So, he spoke again before the other could.

"I'll make wards for you, as soon as I have the ward circles drawn," Joshua told him. "I don't know if you have to gather the books you give me or if you already have them in a library of your own. Regardless, I'll make them. The ones we agreed for our deal and any other you want me to make. You can pay me whenever you want."

After that came silence, but Joshua expected as much.

With his piece said, he turned back to what he had come here for. Flipping a card between his fingers, he pulled a notebook out of his Storage Spell along with everything that he would need to set up the wards, except the wardstones, since those would be provided by the Devils.

Then, he started setting the array. There were a lot of Detection and Monitoring Wards. It was a relief that he'd made the wards specially weaker, at least at the start, so that they drained less from his magic, especially considering that they were to be city wide wards too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to set up one of them let alone the amount he was casting then and there.

[Detection Ward has gone up a level.]

[Monitoring Ward has gone up a level.]

'Unsurprising, really,' He thought, feeling the strain even with how weakened the wards were.

"So, which of you will power the wards?"

"Kuisha," Sairaorg replied. A short response, but not curt. Joshua nodded.

To finish the whole thing, he connected the whole array, the biggest he'd created by far, to a Draining Ward. With the complete set ready, he only had one last thing to do. Give control of the wards to the Devils.

"Should I pass control to you?" He asked Sairaorg, who promptly shook his head.

"No, Kuisha will take care of that."

'Odd,' Joshua noted mentally, but quickly pushed that aside. It wasn't his place to ask and he certainly wouldn't after how tense things seemed to be. He'd all but rejected their request for a long term contract, really. What he was offering wasn't good for them, he knew that. After all, he could back away from it at any time, even with what he'd said. He wouldn't, but the Devils didn't know that.

It was odd, being on the other side of the distrust.

Regardless of all that, he did what he had to. Kuisha gave little reaction to the wards suddenly keying to her, except for a frown that slowly deepened. Joshua grew increasingly more nervous as the silence persisted now. The wards weren't fully powered yet, surely they weren't disappointed already, without even letting them reach their full potential…

Ultimately, the woman sighed.

"It'll take time to get used to them. They are more complex than what I'm used to. It will take time to learn to process all the information they give," Kuisha said and Joshua blinked.

'Oh, of course,' He realized, almost smacking himself in the face. He could understand the information alright because he was the one that knew how they worked. Others, however, couldn't do that nearly as easily, he supposed. 'Still, I don't see how I could make that easier for them.'

"I suppose that's to be expected. It just means that the wards are as good as we wanted them to be. Just that we aren't prepared for them," Sairaorg mused, apparently pushing the contract thing aside for the moment.

As he spoke, however, Joshua's mind raced. Was there any way for him to simplify that information intake? Not just for the Devils but for Jeanne too, now that he thought about it. She couldn't always rely on him for the ward information, after all. Then his eyes took in the screen that had merely been pushed aside before and an idea formed in his mind. 'That could work…'

"If I had access to some kind of Illusory Magic," He started, instantly earning back the attention of both Devils. "I could maybe make a display that processes the information for you and gives you a simpler way to understand what they are reading. It would be a simple addition to the array, since it wouldn't really interfere with what the wards do, merely give them another target to send the information to. I should be able to do that without having to set everything up again."

"Hm, that can be arranged," Sairaorg replied, but his tone was nothing like the friendly voice he'd used beforehand. "About those wards you mentioned, I do have an idea of what you could do for us outside of what was already arranged."

Joshua straightened then, despite his weariness. After a long moment of silence, the Devil sighed, as if preparing himself for something bad to happen. It made the human worry about what the request would be.

"Do you have any ward or arrays that could be used for training?" Sairaorg asked and Joshua's eyes narrowed. "And I mean combat training, be it magical, physical and everything in between. They would also need to be placed-"

"Sairaorg," Kuisha interrupted with a warning tone, her expression turning into what Joshua would almost consider concern.

"In our home," The man finished regardless, staring straight at the human. "In the Underworld."

'Figured,' Joshua thought with a grimace. He'd guessed as much once he said "home" but still, hearing the clarification somehow made it worse. 'Hell, he wants me to set up wards in hell…'

There was an easy way out. He could just tell him that he didn't have the kind of wards he wanted, but that would be a lie. Joshua didn't know if the man could tell if he was lying either.

'Sign a contract or go to literal hell with them,' He thought, summarizing his options. After all, Joshua was sure that if he denied this request, his chances of having a good relationship with the Devils would be significantly lower. Which of those was the worst one though?

He didn't know what signing a contract would force him to do, after all. He could try to read and edit the contract if he thought there was something that could be used against him, of course. However, he wasn't confident enough to think he could outsmart a Devil of all things in such a thing.

On the other hand, going to hell could be just as bad, he supposed. 'At least this wouldn't drag Jeanne with me, would it?' He mused. After all, a contract could force him to do God knows what, which could include Jeanne and his familiars. Going to hell though, would only put Joshua himself in danger…

His blue eyes met Cheshire's amber ones and the feline instantly understood him. Blinking, the cat turned lynx eyed the Devils, who seemed to be paying close attention to Joshua. Still, the magical animal eventually nodded. It wasn't as reassuring as it would have been with anything else, but Joshua would take what he could.

"Sure," He agreed, speaking through the knot that was forming in his throat, threatening to stop him from talking. "I have an array for physical training I could set up."

That earned him a beaming smile from the Devil, which wasn't very reassuring either. It looked like one that came from genuine joy, but Joshua could hardly expect a Devil to be that obvious, right? A glance towards his feline familiar told him that the other man was still in the clear.

"Oh, please, do tell me more," Sairaorg urged him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kuisha sigh, although it didn't seem to be entirely out of relief. 'Am I missing something?' Joshua wondered.

"Well, you see. I set up an array with a Weighing Ward that puts just the right weight the one under it needs to develop. It drains magical energy to slowly increase the effect when needed. It's been doing wonders for our own training," Joshua explained. He was still unsure about his decision, but it was a bit late to back down already and talking about his wards was something that he was comfortable with. He welcomed the sensation with open arms, at that very moment.

"Oh," The subdued reception of his ward array wasn't something that he was expecting though, which made Joshua worry. "Does it require the person it is linked to to do anything?"

"Not really? It just needs to suck their magical energy, so as long as they have that, I just have to set everything up," Joshua replied confused. As far as he had read, most beings had magic. He hadn't read anything that would lead to any problem on that side. Was that assumption wrong?

"Oh, that's reassuring. I'll admit that I'm more physically oriented. I've never dabbled too much in magic," Sairaorg said, surprising Joshua in no small measure. A race that seemed to have such an easy time with magic and he went the physical route? That was more than a little shocking, really. It also irked the human, since he had to struggle so much and here was this man dismissing his advantage.

"Well, nothing to worry about there, Sairaorg," Joshua replied instead. After all, it didn't annoy him enough to antagonize the Devils, that was for sure.

'But dammit, I want to smack him,' His mind added.

[} Chapter End {]