The golden card face shone in the dim room.
A Berserker class piece statue crouched on the back of the card, emitting an ominous and violent aura.
“Berserker… Ibaraki Doji?”
Hibiki whispered the True Name on the card, a hint of warmth coming from his fingertips.
Although not a five-star, getting a four-star in a starter ten-pull was standard treatment.
In the game, Ibaraki Doji was a powerful single-target Berserker with high versatility.
As a starting combat force, she was more than enough.
He pinched a corner of the card, took a deep breath, struck a chuunibyou pose he thought was cool enough, and swung his arm forward abruptly.
“Following the summons of the Holy Grail, I respond! To the Guardian of the Scales…”
The chanted incantation came to an abrupt halt.
The expected magnificent scene of surging magical energy and the manifestation of a Heroic Spirit did not appear.
The golden card simply lay quietly in his palm, unresponsive, as if mocking his self-importance.
The room was deathly silent, with only the computer fan still humming diligently.
This was a bit awkward.
“System, what’s the situation? Is the card a dud?”
[Ah? Master, didn’t you receive the instructions?]
The system’s text skipped playfully across the screen with a hint of innocence.
[The Mystery Level of this world has declined to nearly zero, so Heroic Spirit cards cannot connect to the Throne of Heroes to summon a complete Heroic Spirit body.]
A bucket of cold water was poured over his head, instantly extinguishing the enthusiasm Hibiki had just ignited.
Cannot summon a Heroic Spirit?
Then wouldn’t this so-called Heroic Spirit Summoning System and this glittering four-star card just be decorations for show?
What was this?
Giving an out-of-print shiny card at the start, only to tell you it’s unusable under the current rules?
Fraud, this was blatant fraud!
As if sensing his disappointment, the text on the screen refreshed rapidly.
[But! But!]
[Although it cannot connect to the Throne of Heroes, the card still contains the complete power, memories, and saint graph of that Heroic Spirit!]
[Therefore, Master can overlay the Heroic Spirit card onto himself to temporarily transform into that Heroic Spirit and use all of their power!]
Transformation?
Not summoning, but becoming the Heroic Spirit himself?
Hibiki was slightly stunned, and immediately, the prototype of a plan—larger and crazier than simply summoning a Heroic Spirit—surfaced in his mind.
If he only summoned a Heroic Spirit, he would still be Hibiki, a Master hiding behind the scenes.
But if he could transform into a Heroic Spirit…
That meant he could create one, or even countless, transcendent existences walking the world that were completely severed from the identity of “Hibiki.”
On one side, an ordinary, harmless high school boy.
On the other side, a legendary great yokai or a hero from myth.
Gods and demons, saviors and world-destroyers…
he could play all the roles simultaneously, staging a grand play of mythical revival directed by his own hand before the eyes of the world.
This was much more interesting than being a Master.
“I see, so it’s a persona system.”
Hibiki suppressed the thoughts churning in his heart, and a gentle smile reappeared on his face.
“So, how do I use it?”
[Please place the card against your chest and then silently chant ‘Spirit Foundation Possession’ in your mind!]
Hibiki followed the instructions, placing the warm card against his chest.
“Spirit Foundation Possession.”
The moment the words fell, the card in his hand suddenly burst with blinding golden light, then turned into countless Spiritron particles.
Like living things, they scrambled to surge into his body.
His bones let out a scream of being overburdened; his height was forcibly increased and then quickly shrunk back, finally settling on a petite physique.
In the veins beneath his skin, scalding magma replaced warm blood, and a primitive impulse for bloodlust and destruction rushed straight to his head.
His short black hair was dyed a brilliant gold, and two hideous red oni horns broke through the skin on his head.
The originally fitting hoodie became incredibly oversized, hanging loosely on his body.
He raised his hand, and what entered his vision was a red-skinned oni claw with sharp black nails.
Power, a sense of infinite power filled every limb and bone.
Hibiki could clearly “see” the dust flowing in the air, “hear” his aunt’s steady breathing in the next room, and even “smell” the scent of oden from the convenience store at the end of the street.
This was…
the feeling of the transcendent.
This was the leader of the oni of Mount Ooe, Ibaraki Doji.
He turned around and saw his current appearance in the floor-length mirror next to the wardrobe.
Blonde hair, red horns, twin pupils like rubies, and that innate arrogance and violence belonging to the oni race.
Though it was a loli physique, the sense of oppression was immense.
Hibiki flexed the strange oni claw on his right hand, and an impulse to tear everything before him to shreds sprouted in his heart.
But his own rationality firmly suppressed this instinct belonging to Ibaraki Doji.
“Is this… the power of an oni?”
Although he felt like he could do anything, he still needed to actually test the strength of this power.
The oni loli’s golden slit pupils scanned the room, finally landing on the sturdy wooden computer desk.
She extended the oni claw, fingers spread, and lightly covered the corner of the desk.
No magical energy was used, just pure physical strength.
The five sharp fingers slowly closed.
“Creak—Creeeak—”
The ear-piercing sound of twisting wood suddenly rang out in the silent night.
The hard solid wood tabletop was as fragile as styrofoam in his hand.
The wood fibers were torn apart inch by inch, making a teeth-gritting sound.
“Kyo? Haven’t you rested yet? You should be moderate about staying up late.”
From the bedroom next door came the concerned inquiry of his aunt, Kyoko Tachibana.
The excitement of transforming into an oni was instantly washed away by this gentle female voice.
Oops, I made too much noise.
Hibiki’s heart tightened, and he quickly let go, chanting silently in his mind.
“Spirit Foundation Unload.”
The surging power receded like a tide, his body returned to its original state, and the mania and bloodlust belonging to the oni also vanished.
He turned back into that ordinary high school student with black hair, black eyes, and dark circles.
He walked quickly to the wall and tapped it lightly.
“Sorry, Aunt Kyoko, I accidentally knocked over a pile of books. I’ll rest right away.”
“Is that so? That’s good then. Go to sleep early.”
A reassuring response came from next door.
Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the corner of the desk where he had squeezed clear five-finger prints, feeling a wave of lingering fear.
Fortunately, his aunt didn’t come over to check.
Otherwise, how could he explain how a weak high school student with no strength to truss a chicken could crush a solid wood desk corner with his bare hands?
It seemed he had to be cautious when using this power in the future; at least he couldn’t mess around at home.
Putting his attention back on the computer screen, he still had the most critical problem to solve.
“System, I understand. What is needed to obtain more Heroic Spirit cards? Is it still saint quartz?”
[Yes, Master! However, saint quartz is not created out of thin air; it needs to be exchanged using ‘human order foundation’!]
[The so-called human order foundation is the collective consciousness generated by humanity’s recognition and awe of the ‘mysterious’ and the ‘transcendent’.]
[The human order foundation of this world is so thin it’s about to dry up, so the top priority is to make the humans of this world realize the existence of the transcendent again!]
With the system’s explanation, a brand new line of purple pixelated text slowly took shape in the center of the screen.
[Main Quest Published: Cultivate the Transcendent, Feed human order, Weave Miracles.]
[Phase 1 Goal: Within the scope of Tokyo, create a supernatural event with enough influence to bring ‘Mystery’ back into the public eye.]
Hibiki stared at the quest description on the screen, his face showing no emotion.
Cultivate the Transcendent, Feed human order, Weave Miracles…
In other words, it was asking him to be a charlatan—no, to be a true Creator.
In this lifeless Dharma-Ending Age, he was to stir up a wave of supernatural revival that would sweep the globe.
What a…
wonderful job.
He extended his own slightly pale, human hand, which formed a sharp contrast with the hideous oni claw mark on the corner of the desk under the dim light.
“It seems the boring daily life has finally come to an end…”
What young man doesn’t have a chuunibyou heart?
After traveling to this strange country, he had prayed countless times for a miracle to appear, and now he could finally have his wish.
A plan began to brew in his heart.
To create a supernatural event, what could be more direct and shocking than letting a real oni run rampant under the night shroud of Tokyo?
The corner of his mouth curled up into a slight, silent arc.