The year did go by fast. Thinking of his new family, a small smile blossomed on his face.
"Alright. Let's make these last months count, Igor."
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|DxD|- Chapter 28- Thinking Of Home
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Three Months Later, Fifteen Months Since Entry
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The soft whine of flowing vital energy, the crumpling sound of a peeling plastic wrapper, and teeth gnashing against a hard grainy nutrient—this was the life, at least as far as Igor was concerned.
He lay sprawled on the ground with his back against the cool surface. A thin film of vital energy cloaked his body. He nibbled on the bland-tasting bar in his hand, silently cursing why he forgot to bring water.
Just beyond the corners of his vision, the cabin was in the distance. With his speed, it'd take just a dozen seconds to reach the front porch. But he felt so lazy in this moment. He'd trained for over half a day with no rest, and this was his only snack…his triumphant snack.
"I finally…did it."
Three months and non-stop effort. He cut it close, but he succeeded just days before he had to leave.
"I finally mastered this stupid technique."
His voice was slightly labored. Months ago, he understood how he needed to go about training finesse movement. Months later, he finally mastered it. His achievement almost brought him to tears.
He learned and mastered 'Explosive Movement' practically within two weeks. 'Finesse Movement' took him almost half a year. The comparison was despairing, but he was done and dusted with it. He took a bit of bruising to his pride, but he was still proud enough to show off.
"Hehehe."
He hovered his hand above his stomach. The vitality covering it barely fluctuated, and steadily, his hand moved without help from the muscles.
"Hehehehehehe."
If he had the energy, he'd shout out loud in success. Actually, he think he did.
"I did it! Take that stupid world! Dimori, one! Stupid world, zero!"
His hand flopped onto his chest. His breaths were heavy, but he was happy. Igor was half-right on his first idea about 'Finesse Movement'. His energy needed to be light enough that it could interact with air. The key wasn't mimicking boiling water and trying to change the state of his energy, but by spreading it so thin that it could touch air.
It was a simple concept that took him months to visualise and train to its initial stages. The migraines alone had him always groaning in annoyance, especially when Marcei's insight made everything more confusing. Some help it was.
He took all that advanced gibberish and simplified it to placing a hand on water. The water would sift through the fingers. But if some webbing was added, it'd be a bit harder for his hand to sink unless more weight was placed. But what if his hand spread wider and wider? Soon enough, he'd be able to do a handstand without falling head-first.
That was his theory. It was stupid, but it worked. He could spread and thin his vitality to an extent that he could, in theory, fly if he achieved enough mastery by "crawling through the air".
"Stupid definitions…"
But he needed to improve his energy control so he could use this stupid technique all over his body instead of just his arms and feet.
In the meantime, Igor was content to lay there. He'd discovered that by keeping his heart above a certain beats-per-minute, he'd accelerate his recovery without needing to eat sooner. It wasn't better than the herbal bath, but he'd hardly needed it since he came into the chamber…except for that one failure back then.
"Let me rest for a few more…minu..."
His voice trailed off with a yawn. He'd either fall asleep or have a headache anytime he thought of the manual. 'Training Manual I: Vitality Basic Knowledge And Utilisation'—a pain he'd been stuck with for over ten months now. He believed he'd have moved over to the intermediate version by this. What a curb stomp this book was to his enthusiasm.
Igor closed his eyes, forcing his scrunching face to fade away. Rather than think of his wounded pride, it was best to think of the new possibilities. The Explosive and Finesse Movement Techniques were part of two fundamentals needed to learn and master a super powerful move—the Instant Vanishing Technique.
Its specifics were in the intermediate training manual, but it promised to be very powerful. It was a technique that could be used in short bursts and needed a powerful body, but the super-fast speed it promised was enough for him to salivate.
Stars shone in his eyes. If he mastered it, even for a short moment, he could be faster than the planes in the skies. Maybe he'd be fast enough to leave afterimages like Goku. The possibilities were endless. But that would have to wait until he completed the basic manual. Besides, a measly few days weren't enough to finish it.
"I'm rested now."
He stretched his body and took one last yawn before getting up. He'd need to sleep after this, and it'd be one less day until he could see his family again. His fallen lips curled once more. Only six days remained.
There was barely a scoop of ashes remaining on the top half of the hourglass. If he had the power, he'd screw open the lid and shove those ashes through the hole with his finger.
Still, that didn't dampen his excitement. How much had Akeno grown? Would she remember him? He knew Shuri and Baraquiel would definitely be there. Would they be impressed at his strength?
"I think I've grown taller too, right?"
Igor gave himself a once over. He wasn't as scrawny anymore, or at least he hoped. Thankfully, he hadn't gotten thinner. Shuri had promised she'd strap him to a chair and spoon-feed him for a month if he was no different from a twig.
"..."
Nonetheless, thinking of Shuri made him think of his mother. Her tomb…he had to find it. His face dulled with seriousness. No books he read showed his mother's last moments. When reading the book on the second era, Tallus's views of the real world ended in Ariya when he sealed himself into the time chamber. His mother's escape was written, but there were no scenes of her in Kuoh. Finding his mother's tomb in the massive forest would be almost impossible. He knew from…experience.
The devil who saved him might have clues, but he was wary of her kind. History told how devils forcefully transformed humans into servants. He definitely didn't want to become one. Maybe he'd ask Baraquiel instead. The old man was definitely the strongest person he knew.
"I'll deal with that when it comes."
His face locked in determination. Six days remained. He could use them to improve himself. The upcoming sections in the manual would include long-range attacks. To become a weapon that would protect Shuri and Akeno, he had to cover all his bases.
"Six days, Igor. Make them count."
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AN: Shuri is baring her fangs and changes are coming. I'm curious to see what will happen when Igor finds his mother too. Even if he'll find ashes, I believe it might be too much to let a child search alone. It's a bit…inhumane.
Now, an Announcement:
If you noticed, then you may have seen the book cover, name, and synopsis may have changed. I have 'Its-A-Me-Mario' from Fanfiction.net to thank. This person whom I both love and hate addressed the elephant in the room by pointing out what I've wanting to ignore—people expected Dragon Ball vibes from the old title. So they get turned off when they see a snot-nosed brat instead and leave me shitty reviews.
So I'd like to thank 'Its-A-Me-Mario' for giving me a sleepless night after I read his/her review. Popped my little comfort bubble and dosed with reality. They even had the gall to recommend the title change to 'Vault' instead. And I shamelessly took that recommendation.
The cover art changed as well. It's obviously AI. I know I'm a shit person, but please forgive me. I'm too broke to afford an artist. I'll make due with that current cover until I can find someone to get me something decent looking.
Another change is, I'll be switching to uploading two chapters a day. I've settled into a fair rhythm where I can balance my studies, writing and wanking. Still, please buy me that coffee on p@treon. Free trial is available. Lord knows I need a different addiction.
Another thing, I'll have to skip Thursday cause I got an international exam, but on Wednesday and Friday, I will be uploading two chapters each.
Enough of my rambling. Enjoy the next chapter or read the original review down below. Once again, thank you Mario. And pray the headache you gave me pays off.
Chapter 28
END
Here's the original review from 'Its-A-Me-Mario'. You'll understand why I first wanted to punch them in the face. The truth hurts…a lot.
Review:
HolyGambler, if you see this comment, your synopsis is sad at best, abysmal at worst.
Due to the Shonen series of Dragon Ball, the word time-Chamber,
makes people think of Dragon ball element's that this prologue,
barely seems to give the reader, an reason to want, to try, reading this at all.
You need to make an better Synopsis if you want to catch people's attention man!
I'll kill them all, this was solemn made by a boy on his knee's...
That beginning is SO PAINFUL dude, even I believe you could do better than something like that!
You don't even go into detail about the Time Chamber itself,
so as to give an explanation for the reader as to WHY, it is called as such, you know.
You need to point out that the "time chamber" is not exactly the,
same one seen in Shonen-jumps' dragon ball franchise, but it has similar properties to say the least,
and yet, the most obvious trait's about the, "time-chamber" is that it is an Vault,
an storage vault filled with the knowledge and secret's that would change the very balance,
for the Supernatural world, of Highschool DxD and more...
You should also add in that, the boy Igor, is the last holder of the secret vault,
as his clan, his family, have all been killed, for their creation of the "time-chamber" storage vault.
Another thing to add for the synopsis is, the fact that storage vault called, the time-chamber,
as an extra set of abilities in volving the passage of time, or something to that effect.
Another, another, thing to modify, if at all, is the stories title itself.
Born with a Time-Chamber in DxD is nowhere near decent enough..
I would say that, Born with an Time-VAULT in DxD...instead...you know, okay?
Because Time-Chamber, makes one default to Dragon Ball, but Time-Vault,
makes one think differently, as it is NOT the same wording, but different,
like how one pronounces an single word differently, even when it's the one word.
Say for like, GOETIA...
where it shows as either...
Go-EH-tee-ah...or Go-EE-Sha...or Go-AY-sha...or even Gay-TEE-ah...
Do you see it yet?
So basically, Time-chamber, makes the current generation, default into thinking of Dragon Ball,
but if you use time-VAULT instead, it would literally make people think differently,
and not just have them, have us, assume otherwise.
So Time-CHAMBER, makes me THINK Dragon Ball, a hundred percent,
while time VAULT, would not do so, and would make me believe otherwise.
You should also cut out part of the descriptions' ending where it says,
an artifact that would shatter the delicate balance of the world...
(That part should be cut out and just say, full story description in the chapter one prologue)
If you could do that, which you can by the way, modify everything as somewhat suggested here,
then you will no doubt have more people wanting to read this story,
instead of just, looking in, and then dropping this,
because it's NOT dragon ball like the stories title basically tells us at the start.
If you do not modify, then people WILL continue to assume that this is fully Dragon Ball related,
with world shattering KI battle's and the, Kamehameha and other nonsense like it.
I for one know, that it would build up into that, but for many,
they would assume otherwise, like the dragon ball's and space flight,
with planet destroying battle's and, Super-Saiyan Son-Goku versus Emperor Frieza and stuff.
That is not what this story is about though, now is it?