Summer, the scorching sun baked the earth from high in the sky.
Behind the school building of Toyogasaki Academy, next to a small grove of trees, a slender young man, approximately 175cm tall, lay on the ground, completely motionless.
The boy had fair skin and delicate, handsome features that carried a touch of good looks. He seemed quite young, his appearance still somewhat immature and tender, yet even so, he could currently be considered a major contender on the school's heartthrob list.
However, at this moment, that handsome, youthful face was flushed, covered in sweat, and his eyes were tightly shut… he was clearly unconscious.
'Considering the current hot weather, he probably has heatstroke.'
So analyzed a young girl, who had skipped class and come to the grove to enjoy the cool shade and sort out her recent writing ideas, in her mind.
The girl couldn't help but show a trace of disdain on her face. Although the weather wasn't very forgiving, for a boy to succumb to heatstroke so easily was indeed too weak.
Even though she felt like leaving him there unattended, the girl obviously wouldn't actually do that.
'The school infirmary wasn't far from here, only a few dozen meters away.'
After thinking for a moment, the girl decided it would be better to notify the teacher in the infirmary.
…
Joseph Linker, a standard 21st-century youth. Labels like Internet surfer, high school student, fan of anime, otaku could perfectly represent him.
Yet, just such a youth who liked watching anime and lazing around at home for fun, ended up dying unexpectedly in a traffic accident.
Sigh, ultimately, he shouldn't have been looking at his phone while crossing the road.
At the final moment of his life, Joseph was still somewhat relieved, because he was the youngest in his family, and his parents still had his siblings to take care of them.
However, he never dreamed that he would be able to open his eyes again!
After all, he had been hit and sent flying by a speeding car. If he survived, it must have been thanks to some serious good fortune.
Feeling that initial impact force, Joseph honestly hadn't believed he could make it out alive.
....
After opening his eyes, what greeted him was a pure white ceiling, a fresh fragrance, and a warm breeze blowing in from the window.
'Huh? Warm?'
Something felt off to Joseph, who had just instinctively assumed he would be weak, 'Why was it warm?'
He was wearing a heavy winter coat. Some keyboard warriors online claimed a thick coat could cushion the impact or something, but that was all nonsense.
With this experience, Joseph swore to himself he wouldn't believe any more nonsense from forum posts.
"Kazami-kun, it's not that Sensei wants to criticize you, but your physical constitution is just too poor."
A mature woman's voice, carrying a tone of helplessness and pleasant to the ear, interrupted Joseph's wandering thoughts.
"You didn't even have P.E. class today, didn't do any heavy work, and you still got heatstroke? You should really thank Kasumigaoka-san. If she hadn't notified a teacher, you might have really ended up in Tokyo Medical University. Of course, not as a student who passed the exams, but as one lying down on a stretcher."
The woman's voice continued.
Joseph finally reacted, instinctively saying, "What P.E. class? Wasn't I in a car accident?"
At this point, Joseph also got a clear look at the female teacher.
She was wearing a white lab coat, her looks were average, but she seemed very gentle. She appeared to be in her thirties, with short hair.
"Car accident? You... did the heatstroke make you delirious?"
The teacher muttered, suspiciously reaching out to feel Joseph's forehead, but detected no obvious issue.
Moreover, looking at how fluently this guy was talking, he clearly didn't seem to be in serious condition.
"Heatstroke?" Only then did Joseph fully grasp the situation. He looked around at his surroundings.
This wasn't the intensive care unit he had expected, but just an ordinary school infirmary.
Suddenly, an excruciating, splitting headache hit him. The intense pain immediately made him cry out loudly.
Then, a flood of unfamiliar memories rushed into his mind.
'Kazami Yusei, Tokyo, Toyogasaki Academy, timid, cowardly, etc....'
The pain from the massive influx of memories came and went quickly, vanishing as fast as it appeared.
During this process, Joseph also absorbed this large chunk of memories, and the most important part was that he... had obtained a system!
Just as fitting as his labels suggested: anime enthusiast, Internet surfer, otaku… it perfectly matched his identity.
He had obtained a system related to the world of anime!
Its name was simple and direct, [The Anime System]!
From the rest, he also understood: he had transmigrated. After the car accident, he died and then crossed over into this world that seemed to be from anime, and in the process, obtained a system.
'So, my name is Kazami Yusei now?'
Joseph... no, he should now be called Kazami Yusei.
He felt somewhat conflicted about this inwardly.
His parents from his previous life still had his siblings to look after them, and the family was well-off, so Yusei wasn't worried about them.
"In that case, I'll live well in this new world. That's what they would have hoped for too."
He murmured these words softly, his tone deep yet carrying a hint of indescribable joy.
Indeed, this was truly something worth being joyful about. After all, who could resist when they were such an anime fan themselves?