Mirai Agares stared at the green screen floating in front of his face, raising an eyebrow in curiosity... He had seen things like this before given Rias regularly dragged him and his sister over for anime nights along with Sona, but this was the first time he'd seen such a thing in person...
A System.
Which meant...
He looked down at the dead body and raised an eyebrow, "Now I see," he murmured. "This person was... The term is Isekai, isn't it? He was Isekai'd into this world... Given the gender ratios of this world are skewed at ten women to one man, he received the... What was it, Mad Charm System? No Sacred Gear or anything, my analysis was wrong. Then again, I cannot be blamed for not expecting someone from another world..."
Mirai could roughly guess the intentions behind the Mad Charm System- its purpose was purely to help Kenji attract women in order to become stronger. Crass, but efficient... And equally fun.
He couldn't blame Kenji for abusing such a system. He himself was a very lustful devil, it was part of the reason he was so protective of his older sister. As far as Mirai cared, she was his. Still, if one could get stronger by attracting and making love to women... What straight male wouldn't enjoy such a thing?
He rubbed his chin and looked at the System interface. "Let me ask, System, what happens if I don't want you?"
System will de-couple and search for next most compatible host- modifying as needed to better suit host.
Mirai raised an eye... So, the system was almost symbiotic in a way- it would look for a host in order to function... He also noticed how the System had changed to better suit him, which was perfectly acceptable.
"What did you mean when you said an Anomaly being had been detected?" He asked after a moment, recalling what the System had said.
Host is an Anomaly Being- a being who, under normal circumstances, should not exist in the world. Their existence is a deviation from the intended timeline of the world- a fluke.
A fluke... Mirai did vaguely recall that his mother's chances of having a child were meant to be extraordinarily low- even for a devil- after a particularly vicious battle. And yet, he had been conceived and was later born anyway- a one in a billion miracle child, Ajuka Beelzebub had called him.
So, he was never meant to be born then?
Mirai did not have a crisis or worry about it. He existed; there was no point dwelling on what almost happened. It didn't happen to him, and that was enough.
"Explain your functions," he finally told the System. He had no intentions of rejecting it or throwing it away. After all- power was power, why worry about the details?
The Mad Scientist System follows a simple directive - the advancement of the individual's desires, the madness driving their ambitions. Where the previous host desired women, the current host desires to advance their abilities. Whenever the Host does anything related to their scientific progression, they will obtain points. These points can then be used to purchase anything from the System Store- be it skills, magic, bloodlines, items, DNA, anything you desire can be purchased with points.
He blinked... That was... Incredibly powerful.
"If I'm not mistaken, that means so long as I do anything related to either expanding my knowledge on science or refining what I know, I obtain points?"
Correct.
He rubbed his chin, contemplating... He was right- that was powerful. Maybe even more powerful than he initially believed. Just by doing his usual experiments, he would obtain points which he could use to buy anything he wanted.
"What about regards to magic?" He decided to ask the system.
Magic is considered as Science by the System.
He raised an eye in surprise. "Why is that?"
Magic, much like science, follows its own rules, laws, and restrictions. Furthermore, it can be used in conjunction with Science to achieve greater effects. Therefore, Magic is considered as Science by the System.
He was wrong- this wasn't just powerful, it was absurd. With such powerful benefits, what couldn't he do? All just by continuing to study and work hard as he always had. It was a match made in hell.
Still, he didn't get confident nor allow such power to go to his head. Pride came before the fall, and he was first and foremost a Gluttony Devil, and then a Lust Devil. Pride was far down the list of what affected him.
After all, he wasn't Escanor.
"Is that all?" He finally asked.
Confirmed- that is all the information provided by the System. As a reward for killing the previous Host and obtaining the System, you will be provided Three Shop Vouchers- allowing a onetime purchase of anything within the shop Ranked B or lower.
You will be reminded that once you buy something from the System, it is permanent and cannot be sold back.
He raised an eyebrow at that, how useful... Very beneficial as well, he would need to choose things that would benefit him rather than being something spur of the moment.
His brow furrowed as he thought for a moment, wondering what would be most useful to him as he was now. Something that gave him power or wealth wasn't needed at the moment- that could be focused on later. No, what he needed were things to help him with his science... But also, he needed something that would be beneficial to him to actually do.
Mirai thought about what would actually be useful for him... Something to advance his magic? Given both of the Clan Traits he possessed, that would be a waste of time.
He held both the Power of Time from the Agares Clan, and the Analysis Trait from the Andrealphus Clan.
While the latter didn't seem that impressive, it was precisely that Clan trait which led to him being so scientifically skilled. It was a Clan Trait allowing one to analyse and deconstruct anything. Of course, it had its limits but using it together with both science and his magic had led to incredible results thus far.
He waved a hand over the blood drained body on the table, sending it into his stasis chamber where he kept everything he didn't want to go off or rot away, thinking carefully.
For quite a long time, he sat in his lab and thought about just what it was he could use his three vouchers on... That was when a proverbial light bulb went off, and he summoned out a chess board with 15 light green, glowing chess pieces on it.
Unlike the others around his age- Rias, Sona, Seekvaira, all only a year older than him- he had yet to start building his peerage. It wasn't because he didn't want to, it was because Mirai had struggled to form meaningful connections with others the same way he had with the likes of Seekvaira and his cousin Coriana.
However, if the System was focused on science... Then perhaps there was an answer to his problems...
"System, open the shop. Filter out for guides on cloning relevant to my world, including information on genetic splicing."
The green screen floating in front of him finally changed completely, expanding and becoming a shop interface- complete with little tabs, even a search bar and a bookmarks menu.
"How user friendly," Mirai said in amusement... Then again, with a System that focused only on giving points and buying things, being so user friendly was very important.
Mirai slowly looked through the options laid out before him, before his eyes finally landed on a book that looked promising.
Collection of Cloning Knowledge and Genetic Splicing, building on the works of Dr. Gero, Orochimaru, Kisuke Urahara, and more - B-Rank
Mirai stared at the names, recognising all of them from three very popular anime in the world... So, the System could even provide knowledge from other worlds then? He had underestimated it when it said 'anything.' But still, if this book was the real deal...
He didn't hesitate- he used his first voucher to buy it.
The interface shimmered before a set of leather bound books emerged from the screen, piling into his hands. There were at least 5, each of them labelled with their purposes, and each one a thick journal with copious amounts of notes taken in them.
Mirai didn't immediately start from the first book. No, instead he spread them out and grabbed the book labelled, 'Materials you will need for cloning and gene splicing.'
Reading the books would definitely further his scientific knowledge... However, if he lacked the materials to actually create clones- if the materials didn't exist in this world- then the books would have drastically lost value to him.
He began to flick through the pages of the book, scanning over the materials without looking at what they were for- he could focus on those later, after all.
There was nothing but silence for almost ten full minutes in that lab.
Before he finally closed the book and nodded, "Worth it," he finally spoke.
The materials- all of them, be they metal, plants, and more- did indeed exist within this world.
Furthermore, few of the materials were actually expensive- many of them were easy enough to buy in bulk and store for when they were needed.
Cloning truly, exceptionally powerful beings would be a long way off, of course. He wasn't going to be making any crazy clones like Ddraig Y Goch anytime soon.
However, cloning someone who was weaker than him but could grow stronger over time?
That was entirely possible.
Mirai looked at the system interface, debating... Should he go ahead and grab DNA now, or focus on studying first?
"How much DNA do I get?" He finally asked the system.
When buying DNA, you will receive a surplus. In other words, enough that you won't need to worry about buying that DNA again for at least a hundred years.
"Useful," he nodded. He'd just have to make sure to properly label the DNA. "System, filter for DNA."
The screen changed once again, and Mirai began to scroll through the options...
Before he stopped.
DNA Gacha - 2 for the Price of one. Guaranteed D-Rank DNA, with a possibility of even S-Rank.
"... I thought this was a shop, not a Gacha," Mirai said flatly.
Host, Gacha is also part of shopping.
He sighed... Truthfully, he wasn't looking for anything specific, so he shrugged. "Fuck it, buy it, roll the dice."
Rolling DNA Gacha...
Congratulations, you have obtained Ellen Joe's DNA (D-Rank).
Congratulations, you have obtained Shoto Todoroki's DNA (C-Rank).
He raised an eye... While he recognised the name Shoto Todoroki, Ellen Joe was unfamiliar to him. He opened up the information on the DNA.
Ellen Joe
Race: Thiren (Shark)
Gender: Female
Age: 15
Combat Abilities
Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Intelligence, Polearm Adept, Ice Element Adept
He hummed in thought, rubbing his chin... A Thiren was, in essence, something like a hybrid human. So, this 'Ellen Joe' was a Shark Girl? Interesting... He would have to do some research on her- see if she existed in his world or perhaps was recorded in a game or something. However, she definitely appealed to him for cloning.
Exotic, combat capable, wielding the Ice Element- which he knew could be very powerful of used correctly. After all, Serafall and Grayfia used ice to brutal effect.
Out of curiosity, he also checked Shoto's.
Shoto Todoroki
Race: Enhanced Human (Quirk)
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Combat Abilities
Enhanced Durability, Enhanced Intelligence, Fire Element Advanced, Ice Element Advanced
Interesting... Less abilities than Ellen, but his were clearly stronger which ranked him higher. Not surprising, given he could make a glacier with a step.
Mirai stared at the two screens in front of him, his mind beginning to churn. He had chosen cloning with gene splicing for a reason... If he could isolate Shoto's Quirk factor, and splice it into Ellen's DNA... Then he could create Ellen Joe, but capable of wielding both Fire and Ice. Those dual elements would make her a formidable force.
She would be an incredible all-rounder- perfect for either a Queen or Pawn... No, perhaps a Rook would be better so that she could take more hits and unleash more damage.
Regardless, Mirai felt a smile slowly crawling onto his lips. He finally left the lab behind, taking the leather bound journals out of his underground bunker and back up to his home and room where he could start reading... He was looking forward to seeing what else he could get out of this system...