Outside Glory City, Issei and Raynare were flying towards Ancient Orchid City Ruin. Unfortunately, Yang Xin was too engrossed in her studies that she had to reject Issei's offer to join them. No matter, there is always the next time. For now, Issei would enjoy this adventure with Raynare.
The Ancient Orchid City Ruins were found about five to six days away from Glory City, in the St. Ancestral Mountain Range. To Issei and Raynare, due to their ability to fly, it took them no more than an hour to arrive.
The whole Ancient orchid City Ruin covers a hundred miles radius and is mainly overgrown with a dense forest. Only Bronze and Silver rank Demon Beasts are supposed to be located inside the ruins. This would be an issue to many, but to Issei and Raynare, this was nothing more than mosquitoes buzzing around.
Within the ruins, the buildings are round, but the whole city is square, and a large lotus mural was found.
"Such a beautiful city was destroyed," Raynare said. The place would have been beautiful if it continued prospering to this day. Alas, it was not meant to be. "The architecture seemed to be similar to a Chinese era back home".
"Haven't you realised?" Issei said. That's right, Issei made the connection a long time ago. "This world is similar to many Chinese Wuxia novels back home".
"Seriously?!" Raynare said. Issei was right. The familiar scene of people puking blood was like a drama she watched, which originated in China. "Now that I think about it, even the mannerism is the same as those novels and Tv dramas".
While Issei and Raynare were exploring the ruins, they encountered a few people that Issei felt had vast amounts of Bloody aura. These people were up to no good.
"He-he-he! Look what do we have here," A bald man said. He looked at Issei and Raynare, but he had a lecherous face once he saw how beautiful Raynare was. "Girl, my name is Lu Ziming. I don't know your name, but how about spending a night with me?".
"Go away," Raynare said. She looked at the dude and his companions. One glance is all one would need to know they were up to no good. "Take your lackeys and leave before you regret your decision".
"Bitch!" the bald man's companion said. He was pissed that Raynare ridiculed him and his boss. "What do you mean by that?! My boss asked you to spend the night with him! It's your honour, don't be disrespectful!".
The group of trash was leaking killing intent that Issei was no longer planning to tolerate.
"Raynare, do you want me to deal with them, or do you want to do it yourself?" Issei said. Raynare didn't have to say anything. She went towards the pieces of trash and created a Light Spear. "Okay then, make sure you don't get their blood on you. We don't know what kind of sickness these animals have".
"Brat!" another one of the lackeys said. He was getting angry at the people in front of him dared to disrespect the boss. "You dare talk to our boss like that! You're nothing more than a mortal! Are you courting death?!".
Hearing Issei's words enrage the group of trash. They took out their weapons and went for the kill. Too bad for them, Raynare was faster than them to the point that they couldn't even see her move before their heads fell to the ground.
"You're right, Issei," Raynare said. The trash's lines were like the Chinese drama that she watched with Miki. "The words they said were like the shows that Miki watches at home. I think this world is developing like those novels and Tv dramas".
After the group of trash was dealt with, Issei and Raynare continued their exploration of the Ancient Orchid City Ruin.
One thing Issei figure out in this world is that treasures emit energy similar to mana. So, looking for hidden areas was not that hard. With Fiery Eyes Golden Pupils, he was able to find a hidden chamber underground.
Once Issei was above the Energy source that he found, he punched the ground to cause it to break and create an opening. Issei and Raynare jumped into the hole and arrived at a tomb. It was emitting weird energy.
"Is this thing a tomb?" Raynare said. But it didn't make sense. Why would an underground place in the middle of the city ruin be a tomb? Usually, these things are made far from the city or in a private area, not in the middle of the city underground. "Why is it here? Looking around, this isn't supposed to be a place for a tomb. It looks more like a place where people would wait until the chaos on the surface disperses".
"Don't worry, the coffin is empty. Although I can sense powerful energy surrounding the coffin, it shouldn't be a problem for us," Issei said. With Fiery Eyes Golden Pupils, the energy surrounding the coffin was visible to him. "In fact, this is a great opportunity for you. Approach the coffin and try absorbing the energy surrounding it. You should be able to increase the power of your Dragon Core".
Raynare did as Issei said and approached the coffin. The energy surrounding the coffin invaded Raynare's body in no time. She absorbed the energy, and it was nourishing her Dragon Core.
After a few minutes of absorbing the energy, golden light surrounded Raynare. This light was the proof of Dragon Force. Thanks to the energy, it activated Raynare's Dragon Force and was further strengthening her physique.
An hour later, the energy was finally depleted, and Raynare was exhausted. However, she can feel the changes in her body. Raynare's body felt full of energy, but her mental strength was spent.
"You did well," Issei said. He used his Mystic Arts to conjure a bed for her to rest in. "Rest here. You need to recover your mental strength".
Raynare nodded at Issei, and she fell asleep. As for Issei, he opened the coffin to look inside. Unfortunately, there was nothing inside that would be helpful for Raynare. The items inside were a piece of paper and a necklace with a gem embedded in it.
"System, can you tell me what this necklace is?" Issei said. He can feel powerful energy within the necklace, but he has no idea what it's for. "I can tell it would be useful, but not for Raynare or me".
[Abstruse Gemstone – A bright blue stone with an interior that resembles a nebula.
This stone is indeed worthless for the User and his companion. However, it can be given to Yang Xin to increase her cultivation speed by a factor of three and lessen the injuries she receives from attacks.]
"Right, I haven't rolled my Gacha for the day," Issei said. He forgot to roll in the morning since he was thinking of things to do. Now that he's waiting for Raynare to wake up, he can roll the Gacha. "System, please roll the Gacha".
[Gacha is now rolling]
[Congratulation! Issei received (Heaven's Path Cultivation Manual – Demi-God). The User may access the reward within the Inventory]
"Hmm…" Issei was thinking about what he could do with the reward he got. He doesn't cultivate after all. However, he remembered Yang Xin. It seems like his destiny with Yang Xin isn't a simple one. "First the Abstruse Gemstone that he found, and now even the Gacha is giving me a cultivation manual".
Issei dropped it for now. He opened his Inventory to store the Abstruse Gemstone, but his eyes became wide as a saucer. Issei rubbed his eyes to ensure that he didn't see things and remembered correctly. He was sure the Wedding Ring was only supposed to be eleven, but now it was thirteen! What was going on?
"System, I'm sure I only had eleven wedding rings. Ten blank and one gold, right?" Issei said. He kept looking at his Inventory, but it said thirteen no matter what he did! "What's going on?! Why did the number increase?!".
[User, the Wedding ring is not an everyday item. When you received it, you had ten blank rings because you had ten destined partners within the DxDverse. That is your homeworld.
The moment you entered the Divine Continent, the Wedding Rings found your destined partner in this world and increased in number.
It was quite a sight to see you make contact with her, your destined partner, in less than a day]
"You can't be serious!" Issei said. There has only been one woman in this world that Issei has truly interacted with, Yang Xin. "Are you saying I'm destined to be with Yang Xin?".
[That's right, User. You and Yang Xin are meant to be with each other. But don't forget, there is another that is waiting for you]
"Damn, if that's true, I'll see how things go from here. As for my other destined partner, if we truly are destined, we would eventually meet before I leave this world," Issei said. He sighed. First, Raynare and Serafall are planning his harem. Now, even a group of rings were doing the same thing. He chuckled. Issei didn't mind having a harem, but he hoped it wouldn't be too big in the future. "Whatever".
Issei set up a barrier around the bed that he conjured. This was to ensure that if Demon Beasts were to attack them in their sleep, they would be protected. In Issei's estimate, the barrier should be able to withstand attacks from Ultimate Class Devils. He didn't know what the equivalent of that in this world was, but he was sure it should be able to at least block one attack from a powerful practitioner.