I stared at the blue pill resting in my palm, its surface pulsing with an otherworldly energy that made my skin tingle. The translucent system screen hovered before my vision, invisible to everyone else in the classroom around me.
**[REWARD: INHERITANCE PILL (LEGENDARY)]**
**[WARNING: This item contains unknown abilities. Upon consumption, all powers will be integrated into your being. Process is irreversible.]**
My hands trembled slightly as I held the small tablet up to catch the afternoon light streaming through the classroom window. After three days in this world, I'd finally received something that might help me survive what was coming.
Of course, I wasn't really Motohama. That realization still felt surreal, even now.
*Three days ago...*
The screech of tires. A flash of headlights. Then floating in an endless void where time meant nothing and thoughts came in fragments.
When consciousness returned, it hit like a freight train. I wasn't dead—I was somewhere else entirely, in someone else's body. The unfamiliar weight of glasses on my nose, the different proportions of this frame, the face in the mirror that belonged to a perverted anime side character I recognized all too well.
Motohama. One of Issei's friends from High School DxD. The realization had nearly given me a heart attack.
The memories that weren't mine had surfaced gradually—school schedules, embarrassing moments, an unhealthy obsession with measurements, friendships with two other perverts. I'd spent those first seventy-two hours trying to process the impossible: I had died and been reborn into an anime world where devils, angels, and fallen angels walked among humans.
*Present moment...*
The system had appeared this morning, congratulating me on surviving my first three days and delivering a message that still made my blood run cold:
**[MESSAGE FROM THE ALMIGHTY:]**
**["Child of another world, your death was premature, a mistake in the grand design. As compensation for this error and your successful adaptation, I grant you this gift. Use it wisely, for great changes are coming to this world."]**
Great changes. From God himself. That sounded ominous in any context, but especially in a universe where the supernatural was very real and very dangerous.
Around me, normal high school life continued. Students whispered about weekend plans, the teacher droned about ancient history, typical teenage chaos unfolded. None of them had any idea their world was about to get more complicated.
I made my decision. Whatever was coming, I'd rather face it with power than without it. I'd been given a second chance at life—I wasn't going to waste it being weak.
I popped the pill into my mouth and swallowed.
The effect was instantaneous and overwhelming.
Knowledge crashed into my mind like a tsunami—not just techniques and abilities, but muscle memory, instincts, years of training compressed along with cursed energy surging inside each cells of my body. I gripped my desk's edge as my vision blurred, information flooding my consciousness faster than I could process it.
It was like I was injected with DNA of Megumi Fushiguro.
*Ten Shadows Technique.* The words materialized in my mind with perfect clarity, along with complete understanding of what they meant. Shadow manipulation. Shikigami summoning. The ability to store and call forth creatures made of cursed energy and shadow.
Divine Dogs—twin wolves of shadow and light, loyal and fierce. *I could see them clearly now, waiting in the shadow realm for my call.*
Nue—a massive bird-like creature capable of flight and electrical attacks. *The memory of soaring through storm clouds felt as real as any experience I'd ever had.*
Rabbit Escape—dozens of small rabbit shikigami that could overwhelm enemies through sheer numbers. *I knew exactly how to split my shadow into countless fragments.*
Great Serpent. Toad. Piercing Ox. Max Elephant. Each shikigami was there in my mind, complete with their abilities, their personalities, their strengths and weaknesses. But more than that—I understood the technique itself. How to merge shikigami, how to hide in shadows, how to use the darkness as both weapon and shield.
*Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden.* The ultimate technique flooded my awareness last, and with it came the understanding that I was nowhere near ready to attempt something so advanced. But the knowledge was there, waiting for when I grew strong enough.
The flow of information finally slowed, leaving me gasping quietly at my desk. Shadows at the corners of my vision seemed to writhe with new possibility, responding to my presence in ways they never had before. I could feel the shikigami in their realm, dormant but ready to answer my summons.
Just as I thought the experience was over, another system notification appeared:
**[IMPORTANT NOTICE: WORLD ADAPTATION COMPLETE]**
**[WARNING: Cursed energy does not exist in this dimension. Your shikigami will manifest as physical beings visible to all inhabitants of this world. Exercise extreme caution when summoning. Exposure may lead to unwanted attention from supernatural factions.]**
My blood ran cold. Physical manifestations? That meant no hiding behind the excuse that only certain people could see cursed spirits. If I summoned Divine Dogs here, everyone would see two massive wolves materialize out of shadows. In a world where devils and angels already existed, that would definitely raise some very dangerous questions.
"Motohama, are you feeling alright?" The teacher's voice cut through my daze. "You look pale."
I looked up to find the entire class staring at me. Right. I'd probably looked like I was having some kind of episode.
"Just... headache," I managed, adjusting the thick-rimmed glasses that still felt foreign on my face. "I'm fine."
The teacher nodded and returned to the lesson, but I caught a few students still glancing my way with concern. I'd have to be more careful. The last thing I needed was unwanted attention while I figured out how to use these new abilities.
As the minutes ticked by, I experimented carefully with my newfound connection to the shadows. Nothing obvious—just letting my awareness extend into the darkness beneath my desk, feeling the way shadows responded to my will like extensions of my own body. It was intoxicating and terrifying in equal measure.
I wasn't just Motohama anymore. I was something new, something that didn't quite belong to either world I'd inhabited. The perverted trio reputation would be perfect camouflage—nobody would suspect the comic relief character was hiding abilities that could rival some of the strongest beings in this world in future.
The final bell rang, and students began packing up around me. I allowed myself a small smile as I gathered my things. The future was uncertain, and according to God himself, great changes were coming.
But for the first time since arriving in this strange existence, I felt ready to face whatever was ahead.
After all, I had shadows to move in shadows.