[4] : Power Upgrade—Brutal Destruction of a Low-Class Stray Devil

Slowly opening my eyes, I could clearly feel the Azure Dragon's soul power within me, but I couldn't use it yet.

I was still too weak. If I tried to unleash the Azure Dragon's power now, I'd probably explode in a matter of seconds.

"Still, it's more than enough as a last-resort, life-saving trump card."

With that thought, I returned to my room, suppressed my excitement, and slowly closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, as I leisurely walked towards Kuoh Academy, I asked the system about the completion status of my tasks.

[Patting Koneko Toujou's head task completed. Reward: Zanpakuto: Zangetsu (Bankai mastered)]

[Defeating Koneko Toujou at a video game task completed. Reward: Mastered Rokushiki.]

Hearing the system's rewards, even though I remained outwardly calm, my heart was bursting with joy.

I now had Mastered Rokushiki along with extensive combat experience, which, combined with the Three-Types of Haki I received earlier, represented a massive leap in my power.

As for the Zanpakuto Zangetsu, I was a bit surprised but also thrilled. Back in my previous life, when I watched Bleach, I always fantasized about owning a Zanpakuto.

I just hadn't expected the system to reward me with the Zanpakuto of Bleach's protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki.

"System, can Zangetsu stay in its Bankai form permanently?"

I wasn't really a fan of Zangetsu's Shikai form, which was a giant cleaver. I preferred the sleek, slender katana form of its Bankai.

[Acknowledging host's preference. Zangetsu's form is now permanently set to Bankai. The host can freely switch between Zangetsu's forms according to their will.]

Hearing the system's solution, I was in a great mood. I even started humming a tune on my way home.

...

And just at that moment, the system's voice rang out in my mind again.

[Ding! Detected a Nearby Stray Devil. Killing it will yield a White Grade reward.]

After receiving the system's task, I felt incredibly fortunate. Fortunately, my golden finger had arrived yesterday, otherwise, I might have ended up as this Stray Devil's next meal.

Then, a surge of excitement coursed through me. I could finally experience my first real battle!

When I reached the depths of the alley, I saw a scantily clad woman.

She was wearing a loose robe, holding a bottle of liquor, her long black hair was wet, and a sickly sweet, heavy fragrance wafted from her. I examined her closely and saw that she was a seductive, enchanting woman.

The woman also noticed me, and her eyes lit up. She smiled seductively and walked towards me.

"Well, well, well, what a handsome young man we have here. How about a drink? Let's do something fun, shall we?"

The woman winked at me suggestively and spoke in a seductive tone.

Facing this clueless Stray Devil's advances, I raised an eyebrow. A playful idea popped into my head. I decided to toy with her a bit before finishing her off. So I said:

"Sure, but I'm afraid you might have spiked the drink. A guy's gotta protect himself when he's out and about, you know? How about you take a swig first?"

The Stray Devil was momentarily taken aback. Could this kid have seen through the poison in my drink? But then she shrugged it off. What did she have to fear from a student?

She wasn't afraid of poison anyway. Her favorite thing was to watch humans slowly get devoured while suffering from the effects of her poison. Just thinking about it made her heart race, almost like a climax.

The Stray Devil immediately picked up the bottle and took a large gulp, then handed it to me, saying:

"There, see? I drank plenty. Now it's your turn, handsome."

But I didn't take the bottle. Instead, I crossed my arms and looked at her with a playful smirk.

Seeing my expression, the Stray Devil grew impatient and urged me:

"What are you looking at, handsome? Drink up! After you're done, I'll show you something really good."

Seeing that I was still unmoved, the Stray Devil finally snapped. She revealed her true form and roared at me with a ferocious face.

"You little shit! Drink! Why aren't you drinking? If you're not going to drink, then just die!"

The woman had now transformed into her true Stray Devil form: a monstrous spider with six eyes on her upper body and six legs on her lower body.

I looked at the mentally broken Stray Devil with disgust.

"What's wrong? Showing your true colors already? And you call yourself a mature Stray Devil? With that attitude? Go back and train some more. Although, it's a shame you won't get the chance."

Hearing my taunts, the Stray Devil finally understood. This damn human had known her identity all along and was just toying with her! Rage consumed her.

"I'm going to tear you to pieces!"

In an instant, the Stray Devil lunged at me, her six eyes spinning wildly, her blood-red claws reaching straight for my neck.

But I remained exceptionally calm. With my Observation Haki, I could easily dodge the Stray Devil's attacks. But I didn't plan on dodging. I wanted to test my current strength by taking the attack head-on.

I activated Iron Body, hardening my entire body.

But then I suddenly remembered a saying from my past life: Iron Body = standing still = taking full damage = instant death!

Therefore, cherish life, stay away from Iron Body. Besides the Marine Hero Garp, everyone else who used Iron Body seemed to have a misplaced sense of confidence, leading to their swift demise.

Thinking of this, I suddenly felt a little panicked, afraid that I might also fall victim to this Iron Body illusion and end up dead. So, I quickly coated my entire body with Armament Haki, turning my skin pitch black.

Crack!

The Stray Devil's claws shattered on impact, and she let out a pained shriek.

"Argh! You damn brat!"

I ignored the Stray Devil's howls and used Flash Steps to retreat a dozen steps. I touched my neck and thought back to the Stray Devil's attack.

"It seems that with my current Iron Body and Armament Haki hardening, I could probably withstand a full-force attack from a Mid-Class Devil."

My gaze suddenly sharpened, like a honed blade.

"<Haki-Coated Tempest Kick: Infinite Storm!>"

I softly uttered this incredibly chuunibyou-esque attack name and used one of the Rokushiki, Soru, to disappear from my spot.

In an instant, a dozen afterimages appeared around the Stray Devil, accompanied by a raging whirlwind. It was as if I were at the center of a tornado.

Numerous cracks appeared on the surrounding walls, as if they had been slashed. In the blink of an eye, I appeared above the Stray Devil.

Snap!

After returning to my original position, I walked directly to the backpack I had thrown on the ground earlier.

Even though this was my first real fight, I felt that my mastery of the Rokushiki and Haki was probably not much inferior to a Marine Admiral's.

After all, I had the system's gift of rich combat experience. So the battle itself wasn't difficult. In fact, I might even be a bit of a natural... I couldn't help but feel a little smug.

But as I picked up my backpack and prepared to leave, the Stray Devil's eyes were filled with mockery. She sneered:

"Hahaha, I thought you were something special. Turns out you're just all flash and no substance… How utterly weak. In that case, I won't hold back any—"

...

"Tsk, You still don't get it, do you?"

I stopped and turned my head, looking at the Stray Devil with a calm gaze.

"You're already dead. Well—a dead devil, to be precise."

"What are you talking about…?"

The Stray Devil didn't even get to finish her sentence.

Splat!

The Stray Devil's body collapsed, her limbs severed and scattered across the ground. A thin line appeared on her neck, and her head rolled away like a ball.

Blood splattered everywhere, raining down like a gruesome shower. Only then did the Stray Devil realize... that she had been cut to pieces by this brat!

Thud!

Her body hit the ground.

Looking at the gruesome scene, I felt a little troubled. But after a moment's thought, I decided to leave this mess behind.

Surely Rias or Sona would take care of the cleanup, since they were the ones in charge of this town. Besides, they're going to be my women in the future. It's only right that they help their husband out a little, right?

"Ding! Task completed. Reward: Perfect Rumble-Rumble Fruit (weakness to water removed)."

"I hit the jackpot! It's the Rumble-Rumble Fruit without any weaknesses!"

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was a Logia-type Devil Fruit from One Piece. It allowed the user to transform into lightning, making them immune to physical attacks, most energy attacks, and non-Haki attacks. It also granted the user the ability to freely generate and control electricity.

They could also use electric waves to enhance their Observation Haki, and they could use the fruit's power to teleport. It possessed ridiculous destructive power.

And this reward had even removed the Devil Fruit's weakness to water! Although I couldn't fully utilize the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power yet, it was more than enough for self-defense in the short term. It seemed like my luck had finally turned.

...

Just as I was happily fantasizing about a future surrounded by beautiful women, a magic circle suddenly appeared before me.

Several familiar figures slowly emerged from it, causing me to feel a mix of surprise and annoyance!

"Here comes trouble."