Kazuki Ren felt the universe reboot at 7:42 a.m. in downtown Kuoh.
One second he was adjusting the borrowed blazer of his new school uniform; the next, a translucent message hovered above the fountain:
> [LEVEL-UP SYSTEM INITIALIZING … 0 XP]
The words glowed cobalt, untouchable, and absolutely invisible to the Saturday shoppers strolling past. A cold thrill slid down Kazuki's spine. Right—reincarnation wasn't a dream. He'd woken in this world a month ago with memories from his previous life and a silent promise never to look crazy in public. Staring gape-mouthed at holograms no one else could see violated that promise, so he schooled his face into pleasant boredom and kept walking.
A child's scream snapped the calm. Ten meters away, a little boy tumbled across the plaza, chased by what looked—at first glance—like a huge bat. Kuoh Park hosted its share of odd fauna, but this thing had barbed foreclaws and sickly green eyes. Kazuki's hidden display pulsed red:
> STRAY FAMILIAR – Threat: Low – 25 XP
Instinct yelled run, but the boy's mother was frozen in shock. Kazuki's heart kicked. He spotted an umbrella-shaft protruding from a trash barrel, yanked it free, and launched himself forward.
The Familiar veered, wings scraping tile. Kazuki slid between creature and child, pivoted on one heel the way street-soccer days had taught him, and slammed the metal tube across the bat's jaw. A wet crunch; violet motes erupted like shattered pixels.
> +18 XP – Total 18/100
Adrenaline roared louder than the fountain. The Familiar dissolved into greasy smoke that no one around him seemed to notice. The mother scooped her son up, bowing frantic thanks before hurrying off. Bystanders blinked—as if a gust had ruffled their hair and nothing more.
Kazuki leaned on the umbrella, chest heaving. Eighteen percent to whatever comes next. He risked a smile, small and private, then slipped the umbrella back in the bin and headed for the main road before questions found him.
---
The apartment the school board had arranged was a cramped studio over a closed bakery—quiet, cheap, perfect. That night Kazuki sat cross-legged on the futon, the cobalt panel floating at eye-level.
KAZUKI REN – Lv 1
STR 5 | AGI 6 | VIT 5 | MAG 5 | LUCK 10
XP 18 / 100
STAT POINTS 0
The numbers meant nothing yet, but the Luck 10 made him huff a laugh. You probably needed double digits in luck to die once, reincarnate into an ecchi light-novel universe, and not land inside the villain's body.
He reached to swipe the window away—half expecting his fingers to pass through light. They did, but the panel wisped out regardless. Okay… non-haptic gestures. Nice. He lay back, silver fringe brushing his lashes, eyes on the ceiling. Tomorrow he'd transfer into Kuoh Academy—co-ed for only a year and already crawling with rumors about its occult club. In canon that meant devils. In real life? He'd find out.
It took a long while to fall asleep, partly from nerves, partly from the low-key buzz of those floating numbers promising that the next fight would feel even better.
---
Monday dawned bright enough to bleach winter from the cherry trees. Kazuki walked the cobbled lane toward Kuoh's gate, trying to look like any seventeen-year-old. The attempt failed; whispers chased him the moment he stepped onto campus. Silver hair down to his collar, heterochromic eyes—one teal, one molten gold— and a face delicate enough that two girls gasped, covering their mouths, convinced the new "beauty" was a transfer idol. He bowed politely and kept moving.
Shoe-locker row became an ambush site. Three boys with reputations for nosebleed daydreams—Issei Hyoudou and his sidekicks—cut him off. Issei pointed. "Dude! Those eyes would slay the kendo club!" Then, almost pleading, "Say you're not a model… please?"
Kazuki's invisible screen pinged:
> [SOCIAL EVENT: SURVIVE THE TRIO] Reward +5 XP
He hid a grin. "Sorry, no agency. Just here to study." He brushed past with a nod that conveyed conspiratorial solidarity rather than disdain. The trio deflated but let him go; a fresh +5 glimmered in the corner of his vision. Evidently, style mattered.
Classes blurred: trigonometry, literature, PE where his base stats let him outrun half the track team without breaking form. After final bell a first-year slipped him a scarlet envelope. Occult Research Club summons. The seal was a weeping rose.
Twilight painted the abandoned school building in bruised gold. He entered a dim parlor scented of tea and polished wood. Rias Gremory sat behind a mahogany desk, crimson hair pooling like wildfire over her shoulders. At her left leaned Kiba Yuuto—smile bright, eyes sword-sharp. On the chaise to the right, Akeno Himejima stirred porcelain, while Koneko Toujou perched silent as a snow-cat on the armrest.
Rias's voice was velvet edged in authority. "Kazuki Ren. You sensed and neutralized a Familiar yesterday. Humans don't see those."
Kazuki's pulse quickened. Lie? No. Lies unraveled. But truth needed trimming. "I notice things other people miss," he said, calm. "Let's call it a knack."
Rias tapped a stack of dossiers. "We call that potential. Observe our club for a while. Tonight, a routine extermination. If you still want ordinary after that, we'll erase your memory."
Erase? The word iced his spine, but he nodded. Adventure had been inevitable since the blue panel first blinked. Better to step forward than be dragged.
> [QUEST ACCEPTED: FIRST HUNT WITH GREMORY PEERAGE]
---
Night settled thick over an abandoned paint-factory on the industrial fringe. Rusted drums dotted the floor like forgotten checker pieces. Kazuki's HUD listed the target:
> STRAY DEVIL (Former Low-Class) – Threat: Moderate – 80 XP
He crouched behind Kiba as Rias gave hand signals. Issei—newly recruited pawn—trembled beside him. Kazuki recalled anime frames of this boy's future—the boy who would one day wield the Red Dragon Emperor. Reality felt denser than ink.
The stray devil barreled from the rafters, centipede-limbs skittering. Koneko met it with a stone-cracking punch; Kiba's blade flashed silver arcs. Kazuki darted wide, pipe in hand again, waiting for the right moment. His XP read 94/100. One solid strike and—
The stray lunged at Koneko's unguarded flank. Kazuki slid low, sweeping the pipe into its shins. Impact boomed. Purple gore splashed his sleeve. +12 XP. LEVEL UP! Gold particles spiraled round him; stats beckoned.
But before he could assign the single point, the blue panel glitched purple.
> SHADOW AUTHORITY IDENTIFIED.
SYNC… 3%… 67%… COMPLETE.
[SHADOW MONARCH Lv 1]
A barbed crown icon lodged beside his main display. Cold washed through his marrow—alien, exhilarating. The stray devil's corpse twitched, then rose, hollow-eyed, kneeling as if in fealty.
Koneko backed a step. Kiba's sword lowered. Rias's gaze sparkled with something between fascination and caution. "Unexpected," she murmured.
Kazuki forced breath steady. No explaining pop-ups. Rule one. He bowed slightly. "Stray neutralized, President."
Rias's answering smile was sharp. "Indeed. And it appears you've recruited it."
Behind her, Akeno's laugh rolled like distant thunder. "Ara, ara… Kuoh just grew more interesting."
Kazuki flexed numb fingers while the new Shadow fell in line at his back. XP: 6 / 200 whispered in the corner, promising the next ascent. For the first time since reincarnation, he believed he might shape this world instead of merely surviving it.
---
End of Chapter 1