'As I thought, Issei Hyoudou is hiding pretty well behind the pseudonym "Boobs Make Me Stronger",' he thought, a small amused smile tugging at his lips.
Issei Hyoudou.
(Image)
He was the protagonist of the light novel High School DxD, but also a former human who had become a devil following a tragic incident.
According to Kirito's knowledge, he wasn't particularly dangerous or hostile toward honest people in their daily lives.
From his assessment of the young Japanese man, Issei was nothing more than a perverted teenager whom fate had unfortunately burdened with far too much potential for such immature shoulders.
« System, you offered me the chance to obtain "crisis" energy in exchange for participating in your grand project… but concretely, what can I actually do with it? » he asked while regenerating his body using holy magic.
Even though he wasn't a real priest, holy magic was still, above all, a form of magic native to this world.
Even Frieren herself was capable of using it, despite feeling no particular devotion toward the goddess.
The young man soon came to see it as perfectly logical: at the end of the day, it all came down to faith in the existence of the goddess… and mana.
As a human originating from a world that believed in a single God whose interventions in the physical realm were at best indirect and completely devoid of tangible magic, he found it surprisingly easy to accept the idea of a goddess who had abandoned her world for unknown reasons.
Especially since, in this world, holy magic was an easily observable "miracle" — unlike anything from his previous life.
And so Kirito had already mastered several practical spells from this world's holy magic system.
An achievement made possible by his deep understanding of divine entities, his genuine acceptance of the existence of the divine, but also by his meticulous study of the goddess's sacred texts.
For now, the young elf considered himself the equal of high-ranking priests within the Church of the Goddess.
The only thing preventing him from reaching the power level of figures such as Bishop-level priests like Heiter could be summed up in one word: fanaticism.
He simply wasn't obsessed enough with the goddess to access a level of holy magic comparable to that of the future Heiter.
A flaw he had tried to compensate for by using the Magical Archive on himself, hoping to alter his perception of the goddess while casting holy magic.
A clever idea… but he had underestimated the goddess.
The attempt ended in complete failure.
Kirito concluded that the goddess's eyes were not naive enough to fall for such a trick.
[ Crisis energy is an energy as ancient as existence itself. It represents the precursor of "change". ]
[ It can be used to create various things, within reasonable limits, depending on the scenario of the world in which it is employed… ]
It took the System about ten minutes to explain to Kirito that crisis energy functioned in a way very similar to the power of the protagonist of the light novel *The Novel's Extra*.
It allowed one to alter a scenario — provided one had accumulated a sufficient amount of that energy.
A power that seemed weak on paper, but which became terrifyingly potent in the hands of someone with a deep enough understanding.
« It's a form of reality alteration… but then… »
As Kirito marveled at this ability, his train of thought suddenly stopped on one crucial point.
Why hadn't the System tried to stop him during their first encounter, when it could simply have used crisis energy?
It clearly possessed the power to turn a catastrophic situation in its favor.
[ You seem to have realized that I could have reversed the situation during our first meeting, don't you? ]
Kirito remained silent for a moment before a mocking smile slowly spread across his face as he stared at the System panel.
« You simply didn't have enough crisis energy back then, right? » he said in a calm voice, carefully observing the System's reaction.
[ Not quite. ]
[ I could have gotten out of it, but every use counts toward achieving my goal. If I spent such a precious resource on the slightest difficulty during my journey, I would have wasted currency needed to reward the chat-group members participating in missions, while significantly slowing my progress toward my objective. ]
[ There is also the fact that you appear to be a rational individual. A peaceful solution was therefore conceivable. ]
Hearing the System's explanation, Kirito nodded in understanding.
He knew the System wasn't telling him the whole truth, but for the time being, the information provided seemed credible enough.
As for the rest… he would find out soon enough.
After all, their relationship was much more of a partnership than a master–servant dynamic.
'Apart from that, I now understand much better where the System's rewards come from,' he thought, noticing the word "currency" the System used to describe the origin of mission gains.
[Ding!]
[the pseudo-scientist has entered the chat]
[the pseudo-scientist (admin) : Did you all receive the notification regarding "Boobs Make Me Stronger"'s situation?]
[Extreme Heaven Demon : Yep, the kid got himself into quite a mess haha]
[Not a Sons of Horus, but a proud Luna Wolf : Finally some good news since I arrived here]
[Not a Sons of Horus, but a proud Luna Wolf : A traitor to the human race cannot be tolerated within the Imperium!]
[Daughter of the Cosmic Abomination : I don't like this other sex-obsessed guy either, but he clearly didn't choose to become a monster]
[Useless Valkyrie : …I-I think like Raven, you should stop wishing for your comrade Loken's death]
[Not a Sons of Horus, but a proud Luna Wolf : What?! You're siding with this half-xeno?!]
[Useless Valkyrie : …n-no, I-I mean… Issei didn't choose to become a devil]
[Extreme Heaven Demon : Stop it kids with Loken, Issei is in danger. We should organize to help him, not argue]
[Just Peter Parker without powers : I agree with Mr. Kim Young-hoon, we should try to find a solution instead]
[Not a Sons of Horus, but a proud Luna Wolf : Even though both of you are images of the Emperor and proud members of the human species, I will not move without an order from my Primarch for a race-traitor and a stupid xeno]
[bing!]
[Not a Sons of Horus, but a proud Luna Wolf has left the chat]
[the pseudo-scientist (admin) : Well… I barely opened the subject and one person already left]
A delicate situation that Kirito took very seriously.
The elven scientist genuinely wanted to steal a bit of technological knowledge from Loken's world, but he seemed to have underestimated the racism of a veteran Space Marine.
'I'll have to hide my race or find a way to earn the trust of someone so thoroughly indoctrinated in order to erase any non-human presence,' he muttered, rubbing his forehead in mild frustration.
He knew better than anyone how deeply rooted racism and xenophobia were in the human consciousness — a scar from the events at the end of the Dark Age of Technology, an unforgettable wound in humanity's history.
Humanity had simply suffered too much at the hands of aliens.
[Extreme Heaven Demon : Honestly, Loken isn't the only one who can't help this time]
The statement from the man Kirito identified thanks to Peter's words drew his attention:
Kim Young-hoon.
(Image)
A side character from the novel and manhwa *Regressor's Tale of Cultivation*.
Kirito hadn't finished the novel yet — the story of the martial arts master's universe was still ongoing.
However, he seriously doubted he could defeat the leader of the Murim Alliance in the chat-group in a one-on-one fight.
That was just how terrifying the man was.
[the pseudo-scientist (admin) : You're going to be absent too?]
Kirito asked directly, without beating around the bush. Every minute counted, because the young elf had already noticed Issei Hyoudou's silence in the group chat.
A clear sign that the young devil was currently far too busy to respond.
[Extreme Heaven Demon : Y-yeah… I can't really help much. I'm currently preparing for the decisive battle against those damn cultivators]
At the mention of the word "cultivators", Kirito's previously indifferent gaze suddenly sharpened with keen interest in Kim Young-hoon's words.