Although Ye Qian's goal was to become an actor, he never imagined that his first job would be so absurd.
Staring at the stunning young girl in the mirror, Ye Qian was momentarily speechless.
Her jet-black, glossy hair was styled into two low ponytails resting in front of her chest, adding a touch of maturity to her graceful and charming aura. Her wine-red right eye seemed to have the power to attract people, captivating one's attention, while the bangs that covered her left eye made her appear mysterious.
She wore an ordinary student uniform, looking like an average high school student, but even with the simplest uniform highlighted her curvaceous figure to perfection. The black stockings wrapped around her slightly plump legs, with every inch of her curves being flawlessly stunning.
This girl was someone Ye Qian was familiar with, even once achieving a record of staying on his waifu tier list, which he changed every three months, for an entire year.
She was one of the spirits from Date A Live, Tokisaki Kurumi.
"What the heck is this?" Ye Qian covered his face, unable to accept the reality. "Why did I become Tokisaki Kurumi?"
Though his question seemed like an act of giving up, he did have some idea of the reason.
Not long after graduating from university and while struggling to find a job, Ye Qian suddenly received an employment email, inviting him to play a character from Date A Live.
Though he didn't know why it was a character from the anime, he didn't think much about it. It was probably some fan group doing a live-action fan creation, and he didn't suspect anything.
Ye Qian always thought he had a bit of the vibe of a protagonist from a light novel, so he didn't think much about playing Shido Itsuka. He just clicked the "Agree" button.
Then, everything spun around, and he found himself here.
Not only had the location changed, but his entire body had transformed as well.
Ye Qian had turned into Tokisaki Kurumi.
"Well, even though Tokisaki Kurumi is a character from Date A Live, I'm a guy. Wouldn't most people think I'm supposed to play Shido Itsuka?"
Just as Ye Qian sighed dramatically, an artificial voice that couldn't be distinguished by gender echoed in his mind.
[Thank you for accepting the acting task. System ID G7, at your service.]
"Guess it's thanks to all the infinite novels I've read over the years? I'm not even surprised..." Ye Qian rubbed his brow, feeling a bit of a headache. "Anyway, let's clarify the situation."
[Because the host has accepted the acting task, from now on, you need to play ten different spirits from Date A Live. The spirit you play in each world will be different.]
[The spirits you need to play will be randomly selected. You cannot choose which spirit to play, and the world you travel to will be similarly random.]
[Upon arriving in different worlds, you will be given main tasks, side tasks, and random tasks.]
[Main tasks are mandatory, and failure to complete them will result in a penalty. Side tasks are optional, and their completion is up to you. Random tasks will appear during your role-playing, and whether you complete them is also up to you.]
[Once all main tasks are completed, your acting level will be evaluated, and your reward will depend on how well you acted and how many tasks you completed.]
[Once all ten spirit girls have been played, the host's task will be fully completed, and you will return to your original world.]
[As a reward for your work, you will randomly gain one ability from any of the ten spirit girls.]
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Lit!"
Ye Qian, who had been somewhat uninterested before, suddenly became incredibly excited upon hearing that after the job was done, he could return to his original world and even gain any spirit girl's ability. It felt like he had just been injected with pure adrenaline.
Those were the abilities of the spirit girls!
Even just one ability, and he'd be set for life once he returned!
Although he didn't know where the system came from, nor whether its words were trustworthy, Ye Qian chose to believe it.
After all, the system had already transferred him to another world and turned him into Tokisaki Kurumi. If the system had that much power, why would it lie to him?
It made sense to just trust it.
Anyway, Ye Qian had nothing else going on. After graduating from college, he never expected finding a job to be so difficult. But now, a job had found him, with a reward that no sane person could refuse. There was no way he could turn it down.
Even though his first acting role was going to be a female character, which might come with some psychological barriers, as long as the rewards were good enough, a little bit of embarrassment was no issue.
"It's just playing a spirit girl! I'll show you!" Ye Qian grinned, "Although it's a bit embarrassing, back when I was writing Date A Live fanfic, I spent quite a bit of time researching its universe and the personalities of each spirit. I never imagined I'd have a chance to use that information now."
Date A Live was Ye Qian's gateway anime, and it had a special meaning for him. He wouldn't have gone so far as to collect data and write fanfiction if it didn't.
He could swear there was no one who knew more about the spirit girls than him... well, probably.
That fanfic stuff was a long time ago, though, so while he vaguely remembered each spirit girl's general personality, habits, likes, and quirks, many details were already a bit hazy.
The first character he had to play was Tokisaki Kurumi, which was good news for Ye Qian.
Compared to the other spirit girls, he had the clearest impression of Tokisaki Kurumi.
After all, she had been his waifu for a whole year, so he knew her pretty well.
And among the ten spirit girls, Tokisaki Kurumi was also one of the easier roles to play, with less psychological pressure to overcome.
He didn't need to play a cute idol like Miku Izayoi, or a split-personality, tsundere girl like Kotori Itsuka, or a cold, aloof, but ditzy character like Tohka Yatogami...
For a beginner, Tokisaki Kurumi wasn't a bad choice at all.
[Personal Information Updated]
[Current Character Role: Tokisaki Kurumi]
[Current World: Bungou Stray Dogs]
[World Information Processing...]
[Main Mission Released]
[Main Mission: Become the Nightmare that Terrifies Yokohama]
[Side Mission Released]
[Side Mission 1: Join one of the following organizations: Armed Detective Agency, Port Mafia, or Ability Special Forces] (Joining multiple organizations will increase the final score.)
[Side Mission 2: Defeat Guild members] (Defeating multiple members and the leader will increase the final score.)
[Side Mission 3: Hide the identity of the otherworldly guest] (If the identity is not exposed or only partially exposed, the final score will increase.)
Ye Qian took a deep breath as he stared at the glowing screen in front of him and the missions listed on it.
For Ye Qian, these were all impossible tasks.
But for Tokisaki Kurumi, completing these missions wouldn't be that difficult.
The first roleplay had to be done in the best way possible.
"From now on, I am no longer Ye Qian."
The girl slowly exhaled the nervousness from her chest and entered full roleplay mode.
"I am Tokisaki Kurumi, the real Tokisaki Kurumi."