"Hmm...w...what happened?" a young boy with long, blood-red hair and matching eyes asked with a raspy voice as he slowly opened his eyes.
Taking a moment to let his vision clear, the boy began looking around, taking in his surroundings, which only caused his confusion to grow even more.
Instead of any place he knew, he found himself in the middle of a forest on a mountain range. Before him stood a giant mountain made from a dark stone with a purple tint. Even the trees were such a dark green with dark red bark.
Moving to look at the sky, his shock grew as the sky was a dark purple with two moons, one large white moon and a slightly smaller red moon.
"W...where am I? Is this a dream?" the boy asked his surroundings, surprising him.
Standing up, the boy felt a sticky substance on him. Looking down at his body, he saw that he was covered in large amounts of blood, and he had crude leather clothing that was torn and tattered.
"So much blood...what happened?"
[Phoenix System Activated]
[Host Soul fully integrated]
[Merging Memorries...]
Before the boy could even register the voice, his mind was filled with a cluster of memories, each projecting two lives.
One of himself, living an everyday life of going to school, playing sports, working a job, and enjoying hobbies like watching anime until he died from a car accident saving a little girl from a truck. The other, tho was the complete opposite. It showed a young man born into slavery who ran from his abusive master, living in the forest of the underworld for years until he was killed by a creature much stronger than himself.
As the scenes began to fade and he was able to relax, Klaus took a moment to breathe and organize all of his thoughts.
"I...I died...so did this guy," Klaus sighed as he looked down at his hands.
"But if I died, why am I in his body?" Klaus asked himself, the realization hitting him.
{Because I brought you here} spoke the robotic voice from before
"Hey, you're that voice I heard. Who are you?" Klaus asked as he looked around, trying to find the source
{You don't have to look around, host, I am in your mind} the voice added
"In my head? Who are you?"
{I am Val, the Phoenix system. I am the one who put your soul in this body} Val said, introducing itself.
"...I see...but why?" Klaus asked, even more confused
{Well, the thing is, I have always been attached to your soul host. I could only awaken after your first death. After that, I brought you to a mana-rich world to help me reach full power and restore your life,} Val explained to Klaus.
"Ha, the phoenix system is giving a new life, fitting...But tell me what do you want from me. From all of the novels I have read, systems all have an end goal. Is that true or false?" Klaus asked
{This is false. I have no end goal but to assist you. However you choose to live your life, I will follow and aid as I am able.} Val explained
"Oh, well, that is good. I was worried you would need me to kill a god or something," Klaus said with a sigh of relief.
{No, but with your current situation, that could happen.} Val added
"What do you mean by that?" Klaus asked, slightly worried by the implication
Well, you see the body you are in is from a world filled with gods from every pantheon and devils of all kinds and fallen angels. In your previous world, it was a fictional universe called Highschool DxD, but now it is your reality.} Val explained
"...Highschool DxD...I don't know whether to be excited or worried by that prospect," Klaus said with a nervous grin on his face.
{Don't fear, host with me by your side, you can rise to be much stronger than any of them with an army that could trample them.} Val spoke with confidence, evident in their tone
"An army?"
{Yes, one of my primary functions is the Army function, which helps you build an army worthy of being led by you}
"Oh, now that makes things even more interesting. Tell me, Val, what else can you do?" Klaus said, his interest growing
[Main System Function]
[Status: Projects the host's physical and magical abilities in a numerical value. Tracks skill and level progression.]
[Inventory: An infinite subspace only the host can use to store all manner of items.]
[Army: Build an army that grows with you. Allows you to manage loyalty, conditions, numbers, units, and much more.]
[Store: The store is used to purchase weapons, armor, and supplies that can be used for yourself or your army.]
[Summon: Allows the host to summon units by using the main system currency of gold. The more gold used, the stronger the units.]
[Camp: Army camp used to store your army and train them in a safe environment that you have control over.]
"Can you show me my status?" Klaus asked after taking a moment to read over all of the main system functions
[Status]
[Name: Klaus Phoinix]
[Age: 18]
[Race: 99% Human/1% Phoenix]
[Rank: Soilder][Army Rank: None]
[Level: 1/100]
[HP: 500/500]
[MP: 5000/5000]
Strength: 15
Agility: 25
Endurance: 50
Vitallity: 50
Intelligence: 50
Wisdom: 50
[Skills]: Phoenix Biology[Lv.1/10: Decrease physical and magical damage by 10%/Negates 10% of flame damage] Phoenix Blood[Lv.1/10: Increase regeneration by 25%, instantly heal all minor wounds when drank by others, decrease fatigue rate by 50%/increases vitality and endurance by 100%. First Flame[Lv.1/10: All flames originate from the phoenix, increasing your flame damage. Consuming sources of flames will increase your flame strength.] [Pheonix Soul[Lv.1/10: Increase intelligence and wisdom by 100%, increase magic control by 25%]
"Seems I already got skills and I'm part phoenix...Was that from my revival?" Kalus asked
{Yes, after your revival, I was able to merge some of your phoenix bloodline}
"Interesting...How do I increase the amount of Phoenix DNA I have?"
{That is something the host will have to figure out on his own...You must understand the fundamental abilities before advancing any further. Val replied