Chapter 33 Rank Division
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Judging from your description, Tetsuya Hakada likely used a bloodline ability called Berserk.”
Rias pulled Aki into another sudden embrace, her face beaming with pride.
”As expected of the man I’ve got my eye on! You’ve only been training for a few days, and you already managed to take down a Lesser Demon using Berserk in a head-on fight. That’s incredible.”
Aki felt his face heat up. He had beaten Hakada, but “head-on” felt like a stretch.
If Hakada had actually committed to running away, Aki never would have caught him. Being flexible and being fast weren’t the same thing. Even with Aki’s growth, a Berserk-boosted Hakada had been leagues ahead in raw speed.
”Rias-senpai¹…”
”Call me President,” she corrected. “That’s what everyone here calls me.”
It wasn’t a hill worth dying on, so Aki went with the flow.
”President, you mentioned defeating someone of a higher rank. Wasn’t Hakada a new student just like me?”
Seeing Aki actually call her President, Rias looked as if she could already see the moment he officially became her familiar². In a fantastic mood, she began to break down how power levels actually worked in the Inner World.
”It’s not the same. Enrollment time has nothing to do with actual strength,” Rias explained. “Just like the term Low-class Demon doesn’t necessarily dictate a specific power level.”
”Wait, so Low-class and Middle-class aren’t based on strength?” Aki asked.
”Not entirely. All Pure-blood Demons are considered Low-class from the moment they’re born.”
Rias pointed to herself.
”People like me and Sona—descendants of the Seventy-Two Pillars³—are born as High-class Demons. But does that mean we’re born with the strength of a High-class warrior?”
Aki shook his head. He was starting to get the picture.
”Then how do you actually measure it?”
”If we set aside the class system—which is really just a demon-specific thing, like the old human noble titles—the way we rank strength across all races is much more precise,” Rias said, pulling Aki down to sit beside her.
”Once a normal person starts their training and masters Mana, they fall into the D-rank category.”
As Rias explained further, Aki finally got a clear sense of where he stood. He was at the peak of D-rank, but not quite C-rank yet.
To hit C-rank, one had to master at least one active magic or skill. It didn’t matter what the element or effect was. As long as you mastered one, you were C-rank.
Basic Mana Extraction didn’t count. Mastering that just got your foot in the door at D-rank.
It was like Sasaki Yukina and the others. They had incredible talent, but without mastering Mana, they wouldn’t even count as D-rank.
In a real fight, someone with Mana would wipe the floor with them, even if they didn’t have special talents. One simple low-level illusion and a person without Mana would be completely helpless.
”The line between D and C is honestly a bit blurry,” Rias admitted. “Mostly because there are so many people at those levels and no real qualitative jump.”
”Besides, for almost any race other than humans, reaching B-rank is as simple as growing up. Most Low-class Demons, Fallen Angels, or Two-winged Angels are B-rank by default.”
For a human to reach that level, they had to train until Mana permeated their entire body, like famous high priests or church bishops.
”And keep in mind, not everyone uses Mana. There’s Aura, Cursed Energy, Spiritual Power… there are dozens of different names for it.”
Aki realized it all probably traced back to the same source: absorbing specific abilities from the Etheric Realm. People just focused on different aspects, so the names changed.
Rias kept her explanation simple so he wouldn’t panic the next time he ran into an enemy. The higher ranks were even more straightforward.
A-rank was equivalent to a Middle-rank Mage, Middle-class Demon, or a Four-winged Angel. S-rank consisted of High-class Demons, High-rank Fallen Angels, Six-winged Angels, and top-tier Church warriors.
Rias didn’t go beyond that. She didn’t mention what it took to match a Highest-class Demon or a Demon King.
Aki didn’t ask, either. He figured he’d worry about that once he actually hit S-rank.
Since Hakada had mastered his bloodline’s Berserk skill, he technically counted as C-rank. That was why Rias considered it a rank-surpassing victory for Aki.
”Why wasn’t any of this in the Student Council files?” Aki asked. “They didn’t even mention Hakada could use Berserk.”
Rias gave a small, knowing smile.
”Of course not. If we tracked everyone’s secrets that closely, nobody would ever want to go to Kuoh Academy.”
”We’re in a period of peace right now because of the Great War years ago, but the friction between races never really stops,” she continued.
”To accurately rank someone, they have to be one hundred percent honest with you, and that almost never happens. Hakada wasn’t about to show his trump card during a routine test. Gathering that kind of intel would just piss off the students, and it wouldn’t even be accurate anyway.”
Aki nodded.
”Fair point. I guess that’s why the President’s info was so vague. Do you know how strong the third-years are? Like Oita Taisei or Abiki Mika?”
Rias’s eyes twinkled with amusement.
”You’re already thinking about taking them on? Every third-year is at least C-rank. If they weren’t, they would have been expelled ages ago.”
”It’s just C-rank,” Aki said, scratching his cheek. “Hey, President… if I learn a magic spell, I’ll be C-rank too, right? Maybe you could teach me a few?”
”Magic isn’t as easy as you think, Aki. Even the simplest low-level spells…”
Mana began to swirl in Rias’s hand. A ball of orange-red fire flickered into existence, hovering obediently in the air.
”Take the Fireball spell. To cast it instantly without a chant and maintain perfect control, an ordinary person would need at least a month of practice.”
Aki stared at the little flame, tempted to reach out. The shimmering heat in the air told him that was a terrible idea.
”A month for a normal person,” he noted. “How long did it take you, President?”
Rias smirked. “It wasn’t too bad. I had it down in three days.”
”Damn, President! I knew your magic talent was top-tier.”
Rias beamed at the praise. Despite her position, she was still just a seventeen-year-old girl.
She was more developed than most girls her age, and she had to be mature, calm, and powerful as the next head of the Gremory family. But that was mostly a mask she wore for the world.
Only in front of her own circle could Rias actually just be a seventeen-year-old girl.
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Summary:
Aki discusses his recent victory over Tetsuya Hakada with Rias, who explains that Hakada used a bloodline ability called Berserk. Rias clarifies that Aki’s win was impressive because he technically defeated a C-rank opponent while being D-rank himself. She then provides a detailed explanation of the Inner World’s ranking system, distinguishing between racial status and actual combat strength. Rias reveals that while she is a High-class Demon by birth, true power is measured in tiers from D to S based on mana mastery and skill acquisition. Aki learns about the hidden complexities of student data and the ongoing racial frictions kept under a veneer of peace. To demonstrate the difficulty of rank advancement, Rias shows off a fireball spell, prompting Aki to ask for training.
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Trivia:
- Rias’s joy at Aki calling her ‘President’ hints at her strong desire to bind him to her as a familiar, suggesting a more possessive relationship than simple club activity.
- The mention of ‘the Great War years ago’ and the ‘period of peace’ suggests underlying political instability and a brewing conflict between the various supernatural races.
- Aki’s realization that various powers (Qi, Spirit, Cursed Energy) all stem from the ‘Etheric Realm’ hints at a future awakening where he might tap into multiple power systems.
- The gap between ‘birth rank’ and ‘strength rank’ foreshadows characters who may appear weak but possess S-rank capabilities due to training
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Character Insight:
Rias and Aki’s relationship is shifting from a formal senior-junior dynamic toward a more intimate mentor-familiar bond. Rias demonstrates maternal pride in his victory but also maintains her authority by showing off superior magic. Aki shows vulnerability by asking for help and praise, reinforcing his reliance on Rias while also showing his ambition to catch up to her level.
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Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
The chapter introduces the universal ranking system (D-S) used by all races in the Inner World. D-rank is attained via basic mana mastery, C-rank requires at least one specialized skill, and B-rank is the default for adult non-humans. Humans must circulate mana through their entire body to reach B-rank. Additionally, it clarifies that ‘Low/High-class Demon’ is a social title based on bloodline rather than a raw power measurement.
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TL Notes:
The term ‘President’ (Buchou) is kept to maintain the high school club aesthetic common in the High School DxD universe. ‘Inner World’ (Li Shijie) is localized as a proper noun to signify the hidden supernatural society.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• Tetsuya – A third-year student with a monstrous ‘Stage Two’ transformation ability. He is physically imposing but lacks tactical depth.
• Rias – Rias Gremory, 17‑year‑old pure‑blood demon and heir to the Gremory house, is President of Kuoh Academy’s Occult Research Club and territory lord of Kuoh Town. She sports long crimson hair, blue eyes, a curvy elegant figure and large bust, often in the school uniform. Mature and affectionate, she mentors Aki as a big‑sister figure, oversees his training, and investigates threats against him.
• Aki – Sixteen-year-old first-year Kuoh Academy student, 170cm, with delicate features, messy black hair, and black-rimmed glasses, adopted by the Takamine sisters; a handsome “pretty boy” with high combat instincts, Perfect Muscle Control, and semi-automatic Mana absorption triggered when relaxed. Reincarnated with a Cuckold Template, he struggles with magic mastery despite exceptional Mana perception, trains under Koneko to build strength and evade feminization, and wields Mirror Reflection to copy abilities. Possesses succubus/incubus blood enabling dual-cultivation via fluid exchange to boost partners’ magic, recently gained muscle from Hidden Academy training. Peak D-rank, recently defeated Tetsuya Hakada, now a candidate for Rias’s peerage—pragmatic, cynical, and secretly plotting to seize the Boosted Gear while gatekeeping the original protagonist.
• Sona – Shitori Sona, Student Council President of Kuoh Academy, has short black hair, glasses, a stern look, and always dresses formally. She speaks with a flat, professional tone, is highly competent, and comes from a pure‑blood demon family. She handles local supernatural matters by deferring to Rias Gremory.
• Sasaki Yukina – A bold, seductive freshman at Kuoh Academy with long peach-pink hair, purple eyes, and a statuesque athletic build—noted for her large chest, long fair legs, and white ankle socks—she’s the strongest of Reina’s trio and Aki’s long-term partner, having initiated their intimate encounter that granted him a power boost. Possessing the ‘Physical Activation’ talent, she extracts mana for enhanced strength, endurance, and rapid recovery, and is observant of magical anomalies, notably the Succubus’s unusual power-sharing. A competitive, virginal ability-user from Hidden Academy, she physically knocked Aki unconscious, provides intel on Shinomura Yuki, and is a key member of Hamazaki’s group.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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