Chapter 3 – My New School, The Kuoh Academy
The world of High School DxD was within my reach, and I could see Kuoh Academy from the top of the mountain where I was standing. However, just as I was about to take my first step through the magical portal in front of me, a system warning window suddenly appeared.
[As a Multiversal Romantic Writer, before entering a world, you have the right to change ONE characteristic in the history of that world.]
[Warning! The change you make is irreversible and may alter the course of history in unpredictable ways].
"Do I have the right to make one change?" I asked aloud.
Honestly, I had infinite possibilities for changes that could benefit me, but I was a fan, and a true fan like me only wished for one small detail to be changed in this world.
"Very well. Then I would like to replace Issei Hyoudou as the bearer of the Boosted Gear."
[Warning: Change in progress!]
[Power transfer in progress...]
[Done!]
Suddenly, a wave of heat ran through my body, warming my chest and blurring my vision for a moment. I almost fell to my knees as my mind flashed. As the intense heat subsided, I could feel something pulsing in my left hand. The Boosted Gear, the legendary artifact of the Red Dragon Emperor, was a part of me.
"This... this is incredible," I murmured, a little stunned by all of this.
Raising my head, I looked back at the Kuoh Academy. The magical portal in front of me invited me to go through it, with nothing to stop me. Was I ready for it? It didn't matter. I had to be, because I had always wanted something like this to happen. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for what was to come.
"I can't let anyone down. I know almost nothing about this system, but I'm going to make this my second chance. I'm going to get my family out of debt and... I want a wife! MAYBE TWO!"
Walking through the portal, however, was far from what I had imagined. My right foot almost touched the grass when suddenly everything spun around. I felt my body disintegrating and reassembling as I traveled through seemingly endless tunnels of light. When I finally came to, I was on my knees in an alley.
Some students in the familiar Kuoh Academy uniform were passing by.
I stood up and shook the dust from my pants. I soon realized that, surprisingly, I was also wearing Kuoh Academy student clothing, a male student uniform consisting of a black blazer with white details over a white shirt, and a black ribbon as a necklace to match the black ensemble.
I looked around, trying to orient myself in the new environment that was now my world. I could still feel the pulsing energy of the Boosted Gear in my left hand. It was natural for me to ignore it until it finally stopped burning, and that's what I did.
As I approached the exit of the alley, I heard a familiar voice.
"Did you see those tits? Man, I wanted to touch those tits!" Issei exclaimed enthusiastically.
Matsuda raised his right hand like a hero. "One day! My friends! One day, we'll go out with some girls together."
"Aha! And our girlfriends will have huge breasts!" Motohama agreed and nodded.
It was strange to hear these familiar voices when I now carried the Boosted Gear, a legendary power that should have belonged to Issei.
The change I had made in this world... Without the Boosted Gear, Issei Hyoudou's fate changed drastically, and he was completely excluded from this story. As a person, I wasn't sure how to feel, but as a fan, it was great! After all, Issei was the definition of a loser to anyone who liked animes.
Anyway, I had to finesse the situation.
If I had become the bearer of Boosted Gear in Issei's place, it meant that I had taken his place in all of history, and that would certainly include the dangers of this world. Since Issei was still out there, chatting so casually about breasts with his friends, it could only mean that this was the beginning of the story and that there were fallen angels around.
I waited for Issei and his friends to disappear from my sight so that I could move on and enter the Kuoh Academy. I never wanted to see them again.
In the courtyard of the academy, there were many more female students than male students. It wasn't surprising since Kuoh Academy was a place for girls only. Some of them were laughing and chatting animatedly, while others were running to their classrooms with books clutched to their chests.
'This school environment…' I thought, barely able to contain my satisfaction. It's everything I asked God for! Certainly much better than the military atmosphere at the Academy of Compulsory Education!
My first step into the academy was greeted by several stares from the students. I received a few friendly smiles, but also glances out of the corner of my eye.
Why were they all staring at me? Was it because I was dirty?
Confused, I looked down and made sure I had wiped all the dust from the alley off my uniform.
I just didn't know at the time that people were looking at me because I was someone different from the usual at this school. I wasn't very tall in my world, but for high school, 1.80m was unsual, especially in Japan. I also had white hair and blue eyes, so I was bound to attract attention.
As the focus of all those stares, I decided to go to the school office to officially enroll. I had no idea why I was wearing a uniform, but it was natural to think that I should study at Kuoh Academy, and the first step to achieving that was to apply.
When I arrived at the office, I was greeted by a middle-aged secretary with glasses on her nose and a closed expression.
"Good morning. How can I help you today?"
"I'd like to enroll here as a student."
She typed some commands into her computer.
"Leonard Tonello, right?"
I frowned. "Yes, that's me," I agreed, feeling a lump form in my throat.
"I recognized you because your file appeared in the school system a few minutes ago. You're already enrolled as a third year student at our school." She said, handing me a document with the official seal of Kuoh Academy. On this document was the room number of my class.
My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn't expected the world crossing to work so well. The <Crack> skill seemed to do much more than just create a passage to another world. It was literally incorporating me into the chosen world.
"Thank you for informing me," I replied, bowing my head and leaving.
As I walked through the wood-floored corridors of the academy, my thoughts began to wander.
I am older than Issei was at the beginning of this story. I'm in my third year. That means I could end up in the same room as Akeno Himejima... Hehe, that will be... No, Leo! Even if she is, you won't be able to interact with her. First, you have to concentrate on completely replacing Issei in this story. Only then can the story proceed normally, and you'll have the chance to have a harem.
The best way for me to avoid too many complications was to follow the standard high school DxD story.
Unfortunately or fortunately, Akeno was actually my classmate. However, she was absent from class that day.
At the end of the day, when the sky was orange, I went to the bridge in the middle of the city. I stopped in the middle of the bridge and watched the cars go by. A few minutes later I heard a little voice:
"Um... Are you Leonard Tonello from Kuoh Academy? You are, aren't you?"
"Yes?" I raised my head, pretending to be confused, and asked as I turned to face the voice.
The girl who asked was beautiful. She had very long brown hair and eyes so big and red that they looked like two mesmerizing rubies. I couldn't blame Issei for being fooled by her, for I could easily have been, too, if I hadn't known it was Raynare, a fallen angel.
"Do you have anything to... say?"
"Tonnelo, do you have a girlfriend?"
"No, not yet."
"Good!" she said, opening a wide smile. "W-well... could you... go out with me?"
"Yes."
"Eh?"
Even Yuuma was surprised by the direct answer, but what else could I do? It was necessary to get the story going, and I wouldn't refuse to spend a day with a girl, even if I knew I would die at her hands. That was the kind of man I was.