The eerie whispers from afar, the all-encompassing sense of wrongness, and the excruciating pain throughout his body forcibly roused Leon from his stupor.
On his retina, ice-blue text hovered: [Game Rules] [1.
You will play a game character.
Unless otherwise noted in the special rules, your identity as a “Player” must not be revealed (or discovered) within the game.
Failure to comply will result in a Game Over.] [2.
Any tangible items obtained during the game cannot be taken out.
Intangible assets can only be taken out if special conditions are met.] [3.
Upon completing the game, the system will issue rewards based on the “Completion Evaluation.”] [In this game, your identity is: Magical Girl Momo.] [In this game, your mission is: To become a true Magical Girl.] [Game Start] Only after the text vanished did the world before Leon’s eyes fully regain focus.
His first sensation was one of excruciating pain and an indescribable sense of wrongness.
It felt as if he had been stuffed into a container of the wrong size.
Leon felt every single nerve in his body screaming in protest, aching and throbbing as if sounding an alarm.
Fortunately, his five senses were rapidly returning.
Leon took a deep breath, savoring the present aroma.
The air was damp and chilly, the fishy smell of earth mixing with the faint taste of blood in his mouth.
His line of sight was very low at the moment, allowing him to see only the clumps of dew-covered weeds before him.
Leon realized he was lying flat on the ground.
Gritting his teeth, he forced his body to struggle as he crawled up, not stopping until his back pressed against something rough.
He turned his head and saw a massive, rough-barked tree, only then feeling relieved and managing to steady himself into a sitting position.
This was a dim forest, surrounded by a thin black mist.
Only the faint stars glimpsed through the branches and leaves served as a light source, limiting his visibility to about seven or eight meters.
The excruciating pain in his body came relentlessly.
Leon subconsciously looked down to check his injuries, but froze instantly.
What met his eyes was a pair of unfamiliar hands.
These hands were slender and fair, with long fingers even painted with orange-red nail polish.
Though smudged with traces of dirt, they were unquestionably an extremely beautiful pair of hands.
Not only that, there was a strange sense of constraint around his chest: the feeling of a bra’s underwire digging into his ribs.
Though it was only a mere A+ cup, the slight bulge was definitely not masculine.
The loose white shirt was wide open at the collar, a ruby-encrusted pendant dangling in front of her chest.
A few strands of hair fell onto her shoulders, fading into a cherry-red gradient.
Below the extremely short black hot pants were two slender, beautiful legs clad in black bubble socks, with black platform heeled shoes on her feet.
Not only had her height shrunk and her center of gravity shifted, but it even felt chilly and empty between her legs.
“…” Leon reached out to gently touch herself over her pants, and couldn’t help but fall silent.
Sure enough, his magic rod no longer existed.
“Momo…” She opened her mouth and found that the voice she made was the crisp and sweet voice of a young girl.
Then she couldn’t help but sigh: “A Magical Girl…” In an instant, she understood everything that had just happened.
The body her consciousness was now piloting was that of a Magical Girl.
Although Leon still felt absolutely no regrets about choosing S-Rank Difficulty, this situation had clearly gone a bit too far.
Damn it, he hadn’t even finished reading I Don’t Want To Be a Heroic Spirit or Lotm before he transmigrated.
What about Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Gundam?
What kind of pilot drives a Magical Girl’s body?
He fought the urge to complain out loud, then thought of something and silently summoned his Status Panel.
[Leon (Momo)] [Talents: Precision Operation Engine (A), Soul Link (A)] [Comprehensive Evaluation: F+ (Average Main World Human Level is F)] [Game Character Ability: ★Magical Girl Transformation★ (C)…] [Comprehensive Evaluation: D- (Average Main World Human Level is F)] How is this evaluation calculated?
How can two A-Rank Talents result in a Comprehensive Evaluation of F+?
Do Talents not count?
The text on the panel can actually be in different fucking colors?
Staring at the skill name filled with cherry-red, its art style completely different from the other lines, Leon couldn’t help but sink into deep thought again.
By the way, can this body transform?
But if it can transform, where did the will and spirit of this Magical Girl named Momo go?
Did it not exist from the start?
Was it an identity he’d custom-built for himself in this game, or…
A Holy Corpse Pilot…
A Corpse…
Before he could think further, the crisp sound of a breaking branch suddenly came from the black mist ahead.
In an instant, Leon straightened his body, muscles tensing, and entered a combat-ready state.
As time passed, this teenage girl’s body seemed to conform more and more to his will.
That feeling of ease and power flowed from the tips of his limbs.
The A-Rank Talent [Precision Operation Engine] must have already taken effect, allowing Leon to begin mastering this body, which, though slender, was much stronger than his past one.
These were attributes two letters higher than his previous body’s!
Theoretically, he could kick his past self to death in one blow!
As for the remaining phantom pains…
As long as they didn’t interfere with nerve conduction, he could overcome them through sheer willpower.
Rustle.
Two eerie figures slowly emerged from the shadows of the forest.
They were doll-like beings.
The one on the left wore a tailcoat stained with dark brown blood, resembling a butler.
The one on the right wore a tattered maid’s uniform, stumbling crookedly out of the shadows.
The Butler was empty-handed, while the maid doll carried a chipped cleaver, its blade a dark crimson.
Even in the dim light, Leon could see their skin had a lifeless, pale purple hue, with distinct ball-and-socket joints.
But it was their faces that were most horrifying.
They had no features.
Where a face should have been, there was only a pitch-black hole, empty and filled with endless void.
The moment Leon saw them, they seemed to lock onto him, slowly turning their featureless faces in his direction.
Then, their once-sluggish movements vanished as they lunged forward with incredible speed.
Swoosh!
These were no neutral NPCs you could talk to.
The overwhelming pressure and blatant malice they radiated made Leon’s judgment instant.
If this was a game, then he was facing the unavoidable first battle…
No, perhaps he could have avoided it before, but now they were already too close.
He had no choice but to fight.
But how?
Leon had no memories of the original body.
His concept of “magic” was limited to various theories he’d read in books.
His physical attributes were unexpectedly powerful.
Was he supposed to fight monsters with his bare hands?
The blade drew closer and closer.
Yet, at this critical moment, a strange sensation surged from his body, or rather, from the depths of his soul.
Was the [Soul Link] and [Precision Operation Engine] kicking in?
In that instant, Leon understood.
This was the body memory of “Momo,” an instinct carved into the very bones of this form.
[Character Ability: ★Magical Girl Transformation★ (C-rank)] Now, as long as he followed this instinct, he could draw out its power.
Leon followed the feeling, raising his hand and preparing to strike the transformation’s starting pose as his body commanded.
However, the next second, his pupils shook violently again, as if struck by an earthquake of magnitude eight.
This instinct was telling him.
In this world, a Magical Girl’s transformation…
…really did require reciting lines and striking poses.