The soft buzz of morning conversations filled the air as Shido walked to school, his gaze fixed ahead while Tonomachi kept rambling about one topic or another. Shido offered polite nods and hums, but his focus was elsewhere. Hidden within his field of vision was a faint overlay of the System interface which can oly be seen by him.
"Seriously, Shido, are you even listening?" Tonomachi asked, waving a hand dramatically in front of him.
"Yeah, yeah," Shido replied absently, swiping through the translucent blue panels only he could see.
One particular tab caught his eye: [World Travel]. However, when he opened it, the screen remained dim and unresponsive, the words "Locked" glaring back at him.
Shido sighed. "Guess I'll have to figure out how to unlock that later." He closed the tab and shifted his attention to something more interesting: the [Store].
As soon as the panel loaded, his eyes widened with amazement. Rows of glowing icons representing various items, skills, and equipment appeared. The first section was labeled [Skills], and as he browsed through, his heartbeat quickened.
Shadow Clone Jutsu: 2,000 SP
Shock Absorption: 10,000 SP
Evil Eye: 20,000 SP
Rupture: 30,000 SP
"Whoa" Shido muttered under his breath. Seeing skills he'd only dreamed of in anime was thrilling, but his excitement quickly diminished when he glanced at his current SP total: 0. He sighed, though his lips curled into a small smile. "One step at a time, I guess."
Switching to the [Items] panel, Shido's interest piqued further. Various utility items were listed with prices:
HP Potion (Low Grade): 100 SP
MP Potion (Low Grade): 100 SP
Pokeball: 200 SP
Devil Fruit: 50,000 SP
Mixed among the essentials were humorous entries like Potato Chips: 50 SP and Cola: 100 SP. Shido blinked, baffled.
"...Potato chips? Really? Who's buying snacks in this situation?"
Finally, he moved on to the [Equipment] tab. His jaw nearly dropped when he scrolled through. Basic items like swords and shields were followed by legendary gear from anime worlds: Divine Axe Rhitta, Excalibur, and even EA. But the astronomical prices have reach millions of SP which left him speechless.
"Yeah… that's not happening anytime soon."
Then came the [Summon] panel, and Shido's enthusiasm reignited. A list of potential summons appeared before him, with the names and their rarity categories clearly labeled.
YoRHa No.2 Type B (Elite): 5,000 SF
Julie Sigtuna (SR): 10,000 SF
Shana (SSR): 20,000 SF
Erza Scarlet (SSR): 40,000 SF
Aqua (UR): 1,000,000 SF
Shido leaned forward slightly, excitement rushing through his veins. The thought of summoning legendary anime characters as allies was exhilarating. But as he scrolled further, a curious realization struck him.
"Wait... only anime girls?" he muttered, raising a brow before shrugging. On second thought, it wasn't really a downside; in fact, he was more than happy to be surrounded by familiar faces from the shows he loved, especially when those faces belonged to anime girls instead of male characters. Still, the exclusivity was odd, though he wasn't about to complain.
His eyes scanned the list again, lingering on the rarity designations beside the names. Elite, SR, SSR, UR, it clicked almost immediately. "This is basically... gacha," he said, his voice carrying a mixture of awe and disbelief. Shido couldn't help but imagine rolling for characters, and his mind wandered to the absurd possibility of bad luck ruining his streak.
Then his gaze stopped at Aqua. Seeing her ranked UR with a whopping price of 1,000,000 SF, Shido froze before smiling wryly.
"How... how does this useless goddess cost so much?" he murmured, feeling genuinely dumbfounded. Sure, Aqua had her charms, but anyone who knew her from Konosuba knew she brought as many problems as solutions. Even as an Ultra Rare, that price felt more like a joke. The thought made him chuckle. "Must be for comedy value… or for being annoyingly expensive to maintain."
Still, the idea thrilled him, and he couldn't help but daydream about what was possible. Unknowingly, he reached the school gate, only snapping back to reality when Tonomachi clapped him on the shoulder. The boy was still talking, apparently oblivious to Shido's mental absence.
"...So I was saying, my girlfriend totally gets me. She's always there when I need her…" Tonomachi declared with a wide grin.
Shido glanced sideways, raising a skeptical brow. "Girlfriend?"
Tonomachi puffed out his chest with pride. "Yep! She's got everything style, personality, loyalty! She's even top-tier SSR."
Shido sighed internally. "A gacha character… of course." He smiled wryly, thinking Tonomachi's enthusiasm was almost endearing.
But before he could tease his friend further, a soft Ding! echoed in his ears. Shido's gaze darted to the system interface, which materialized in his view with a notification:
[Quest Complete: Have Breakfast with Kotori and Go to School]
Rewards:
100 exp
1,000 SP
Skill: Analyze
Random Summon Ticket: 1
By the time Shido checked his reward, he had already taken his seat in the classroom just behind the protagonist seat. Around him, students were greeting their friends and settling in, the atmosphere brimming with excitement as they reunited after the long break. Shido glanced at the screen overlay while students laughed and chattered nearby.
The [Analyze] skill alone felt like an incredible reward, it could allow him to discern stats, abilities, or even hidden weaknesses of anyone. He smirked, wondering how useful it might be to peek on girls information.
However, the Random Summon Ticket was what truly captured his attention. His imagination ran wild. 'What if I pulled an Ultra Rare on my first try?' He suppressed a grin. It was the classic jackpot scenario that every gacha fan dreamed of.
Yet, as he thought about the summon pulls, one glaring possibility crossed his mind.
Aqua...
His excitement cooled instantly. "God, please don't let it be her," he muttered under his breath. The thought of summoning that infamous "useless goddess" sent a shiver down his spine. Sure, her comedic value was unmatched and she was also very charming and even a bit lewd, but handling Aqua meant dealing with constant problems and worse, potentially ending up in debt.
That wasn't all. If he summoned an anime girl, especially one in a bizarre outfit, how the heck was he supposed to explain her sudden appearance to Kotori? What excuse would possibly make sense? Shido placed his hand on his forehead, exhaling deeply. The system definitely needed better fine-tuning for blending into everyday life.
A second Ding! brought his focus back.
[Level Up!]
The system interface updated, showing his improved stats:
Name: Itsuka Shido
Level: 1 → 2 0/1,000 exp
Race: Human (Sealed)
Class: None
STR: 10 → 15
VIT: 8 → 13
AGI: 8 → 13
INT: 12 → 17
Charm: 15 (No Change)
Luck: 20 (No Change)
Skill:
Auto-Translation
Interdimensional Traveler
Sharingan (Three-Tomoe)
Swordsmanship (Basic Level)
SP: 1,000
WP: 0
SF: 0
Shido stared at the panel, feeling a rush of vitality, strength, and clarity sweep through him. It was subtle, but his senses felt sharper, his body more attuned.
"Not bad," he muttered, stretching slightly to get a feel for the changes. He glanced at the exp gauge beside his Level, which had reset to zero. The next target loomed ominously at 1,000 exp.
"So leveling up just got harder, huh?" Shido chuckled. He began brainstorming ways to gain exp. Destroying bandersnatch units came to mind.
If he couldn't kill Spirits or the AST agents, destroying those mechanical minions might be his best option.
Still, at this rate, reaching higher levels would take forever unless he found a more efficient method or better yet, unlocked the ability to travel to other worlds. That would open up countless opportunities.
"Alright, System," he whispered. "We've got some grinding to do. Let's get through this world first."
Shido closed his interface just as Tonomachi slid into the seat in front of him, waving his phone enthusiastically.
"Shido, check this out! My girlfriend!"
Shido glanced at the screen, his lips twitching with barely concealed amusement.
On Tonomachi's phone was the character card of a stunning anime girl, complete with sparkling effects and an overly glamorous pose. It was so obviously from a gacha game.
With a dry smile, Shido quipped, "So… she's not real."
Tonomachi froze, as though struck by lightning. He turned defensive in an instant, clutching his phone as though protecting a priceless treasure. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't you dare judge me, Shido! You have no idea the blood, sweat, and tears I spent pulling this SSR beauty!"
Shido chuckled at his friend's earnest passion. Tonomachi always had a way of keeping things lighthearted, even in moments of absurdity. Despite himself, Shido found it oddly endearing.
Still, his mind wandered back to the Random Summon Ticket sitting in his inventory. Imagine pulling someone on Tonomachi's level but bringing them into the real world. Wouldn't that give him a heart attack? Shido held back a snicker as he tapped his desk lightly, pretending to focus on the chatter around the room.
As he debated testing the Analyze skill on someone nearby, his attention was suddenly drawn elsewhere.
"Itsuka Shido…"
Shido's head snapped to the side, his heart skipping a beat.
Standing quietly next to him was a girl with pale hair and piercing blue eyes, her gaze unnervingly direct, as though she could see straight through him.
Her face was utterly beautiful, a serene yet cold beauty that seemed to draw everyone's attention, yet she wore an expression void of emotion, as if unaffected by the world around her.
The air between them became heavy, and his thoughts scattered, caught in the gravity of her presence. It was then, as the tension settled in, that he realized who it was.
"Tobiichi Origami," he muttered quietly.
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Edited: I remove the HP and MP bar