[ PROLOGUE: "PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR CLASS" ]
"Why are you so loud, can't you see I'm sleeping, bro!?"
Joshua asked the ski-mask wearing, weirdo in front of him, a little more agitated than he was supposed to. That agitation was probably due to the sickening headache that he is currently feeling, caused by lack of sleep.
And also because his wallet is empty, having already spent most of his allowance on books and clothes; both of which are considered extensive by his sister.
Lastly, he was rudely woken up by the said ski-mask wearing, weirdo... Who doesn't seem to look like a student of his school, or someone he recognizes.
Scratch that, in actuality, now that he had a closer look, he could see that the person huddled near the door doesn't look like the type of person that he would easily trust near adolescent teens, or even children at that.
Thanks to the black ski-mask, dark clothing, weird actions and wide eyes, all of that plus more.
"Wh—what?! Wait, who the hell are you?!"
Slow, dumb, head ALWAYS in the clouds. Say what you want about Joshua, but at the moment, he is utterly bewildered as the said ski-mask wearing guy—who's holding a flip phone, equally shocked, if not more—spoke.
"Nanami-san, tatemono no naka ni mada seito ga imasu!"
Though Joshua became even more surprised, as the weirdo didn't speak English—or French, as Joshua knows a little bit of that—but instead the guy spoke Japanese...
Or so what he suspects, but is very likely, as he does watch anime from time to time. Always with English subtitles, never dubbed.
So he can at least, with 96% certainty, say that Bob the Robber-like man just spoke Japanese.
Oh, and also because of the easily noticeable "-san" right after the masked guy said Nanami.
The latter of which reminds him of a certain blonde anime character that he mourned the death of... Cried ugly man-tears to be honest, which is rare.
Does that make sense? Make it make sense.
"And why are you speaking Japanese?!?"
"Koko kara tsuredasu, ima sugu na!"
"You're kinda freaking me out, dude."
Amazed but also scared, Joshua who only heard Japanese through anime, clasped his mouth using his hand as the Otaku inside him was satisfied—by hearing fluent Japanese firsthand.
No matter how weird the situation may be
'Though, why is he approaching me...' But that amazement stopped when he noticed the said figure, seemingly about to lunge at him, hand in karate chop motion. 'Menacingly...?'
About to react, he couldn't. He wasn't given the time, as the said Japanese dude disappeared from his sight like a blur—which shouldn't be possible—before then chopping his neck, causing him to fade into unconsciousness right after.
'Oh... crap...'
"Sumimasen."
[ -----| SCENE BREAK |----- ]
"No, not my neck!"
Reacting to the chop right after it happened, Joshua opened his eyes and raised his arm to cover his nape. Funnily enough, he was about 2-3 seconds late to do so.
Actually, he only thought that knocking someone out by chopping their nape was a myth. Actually, it was confirmed to be a myth, by some sites and videos he watched...
Apparently those guys were wrong. And ultimately, Joshua was the one to prove that such a myth was indeed, a fact. "Damn that hurts."
Gritting his teeth, he could feel the stinging pain of that karate chop. Which is dangerous, as people could easily get brain damage, or die by getting hit in the nape.
"Hey, asswipe. Wh—" Wanting for his complaints to be heard, he was about to yell at the guy that knocked him out. But realized no one was there.
To be more accurate, he was nowhere. He could even argue that this is the void, space, Limbo, as the only color prominent in the place that he's in, is black.
Pure black, not the same with plain old black. Because the latter could be easily achieved by closing his eyes, but this one... This one could be considered unnatural.
"Why am I in the shadow realm?"
Bewildered, he stomped his feet on the "ground", and could feel solid. Similar to a floor tile, albeit the same color as the "walls", and the "sky" of the place. Pure darkness.
Then he remembered the neck chop that the shiesty-looking guy gave him, and immediately furrowed his brows in worry. "Did I just... die?"
[ WELCOME PLAYER, CONGRATULATIONS FOR BEING CHOSEN BY THE SYSTEM ]
"I did..." He coughed and noticed a text flicker into existence in front of him, reminiscent of the Systems from stories he read; and yes, it confirmed that he did in fact die.
"I died... just like... that?!" That he died, or currently in a coma, brain dead. The latter is more likely than the former, which is both hilarious and depressing at the same time.
Joshua doesn't want to jump into conclusions yet, so he tried to ignore that trail of thoughts, and instead glanced at the magical floating text in front of him. One that belongs to the System, which made him... fascinated.
"But wait, Systems do exist?"
If Conclusion A is true. That Systems do in fact exist. Then Conclusion B, which is that, animes and other fictional stories that have Systems is likely to be true as well.
"That means... all those stories exist too!" Slim chance, but the chance is indeed there.
Much better than the 1% conclusion that he had when he didn't know that Systems do exist. Or that, when he hadn't found out that people with black masks, can in actuality move so fast that they almost look like blurs to normies.
"How about... others?" Naruto, One Piece, and other such animes exist. The possibility shot up to 95%, yes. But how about other forms of media?
Like per say, video games. Do they exist? Not simply as games, controlled by players; instead, in their own way, with characters having life of their own. The ability to choose which way to go, without the players' input.
That sounds exciting.
Blinking for a second, Joshua once again stopped his trail of thoughts from sinking deeper into bizarre theories, as he remembers that nothing good ever happens whenever he day dreams—head in the clouds.
He either bumps his head into something, or gets lost, and forgets that he is staring at someone... Which at some point, if he's unlucky, would call him out as a pervert.
That said someone, being a 3/10 on a good day, a 4/10 with heavy makeup, and 2/10 on any other day.
The text from the System, disappeared, flickering out of existence. Which easily caught Joshua's attention. "What..."
But then seconds later, cards started appearing from the ground, which then flew up in the air all-around Joshua.
Counting it all, their numbers would easily reach more than a hundred, as they tower over him. Standing in position, as they all form a circular cage of some sort, with him in the middle. "...in tarnation is happening?!"
[ PLEASE CHOOSE YOUR CLASS ]
"Nevermind, I like this." Initially he was confused, but when he read the System's text—which flickered into existence—that easily turned into excitement.
His eyes trailed on each one of the cards, and quickly as he did, he immediately noticed that each card was different. To be precise, they each have a picture showcasing their class, alongside the class name of course.
[ CHEF (1 STAR) ]
[ WARRIOR (2 STAR) ]
[ DRUID SPIRIT (3 STAR) ]
[ FRANKENDUDE (2 STAR) ]
[ RAT ENGINEER (2 STAR) ]
[ ... ]
For cards that has 1 star besides it, he could see other classes that seems to be normal every day classes. Nothing special. For example: Alchemist, Forager, Merchant, Farmer, Apothecary, Blacksmith, Mob, Cleric, so-on and so-forth.
For cards with 2 stars on the other hand, they are nearly the same, common classes, yes. But common in the medieval sense—medieval-fantasy—as magic seems to be included in them. For example: Paladin, Drunken Brawler, Monk, Slayer, Mage, Barbarian, Tax Collector, and more.
If 1 stars and 2 stars are abundant, ranging easily more than a hundred. Then the more stars there are in the card, the less so they come in rarity.
Joshua could only see a handful of 3 star cards, even with him trying to search for such cards. He could only see about a handful, about 1 in 20.
Pigeon Lord, Angry Florist, Fungi Enthusiast, Sentient Pest Hive-Mind, Eldritch Janitor, Plague Alchemist, Phantom Duelist, Mad Scientist, Elemental Mage, High Priest.
Arguably, his vision is quite poor for his age, so he might have mistook some lower star cards as high, and some higher cards as low. Or that, he might have missed a couple, as the cards do be towering him just by sheer quantity.
"Funny." He reads the names of the 3 star cards and couldn't help but chuckle. He wasn't interested in lower star cards, as he knows those are limiting, or that, they aren't good in comparison to higher star cards.
Or so what his game experience says to him. Even though he wasn't content with the 3 star cards, he still analyzed each one of them, trying to see which one would give the most benefit in most situations.
Even if he doesn't know exactly why he needs to pick a class in the first place. His best guess at the moment is that, he'll be isekai'd to another world—preferably fantasy.
"Is there anyone better, all of this stinks." He eyed the classes, and the names. And he couldn't help but gag at the depiction shown. What do you mean he'll be a sentient hive-mind for pest; that sounds painful.
So instead of choosing, he instead tried searching for a better class—which he hopes actually exists—4 to 5 star cards that is. Looking up, he could see other prospects.
For him, though, it was difficult to see. As he couldn't properly read the cards names, coming off as a blur for him. So he squinted his eyes, in hopes that it might work.
[ LEONARDO DA VINCI (3 STAR) ]
[ COLA-POWERED CYBORG (2 STAR) ]
[ PSEUDO-EXORCIST (2 STAR) ]
[ CARPENTER (1 STAR) ]
[ NECROMANCER (4 STAR) ]
[ ... ]
About to continue his search and go-on and on. "Wait a minute..." He paused, as he then whipped his head to the side, remembering a card that has a scythe-wielding blank-faced person on the forefront of the depiction.
"I was right!" And he is indeed right. "Holy ass pull..."
Necromancer! A 4-star prospect, the highest amongst the cards that he had seen so far. And to be frank, Joshua who loves both anime and games, could agree, that this is the best card for him. For a lazy bastard that is.
Because, in the media, he knows. Necromancer is either genuinely underestimated, or genuinely praised to be the best. For example, Solo Leveling—that anime has a Necromancer for a protagonist.
Previously he wasn't, but he received a class change. He was previously a melee class, but turned into a mage. Which is funny, because he primarily uses daggers, and is fast, the agility type of player.
But once he experienced a little bit of power from the Necromancer class. Wasn't he amazed? He was, so does the people around him, and so does everyone else. That was when the aura farming started.
And the main appeal of the story for him, and for many others, as that single story paved a way for the Necromancy type—as far as he knows—to be awesome rather than evil.
Or one that only belongs to enemy type monsters, or monologuing final bosses.
[ NECROMANCER (4 STAR) ]
Genuinely excited, more-so in comparison to the System. Joshua was already thinking about thousands of possibilities on how to use his soon-to-be unlocked abilities.
"Wait." But that was when he realized a tiny, small problem that may affect his dream of being a chill, aura farming Necromancer. And that is...
"How am I gonna reach that again?" The height, he can't reach the card even if he wanted. His lanky limbs could only go so far. "Is there a ladder here, somewhere? Please."
[ ---------- ] [ ---------- ] [ ---------- ] [ ---------- ]
[ FUN FACT: "Jujutsu Kaisen (abbreviated as JJK) is a powerhouse Japanese manga and anime created by Gege Akutami. It debuted in 2018, and since has become one of the most popular Shonen (targeted at young teens) series in the world; known for its dark themes, intricate magic system, and high-stakes action." ]