Death, when it arrives unexpectedly, is never graceful. Mine was particularly ridiculous: I slipped while getting out of the shower, fell on my back, and hit my head on the sink. My brain didn't even have time to process the pain. Just darkness.
And then… light. Too much light. But as soon as the light blinded me, the darkness returned. I slowly opened my eyes and, to my great surprise, found myself in a room I didn't recognize. The room itself was simple: a queen‑size bed, a small nightstand with a lamp beside it, and against the wall, a moderately long desk with a desktop computer.
I got up from the bed and walked to a full‑length mirror that doubled as a wardrobe door. Looking at my reflection, I realized my appearance hadn't changed much—well, not much, except now I looked like a six‑year‑old boy. My jet‑black hair was still short and messy. My skin was still white, although I could see that imperfections—like fine wrinkles, blemishes, and moles—had vanished. Most striking were my eyes, once an ordinary brown, now an intense blood‑red.
[Ding!]
[Free Upgrade System has been successfully loaded.]
"A free upgrade system?" I asked into the air. "System, tell me: what happened, where am I, and what can you do?"
[Ding!]
[Analyzing question… Generating response.]
[Answer: Host, you have died. After death, you encountered my creator, who had made a mistake and killed you accidentally. As compensation, my creator reincarnated you in a fictional world. Unfortunately, due to divine laws, my creator could not grant you the privilege of choosing which world to be born into.]
"I see… so I died," I murmured, a bit lost. "System, can you tell me which world I'm in?"
[Ding!]
[The host is in the world of High School DxD.]
"DxD, huh?" I thought, sighing in exhaustion and resignation.
I had ended up in a world as dangerous as it was utterly ridiculous. Two giant dragons who, if they wanted, could destroy all existence; the Trihexa; primordial gods; deities from every mythology; the dead Biblical God; the divided Biblical faction; human factions so mentally twisted they were far worse than the most despicable demons; and ordinary humans treated as mere cattle: reduced to slaves, food, or tortured. And in most women's cases, raped. All for the entertainment of the strong.
On the other hand, this world was also one where the protagonist—a brainless idiot whose actions can easily be classified as potential sexual predation—gains power through boobs. Not to mention the absurdly large amount of fanservice. I'm not complaining too much about the latter, but seriously, Issei Hyoudou is pathetically pathetic.
Not to mention that Rias Gremory is a remorseless idiot. A pampered princess who wants everything served on a silver tray. She literally resisted a marriage that, while I can agree that being forced to marry someone you don't love is truly upsetting, considering that her race literally depends on such arranged marriages, it was very stupid and thoughtless of her. The girl literally wants all the privileges of the Gremory name with none of the responsibilities that come with it.
My only hope of surviving in this ridiculous world is this system: the Free Upgrade System. The name already gives me an idea of what it does, although I'm not entirely sure yet.
"System, tell me: what can you do for me? What advantages do you offer so I can survive in this shitty world?"
[Ding!]
[The Free Upgrade System allows the host to improve their skills for free. However, the host must note that the system cannot enhance skills the host doesn't already know, and upgrades are limited by the race's potential.]
[The system will also issue missions; however, these missions are unrelated to the host's skill improvement. Issued missions are optional. The host can choose whether to complete them. There is no penalty for not completing them; however, if the host completes missions, the system will reward them with system points. These points can be redeemed in the system's store to purchase everything from common skills like cooking to powerful abilities from other fictional worlds.]
Hearing the system's capabilities, I opened my eyes in surprise.
"Fuck, what a broken system," I thought, astonished.
Many might think it's not that broken, considering my race is human, but it's worth remembering that in DxD, the highest a human without Sacred Gear can reach is supreme-class. Well, Vasco Strada is a human without Sacred Gear with power equivalent to a mid-to-high supreme-class, capable of easily defeating squads of fallen angels and supreme-class demons. But Vasco Strada could be an exception. Still, even if I can't reach supreme-class, attaining high-class or even low supreme-class isn't impossible with the system upgrades.
"System, do you happen to have a beginner's gift pack?" I asked hopefully.
Honestly, while it would be amazing to receive a beginner's gift pack, I didn't really need it. With the system's free upgrades, I could get strong quickly.
[Ding!]
[Beginner gift pack. Do you wish to open the gift pack, Host?]
"Open the gift pack!" I said ecstatically, realizing that I had indeed received a gift pack.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host. You have received:— $116 billion, divided into 10 pure gold bars, stored in the system inventory.— "Arca Retributionis," a special-class Sacred Gear with Longinus potential.— Tengu Sword Murasame, a weapon from the Akame ga Kill series.]
When I received the information, I opened my eyes wide in astonishment, completely ignoring the fact that I was now a billionaire and possessed the legendary Murasame sword from Akame ga Kill, which, at the moment, was totally useless... since I knew absolutely nothing about swordsmanship.
What truly impacted me was the Sacred Gear. It was incredibly powerful—so powerful it didn't surprise me that it had the potential to become a Longinus.
"System, show me my status."
[Ding!]
[Status
Name: Takamine ReijiRace: HumanAge: 6 yearsAffiliation: NoneRank: Lower‑Low ClassMagic Power: NoneSacred Gear: Arca RetributionisAlternate Names: Reliquiarium Peregrinum, Anima ExtractaTitle(s): Bearer of the Arca Retributionis]
"System, can you give me an overview of my Sacred Gear?"
[Ding!]
[Arca Retributionis is a special‑class Sacred Gear with potential to become a Longinus. It manifests as a pair of elegant white gloves that, depending on the user's gender, take on a masculine or feminine form. This Sacred Gear is unknown, making this its first appearance and choosing its first bearer.
Its ability is a subtle manipulation of the soul. Though slight, it is powerful enough to extract Sacred Gears from the souls of other users. After extraction, as long as the stolen Sacred Gear remains in the possession of the Arca Retributionis bearer, the artifact will evolve to a certain extent. Of course, since it's only partial soul manipulation, if the target's Sacred Gear bearer is stronger than the user of Arca Retributionis, extraction will be impossible.]
"A manipulation of the soul, huh? No wonder it can become a Longinus," I thought, feeling genuinely fortunate to have acquired this Sacred Gear. "If it evolves into a Longinus, I'd basically become a Mahito 2.0."
Although its main function is stealing other Sacred Gears and evolving them, the real strength lies in manipulating souls. With this, I can practically modify, even just a little, the souls of other beings. Also... extracting Evil Pieces from reincarnated demons doesn't seem impossible, either.
I let out a tired sigh. So much had happened in such a little time, and my mind was scarcely able to process all the information. I walked back to the bed and, without much thought, flopped face-first onto it, burying my face in the pillow.
Turning my head to the side to breathe easier, I brought one of my small hands up to my face and stared at it for a while. Then, a white light began to appear from my hand. A smile formed on my lips, and when the light faded, I saw my hand—now wearing an elegant white men's glove, perfectly fitted to my hand.
I had managed to awaken my Sacred Gear. However, if I'm honest, I didn't like the design. Suddenly, a light enveloped my hand again, startling me. For a moment, I panicked. What if not liking the design somehow caused the Sacred Gear to abandon me?
Fortunately, my fears were unfounded, because as soon as the light faded, I saw the gloves had changed. Before, they were clean white gloves like a nobleman's. Now they were black leather, with exposed fingertips, a row of sharp metal studs on each knuckle, and overlapping small metal plates on the back, resembling scales.
I sighed in relief and stared at my gloved hand. The Sacred Gear had changed its manifestation because I didn't like the original design. Now it was totally my style. The change, though not spectacular, was at least decent. I mean, if I punch someone with these gloves, the knuckle spikes will definitely hurt.
Turning over to lie on my back, I stared at the ceiling. I felt mentally exhausted. Maybe sleeping for a bit would help; when I woke up, I'd plan what to do next.