While enjoying the lap pillow, Rhode's progress bar for "Qi" cultivation rose steadily. At this rate, he'd master the use of Qi in less than an hour. If this learning speed were known by other Youkai or Qi-cultivating sorcerers, they would be incredibly envious. For a normal human or Youkai, the transformation from zero to one required a long period of study and practice. Rhode's ability to just wait for a bar to fill was a straight-up cheat.
But Rhode never thought of cultivation as a good job. He couldn't stand focusing on a single skill for a week, let alone a day. Since getting the system, he felt he had become lazy, but he didn't mind. He was a transmigrator; without the system, it would be hard to even survive in this world.
On the surface, High School DxD was a hot-blooded harem show with plenty of fanservice, but for a normal person, life there meant dealing with crazy stray exorcists, irrational stray devils that would eat you alive, or being caught in the shockwave of a battle between two powerhouses and dying like a stray dog. Even if you survived, you'd still have to pay off your mortgage and car loan after they were destroyed, and you'd have no one to complain to. That was worse than death.
Thus, attitude was everything. Rhode never forced himself to do what he didn't want to do. Playing games for fun was one thing, but if games became work, it was pure torture. Of course, Rhode felt his talent was decent. Although he hadn't pulled any combat techniques from the system, he was quite proficient with firearms and cold weapons.
An hour later, Rhode reluctantly sat up from Lavinia's lap. He had learned how to control "Qi." As Kuroka said, Qi existed in all things, and everyone's Qi strength was different. Currently, among everyone present, Lavinia had the strongest Qi, followed by Kuroka, then Akeno, Raynare, Koneko, Kalawarner, Mittelt, and finally Asia, whose Qi was so weak it was practically negligible—though she wasn't a combat unit anyway.
Kuroka, who was still teaching Koneko, looked at Rhode in shock. "You can also control the flow of Qi, meow? Wait, did you just learn that now, meow?!"
"Is there a problem?" Rhode countered.
"Of course there's a problem, meow! If you're a beginner, how can you learn faster than my sister, meow?! You're definitely cheating, meow!" Kuroka was speechless. She had never seen a human with such talent. Even if humans could learn to control Qi, their speed and mastery were usually far inferior to Youkai, let alone Nekomata.
"You caught me?" Rhode raised an eyebrow. By pure coincidence, Kuroka was right. However, she didn't actually believe he was "cheating" in the literal sense; she just marveled at how talented her "cheap master" was.
Wait.
This means I can choose him as my mating partner, meow?!
As a Nekomata, Kuroka shared many traits with cats. The most typical trait, besides hissing, was having multiple "heat" periods a year. She had reached maturity years ago. Anyone who has owned a cat knows that once they go into heat, they'll wail all night until they find a partner. As an intelligent Youkai, Kuroka had used Senjutsu to suppress her heat because she had been on the run and hadn't found a partner she liked. Aside from that one exception in the Naberius branch, a Nekomata would never change her chosen husband.
Kuroka hadn't been fond of Rhode at first, but ever since he helped her sister untie the knot in her heart, she had found him increasingly "cute" over the past few hours. Combined with his strength and talent, he was the perfect choice.
No, I can't think about that anymore, meow! If I keep thinking about it, my body will start feeling strange, meow! Well, there's plenty of time. I'll just find him to have babies during my next heat.
Rhode, of course, had no idea what Kuroka was thinking. If he did, he would have suggested tonight.
Afterward, Rhode learned a few more Senjutsu techniques from Kuroka. They were basic spells like the "Warding Charm" and "Strengthening Charm." The former used Qi to create a protective shield on the body's surface, while the latter used Qi to strengthen the body inside and out. The latter was more of a health-cultivation method that could nourish the body with Qi anytime, anywhere. As for other Senjutsu, Rhode didn't have the time to learn them; the progress bars for advanced techniques were almost as long as the one for the Balance Breaker. He'd take his time later.
Additionally, after learning Qi, Rhode could use the flow of Qi to judge the general movement of distant enemies. It was very similar to the power system in Dragon Ball, and essentially the same, with the minor drawback of potentially absorbing evil Qi and malice from the world. Of course, that didn't affect Rhode at all. If it came down to being "evil," he felt he could be even more wicked than the villains. It was just a matter of whether he wanted to be.
For the next period, Rhode's life was a bit busier. During the day, he sparred with Lavinia to increase his Balance Breaker progress, learning about Qi in his spare time. At night, Lavinia would occasionally "get lost" and end up in his room after a bathroom break. He continued his "rubbing against the gate" approach, gradually pushing Lavinia's boundaries.
Of course, Rhode didn't forget the Holy Sword search mission from Griselda. However, the stray exorcists under Kokabiel were a bit slow; two days had passed and they were still in Europe. How long would it take for them to reach Kuoh Town?
In addition, Rhode noticed that Kuroka's attitude toward him was getting better and better. She wouldn't say why, but she'd giggle to herself. Sometimes she'd even turn into a cat and sneak into the bathroom while he was showering, only to trot out once she was spotted.
A few more days passed. When Rhode opened the system map for his daily check, he saw that the red dots marking the mission were finally in Japan. Just then, he received a message from Griselda.
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High School DxD : Reincarnated into the Multiverse, but it's High School DxD (144 Chapters – Ongoing)
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