~Yuta Yukimura~
After getting myself two new girlfriends in the form of two former exorcists and Excalibur wielders(how did this even happen in less than a single afternoon?) I talked with Grayfia about setting up their rooms as she hadn't left just yet.
Safe to say, Grafia was both impressed and stupefied at the prospect of me casually making the two exorcists my new girlfriends, but I was used to the chaotic life. I have learned to embrace chaos instead of uselessly chasing normality.
So, while Grayfia handled their accommodations and Rias handled their school problems, I got some alone time to roll my new tickets. As always, starting with the lower rarity Gold Ability Ticket.
Rolling Gold Ability Gacha...
A Rare Ability!
[Void Tendril]
|Rarity: Rare||Class: Emitter|
Allows you to conjure and control tendrils woven from void; these tendrils can grapple, crush, whip and pierce to your desires. You can also share sensations with the tentacles.
I am a man who appreciates synergies, but even I am starting to get concerned by the amount of Void and Demonic abilities and traits I am getting. It almost feels like the system is trying to turn me into some unholy Void Demon God or something.
Concerning coincidences aside. It's time to roll my Platinum Ticket. These always excite me.
Rolling Platinum Item Gacha...
An Elite Item!
[Wand of the Ice Fairy]
|Rarity: Elite|
A wand made of blue ice crystals that is somehow not cold to the touch but pleasantly cool instead, using this wand as a focus for water, cold and ice abilities and spells increases their potency and reduces their cost.
Ehh...
It sounds like a great item, don't get me wrong. You can't go wrong with an Elite item that boosts an element. It's just that I only had a single Water-Based ability, and I felt no need to use it.
I am quite confident in my current fighting style. My Void and Shadow abilities never fail me. My build is centred around boosting them to their limits. And sometimes tacking on Auxiliary powers alongside Devil Trigger if the situation arises.
Point is, I am at my strongest when I am leaning on my biggest strengths, the sheer boost I get for Darkness. Frankly, I had a lot of abilities that were just collecting dust right now. Like Sand Veil, Disguise and Storm Blade.
It would be great if I could hand out some of my loadout to my girlfriends to make them stronger, at least strong enough that I would not have to worry about them like in the Kokabiel fight. Of course, only some of it, as most of my power lay in the sheer range of synergies I could cook up.
Speaking of Synergies, I moved to the basement training floor to work on some of my synergies and figure out what I could make out of my current set of abilities. And so that I could blow off some steam.
First of all, I started out by testing the Law of Regression, and it did not disappoint its grandiose name. I shattered a piece of rock, and it rewound the effect of me punching the rock, thus making it whole. If the broken pieces were away, they seemed to vanish before appearing on the item that I had broken.
I tried it a bunch on Mundane items to feel barely any strain on me, but I was unwilling to test it much in my current state, as it warned me of karmic backlash. Despite not being able to test it extensively, I had many ideas for it.
Could I revive people with it like Phoenix Feather? They were both Legendary, and while one had a timer, this had backlash. So they should be able to replicate each other's effects to an extent, right? What about incurable diseases? It did not matter if there was no way to cure it, I would be making it so that they practically never got it in the first place.
My void tendrils had some impressive power behind them, stronger than I could strike without assistance from Bulk Up or Devil Trigger. They were strong enough to pierce through titanium plates and shear apart walls when I put some juice into them.
When I used it together with Shadow Hands, I could summon more extensive Shadow Hands, that looked more like hundreds of tentacles wired together to become hands and arms. Mostly a more powerful version of Shadow Hands, I named Void Arms. Not worth the ability slots, but a fun novelty nonetheless.
With Natural Weapons, I could make my tentacles bladed and spiked, which was an excellent combat option that required little energy to maintain; it would definitely be my go-to from now on.
Pairing it with Shadow Storage allowed me to manifest even stronger tentacles this time from my shadow only. They could also drag things into my shadow storage, which I could see being useful.
After that, I focused on finding actual Synergy abilities I could use. I wanted to use Devil Trigger, but obviously my body couldn't handle it as I was. Still, nothing stopped me from fusing them into synergies just to see the descriptions.
The most useful ones I have found were:
[Void Path Devil Trigger]
|Rarity: Epic+| |Combination: Void Tendrils, Ghost Form, Shadow Storage, Devil Trigger|
Void Path Devil Trigger allows the user to turn into an entity of pure void, allowing them to distort their shape to manifest more void appendages, phase through objects and into the void dimension and strike with extreme power as well as drag prey into their own void dimension to tear them apart.
Definitely a great contender. Probably not as strong as the next one in terms of pure power, but being able to drag people into my own void dimension sounds like a massive leg up.
[Breaker Devil Trigger]
|Rarity: Epic+| |Combination: Devil Trigger, Bulk Up, Natural Weapons, Regeneration|
Allows the user to become a demon of pure violence, an engine of bloodshed. Optimising their new body for maximum combat ability and extreme physical abilities for an unstoppable force.
This was the form to use when I really wanted to beat someone up. Most efficient 4-slot Devil Trigger focusing on raw physical prowess. Not my forte as I prefer quick, decisive strikes, but definitely needed.
Now the last one... was a bit strange.
I didn't even think about it really, I felt it in my Esper instincts and for some reason, Demon Lord blood that this combination would result in something good. And the result was...
Devil Trigger + Water Manipulation + Natural Weapons + Regeneration.
[Sea Serpent of the End]
|Rarity: Legendary||Combination: Devil Trigger + Water Manipulation + Natural Weapons + Regeneration|
Allows the user to transform into the Sea Serpent of the End, Leviathan. As a Leviathan, you possess incredible Hydrokinetic abilities, being able to control existing water to cause floods, summon rain, shape them into attacks or just lash out with your demonic body.
For some reason, I could feel that the only reason I was able to form this ability was specifically because I was a Devil with the Demon Lord perk and the sheer Oomph of Devil Trigger making up the spine of the ability.
What confused me was how it shared its name with Sona's sister. Leviathan. I vaguely recall hearing about the Sea Serpent of the End before, but I'm not sure. I'll check it later if I don't forget about it.
I'll probably have to ask Grayfia to start training me again soon. I need to make use of the enhanced physique Demon Lord gives me.
Still, for now, I did light training to get myself back in shape, which felt ever so slightly agonising. But pain meant you were alive, or some prose like that. The pain was bad, but it was far from how agonising it could be. Exercise would allow me to recover faster from the holy energies still tearing my body.
After doing some light physical training and taking stock of my Shadow Storage while taking a rest, I was surprised by a pair of feminine hands wrapping around my eyes. I would have flinched if I had not remembered those hands by feel.
"Guess who- / Oh, Rias, what brings you here?"
I turned around to come face to face with Rias standing over me with a puzzled expression.
"I didn't even get to finish my words."
"Obviously, I remember the touch of all of my girlfriends; they are all committed to my memory."
Kind of obviously, I valued my girlfriends a lot, and so I tried to pay as much attention as possible when it came to them. I even kept note of their likes and dislikes in a notepad in my shadow storage.
Rias blushed a little at that, sitting down by my side, she placed her head on my shoulder.
"A real gentleman, I'm glad to see you are feeling fine enough to train, but you really shouldn't overdo it, Yuta-kun. That's why..."
Rias got up from her position next to me and pulled out a beach hat from behind her back.
"Sona and I have decided to do a beach outing tomorrow to relax and de-stress after the events that happened yesterday! And to take a break before Parents' Day comes in a few days"
My eyes twinkled, imagining all of my girlfriends in the possible swimsuits they would wear, and I had to exert Herculean effort to reel my mind back from lustful ponderland to reply to the expectant Rias.
"That sounds great, Rias, to be honest, I've never really... swum in the ocean before. I don't think I can actually swim that well."
It should surprise no one that my parents only made the mistake of bringing me to swim once. With my supernaturally bad luck, I managed to almost drown 3 times in 2 hours in 3 different ways.
"Huh, I didn't expect that. But I can teach you, don't worry about that. If there is a good time to learn, it's now."
I hummed in assent.
"Alright, I suppose I should go out and buy some swimwear."
I was just about to get up before Rias placed a hand on my shoulder and stopped me.
"No need, I already commissioned swimwear for you, don't worry, I know your measurements, so it will definitely be a perfect fit with the expertise of Gremory craftsmen. And don't worry about the girls either, I'll take them out to buy some swimsuits soon."
I leaned back and stared, a little dumbfounded.
"Wow, you are really taking all of this harem business in stride, aren't you?"
Rias giggled a little at my words as she sat down to snuggle with me, her breasts pressing up against my shoulders.
"Is it a surprise? I am a Gremory, and I was the one who was responsible for turning you into a devil. Besides, my mom used to be the head girl of my father's harem too. Guess I must be following in her footsteps."
'Used to' huh?
"Nah, I should have expected something like that from you, Princess. Must come with managing a peerage."
Rias exhaled softly before getting up and dusting herself off.
"Well, I'd better get going and round the girls up for a shopping trip. Look forward to it, Yuta!"
With that, Rias teleported away, and I got up with a more excited expression.
I can't wait til' tomorrow.
A/N: I wanted to take a chapter to explore Yuta's new set of abilities and especially the combos he can do with them currently. Because, oh boy there are a lot. He got a major power-up and an ability that will shake the entire world with what he can do. I think those of you who know me well enough can figure out what I'm planning with them.
The mandatory beach episode(chapter) comes knocking! I wanted to do a de-stress chapter before getting into some more real stuff like the Parent-Teacher conference and the peace treaty. And have some real fun there with the cast of characters that are going to be there. I hope you guys look forward to it.
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