The classroom was as lively as ever—or at least, it was for everyone else. For Akira Kurogane, it was just another boring day of pretending to listen while barely keeping his head off the desk. The teacher droned on about historical events he'd forget the moment class ended, and his classmates whispered about the latest trending anime and games.
Akira yawned, staring out the window, his mind drifting. He'd spent half the night reading fanfics, as usual. His brain was filled with overpowered protagonists, insane abilities, and broken gamer systems. If only life were that interesting.
[Congratulations! You have been chosen as the sole user of the Gamer System!]
A blue holographic screen popped up in front of his eyes.
Akira blinked.
Then blinked again.
"…Huh?"
[Initializing system… Loading status…]
His heart skipped a beat. His mind raced through every possible explanation—lack of sleep, hallucination, some weird prank—but the floating text didn't vanish.
He glanced around. No one else seemed to notice it. The teacher kept lecturing, his classmates kept whispering, and the world continued as if nothing had happened.
Akira slowly reached forward.
His hand passed through the screen.
[Initialization complete! Welcome, Player!]
Another window popped up.
[Beginner Reward Received!]
4000 Yen, Body Purification Pill, Random B-Rank Skill, 10 System Stat Points
"…You've got to be kidding me."
His heart pounded in his chest, but his lips curled into a smirk.
This wasn't a dream. This wasn't some stupid joke. This was the real deal.
A Gamer System.
He had just become an actual protagonist.
Suppressing his excitement, Akira mentally commanded the system to open his status.
[Status Window]
Name: Akira Kurogane
Level: 1
Title: None
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 7
Vitality: 5
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 6
Luck: 10
Stat Points: 10
His eyes widened.
It was real. He had stats. He could actually level up.
And his luck stat—of course it had to be higher than normal. How else would he have gotten something as insane as a Gamer System?
He was about to dump all his points into dexterity just for fun when the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Students stood up, chatting and packing their bags, but Akira remained seated, staring at the translucent blue windows in front of him.
His lips curled into a grin.
Life just got a whole lot more interesting.
Akira closed the status window, his mind still buzzing with possibilities. If this was truly a Gamer System, then that meant quests, levels, skills—everything. He needed to test it out. But first…
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. If the system was real, he should still have the 4000 yen, right? He opened his banking app.
Balance: 0 Yen.
"…Figures."
[Funds are stored in Inventory. Open Inventory?]
Akira nearly jumped. The system was actively responding to his thoughts.
"Uh… yes?" he whispered under his breath.
A new window appeared before him, showing a grid-like inventory screen. Sure enough, inside one of the slots was a small pouch labeled [4000 Yen]. He focused on it, and in the next instant, a small bag materialized in his hand.
His eyes widened.
He quickly stuffed it back into his pocket before anyone could notice. This was beyond insane. He actually had an inventory space. Could he store anything?
[Inventory can store non-living objects. Maximum weight capacity increases with level.]
"Holy shit."
Akira wanted to test it out more, but right now, he had more important things to check.
Like the Random B-Rank Skill.
[You have obtained a new skill!]
[Skill: Shadow Step (B-Rank)] Type: Movement
Description: Allows the user to instantly move up to 5 meters in any direction by merging with the shadows. Cooldown: 5 seconds.
Akira's grin widened.
A teleportation-type skill? And with only a 5-second cooldown? This was broken.
He could already imagine the ways he could abuse this. Dodging attacks, sneaking past people, escaping sticky situations—this skill alone was enough to change his life.
And he had a whole system to explore.
But first, he had to play it cool. He couldn't afford to freak out and make people suspicious. If anyone found out about this system, there was no telling what might happen. Governments, corporations, shady organizations—he wasn't about to become some lab rat.
He took a deep breath and got up from his seat, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he strolled out of the classroom like nothing had happened.
His heart was racing, but outwardly, he was the same lazy, inattentive student as always.
As he walked through the crowded hallway, another thought struck him.
What about quests?
[New Quest Generated!]
His eyes widened as another screen popped up in front of him.
[Quest: First Steps]
Description: A true Gamer must test their abilities. Complete the following tasks:
Use Shadow Step (0/1) Store an item in Inventory (1/1) Assign at least 1 Stat Point (0/1)
Reward: 100 System Coins, +1 Stat Point
Akira's grin returned.
This was it. His life wasn't just some mundane high school existence anymore.
This was a game.
And he was ready to play.