Just Human

[Ars Nova]

Just Human
A Gamer
Nothing More
Your Adventure begins, in a world of Devils and Dragons.
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Name: Takamaki Rise
Race: Human
HP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
STR: 10
VIT: 10
DEX: 10
WIS: 10
INT: 10
LUK: 10
Points: 0
Traits:
Gamer's Body: Grants the body of a video game character. HP and MP can be restored by sleeping. Hunger and pain are negated. Ageing is negated. Wounds will not bleed, and injuries are translated to HP damage.
Gamer's Mind: Grants immunity to mental statuses. Enable the wielder to have calm, rational thoughts at all times.

Beholden to Anima: When HP is depleted, the wielders' body will transmogrify into an Anima Lantern. After a full minute, the body will regenerate with a 10% EXP and item durability penalty.

I blinked at the window in front of me. I didn't expect this, but whatever.
I was dead, for maybe half a second, then I woke up in a bed that was not mine.
In a body that was not mine.

And, if my suspicions are correct, in a world that is an extremely perverted anime.
…Gamer's Mind really helps
.
Oh, right.

My memories tell me that I live alone in this apartment that my parents pay for me.
They're office workers in Tokyo, so they are away for a long time.

My memories also tell me that it was the first day of my freshman year of high school.
So, without anything more to do, I dragged myself through this body's morning routine.

Quest Alert!

Get to school on time, or get subjected to detention!
Reward: 100 EXP
Relationships start at neutral.
Failure: relationships begin at poor.

Okay, my first quest.
Taking a look at my HUD, I followed the green arrow to my destination at a sedate jog.

Due to constant exercise, your VIT has increased by 1!

Due to constantly moving your body, DEX has increased by 1!

I got noticeably faster in my jog even though I didn't change the amount of effort I put in.
It happened twice more until I reached the school gate, bringing my VIT and DEX to 13.

I was an hour early when I arrived at the gate.
Nevertheless, I completed the quest.

Quest Complete!

Level Up!

Gained 10 Stat points

My first level up, I dismissed the window and made my way to my classroom.
My first day at Kuoh Academy included the usual fanfare.

At the assembly, I gained the classic skill Observe, which I used on everything I could.

Observe 1/100: By closely observing a target, it is possible to gain detailed information.

We went through some preliminary things, and then we were sent home for the day.
Among the first years, I found the occasional Devil and what not.

There physical stats were all thirty or higher, which I can understand.
Humans were lower, their levels ranged from two to five, and their physical stats were never over fifteen.

After school let out, I went to the park.
Making sure that no one was around, I grabbed a decent sized stick and tried to focus.

I don't think mana existed in my home reality, but here, I could feel it.
Among the air, in the water, and even on the trees, it was everywhere.

Even inside me, it was under my skin, flowing throughout my blood all over my body.
I grabbed onto it, and made my intentions clear.

"I.D. Create."

Reality shattered, and a window appeared in front of me.

Skill Created!

I.D, Create 1/100: A skill that allows the user to craft an artificial space. At higher levels, one can alter the parameters of the space that they create.

I.Ds available:

Empty

Zombie

Now for the next step on the list, I need a way to defend myself from opponents.
Since I didn't specify what type of space I wanted to create, it defaulted to an empty dungeon.
Just as planned.
Still grasping the mana inside me, I brought to my hands, and then the stick.

Skill Created!

Mana Manipulation 1/100: The ability to manipulate mana. The higher the level of this skill, the easier it becomes to cast spells.

Passively increases MP by 30%

Passively regen MP by 30% per minute

Mana Channeling 1/100: The ability to increase the power of something by channeling mana into it.

MP cost: 5 per second

Increases item functionality by 20%

There, that's a good starting point.
Six hours later, I exited the dungeon and headed home.

I wasn't tired, and gamer's body didn't even allow me to sweat.
Didn't matter, I trained rather hard, and this school uniform isn't very durable.

Meh, I guess I'll have to wear something underneath from now on.
Results from training:
STR + 12
VIT + 9
DEX + 9
WIS =
INT =
LUK =
Skills Gained
One handed weapon mastery 10/100: The level of proficiency one possesses with weapons that are wielded in one hand.

Passively increases attack speed with one handed weapons by
300%

Blunt weapon mastery 10/100: The level of proficiency one possesses with blunt weapons.

Passively increases damage dealt with Blunt weapons by 300%

Conjuration 6/100: The ability to construct objects with mana. The higher the level of this skill, the more complex and powerful the items one can conjure.

Items available:

Basic weapons

Basic shields

Basic tools

Mana Channeling 10/100: The ability to increase the power of something by channeling mana into it.

MP cost: 4 per second

Increases functionality by 200%

Mana Manipulation 17/100: The ability to manipulate mana. The higher the level of this skill, the easier it becomes to cast spells.

Passively increases MP by 510%

Passively regen MP by 510% per minute

Name: Takamaki Rise
Level: 2
Race: Human
HP: 220/220
MP: 610/610
STR: 22
VIT: 22
DEX: 22
WIS: 10
INT: 10
LUK: 10
Points: 10
Traits:
Gamer's Body: Grants the body of a video game character. HP and MP can be restored by sleeping. Hunger and pain are negated. Ageing is negated. Wounds will not bleed, and injuries are translated to HP damage.

Gamer's Mind: Grants immunity to mental statuses. Enable the wielder to have calm rational thoughts at all times.

Beholden to Anima: When HP is depleted, the wielders' body will transmogrify into an Anima Lantern. After a full minute, the body will regenerate with a 10% EXP and item durability penalty.

Skills:
One handed weapon mastery 10/100: The level of proficiency one possesses with weapons that are wielded in one hand.

Passively increases attack speed with one handed weapons by 300%

Blunt weapon mastery 10/100: The level of proficiency one possesses with blunt weapons.

Passively increases damage dealt with Blunt weapons by 300%

Conjuration 6/100: The ability to construct objects with mana. The higher the level of this skill, the more 'complex and powerful the items one can conjure.

Items available:

Basic weapons

Basic shields

Basic tools

Mana Channeling 10/100: The ability to increase the power of something by channeling mana into it.

MP cost: 4 per second

Increases functionality by 200%

Mana Manipulation 17/100: The ability to manipulate mana. The higher the level of this skill, the easier it
becomes to cast spells.

Passively increases MP by 510%

Passively regen MP by 510% per minute

I got a good solid base to start with combat wise.
When I got home, it was empty; my memories tell me that this isn't new.

I remember being angry about my lack of guardians.
But now, I don't care.

I wasn't Rise, but this is her body.
I haven't lived her life, but I remember it.

So, I just move along.
I don't go to sleep, that would just be a waste of time.

Exercising in a small three room apartment is just asking for trouble.
So…spell work it is.

I took a quick shower, and threw my dirty uniform in my inventory.
Then, once I put on my pajamas, I began training some more.

One thing that stood out to me is that I have an absurd level of mana regeneration.
I figured it must be this world, eventually, everyone that lives long enough and fights enough starts to sling mana around
like it's going out of style.

Since I'm just a human, I probably won't reach the absurd capacity that the other r'aces have.
That's just fine though.

I've gotten so much stronger in a relatively short amount of time.
Sitting at the foot of my bed, I began conjuring anything that I could think.

Conjured:
Small knife x 3
Small stick x 3
Small rock x 3

Skill level up!

I repeat this over and over.
Stuffing the items into my inventory, I continued until I reached level 10 in my conjuring skill.

Conjuration 10/100: Can now conjure enchanted items. Enchanted equipment grows in ability the more MP used in their creation.
…I'm going to abuse the heck out of this.
So, my first item would be a better outfit for fighting and training.

I take a moment to imagine the design, then I trickle mana into my conjuration.
Taking advantage of my MP regen, I reduce the amount of mana I use in until I see the gauge halt.

Mana Manipulation has gained a level!

For about thirty minutes, I continue this, and then I stopped.

19,200 MP used in conjuration: Rank 9 item has been conjured!

Rank 9 Enchanted Scarf (Neck):
Increases all stats by 90


I stared in surprise at the yellow scarf in my arms.
I opened my equipment menu and equipped it.

CONGRATULATIONS!

You have breached the human limit and become superhuman!

Whether through equipment or training, you have become 5 times stronger than the normal human body can become.

Race has changed to Superhuman.

You now gain 5 extra Stat points per level

Your race will change back to human if no stats are one hundred or above.

Race upgrades too?
…This may get more complicated than I thought.

So, on the first day I've managed to become a lot stronger than the majority of the devils and humans at school.
…Crap.

Should I stop, or should I move onto what I was going to do next?
I consider my options for a moment.

Based on my status screen, increasing my INT and WIS will not increase the amount of MP I have.
Therefore, it should be safe to make many stat boosting items to equip without anyone finding out about my abilities.

…There are limitations to getting involved and establishing myself as a highly powerful individual right off the bat.
I have family, even though we are distant from each other, gaining so much notoriety so quickly would lead to investigations.

So, I'd have to disguise myself before I could make waves.
The issue is, I have no idea what path this world is on.

…Since when has that ever stopped me?
Before this whole gamer thing, I was an author damn it!

We write our own stories, whether they become tragedies or heartwarming rom-coms depends on what the author has to say.

The enchanted scarf scrunches in my hands.

It was ten o'clock, more than enough time to find out the limits of my abilities.
There are going to be dangerous people after me.

…I won't be an easy target!

I needed an outfit, one that would obscure my identity for as long as I needed it to.

An hour later, I think I've come up with something.

19,200 MP used in conjuration: Rank 9 item has been conjured!

Rank 9 Enchanted Cloak of Anima (Back)

A cloak that obscures the identity of its wearer, its effects are truly incredible. Unless one has Karmatic

Divination of the same degree of Shiva, then the person wearing this cloak shall always be obscured.

Nice, this is far better than I hoped for.

I equipped this too.

It reminded me a little of Utusho's cape.
…The bad ass cape with the galaxy motif.

…I can make one.

I internally struggled before deciding I'll do it later
.
Bad ass scarf and bad ass cloak equipped, it's time for some grinding.

"I.D Create: Zombies."

Reality shattered…and was replaced with a torn city.
The groans of the dead were audible, even through the walls of my apartment.

I turned sharply to emphasize the swishing of my cloak and scarf.
"It's time to hunt."

They were everywhere.
I made as much noise as possible to draw as many undead to me as possible.

With observe, I learned that their level's ranged from five to eight.
With physical stats in the mid to high twenties, they were all well below my level of power.

I conjured a metal baton; well…it was more of a unshaped slab of metal.

Conjuration level up!

10,000 MP used in conjuration: Rank 5 weapon has been conjured!

Rank 5 Enchanted Unmolded Silver (One handed weapon)
Base Damage: 250

With this, I was more than able to dispatch the zombies with one swing.
Thankfully, DEX also increases the control I had over my body.

Therefore-

Eleven undead were slowly surrounding me.

Then, they burst into red light as their HP hit zero in a blink of an eye.

-I don't have to worry about getting used to my newly superhuman speed!

Level Up!

A chuckle escaped my lips before I could stifle it.
With the rate I slaughtered them; it would only be a matter of time before the Legion Zombie showed up.

I smashed the ground, the ruined cars, and even toppled a shed.
Slowly but surely, a sizable hoard started to form.

I wanted to try something.
I reached deep inside, the small pool of mana that was inside me before has changed.

I can see it in my mind, a small blue star.
I guided some to my arms, and out to the palm of my right hand.

Opening my eyes, I am greeted with a hovering sphere of blue mana.

Skill Created!
Mana Bolt 1/100: A basic manipulation of mana. It detonates when it hits a target.

Base Damage: 20 + 100% INT

MP cost: 10

I launched at the shambling corpses, the one I hit vanished into red light, but the explosion seems to have less power than the impact.

Hmm, alright then, I just need to use more.

I unequipped my weapon to free up both of my hands.

Let's try this then.

My palms glowed with mana, and then unleashed a barrage of Mana Bolts.
Skill Created!

Mana Bolt-Volley 1/100: A variation of Mana Bolt. At the cost of lowering the power of the bolt, it is possible to rapidly fire Mana Bolts.

Base Damage: 10 + 100%

Fire Rate: 10 shots per second

Cost: 100 MP per second

The moment the skill was activated, small blue slivers of starlight burst forth from my fingertips.
The newly created skill lived up to its name.

In less than a minute, the hoard was reduced to nothing.
The street and some of the building that were caught in the crossfire had patched of molten blue slag.

I winced; it seems that Mana Bolt and its variations cause's unnatural collateral damage.
With my skills further leveling up, I was well on my way to establishing myself as a powerful figure in the world.

!

Suddenly, rumbling and a huge shock wave from behind me knocked me into the air.
Flipping up-right, I saw a huge fist just inches from me.

And attached to it was…uh…what-?
The giant wrenched its arm out of the ground with a fist full of concrete.

With speed that it shouldn't be capable of, it tossed it all at me.
It wasn't planning on letting me land!

A building stopped my momentum just enough for the monster to pitch it at me with ridiculous strength!
I kicked off the side of the building, managing to just barely clear the debris that was thrown by curling into a ball.

The air snapped, and I was suddenly buried into the ground by another large fist.

HP – 42

My head was free, allowing me to freely lock eyes with my attacker.


…what the hell is that thing!?

"Observe."

Cu'au- Defender of the Damned

Level 52
Race: Star-child
HP: 32,560/32,560
MP: 0/0
STR: 102
VIT: 235
DEX: 187
WIS: 12
INT: 30
LUK: 0

An ancient being that was responsible for defending the dead from brutal torment caused by the living, none have been seen since the subjugation brought upon reality by the Great Usurper.

Great Usurper?

The giant, Cu'au, lifted its massive arm off of my body, allowing me to zip to safety on a nearby rooftop with my speed.
This thing...what is it doing here?

Where is the legion zombie?

Gamer's Mind kept my thoughts rational as the creature stared at me.
It looked extremely similar to a human made out of space.

Its 'skin', if one could call it that seemed to have a mural of a galaxies-no.
Their actually moving, the galaxies are swirling inside.

This is a Star-child?
Where did it come from?

Further thoughts were cut off when the Instant Dungeon Kuoh lit up like it was dawn.

...oh.

The giant somehow formed a passing replica of the sun above us when we were staring at each other.

Quest Alert!

Gaze of the Star-Children 1:

The gallant Defender of the Damned has seen fit to judge you for your actions.

Defeat the Avatar it has sent before the Star reaches Earth.

Time limit: 15:00

Reward: ???. ????. ??????.

The quest alert caught me off guard.
So, time sensitive quest along with a super-powered boss fight that is physically resistant, probably has overpowered skills, and is 49 levels ahead of me.

...Fine then.
Gamer's Mind prevents me from panicking when I reach the conclusion that this is likely to be my first 'death' and failed quest.

That's fine.
But...if I accept that, if I just not try at all, how is it going to be different in the future?

There are tons of extremely powerful beings in DxD.
If I just submit to everything that I come across stringer than me...

Screw that.

I cast Mana Channeling on my scarf, allowing my stats to increase by an additional 270 points.

!

So-so much...I
My perception slows down, and suddenly stabilizes as everything snaps back into place.

The Star-child...it feels like its staring at me, but I can't tell because it doesn't have eyes.
I take a deep breath, and focus intently.

Right, first things first.
I don't have a multitasking ability, so in order to avoid distractions, I turn off notifications.

This will be my first milestone.
Call it a gamer's instinct, but I know that if I defeat this being here and now...

I'll be getting some thing's attention.
That's fine, I'll take that one out too.

Re-equipping my unmolded silver slab, I got ready to face a Star-child in the presence of a descending star coming to burn this dimension to ashes as collateral damage.

 

[Ars Nova]

There were several things going through my mind at the moment.
Why such a thing is here at the moment, where it came from and how it existed are some that my accelerated mind voiced more often than not.

I couldn't afford to think too hard about them, so I pushed these thoughts aside and focused on the giant in front of me.
Perhaps if I was in the mood, I might have some genre-savvy quip to voice.

But I don't, so instead I leap from the building using all the strength contained in my body.

The air snapped, and I was soaring towards the giant with my weapon poised to pierce through.
I considered making another weapon, but I decided that would take time I didn't have and instead turned my attention inwards.

The mana inside my body flowed outwards, forming into a arrow point in order to increase the piercing potential of my descent.
That's not all, i had more mana to spare and no time to waste.

That's why I funneled a large remainder towards my back, expelling it forcefully.
The intensity of the discharge nearly consumed the entirety of my vision.

I crashed through the chest of the thing, I met almost no resistance and as a bonus, landed a fair distance away.
I managed to land rolling thanks to my high dexterity...but I forgot one crucial detail.

Just as I managed to turn around, I saw Cu'au's great fist closing the distance absurdly fast!

CRASH!

It was, again, thanks to my dexterity that managed to defend myself.
There wasn't enough time to dodge, so I did the next best thing.

I blocked.

It wasn't an ideal situation to be in, I'll admit that much.
The asphalt of the gave way almost instantaneously, as a result I had to contort my body awkwardly in order to get the correct leverage to hold the fist back.

It was odd, I never would've thought my life would contain a point that included something like this happening.
With my new STR in the three hundreds, I easily managed to use my leverage to push the fist back.

My mana that I burned through was trickling back, but it wasn't enough to really do anything spectacular.
That line of thought was discarded when its other fist came roaring towards me.

I wasn't caught off guard this time though, and I easily managed to divert the giant limb to the side with my weapon
The parry unbalanced the giant, giving me the chance I needed.

I drew upon what mana I managed to recover, and funneled it around myself.
The attack I first used against it dealt damage, yet it wasn't significant damage.

Yes, I have a huge stat advantage over him, but I my attack lacked something.
I was small, minuscule compared to the size of Cu'au, that's why, even though I pierced through his entire body, I actually did a negligent amount of damage.

The solution was simple, use an attack that covers more range, therefore-

Wisps of blue light stream together, weaving, and refining themselves into something physical.
-Making a large limb of mana seems appropriate.

The giant managed to recover, but it was too late.
My limb punched right through the its chest, the shock wave generated from the action caused my scarf to sway about.

I wasn't done...
This thing had an absurd amount of HP, so I had to make sure.this stupid, unnecessary boss-fight was over.

I turned and ran, as fast as my new stats would let me.
Buildings and streets blurred past, the ground shattered under the force of my mad dash from street to street.

Finally, atop another building tall enough to grant me the sight of the large being impaled by a glowing blue, slightly larger limb in full clarity.
Then, the limb exploded.

Have you ever seen a high powered explosion go off in person?
The flash hits you way before the "boom".

It was jarring, I wasn't anticipating the sheer brightness of the explosion, I nearly lost my footing when the shock wave hit.
The building I was on wasn't as stable as I thought it was, but the slow disappearance of the star overhead made a smile cross my face.

Quest Complete!