"That must be the barrier. Once you level up again, the Boosted Gear will reach it's final state. I can feel it."
The red dragon was assured, and the way his voice had deepened gave Issei a knowing vibe. "Lemme guess, you want me to get up and start training now?"
"Correct," Ddraig confirmed.
Brown eyes darted over to the pervy alarm clock residing on the small shelving space of the bedframe. "It's not even three... ah, fuck it. I'm not risking another fallen angel dick trying to stick themselves anywhere near me again without being ready for it. I've already worked myself up, so let's do it."
"...Glad to see your enthusiasm." The boy's heart was in the right place, at least. Still keeping his clothes in his closet like normal and not his inventory, Issei donned his gray track suit from school and quietly tiptoed his way down the stairs of his house. Slowly shutting the front door behind him, he made his way near the front gate before the the dragon called out, "Stop."
"What is it?" Issei glanced at his left hand before searching vigilantly over his shoulders and across the dark sky. "Feeling a creeper lurking?"
"The only one lurking is you," his heavy voice joked stoically. "The magical contract linking you and the white-haired Rook is straining. Walk a few meters beyond the gate, and she'll be able to detect your presence is no longer within her vicinity."
"...Shit," Issei grimaced, not having thought about that. He would wake Koneko up, and she'd ask him what he was doing. It wasn't like he was hiding his training from her, but it would be a hassle to bother her at such a late time at night. She may also feel the need to go with him, unlikely as it were because the extension of the contract included guarding Asia, allowing her to stay at home.
Checking if his Gamer functions could allow him to bypass this ruling, he immediately perked up. Surprisingly, there was actually an option to disable the contract - thereby breaking it - but another function gave him the option to disable the contract's alarm that would warn Koneko of their separation.
As he turned it off, Ddraig immediately voiced, "How... Unbelievable..."
"What? You felt that?"
"I did... The contract was touched, yet it remains unaltered... The microscopic control over mana required to perform such a feat is unheard of." Once again, the system allowed the boy to casually perform something inconceivable was astonishing. "What exactly did you do?"
"I turned off the warning system. Koneko shouldn't be shaken awake now."
A hint of pride was in Issei's voice. Considering he'd only flipped some mental switch, Ddraig thought it puerile, but allowed the boy to bask in his accomplishment. "I'll trust your claim. Now then, head back over to the forest. The devil's concealing barrier should still be active and allow you to train without being perceived by humans outside. You should have enough time to level up and evolve, then we can move on to the next step."
"Got it." Issei left his yard through the gate. Just as he'd announced beforehand, the contract was not triggered and the devil residing within his home didn't suddenly appear next to him through a teleport circle or contact him through his phone. She certainly would have, meaning Koneko remained unalerted, allowing him to proceed as planned.
Arriving at the forest and keeping his guard up in case the fallen angel or another supernatural being appeared, Issei stood within the same clearing as yesterday and began the same routine - charging up Boosts with his Sacred Gear and launching a Dragon Shot into the sky. He was far enough away from Koneko and the other devils who could perceive through the barrier to shake them awake. His attacks without his overpowered sword were not yet powerful enough to boom over the entire town.
Taking brief, measured breaks, Issei continued this for a few hours until the sky was ever so slowly lighting. Training allowed him to grow quick, but it paled in comparison to any Quests he was assigned. He could level up several times in a row with a Quest depending on the amount of experience it rewarded. When he trained alone like this, he gained less experience than with a partner like Koneko, although his growth was starting to decrease now that he had neared her own level in power. By himself, it could take a couple days to level up.
It was monotonous and he'd prefer skipping such a grind if he could. But as far as he knew, Quests were the only way to make significant progress. Defeating foes in combat, and even going as far as killing Diodora hadn't rewarded him like a typical video game would. Quests were key, and the only one he currently had was the one involving Koneko.
Getting rewarded with XP and leveling up off that was secondary in his mind. Other than the Daily Quest that gave him a small percentage of experience, all of the Quests he'd completed were like that. The rewards were never the priority. Instead the Quests were like obligations he himself felt that he needed to do, not as The Gamer, but as a person.
Level Up!
Level 19 - Level 20
His experience bar finally ticked over as he fired off his last Dragon Shot before falling back onto the ground. He was unbelievably tired, compounded by the fact he didn't get much sleep, but he'd done it. His eyes closed, and when he opened them, he could see a new menu screen before him.
Awaken Gift from the Red Dragon Emperor?
"I can do it, Ddraig..." Issei informed his partner through his panted breath, navigating his menu screens and disabling privacy to allow the dragon to see it.
"Yes, I know. I can feel that you are now ready," Ddraig replied as he read over the screen. Through Issei's eyes, he could see how the system intuitively knew the exact awakening the boy would have, literally spelling it out. The extent of its range truly was measureless. "Whenever you are ready, stand and proceed."
Heaving himself up after catching his breath, Issei stood firm as he held out his Sacred Gear forward, simultaneously accepting the menu screen.
Boosted Gear Second Liberation!