And so, it was finally time for Issei and the others to teleport, but the man himself was looking around with a puzzled expression.
"Gasper's not here to see us off? I can't imagine him skipping something like this. Did he catch a cold or something?"
"No, Gasper went ahead on his own. He's already at Grigori's research facility, where they monitor the Children of God."
"Gya-suke!? He went alone!?"
"Yeah. After the match with Bael, he came crying to me, saying—'I want to get stronger so I won't hold everyone back anymore! Strong enough to protect the people I care about!' The guy's been a shut-in for most of his life, and even now his fear of people isn't totally gone. But he still went and knocked on Grigori's door by himself. That kind of resolve doesn't come easy... He's probably working hard right now, trying to draw out the power sleeping inside him."
"I see... Alright! If he's giving it his all, then we've got to do the same for our promotion exams!"
"Issei, it's great to be fired up, but for the practical part of the exam, you're banned from using Balance Breaker or going into Forbidden Form."
"Huh!? What the hell are you talking about, Ikki!?"
"You're already borderline High-Class Devil level even without any boosts—thanks to that 'New BorN' evolution of yours. If the practical exam involves fighting other applicants and you go Balance Breaker, someone could literally die. Don't forget: the Boosted Gear that houses the Red Dragon Emperor has the power to slay gods. Dragg, can you hold him back if he goes overboard?"
[Of course. Normally, applicants for the Middle-Class Devil exam are expected to be just that—Middle-Class. If my partner goes all out now, he could probably kill them even without using Triaina.]
Good, with Ddraig watching over things, we should at least avoid the worst-case scenario.
Issei didn't look too thrilled, but with some final words of encouragement, we sent them off. The rest of us stepped onto the magic circle and teleported to the exam venue—a hotel located in the Gressil territory of the Underworld.
=======
On our way to our assigned rooms in the luxurious hotel, Xenovia spoke up casually.
"Middle-Class Devil, huh? Considering how rigid the upper ranks of the Devil society are, I wonder if I'll manage to get promoted by the time I graduate. Still... As a former church believer, it feels weird just thinking about gaining status as a devil."
"Well, it's only been about three months since your reincarnation, so it's not surprising you feel that way. Asia's kind of in the same boat. Speaking of which, Azazel-sensei, can I ask you something?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I was just wondering—there's a practical exam for Middle-Class promotion, right? What about someone like Asia, who's purely a support-type?"
It made me wonder what they do for people who are more researchers than fighters too.
"Ah, good question. If someone applies in advance, there are alternate practicals available. The criteria for passing are stricter, but someone like Asia could still pass with her healing power alone. However, things change when it comes to High-Class promotion. A High-Class Devil is expected to be capable of defending their retainers, so a certain level of combat ability is required."
I see—so up to Middle-Class, you don't necessarily need to be a fighter.
"Hauu... Then I guess High-Class is out of reach for me."
"Not necessarily. 'Combat ability' isn't just about destructive power. For example, you could trap enemies using defensive barriers, or immobilize them in other ways. That would count. Another option is to make a contract with a strong familiar to bolster your combat ability. Beast tamers are a perfectly valid combat role. You've already got that contract with Sprite Dragon, the notoriously difficult Storm Blue Dragon, right?"
"Yes! His name's Lasse!"
"For High-Class, you've still got a few years to grow, so if you want to focus on promotion, you can just wait for Lasse to mature. Still, it wouldn't hurt to find another familiar who could serve as an immediate combat asset. Usually, Ikki's familiar steps in to protect Asia in real battles, but that's not ideal—he's not a Gremory servant, and Issei already used up all the 'Pawn' pieces. Gremory's forces are limited. If Ikki and Irina aren't around, we might have to reassign our few frontliners just to guard Asia. Maybe it's time we start scouting powerful familiars. We might get lucky and find one that clicks."
It's true. If Asia had been backed by a tank-type monster during the Rating Game against Sairaorg, the whole match could have gone differently.
And we can't keep bending the rules by lending her Izuna every time either. Besides, Izuna's strength scales with the contractor's power, so temporarily switching ownership would nullify his tanking ability anyway.
========
With no particular tasks for the next few hours and needing to stay close to Ophis, we passed the time playing brawler games and banana-shell chaos racers that Azazel-sensei had brought to the hotel. As we approached lunchtime, we headed to the private restaurant we had reserved for Issei and the others' after-party.
...Seriously, who just casually books out an entire restaurant?
Anyway, by now the exams should be wrapping up.
Azazel-sensei, naturally, had already downed a full stein of beer without waiting for the stars of the show.
Soon, a message came from Issei: "The exam's over. We'll be joining you now."
Not long after, the group entered the restaurant.
"Issei, Akeno, Yuuto, Shirone—good work. How'd the exam go?"
"Yes! I think I did pretty well on the written part! Hardly left any blanks!"
"...I couldn't remember the name of the enemy general in Leviatan Season 1."
"Ahaha, yeah, that one stumped me too."
"Oh my, I actually nailed the questions about Oppai Dragon, even the detailed ones."
...Is that really an appropriate test question?
Even Rias was chuckling and muttering, "Well, that can't be helped."
"How about the practical exam, Issei?"
"Ah, well, Ddraig only let me use a single 'Boost'... But even with that, I still won easily. I caught my opponent off guard with a single punch, and they flew into the wall. Everyone else was in the same boat—holding back but still winning effortlessly. I guess I didn't realize just how much stronger we've become."
[Of course. Since becoming a devil, you've constantly fought—and trained with—powerful allies and enemies alike. With such intense, back-to-back battles, it's only natural you've grown strong. It just hasn't fully sunk in for you yet.]
"Ugh... now that you mention it, I have been getting beat up constantly. Even when I win, it's always a tough fight... Yeah, I've still got a long way to go."
"Issei, I'll train with you as much as you want. Didn't we talk a while back about wanting power on par with god-class beings? If your dream is to become the strongest 'Pawn,' then I want to be the strongest 'Knight.' I think that's a solid goal to aim for—don't you?"
Wow, even Yuuto's making bold claims these days.
"You guys were talking about all that behind my back!? But... yeah, I'm down. I've got Ddraig inside me—the dragon that scared even the gods. God-class power is just a stepping stone. One day, I want to unlock everything the Heavenly Dragon has to offer!"
[Kukuku... I look forward to that day, partner.]
"Geez, you three are unbelievable. But I guess you really can talk about god-class power when you're this close to reaching it."
Azazel-sensei, you're kinda letting your exasperation show.
"Well, I think I'm the luckiest one here. I've got Issei pushing me from behind, and Ikki clearly leading up front. With that kind of motivation, it's easy to stay focused on training."
"Yeah, and my sparring matches with technique-types like Kiba have helped a lot. Honestly, I think I might be able to beat you soon, Ikki!"
Oh? Is that a challenge?
"We'll see. I've added a few new tricks to my repertoire lately. Been secretly practicing for matches like this. If you want to beat me, you'd better be ready to pry those secrets open."
The techniques I started developing during that mock fight with Sairaorg are finally taking shape.
"...You didn't come up with another weird move, did you? Like that time with the 'placed slash' or whatever?"
Who knows~?
"Kukukuku! Rias, your peerage might someday have multiple god-class fighters. The rest of your team seems on track to become Ultimate-Class Devils too... Maybe the road to the Rating Game championship is already in sight?"
"Maybe so... But we're still a long way off. If we let that go to our heads now, we'll never make it. All of us—including me—have to keep pushing to become stronger."
As Rias reaffirmed her resolve, a slick, slimy sensation crept across the air, and mist rose around us—until, in an instant, everyone except me was teleported to another dimension.
"Not this again!!"
Those guys from Cao Cao's group—weren't they the type to collect data on past fights and then counter it the next time? We already fought in Kyoto, so why am I the only one excluded from this barrier!?
For now, I used the short window before the barrier fully closed to send an emergency message to Sirzechs (well, technically, directly to Grayfia), quickly reporting that everyone had been trapped inside a dimensional barrier.
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