Accompanied by a surge of thick red mist, Asagiri reappeared in his home.
"I'm back..."
Feeling the comfort and softness of the expensive sofa, Asagiri didn't immediately relax. Instead, he first looked down.
On the white sofa, there were two black lines he had marked with a ballpoint pen along the outer edges of his legs before entering the instance. Now, those two lines perfectly traced the edges of his legs.
"It seems that after leaving the instance, you reappear in the exact position you entered from, without the slightest error, and your posture doesn't even change."
After confirming this point, Asagiri looked up at the wall clock in the living room. Like his phone, the time was 6:00 AM. One hour had passed in the instance, and one hour had also passed in the real world. The flow of time was synchronized.
Asagiri placed the chainsaw and drill on the coffee table in front of him, then took out his phone and opened the eye-icon APP. Sure enough, several new lines of text appeared.
[Congratulations on completing your first Instance. The following are important notes:]
[1. Non-Player individuals cannot perceive the APP located on your phone.]
[2. The APP is not bound to the phone but to the Player themselves. You can change your phone at any time, and the APP will appear on your current device. No need to worry about accidentally losing your phone or the phone being damaged.]
[3. When entering an Instance, you cannot carry tools, equipment, items, weapons, or protective gear from the real world. You also cannot use real-world items to disguise your appearance. Players are only permitted to enter the Instance wearing everyday clothing.]
[4. Players will receive a notification three days before entering an Instance. Players must clear at least one Instance per month. Exceeding the regulated time limit will result in forced teleportation to a random Instance.]
[5. You can choose to actively enter an Instance from the APP features (requires a three-day wait; cannot enter immediately; minimum interval between Instances is one week). If a Player achieved a clearance rating of A- or higher in their last Instance, they will receive a special hint upon entering the next Instance.]
[Time remaining until the next available Instance entry: 0]
"The Novice Instance isn't counted in the cooldown time for entering an Instance? That's quite humane."
Asagiri nodded in satisfaction. After all, for him, the more times he entered an Instance, the better. Receiving an S+ clearance reward in the Novice Instance was only the first step. He needed to quickly snowball his growth to ensure he was the strongest Player among all of them.
After all, this was a world forged from the fusion of multiple anime universes (Sōman). Although he hadn't discovered any overtly supernatural powers yet, there were quite a few formidable characters even in the slice-of-life anime worlds.
There were many such individuals in the high school division of Shuchiin Academy, where he was about to enroll.
After reading these notices, Asagiri opened his Player status panel within the APP. Of course, since Persona was his own power, he knew how to use it and its specific effects even without the APP.
[Current Persona: Jaki-ō (人修羅)]
[Jaki-ō: The Persona born from your heart by directly confronting the fear of death.]
[Strengths: Strength, Endurance, Defense, Speed, Agility.]
[Weaknesses: No long-range attack methods.]
[Jaki-ō Passive: When switching to this Persona, your physical abilities will be enhanced. Furthermore, because Jaki-ō represents unshakeable, resolute will, you are immune to all mental-type attacks, such as illusions, mind control, and hypnosis.]
[Corresponding Tarot Card: The Emperor (Upright)]
After reading this section in the APP, Asagiri noticed that the sky outside the window was beginning to brighten. He started to wash up and change his clothes, preparing for the high school life that was about to begin.
A brief introduction to the total members of this household:
Utsunomiya Asagiri, a freshman at the high school division of Shuchiin Academy, and then...
That's it.
His parents passed away, he has no siblings, but he has a house—a flat spanning over two hundred square meters in the bustling Shibuya commercial district of Tokyo.
A little later that morning, outside Shuchiin Academy.
Yūki Asuna, dressed in the Shuchiin uniform, stood at the school gate, constantly smoothing her silky long hair. She seemed somewhat nervous, but the reason wasn't because she was starting high school today; it was because of the person she was waiting for.
Was Utsunomiya-kun telling the truth?
Was he really a student at Shuchiin Academy?
Yūki Asuna had already confirmed that the swordsmanship, skill, and rapier she obtained after clearing the instance were still usable even after returning to the real world.
To be honest, she was quite worried.
Yūki Asuna's parents were both very busy with work, so she was living alone after entering high school. Her parents had initially offered to hire a housekeeper to look after her daily life, but Yūki Asuna felt that as a high school student, she should be independent and politely declined their offer.
Thinking about it now, it was a good thing she refused.
Otherwise, if she had suddenly disappeared earlier this morning, her parents would have been extremely worried and might have even called the police. At that point, she wouldn't have known how to explain herself.
The only person Yūki Asuna could discuss these matters with was Utsunomiya Asagiri.
Just then, Yūki Asuna noticed a familiar figure walking over from the distance.
It wasn't just her; many students near the school gate also turned their attention to the approaching boy.
Even at Shuchiin Academy, which had many beautiful girls and handsome boys, his appearance was extremely outstanding—the kind that would garner countless attention based on looks alone.
Although the boy was wearing the Shuchiin school uniform, he hadn't buttoned it up, wearing it instead like a jacket. The Shuchiin uniform, which was supposed to be solemn and convey a sense of nobility, took on an inexplicably stylish, carefree air when worn by him.
"Utsunomiya-kun."
Yūki Asuna felt a surge of happiness when she saw Asagiri, dressed in the uniform, walk over. A smile spread across her face, and she quickly walked over to greet him.
"Yūki-chan."
Asagiri also nodded, greeting her with a smile.
Feeling the surrounding gazes, Yūki Asuna felt a little embarrassed, realizing that her earlier actions seemed a bit too intimate and eager. She raised her hand to brush her long hair back, then spoke softly.
"Um... I checked the class roster for you. I'm in 1st Year B Class. You are..."
"I know. 1st Year A Class."
"Eh? You already knew?"
Yūki Asuna felt slightly confused. Logically speaking, class assignments weren't supposed to be revealed in advance but would only be publicly announced on the first day of school.
How could he know beforehand?