(The dominance ability is designed to conquer female enemies for the main character's harem, but it is virtually useless against the main heroine.)
Thud!
Issei collapsed onto a park bench, breathing heavily as he stared up at the blue sky with exhausted eyes.
"I do this every day, so why does it feel this heavy?"
His clothes were soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his muscular, well-built body.
"Hah… I hope this exhaustion gets fully repaid with an S-rank mission reward."
Issei looked at the transparent screen floating in front of his face, displaying the words 'Mission completed. Please claim your reward.'
In truth, he wanted to take the reward immediately, but he couldn't move his hands right now due to how tired he was.
"Damn it! Just give me a good reward already!"
Grinding his teeth, Issei struggled to raise his hand and tapped the Claim Reward button at the center of the transparent screen.
The screen burst into brilliant, multicolored light, giving off a mysterious feeling to anyone who looked at it.
"So beautiful…"
Even Issei—who usually only praised beautiful women—was captivated by the rainbow-colored glow of the transparent screen.
The light gradually dimmed, revealing several words that joined together into a long sentence.
(Reward has been determined. Evolution into Sage.)
Wow! This was what he had been waiting for! An evolution from an ordinary human into a Sage!
Why was Issei so excited? Because he knew that a Sage was an extremely rare advanced evolution of humans, something only a handful of people could ever reach in the original world.
"But why can a Sage appear here? Could it be that one day I'll be able to go to the Tensura world?"
(You can, but not now.)
"System? You can talk?!"
(Yes, but don't speak to me unless it's necessary.)
"Ugh, so cold."
(…)
"Alright, I won't waste your time. Just explain what will happen after I evolve into a Sage."
(There will be no changes other than your power increasing drastically, reaching the level of an ordinary Demon Lord in the Tensura world.)
"Why not use the standards of this world?"
(…)
"Okay, you don't have to answer that."
(…)
"During the evolution process, will I fall asleep?"
(No. The evolution technique has been perfected by the system and can be completed in the blink of an eye.)
"Good. Then give it to me now!"
(Understood. Evolution starting.)
Issei's body was suddenly enveloped by an enormous amount of mysterious energy, so intense that his face changed color.
Fortunately, he felt no pain at all, so he didn't end up screaming like protagonists in novels usually do when they gain new power.
The evolution was completed in less than a minute.
Issei immediately sensed a major change in his body, especially his height, which had increased quite significantly.
Before the evolution, Issei was 170 cm tall, but now he had grown by 10 cm, reaching 180 cm.
You know what that means? At 180 cm, Issei was now taller than the main heroine of this story, Rias Gremory.
And this was a good thing, because Issei believed that a man should indeed be taller than his partner.
(Evolution complete. Evolution bonus will now be granted.)
(Obtained Ultimate Skill: Lord of Harem. This skill includes five subordinate skills: Universal Perception, Harem Haki, Harem Resurrection, Heroine Awakening Authority, Absolute Affection Domination.)
Issei opened his mouth slightly, staring uncertainly at the transparent screen that explained the effects of the subordinate skills of the Ultimate Skill: Lord of Harem.
Universal Perception and Harem Haki were immediately understandable, since Issei had read the Tensura series before.
Harem Resurrection was also easy to grasp just by reading its name, although he still had to pay attention to the small note stating that an enormous amount of mana was required to resurrect a fallen heroine.
On the other hand, Heroine Awakening Authority seemed easier to understand, even though it was actually the most complex skill.
Even so, it was extremely useful for increasing a heroine's strength.
"I don't have any heroines to enhance right now, so I'll save this for later."
Issei then shifted his attention to the fifth subordinate skill, Absolute Affection Domination.
If Heroine Awakening Authority was the most useful skill, then Absolute Affection Domination was the one that suited Issei the most.
Any heroine who became part of his harem would be unable to betray him.
Negative emotions such as hatred, fear, and doubt would be erased, replaced with love and absolute loyalty toward the user.
It could be said that this was the perfect skill for someone who intended to gather as many harem members as possible.
The final effect was that heroines would become immune to brainwashing, enemy charm, and other forms of external mental attacks. This was no less important, even though it would be nearly impossible for enemies to even touch his harem members as long as Issei was around.
Issei took a deep breath and smiled broadly as he looked at his left arm.
"Ddraig, I know you're in there."
Sring!
The Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet suddenly appeared, as if responding to Issei's words.
"So you knew I was here."
"Of course. I'm sure you also know who I am."
"…Indeed. I never expected there to be another world out there."
Issei grinned and spoke frankly.
"Well? Want to become my partner and see a much bigger world together?"
"Ha ha ha, of course! From now on, I'll be in your care, partner."
… .. .
To be continued…