[Have fun gaming every day—may health and happiness always be with you!]
As soon as Okane Kichiro's vision returned to normal, a line of glowing text appeared out of thin air before him, leaving him utterly bewildered.
[Welcome to Paradise, dear player. A random talent will now be assigned to you!]
No sooner had the first message faded than another one replaced it.
"Wait—what's going on?"
His last memory was of picking up a ticket to an amusement park on the street. The next instant, the world had spun, and he'd found himself in this bizarre place.
Whatever was behind those floating words clearly had no intention of answering him.
Lines of text in shifting colors began rapidly scrolling up and down. Even though Okane Kichiro had no clue what was happening, judging from the system-like messages, he could guess this was some sort of selection process. His pulse quickened in nervous anticipation.
A few seconds later
The scrolling text stopped.
[Clear World Vision!] (Golden)
"…Why does that sound familiar?"
[Talent Awakening in Progress]
Before Okane Kichiro could process the words, searing pain flooded every inch of his body. His vision dimmed—he nearly blacked out.
[To provide an intuitive measure of the player's overall attributes, semi-datafication will now begin.]
[Warning: 'Semi-datafication' only enhances combat performance. Severe damage to vital organs such as the heart or brain will still result in death. Please proceed with caution when exploring the 'Derivative Plane'.]
[The game is about to begin. Enjoy your stay!]
"Wait—at least let me catch my breath first!"
Okane Kichiro cried out in panic. What kind of game demanded a player's life? "Paradise"? More like hell!
But his protests went unheard. A pillar of light descended from above, engulfing him completely.
When his senses returned, he was no longer in that strange void but standing in the middle of a pitch-black forest.
"All I did was pick up a ticket! Does it really have to be like this?!"
He grumbled in frustration, but right now, all he could do was take it one step at a time.
Then, the familiar glowing text appeared again—this time directly on his retina.
[Derivative World: Demon Slayer]
[World Difficulty: Lv.3 (Hard)]
[Main Quest: Within three months, slay any one member of the Twelve Kizuki (or any Hashira).]
[Tip: First-time entrants automatically acquire fluency in the local language.]
[Tip: Rewards for completing the main quest depend on kill difficulty and contribution level.]
[Tip: Do NOT mention anything about "Paradise" within this world. Violations will result in a warning; repeated offenses will lead to account deletion.]
"Account deletion? Are you sure it's not player deletion?"
[Game Start!]
"Demon Slayer?!"
Okane Kichiro froze. Wasn't that the anime he'd watched in his previous life? How did it become a Derivative World in this so-called Paradise?
And that main quest—kill a member of the Twelve Kizuki or a Hashira?
Was this some kind of joke? He was just a college freshman who could barely win a pillow fight!
"…Forget it. I'll deal with that later."
When he'd been transported here, Paradise had also implanted some information in his mind. With a thought, a glowing interface appeared before him.
Personal Info
Quests
Inventory
Skills
Simple and easy to navigate. Okane Kichiro opened the Personal Info tab.
Name: Okane Kichiro (Player ID: 7274)
Level: Lv.1 (Levels grant no direct stat bonuses. Each level-up provides 2 attribute points.)
Health: 100% (Partially datafied; varies with actual injury)
Strength: 4 (Affects attack power, carrying capacity)
Agility: 6 (Affects movement and attack speed)
Endurance: 5 (Affects HP, defense, abnormal resistance)
Intelligence: 6 (Affects magic power, mana, perception)
Charisma: 6 (Affects social skills, summoning potential)
Luck: 5 (Affects drop rates, crafting, etc. Extremely difficult to raise; cannot be increased via attribute points.)
[Note: Average adult male has 5 in all attributes; average Luck is 1.]
Talent: Clear World Vision (Gold)
[Note: One of the most coveted abilities among martial artists—the ultimate realm of perception.]
Okane Kichiro studied the screen several times, nodding in satisfaction. "Handsome as hell. Not bad, me."
Just as he was admiring his avatar, a chilling sound echoed through the forest—something breathing heavily, like a starving beast salivating over its prey.
Before he could turn, a gust of foul wind surged from behind, aimed straight at the back of his head.
His heart clenched. His blood rushed violently through his veins. In that instant, the entire world seemed to slow down.
No time to look—Okane Kichiro dove forward and rolled across the ground, narrowly avoiding the strike.
But his attacker wasn't done. Missing once, it lunged at him again. This time, he caught a glimpse of it under the pale moonlight.
A gaunt, hollow-eyed creature drooled incessantly, its crimson pupils brimKichiro with madness.
"Flesh… give me flesh… so hungry… starving…"
"A demon?!"
The realization hit him instantly. He sidestepped another pounce. The creature looked terrifying, but its movements were sluggish—it was clearly starving, not strong.
"A human…! I haven't seen one in so long! Just one bite… just a bite…"
"Get lost! That human's mine!"
"…What the hell."
Okane Kichiro barely had time to exhale before more voices rose from the darkness. Turning around, he saw several more demons emerging, eyes glinting hungrily.
"***Paradise!!!"
[Warning: Player must not insult or defame Paradise! Further violations will result in monetary penalties!]
"…"
Okane Kichiro had no time to curse further. As the demons advanced, he instinctively backed away—until his heel struck something hard. He glanced down.
A broken blade.
He snatched it up without thinking, gripping it tightly as he faced the encroaching demons.
The blade was rusted beyond belief, probably weathered by years of rain and wind. Forget cutting off a demon's head—it might not even slice a branch cleanly.
"So much for that Luck stat. What a scam."
"What's this guy trying to do—give us a manicure with that thing?"
"Enough talk! I'm starving!"
"Fine, but I get a leg!"
The horde lunged all at once.
Okane Kichiro could only watch as they charged, a grotesque stampede of twisted bodies and gnashing teeth—reminding him, absurdly, of his university cafeteria during lunch hour.
Except this time… he was the meal on the table.