Seiji Fukuda opened his eyes to a sky streaked with orange and pink, the kind of sunset that felt too vivid to be real. His head throbbed, a dull pulse behind his violet eyes, and the scent of damp grass clung to his nose. He y sprawled on his back in what looked like a park, surrounded by neatly trimmed bushes and a winding path. A faint breeze rustled the trees, carrying the distant hum of traffic. Kuoh Town. The name surfaced in his mind unbidden, like a fact he hadn’t studied but somehow knew.

  He sat up slowly, brushing dirt from his bck hair. His clothes—pin jeans and a dark jacket—were intact, but his hands trembled as he flexed them. Something was wrong. No, not wrong. Different. His st memory was… nothing. A bnk ste where a life should have been. He didn’t recall dying, didn’t recall living either, yet here he was, breathing, thinking, existing. A second life. The realization settled over him like a heavy coat, uncomfortable but impossible to shrug off.

  A sharp ping echoed in his skull, and a translucent screen flickered into view before his eyes. Lines of text scrolled across it, glowing faintly against the fading daylight.

  [Artifact Creation System: Initialized]User: Seiji FukudaFunction: Design and craft artifacts with unique properties. Material and intent shape the outcome.Current Resources: NoneWarning: System activation may draw attention. Proceed with caution.

  Seiji blinked, the screen vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. He rubbed his temples, muttering under his breath, “Great. I’m either insane or stuck in some cosmic game.” His voice was soft, almost lost in the evening air, but it grounded him. He wasn’t dreaming. This was real—whatever “this” was.

  Standing, he dusted off his knees and took stock of his surroundings. The park was quiet, save for a few joggers in the distance and the occasional chirp of a bird. Kuoh Town felt familiar, though he couldn’t pce why. A school town, unassuming on the surface, but something prickled at the edge of his senses. A weight in the air, subtle yet undeniable. He shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking, his mind racing faster than his legs could carry him.

  The system. That was the key. If he could figure out how it worked, maybe he’d understand why he was here. He stopped near a bench, gncing around to ensure no one was watching, then focused inward. The screen reappeared with a faint hum.

  “Alright,” he murmured, “let’s test this. Something simple.” He pictured a knife—small, practical, nothing fshy. The system responded instantly.

  [Artifact Design Interface]Input: Basic KnifeMaterials Required: Metal (any), Intent (focus on utility)Effect: Enhanced durabilityCreation Time: 5 minutes

  Seiji frowned. “Metal. Right. Because I’m carrying a forge in my pocket.” He scanned the ground, spotting a rusted bottle cap half-buried in the dirt. It wasn’t much, but it was something. He crouched, picked it up, and held it between his fingers. The system chimed again.

  [Material Detected: Scrap Iron]Adjusting Output: Miniature Knife (2-inch bde)Proceed? Y/N]

  “Yes,” he said quietly, feeling absurd for talking to thin air. A faint warmth spread through his palm, and the bottle cap shimmered, twisting like liquid before solidifying into a tiny bde. It was crude, barely more than a sharpened shard, but it gleamed with an unnatural sheen. He tested the edge with his thumb—sharp, sturdy, far beyond what a bottle cap should have become.

  “Not bad,” he muttered, tucking it into his sleeve. The process had been intuitive, almost too easy, but a nagging unease crept up his spine. The system’s warning echoed in his mind: May draw attention. He wasn’t alone in this world. He could feel it.

  The air shifted. A chill brushed his neck, and he turned sharply, catching a glimpse of movement near the trees. Shadows stretched longer than they should have, and a low, guttural ugh rolled through the silence. Seiji’s pulse quickened. He stepped back, clutching the tiny knife, its weight a small comfort against whatever was out there.

  “Who’s there?” he called, his voice steady despite the tremor in his chest. No answer came, but the shadows coalesced into a figure—tall, broad-shouldered, with wings that glinted bck under the fading sun. A man, or something like one, stepped forward. His eyes glowed faintly, and a smirk curled his lips.

  “New blood, huh?” the figure said, voice dripping with amusement. “You reek of something interesting. What’s a stray like you doing in devil territory?”

  Seiji’s mind raced. Devil territory. Kuoh Town. Fragments clicked into pce—stories he’d read, worlds he’d imagined, now crashing into reality. High School DxD. Devils, angels, fallen angels—a supernatural mess he’d somehow nded in. And this guy? Fallen angel, most likely. The wings gave it away.

  “I’m just passing through,” Seiji said, keeping his tone neutral. “No trouble intended.”

  The fallen angel chuckled, cracking his knuckles. “Too te for that, kid. I felt that little trick of yours. What was it? Magic? A sacred gear? Spill it, or I’ll carve it out of you.”

  Seiji’s grip tightened on the knife. He wasn’t a fighter—never had been, as far as he could remember—but he wasn’t helpless either. His eyes darted around, assessing. The park was open, no cover nearby, and this guy radiated confidence. Brute force wouldn’t work. He needed a pn.

  “Alright,” Seiji said, raising his hands slightly, the knife still hidden. “You want to know? It’s a system. Makes things. Nothing special.”

  The fallen angel’s smirk widened. “A system, huh? Sounds rare. Hand it over, and maybe I’ll let you walk.”

  “Can’t hand over what’s in my head,” Seiji replied, stalling. His mind churned, the system flickering to life in his vision. He needed something fast, something to shift the odds. The ground beneath his feet—dirt, pebbles, grass. Raw materials, if he could use them.

  [Artifact Design Interface]Input: Smoke BombMaterials Required: Organic matter (grass), Mineral (stone)Effect: Obscuring cloud, 10-second durationCreation Time: 30 seconds

  He knelt subtly, scooping a pebble and a fistful of grass as if steadying himself. “Look, I don’t even know how it works yet. Give me a break.”

  “Break’s over,” the fallen angel snarled, lunging forward with a spear of dark light forming in his hand. Seiji activated the system, the materials in his grip heating up as he rolled to the side. The spear grazed his jacket, tearing fabric but missing flesh. Thirty seconds. He just had to survive that long.

  He scrambled to his feet, darting toward the trees as the fallen angel pursued, wings fring. “Running won’t save you!” the man shouted, hurling another spear. Seiji ducked, the projectile splintering a trunk beside him. His heart pounded, but his mind stayed sharp, counting down. Fifteen seconds.

  The fallen angel closed the gap, grabbing Seiji’s colr and lifting him off the ground. “Last chance, kid. Give it up.”

  Seiji smirked faintly, the first real emotion he’d let slip. “Here’s your gift.” The system chimed, and the grass and pebble morphed into a small orb in his hand. He crushed it against the fallen angel’s chest, and a thick, gray cloud erupted, engulfing them both.

  The man cursed, dropping Seiji as he coughed and filed. Seiji hit the ground hard, rolling away and sprinting into the trees. The smoke wouldn’t st long, but it was enough. He didn’t stop until the park was far behind him, his breath ragged and his thoughts a whirlwind.

  He colpsed against a wall in an alley, the tiny knife still clutched in his sleeve. The system had saved him, but it had also marked him. That fallen angel wouldn’t be the st to notice. Kuoh Town wasn’t safe—not for someone like him. He needed answers, allies, a pn. But for now, he was alive.

  The sunset faded to dusk, and Seiji Fukuda, artisan of a strange new world, vanished into the shadows.