High School DxD: The Game Master

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It took everything Rias had to keep herself from letting out a squee of excitement. Instead, she did her best to give a regal head nod back to the bartender as she collected the Lesser Healing Potion and then made her way to the door.

Opening it, she found herself at the end of a wagon trail leading into the forest she'd seen out of the window. She took a deep breath and reveled in the crystal clear air. She took a few moments to enjoy the completely pollutant-free air then began her quest.

Rias tapped her chin with a finger as she considered what she'd discovered so far. While she was super interested in completing the quest and getting a reward, she was also interested in the power making all of this possible.

So, the first thing she did was go off the obvious path and explore the surrounding woods. What she found is that the trees were only real for maybe a dozen feet on either side of the path. After that, she came to a wall with such a convincing illusion of the forest continuing on it that she almost thought it was an invisible wall.

She followed the wall on either side of the cart path for a while and concluded that the user of Innovate Clear hadn't bothered making more space than necessary.

This was looking like a simple straightforward quest where she wasn't expected, or even really allowed, to explore further. It fit with the idea that he had limited power and needed help to grow stronger. So, she expected, not only would he be able to make stronger monsters, but bigger areas. She could see how Innovate Clear was considered a Longinus.

After her exploration, limited though it was, she came across the scene of the crime! Laying in the middle of the cart path were the remains of a delivery cart. At least, she assumed it was the delivery cart. One of the wooden wheels was shattered leaving it tilting precariously.

There were no signs of people and the back of the cart was completely empty. It was the presence of crude arrows with stone tips that showed it was no accident.

A short look at the scene showed a clear path where she presumed the attackers had taken the loot and cart driver. She made her way down the path, on alert for any surprises.

She didn't have any weapons, but she wasn't worried in the least since she had her Power of Destruction on hand. The path meandered through the woods for a bit and eventually led to a cave entrance.

She paused to study the entrance and try to gain a clue of what she was facing. As she looked, a high-pitched cry broke the silence of the forest. Rias looked around to find the source of the cry but could see nothing.

Replying cries came from within the cave and echoed out. She pouted at that. So much for sneaking in and figuring out the situation.

With a deep sigh she made her way toward the cave entrance. The entire way she looked around trying to spot the scout that had ratted her out.

Unfortunately, she had zero skills at tracking and really hadn't spent any time walking through wild forests. She was a city girl and she was completely unable to find the creature that ratted her out. She didn't like leaving an enemy at her back, but she really didn't have much choice.

She stepped into the darkness of the cave, smirking to herself as the darkness did nothing to impede her.

Devils were creatures of darkness and they could see at night almost as well as if it were daytime. Only true pitch-black darkness could blind her. The light from the entrance was more than enough for her to see clearly.

She could hear a commotion from deeper within the cave, but twists and turns within it made it impossible for her to see anything too far ahead. When the cave got too dark, it was lit with small torches. Whatever she was about to fight had at least some intelligence.

Stepping around yet another corner, Rias came face to face with one of the monsters infesting the cave. The creature was a small reptilian humanoid standing on two legs while wearing a loincloth and holding a rusty dagger in one hand.

The kobold let out a horrific screech and lunged across the scant few feet between it an Rias. In her shock at seeing the monster, Rias barely registered the danger before the rusty blade slashed the outside of her right thigh.

Rias reacted on instinct. A massive billowing aura of red and black magic surrounded her and lashed out at the cause of her pain. The tiny kobold, which barely reached her stomach in height, screamed as it was erased from existence.

With the immediate threat gone, Rias retreated a bit and checked the wound in her thigh. It wasn't too deep but it was bleeding and she was a bit worried about how filthy the blade had looked.

Luckily, or perhaps not, she still had the Lesser Healing Potion in hand. She quickly popped the cork out of the vial and did what she would do with a Phoenix Tear, she downed the whole thing.

The taste was surprisingly pleasant and she immediately felt warmth suffuse her body before it all seemed to focus on the wound to her thigh. She watched as the cut softly glowed red and quickly closed. When it finished, there was no sign that she had ever even been wounded. Well, aside from the blood still staining her pale skin.

She took a breath and reaffirmed her resolve. She'd been careless, taking this whole thing as just a game. The monsters were very real and they would do everything in their power to try and kill her. She needed to be careful and take out the monsters as quickly as she could.

The little kobold hadn't been a true threat to her either magically or physically, yet it had managed to hurt her by using surprise to its advantage. She needed to make sure that didn't happen again. She had no way to heal any further wounds.

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