AN
Okay, wanted to address something I've been seeing a lot of complaints about in the reviews. Specifically...
WHY IS HE NOT DRINKING THE ESSENCE OF THE BLANK?! SO STUPID! JOINING RIAS SO STUPID!
I hear ya. I thought the explanation in the story was good but I'll explain some more here.
FIRST, Essence of the Blank only gives the imbiber limitless potential. This means that it does LITERALLY NOTHING for anyone who hasn't come close to reaching their potential. Think about it. If Junichiro's human limitation limits him to lifting 500 Kilograms. Like, no matter what he does, he can never, ever, lift more than 500 kilos. Drinking the Essence of the Blank would lift that limit. Or, lets say the most mana his body can support is 10k units. For any given measurement of a unit. Drinking the Essence would remove that limit.
As a 13 year old homeless kid who has just begun his journey to greatness, he is nowhere near reaching ANY of his limits. Drinking the Essence of the Blank would do LITERALLY NOTHING for him at this point.
"It could improve his Artificing!"
Sure it could! Except, that still does NOTHING for him right this moment. He's barely at the level of a working apprentice. So what if drinking it would increase his potential to becoming the greatest Artificer to ever exist? He'd still have to do ALL of the work to get to that point. Essence of the Blank doesn't make the journey easier. It doesn't make it faster. It just makes the journey ENDLESS.
The only thing I can think of that it could potentially be used for at this point, is copying the skills or abilities of another supernatural being. Say learning to copy the light abilities of a Fallen Angel or something. Well, he doesn't know any fallen. OR Devils. Or anyone supernatural. He also doesn't want to come across any yet as it would potentially be a deadly encounter.
SECOND, Joining Rias is still happening. I explained why in the original version and have even more legitimate reasons in this version. But just to reiterate them. Rias is the best goddamn waifu in the series, period. Once she gives her heart to someone she would do anything for them. She is the princess of one of the few remaining pillar families meaning she has access to resources that Junichiro could use in his crafting. It also makes my job a little easier to follow canon for a bit before wrecking it.
LASTLY, Why make him a devil if he will have limitless potential by using Essence of the Blank?!
Because even with limitless potential and the ability to learn many things, he can't learn to increase his lifespan to thousands of years. I'm sure I could have him make things to extend his life to hundreds of years. Things to improve his 'human condition' to the limits. But in the end? Devil's just have one hell of a biological advantage in just about every category. I'd also like you all to imagine something for me. Issei, weak ass piddling little Issei, went from a pissant to an extremely powerful Devil in a very short time. What would happen if Junichiro became a Devil, stole Boosted Gear, and took the Essence of the Blank after that? How ungodly powerful could he become with that kind of setup?