Author notes 1:
Hi guys, next chapter we finish the "first season" of DxD, so to speak.
I'm already cooking the next chapter, so you'll have it this week. That's why this one is a little shorter.
Sorry for the 3 weeks of wait, lol. I was busy with life, and remember—this is only a hobby that I do for fun.
Almost 4k collections and 600k views. We're going to one million!!
Thanks for all the Power Stones and the chads who always leave a comment (or multiple ones).
If you haven't reviewed the fic yet, you can leave one if you like. I'd appreciate it.
Things we'll be talking about in Author Notes 2 at the end:
-Small character development the MC will have in this chapter.
-Solo Leveling.
-Misc. rambles/rants about whatever comes to my mind.
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Samuel Pov
I was walking to my home... thinking of what I just saw... it's crazy.
Incredible.
I was not expecting a Rias-bashing to have this crazy butterfly effect—for the better.
They got more days to train for the Riser fight.
A bit funny now that I think about it. Even worst-case scenario, in the end, Issei will win. Of course, I could help more, but nah, I don't want to. I'm not the type to go to them and say, "Guys, I'll train you all." Haha, ew, no.
Fucking never.
It'll be so funny if they actually win. With Sirzechs now in the equation... something really interesting will happen.
To be honest, they can win easily with proper training and preparation. Riser has more pieces, but they're worthless—his peerage is just to satisfy his lust. The only one that really matters is Riser in the end.
But he can win some Rating Games because of his regenerative abilities and fire magic. He's like a tank with high firepower that always regenerates. No wonder some people just surrender in their fights against him or lose.
I'm surprised by Sirzechs... he's actually doing something!
I really want to see the Rating Game, but... sigh. I'm not a devil, and Sirzechs isn't my fan, hehe.
Maybe I'll ask Sona to let me watch a copy of the video... wait, they record those things, right? Meh.
Now I'm motivated.
I'll train extra hard these days.
Basically, control over my powers and experimenting. I'll have superb control of everything in my arsenal, and then—the strongest of DxD. Like I said, Top 1 is a matter of time. Maybe I'm already Top 1, but let's keep going.
Today is Friday... Sunday is gacha day.
The grind never ends, after all.
I open the door of my house to train like a maniac.
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Sunday 00:00 - Samuel Pov
I sit down on my couch.
Time to roll the gacha.
I'll put on some music.
This. The favorite song of the old Samuel Lancaster.
Coldplay – Viva la Vida.
It suits him. You could say he's a fallen king, after all...
Thank God he's not French like Louis XVI, haha.
TIME TO ROLL THE GACHA.
And here it goes.
1 - The Punisher / Francis Castle (Marvel)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm an anti-hero and all that.
Well, some of his knowledge will be useful.
2 - Rorschach / Walter Kovacs (DC)
Another anti-hero...
Gacha, you bastard... is this thing making fun of me or something?
Rorschach, huh. All knowledge is welcome.
3 - Raiden / Jack (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance)
Stop making fun of me with the whole anti-hero thing, you bastard!
Sigh.
A natural-born killer.
More knowledge—got it.
4 - Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2)
Villain this time.
I'm interested in what kind of knowledge he can give me.
Thank God I don't get the bad traits of the characters, hehe.
Imagine me going the Handsome Jack route... oof.
5 - Alpha-level Telekinesis (Marvel)
First ability!
I can use magic, but okay.
6 - Erasure Quirk (Boku no Hero Academia)
Good quirk, but here in the DxD universe...
Most powers come from magic, not the body like in My Hero Academia.
It's not something esoteric that can affect the soul or prevent magical attacks, for example.
Well, someday it might be useful, I guess. The world is a big place after all.
7 - Stone of Barenziah (The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim)
Bruh.
This is just money. I already have infinite money.
Wait... I remember I lost one of the 24 stones because of a glitch, and because of that, I couldn't finish the quest to collect them all.
This stone...
Is the gacha still making fun of me?
I let out a deep sigh.
8 - Terraria Inventory (Terraria)
THANK YOU.
A 10x5 inventory where you can store 9,999 of the same material in one slot.
Now I have the perfect place to put all my gold bars.
9 - Mirror of Erised (Harry Potter)
"..."
This one is interesting.
My deepest, most desperate desire...
It has to be... becoming the strongest, right?
Like Yujiro said, I'm a firm believer that all men, at some point in their lives—even for just a second—dream of being the strongest.
I'll use it on myself later.
Now... come on, the final roll is always kind of a guaranteed good one.
Let's see...
10 - Package: Demon King Baran, Monarch of the White Flame (Solo Leveling)
My heart almost dropped when I saw the "Solo Leveling" part, but then I read the entire thing and realized it wasn't Ashborn or Sung Jin-Woo.
But I like this.
Yes, he's the weakest Monarch, but I think his sword is the coolest in the entire series—and it's a damn good sword.
I have The Emperor's Sword, which is better in every way, but I can use this one for fashion and to kill unimportant or weaker villains like Kokabiel or members of the Khaos Brigade.
But let's not underestimate the sword. It comes from a high-tier world, after all.
Maybe I'll dual-wield ultra greatswords like in Elden Ring, hehe.
He has two daggers, but nah, I don't use daggers.
All his abilities—insane mana pool, giant AoE electric stun, etc.
He can summon demons too.
That'll be interesting.
No Kaiselling included? Booo. Understandable, but meh—I can already fly.
This guy is based on the Nameless King from Dark Souls 3.
Both ride a white wyvern, have the same white mane, same pose on the ground...
Igris is based on Artorias, who's based on Guts' full Berserker armor...
I genuinely think Baran isn't just based on the Nameless King but also on the Burnt Ivory King from Dark Souls 2.
Both came from hell—well, "Chaos" for the Ivory King.
Both have soldiers that emerge from door-like portals...
Maybe I'm overthinking it, but they have similar abilities.
Solo Leveling cooked good.
Let's put him to assimilate and the others...
--Demon King Baran - 27%--
Expected. The most "normal" humans will fly in the assimilation.
--The Punisher - 84%--
--Raiden - 64%--
Yep. I'm more than human already...
Now.
Let's look at ourselves through the mirror. I said, magically placing the mirror in front of the couch I'm sitting on.
I'm a bit excited to see the greatest version of myself. Gacha has infinite potential, so just imagine how--
I feel my heart squeezing in my chest when I look.
Ah.
Disgusting fucking mirror. Of course it would be this...
"..."
My dead family.
Specifically Samuel Floyd's dead family.
Worst of all, they aren't white ghost-looking figures. They look like normal people... like they're here with me...
I want to smash the mirror to pieces.
But I decide to take a good look at the two women in the mirror.
First is my mother that I never meet... she died giving birth.
Heh.
Not gonna lie, I had this fantasy multiple times in my past life... what if that day she didn't die... I would have had them both.
I see the woman with long light brown hair smiling at me, putting her hand on my shoulder.
The other one...
"Grandmother," I say heavily.
Barely remember her - grey hair with glasses, always carrying her bag. I was five when she passed from old age. Didn't understand it well at the time, I just cried.
"..." I take a moment.
My eyes go to the old-looking man sitting alongside my grandfather. Four years later, he followed her.
Short grey hair like the day he was gone, that small mischievous smile he always had, like he knew exactly things you didn't. Old man always bought me things, heh.
Then I look at my father.
Just right next to my mother behind the couch.
Looking at this vision of what could have been...
I put my hand on my face, calming myself.
Disgusting mirror. But looking at this...
Short black hair with glasses giving him a serious vibe.
I'll always remember the words he said to me before he died.
"It's okay. Try to be happy and we'll see each other again," I say to myself, remembering his words.
When I came here, I was having so much fun... that it easily numbed the pain I was feeling in my other life when I was alone.
I keep looking at the mirror.
My anger decreasing.
Sitting, looking back. Not backing down. No questions asked. Not a crying voice.
"Well... we see each other again," I give the same smile my father gave me at my comment.
I know the gacha could give me something to revive them if I wanted.
But no.
They lived already. They were happy, and now they're together.
It would be selfish of me to take them from their rest.
But no one said I can't go visit...
Gacha has infinite potential and endless opportunities.
And besides... nobody lives forever. Human or god.
"I cried for you all once already. I'll see you back. Sorry, but it'll take some time," I say with determination, more to myself, giving them a nod.
Never forget.
I was angry, but now I'm grateful for this small gift.
I'll meet them again for sure.
One of the things I know for real.
Watching the four of them smiling alongside me.
Acceptance.
Seeing this makes me think.
Old Samuel Lancaster was left behind. I really took over.
It's almost frightening how similar we are. Same name, similar looks, only child, he lost his father and grandfather too... and he was alone after that...same as me.
Of course i keep his surname for convenience.
Maybe he's another version of myself in this universe?
Huh.
No point trying to decipher that mystery now. I'll know eventually or not. I don't really care.
It's okay... with this life, I'll make us the best of the best of the best. Top 1 in the universe, my man. No evil bastard will win over us.
Believe it!
After finishing my antics in my mind.
Time to destroy the mirr-
Then it happened.
The reflection changed.
I look at the abrupt change.
Then my heart drops for real this time.
It... was myself this time, but different.
Sitting. On a golden throne in the middle of darkness. Golden crown with golden lights and black vivid details like darkness pouring out.
Golden armor similar to my Ornstein one, but this has black details like the crown. My characteristic light brown hair, but longer.
And when I see the eyes. I feel it.
A feral sense of dominance.
Why are my eyes like that?... like supernovas with small stars floating within.
Very similar to... Cosmic Garou's face?
Did I crazy-adapt like him?
But there's no god here... like in One Punch Man.
No, this is...
Divinity?
"Too soon. This small favor is for you." I hear my own voice from the reflection's lips.
What.
WAIT WHAT!
DID HE JUST TALK!?
That's impossible! The Mirror of Erised can't-
I put all my defenses up and change my posture in reflex.
The "other" me was doing something. I see him make a gesture with his hand, and the mirror explodes into a thousand pieces. Even the pieces start disintegrating into light particles.
"..." What kind of face am I making right now after this bullshit?
My jaw drops.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH!" I exclaim.
"..."
Then I start to laugh.
"Hahaha" oh my god.
"I'm a scary motherfucker, huh," I say between laughs.
I know for sure now.
I will become the strongest.
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Author Notes 2
Like I said earlier in Author Notes 1, I have the chapter half-cooked, so I'll post it this week. Don't worry about it.
-Character Development.
Yep, the MC got a little more character "development" in this one. I decided to delve a bit more into what happens when you go to another world and leave everyone you knew behind.
Well, his family was already dead, but you know is not that simple.
So yeah, his desire to be with his family was stronger than his desire to be the best—for a while, of course. He's a grown-up, so he accepts the fact of his dead family easily (and because he already went through it in his past life). No need for 50 chapters of the five stages of grief or him having a trauma, lol.
But relax—like I said, they'll meet again someday. Maybe off-screen, maybe not.
Give me your thoughts on this. Did you like it? Don't like it? Why? Etc.
-Let's Talk About Solo Leveling.
Last Saturday, Season 2 ended... and it was fucking peak.
It's nice to see the show well-animated—even adding new things to fights. Quite nice to see my two boys animated: Baran and Beru.
As you can see, I'm a huge fan of the series. I was there when the novel finished, when the manhwa finished, and I'll be there when the anime finishes too :)
Now... am I the only one who thinks Solo Leveling fanfics don't work?
I searched for SL fanfics on many sites and didn't find a single good one, lol.
It's hard to write one already. If you don't have a "golden finger" (plot armor) to help you grow stronger, you're cooked in the Solo Leveling universe. Look at Thomas Andre—even as one of the strongest, he lost easily.
-Time to Rant a Little.
A couple of weeks ago, I was talking with a friend about anime... and he told me how Oshi no Ko ended.
I think it was the worst fucking ending I've ever heard of.
I won't spoil anything, but bruh. I really don't recommend reading that series because of that disgusting ending.
What the fuck is wrong with Japanese authors?
All anime endings are shit nowadays—rushed, with too many loose ends. I'm starting to hate manga, not gonna lie.
Maybe the editors are at fault too? In many cases, authors are bitches to their editors. Meh, who knows.
Look how Izuku ended—bitchless, powerless, and working at McDonald's (?). Lmaooo.
The crazy thing is, Japanese people seem to like it...
Or maybe they're just being polite and hiding what they truly feel—you know, that poisonous politeness they have.
Anyway, after hearing that, I immediately compared Oshi no Ko to Devil Returns to School Days.
Both are revenge stories, and Devil Returns to School Days (the manhwa) just ended a couple of weeks ago.
Devil Returns to School Days is the perfect revenge story, with a perfect ending. So much better than Oshi no Ko... Go read it—you can thank me later.
Hope to see better endings in the future.