Chương 2: Chapter 2
Touching the flier wasn't enough to grant me another wish, so I was just fiddling with it for the time being, simply rubbing the magical circle with my thumb as if it was some genie lamp. For all I knew, I could've exhausted its power the first time around, and it needed some time to recharge its energy. I mean, I could feel something that wasn't Ki from the flier, but it was such a miniscule amount that even my own reserves dwarfed it in comparison.
"There's so much I don't know."
This was clearly some fantasy-esque Earth, but I clearly lacked critical information. I just wished I knew exactly what I was dealing with here. The paper in my hand lit up at that moment, and a magical circle identical to the one on the flier materialized in my living room.
"What the fuck?!"
I jumped up from the crouch, eyes wide in surprise as a beautiful woman emerged from the circle. She somewhat resembled the one that gave me the flier, but only somewhat because the one in front me made the other one look plain in comparison.
"You have called, and I have answered," she said, her green eyes watching me with amusement. "What is it that you desire?"
"Just making sure," I said with a gulp, taking a moment to collect my thoughts and calm down. "But are you a genie?"
Thematically, it would make a lot of sense since granting wishes was their schtick. Though it was more of a monkey's paw kind of thing most of the time and that made me nervous. Especially because I didn't know what kind of price I had paid for my ability to use Ki.
If that had been this woman's doing, that is. Because I was starting to suspect that I didn't gain my ability due to making a wish.
"Oh, no." She shook her head while chuckling before offering me a gentle smile. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kuisha Abaddon, and I'm a Devil."
"Because that makes it so much better." I probably shouldn't have said that out loud, but hearing she was a Devil made me nervous, to say the least. Honestly, I was panicking and preparing to fight for my life. Devils were generally the bad guys in most settings, after all.
"Admittedly, we don't have the best reputation," Kuisha said with a wince.
And wasn't that an understatement? Devils were supposed to be Evil with a capital E! Now, my view on them was colored due to my past life's memories and all the media I had consumed, but I had no reason to think otherwise until I was proven wrong.
Even then, it would probably be a smart idea to keep them at a distance, considering she just admitted that their reputation wasn't that great. Which meant that there must be a reason why they were viewed in such a way.
"Though I hope that won't discourage you from making a deal with us… with me," Kuisha continued, offering me a warm smile that made my heart quiver. This girl was fucking dangerous! But that was to be expected since she was a Devil.
I really wanted to back out of this, I really did. The problem was that I had already called her here, and I wasn't sure if she'd let me off if I tried telling I had no desire to make a deal with her.
Another issue was that fighting wasn't an option for me. For one, I didn't have any experience fighting normal people, let alone supernatural beings. And two, my instincts were screaming at me to play dead in front of this deadly being due to how much stronger she was than me. I had no idea how I knew that, but it was probably because of my recently gained Ki if I had to guess.
Now what? I didn't want to fight her, nor did I want to make a deal with her without having more information. Shit, just talking with her might have already damned my soul, and I knew this was a bad idea, but my curiosity got the better of me.
"What exactly does making a deal with you entail?" I asked at first before quickly adding a few more details to my question. "Like, could you please explain how you usually make a deal with someone?"
"Of course." Kuisha smiled brightly, and I had to calm my beating heart by constantly reminding myself that she was a Devil!
Which only served to make me even more nervous since I just realized that she wasn't The Devil. She was just one among many. Yay!
Kuisha proceeded to explain how, when summoned, Devils would form a contract with the customer. Afterwards, they would fulfill our desired wish for a suitable price, though she didn't exactly elaborate on what that meant.
"So what kind of price would someone have to pay if they, for example, wished to know more about the supernatural world?" I was being careful with my words, lest I end up making a wish by mistake, only to forfeit my life to her.
"Hmm." Kuisha thoughtfully cupped her chin. "Even the most detailed explanation shouldn't be more than a few hundred dollars. Let me check."
I realized Kuisha had me by the balls right there and then because she pulled out a fucking smartphone! Apple had just released their first IPhone last year, and the blocky thing was nothing like their future models. It looked like a brick and couldn't compare to the slick device that she was just fiddling with!
Yep, I was totally fucked. My soul would forever burn in the depths of hell because I was ready to sell it just to get my hands on a smartphone like hers. That's how much I missed holding one in my hands. Fuck me. I was so desperate for an actual smartphone that I was willing to sell my soul… I was definitely doomed.
I didn't know if God was a thing, but I prayed in my mind that he'd forgive me. Surely, he would understand how important this was to me.
"I was right," Kuisha said and looked up from the screen. "Even the most detailed information costs two hundred and fifty dollars."
"Just that?" I asked in surprise. That felt way too cheap. Plus, why were Devils even making deals for dollars? Something wasn't right here.
"It is information that one can easily obtain. Even a regular person can learn more about the supernatural world by simply taking a look at the various mythology books. Of course, not everything written will be accurate, but that alone will be enough for someone to get an idea of the various factions that exist."
So I was just a tiny frog in a well, huh? I wouldn't call myself the sharpest tool in the shed, but I understood the implication of what she just told me. Devils weren't the only thing that went bump in the night. They were just one among the many.
Taking a deep breath, I decided to change the topic. "What if someone wished for ways to grow stronger? What kind of price would one have to pay for something like that?"
If it was dollars again, I might consider paying since I did have quite a bit in my bank account. However, if it was for my soul? I wouldn't even contemplate the notion. Worst case scenario, I could just practice with my Ki and see where that gets me.
"There are… two common ways for a human to gain strength, though both are… time consuming. The first is to learn how to use Magic."
That sounded like exactly what I was after. Punch Magic was better than nothing, and I would definitely do my best to train it, but that wouldn't stop me from learning something else if I was given the chance.
"However, I have to warn you that learning Human Magic is by no means easy or safe. Of course, I can provide you with introductory books on the basics for the right price. Though I have to warn you that Human Magic is heavily based on calculating multiple different equations to create specific magical formulas. Making a mistake could lead to… a disaster, so it's recommended that one learns from and practices with someone experienced."
I just blinked at her because all I got from that was, "Magic is Mathematics." Which honestly didn't sound that bad, all things considered. I wasn't that bad with math, after all, since I did plan to learn programming in my past life. You didn't need to be good with numbers to code, but it was definitely recommended.
"The other method is easier," Kuisha paused, tilting her head to the side. "No, simpler is more accurate, but it is definitely harder in my opinion. You just need to train really hard and break your physical limits over and over again."
Wait! The Saitama method works? Damn it! I knew I should've tried doing his training! I just thought it was pointless since I assumed the world was normal. Still, it wasn't too late to start now since I was pretty sure he was in his twenties when he started his training.
"If you are talented, you might even learn how to use Touki, though… even if you are talented, you will still need to work extremely hard for that."
"Touki?" I asked with narrowed eyes. There was no way, right?
"Um, the external manifestation of your life force," Kuisha explained, though she looked a bit unsure herself.
Still, wasn't that exactly what I was doing with my Ki? That's what it sounded to me. Then… didn't that mean that I had skipped the entire process of naturally gaining it? I see. That might explain why my Ki reserves were so low. My physical abilities were just that bad.
Well, that solved my dilemma. Magic was cool, and I would definitely try my hand at it in the future, but for now? For now, I had to follow Master Saitama's footsteps and break through my limits.
"There's… one more method, but that one involves luck more than anything else," Kuisha continued her explanation, snapping me from my thoughts.
"Humans have a small chance to be born with a Sacred Gear. There's a more detailed explanation about them in the information package, but they are basically magical artifacts given to humanity by the Ruler of Heaven."
So, it's very likely that the Celestial Grimoire was a gift from God. And I went ahead and spat on his face by accidently summoning a Devil. Welp, in for a penny, in for a pond.
"One last question," I said, steering the conversation away from Sacred Gears because I would prefer to keep mine a secret since I didn't know if they could somehow steal it from me.
"Is that for sale?" I pointed at the smartphone in her hands.
"A DevilPhone? You can purchase one for ten thousand dollars," Kuisha easily answered. And damn if that wasn't expensive!
"What are the specs?" That was the important question! Because even if I had money to spare, I wouldn't pay ten thousand for a shity phone that looked good.
"I'm sorry, what?" Kuisha replied, tilting her head in confusion.
"It's hardware? How good is it?"
"Let me check."
Kuisha searched it up and started listing its specs. Now, I couldn't remember the parameters of the latest smartphone models off the top of my head, but this DevilPhone completely destroyed even the best ones. Hell, this thing was even better than those monstrous gaming PCs from my last life!
It was definitely worth the ten thousand bucks. Oh, and did I forget to mention that it had unlimited access to both the normal internet and the Devilnet no matter where you were on the planet? And that you didn't need to pay a monthly plan? I just needed to pay the initial price and not worry about it for the rest of my life.
"Where do I swipe?" My card was already in my hand as I intensely stared at her, though I didn't forget to clarify exactly what I wanted since she was a Devil. "For both the phone and information package."
Kuisha chuckled as she told me she'd be right back before she disappeared in the same manner that she appeared in my house, through that magic circle of hers.
I sighed and looked at the ceiling. I never was much of a believer, but I had definitely damned myself with this deal. And hey! If God didn't want me to make deals with the Devil, then why the fuck didn't he make cool smartphones?
Kuisha returned shortly after, carrying my new shiny phone, a book with information about the supernatural world, and a specialized device for credit and debit cards. Normally, my bank would contact me when making a transfer like this one, but it turned out that the Devils have some kind of deal with the various banks around the world, so they took my money the second I swiped my card.
Of course, the banks worked with the Devils! I should've expected as much! Evil begets evil and whatnot. Though I couldn't speak about that since I also just made a deal with a Devil…
Kuisha informed me I could summon her again by making a wish while holding the flier before she teleported away, leaving me only with my thoughts. I didn't even get the chance to play with my new shiny toy as the Celestial Grimoire appeared in my mind's eye, pages already rapidly flipping as it searched for something specific.
What the hell? I was being rewarded for making a deal with the Devil? Well, if anyone asked, I would just tell them that God made me do it.
The Grimoire slowed down moments later, ending on another page with text written in a language that I couldn't read. Just like last time, information started pouring in my brain.
Terraria: Home Cooking - 100 CP
There is very little that is more comforting than arriving home to find a nice meal waiting for you, and now, you are easily able to provide such. You are a master in the kitchen, to the point where food you make is guaranteed to provide at least a small 'stat bonus' to those who eat it, and you may even discover how to improve your recipes to provide a stronger and more targeted boost. Your skill also extends to potion-making, and as you experiment, you may discover new and exciting potions to make.
What the fuck? Celestial Grimoire my ass! Clearly this was a fucking cookbook! What was I even supposed to do with this?
…
Apparently quite a lot, huh. I could now make magical food that would give me small but permanent benefits. Hell, I could even make meals that would increase my recovery speed or even the potency of my training! The only downside was that I had to make the food myself. Thankfully, I was now a master chef due to this gift.
Now… I just had to find the perfect way to cheese this. It was no Skyrim Alchemy, but I was sure I could figure out a way to cheat the system. Because if you weren't cheating, then you weren't trying hard enough!
This might not be the awesome Magic that I hoped for, but… "I guess Project Saitama is a go!"
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