DxD: DO System Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Trapped Men

Early in the morning—or not really, as it was almost 8—Issei went on a calming walk.

It was his day off.

No devil calls, no drama, no stress.

Even his training session had felt great that morning. As most of the problems had yet to arise—minus the issue with Rias—he had enough clarity to think and relax.

‘I hate how you’re enjoying the calm while there’s a whole construction site in this place,’ Ddraig complained, as since last night, the white void he lived in had been constantly expanding and contracting.

<Phase Two of the System unlocks in 13 hours and 59 minutes.>

‘Handle it for around half a day,’ Issei chuckled. ‘It should quieten by then.’

He wondered if the place was going to become bigger or if he was going to see some better, maybe cooler additions to it.

Unfortunately, he could only wait for the answers. And he was going to spend that time enjoying himself.

He started by buying roasted corn. It was tasty, it was healthy, and more importantly, it was corn—he loved corn.

So, he took a laid-back seat on the bench. It was one of the less busy—but still popular—junctions of Kuoh, best known for their skewers.

Issei promised himself that he was going to buy at least one before he left the place. But for now, he preferred munching on the corn.

He slung his head backward, opened his legs wide, one hand over the frame of the bench and another on the corn.

“The weather is great,” he heard a voice, and as he turned his head around, he saw a certain black-haired man with a homburg sitting to his side.

“It is,” Issei agreed, not focusing much on anything else. ‘He isn’t a supernatural, is he?’

He asked Ddraig, just to be sure.

‘He doesn’t seem to have any presence—all supernaturals do,’ Ddraig answered. ‘And since last time with Hachiman, I have been trying to sense for concealment-type objects. I cannot sense any of that kind on him either.’

Given the assurance, Issei relaxed.

“A lot of people come here to relax, but it is often the salarymen or the old people. Rarely do any youngsters come around here,” the man sighed. “They don’t seem to enjoy the ambience of the working class.”

“It’s not that,” Issei answered honestly. “Most of us are either busy with our own things—which we seem to give more attention to than we should—or we are stuck with the same places because that’s all we know. We rarely walk and explore. We just go to whichever location is shown to have a good rating on the internet.”

It was sad, but it was true. He did that, his friends did that, everyone did that.

Only the people who genuinely enjoyed exploration went around and walked through streets to find new experiences.

“Most people are stuck with the thought of exploration, but they never do explore,” the man said, taking out a corn of his own, one he had been carrying around wrapped in a newspaper.

His corn had butter on it, whereas Issei’s had black salt.

“Many don’t because they don’t have the luxury to, and others because they are too lazy for it.”

Issei couldn’t deny any of what he said.

“What do you suggest would make people want to explore?” the man asked, his amber-tinted eyes boring into Issei. “People should explore, experience, and enjoy. We had so many wars for it—for the freedom.” His face seemed sorrowful. “All to be trapped as salaried men, living paycheck to paycheck. Dreams, ambitions, all ruined.”

“Truly,” Issei sighed. “We humans are nothing but trapped men.”

He was grateful for the system, for Ddraig, for another chance at life. It was precious; he knew it, and he was not going to waste it.

“But to answer your question,” Issei pondered deeply, “maybe if there was no fear of having no money to survive, if we had enough resources distributed to us, and if the population was managed properly… we could live a better life—a much freer one.”

The man nodded in understanding. “That helps.”

By this time, Issei had finished eating half of the corn, and he also grew curious about the man. He looked at him, checking for any object that could conceal his powers.

‘I told you, kid, I can sense nothing from him,’ Ddraig quipped. ‘He is a human, and even for a human, he is weak.’

Issei could see that much. The man was lanky, had pale skin, and appeared to have a build that would break from carrying a single bag of rice.

“So, what do you do, sir?” Issei asked respectfully. The man was older, so he added an honorific.

The man smiled. “I am both a reformist and a conservationist.”

‘That’s an odd mix,’ Issei thought.

“I teach ways to reform oneself, letting go of things that shackle you from doing good for the world, and I teach about conserving the peace.”

Surprisingly, the man chuckled after saying this. “But if you were to ask someone else, I am what you’d call a liar.”

Issei looked at him. ‘He is truly an oddball, isn’t he?’

‘He sounds retarded,’ Ddraig answered bluntly.

‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ Issei thought, though he did agree to some extent. That also made him ask the man, “So are you… unemployed?”

The man laughed aloud. “Yes,” he answered. “Yes, I am unemployed.”

‘Insane guy,’ Ddraig murmured. ‘Better leave before he starts teaching you some of his reformist views.’

And well, Issei couldn’t deny that.

The man clearly appeared unstable—or at least, he seemed to be suffering. And Issei wasn’t sure how he could help, so instead of doing anything that might be considered stupid, he decided to leave.

“It’s time I leave,” he said, finally getting up. “I have to meet a friend in an hour, and I don’t think I can reach them if I don’t hurry.”

The man smiled. “It’s okay,” he said, surprisingly calm. “I understand.”

But as Issei got up to leave, the man turned toward him. “We are all liars to some degree. What matters is the reason for the lie.”

Issei looked awkwardly at the man. ‘Did he figure out the lie?’

“It was good to know your perspective,” the man smiled. “Although I am not too happy with your reformation.”

“What—”

“I don’t think we will meet for a while. I, too, have stopped coming to this place often,” the man said. “But we will meet sooner or later, and when we do, I hope you understand the consequences of the reformation.”

“What do you—” But before he could finish his question, he saw the man turning his back toward him and walking away, not looking back even once.

‘What an odd man.’

‘Are we sure he wasn’t a supernatural being?’

‘Yes,’ Ddraig assured, and Issei was left wondering about the man.

But thankfully, beyond that, there weren’t any confusing or annoying encounters.

Most of his day went by smoothly, ending with some teriyaki chicken.

‘Mom is going to kill me, isn’t she?’ he asked with a nervous chuckle, feeling himself getting full.

‘Eat even if your stomach hurts,’ Ddraig suggested. ‘That’s the only way I can think of.’

And Issei, too, could only do that. So, when he got home, he ate as fast as he could. He knew that if he took too long, he would most likely be unable to eat.

‘I am surprised you haven’t thrown up,’ Ddraig said, amused as the boy pushed himself back to his room after dinner and fell flat on the bed.

‘I will explode if I consume even a single drop of something.’ Issei burped and immediately realized it was a mistake. He pressed his hands over his mouth and let his body relax.

A single extra reflex, and he was going to throw up everything he had eaten.

So, all he could do was stay in that position for a while—for a long while. By the time he felt able to move freely, he saw the clock and sighed.

“Back to the same schedule from tomorrow,” he muttered, but he knew he couldn’t laze around.

“Kid,” Ddraig voiced, “The void is calmin— Hah!”

“Ddraig, you alrig—”

<Congratulations! System has successfully entered phase two!>

“This place…” Ddraig muttered, “it's changed.” 

“How so?”

<Host can now access the Origin World directly.>

<Skill Obtained: Origin Mark>

<Origin Mark: Allows the host to mark a being, forming a bond. Once marked, the being becomes a part of host’s Estate.>

<Individuals who are part of the host’s peerage can reside in the Origin World and receive blessings.>

“What the… fuck is all this?” Issei had no idea what any of it meant, and he was getting more and more curious.

<Warning: The host cannot use Origin Mark as the minimum Rank Requirement has not been met. Origin Mark will remain locked until the host reaches Foundation-High Class.>

<The host can still access the Origin World independently by commanding the system for entry and exit.>

“You will want to see this for yourself,” Ddraig said. “No, you must see this for yourself.”

<The host will receive the first Origin Quest upon reaching Foundation-High Class.>

‘First Origin quest? What is that?’ he wondered but realized he would only get an answer once he reached High Class. Hence, he stopped worrying about it.

For now, he wanted to see what this update was about.

But first, he wanted to check something.

‘Status open.’

<Dragon Origin System>

[Status]

<Name: Issei Hyoudou>

<Age: 17 Years>

<Race: Reincarnated Devil>

<Rank: Peak-Middle Class>

<Gear: Boosted Gear (Stage 1)>

<Origin World: Tier 1>

<Abilities: (+)>

<Equipments: Lasso of Truth>

<Familiars: Cuddles (+)>

<Magic: Demonic Magic>

Issei blinked multiple times, staring at his abilities, believing he had lost them. But as he focused on the (+) symbol, it sprang forth.

<Abilities: Draconic Eyes, Draconic Physique, Boost, Dragon Shot, Penetrate, Dragon Breath, Hokuto Shinken, Draconic Detect, Flight, Dragon Pheromones, Dragon’s Vigor, Dragon’s Cleave, Dragon Scales, Demonic Power, Contract Making, Familiar Mark, Origin Mark (sealed)>

“That's so much cleaner and more compact.”

He was genuinely happy with how much cleaner his status screen now looked.

“Tier 1 of Origin World, that's interesting.”

“Get over here, kid!” Ddraig yelled. “Just come!”

And Issei couldn’t wait any longer either. He calmed his mind, suppressing his happiness at increasing his rank to Peak-Middle Class, and commanded the system to take him to the Origin World.

‘System, take me to the Origin World.’

<Affirmative.>

For the first time, it felt like he was directly talking to the system instead of using it simply as an interface.

And before he knew it, his surroundings flashed white—and he felt himself transported to another world.

_______________________________________________________________

[[A/N: The System is called the “Dragon” “Origin” system for a reason. We have already seen little bit of the Dragon part from his skills and now we will be exploring his Origin part too. But don’t worry, we will be exploring the Dragon part in depth in the next tier.

Also, after the first arc of the story, we will be delving into a lot of plots and lots of fights that will deviate from canon while still involving the canon cast.

P.S. Also, I stopped using the software I was using for the edits. This one was entirely manually edited hence the flow might not be the best (English is my 4th Language, as you might have guessed by now.) but since the software made the writing feel too stiff or well, robotic, I stopped using it. Do let me know if you think this is fine or I should go back to the software edits.

I will be editing manually from now on, till someone asks for the software edits.]]