"I can't believe it... Sniffles," Ryusei muttered while walking to school, her head downcast.
"I can't believe I'm stuck here in this world... Of all places, it had to be DxD..."
The weight of her new reality pressed down on her. She let out a deep sigh before opening her system menu.
________________________________________
[Status:]
[Name: Ryusei Okkotsu]
[Level: 1]
[Race: Human]
[Job: NONE]
[Titles: The Player]
[HP: 160/160]
[CE: LOCKED]
[MP: 100]
[Stat Points: 0]
[Packages: Jujutsu Kaisen, Solo Leveling, Ragna Crimson]
[Gacha Tickets: 5x]
________________________________________
"So I really do have a system… but it's not like I'm going to use it," Ryusei said, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "I'm too much of a coward, to be honest. Maybe I can live in this world normally… Maybe it won't be that bad as long as I stay away from the main character."
Oh, how wrong she was.
{Kouh Academy}
Ryusei stood in the school courtyard, watching three familiar perverted boys sprint past her, screaming for their lives. A mob of enraged girls wielding wooden kendo sticks chased after them.
Before she could process the scene, a voice called out to her.
"H-Hey, new kid!"
NO!
Ryusei turns around and tries going the other way when a hand touches her shoulder.
Fuck!
"Come on! Help me out here! Those girls are crazy!"
A boy with spiky brown hair and light brown eyes stood before her, looking desperate. Issei Hyoudou.
Ryusei's eye twitched.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Ryusei turns to run away only to slam face-first into a solid wall.
THUD!
Everything went black.
'Ow....my head...'
_____________________________________________
[Hidden Quest Complete!]
_____________________________________________
'A hidden Quest?' Ryusei sits up from the bed she looks around realizing she's in the nurses office.
"Did I seriously knock myself out?" She held her face in her hands. "So embarrassing... I totally made a fool of myself...."
'I guess I should see what this hidden Quest is about..' She opens the system back up and taps on the hidden Quest notification.
_____________________________________________
[Hidden Quest: Completed!]
Meet Issei Hyoudou!
Rewards:
• Skill: Appraisal
• Random Loot Box (1x)
• D-Rank Skill Book (1x)
_____________________________________________
"Was that seriously a hidden Quest!? Great, now the system is making fun of me!" She falls back onto the bed pulling the sheets over herself. 'I'll check out the rewards later...'
Ryusei laid there for a moment before the covers were pulled off by the school nurse. "I see you're feeling better. Your friend is waiting for you."
'My friend?'
The nurse gives Ryusei a pink slip before pushing her out the door. "Have a nice day!" The door slams shut behind her.
"Hey, glad you're okay!"
'It's him again!' Ryusei froze seeing Issei.
_____________________________________________
[Skill Activated: Appraisal]
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
[Name: Issei Hyoudou
Age: 17
Level: 1
Sacred Gear: (LOCKED)
Compared to Player: Equal]
_____________________________________________
'Damn, does my [Appraisal] skill activate on its own? Or did I accidentally do that?'
"Anyways, I'm Issei Hyoudou. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." He says.
"Uh, thanks... I'm Ryusei Okkotsu. How long was I out for?"
"The entire school day, lucky you." Issei says.
"WHAT!!" Ryusei fell to her knees.
{Later}
Ryusei let out a deep sigh as she stepped out of Kouh Academy's gates.
She adjusted the strap of her bag and started walking, her mind still replaying everything that had happened.
"First day, and I already embarrassed myself…" she muttered. "How did I even knock myself out in the first place? That wall wasn't there...was it?"
'I need to check my system when I get home… See what that loot box and skill book gave me.'
The idea of having a system—one that apparently gave her skills and rewards—still felt unreal. She had spent years reading about systems in novels and games, but experiencing one firsthand was something else entirely.
'Still… I don't want to get involved. If I just lay low, I can live a normal life here.' But deep down, a nagging feeling told her that avoiding it would be impossible.
Ryusei let out a tired sigh as she reached the front door of her house. She fished out her keys and unlocked the door, stepping inside.
"I'm home..." she called out, kicking off her shoes at the entrance.
"Welcome home, Ryusei!" a warm voice called from the kitchen.
Ryusei peeked around the corner to see her older sister Haruka standing by the stove, stirring a pot. She had long, wavy dark hair tied back in a loose ponytail and wore a simple apron over her casual clothes. The scent of miso soup and grilled fish filled the air.
"You're just in time! Dinner's almost ready," her sister said, flashing her a smile.
"Rough day?" Haruka asked, giving Ryusei a knowing look.
"You have no idea..." Ryusei mumbled as she slumped into a chair at the dining table.
Her sister chuckled. "Well, eat first, complain later. Food makes everything better."
Ryusei smiled and started eating. 'This isn't so bad...'
{Ryusei's bedroom- Night}
Ryusei lay sprawled out on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The weight of the day pressed down on her as she tried to process everything.
"I just need to sleep... forget everything... pretend none of this is happening..." she thought, rolling onto her side and pulling the blanket over her head. The quiet ticking of the clock on her nightstand filled the room, the rhythmic sound lulling her toward unconsciousness.
Then—
Ding!
A sharp chime echoed in her ears.
_____________________________________________
[Player has failed to complete the Daily quest. Penalty Zone Activation: 12:00 AM]
[Good Luck.]
_____________________________________________
"The fuck!???"
Before she could even react, her body was suddenly engulfed in a dark blue glow. A weightless sensation overtook her, as if she had been yanked out of reality itself. Her room dissolved into nothingness, replaced by a desert.
Ryusei coughs up sand before getting up and dusting herself off. "Stupid system...what exactly am I supposed to do here!?"
_____________________________________________
[Penalty Quest: Survive for 4 hours!]
Rewards:
• Random Loot Box (1x)
• Stat Points +10
• Bonus Level (1x)
_____________________________________________
"Survive...?" She looked around, scanning the horizon. "Survive against what? There's nothing he—"
RUMBLE.
The ground beneath her trembled violently. A deep, guttural chittering echoed from beneath the sand.
Ryusei's body stiffened as realization hit. "Oh no..."
The trembling intensified, and before she could react.
BOOM!
The earth behind her exploded, sending a massive cloud of sand into the air. Ryusei instinctively shielded her face, her heart slamming against her ribs.
Emerging from the dust cloud was a monstrous Centipede like creature. Its segmented body stretched over twenty meters long, with dark, chitinous armor that gleamed under the dim sky. Its dozens of red, beady eyes locked onto her, and its massive mandibles dripped with a thick, green venom.
_____________________________________________
[Poisoned-Toothed Giant Desert Centipede]
Level: ???
Threat Level: Immediate Death
_____________________________________________
"...YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Ryusei screamed, immediately turning and sprinting as fast as she could.
The centipede let out a screech, its many legs scuttling forward at terrifying speed. The ground quaked with every movement as it burrowed in and out of the sand, chasing its lone prey.
Ryusei had no weapons, no plan, and no clue how she was supposed to survive four whole hours against something that could kill her in seconds.
'I hate this game! I hate this game! I hate this game!' She thought frantically as she ran, her lungs burning.
The centipede screeched again and lunged.