Ch.1Time Limit

Shota Arigiri.

I was possessed as Shota Arigiri.

“No way… I expected to possess an extra.”

Honestly, possessing an extra was the most predictable outcome of all predictable outcomes. I never expected to possess a main character.

“But of all people…”

I had possessed the extra who gets consumed first in the game.

This world I possessed, ‘Psychologic 3,’ begins when the protagonist starts attending school in March.

The setting city, ‘Emoshita City,’ was a place where supernatural phenomena occurred.

Every night at 12 o’clock, the shadow world and reality merge, and monsters emerge. These monsters roam at night attacking humans, and those attacked are found dead from apparent heart attacks.

The police have already classified this situation as a serial murder case and are investigating, and…

‘I’m meant to be consumed as the character who reveals that something is wrong with this city.’

In the third week, an unlikable character who oddly provokes the protagonist is found dead in the mountains. That was Shota Arigiri.

The protagonist, feeling suspicious about this, begins to investigate the case and awakens his powers at night—that was the prologue.

Well… it’s somewhat standard and clichéd. But isn’t that a good thing? There’s a reason why standards are standards.

No. That’s not the important thing.

‘Three weeks… I die in three weeks?’

There’s too little time.

Shota Arigiri was a sinister stalker character who gets killed while secretly stalking a heroine named “Umi Kiryu” at night. Since Umi Kiryu was the last person to see him, the protagonist interrogates her, and their relationship begins to blossom. Anyway, that’s beside the point.

So couldn’t I just not stalk Umi Kiryu and stay quietly at home? I could try to convince myself with such wishful thinking, but I was pessimistic about that. As a web novel writer, I knew better.

‘In the game, Shota Arigiri is destined to be killed.’

As a sacrifice for the prologue.

Essential events in the game might be like “fate” in this world. Whether I stalk or not, death is certain. That’s how possession stories usually work.

I could end up in trouble even if I just stayed at home.

“Damn it…!”

I tried to think calmly, but my mind went blank due to the three-week time limit.

“Huff…”

First, I washed my face with cold water. The cold water made my head feel a bit clearer.

“Let’s do what I can.”

I muttered to myself.

It’s still February. Shota Arigiri—that is, me—was a prospective freshman who would enter Emoshita High School in March. Being a freshman, I couldn’t get help from anywhere. It was impossible to approach the main characters in advance. No, even if I did, it wouldn’t help. They don’t know what’s happening in this city either.

But it’s not all bad.

‘It’s still spring break.’

Yes, that was important. In other words, I had time.

‘Besides…’

It seemed that I had inherited some physical specs from my previous life. Unlike the original skinny Shota Arigiri, my body had lean muscle. These were muscles trained from intense kendo practice in my previous life.

I needed to train my body enough not to be helplessly devoured by monsters and secure equipment and healing potions in advance. That was RPG basics.

‘A current web novel writer.’

Yes, I was an expert in these developments.

So I immediately tried one thing.

“Status window.”

The key was to say it calmly while waving my hand.

Ding-!

As expected, a game status window appeared. It was identical to the interface in the original Psychological.

‘Here it is. Stats.’

I immediately checked my stats.

‘Level: 1’

‘Strength: 13’

‘Speed: 13’

‘Endurance: 10’

‘Luck: 1’

‘Magic Power: 0’

“…Shit.”

I had predicted it, but I still cursed. Having luck at 1 was really bad. However, in a way, the status window was an accurate indicator. Of course my luck would be low since I possessed this stupid character. Anyway, I couldn’t expect any critical hits.

“But… magic power is 0…”

In Psychological, “Awakened Ones” can use something like magic in the shadow world. Magic power was the stat that determined the strength and effect of that magic. Magic power was a whopping 0. It meant I couldn’t use any magic at all.

Well, that’s natural for an extra. Originally, I was just meant to be killed off.

The positive thing was that strength and speed were higher than 10. Thanks to intense training in my original world, they were about 3 points higher. I decided to think positively. Considering that stats increase by 2 or 3 with each level up, I had the strength of about level 2.

The protagonist’s initial stats were all 10. It was fortunate that I wasn’t inferior in terms of strength and speed.

‘I can do this.’

Finding hope in small things—that was the shortcut to happiness in life.

First, I needed to level up. The average level of shadow world monsters appearing in the first week of March was about 1-5. To avoid being killed, I needed to reach at least level 5. I didn’t know how quickly levels would increase, but I had to squeeze time within these three weeks to level up. The goal was simple: I needed to be strong enough not to die from monster attacks.

“First…”

After washing up, I searched deep inside the room. I knew exactly where it was. Shota Arigiri’s memories were definitely present in me.

“200,000 yen…”

It was the New Year’s money he had saved since childhood. This kid really had no money. Well, what could you expect from a pre-high school freshman? I had to make do with this.

Clunk-!

After that, I opened the closet and put on the most decent clothes I could find. A hoodie and jeans—the eternal friend of someone who doesn’t know how to dress up.

“I’m going out, Mom.”

I headed straight for the entrance.

“Sh-Shota… going out?”

My mother muttered with quite a complicated expression. It was both sad and emotional.

‘Well… he refused to go to school in 8th grade and only went to the nurse’s office in 9th grade.’

The fact that I was voluntarily going outside was surprising in itself.

“Yes. I’ll probably be back late.”

I said.

“Wh-where are you going?”

My mother asked.

“To the kendo dojo.”

I replied. I mentioned the only place where I could gain experience points early on.

“I-I see… take care.”

My mother said, her eyes welling up with tears. Geez, what a tearful lady. I smiled and left the entrance.

———–

I arrived at the Kiryu Dojo, a historic dojo that had been passed down for generations in Emoshita City.

In the game, this was a valuable place to earn experience points during the day.

‘Plus… Umi Kiryu, one of the main heroines, is the only daughter of this place.’

From a player’s perspective, one would need to frequent this place diligently to pursue Umi Kiryu.

‘But I’m not interested in pursuing heroines.’

Survival was urgent, so who cares about romance?

Not only could I safely gain experience points in daily life, but becoming close with the master, Gonzaemon Kiryu, had many benefits. He would teach physical techniques and occasionally provide decent equipment.

‘I’ll level up here first.’

My plan was to train in kendo during the day, and once I gained enough levels, sneak out at night to defeat weaker monsters in the shadow world.

Clunk-!

I opened the dojo door and entered.

There weren’t many people since it was daytime.

In the center of the dojo stood a muscular man with a long beard. This was the master, Gonzaemon Kiryu.

“Oh. Do you want to join our dojo?”

Gonzaemon smiled and asked.

“Yes.”

“Good. You’re a student? The after-school sessions…”

Gonzaemon was about to introduce the schedule. Well, one couldn’t stay at the dojo all day. Typically, any dojo had time slots.

“I’ll pay extra. Until school starts, please let me train from morning until evening.”

I immediately bowed my head. I really need to level up here or I’ll die!

“…It will be tough.”

Gonzaemon stared at me.

“I have a reason why I must.”

I said seriously. Speaking briefly in a serious tone often works surprisingly well. That was a life pro tip.

“…A reason? What is it?”

Gonzaemon looked at me.

“I want to become stronger.”

I stated the simple truth. This was my sincere desire. If I didn’t get stronger, I would die despite being possessed.

“……..”

Gonzaemon stared at me intently.

“You… you’re serious. I see determination in your eyes. I like that.”

Gonzaemon grinned and raised a finger.

“Alright. I’ll make a special exception for you. One month. If you master the basics and earn the right to wear bogu within a month, your first month’s fee will be waived. You can pay from the next month.”

Gonzaemon made quite a radical offer.

Bogu—the protective gear used in kendo. Once you master the basics and reach a certain skill level, you start wearing bogu and truly enter the world of kendo.

Usually, anyone with some experience would wear bogu as a rule, but Gonzaemon was a strict kendo practitioner. He would only let someone wear bogu if they truly earned his recognition.

If I hustled hard for a month, the first month’s fee would be free. There was no reason not to accept.

“I’ll do it.”

I said, looking straight at Gonzaemon.

“Good. Then I’ll give you a uniform right away. Training starts now.”

Gonzaemon said with a smile.

And so, I formed a connection with the Kiryu Dojo before entering high school.