Altair looked at the chessboard, 11 new pawns resting on it. 11 pawns, obtained by trading a Rook, a Bishop, and a Knight. He couldn't get the 22 pieces he wanted, but he got a good exchange.
The pieces had already been mutated. Ketarea proved to be a magnificent factory of new muted pieces, and in the end, Altair ended up turning her into a bishop, increasing her magical abilities. It wasn't as drastic a change as Lily's or Harley's, but she was now considerably more powerful—his strongest piece.
At that moment, his nobility consisted of a total of 5 pieces: Lily, his queen; Katerea, his bishop; Lavender, Harley, and Azalea as his pawns. That left him with a total of 18 remaining pieces: 16 pawns, a rook, and a knight. Luna would probably be another pawn, Violet, it was hard to say. Even his sister could be. He hadn't talked with his mother, who hates his father, so she might be against becoming a devil.
Altair considered the ease with which he obtained the mutated pieces. According to Rias, she needed to spend eight pawns to resurrect Issei, as he had enormous potential thanks to his Sacred Gear.
When he used Katerea, he felt he could use more pieces to make her part of his nobility, but he didn't. Instead, he forced the woman to submit and assist him in transforming the piece.
He didn't know precisely what caused the pieces to mutate, but he had them now. All 18 of his remaining pieces were mutated.
Altair considered many variables that could trigger mutation, such as Katerea's will. Or perhaps the pawns in Issei had mutated as well, but he couldn't tell Rias to kick him out of her nobility to check.
Things to investigate later, he had accumulated a vast list.
Now he had something else to do.
[Status]
Altair Regulus Asmodeus (House Black)
Race: Human-Devil Hybrid.
Title: Lustful Wunderkind.
Profession: Magician.
Mana (Evans): 172,500
Health: 100%
[Physical]
Speed: 165 (+25,600)
Strength: 151 (+25,600)
Reflexes: 167 (+25,600)
Endurance: 148 (+25,600)
Vitality: 157 (+51,200)
[Spirit]
Intelligence: 250 (+: 102,400)
Wisdom: 264 (+: 51,200)
Soul: 326 (+: 51,200)
Stats points: 100
Status Reset Tokens Price: 3
[SP: 13,335,200]
The king's piece.
Ultimately, Altair achieved a substantial increase in strength, with a total of 70,000 Evans, more powerful than before. That put him on the same level as Dumbledore. However, something told him that he couldn't beat the old man in a magic duel. Although if you put his physical strength on the scales, things would change in Altair's favor.
The piece gave him a total of 100 Soul, 80 Wis, and 50 Int. He had previously obtained two Int thanks to [Dual Cultivation]. Additionally, each of his physical statistics increased by 50 points.
Now, just because of his Evans, he could be considered a high-class devil. However, his true strength was greater.
Perhaps his only disadvantage was not having a lineage power, such as the Power of Destruction or the super regeneration of the Phenex. But he could compensate for that with other things, like
Holy Magic. He was a devil capable of performing Holy Magic.
How?
He was discovering that.
Lily had lost that ability; the woman had told him that even thinking about doing it caused her enormous pain, so she hadn't risked doing it. That ability was reserved for him, although, according to the redhead, Akeno was also capable of performing holy magic.
When he tried to discuss it with her, he couldn't get any answer; the girl simply shut herself off. Although hatred flowed from her, it wasn't for him, of course. But something in her past must have bothered her too much.
All the pieces went to the [Inventory] when he touched them. He could look for new pieces later. At that moment, his battle with Riser would be in three weeks, and he saw little chance that the Phenex would have an opportunity against him. Katerea alone should be enough to crush him and his nobility.
After Katerea came under his command, hundreds of devils sought him out, demanding an answer. He did not respond, so she spoke for him. She ended up saying that they were currently in an alliance, admitting that she was no longer part of the old Satan's faction. Altair hadn't talked to Serafall about her, but he knew the conversation would be soon.
The Phenex sought to cancel the game. Altair would not have been against it; he did not care about Riser. Altair arrived and stole his fiancée; he was not so foolish as not to see that hatred was justified.
But he did not accept; the Phenex asked Altair to come out and say that he was retiring from the game, which would damage his reputation. They also wanted him to give them a share of the profits from Phoenix Powder, as well as the right to distribute it themselves instead of the Sitri.
'Fuck them.'
He refused immediately.
After that, the conversations turned to the Phenex looking for a way to get Ravel out of the bet, since she ended up accidentally involved. Altair could have accepted that.
But again, that clause did not include Lavender.
In other words, the Phenex wanted Altair not to get Ravel's hand if he won. But if Riser won, he would get Lavender.
The idea of betting women made Altair sick. But he would do his best to win Ravel over; it would be a shame to marry a woman and not be able to sleep with her.
He left Japan with about 60,000 Evans. He tripled that amount in a few weeks. When he left Japan, he would be much more powerful.
Devil Nurse #1:
Hi, remember me?
He had exchanged contact information with several women at the Sitri party, and from what he could get from them, that was pretty good.
He hadn't made anything concrete with any of them yet. They were much less horny than the witches; after all, devils didn't share the Wizards' fascination with chastity and aversion to sex.
Even so, he had exchanged messages with some of them. Initially, when discussing science, many of these witches were quite intelligent, and Altair promised himself that he would make an effort to change their contact information from "Devil Nurse #" to their real names.
Latia:
I'm very sorry that my cousin caused trouble. I apologize on his behalf.
The woman was referring to Diodora Astaroth; the young devil had harassed Asia. He hadn't reappeared, but he made quite a strong impression on Lily. Not a good impression, more like, "I'll knock Asia out if I have to, but I won't let her run off with that guy."
A man who was involved with Asmodeus couldn't be a good thing. However, Latia seemed to be the opposite of them.
Despite her pompous appearance, she was pretty friendly. And damn, she was beautiful too. Altair didn't want to just fuck her and then disappear from her life; no, he wanted her to be part of his coven, like Rias.
They had exchanged messages, none of which were of a sexual nature. The girl seemed quite reserved, and Altair wouldn't screw it up by just trying to get laid. There were other she-devils more than willing to do that.
Mechas Top fan
Can you stop ignoring me?
Altair still wondered what kind of twisted soul had seen fit to pass on his contact information to the Mecha nut. The woman had been harassing him with photos and images of Mechas, telling him he would never be able to create something like that.
Altair:
And you are able to create one of them?
Mechas top fan:
I can do a better try than you.
Altair:
If I managed to build a Mecha, what would I gain?
He could think about how to create such a being with runes. It was going to be a long-term project, probably until the next time he returned to Japan after completing his fourth year at Hogwarts.
Mechas Top fan:
Whatever you ask for, you won't get it.
Altair:
Are you sure?
Mechas Top fan:
Do your best, Potion boy.
Altair would put it as a side project to design while he was at Hogwarts.
Sona
Can we talk, please?
It was the second message he had received from the girl. He ignored the first one on purpose; he wanted to make her anxious. The more desperate she was, the better it would be for him.
Altair
Yes, I found this place, we can meet there. I'll come to the academy for you.
The chosen place was a café with a vast library. Altair thought that the Sitri heiress would like that place. Based on what he knew about her, she didn't enjoy crowded places. At the dinner organized in her honor, although Altair now realized that he hadn't eaten anything, Sona didn't seem to enjoy it; she tolerated it as her situation and her status as heiress required.
Sona
Yes, come in three hours.
She was concise, showing no sign of desperation. Altair wondered if Sona was like all girls deep down.
Probably not.