“Okay guys. Time to settle an argument. If you were to reincarnate in DxD, what race would you choose and why?”

Under a tree in the schoolyard, were five boys in black and red uniform. While four of them were sitting on the lush grass, the one who posed the question was standing. Holding his backpack in his right hand, he wore a black blazer with red outlines. A black tie was on his neck that matched well with his black pants and shoes. His hair was orange and spiked up. If not for his kind-looking face, one would mistake him for a delinquent.

Pointing his finger at one of his friends, his black eyes zoned in on the boy.

“You can start us of Jimmy boy!”

“Jeez, Ted. Fine then.”

Jimmy was a bespectacled boy with a skinny appearance. Dressed like Ted, one wouldn’t be wrong if they said the uniform was wearing him. With black hair arranged in a neat bowlcut, Jimmy closed his book before pushing up his glasses.

“I’d choose a dragon. They dominated the ancient times and have strong magic. In the same classification, a high-class dragon will absolutely punt a high-class devil. They have long lifespans which can be extended to immortality should they grow strong enough.”

Leaning his head on his backpack, Jimmy gave a content smirk. Ted gave a thoughtful nod before dramatically waving his finger and pointing it at the boy next to Jimmy.

“Johnny boy! I choose…YOU! Tell us what race you would reincarnate as.”

Like Jimmy, Johnny’s hair was shaped into a bowlcut. But while Jimmy was thin, he was average in every way possible.

“I’ll go with my brother Jimmy on this one. Dragons are disgustingly OP. I mean, have you seen Great Red? I’ll become a dragon and then strengthen myself enough to reach his level.”

Ted grinned before pointing at the next boy.

“What about you Matt?”

Matt was the tallest of the boys. Raising his aviator glasses to his forehead, he shrugged.

“I was thinking yokai before, you know? With all their senjutsu and stuff. But now, I’m on team dragon.”

Ted released a sigh, clear disappointment in his eyes.

[Looks like I’ll have to restart the selection procedure all over again.]

Turning to look at the last boy, Ted spoke.

“I’m guessing you’re on team dragon too, Igor?”

Different from the rest, Igor had blonde hair tied in a short ponytail. Staring at Ted with cold, cerulean eyes, he scoffed.

“Don’t look down on me Ted. I have thought this through. But before I give you answer, are you able to ask for wishes prior to reincarnation?”

A spark of life shown in Ted’s eyes at Igor’s enquiry, causing him to reply with enthusiasm.

“Of course blondy! Let’s say you’ll get…two wishes! Three is too standard and overused.”

Igor paused for a few seconds in thought. His friends were looking at him with curiosity now, wanting to know what his answer would be.

Eventually, Igor finished thinking.

“Two wishes should be enough.”

He sat up, grass and dirt clinging to the backpack that was used as a cushion. Balancing himself, Igor began listing with his fingers.

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“First, I would want a hyperbolic time chamber like the one in dragon ball. The harsh conditions inside are essential to facilitate evolution. Second, if I cannot wish for an infinite lifespan, then I wish for my lifespan to freeze upon entering the time chamber. Are those two wishes acceptable, Ted?”

Ted looked at him like how one would look at their idol. His hands literally began to vibrate in excitement.

“YES! That is COMPLETELY doable! You can’t have the infinite lifespan but wishing for it to freeze is doable!”

Igor nodded.

“That will be more than enough. As for my race of choice, I choose to remain human.”

Except for Ted, all three of the boys looked at Igor as if he was crazy. As for Ted, the glint in his eyes seemed as if he saw Igor as a lottery ticket.

Not wanting the silence to drag on, Igor continued.

“Wait. Before you judge me, hear my reasons. The reason I chose to remain a human is not due to moral or attachment issues. There is a very logical explanation that I have carefully thought out.”

And just like that, he had everyone’s complete attention. Besides Ted, all the other boys either sat up or propped themselves on their elbows. Their focus was entirely on Igor, curious as to what the blonde would say.

Igor…didn’t disappoint.

“In the bible during the early Genesis Era, humans dominated the planet. It wasn’t because of technology and it wasn’t because of numbers. It was because of strength. You see, humans in that era, had a lifespan of up to one-thousand years.”

Listening to Igor, Ted’s eyes began to light up. As for Igor, the boy stood up, seriousness marring his face.

“I refuse to believe that those humans who had a lifespan extending an entire millennium were as weak as us. You can’t tell me that by fifty, they had a thing called back pain. That wouldn’t make sense. What makes sense is that with a lifespan ten times as long as ours, they were also ten times as strong in every single way possible. How fast is the fastest human on the planet? Around thirty-six, thirty-seven kilometres if I am not mistaken. Multiply that by ten and you get three-sixty kilometres per hour. That might not sound by much but imagine this…”

He paused a bit to catch their attention, his blue eyes hovering over each of theirs. All of them were interested, with Ted appearing to be very excited.

“In Dxd, the Genesis era had existences like dragons roaming about. Humans STILL dominated the planet.

He stressed the word “still”, wanting to prove a point to his friends.

“Against fire breathing monsters, I refuse to believe that they used spears to kill them. So the only logical explanation is that humans could tap into some sort of mystical energy like chakra, ki, etc. So we can safely presume that if that human channeled that energy to strengthen their physique, they could easily increase their base statistics by a further ten-times. In fact…”

He grinned, holding one finger in the air as he raised a point.

“...we can think of genesis humans as a bunch of Madara Uchihas dominating the world. If they weren’t killing it for food, they were fornicating with it. It is recorded that humans fornicated with angels. I do not know how strong their hips have to be to survive intercourse with a personal creation of God himself.”

That drew a chuckle from the boys. But even though they laughed, they also began to see the point of Igor’s choice. Nonetheless, they chose to continue listening.

So, perceiving their gradual silence, Igor continued.

“So Genesis humans hunted dragons, fornicated with angels and periodically killed devils like weeds. Yokais were either made into pets or bedroom maids. It literally got so bad that god himself had to send down a flood to kill off most of the humans. On top of that, he reduced their strength and lifespan by ten times. So we can assume that other gods tried killing humans and failed. FAILED. F-A-I-L-E-D.”

He took a breath.

“If that isn’t enough to choose humans as a race, then let me add more. Humans are highly adaptable. Live in a cold place? A few generations later and those people will adapt to live there. Live in the mountains. Their lungs will grow bigger. Live in a jungle and you periodically climb trees? Their hands and feet will literally change shape to help climb trees easily. Now imagine how adaptable genesis era humans were?”

He was really selling his proposal. Jimmy was quite literally, imagining how powerful ancient humans were if his thoughtful expression meant anything. But Igor didn’t have enough yet.

So he continued.

“It’s not just physical too. I will take a gamble and say that humans can learn any and all types of magic in DxD. As long as the body is strong enough and the soul is willing, they can learn it. The only reason humans weren’t worth squat in DxD was because by the time they finally start getting somewhere, age started affecting them. But if they weren’t affected by age, I am completely sure that humans would be able to do anything. If that isn’t enough, remember that there was some guy in the church who could square off with Kokabiel. Koka-muthaf’ckin-BIEL! That guy ISN’T weak.”

Silence. There was absolute silence. There was the pitter patter though of Ted looking like he was on a sugar rush.

Deeming the silence had lasted long enough, Igor released a grin full of confidence as he began listing off with his fingers.

“Dragonslayer magic, dragon magic, devil magic, holy power, senjutsu, etc. Shove me in a time chamber and I’ll learn all of them.”

He looked at them with a serious gaze.

“Even if it takes me a thousand years.”