With a bit of effort, Rian accessed his Void Ring. A bottle of mineral water appeared in his hand.
Without saying much, he twisted the cap open and took a slow sip—just enough to steady his trembling body and clear the fog from his weary mind.
"No… this isn't the limit of this handsome man," Rian muttered under his breath, while his Six Eyes rapidly analyzed his body's condition and remaining energy in an instant. "I… just isn't used to it yet."
He raised his right hand, gazing at it calmly. With a touch of focus, blue energy began to swirl in both palms—flowing softly, like flames that burned in slow motion.
"Thanks to the Six Eyes, this handsome man's energy efficiency has almost reached the point of making exhaustion impossible," Rian said in a quiet, composed tone.
"Energy reserves still at 80%," he murmured, his breathing heavy. "But it feels like getting run over by a truck."
The data from his Six Eyes made it clear: it wasn't a matter of running out of power—his body simply wasn't yet accustomed to handling the precise, overwhelming strain of Maximum Output: Blue.
A second later, Rian clenched his fist, cutting off the flow of energy from his left hand and letting it fade away completely.
"Because… I'm still not used to it," Rian sighed deeply. "Using Maximum Output: Blue… makes this handsome man too lazy to move."
Still seated on the ground, Rian took out a small, square-shaped mirror.
He lifted it slowly, gazing at his own reflection with a faint, wry smile.
"At least… you've grasped the basics of Blue, Rian," he murmured to his reflection, his voice heavy.
"Heh… even this handsome man struggles," Rian added with a relaxed tone and a crooked smile. "Still, talking to my own handsomeness is the most perfect form of healing."
He closed his eyes for a moment, his breathing steadying, before speaking softly but firmly, "Well then… glad I could help."
And just like that, his monologue with himself became something more—a quiet dialogue between two old friends separated by time.
Not long after, Rian reopened the spatial settings and transformed the environment into a massive glass labyrinth—an endless maze of perfect reflections from every angle.
Soft white light radiated from an unseen ceiling, giving the entire space a bright yet elegant glow.
Reflections of himself appeared on every mirror within the maze, countless Rians gazing back with flawless symmetry.
Rian grinned broadly, one hand on his hip. "Perfect! From every angle… the handsomeness of this man is utterly inescapable!"
"Ahahaha! I love you… Infinity Room!" he laughed freely, basking in his own brilliance.
After taking a short break admiring his reflection within the mirrored labyrinth, Rian resumed his training.
Blue still felt foreign within his body—like a finely honed blade that hadn't yet molded to his grip. Adapting to it was the key.
Yet, as a handsome man who valued aesthetics above all else, Rian never neglected skincare. Training could be brutal—but the face must always remain fresh, radiant, and irresistibly charming.
In addition to training his control over Blue—including its Maximum Output form during combat—Rian also began familiarizing himself with the use of Infinity.
To train Infinity, Rian deliberately allowed various forms of danger to approach him:
From volleys of bullets, to showers of arrows,
flying blades, and even other hazardous elemental attacks.
All of these were purposefully programmed within the Training House simulation. The goal was simple: to condition his body and mind to respond to threats automatically through Infinity.
On occasion, Rian even amused himself by experiencing the gravitational pull of a simulated black hole up close—purely as reference material for Blue.
Though excruciatingly painful, he found value in the experience.
Beyond that, Rian also focused on understanding how Red was formed. Even if he couldn't yet manifest it, he had already grasped the underlying concept.
Such was Rian's daily routine while residing in the Training House—grueling, yet structured. Between sessions of intense training, he never forgot to use the environment's setting controls to rest, eat, and sleep in comfort.
Sometimes, Rian would transform the space into a serene Japanese garden; other times, into an elegant room filled with mirrors.
He truly treated the Training House as his own home.
As the end of the rental period approached, within the now-neutral white room, Knight Killer spun gracefully around Rian's body — gliding smoothly through the air, as if dancing to the movement of his index finger.
Each curve, twist, and glide of the weapon wasn't caused by wind or magic, but by the precise application of Blue — the convergence of space at microscopic points.
Rian adjusted the pressure nodes, making the world "correct" itself, then harnessed that correction as a force of attraction and repulsion.
While maintaining control over the weapon's motion, Rian murmured, "Feels like flying a drone with my mind…"
His blue Six Eyes gleamed, processing every calculation — every shift in pressure, every rotation in the air.
That seemingly casual flick of his finger concealed immense concentration and mastery of energy manipulation on a microscopic scale.
"This handsome man is finally getting the hang of it," Rian remarked with a faint smile.
"Alright… that means I just need to learn Red, huh? But there's not enough time. Guess I'll save it for the mission world."
Letting out a long sigh, Rian looked up at the white ceiling. "Besides… there are way too many Jujutsu Techniques to learn. Simple Domain, Curtain… Ugh."
He pressed a hand to his forehead, pretending to look weak. "Honestly… this handsome man would rather spend his time taking care of his flawless skin."
Without dragging out his complaints, Rian picked up the motionless Knight Killer beside him and deactivated Limitless: Infinity.
With a small focus of thought, Knight Killer was slowly absorbed into the Void Ring, vanishing without a sound — as if it had never existed.
Without waiting for the system's notification that his Training House rental was almost over, Rian stepped out immediately. Because one thing this handsome man was sure of: he didn't like being rushed by the system.
***
At this moment, Rian stood before the Sky Pillar, a colossal structure he had first encountered upon entering the Infinity Room. The pillar was located near the Residential Area and served as a gateway to other worlds.
The number 90,000 — Rian's serial code — suddenly appeared before the pillar, accompanied by a glowing red door that seemed to beckon him forward.
Rian reached for the door handle, but just before stepping inside, he paused. His brows furrowed slightly as if in thought.
"Why does it feel like… I've forgotten something? But what…?" he wondered, puzzled.
N/A: Heh, you forgot Aria...
He let out a quiet sigh and decided not to dwell on it. With a faint smile, he finally opened the red door and stepped through.
"Forget it," Rian murmured as he walked forward with confidence. "It's probably nothing important."
Ding!
[Detection: Herald with serial number 120,000 has completed rest time]
[Time to assign a mission]
[Searching for a compatible mission…]
"This handsome man is curious… will there be more than one participant this time?" Rian murmured, his expression serious. "Well, this handsome man doesn't really mind either way."
In every mission, the number of participants varied — sometimes only one person, sometimes more. Everything was determined by the Main Control System.
If there were multiple participants, each Herald was required to find their own teammates. If they failed to do so, the system would assign them random members.
Rian didn't particularly care about that possibility. Even if there were traitors within the team, such things didn't bother him much.
After all, Rian was confident he could eliminate anyone who dared to harbor ill intentions toward him.
Still, one thing lingered in his mind.
He recalled the contents stored within his Void Ring, "Skincare, facial masks, day cream, night cream, moisturizer, and face wash… all safe inside the Void Ring."
Suddenly, the Main Control System issued a new notification.
Ding!
__________________
Mission Title: High School DxD
Difficulty Level: Easy
Number of Participants: 1 Participant
Number of Main Missions: 3 Main Missions
Main Mission 1: Form a Contract with a Devil. Rewards will be determined based on the number, power level, and reputation of the Devil within the Underworld.
Main Mission 2: Defeat 10 Non-Human Beings. Rewards will be determined based on the number and strength of the non-human entities defeated.
Main Mission 3: Earn 10,000 System Points.
Additional evaluation and bonuses will be granted for exceeding the target.
Reward: Determined after the Mission ends
Penalty: Each failed Mission will incur a penalty of 2,000 system points.
__________________
Staring at the mission notification before him — including the title displayed at the top — Rian tilted his head slightly to the right, a wry smile forming on his lips.
"Huh? Why does that title sound familiar?" he muttered, trying to dig through his memories. "But I can't remember where I've heard it."
He shrugged, not bothering to think too hard about something he considered trivial.
"Ah, not important…" Rian said with a faint smile. "This handsome man will probably remember it later — along with whatever he forgot before."
A moment later, Rian's body began to fade within the dim, shadowy room — vanishing slowly, like grains of sand carried away by the seaside wind.