Chapter 7 - Hell Fire
[Replicated Ability: Hell Fire
Quality: C
Effects:
1) Has a healing effect. If the host is injured, Hell Fire can heal to a certain extent.
2) Consume demonic power/magic power/vitality to transform the body into flames, rendering some external physical attacks ineffective.
3) Hell Fire can be used as a means of attack.
]
Roy's eyes lit up as he glanced at the effects.
"Not bad at all," he murmured.
Hell Fire was essentially a subset of the Phenex Clan's Innate abilities.
But for its cost, it was a steal.
All three effects—attack, defense, and healing—were exceptional.
Most importantly, they were versatile, covering every key aspect of survival.
"Guess I've upgraded from a mob to a weak fighter," Roy said with a self-deprecating smirk.
With this, he had a baseline for self-defense.
No longer would he be helpless against minor threats.
"Activate it."
A burst of flames erupted from his body, filling the room with searing heat.
With a thought, Roy reined in the blaze, condensing it into his right hand.
"Feels good," he said, grinning.
Controlling the Hell Fire was effortless, as if it were an extension of himself.
From his memories, mastering powers—like those of supernatural creatures—depends if your born with it.
But the system bypassed all that.
The Hell Fire felt akin to a Sacred Gear.
Roy opened the panel again to check his stats.
[
Host: Roy Flott
Race: Human
Level: 10 [Peak Human]
Replicated Ability: Hell Fire [C]
Replicated Items: None
Dimension Points: 4,323
]
"Level 10? Peak Human?"
"Wonder how I'd fare against a Low-Class Devil."
Unlike those anime protagonists, he felt no sudden surge of power.
Beyond the Hell Fire, his physique remained at human limit.
Low-Class Devils, by contrast, far surpassed this limits.
Soon, Roy tested it's effects.
He grabbed a steel spoon from the kitchen; the flames melted it into a puddle effortlessly.
Slicing his palm lightly with a knife, he watched a small flame seal the wound instantly.
When he shifted his body into a flame-like state, a knife passed through him harmlessly, as if cutting through fire itself.
"Drains me, though," Roy noted, panting slightly after testing all three effects.
His breathing grew uneven, like he'd sprinted a few hundred meters.
"Gotta build up my base strength," he resolved.
Without a solid foundation, the Hell Fire was like a child wielding a Sacred Gear—powerful but sloppy, unable to maximize its potential.
After familiarizing himself with the flames, Roy made a call.
"Hey, Jason, check if there's a Kuoh Town in Japan."
"If so, I want to transfer to the Academy there," he instructed.
On the other end was his family's butler, an aide left by Roy's late parents.
Roy was a rich orphan with a hefty inheritance waiting post-graduation.
In a world crawling with mystery, wealth meant little against such threats.
But for tasks like this, it was a godsend.
The academy's details weren't hard to dig up.
Soon, Roy received a report, including a list of notable students at Kuoh Academy.
"Rias should be starting her third year after summer break."
"Story hasn't kicked off yet," he deduced, sifting through his DxD knowledge.
At the anime's start, Issei was a second-year, while Rias and her peerage were third-years except Koneko and Gasper.
This was likely the final summer before the events.
Perfect timing to insert himself into the story.
Crucially, Issei shouldn't have awakened his Sacred Gear.
Right now, he was just a powerless pervert.
"Boosted Gear," Roy muttered.
As a Longinus made by the Biblical God, the Boosted Gear offered god-tier power.
If Roy could claim it, his strength would skyrocket.
It was arguably the easiest Longinus to target.
Others were either unaccounted for or held by formidable owners.
The Boosted Gear, though, was within reach.
Roy estimated replicating the Boosted Gear via the system would cost a fortune in dimension points.
But if he could seize it directly from Issei, he'd save those points for other uses.
"Rias and her peerage won't be able to help, so I'll need the fallen angels," Roy planned.
With time before the story began, he had ample opportunity to prepare.