*Damien Pov*
"Fuck, that hurts, why are we even fighting? Tyrant, what will it take for you to treat me as a partner?"
I've seen bleach, I know the importance of getting along with your sword, at least if you ever want to use Bankai.
"Master, I've said it countless times, you're weak. It's simple, stop being weak, that's all."
Okay, easy enough, I just need time then. I'm stubborn, I'm not someone who's gonna stay down after getting my shit rocked.
I slowly drag myself up and glare at Tyrant, sword back in hand. I raise my arm and point my blade at him.
"You want me to be strong? Fine, I'll get strong and kick your ass to hell and back."
Tyrant looks shocked for a moment, then throws his head back and laughs, and laughs more, filling the desolate land with mirth.
"Master, don't be confused, I don't need you to be stronger than me, we would be here for thousands of years. I'm not referring to physical power or skill, but your Will. I want you to fix your will."
My...will? My will is too weak? That doesn't make any sense! I've trained for years in swordsmanship, I've killed people, 28 of them! How is my will weak?
"I can see you don't understand, so I'll ask you a question. What do you live for? What's your goal that you'll strive for? Why do you exist, Damien? Look around, at this place, think, then return and wield me."
The next thing I know, I'm back up and on the carriage, looking up at a beautiful starry night sky.
"How long was I out, Ikkaku?"
"2 and a half days, boss"
FUCK! That long? But it makes sense, time flows differently in one's inner world. Looking back, that place was so....dead? I can't think of the perfect word but it was sad.
Tyrants right though, what's my goal? I was given a chance countless people would kill for, I can't live this life passively and without a goal.
The question is, what will I live for? What's a goal I can spend hundreds of years pursuing?
What do I want?
...
"Ikkaku, go catch me some food, I want to taste something."
"Sure Boss, I'll be back."
Just like that, Ikkaku is gone, he's so fast compared to me, even restricted by that Gigai. It's strange, I'm kind of envious, even though I'm confident to surpass him later.
...
it's been 20 minutes, what's taking Ikkaku so long? He probably found something interesting, he'll be fine, patience Damien.
...
Okay, it's been half an hour, what the hell happened? I heard it then, the rustling behind me.
I whirl around and bring Hyorinmaru to my hand. Tyrant said I'm unworthy, so until I am I refuse to wield him.
A tribesman dressed in ragged, weather-worn clothing, unkempt hair, and an unshaven face stood before me wielding a dagger. I quickly checked the dagger with Appraisal.
[Common Dagger]
- A standard iron dagger smeared with an invisible venom
Poison huh, so don't get cut. I could leave my body and be immune to physical damage, but I need to fight, I need the experience. The 28 guys I killed were almost all ambushes, due to my fear.
The man smiles, but before he can finish, I use Kido.
"Bakudo #9: Hōrin!"
from my hand, an orange-hued tendril with spiraling yellow patterns ensnares and immobilizes the opponent as the tendril wraps around his body. He shouts in shock before trying, and failing, to break free.
He shouts something, I'm kind of tuning him out. I guess now is a good enough time to test something.
I exert the full force of my spiritual pressure on him. He starts to struggle to breathe and stops fighting the spell, looking at me in sheer terror.
Not enough to instantly kill a Fodder bandit, that kinda sucks. I approach and remove his head.
[1x Inferior Soul Gained]
Hōrin took a decent portion of my spiritual energy, but I could use it about 14 more times, I need more spiritual energy, it's the basis for literally everything.
Wait, hollows get more spiritual energy by eating souls and evolving, and when I, unfortunately, transformed my hollow had the same amount of spiritual energy as my regular form, so can I eat souls to increase my power?
Do I need to transform? No no no, I'm not doing that again!
Calm down, let's try eating this one regularly, and see what happens. I grab the inferior soul and stuff it in my mouth, hesitation is never good!
It tastes like...cotton candy but flavorless? It feels like I put cotton candy in my mouth but tastes like water. kind of? It's not good but it's not bad either.
Suddenly, I feel a shred of energy circulate, and my spiritual energy pool very slightly grow. IT WORKED! Immediately, I eat all 128 remaining inferior souls I have.
FUCK, it hurts! I collapse in pain, but I Grit my teeth, and dont scream.
After a while, the pain calms down and I can move again. I check, and my spiritual energy more than doubled, holy shit!
Although next time I need to take it slow, what if I exploded and died?
[Detected over 100 souls have been devoured]
[Skill Soul Eater Gained]
[1x Basic Gacha Ticket Gained]
Wait, that can fucking happen? Lemme check what's going on, and alter my screen a little, I'll use the Gacha first then check everything.
[Hoho Upgrade Fragment Gained] (1/3)
Not bad, lets check everything else now. Status
[Name: Damian Caldwell]
[Designation: Hollow, Soul Reaper]
[Forms: Human, Soul Reaper, Hollow]
[Spiritual Energy: 6th Tier->5th Tier]
[Zampakuto: Tyrant, Hyorinmaru]
- Skikai: Suppress The World, Tryant!
- Shikai: Sit Apon the Frozen Heavens, Hyorinmaru!
[Skills]
{EX} Self-Sustenance
{A} Soul Eater: Souls eaten will generate 5% more spiritual energy for the host
{B} Appraisal
{B} Zanjutsu (1/3)
{C} Kido:
{D} Hoho (1/3)
{D} Hakuda
[Inventory]
Tyrant, Hyorinmaru, 1x Building Ticket, Minor
Health Potion, Bakudo #61 Rikujokoro (One Time Use), Kisuke Urahara's Hat, Spiritual Gem, Sosuke Aizen Research Notes (Fragment), Gigai Creator.
Okay, looking good. I did some research and after asking Ikkaku, the 5th tier is about the average regular Soul Reaper, the 4th tier can be a seated officer, the 3rd tier can be a Vice Captain, the 2nd tier is for average captains, and Ikkaku himself is the second tier. 1st tier is for monsters like Ichigo, Old Man Yama, and Aizen.
At least I'm average now, although I also have my shikai, so I'm probably somewhere like a 4.5.
I need to get more souls, there was supposed to be a smaller tribe of 200 people nearby, shouldn't be too hard apart from their chief.
After all, I have spiritual pressure, a very potent tool against large numbers of weaklings, it's the ultimate counter.
Worse case I have Ikkaku slaughter them in about 2 seconds. Speaking of which, where the hell is he, I'm starting to get worried, even if he is a Vice Captain.
As if waiting for me, Ikkaku arrives with a....
...
"Ikkaku."
"Yeah, Boss?"
"Is that a fucking dragon?"
He just gives me that battle-craved smile before telling me he doesn't think so, after looking closer, I think it's a wyvern.
It resembles a dragon but has two legs and a pair of bat-like wings, making it a bit smaller and more agile looking. The creature's scaly body is adorned with various shades of green, and its sharp claws and teeth are quite formidable. Its eyes were clearl6 fiery and intense when it was alive, adding to its fearsome demeanor. The wyvern's tail is long and ends with a pointed tip, making it a formidable weapon.
Ikkaku killed a wyvern so I could taste it, why am I not surprised? He looks slightly wounded and scratched up pretty bad on his right arm.
Must have been far if I couldn't sense his spiritual pressure, not that I'm that good at it.
For now, we eat, cause I really wanna taste something good right now.
...
(2 Hours Later)
...
As I stand before a massively charred corpse of a wyvern, I can't help but think I should have anticipated neither of us could cook.
Fuck my life.