Bustling streets in Tokyo.
On one of the main roads connecting the city's busy prefectures, a sleek black Rolls-Royce glided effortlessly through traffic.
Hoshino Ren's face, barely visible through a tinted window, was now more focused than it had been five minutes ago.
Skimming through all the new information that flowed like a raging river into his mind, Ren could finally understand what was happening to him.
'Renner, you're fired!' A blurry image of an angry, chubby old man shouting at him flashed in his mind.
'Renner, your rent is due.' The barely recognizable face of an old landlady from whom he'd rented two rooms surfaced.
'Renner, I'm so sorry, but I don't think we can continue this relationship.' The face of a once-cherished partner, with whom he'd shared his life, lingered painfully.
By acknowledging the strange, glowing box in his vision and interacting with it, Ren had unlocked memories of a previous life—memories that had been buried deep in his mind.
Skimming through those past-life memories again, Ren let out a mocking sigh. "Tch, what a waste," he muttered.
Sitting next to him, Ai heard murmurs coming from Ren's side but decided not to react, still hesitating after his previous comment.
His past self, Renner, had been an ordinary upper-middle-class worker at a mid-sized company, a life far removed from the Hoshino family's grandeur.
Renner's life had been consumed by overwork, relentless nagging from upper management, and personal struggles, leaving little time for family, friends, or his favorite hobby: Japanese media.
Novels, manga, anime, original projects from lesser-known publishers, and games.
During his high school and university days, and even in the early years of his career, Renner could often be seen engrossed in manga or anime, either on his phone or the laptop he always carried in his shoulder bag.
After quitting his job, Renner could finally breathe freely for the first time in nearly a decade, no longer weighed down by exploitative management. He looked forward to reconnecting with friends and, just maybe, restarting his life.
But fate had other plans.
One evening, when the sun had dipped low enough to cast the streets in shadow, yet the streetlights hadn't yet flickered on to illuminate the roads, Renner was returning home from job interviews that had sparked his interest.
Just as he prepared to cross a street, turning his head slightly, he noticed an elderly couple halfway through the crosswalk, with loud car noises clearly speeding their way.
Reacting without much thought, Renner sprinted toward the couple to move them out of the car's path. He pushed them forward, but at the last moment, he lost his balance and tripped.
His memories cut off abruptly at that instant.
The next thing Ren knew was bright lights and the sweet, soothing voices of his new parents, Hoshino Alice and Hoshino Zen.
Shaking his head, Ren mused silently, 'What's done is done. I've clearly been given another chance at life.'
He refocused on the glowing box and its text, still hovering in his vision.
[Notice: Chat Room features unlocked!]
[1. Chat Room - Chat Room.]
[2. Shop.]
[3. Daily Sign-in.]
[4. First-time Admin privilege: Welcoming Package!]
[5. Locked, additional members required.]
Skimming through all the lines of text before him, Ren couldn't help but smile. 'Yep, I'm a totally bona fide protagonist, reincarnated and with a wacky system to boot.'
Navigating the menu with his eyes, he focused on the Chat Room option, and the very next moment, a new box interface opened in his vision, resembling any other ordinary messenger he had used in both his previous and current lives.
Looking at the now-empty message space, he decided to send the first message.
[Lotus of the Star Field: Testing, testing, 123.]
Amused after seeing the name the Chat Room system had given him, he asked in his mind, 'System, how do I change the name that shows up in the Chat Room?'
[Notice: Admin, please state the new name to be displayed in the Chat Room interface.]
'Set my new name to: Ren.'
[Confirmed. New displayed name in the Chat Room space is now: Ren.]
Ren smiled and sent another message.
[Ren: Hayasaka Ai is the best maid ever.]
Seeing his new name and two messages in the Chat Room history, his eyes lingered on the member list, which clearly displayed only his name.
'System, why am I the only member in the Chat Room?'
[Notice: Admin, there are no additional Chat Room invitations currently available.]
[Please navigate to the Chat Room Shop and purchase a Member Invitation Ticket.]
Turning his gaze to the previous features he had unlocked, Ren selected the Shop option in the system menu.
A new box with many icons and names appeared before him.
[Shop]
[Gacha: Allows Chat Room members to spend points and try the wheel of luck!]
Right below that message was a long list of possible rewards, including many familiar names and their descriptions.
Naruto jutsus and weapons belonging to legendary figures from that world, many kekkei genkai from countless clans, and items belonging to that specific universe were seemingly infinite.
Many powers of well-known heroes and villains from the DC and Marvel universes.
A vast array of magic items, spells, and powers from numerous fantasy-inspired worlds he had known in his past life.
Ren's eyes widened. Feeling a little lost, he asked,
'System, why are these things even included in the gacha potential rewards? I'm pretty sure my current life is not that dangerous.'
[Notice: The upcoming unlockable features may require Chat Room members to possess means of self-defense.]
[Also, Admin, your current world has a place known as Kuoh Town.]
Reading the system's snarky reply, Ren finally came to a realization.
'As in the same Kuoh Town from that boobs-and-dragons anime?'
[Correct.]
Ren's eyes widened as he came to a realization. He had finally connected the dots: the very Kuoh Town he had read about that morning.
After so many revelations in the past 15 minutes, he simply hadn't had time to think about his current situation.
'So not only have I been placed in the same world as Hayasaka Ai, I've also somehow ended up reincarnated in an ecchi world. Perfect.'
[Notice: Admin, according to the recently unlocked memories, the System has detected many more individuals of interest.] (wink wink)
Ren felt a pang in his heart after reading the words on the hovering box in his vision.
'So, pretty much I'm about to meet plenty of waifus, am I right?'
[Correct.]
'And if this world has Kuoh Town with all those horny devils and Ai sitting next to me, including the Yukinoshita sisters I met during my childhood years, this world I live in after being reborn is just a mishmash of all the things I read and watched in my past life. Haaah, okay, next.'
Letting out a slight breath, Ren decided not to spend much more time thinking about things he couldn't change at the moment.
Continuing to explore the Shop menu, he read the next lines of text.
[Utility: Day-to-day items and useful system-recommended utilities!]
Money, gold, currency belonging to countless worlds and universes, foods, useful items for daily life, cosmetics, computer parts...
The list went on and on.
Ren couldn't help but feel lost, skimming through the list of items he could buy with points he didn't even have.
Ren finally gave up.
Navigating with his eyes to the Search option, he wrote the words: Member Invita...
As he couldn't even finish writing the name of what he was looking for, it auto-filled and showed him the only available option.
[Member Invitation Ticket - 250 SP]
'How do I obtain points?'
[Notice: Admin, navigate to the Daily Sign-in feature.]
Figures.
Glancing back to the side and clicking the Daily Sign-in with his gaze.
[Rolling... Calculating... Spinning the wheel...]
[Ding! Sign-in Successful, 89 Shop Points added to balance!]
Ren's lips curved into a faint smile as he noticed text indicating that he could earn between 1 and 100 points at the top of the "Daily Sign-in" box hovering in his vision.