The Greedy Frog
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DxD: The Plunder System Chapter 72
🕑 Added 2023-07-12 05:43:52 +0000 UTCChapter 72: Marcellus Hanley and the Greatest Quest
Kento was beyond shaken up upon seeing the man in front of him.
Before him stood an imposing figure—a tall, strikingly handsome man with a neatly trimmed beard and impeccably styled hair.
Clad in an exquisite, opulent coat, he exuded an air of nobility that commanded attention. His attire and grooming were immaculate, befitting his distinguished presence.
But these aspects didn't matter at all, as Kento could barely handle the overwhelming amount of pressure the man exuded just from his presence alone.
He didn't need the system to tell him that the being in front of him was strong or dangerous; he could feel it far too well.
The man chuckled, "I apologize. I tried to suppress my strength, but it seems it is still a bit much for you."
'That is him controlling his strength?'
The sheer aura that the man emitted was multiple times greater than anything Susanoo or even Sirzechs could emit. The aura was so dense and strong that Kento had difficulty breathing.
And the man was saying that it was him controlling his strength?
'What kind of monster is he…'
"Monster is a term I haven't heard since the day I stopped battling."
Kento froze before realizing something, "Of course, you can read my thoughts."
"Well," The man chuckled, "I do have the ability, and besides, you are in my library. I control everything in here."
Kento couldn't deny it; he was in the man's abode after all.
But he had questions, a lot of them.
"Who… no… what are you?" He asked, realizing that it was the best question to start with.
"Quite an interesting question," The man said, "But I know you will have a lot of questions, so why don't you take a seat?"
As he said this, a massive sofa appeared behind him, with the man urging him to sit.
Kento wasn't certain if this was an illusion or an actual occurrence, a true case of reality manipulation.
"The latter, I would say," The man answered Kento's thoughts, "But the body in front of you is merely an avatar of my actual self. You are not strong enough to withstand the presence of my true self."
Kento did feel a bit offended as he considered himself to have gotten considerably stronger than before. However, he knew that he was nowhere close to Susanoo or the likes of them. And from what he could figure, the man in front of him was much, much stronger than Susanoo.
"What are you?" Kento asked again, to which the man answered.
"Hmm... That's an interesting and challenging question," he said. "To begin with, my name is Marcellus Hanley. I, like you, have led a fascinating and adventurous life, one that is strikingly similar to your own."
Kento raised an eyebrow, "Such as starting from a world with no superpower?"
Marcellus smiled, "Exactly. But let's say that one thing led to another, and I ended up becoming something that cannot be put into words."
"A God?" Kento deduced, but Marcellus shook his head.
"Much more than that."
It was a bold claim that he stood above even God, but witnessing the existence of more powerful deities, Kento found himself with no reason to doubt the statement.
"I am taking all this information relatively well," Kento said, amazed at himself for being able to keep his composure.
"It's partially because this place is magically enchanted to make the people inside of it stay calm," Marcellus said, "It is a library, after all. But still, some people would be panicking even with the enchantments, so I will say that you are doing relatively well."
Kento did guess that the man was responsible for him being calm, but this also meant that he could ask more questions.
"What is this place?" He wondered, seeing that the place felt magical.
"It's my library," Marcellus chuckled, "However, if you meant what this space is… Then it's what you call a tesseract. It is what a cube is to a square but in four dimensions instead of three."
This made Kento widen his eyes, "Is that why this place feels so weird and difficult to comprehend?"
Marcellus nodded, "Exactly, as a three-dimensional being, it is not meant for you to understand. But if you manage to transcend one day, you might be able to understand it better."
This was a lot of information for Kento, especially right after taking those tests.
"I believe you are related to the system?" He asked, at which he saw Marcellus showing the biggest smile.
"Do you like the system?" Marcellus asked, making Kento nod.
"Can't say that I don't. If not for the system, I might have been lying dead somewhere."
Marcellus kept his smile, "It's something that I can say I am responsible for. But I cannot give you any more details than that."
"Why?" Kento wondered.
"Rules. Rules that were determined when I created the system."
Kento was already aware of a few things.
"So, you are the one who created the system," He said, making the man nod.
Kento was already aware that someone was responsible for creating and managing the system. But he did not expect the meeting with the creator to be so… casual.
"I did."
"Why?" Kento asked, already aware that he won't get a straight answer.
"I had my reasons," Marcellus shrugged as he relaxed onto the couch that he created for himself.
"You said something about rules, who came up with the rules such that even as the creator, you cannot tell me about the system?" It made no sense to Kento that even the creator was forbidden from revealing about the system.
Marcellus puckered his lips, "Let's just say that I am a being that keeps growing stronger with each passing second. And the one to make that rule was the me from way into the future."
He chuckled, "Quite difficult to comprehend, isn't it?"
Kento couldn't deny, "It is."
"That's why it is best if you ask questions that you know will not be difficult to understand," The creator suggested.
"What am I supposed to do?" Kento asked, aware that there had to be a reason that Marcellus made the system.
"Keep growing stronger," The man said, "If you keep growing stronger, you will understand the reason for the creation of the system one day."
"And the tests? What was the point of those?" He asked, which made the man frown.
"The tests were designed by Kagetsuchi, a being that accidentally tapped into a dust particle amount of my powers when I was collecting the cosmic essence for the Heart of the Universe," Seeing the confused look on Kento's face, he paused, "Don't worry about those. Just know that it was designed by Kagetsuchi, who accidentally came into contact with my power, which gave him abilities beyond comprehension."
"And why exactly did I have to take those tests?" Kento raised an eyebrow.
"Well, it was Amaterasu that made you take those tests, believing Kagetsuchi made some intricate and difficult tests, but in truth, it was just him messing around."
"So, everything that I did in that test was for nothing?" Kento was baffled; he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at
the news.
"Pretty much," Marcellus shrugged, "But I knew this was a chance to meet you. After all, you have improved a lot since the day you obtained the system."
He wasn't wrong; Kento was well aware that he had gotten way stronger.
He had a lot of questions that he wanted answered, but he was also aware that he wasn't going to get the answers for the majority of them.
So, he finally decided to ask two last questions.
"Why did you choose me?"
At this, Marcellus answered, "I made the system in a way that it would find its host. And it chose you; as for the reasons… You will figure it out once you transcend."
Kento wanted to know what transcend meant as all Marcellus has been using the term for a while now. But he also knew that he wasn't going to get an answer for that.
"Why did you decide to bring me here, especially now?"
This was when he saw Marcellus put on a serious look.
"Till now, the enemies that you have faced were ones that you could defeat using your abilities and intellect. But because of a certain few reasons, the clock that decides the time of occurrences or events had sped up, and as a result, you will have to face enemies that are far above your capabilities."
This did not sound promising to Kento.
"So, I brought you here to give you a chance to get strong, strong enough to be able to tackle those foes."
"And how will I reach that level?" Kento raised an eyebrow, at which Marcellus smiled.
"Like this,"
And with that statement, Kento received a quest that left him shocked.
A quest, the likes of which he had never seen before.
<<Primary Trial Quest Alert!>>
<<Quest: Enact your revenge on those who shot you!>>
<<Rewards: {Combiner}, [Instant Ultimate Class Rank Up Card]>>
"Just so you know–," Marcellus flicked his hand as the skill description expanded in front of Kento.
<<Combiner: Allows the host to combine two or more skills or items to create a brand-new item. Skills and items that are combined cannot be reverted back; however, the new skills and items will possess abilities of both the previous reactants and will also include the new abilities.
The item or skill used as the primary reactant will decide the color, design, and core properties of the new product.>>
<<Note: Combiner consumes points to combine skills or items.>>
If that wasn't shocking enough, he had another item.
<<Instant Ultimate Rank Up Card: A one-time item that will permanently increase the user's stats to that of an early Ultimate Class being.>>
<<Note: Upon usage, every point in the user's collection will be consumed.>>
Marcellus grinned, "I hope that's a good enough reward for the moment?"
If that wasn't good, Kento didn't know what could be considered good.
