⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Reader, be honest. You're not trying to change the ending—you're just trying to ruin it, aren't you?
A system window popped up in front of me, relentlessly scolding me.
I tried to avert my gaze and ignore it, but it stubbornly followed my eyes.
"Even if I had ten mouths, I'd have nothing to say."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Even if you had ten mouths?
"Sorry. I didn't expect it to turn out like this."
No matter what I said, it just sounded like an excuse.
I decided to lay my true feelings bare.
"Before coming here, when I used magic against Marten and his thugs, it didn't have anywhere near this kind of ridiculous power. So I thought it'd be fine."
When I possessed this body and Solis's memories were implanted, I could already handle Marten and his ragtag crew with ease. But just in case, I kept a low profile, practicing mana circulation and spellcasting in secret.
After all, I was a possessor who'd never wielded mana before, let alone possessed a body like this, so I had to be cautious.
Contrary to my worries, it hadn't even been a few days before I fully assimilated all of Solis's magic and wiped out Marten's gang.
"I used Solar Body back then too and went all out, but the most it did was make me a bit faster and shoot lasers from my fingers. You saw it yourself."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Now that I think about it, that's weird. At this point in the story, Solis should barely be able to punch a hole in the barrier at best.
The clash between Solis and Eva happens toward the end of Part 3, three years from now. Sure, he'd be a mid-boss by then, but right now, he was just unripe fruit.
It was a clear fact that the strength I knew from the novel as a reader didn't match Solis's own memories.
Unless he pulled out his halo, no amount of effort would bridge that gap normally.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Wait, could it be...!
"Something come to mind?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙It's just a guess, but maybe it's because your soul and body compatibility is too high.
"Explain in detail."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙You can't just shove a soul into any body for possession. It has to settle into a body that's as similar as possible to the one it lingered in before.
Ah, so that's the lore?
From the author's explanation, it seemed possession here required specific conditions.
"So that's why you shoved me into this trash body."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙I carefully chose it considering your original build, and to make sure the story progresses smoothly.
A body honed with trained muscles. Nearly two meters tall, with the frame to match.
Barring the bronze skin and blond hair, it resembled me from Earth in many ways.
Back in my childhood, I was abnormally large compared to other kids, so I got teased as a giant a lot. Once I bulked up with workouts, the mocking voices shut right up.
"What if I were small and scrawny instead?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Then it'd be like pheasant or chicken—I'd have picked a mana-rich girl's body instead.
"So I almost got force-fed a TS yuri route, huh."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Wouldn't that be fine? You like TS stuff anyway, reader.
"I enjoy it as fiction. If it happened to me, nothing could be worse."
A future where I kept a man's memories but watched my nether regions grow empty, slowly settling into a woman's identity until I fell into depravity as a female...
"I'm cumming just from your fingers in my pathetic pussy! No way in hell am I spouting lines like that as a man."
⚠️ RANT MODE ⚠️You crazy bastard! Is TS lit porn?! Lie down and shut up with that crap!
"Doesn't seem much different—both are built on men's fantasies."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Stop with the nonsense that drags down the male average. It's embarrassing me just hearing it.
"You're a guy?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙No, I'm a woman.
"That explains the petty tantrum over a shitpost, foaming at the mouth, and shoving someone into this dumpster fire of a world. Auntie needs her hysteria meds."
⚠️ RANT MODE ⚠️You dog! ^^#%@$!$!
After that, the author hurled curses at me, but I ignored every one.
More importantly, I needed the conclusion to our earlier topic.
"But does good soul-body compatibility alone really produce power like this?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙...Anyone else, maybe not. But you're the reader. You know this body and its owner far better than he knew himself. Even the origin of his mana.
Ah, I get it. That's it.
I'd figured it out—the core of my power!
The difference was I learned it from thoroughly reading the novel settings, not from enlightenment on the brink of death, but enlightenment was enlightenment.
"Now that I know the cause, I'll just be more careful."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙The accident's already happened big time, and you're chill about it.
"Can't undo the past. Clinging to it just makes a tough world even harder."
Might as well think positive since it's done.
Plan A—hide my power, infiltrate the academy, secretly aid the protagonist—was scrapped.
"On to Plan B. Boldly tell the academy staff I broke the barrier and snag a student spot."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Ugh, I can't even with you!
"And? If you don't like it, what can you do about it?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Fine, just hurry to the stadium! Someone else might beat you to it.
Maybe she had a point—better hustle.
The city was already swarming with opportunists plunged into chaos.
"The barrier's down, no idea why!"
"Outta the way, I'm first!"
With the supposedly insurmountable wall crumbled, those who'd dreamed of academy life their whole lives saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime shot and shoved past rivals.
The once-quiet streets were now jammed solid, no room to step.
'Piece of cake for me right now.'
Not as bad as Korea crowds, but I'd dealt with similar.
Hyped for AGF, endless lines, entrance looking miles away. I even thought climbing the building might be faster.
Just a fantasy then. Here, I could make it real.
"Let's go!"
I circulated mana through my body again, reactivating Solar Body.
To avoid the previous mistake, I dialed back the mana and kicked off the ground.
It looked like a simple jump, but the height was otherworldly.
Leaping high enough to touch a skyscraper roof, floating like I was flying through the sky.
Gravity pulled me down soon after, but before that, I planted my shoe sole on the building's glass wall.
Focusing mana there, my feet stuck like pizza dough with extra cheese.
"I'll run the buildings to the stadium. Not bad for an on-the-spot idea, right?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Less chatter, more steps.
"Whoa, easy there. Departing now."
Our author wants it, so oblige. I wrapped mana around my toes and kicked off the wall, sprinting upward.
Like an infected superhuman from a game kicking off walls, or a spider-man swinging between buildings in a movie.
Cool wind seeped into my lungs, awakening every sense. A thrilling freshness shed the shell of my worries.
'This is it—the munchkin possession vibe.'
Hiding strength is the charm for some munchkins, but I say if you've got power, swing it wide.
My skills grew way beyond expectations, so any obstacles in my path? Smash right through, no hesitation.
Attention from others? Inevitable anyway. Being a mana-wielding guy guaranteed that spotlight.
So no holding back.
Like a canary breaking free from its rusty cage, let's soar spectacularly!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙That's the dome stadium over there.
"Made it quick."
Running the building surfaces let me bypass the surging crowd, arriving right at the destination.
The stadium entrance was packed, but not yet an impenetrable wall.
Just push through to the info desk and submit the application—done.
"Pl-please g-give it b-back!"
Amid the noisy throng, a desperately stuttering scream pierced through. That odd, frantic tone stabbed my ears.
A voice I'd never heard in life, but its unique stutter matched perfectly with a novel character I'd read about.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Reader?
I ignored the author's bewildered question on purpose and launched myself not toward the entrance, but into the crowd's center where the voice came from.
BAM!
"Wh-what...!"
"Oh god, a person fell from the sky!"
Amid the shocked crowd, I locked eyes on the pitiful figure trembling in the throng.
"S-s-sorry! I w-won't come out ag-gain..."
It was identical.
Exactly as vividly described in the novel.
A person huddled under a blanket embroidered with cute characters and animals, acting like they desperately didn't want anyone to see them.
"Met you sooner than expected."
Eva Amethyst
The protagonist of Academy Lily Princess.
Where's Chloe? Why's she alone?