It was early morning. Our protagonist was in a clearing in the woods. On the day of his suspension, he simply did not say anything to his father. He knew perfectly well that, from the only interaction he had had with him, he hated the boy he had unfortunately been reincarnated into, or whose body he had taken possession of. It was hard to say.
(I had taken this place from Motohama's memories. This was really where those two perverts also came to camp.)
The three of them came to this place daily, so it was easy for me to take it as my temporary refuge since I did not have many places to go.
He grabbed a few things, including a tent and some food, and headed for the forest.
I know I could have a completely normal life, even do many things other people cannot. I know I could live a life of wealth by publishing things from the world I come from. After all, while researching online on my first day, I realized that things like Marvel and DC did not exist. Oddly enough, Dragon Ball did exist, although under a different name.
Although I already knew this, since it had not really changed much, it was the same Goku but with a different name, at least in the first season.
For some strange reason in this world, they never made Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball 2, so everything remained with the first one.
The supernatural world has always been too troublesome, and I cannot pass up this opportunity to train. If I remember correctly, there were many times when Issei's friends and their families suffered greatly. Although in the end they all forgot everything thanks to Rias erasing their memories, I was not going through that.
The boy took three sacks, placed one inside the other, and filled them with dirt. Then he tied the sack to a rope and attached it to a tree so that it was suspended above the ground.
"How lucky that I still remember this from my past life. After all, I used to train in kickboxing."
He said this seemingly to no one in particular as he prepared himself in a fighting stance before beginning to strike.
First, he threw two soft taps with his right hand, but then he threw a powerful punch with his left. To his surprise, his fist went straight through the punching bag, piercing it completely.
"What the hell?"
I looked at my confused fist, then looked at my other fist. I clenched both of them slightly to understand what was happening. To my surprise, I could feel it. The force was much greater than before.
"That was a good technique. Two feints and then a good punch. But I was never that strong. Usually, that punch was enough to knock someone out if you landed it correctly, but I was never strong enough to do that."
The boy said this in surprise. Then he looked at the tree where he had tied the sack, and an idea came to him.
He quickly approached and kicked the trunk. To his surprise, he did not feel any pain, and the tree was left slightly cracked.
"I see. This is the typical isekai cliché where the protagonists are stronger than the humans of their respective worlds. Although, from what I can see, I am not the strongest being, but I am not one of the weakest either."
If we had to compare him to the rest of this world, he was not that strong.
Actually, if I compared him to beings much stronger, I would even say that he was quite weak.
Motohama continued hitting things at random, realizing that while he could crack trees, rocks were out of the question. Although he was not harmed by hitting them, the rocks were not damaged either.
"If I use the Dragon Ball scale, where a normal person should have at least fifteen power and a person trained in martial arts without ki around fifty, while those with ki would be around two hundred, then my level should be at least one hundred fifty. At least this will help me a little more with my training."
It was difficult to compare it to Dragon Ball, but it was not that far from the truth, since, as the creator of DxD recalled, a large part of his work was inspired by the famous saga.
That was what the boy deduced before continuing to practice what he remembered from his past training. After a full afternoon of exercises, he also conditioned his body to withstand the new levels of power.
At night, his meal was simple. Instant soup, some water, and a little meat.
"It was quite strange, since the Japanese had their food much more measured out."
It was hard to explain, but in short, everything was measured out for one person.
For example, in my country, you could buy enough food for three people and eat it all yourself if you wanted.
But here, everything was measured out for a single person's meal.
They even sold packages that were supposed to be dishes for one person.
It was strange, but I supposed it was normal in a country that was much stricter than ours.
While heating everything up in a small campfire he had built, he decided to take out a small book he had bought at a bookstore on his way to the forest.
Flashback
Motohama had everything ready for his training. As he walked and turned a corner to reach the forest, he found a small antique shop. Out of simple curiosity, he decided to go in.
The place was full of fascinating objects. Some things looked like they were from the nineteen forties or fifties, but others were even older, at least two hundred years old, as far as he could tell.
I could see several things and objects that were really interesting because of how old they were.
It was strange, but it felt like seeing my grandfather's room, since he also loved collecting many old things.
"Good morning, young man."
An old man wearing a green yukata with a prominent beard said this to him. He appeared to be between fifty and sixty years old and was drinking a cup of tea.
"Hello. Sorry, I just came to look."
Motohama replied, a little nervously. He knew how strange it was for someone to simply walk into a shop without notifying anyone.
I had already heard stories of people who said they thought they were going to be robbed because someone was touching their things.
The old man looked at him with a smile and took a sip of his tea before speaking again. He seemed much more relaxed than Motohama had expected.
"Did you just come to watch?"
He asked, amused but relaxed at the same time.
"I just found all the things you have here interesting. Do not think I am trying to steal from you or anything like that."
I knew I could get into serious trouble, and I was already in far too much trouble because of all the things Motohama had done.
"Relax, kid. I just find it odd that a young man would be interested in an antique shop. Most kids these days are more into video games or karaoke. The people who come here are usually older, mostly out of nostalgia."
He said this simply, without giving much importance to the matter. He seemed more surprised to see someone like me in a place like this.
"I can imagine it. But I find all of this very interesting. Some of these things appear to be centuries old, and they are very well preserved. I think they reflect what our society was like many years ago."
I tried to make excuses, still a little nervous about what the old man might think, even though he was just smiling.
"You are a curious boy. Even though you are from here, you speak like a complete foreigner."
The old man said this, unaware of how close he was to the truth. This only made me more nervous because of everything he was saying.
"I guess I am a bit odd."
Motohama tried to hide his true feelings, not wanting to arouse suspicion, though deep down he knew it was too strange.
"Ha ha ha. You are funny. Look, young man, I will give you some life advice, of course, if you want to listen to an old man like me."
Motohama nodded. He had nothing to lose after all.
"The best people are always the strangest."
The old man said this in an enigmatic tone. It made me wonder, since I had heard that phrase before but could not remember where.
Motohama did not fully understand those words, but something about them seemed familiar.
"I will keep that in mind."
He replied while the old man continued to smile with amusement.
"I am glad you are listening to me. Many people come to my store and never listen to me."
The man said this while showing a little frustration.
"I am sorry to hear that. I guess it is part of us young people not wanting to appreciate things from the past."
I said this honestly. I think I was one of the only ones in my school who actually liked history a little bit.
"You know what. I like you, so I want to give you a gift."
The man said this without thinking twice as he put down his cup of tea.
"That is not necessary, sir."
I said this, trying not to make it seem like I was taking advantage of him.
"Do not worry. Besides, I think this will catch your attention."
The old man put down his tea and rummaged through a box. Finally, he handed him a black covered book with no title or writing on it.
"This is one of the first books written after parchment was abandoned. It is over four thousand years old, and although the pages are deteriorated, it has been preserved in excellent condition."
Motohama was astonished. They were literally handing him a historical treasure.
"I cannot accept this, sir."
I said this, trying to refuse something so valuable, especially if I ended up damaging it.
"Do not be silly. Books were made to be read. I know what you are thinking, that this should be in a museum, but what is inside would be lost if no one reads it. The person who wrote it would be disappointed if no one ever did."
The man would not let me leave until I accepted the book.
"Do not read it until you think it is absolutely necessary."
The man said this before I said goodbye and left the store to continue my journey into the forest.
End of Flashback
"I still do not understand how that old man convinced me, but here I am, about to read a book at night in front of a campfire. I suppose it will be interesting."
Motohama said this as he opened the book. He had nothing to lose and nothing else to do.
To his surprise, the text was in ancient Japanese, but he could read it perfectly. Perhaps it was another gift he had gained from being born into this world.
"How to awaken your magic and how to control it."
That was the title of the first pages of the book.
When I read that, I was completely surprised as I continued reading the first few pages.
I started going through it page by page. It was not just any book. This was a guide to learning how to use magic quickly without needing someone to teach me.
The book was well explained and did not contain anything false, given how this world worked.
"I have to try it."
That was all I could tell myself as I watched the magic awaken.
Magic was awakened through meditation and focusing on a specific element, as well as concentrating on yourself and your inner self.
For a moment, I thought about a few things.
I could not start a fire in the middle of the forest because I risked burning everything down.
Wind was still too complicated, since I would have to concentrate on a breeze when there were none.
Earth would be fine, but I thought of something else.
For a moment, I looked at the water. It was a bit stupid to think about this, especially since this body had deep seated trauma related to water.
Knowing what had happened to his brother and how they had devoured each other. But he had nothing to lose, and besides, watching the anime reminded him that during Akeno's training, she had been taught magic, and Issei had also been taught using water magic.
"I have nothing to lose."
I picked up the water bottle and sprayed some on my hands as I began to concentrate.
I knew that if things were that easy, many people would have awakened their magic long ago.
But remembering how the supernatural world worked, it was most likely that those people were immediately recruited to prevent them from revealing anything.
I stopped thinking about those things and focused.
Slowly, I began to think about the water and about my inner self.
It was strange. I started to feel something.
I imagined myself as a completely black silhouette.
Slowly, deep inside, I felt something strange. It did not feel like part of me.
From imagining a small stream, I felt that this thing was like a small drop of oil that kept growing larger.
It was strange, but I slowly opened my eyes, and finally I saw it.
In front of me, the water in my palms was floating in a small sphere of energy.
"Incredible."
I said this, but I quickly lost control and all the water fell onto my legs.
I sighed, knowing this would not be so simple.
I cleaned myself as best I could and started skimming through the book again, knowing I now had something interesting to do for the remaining three days I had left.