NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15: The Game
Game
Thoughts
"Talking"
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[Martial Artist] perk has activated!
[Quest Alert!]
Defeat a leader from the [Devil], [Youkai], [Grigori], and [Heaven] factions in a game!
Rewards:
An otherworldly skill from: [Lelouch Lamperouge]
Failure:
You won't learn a skill!
Naruto blinked rapidly as he woke up, the bright notifications shining in his eyes. He pushed himself up in bed, wiping his eyes as he read the quest details.
My first other world skill quest. I'll get started on it next time I run into Sirzechs or Serafall.
Naruto carefully stood up, taking a step away from the bed. It was still the middle of the night, and the numerous women who shared his bedroom were still sleeping.
Since I'm already awake, I might as well get some alone time!
As he took a step forward, suddenly two arms wrapped around his waist.
"Naruto-channnn," Rias mumbled sleepily, her face pushing into his back, "It's too earlyyyyy!"
…or not.
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"Yo, Sirzechs. Wanna play a game?" Naruto asked casually as Sirzechs sat at his desk, a pile of paperwork around him.
"My best friend, Naruto-chan!" Sirzechs cheered, jumping out of his seat, and then stopping in place, "...wait, how did you get here?"
"Grayfia let me in," Naruto answered casually, and Sirzechs nodded.
"Oh, next time you see her, can you remind her about her maid duties? She's been slacking off on them for a few weeks now…" He trailed off, a conflicted look on his face.
"...I'll try," Naruto said blandly. He didn't want to explain to Sirzechs that he accidentally used his system to make Grayfia believe she was 'his maid' a few weeks ago in bed, "Anyway, wanna play a game?"
"What type of game?" Sirzechs asked, and Naruto stared at him blankly.
I didn't think that far ahead.
"You can decide," Naruto said.
Sirzechs held up his hands, waving them placatingly, "No, no! Whatever game you were thinking is fine with me, Naruto-chan!"
"Nah, you decided," Naruto said again, hoping his system would kick in.
Persuasion Check
[Rolling…]
[God's Luck] has added [ERROR]
Your [LEGENDARY] Debuff - [Bad Timing] has deactivated your [God's Luck] Perk!
1!
Check failed!
"No, I insist, Naruto-chan! Whatever you want to play is fine!" Sirzechs hit him with the double thumbs up.
"Nah, seriously, you decided. Here, how about your favorite game? Let's play your favorite game!" Naruto said in finality.
Persuasion Check
[Rolling…]
[God's Luck] has added +20 to your roll!
20!
Check success!
Sirzechs's eyes suddenly went wide. He slowly, robotically, turned his head to look at Naruto. Slowly, a huge, near maniac, grin filled his face.
"Hehehe… then let's play, Naruto-chan!" Sirzechs laughed creepily.
Am I going to regret this? What the hell type of games does the ruler of Devilkind play?!
"My favorite game is called: Make the best peerage member for Rias-tan!" Sirzechs yelled happily, and Naruto stared at him blankly.
"...Make?" He asked doubtfully.
"You'll see! Come on!" Sirzechs snapped his fingers, and a huge magic circle appeared under them. When Naruto came out the other side, they were standing on a long dirt road in front of what looked to be a huge castle.
"This is the Ziabac manor! They're not from the 72 pillars, but they made a lot of money back in the day through… something during the war, I think? I don't actually remember… I didn't even know they existed until a few weeks ago…" Sirzechs muttered, then gestured back to the building again, "The family head and his wife died a couple of weeks ago, but their son still lives here!"
"So… you're here to recruit him for Rias's peerage?" Naruto asked, and Sirzechs nodded.
"He's a prodigy. I have surveillance magic set up here, and he's a real genius. Always reading books, working out, and even developing ancient necromancy magic from a tome his father left behind," Sirzechs said as if he were just talking about the weather.
"Necromancy? Isn't that a pretty big deal?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. He was no expert on magic, but Yasaka had told him that only a very few, very powerful, gods and ancient beings could use necromancy magic.
"Yeah! That's why he's awesome! He's perfect for Rias-tan's peerage!" Sirzechs nodded.
"So… are we gonna go give him a pitch or something?" Naruto asked, and Sirzechs shook his head.
"No, usually I just do this," Sirzechs held up his hand, a huge black orb forming on it. The ball of destruction grew bigger, and then he flung it forward. It slammed into the giant castle, a huge rumble ringing out as the top and right side disintegrated into nothing. The left side crumbled, becoming nothing more than a pile of rubble.
"...You blow up their house?" Naruto deadpanned, and to his surprise, Sirzechs actually nodded.
"Just watch! This is my turn of the game, so you can have yours next!"
Naruto watched as a kid, looking to be no older than 16, came walking out from the rubble. He was coughing as he stumbled forward, his eyes widening as he saw the ruler of devilkind and the Youkai God in front of him.
Or, more specifically, as he saw Naruto.
"Naruto Uzumaki!" He shouted, staring wide-eyed at Naruto.
"Yo." Naruto raised a peace sign. He hadn't been shy about sharing his last name in this world, but it was still weird for a random kid to know it.
"Why are you here? He's here… this changes everything…" The kid muttered, pulling at his long black hair as his pale, sunken skin seemed to become even paler.
"Hey, uh…" Sirzechs trailed off, apparently not actually knowing the kid's name, "...kid! Me and the Youkai God came here because a super strong monster just came through! The, uh, oroborous dragon just destroyed your house! But, don't worry!"
Sirzechs suddenly smiled charmingly, his teeth radiating like the sun as he held out a hand at the child, "Since it was my fault for not stopping her in time, allow me to make it up to you! My little sister, Rias, is looking for new peerage members! You'd have unlimited funds for your necromancy development, and Rias is the best peerage King in the world! She's kind, and loving, and sweet, and…"
Sirzechs continued for the next two minutes to list off everything he liked about Rias as both the teenager and Naruto stared at him blankly.
"So, wanna join?" Sirzechs finished, holding out his hand. The boy blinked, then started chewing on his fingernails as he stared at the floor.
"I don't know why someone from a different series is here… but this is a good opportunity… I can get closer to the main cast… to Rias and Akeno… I can make my harem earlier than I thought… I can use my cheat skill too…" The teenager giggled creepily, then looked up, reaching out to take Sirzechs' hand.
"Alright, sorry Sirzechs, but I have morals," Naruto finally said, butting into the conversation, "It wasn't Ophis who blew up your house. Sirzechs literally just did it. He just launched an orb of destruction at it 30 seconds ago. You should sue him or somethin', he's got enough money to rebuild it."
The small road was silent for a moment, both Super-Devil and Devil-Heir looking at Naruto blankly.
"...This is awkward now, but I'm gonna have to quit the game, Sirzechs. I don't wanna blow up anyone's house. I'll just ask Serafall to play a game. Can you send me back?" Naruto asked, then blinked as something popped up in front of him.
[You're a Wizard Naruto!] Perk activated!
You have learned: [Magic Circle]!
"Oh, never mind, I can just do it," Naruto snapped his fingers, and a magic circle appeared under him, whisking him away.
The road stayed silent as both Sirzechs and the child stared at where Naruto had been standing, neither saying a word.
"...E-Even if you blew up my house, I'll still join - Wait, what are yo- AHHH!" The child was suddenly consumed by a huge black orb of destruction, disintegrating into nothing but dust.
"Sorry, but…" Shadows covered Sirzechs's eyes, "You're a witness. Rias-tan can never know. She can never know that I destroy the families of talented children so she can save them and bring them into her peerage."
Sirzechs walked away, leaving the dust pile behind.
On that day, Rias never gained a new peerage member, and an isekai cheat-skill protagonist died only mere weeks into his reincarnation.
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"Yo, Sera-chan!" Naruto greeted, walking into the Devil Foreign Affair's office. Serafall was sitting at her desk, her face not visible through the huge stack of papers in front of her.
"Naru-chan!" Serafall cheered, the twin-tailed woman jumping out of her chair and launching at him for a hug, "Save me, Naru-chan! This is so boring! I can't take it anymore!"
"Wanna play a game?" Naruto asked, and Serfall's eyes lit up.
"Yes! Let's go mini-golfing!" She shouted, already ripping off the tie in her business suit.
"Um… a different game," Naruto said quickly. He always lost to the Maou at mini-golf - not because he was bad, but because she hated following the rules. She would inevitably start just throwing her ball in the hole at some point.
"Aw, I like mini-golfing," Serafall pouted, but then nodded, "So, what game?"
Naruto stared at her blankly.
I still didn't think that far ahead. But…
He stared at the currently very professional-looking woman.
…Serafall's pretty normal, right? She'll probably pick a normal one!
Naruto should've known that the multiple hundred-year-old woman who dressed up as a magical girl and called herself Levi-tan would, in fact, not pick a normal one.
"You can choose, Sera-chan. Whatever you're favorite game is!" Naruto said.
Persuasion Check
[Rolling…]
[God's Luck] has added +20 to your roll!
[Ladies's Man] has added +5 to your roll!
25!
Check success!
Slowly, Serafall's head turned toward Naruto. Her hands rose to her mouth, covering her lips as she laughed creepily.
"He…hehe…hehe… my favorite game?"
Naruto felt a chill go down his spine.
"Let's play… see who can take the best picture of So-tan!" Serafall shouted, holding up a peace sign. Naruto blinked.
Wait, that's actually not too bad. Just taking pictures for her sister? She probably just wants some good ones for Devilgram.
Compared to Sirzechs blowing up an orphan home, this was tame.
"Alright, let's get started!" Naruto nodded, and Serafall let out another cheer. She snapped her fingers, and a magic circle appeared under them. A moment later, they were standing in the middle of a courtyard, right in front of a school building.
"Kuoh Academy?" Naruto said. He had been to the school numerous times at this point, usually at the behest of Rias so she had company while she did her club paperwork.
"There she is!" Serafall whisper-shouted, pointing at Sona. The younger woman was standing in front of the school doors, greeting students as they came in for classes, "Take this!"
Serafall pulled an old-school camera out of her pocket and chucked it to Naruto, who caught it casually.
Does she always carry this around?
"You can go first, Naru-chan! And, um…" She trailed off, blushing as she looked away, "...T-Take your time! Talk to So-tan as long as you want!"
Naruto suddenly had a bad feeling as he stared at the girl, but simply nodded and started walking toward Sona.
"Yo, Sona!" He greeted her casually, and Sona jumped in surprise as she was him.
"Y-Youkai God-san! What are you doing here?" She asked abruptly, her hands moving to smooth out her clothes.
"I need a picture of you. Can you pose or somethin'?" Naruto asked, holding up the camera at her. She blinked, then awkwardly shuffled her feet and held up a peace sign. The camera clicked, and Naruto nodded appreciatively at her.
"W-What is the picture for, Youkai God-san?" Sona asked, blushing slightly.
"Just a game with your sister," Naruto said, then blinked as he spotted something behind Sona. Naruto suddenly knew why Serafall wanted him to take so long, as the sis-con satan was crawling behind her on the ground, blood leaking from her nose as she stared up Sona's skirt.
"Onee-sama?" Sona asked questioningly.
"Yeah. She's right behind you, about to take an upskirt photo," Naruto said bluntly, pointing at Serafall as she started to raise her camera. Sona spun around, jumping in surprise as she saw Serafall.
"O-Onee-sama?! This again?!"
"J-Just stay still for a bit longer, So-tan… hehehe…"
"No! You're a Maou, Onee-sama! You can't be doing this!" Naruto watched as Sona leaned down, wrestling the camera out of her hands.
"W-Wait! I didn't get the picture yet! So-tannnnnnn!"
"No, we are going to have a long talk about this!" Sona grabbed the smaller woman by her shirt, dragging her into the school building.
"Naru-channnnn! You traitor! Helpppppp!" Serafall whined as she was dragged away. The school door slammed shut behind them, leaving just Naruto in the courtyard with a camera.
…
If she never took a picture, then do I win?
[Quest Update!]
Defeat a leader from the [Devil], [Youkai], [Grigori], and [Heaven] factions in a game!
Progress: [Devil] Faction Complete!
Rewards:
An otherworldly skill from: [Lelouch Lamperouge]
Failure:
You won't learn a skill!
Nice!
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"Yo, Azazel," Naruto greeted lazily, waving at the Grigori leader. For once, he wasn't in a stuffy office, but instead at a random bar. Azazel's biggest hobby seemed to be bar hopping.
"Naruto-chan!" Azazel waved back lazily, holding up a beer at him, "Did ya come to drink with me?"
"Nah, not this time," Naruto shook his head, sitting down next to the man, "I just need to play a game with you - don't ask why."
Azazel didn't, instead taking a swig of his drink as his face twisted in thought, "A game? Hmm… well, I'm playing a game right now, so you can join in if you want!"
"Huh? Really?" Naruto asked, assuming it had something to do with drinking.
"Yup! I call it…" He trailed off, then looked over at Naruto with a huge grin, "Ignoring all my responsibilities!"
Naruto deadpanned at him, "Why am I not surprised?"
"Come on! Join me, Naruto-chan!" Azazel said, wrapping his arm around Naruto's shoulder, "It's so boring being alone! Baraqiel doesn't drink with me anymore!"
"Fine, fine…" Naruto sighed, holding up a hand toward the bartender, "Looks like I'm drinking today after all."
Naruto figured he needed to outlast the man to finish the quest - which couldn't be that hard, right? Azazel had an entire faction to run, so he couldn't put off his work for too long, right?
Apparently, he could. Nearly eight hours later, the sun was starting to set and Naruto had lost count of how many drinks he had downed. His pocket buzzed, the phone Yasaka had made him get going off as she texted him.
"Whose it from?" Azazel asked lazily.
"Yasaka. She's wondering when I'll be back," Naruto hummed, opening the phone to text her back.
"Not so fast!" Azazel chuckled, stopping Naruto by placing a hand on his shoulder, "Having a wife is included in 'responsibilities,' so you gotta ignore it! Just enjoy the boy's night!"
Well, I've already been here for eight hours, I can't lose now. Yasaka will understand.
Naruto put away his phone, looking back at the screen as him and Azazel continued to drink and watch TV.
This continued for another 12 hours, until finally, Naruto won.
[Quest Update!]
Defeat a leader from the [Devil], [Youkai], [Grigori], and [Heaven] factions in a game!
Progress: [Devil], [Grigori] Factions Complete!
Rewards:
An otherworldly skill from: [Lelouch Lamperouge]
Failure:
You won't learn a skill!
After nearly 20 hours, Naruto had won. Azazel stumbled out of the bar, saying something about some high-ranking subordinate threatening to go rogue. Naruto followed him, ready to finally get some rest.
That rest wouldn't come, as he was given a harsh reminder of just how important he was in this world. After not responding to Yaska's flood of texts, Naruto arrived in Kyoto to find it in complete lockdown.
The woman had also sent out numerous spy's and soldiers to each faction, nearly reigniting the Great War as she frantically looked for him.
Then, Naruto had to spend hours making sure she didn't actually reignite the Great War after she found out Azazel was responsible for his disappearance.
Sufficient to say, Naruto did not get much sleep that night.
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"Yo, Micheal," Naruto casually said to the angel, holding up a peace sign.
"Naruto-chan," Micheal greeted in return, smiling at him awkwardly, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but how did you get in here?"
'Here' was the highest level of heaven, so it made sense for the angel to be confused.
"I just walked in," Naruto replied bluntly. That was true - he had just teleported to the entrance and then walked here.
"Yes, I suppose no one would stop you," Micheal nodded. Heaven was far from defenseless with its army of angels, but it seemed none of them had a problem with letting Naruto through, "What brings you here?"
"Let's play a game," Naruto said, then quickly spoke again, "Rock-paper-scissors!"
I learned my lesson - I'm picking the game from now on!
"Ah, I do enjoy that game," Micheal nodded, holding up his fist, "I will be choosing rock."
Naruto blinked, staring at the angel.
…Is he trying to fake me out?
"Alright, let's play," Naruto grinned, throwing his fist out, "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"
Naruto stared blankly as Micheal's rock beat his scissors, the angel apparently not faking him out.
"It seems I win. Good game, Naruto-chan," Micheal nodded, pulling back his hand.
"W-Wait! Let's play again!" Naruto said quickly.
The quest never said I had to win on the first try!
"Oh, alright. I will choose rock again," Micheal said, and they both held out their fists.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Naruto threw out paper, this time beating Micheal's rock.
Wow, he was being honest. I guess he is an angel after all.
[Quest Update!]
Defeat a leader from the [Devil], [Youkai], [Grigori], and [Heaven] factions in a game!
Progress: [Devil], [Grigori], [Heaven] Factions Complete!
Rewards:
An otherworldly skill from: [Lelouch Lamperouge]
Failure:
You won't learn a skill!
That was… surprisingly easy.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto sighed as he walked toward his bedroom, a sense of dread filling him. He only had one faction left, and it was the one he dreaded the most.
She won't be satisfied with rock paper scissors. She's going to make this sexual somehow!
Naruto had known Yasaka for years at this point, and he knew the mischievous woman a bit too well. He knew she would make this annoying somehow.
Then, Naruto stopped in his tracks as an idea came to him.
Wait… aren't I a leader of the Youkai faction?
Naruto held up his left hand. Then his right.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Naruto's right hand's rock beat his left hand's scissors.
[Quest Complete]
Defeat a leader from the [Devil], [Youkai], [Grigori], and [Heaven] factions in a game!
Rewards:
An otherworldly skill from: [Lelouch Lamperouge]
[Rolling skill…]
You have received: [Chess Mastery]!
Naruto blinked, staring at the skill.
"Isn't that the game Serafall asked me not to play? What the hell am I gonna do with that?"
This Lelouch guy sucks. I did all that work for nothing!
Somewhere, two Sitris simultaneously felt a chill go down their spines.
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AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out next week, or you can read up to chapter 21 right now on Patreon.com/Koyon !