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Late spring. Dusk.
The cherry blossom trees lining the school path were in full bloom, petals glowing soft pink under the fading light.
The sunset hung low like a golden yolk, the air warm and hazy. A gentle breeze drifted through, shaking loose clusters of petals that fell like a quiet, romantic snowfall.
Andrew walked along the pebble path blanketed in blossoms, stopping every few steps to glance at his phone and look around.
Honestly, he looked just like someone playing Pokémon GO.
"Should be somewhere around here…"
And yeah, he was playing an AR game. Just… not Pokémon GO.
The game was called "Urban Legends."
A seriously weird one.
It had appeared on his phone out of nowhere. No download history, nothing online about it, and no way to uninstall it.
When you opened it, all you got was a flat map with one instruction: go to a specific real-world location to start.
And that location?
Right inside the campus of the public Hanasaki High School he attended.
Thinking, maybe this is some kind of isekai bonus cheat or something, Andrew decided to give it a shot.
Following the in-game marker, he adjusted his position slightly, stepped five meters to the right, and stopped in front of a large cherry tree.
Buzz. Buzz.
His phone vibrated.
[Start Game]
The button appeared on screen.
"Finally."
A mix of nerves, excitement, and something he couldn't quite name bubbled up as he tapped it.
And then—
The screen went black.
"…Huh?"
Andrew tapped it again. Pressed the power button. Nothing.
His perfectly fine phone had just turned into a brick.
"Are you kidding me?"
He was just about to curse his luck when he realized—
Something was off.
The sun, which had been hanging low in the west, was suddenly gone.
The light had dimmed into something cold and eerie. The whole world looked like someone slapped a creepy filter over it. Even the once-beautiful cherry blossoms had lost their charm.
"…This isn't right."
He looked down.
At the base of the tree, where there had been nothing before, now sat a small wooden shrine box. Faint yellow-green lights flickered around it.
"That definitely wasn't there before."
Everything had changed the moment he hit Start.
Strangely enough, realizing that made him feel a bit relieved.
Figures. If you're an isekai guy, weird stuff is just part of the deal.
He raised his phone again.
The black screen now displayed a block of text:
[Urban Legend World loaded.]
[This is a broken world overrun by spirits and monsters. From the moment you step into it as a living human, you have only one goal: defeat all supernatural entities and become the supreme ruler of ghosts and gods.]
[Before your story begins, please choose one of the following starter items.]
[Item: Half-Eaten Cucumber of the Kappa]
[Quality: Good]
[Effect: Greatly improves swimming ability. Chance to learn underwater breathing.]
[Description: A kappa's favorite cucumber. Half-eaten, slightly used. Can be consumed or applied externally.]
"…Applied externally? What, kappas use face masks now?"
Andrew immediately skipped it.
[Item: Tengu's Geta Sandals]
[Quality: Good]
[Effect: Increases movement speed. Grants minor wind-walking ability.]
[Description: Worn smooth by years of use from a great tengu. Infused with yokai energy.]
"Worn smooth, huh… yeah, no thanks."
[Item: Five Thunder Technique (Fragment)]
[Quality: Good]
[Effect: Learn incomplete Five Thunder Technique.]
[Description: A special option generated based on your soul. An ancient Daoist spell from China. Capable of summoning heavenly lightning—if completed. Current version is heavily incomplete, with greatly reduced power. Maybe you can restore it?]
Andrew didn't hesitate.
He chose the Five Thunder Technique fragment.
As someone whose soul came from China—and a former completionist gamer—there was no way he'd ignore something labeled "special option" and "Daoist spell."
Even logically, it made sense.
The cucumber was too situational. Useless unless you're in water.
The sandals were decent, but kind of… mediocre. Useful everywhere, but not amazing anywhere.
But the thunder technique?
It had growth potential. The description basically screamed upgradeable.
If he could complete it someday, it would blow the other two out of the water.
"High risk, high reward. Let's go."
[Obtained: Five Thunder Technique (Fragment)]
[Learned: Five Thunder Technique – Incomplete]
A worn, tattered book appeared in his hands out of thin air.
At the same time, a strange tingling sensation spread through his body, building and pulsing before finally settling down after a few minutes.
Andrew tried to focus on that sensation.
Without thinking, his hands formed a seal.
A Daoist hand sign—the Five Thunder Seal.
He definitely hadn't known how to do that before.
All that knowledge had just… appeared in his head.
Crackle—pop!
Faint arcs of electricity flickered across his body.
The effect?
About as impressive as static shock when you take off a sweater in winter.
"…So the incomplete version is just stronger static electricity?"
He rubbed his forehead, feeling slightly drained.
Still, he picked this for its long-term potential. Being weak early on wasn't a dealbreaker.
"Anyway… game started, right? Shouldn't there be a tutorial or something?"
He crouched and tapped the little shrine box.
The glowing lights scattered like fireflies.
His phone vibrated again.
[Map unlocked: Hanasaki Haunted School]
[Area Task 1: Explore 80% of the school (0/100)]
[Area Task 2: Exorcise D-rank Urban Legend – Hanako of the Toilet]
"Hanako…? You're kidding."
Andrew swallowed.
That was the classic Japanese school ghost.
Right. Now he got it.
So his job was to take his crackling static electricity… and fight Hanako.
"Yeah, sure. Totally doable. Not insane at all."
The cold evening wind picked up, sending petals cascading down like rain.
And then—
A sound.
"Uuu… uuu…"
Someone was crying.
A girl.
"…Probably the tutorial NPC."
Putting the mission aside for now, Andrew followed the sound into the dim cherry grove.
After about ten meters, he saw her.
A girl.
Her upper body was hidden in shadow, but he could see the rest—sailor uniform, pleated skirt, black stockings, flat shoes. Pale arms and legs.
A perfectly normal, cute high school girl.
"Hey," he called out.
"Giggle—"
The crying suddenly stopped.
Instead, she let out a bright, almost musical laugh—and charged straight at him.
"Wait—!"
Too fast.
Before he could react, she burst out of the shadows.
And what he saw made his heart skip a beat.
From the chest down, everything looked normal.
But above the collar—
Nothing.
No head.
Just empty space.
"That's not an NPC—that's a monster!"
"…Wait, if it doesn't even have a head, what's it crying with?!"
Somehow, he still had the presence of mind to complain internally as he turned to run.
Too slow.
The headless girl tackled him to the ground almost instantly.
She straddled his back. Her body felt soft… and ice cold.
Panicking, Andrew formed the Five Thunder Seal again.
Crackle—!
Blue arcs of electricity burst out.
The headless girl trembled slightly—but didn't let go.
Not even a little.
"…Crap."
Same result as before. No damage. No change.
I'm dead.
"Giggle—"
She laughed again.
Her pale hands wrapped tightly around his throat.
Air cut off.
His lungs burned. Blood rushed violently in his neck.
He couldn't break free.
His vision blurred.
His consciousness faded.
The phone slipped from his hand and hit the ground.
On the black screen—
Two large red words appeared.
[DEAD]
"....."