"...Weak heartbeat and pulse," the male voice mutters, his tone a little strained. "March, you better do CPR."
"Huh!? I—I've never done it before! Dan Heng, you do it!"
Just as the two bickered, Stelle's eyes fluttered open, her senses slowly returning. The first thing she saw was a man with his eyes shut, lips slightly pursed, and was dangerously close to her face.
"Wait—stop!"
But before anything could escalate, a hand shot out, unceremoniously shoving the man's face out of the frame in the nick of time.
"They're awake!"
Dan Heng was shoved aside, his surprised expression quickly fading as a frantic female companion rushed to the forefront.
A girl with pink hair appeared, offering her a bubbly smile.
March 7th?
Stelle gently supported her aching head, trying to process the information. As her surroundings came into focus, she realized she was in an unfamiliar place—a strange, high-tech setting that seemed taken out of a sci-fi movie. Beside her sat a gray-haired man with an equally blank look on his face.
What was I doing? She frowned, her thoughts hazy. All she could remember was grinding through Honkai: Star Rail late into the night, combing through the map for every Stellar Jades she could find during a collab event.
Her final memory was of a sudden spike in blood pressure when a man holding a cane appeared during her ten-pull summon.
Suddenly—a sound chimed in her ears.
[The Strongest Template System Activated]
[Congratulations! You have acquired a character template!]
[Template Acquired: Megumi Fushiguro]
Description:
A jujutsu sorcerer capable of summoning shikigami from the shadows. He is a Tokyo Jujutsu High alumnus who had the potential to surpass the strongest yet died tragically to a grade 3 cursed spirit before the start of the JJK sequel (allegedly).
[Experience Points: 0%]
Stelle froze, taking a few moments to process the flood of information that suddenly filled her vision.
It was the potential man!
And somehow, she'd transmigrated to another world with a cheat.
'Hell yeah! March, Dan Heng, and Caelus! This means...' Stelle rejoiced inwardly. She could already guess which world she ended up judging from the familiar faces. 'Wait... Caelus? Then who am I?'
Stelle glanced at the gray-haired man once again. A grim realization gradually dawning on her.
Relying on her otaku knowledge in her previous life, she called the system interface, ignoring the growing suspicion in the eyes of March 7th and Dan Heng. They were starting to look at her like she was a lost cause, who has yet to speak anything but and swiping at thin air from their perspective.
However, none of that mattered to her at the moment. She had pressing matters to attend to.
Specifically, the issue concerning her gender!
Tapping the screen furiously, she stumbled upon the System Store by accident.
The lineup that appeared before her was enough to make her jaw drop—it consisted of characters who were typically the topic of many power scaling debates like Hajun, Rimuru, Anos Voldigoad, Featherine, Kevin Kaslana, and even SCP 001 put up for purchase.
The price tags attached to their names were astronomical—there were so many zeroes it extended beyond the interface all the way to yonder.
'—No, focus! Now's not the time to get distracted!'
Anyway, what good is an outerversal character that you can't touch than to a bum that you can touch? No, she's not coping.
After scrolling for a few more seconds, she finally realized there was a more convenient way to verify her status than digging through a System Profile.
Upon closing the interface, she looked down, peeked under her shirt, and then tapped her crotch for good measure.
At some point, she had to come to terms with reality.
Her junior brother of eighteen years was gone, just like that.
Yet it felt too early to despair.
Stelle saw a glimmer of hope. In most community fanfics she's read before, it was a common troupe for the protagonist to turn into the character's appearance and do all sorts of things while roleplaying.
It seemed like a reasonable assumption, and she'd be right to stand by it. Even if she had to live as a professional victim like Megumi Fushiguro, at least it would be as a man. Besides, she had nothing left to lose by trying.
"Hey, Dan Heng, do you think something's wrong with her up there?" March leaned closer while whispering, keeping her back against Dan Heng. "The older brother doesn't seem to be responding either."
Dan Heng let out a long, weary sigh.
March turned toward the red-haired man guarding the door, as if pleading. "Sir Reinhard, do you think you can do something for them?"
At the mention of his name, the Sword Saint shifted his gaze from the corridor. His blue eyes—usually brimming with the calm of a man who could parry a black hole—held only a polite resignation.
"I am afraid my Divine Protections do not grant me the power to mend a clouded mind," Reinhard spoke, lying through his teeth. He absolutely, positively had such a thing. "However, their life force is stable. It is likely the shock of the recent 'incident' that has left them in such a state."
Just as he spoke, Stelle's hands suddenly dropped from her waist, her fingers trembling. The trio exchanged concerned glances as her mental state showed clear signs of deteriorating even further despite what Reinhard said.
"Potential... Megumi, why," she whispered, her voice cracking with the weight of a collapsing universe. "Damn it, even the chance to live as a man again—it's still just a potential!"
Her gaze fell upon Caelus, who still wore a blank expression, oblivious to everything.
While the situation could have been worse, it seemed like the system that was bound to her required a certain amount of roleplaying experience before she could unlock the feature to switch appearances.
That meant—
"You..." Stelle pointed a finger at him, her eyes bloodshot. "You bastard! You mean to tell me I have to grind while you get to enjoy what should have been mine! I have to complete roleplaying experience just to get the right chromosome?!"
Against better judgment, Stelle determined to make Caelus pay, such that the anomaly that was Reinhard didn't even register in her mind.
If it were any other day, her first reaction perhaps would've been to ask what a character from another anime was doing in a gacha game, but blinded by rage, she had completely overlooked the fact.
Slamming her fists together, her fingers weaved into a shadow-puppet.
March lets out a gasp as the room suddenly went dark despite all the lights turned on.
"With this treasure, I summon—!"
Thwack.
With a speed faster than the eye could follow, Reinhard's hand met the side of Stelle's neck. The ominous foreboding vanished instantly, and the shadows retreated before she could finish the chant.
Stelle's eyes rolled back, her hands falling limp before and collapsed forward.
"I am truly sorry," Reinhard said, catching her before she hit the floor and gently lowering her back down. His face was apologetic. "But it felt as though she was about to do something quite irreversible."
March stared at Stelle's unconscious body lying on the ground once more, utterly dumbfounded. "What was that all about...?"
On the other hand, Dan Heng rubbed his temples, feeling a headache approaching. "I think a 'clouded mind' was an understatement, Sir Reinhard. We might need a specialist to treat the patient."
★ ★ ★
A/N: Yes, this is actually the start of the story.