Chapter 1: 1. Inheritor & Helper

“Why are you picking me?” a floating soul asks the being in front of him.

In all honesty, he had no idea where he was, how he died, or why he was chosen. The being in front of him chuckled at the soul’s question.

“I have no reason, you could say, I chose at random. I had no reason to pick you other than just because I felt like it.” The being, perhaps ‘God’ but not the ‘God of the Bible’, but perhaps the God, the being who created everything we know chuckles at the helpless soul.

The hapless soul was confused, but he couldn’t really do anything about it. “So, what happens now?” he asks still a little confused.

“You are my inheritor; I will leave you a small helper. Grow stronger, young one and when you do, come see me again, and then we can talk about details. I also won’t be watching you; I have some loose ends to tie. Of you go now.”

As soon as 'God' said that, everything turned black for the innocent soul. At the time, he had no idea that his life would take a very turbulent turn. Whether that was a good or bad thing, it was up to him to decide.

●●●●

Undisclosed Location

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“Ugh…what the hell…?” a brown-haired boy with purple eyes clutches his head in pain. Where the hell am I? What happened? He was confused, that much was obvious. However, as he looked around at his surroundings, he became even more confused.

All around him was an endless sea of green trees. He was in the middle of a forest, that much was obvious. “Shit, how did I get here? Where am I?” He tried to remember his past, and he could, but he felt his stomach twist and turn. I died, and what a harrowing way to go…

How did this poor soul die? Kids on a platform were playing, and our protagonist here was tired, very tired. He had been working all week with zero breaks. He was stuck in his office job and worked from 8 A.M. until 9 P.M. It could be said that his old boss was a slave driver who threw all his work at our current protagonist.

He had just gone to the train station to wait for his usual train, when innocent kids were playing around, and accidentally bumped into him. Of course, he was too tired to fight back when he was pushed, so he fell onto the tracks. You can put the last piece of the puzzle, can’t you? If not, he went splat! Dead! He got hit by a train, and now he’s here.

“What a dumb way to die…” he thought, but he also remembered his interaction with that ‘God’-like being and that he would provide him with a ‘companion’ of sorts. “So, where is it?”

<I am here.>

He heard a voice inside his head.… So, you’re the companion that old guy gave me? he asked it.

<Yes, I am.> It responded, making our protagonist sigh.

Well at least I can speak to you in my head, otherwise people would just think I’m psychotic. So, what can you do? he asked it.

<Please call me ‘Ageha’ and I can do anything.> Ageha proudly boasted. However, our protagonist was obviously skeptical. He wasn’t sure if what Ageha was saying was true or not. Sure, he got a helper, but what does it exactly entail? Help him? Help the God? So, he was skeptical.

Okay, Ageha, if you’re supposed to be my helper, can you eat that tree? he asked it.

<Quite easily. Please walk over to it and place your hand on it.> Ageha told our protagonist and he did as he was told and walked over to the tree. Once he arrived in front of it, he places his hand on its trunk.

Suddenly, the tree was covered in a jet-black aura and disappeared. W-what the hell? What happened to it? He was quite surprised by the sudden disappearance.

<It was consumed, as you asked, Leo.>

Leo? Oh, right, my name…I’m Leo Schwarzer…hey, Ageha, is there a nearby water source or reflective surface? Leo asked his companion.

<Yes, there is, in front of you walk or run for a few seconds and you will reach a small lake.>

Abiding by what Ageha said, Leo ran full sprint directly in front of him, but to his surprise, he was going a lot faster than he had anticipated, and he didn’t feel like he was losing stamina as strange as it sounded. True to her word, Leo arrived in front of a small body of water. The water beneath him was crystal clear.

Woah… He couldn’t help but think. Never in his life would he have thought he would see such clear water, not even in his old world. Enough! Let’s see…I still look the same, I haven’t changed much…but… Leo took a look at himself more. He felt a little taller, a bit more muscular.

Although he worked out in his past life, he didn’t do it that regularly or push himself to the point where he would become ‘jacked’, ‘ripped’ or ‘shredded’. He did it to stay healthy and not get fat. He didn’t want to become fat, not in his previous life, and certainly not in this one. I gotta keep working out because being overweight has too many risks…

Next, he checked his clothing, and to his surprise, he was still sporting the same clothes he wore during his death. He was dressed in his office clothes, although he also had his winter coat on. Why am I not feeling warm? He thought I was weird. It would be normal to feel warm if you were wearing something so stuffy in a humid place.

<You have a certain amount of resistance to temperature changes, Leo.>

“Is that so…? I’ll take your word for it then, Ageha…so, where am I?” Leo asks and then looks around himself. In front of him was an ever-expanding blue sky, around him an endless sea of green and tall trees.

<Since you are the next inheritor, you will need to become stronger. Let’s call him ‘Boss’, so boss wants you to get stronger first, he gave you some perks, and didn’t want you to become some kind of power-hungry psychopath by giving you some kind of big cheat ability or system.> Ageha explains.

I still want to get stronger though, power, the thirst and strive to become stronger is human nature, so he’s not really stopping me there. He quips back.

<That’s not what I meant, Leo. You’ve read those types of novels before, right? Tell me, how would you react if you suddenly gained the power and ability to do anything? By that I mean—if you could reshape the omniverse, change it to your liking, and with no repercussions?>

Leo wasn’t too sure if he theoretically had that power, would he abuse it? There is a high chance of that happening. It would take a saint not to, right? That would be the most logical next step, and if you say no, then you’re lying or as previously stated, you are a saint.

I mean, my ego would probably shoot up, do a few things I want and take it from there, I guess? he says a bit unsure.

<Precisely, I am here to prevent that. Now don’t get me wrong, I won’t limit you in anything, however, I will be helping you along the way. The boss wants a responsible inheritor, do you hear me? He doesn’t want to leave this omniverse to some psychopath and destroy everything he has done.>

I get it already, so I just need to do everything in some sort of moderation? he asks and gets confirmation.

<Yes. Now for your previous question. We are in…no particular world. It's a relatively weak world. You could say it’s a very comprehensive tutorial for you. Go get stronger, learn some things, and after that, we can move on to another world. Oh, by the way, the skill you used earlier is called [Devour].>

Devour… Leo repeated inside his head, but what did that skill entail? He wasn’t sure, so he asked Ageha, but before that… Hey, where is the nearest town or city?

<Turn left, and just walk that way for the next 5 hours, and no, there is no other way, or nearer city, unless you want to come across some monster camps or bandit/outlaw camps. You’ll also come across some monsters on the way, so you can experience combat.>

Great… Leo sighed and started to follow the instructions of Ageha. As he kept walking the only thing in front of him was tree, after tree, after tree…… This is going to get boring fast…

●●●●

“Sweet Lord in heaven, finally!” Leo shouted as he finally left the endless sea of trees. He had been walking for around 30 minutes and he was finally out. He was getting sick of it and was elated that he was out.

<You still have a 5-hour journey ahead of you.>

I know, at least let me celebrate! he answered back but didn’t get an answer back. Leo just sighed and started to walk forward again. As he did, he noticed that this time, it was mostly a large open field with a few hills and mountains in the distance. There were some trees here, but some of them were wilted and dead.

Where the hell did I land…? he thought as he eyed the dead tree as he walked past it.

<Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. 1. You have a summoning function. You can use it once a year, and you can do it a total of 12 times. Make your choice of whom to summon wisely. It is important to note that they will be very loyal to you from the start, and there will be no chances of betrayal. Next, you have another power, a spear. Pull it out of your soul if you want to find out.> Ageha says and then becomes silent.

W-What the fuck?! How do I use them?! Leo screams at Ageha.

<Use me?> she says casually and Leo facepalms.

Not what I meant! Ugh fine, I’ll use the summoning thing later. I need someone who can teach me a lot of things, and maybe…I don’t know, maybe they can be a maid or something? But first, that spear thing you mentioned. However, Leo has no idea how to do that.

Pull a spear out of his own soul? Does he look like a person who knows how to do that? No, obviously not. He was a normal office slave for most of his adult life. There was no sort of fantasy power or whatever in his old world.

Let’s see…I guess I just focus near the middle of my stomach or something? he muses and chuckles to himself. But he did just that, and to his surprise, a small white light appears in front of him. From that white light came a spear. T-this is…

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In front of Leo Schwarzer was an ornate spear with a dark blue rod, and it is more extensive than regular spears. It features golden metal decorations, in the shape of arrow tips, that spiral around in a double helix pattern. The decorations finish at the top of the spearhead, which features a white circle, which is completely empty, and has a cross that fills in the circle, but not completely.

There is a small silver stump that features four protrusions, two on the left and the other two on the right. The tip of the spear is silver, and similar to the rod of the spear, it is longer than other types of spear.

“T-the ‘True Longinus’ from High School DXD? What the hell? I got this as another perk…?! H-holy shit!” He couldn’t help but shout. He took the spear that was floating in front of him and examined it. “There’s no mistaking it, it’s the ‘True Longinus’ or also known as ‘Holy Spear of the Setting Sun, the Spear of Destiny’.” Leo was excited…

He felt a weird excitement he hadn’t felt in the longest time. Right now, he has four advantages. The [Devour] skill, the [True Longinus] Sacred Gear, the summoning and finally <Ageha> the companion.

I want everything out of the [True Longinus]! Especially both Balance Breakers! I’m not even including the [Truth Idea] ability which is stupidly broken! He was eager to train, he wanted to test it out, but didn’t want to dive in first without preparations or a guaranteed escape if things went south.

Ageha, what’s the most efficient thing for me to fight right now? I have zero fighting experience, I never even fought in school. Leo asked her.

<Well, there are nearby slimes, and the next step after that are probably goblins.> she answered back nonchalantly.

“Slimes, huh? Oh, hey what the hell does [Devour] do?” he couldn’t help but ask. It was too strange of an ability; it was also quite powerful.

<It’s as it sounds, you devour anything you want, and gain some strength from whatever you ‘devour’, you also gain [Skills] from them, of course, it’s not a guarantee every time since you may already have one that’s stronger than it.>

…So did I get anything from that tree from earlier? he couldn’t help but ask, however, his dreams were completely shattered.

<No, it was a tree, what the hell did you want from it? Tree powers? The ability to burn easily from fire attacks?> Ageha asks him like he was an idiot.

Sheesh, no need to be an ass about it, I was just asking. He wasn’t sure why she was so hostile towards him, but he hears her sigh.

<I’m sorry, I was boss’ companion for the longest time, now I’m stuck with you. It’s like I’m being punished. I wish he just…never mind, anyway, I’m stuck with you so I’ll help you anyway I can so we can get back to him as soon as possible.>

Noted. Anyway, I’m heading to those slimes. After saying that, Leo decided to sprint towards them. He could sense them since he assumed Ageha was helping him locate them. He ran through the pre-built path in front of him, however, he then turned right and ran up a hill.

Once he got to the top, he saw the slimes he was searching for, they looked harmless from a distance, but they were able to dissolve anything once they ate them. So he had to be careful, one mistake, and he could lose a limb. He looks around and could see that both his left and right sides were clear, so if he couldn’t win for some reason, he wouldn’t be trapped.

The number of slimes here was just 3 in total. He could probably take them on, probably. Leo let out a loud sigh. “Let’s do this.” He finally slides down the hill and comes face to face with all 3 slimes. With his [True Longinus] in his hands, he got ready. He had no idea if he was using the right stance for this but he was ready to charge at them. The 3 slimes stared at Leo and then charged at him.

Leo waited for all of them until one of the slimes tries to slam their body at him! Leo sidesteps the attack! Yet another slime takes advantage of the opportunity to attack, but Leo also predicted this and smashed his spear into the ground, elevating himself as a result! What the hell…? He even surprised himself with this move.

However, he did not have time to relax since he used the spear to push himself away and distance himself. When he did that he also grabbed the spear and carried it with him. “Phew…” how I managed to do that was beyond me, but I like it…” He smiled and got ready again. What other things can this do…? Ah, right it can…

Leo points the spear at the slime. Its tip suddenly starts to shine. It can produce light projections! And powerful ones at that. This thing is capable of killing Gods and Buddhas, and was used to pierce Jesus Christ. Take this!

The light that was shining from the tip instantly became much brighter and it was finally released! Take this, you dumb slimy things! A large beam of light is released from the tip and covers a wide area in front of Leo. It also destroyed the surroundings! Once the light show was done, it left a large semi-cylinder-type hole in the land.

Leo’s mouth twitched. What the fuck…? Doesn’t this thing require stamina or mana to use? Or doesn’t?! I didn’t feel anything draining from me… However, he couldn’t think for too long since he needed to run away from the spot since that definitely attracted attention. He needed to leave and not be caught.

Trouble, I’m going to be in trouble and be questioned if anyone finds out I did that. That’s more hassle than I need, and I’m not exactly an experienced fighter, nor am I that powerful! If they capture me, it’s game over. These were his thoughts as he ran away from the spot. He could feel Ageha pulling him in a certain direction, and it was to the opposite side of the hill.

He had to go over to the other hill and beyond them were goblins! Fucking hell! He didn’t have time to complain as the goblins saw him, and they probably felt the disturbance at the time. No light use, try the spear out! With no prior experience, Leo spun the spear around his hand and then increased his speed towards the goblins.

The goblins also did the same thing! They had clubs and swords. A total of ten of them were there. One of them swings down its sword, but Leo dodges it quite easily. He makes a stabbing motion towards the one that just swung at him, and it pierces him in the stomach! Leo however cringes at the sight. But he grins and bears with it.

<Devour it! It’s nearly dead after all! You don’t need to touch it, just say the [Skill] name!> Ageha shouts.

Leo nods. He holds the [True Longinus] in one hand and puts his left hand forward. “Devour!” he shouts and a large jet-black aura shoots forward and eats the goblin that was just pierced. It then vanishes. Leo’s eyes widen as he feels a bit of his power rise up. Is this the [Skill] taking effect? He glances at the other goblins, who seem to be in shock.

He didn’t waste any time and attacks the rest of them. He hacks, slashes, and pierces them all! One of them, however, began to run away. This thing can…extend! As he said that in his mind, the spear also starts to quickly extend and stabs the goblins in the back and pierces through his stomach! It made a pitiful yelp of pain before going limp. Once it was all done, Leo grimaced. He didn’t like the sight, but… I have to get use to this, don’t I? God fucking dammit. He held back the urge to puke, he faces the large group he killed and used [Devour] on all of them. He felt his power grow ever so slightly, and then he did the same thing to the other one who tried to escape.

No witnesses…I don’t want extra trouble. What does this world have…? Do they have like a guild or something? Adventurer’s licenses? Well, whatever. I'll leave that for when I arrive at whatever town or city I get to. Leo thought. He finally starts on the path that he was originally intending to follow. Ageha, are there any humans or whatever coming this way?

<No, it doesn’t seem they noticed the large attack you used, but it will be discovered sooner or later, you better make haste, the day is slowly coming to an end. We won’t reach the city at this pace. Therefore, we have to embark on a journey for two hours, then stop to find a shelter, make a campfire and just stay like that for the night.> she suggested.

He nods. I was already planning on doing that anyway. Can you look or scan ahead to find a suitable spot? Let’s go with your suggestion of a two-hour journey.

<Affirmative. Give me a second.>

Leo nodded, got back on the main path and starts to do a light jog. However, he noticed that his speed had increased slightly and he was moving a bit faster than before. This [Devour] skill is pretty useful...I can only imagine how much power I’ll get if I ‘devour’ something like a dragon or whatever… He thought. However, he hears Ageha snort but didn’t answer him back.

●●●●

Leo had been running for around 2 hours now. He didn’t take a single break, and was surprised that he didn’t feel any kind of fatigue. He wondered if the ‘God’ he met messed with his body and gave him enhanced traits, like more stamina, strength, agility and things like that. However, he would have to test that out another time. Preferably the next day.

<Turn right, and go into that small group of trees, then jump into that medium-sized opening, up there is an uninhabitable cave. The previous owners are long dead, they were hunted down.>

Hunted down? What do you mean? Leo asks a bit confused.

<Wyverns, this world is like your typical fantasy world. Adventurers hunt them down to complete a quest. However, a lot of the monsters here breed and grow up very fast. Therefore, if those wyverns birthed any offspring, they have already been replaced by at least 50 of them.>

Leo was amazed. Who would have thought they reproduced that fast? He certainly didn’t think it was possible. Well, he was just a normal human up until today. Following Ageha’s instructions he passes through the small patch of trees, sees a little mountain, but…

How the hell do I get up there? Can I even jump that high…? He wasn’t sure if he could, but he had to try, right? So, Leo did just that, he jumps, slips and falls back down, fortunately for him, he didn’t sustain any damage.

That was dumb. All right, let’s try that again. But let’s take our time this time. Leo then analyzes the mountain and finds that there were a few small ledges he could use to boost himself up. He also got a stable footing. He jumps up again, lands on that ledge, then jumps to another one and finally jumps into that cave that Ageha pointed out.

“Phew…let’s see…” Leo ignited his hand with some fire. Yes, he saw a fire slime on his journey, attacked it but didn’t kill it, and lucky for him, he got the ability to manipulate fire out of it. He personally thinks it was a worthwhile thing to do, even if it slowed him down a little bit.

The fire illuminated the inside of the cave. This was large enough for someone of Leo’s stature. He wasn’t too tall, as he was around 5’11”, but he personally thinks he’ll keep growing. Perhaps it was the truth, or a delusional dream of his. Even if it was a dream, he could still do that…dream.

“Hmm? Well, how convenient…” In front of Leo were left over piles of sticks and other assortments of items. Perhaps the wyverns who made this their previous home gathered them up? He thanked them since he didn’t need to go back down to get wood.

Leo strolls over to the sticks, gathers a substantial amount of them, and using his fire manipulation he lights them up. It caught on fire quite easily and illuminated the cave. Leo then sits down against the wall of the cave and sighs. “This won’t be a comfortable night of sleep.” He muttered while looking at the flames in front of him.

Certain thoughts started to go through his mind, such as: ‘Why did he have to die in such a strange way?’, ‘Why did he get randomly chosen?’, ‘How will his life turn out in the future?’, ‘Will he even survive until he reaches that point to meet the ‘boss’ again?’

Leo looks at the entrance of the cave, and then back at his own hand. He opens and closes it. “Now that I think about it…what about that summoning thing? How do I use it? Hey, Ageha?”

<I was waiting to tell you at the end of the day once you found a proper place to settle down for the day. All you need to do is tell me who, and I'll take care of the rest. You can be 100% sure that they will be loyal to you and won't betray you, as I said earlier. So spells, techniques or magic won’t work on them.>

Leo thought about it. If he wants to be successful, a teacher would be the most sensible option right? That’s also a maid or butler of sorts. They can help him get stronger, while also being able to help him with certain things, like cooking and the like. But who? There were so many characters he knew from shows he had seen in his life.

Leo sat there, thinking about his first summon. He had 12 in total, and this summoning thing had a year cooldown, so he had to choose wisely…and so two hours passed like that. He was surprised that he wasn’t hungry, but he just thought adrenaline was still in him…

“…I made my choice. My first summon will be—”

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