NOVEL NEXT Chapter 48: Chapter 48
"Can I get out?" Issei was a little stuck with Artemis clinging to him for dear life.
"No!"
"Pretty please?"
"No! I'm not letting you go."
"What if I give you a donut?"
"Why would I let you leave for a donut? I can get a donut on my own time, but for some reason, I can't keep you to myself because you try to escape every time I have you."
"Artemis, how about-"
"No deals or any excuse. Now, what else do you want to do?"
Issei wanted to leave and finish the quest with Ddraig. So, Issei did a big brain move. He would stay here for a little while... Staying near Artemis, Issei simply turned off the lights. They were still watching a movie, but this was when Issei deployed his plan. He continued patting her head gently... not too long later, Artemis fell asleep. Turning off the movie, Issei got up and left the room silently. Issei's way of leaving the room was just jumping out of the window and making his way to an open field along the forest nearby the city.
"Finally, out of that place. Sitting down and not being able to move around has to be one of the worst things to experience."
"Isn't that what many humans want? To do nothing and have no responsibilities."
"Responsibilities don't leave, I was just left doing nothing."
"Anyways, let's begin with training. First thing I want you to do is only rely on the Boosted Gear for now."
"Alright."
[Balance Breaker]
Entering his Balance Breaker form, Issei shined with a bright crimson aura.
Staring at the ground, Issei began thinking to himself. "Sacred Gears, they are interesting pieces of equipment as they can mutate and evolve into the will of their user."
Hearing that, Issei immediately asked, "Wait, does that mean that the sacred gears can shift into the style of combat that the user uses?"
"They can as much as there is known about sacred gears, there are also many unknowns about them. They are the very equipment that the supernatural world is thriving to obtain to their sides as they can become very lethal weapons. Longinus levels are very... very unpredictable pieces that the supernatural world is hoping to obtain."
It made sense... the sheer shocked expressions that Issei noticed when he displayed himself being the Red Dragon Emperor was something that he would never forget. No wonder the Boosted Gear was rated as such an incredible piece of equipment when he first obtained it.
"The Boosted Gear is already nearly the perfect piece of equipment for you as the sheer strength and resilience that the gear provides to you matches perfectly with the power you have. I have a feeling that if you were given that skill, it would make you a true weapon of pure terror to anyone."
That piqued Issei's interest, "What type of skill?"
Ddraig was hesitant in answering but knowing that there was no harm in telling his partner, Ddraig responded, "The skill is called Penetrate. It allows for any attacks of mine to break through any defenses that my opponent has."
Hearing that, Issei widened his eyes. Having something like that in his arsenal would be amazing. He would become an offensive machine. Cutting his opponent's defenses and then dealing devastating blows onto his opponent while they had nothing to protect themselves while he was a walking fucking tank. Just the thought of that made Issei drool slightly. "How do I obtain Penetrate?"
"You don't... the skill has been sealed since I had been sealed within this gauntlet. Anyways, we have been talking for far too long. Begin your training... I want you to focus on shadow boxing while keeping yourself at the maximum boosts you can handle. I want you to do this for... as long as you can. Take a break afterwards and redo it for a couple of rounds."
Nodding to Ddraig's words, Issei boosted to his maximum before beginning to shadow box.
After a little while, Issei was seen on one knee trying to not fall onto the ground. A couple of rounds turned into hell as Ddraig continued pushing Issei through a mental link. It had been an hour already and Issei was already dead... Keeping up the Boosted Gear for such lengths as its maximum capacity while pushing his physical body to the limit, Issei had never felt this exhausted in such a long time.
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+1 Endurance
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Issei hadn't seen himself gain a stat in training in such a long time... He never thought he would ever see it again. Maybe training with Ddraig was a good idea...
"Good... now, we still have a couple more things to do."
"WHAT?" Ddraig was going to work him to the bone.
Ddraig only laughed at Issei's reaction before ordering Issei to continue training... "Now, I want you to run around this field with me on your back."
"What? How the hell are you going to appear on my back? Are you about to use magic?" Issei should have shut his mouth because Ddraig appeared right above him, as a projection with magic from the Boosted Gear, and landed straight on Issei's back. Slamming the boy down onto the ground, he grunted while getting back up. "Why the hell do you weigh so much, you lizard?"
"Some people have a lot more muscle than you. Not only that, but I'm applying more magic to restrain you and make this more difficult for you. Running is something you lack in compared to your strength... let's see if your strength saves you from this torture." Ddraig only laughed loudly in hopes of seeing the torture he was about to make Issei go through.
Getting up with effort, Issei began jogging around the field. This was what Issei continued to do for the rest of the night... with an ancient lizard on his back yelling at him to run faster.
However, a specific Goddess had woken up during the night. She felt something odd... this caused her to stir open her eyes and blink a couple of times before noticing that Issei wasn't next to her. Sighing to herself, she realized Issei's plan when she noticed that the TV was off, and the window was open.
Issei had, instead of arguing with her, made her fall asleep just to leave her. What was so important now was that Issei had to leave her again. Getting up and obtaining her bow, she was ready to tie Issei up.
"Issei... Where are you, honey?" Tilting her head slightly, she sensed an energy signature a little too familiar to her. Smiling, Artemis dashed straight out of the window and followed the trails of the energy signature.