Sacred Gear Store - Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2: Domain Expansion?

At least, I think it’s a Sacred Gear if we’re only considering methods from this Universe. It could also be whatever caused me to reincarnate here—or the reincarnation itself.

You know for the Setting?

There’s only one way to find out.

“Well, how do I go about getting my Sacred Gear out again?” I mutter as I try my best to remember how it was done in the Light Novels.

I know that Devils are able to sense Sacred Gears and all that, but I kinda lack any form of Devil Knowledge. Beyond my innate Ability, which comes instinctively, I have no idea how I’m supposed to use my Demonic Power.

Luckily, the process of activating a Sacred Gear was shown in quite a bit of detail in the Light Novel.

“How was it again? Imagine the most powerful being you can think of?”

That’s… that’s not necessarily a smart idea. There are beings out there that become aware of your presence if you just think their names. And with me ending up in a literally fictional Universe, why wouldn’t they be real too?

All those Lovecraftian Horrors are out!

Hmm, Issei thought about Goku. Not a bad idea, but that’s far from the strongest being I can think of. His own Universe has several beings that are much stronger! Beerus, Zeno, Rymus and all that.

If I have to think about the strongest being that comes to mind, it would have to be someone on a Multiversal Scale. Like Rimuru Tempest at the end of the Story!

That fucking Slime is so overpowered that he can create and destroy entire Universes and has Skills capable of manipulating Reality on a Conceptual Level pretty early on! Tensura is just so far out of scale compared to many other Fictions.

While there are probably other Characters more powerful than him in other Fictions, most of the ones I can think of are only mentioned to be more powerful. I can’t think of any specific feats.

He’ll do fine.

Focus, focus…! On Power!

Rimuru Tempest… think about his Powers, his Abilities. Him literally having every Ultimate Skill in existence. Him Manipulating and traversing the Multiverse. Him creating and destroying an infinite amount of Universes.

Bring it to the forefront of my Mind.

And suddenly, there is a warmth spreading through my Body.

I felt that before! When I woke up in this new Life!

As I open my eyes, I can still feel that warm feeling of Power. Yet, nothing changed. I don’t have a red Gauntlet, white Wings, nor did a Mirror appear in front of me, and I didn’t create Swords. There is nothing.

Or at least, nothing visible.

I can still feel that my Sacred Gear is active. Something did happen.

But it’s still the same Store Room I’m standing in. Nothing is glowing around me or on me, nothing is different. And it isn’t one of my Merchant Powers either. I would instinctively know what it does.

Wait, my Merchant Power!

Maybe I can Identify what kind of Sacred Gear I got!

I need a Mirror!

I quickly rush up the Stairs of my Storage Room and arrive in my Apartment. The moment I get into my Bathroom, I stand in front of my Mirror and activate my Identification Power.

< Lucian Zagan, Age: 523 - The current head of House Zagan, possessing the Merchant Power and wielder of the Sub-Species Sacred Gear Innovate Clear: Multiversal Domain. >

Innovate Clear? Isn’t that a Longinus? I’m not sure, but I think I saw it on the list of Longinus in the Wiki.

But I’ve never heard of it having a Sub-Species Sacred Gear called Innovate Clear: Multiversal Domain. I don’t even have an idea what it does.

Sure, the term Multiversal is quite specific. But what is a Multiversal Domain? I can feel that my Sacred Gear is still active, but there’s no drain on my Demonic Power after I activated it.

So, what does it do?

If my Memories are right, then Innovate Clear lets the User create a Pocket Dimension where he is God.

One glance out of the Window makes it clear that I’m not inside a Pocket Dimension but still in the Underworld. The Sky is still purple.

Maybe I created a Pocket Dimension when activating it? So I should try to enter it now, right?

“…”

“…”

Nothing.

No matter how I focus or think about entering my Pocket Dimension, nothing changes. I can’t really feel a Pocket Dimension either. I should be able to feel something, right?

Why don’t Sacred Gears come with Manuals…

A big-ass Dragon in my Arm, explaining to me what’s going on and how to use this thing, would be really nice right now.

There’s no point in fretting over it. I’ve got some time to figure things out. This may be a Death World, but others will probably handle the Apocalypse for me as long as I don’t cause a Butterfly effect.

Besides that, I’ve got thousands of years to figure shit out.

Time to make some Dinner!

Opening my Fridge, I realize that it’s completely empty. Right, new home. I have to get Groceries first. I don’t even have one of those fancy Devil Phones to order anything.

Devils don’t need much Sleep and can see in the Dark. There are probably a ton of Shops that are open 24/7. I should go shopping even if it gets dark.

And back down to the Store, to my only front door.

At least I get some movement after sleeping for 500 years.

Eh?

I freeze the moment I open my Door. That’s not the Street I just saw out of my Window.

The Underworld is far more Modern. Yet here are Carriages driving down the plastered Street. Yes, plastered, not Asphalt. The Street on which my House is standing is completely different now.

What the fuck is going on now?

And the moment I ask myself that Question, my Identification Skill goes off on my front Door.

< Door (Multiversal) - A Common Door currently affected by a Multiversal Domain. At the User’s current Power Level, it has a single World Slot. >

< World Slot 1: ??? >

So my Door now leads to a different World. That’s interesting. Truly worthy of a Longinus. But it doesn’t even tell me what World this is? And what is a Multiversal Domain?

What will happen if I leave the Room, or my Sacred Gear turns off while I’m in another World? Am I trapped in another Universe then?

While that’s not the worst Option since Highschool DXD is quite the dangerous World, especially at my current level of Power, and with all that upcoming Apocalyptic shit in the future, I’d still love to have the Option to choose for myself.

As if my Sacred Gear reacts to my thoughts, a Key appears in the Palm of my Hand while my Demonic Power gets used.

< Key (Multiversal) - A mass-producible Key that fits into any Door created by Innovate Clear: Multiversal Domain. The Door will temporarily connect to the last location used by Multiversal Domain. Can be used by others as long as the Key doesn’t get invalidated by the Sacred Gear wielder. >

Okay, that’s quite a bit of information to unpack.

First of all, it sounds like I’ve got a Door-based form of Teleportation to my Home from any Door. But I’ll have to test that first.

‘The last location used by Multiversal Domain’ suggests that I can move that Door? Or is it the Room? Which is good, since I wasn’t planning to stay forever in this small House. Is Multiversal Domain like some kind of Domain Expansion permanently affecting an area until I use it again?

‘Mass-producible Key’ sounds like I can make more. Can I?

And the moment I thought about it, it used a bit of my Demonic Power to make another one. This time, it felt like it used a bit more Demonic Power than for the first. So there is basically a limit on how many I can make based on my Demonic Power Reserves. At some point making a Key will cost more than my reserves?

So whoever gets a Key matters to me.

At least I can invalidate those Keys.

The important Question is, is it an invite-only Door based on those Keys, or can others find the Door and, with it, my… Store, I guess?

Do I even want to open such a Store? I could pretty much do a Restaurant or a Bar too.

Or maybe a Mercenary Tavern connected to different Worlds, with this place acting as a meeting spot between customers and mercenaries.

Okay, that sounds like a bit of a hassle. Mercenaries are usually a dangerous bunch.

I will need a certain level of strength to keep this place safe.

However I use it, that can wait until later. For now, let’s see where I am.

Well, I’m glad that I’m a Devil. Let’s hope that Language Ability every Devil has is actually Multiversal.

“Excuse me, Miss?” I approach the first random passerby I see.

She’s a nice-looking older woman. “Yes, what can I do for you, dear?”

“This may sound a bit strange, but could you tell me where we are? Like, what’s the name of this City, Country, and so on? Maybe the Date too?” Awkward… but I don’t really see another way.

Or maybe I do? Now that I think about it, Merchant has an Ability that could answer me too. But why waste money if I can just ask someone, no matter how stupid it sounds?

The older woman blinks at me. “You don’t know where you are? Or even the Date? Are you okay, dear?”

“I am fine! I just have no idea where I am. Sorry.”

“Okay, if you say so. Well, it’s the year X784, and you are in Magnolia. It’s a Town in the Kingdom of Fiore, on the Ishgar Continent.” She answers me with uncertainty. “I hope that helps?”

And how much that helps! It even gives me an excuse.

“Thank you, Madam! That helps a lot. I wasn’t sure where my Spell brought me. But Magnolia is perfect. The Home of Fairy Tail!” I grin.

This is Fairy Tail!

While this World isn’t any less dangerous than my own, it has a ton of opportunities for me. The Power Level in Fairy Tail is quite high.

I’m pretty sure Acnologia could wipe the Floor with Great Red and Ophis, especially since he is a Dragon Slayer, making his Magic very effective against Dragons.

But the year X784 is quite far away from any apocalyptic Bullshit.

Worst case, I can stay here while the Apocalypse goes on in DXD, then move back once it’s over there. And that’s only if I’m too weak or don’t get any other Worlds to visit.

Things are looking pretty good for me.

“Oh, you’re a Mage, dear? Are you planning to join Fairy Tail?”

Am I? It doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I could gather practical combat experience and grow stronger while earning Money too. And the Guild has a Library with Magic Books!

“Probably,” I reply with a confident grin. “But first of all, could you tell me where I can find the best Magic Shop in Magnolia?”

I still need to think about my Livelihood. Doing Guild Jobs is nice and all, but work smart, not hard, is the one thing I live by. Being a Merchant is my strength, after all.

And I can think of several Magic Items from Fairy Tail that will bring me quite the Profit.

———

What the heck is that?

“Are you okay, dear Customer?” the Owner of the Magic Shop asked me as he noticed my confused expression.

I found the Magic Shop in Magnolia, and also the Items I’ve been looking for.

Gale-Force Reading Glasses, the perfect Item to make some nice Profit in Devil Society. While Devils are naturally more powerful than Humans, they’re also extremely lazy. Just look at Rias, the main heroine of Highschool DXD.

She has a Peerage consisting of some of the most broken abilities in the entire Series, and she still couldn’t beat her hated Fiancée, Riser, in a Rating Game to free herself from her Engagement, even after she got the Protagonist, who has a Longinus—a Sacred Gear with the Potential to kill Gods.

And not just any Longinus, but one of the best ones.

Besides that, her Queen, Akeno Himejima, has Holy Lightning. In other words, Lightning with the Holy Element, a more powerful form of the natural weakness of all Devils. She alone should be able to wipe out Riser’s Peerage, which is just meh, and him with his Phenex Regeneration too.

Or Rias’s Power of Destruction. She can literally use a form of Hakai, but can’t beat Riser’s Regeneration.

Rias procrastinated for several years, and then got overwhelmed by the fact that her Wedding was being pushed forward.

Most Devils are as Lazy as her, and her hated Engagement should have been more than enough Motivation for her to do better. Very few Devils are different.

So a pair of Glasses that lets you read twice as fast, saving you a lot of time, should be a very profitable Product. Not to mention that there are Models that go up to 120 times Speed.

Though this Shop doesn’t have them.

And I’m not planning to introduce any Model beyond the 2x Speed for now. After all, isn’t it smarter to milk those basic Glasses for their Worth before I ‘invent’ a new and better Model?

That way, I can get Customers to pay multiple times!

Each pair of those 2x Glasses costs 2,000 Jewels, or 20 Dollars, since the Jewel-to-Dollar Conversion of my Magic is 1 Dollar to 100 Jewels. They’re quite affordable, since they’re a very basic Magic Item you can buy casually.

The higher Models get more expensive quite fast.

But in the DXD World, I’ve got a Monopoly on those Glasses, and I can charge those rich Devil Houses easily 100 times that price. After all, it’s a new ‘Invention’ with a very limited Stock.

Yet, those Gale-Force Reading Glasses aren’t what surprised me. They’re pretty much what I expected. And I instantly cleared out the Magic Shop’s entire Stock of them, purchasing one hundred of the 2x Model and lowering my total Cash Wealth by 2 Percent.

Well, I spent another 100,000 Jewels on the highest Model they had in Stock, a pair of 32x Gale-Force Reading Glasses for myself, lowering my Cash by another 1,000 Dollars and leaving me with a bit less than 97,000 Dollars.

It’s all an investment!

The real shocker came when I was looking at what else they had in Stock here.

“Are you perhaps interested in our Celestial Spirit Keys?” the Shop Owner asked as he realized what exactly made me freeze.

I blinked. “Yes… Are those metallic reddish-brown Keys also Celestial Spirit Keys?”

This time, the Shop Owner stared at me, baffled. “You know about Celestial Spirit Keys, but don’t know what Copper Keys are?”

No, I don’t! Why are you looking at me like that? In the Series, there were only Silver, Gold, and a single Black Key. Not once was a Copper Key even mentioned!

Of course, I can’t say that out loud.

“I don’t…” I admit. “Maybe you can explain the Details of Celestial Spirit Magic to me. I was always interested, but never had the Chance to pursue it.”

“All right.” He nods while looking doubtfully at me. “As you are probably aware, Celestial Spirit Magic is probably the most powerful and versatile form of Holder Magic. It’s mainly used through summons bound to a Key.”

I give the man a nod. So far, it checks out with my Knowledge.

“Keys are categorized into different strength classes based on their Materials. The weakest is Copper, which consists mostly of non-Combat Spirits and very low-level Combatants, followed by Silver, which consists mainly of combat-oriented Spirits with a few non-combatants who possess powerful abilities.”

And that is already different. But it makes more Sense than the System in the Story, I guess?

“Copper and Silver Keys are usually the only ones you can find in a Magic Store. Mostly Copper, as Silver ones are quite Rare, even if multiple copies of the same Keys exist. We have quite a few Copper Keys and a single Silver one in Stock. Above that are Gold Keys. You won’t find those in a Magic Store since every one of them is unique, and only a single one exists in the World at any given time. If one ever goes on sale, it will appear in an Auction and go for Millions.” The Shop Keeper explains before adding, “I’ve heard rumors about a Black Key. But I can’t really tell you much about that.”

Well, okay. It’s close enough to my Knowledge. But it seems that just because I’m in a Fairy Tail World, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m in the Fairy Tail World I know.

Something I’d better keep in mind.

“Thanks.” I give the man a nod. “So, which Keys do you have in Stock?”

He points to the three Copper Keys on display, which I can already Identify myself. “Those you can see here are Canis Minor, Telescopium, and the most combat-oriented Copper Key, Sagitta. In the back room, I also have Pegasus. While it’s a less combat-oriented Silver Key, it’s still very useful for travel. Interested?”

So, Canis Minor, the small dog. I know that one from Fairy Tail. It was pretty useless. Looked like a Snowman and was pretty much a Mascot. But the description I got here through my Identification Skill makes it a decent Tracker with a bit of Combat Power instead of just a Pet. Maybe it’s different here too?

Telescopium, the Telescope, is a Spirit that looks like a Telescope and has a form of Clairvoyance Magic that lets the User observe distant locations based on how much Magic Power they put into it. Not bad, but nothing game-changing.

And Sagitta, the Arrow, is an Arrow that can fly through self-telekinesis. It reminds me a bit of the Arrow Yondu used in the MCU, but it’s probably not as strong. Well, Celestial Spirit Magic ultimately depends on the Summoner’s Power.

“Depends on the Price. I’d like to see the Pegasus too.”

“Canis Minor goes for 20,000 Jewels, Telescopium for 10,000 Jewels, Sagitta for 50,000 Jewels, and 250,000 Jewels for Pegasus.”

“So, a total of 330,000 Jewels?” That’s more than I spent here on one hundred Gale-Force Reading Glasses and one 32x Model.

“Yes, one moment, please.” The man nods before disappearing into the back of his Shop. He comes back with another Case containing a Silver Key. “This is Pegasus.”

Hmm, Pegasus, the winged Horse. It can fly very fast and far. Faster than me, with quite a bit of Stamina according to my Skill. And it has a bit of weak Wind Magic too. Still, 250,000 is expensive. That’s 2,500 Dollars alone for a flying Mount.

Although it’s one I don’t have to feed.

“I’ll take them for 300,000.”

“300,000 Jewels? I can’t do that. I would almost make a loss. At most, I can go down to 320,000 Jewels.” The Shop Owner shakes his head.

“I just purchased 100 Gale-Force Reading Glasses from you and didn’t barter for them. In the Future, I’ll need to purchase more, even similar amounts of the 4x, 8x, 16x Versions, and so on. I promise I’ll come to you first if the price remains reasonable. So, 300,000 Jewels?” Just a similar sale of the 4x Version will make up that loss for him.

The man looks at me for a moment before giving me a nod. “Fine. I’ll take you at your Word.”

So, what else can I get? I need to stock up a bit if I plan to trade.

[-- End of Chapter --]