Half a day of walking.
Takeshi's feet hurt.
Not unbearably—this new body was annoyingly efficient—but enough to remind him he hadn't exercised in approximately seven years.
"Twelve kilometers," he muttered, kicking a pebble down the dirt road. "In dress shoes. Fantastic life choices, Takeshi."
At least he wasn't empty-handed.
About ten minutes after he'd started walking, he'd stumbled across a leather suitcase half-buried in the grass near where he'd woken up. Inside: identification papers, a few official-looking documents, and a stack of letters tied with string.
All addressed to Aphrodite Kuzon.
Takeshi had spent the entire walk reading through them, partly out of curiosity, partly because the glowing system screen refused to give him literally any other information.
And honestly? The more he read, the weirder it got.
Aphrodite Kuzon — youngest son of the Kuzon Clan.
A clan of anomalies.
See, in this world, people were born with one of two things: Gifts or Magic.
Gift users couldn't use magic. Magic users couldn't use Gifts. That was the rule. Universal. Absolute.
Except for the Kuzon Clan.
They could use both.
"So I'm in a world with actual genetics-based power structures," Takeshi muttered, flipping through one of the letters. "Great. Love that for me."
But what really caught his attention was the pile of scouting letters.
Not applications.
Not requests.
Scouting letters.
Multiple academies, guilds, and organizations had reached out to Aphrodite Kuzon personally, asking—practically begging—for him to join them.
All Star Academy's letter was at the top of the stack, stamped with an ornate gold seal.
"Dear Mr. Kuzon,
We are pleased to extend an exclusive teaching position at All Star Academy. Your unique qualifications make you an ideal candidate for our most... challenging students."
Takeshi read that line three times.
Then he grinned.
"Hehehe."
He looked up at the sky, still walking, a smug little smile creeping across his face.
"I was scouted too… for my skills."
It was stupid. Childish, even. But something about that felt good.
Back in his old life, he'd been good at his job. Really good. But no one ever asked for him specifically. He was just another cog in the studio machine.
But here?
Here, people wanted him.
Well, they wanted Aphrodite Kuzon. But Takeshi was wearing his face now, so close enough.
He stuffed the letters back into the suitcase and kept walking, feeling just a little lighter than before.
By the time the capital came into view, the sun was high, the sky was clear, and Takeshi's stomach was growling.
"Oh, wow."
He stopped at the crest of a hill, staring down at the city sprawled below.
Arkspire Capital was massive.
Stone streets wound through clusters of buildings that looked like someone had taken medieval Europe and dunked it in magic. Towers spiraled upward with no visible support. Bridges floated between rooftops. Glowing runes were etched into nearly every surface, pulsing faintly with energy.
And the people.
Even from a distance, Takeshi could see the streets packed with movement—merchants hauling carts, street performers juggling fire, kids running between stalls.
It was alive in a way Tokyo never was.
"Okay," he muttered. "Maybe this world isn't completely terrible."
He adjusted his suitcase and started down the hill.
The moment he stepped into the market district, the noise hit him like a wave.
"Fresh mana potions! Two for one!"
"Enchanted daggers! Guaranteed not to explode!"
"Get your fortunes read! Only three silver!"
Stalls lined both sides of the street, crammed with everything from glowing fruit to weapons that hummed with power. Vendors shouted over each other, gesturing wildly at their wares. The smell of roasted meat mixed with something sweet and floral—probably magical, knowing this place.
Takeshi wove through the crowd, trying not to look like a complete tourist.
A kid zipped past him on a floating skateboard.
An old woman sold bottled lightning from a wooden cart.
Someone's pet—was that a miniature dragon?—sat on a table, casually eating gemstones.
"This is insane," Takeshi muttered, eyes darting everywhere. "This is actually insane."
But also… kind of incredible.
He passed a food stall selling skewers of something that definitely wasn't chicken and bought one on impulse. Three silver coins—he had no idea if that was expensive, but the vendor didn't argue.
He took a bite.
It was good. Really good. Better than anything he'd eaten in months.
"Okay, yeah," he said through a mouthful. "I can get used to this."
The glowing system screen appeared in the corner of his vision, subtle enough that no one else seemed to notice.
[Objective: Reach All Star Academy]
Distance Remaining: 2.1 km
An arrow pointed left.
Takeshi followed it, weaving through the market, still munching on his skewer.
The crowd thinned as he turned onto a quieter street. The buildings here were older, more ornate. Fewer merchants, more... atmosphere.
Then he saw the sign.
AUCTION STREET.
Curiosity got the better of him.
He slowed, glancing at the shops lining the narrow road. Most of them had glass displays filled with strange, expensive-looking items—enchanted jewelry, rare books, weapons that glowed faintly.
And then he saw it.
A small stall near the corner, half-hidden by a faded awning.
Rows of masks hung on hooks, each one hand-carved and painted.
Takeshi stopped.
His eyes landed on one in particular—a sleek white fox mask with red accents around the eyes and delicate black markings along the edges.
He stared at it.
Something about it felt… familiar.
And then it hit him.
"Kurama IV," he whispered.
His main character. His favorite character. From the gacha game he'd dumped hundreds of hours into. A white-haired fox spirit with a cocky grin and way too much charm.
He'd pulled that character on his birthday two years ago and never switched off him.
This mask looked exactly like Kurama's signature disguise.
Before he even realized what he was doing, Takeshi walked up to the stall.
The vendor—a wiry old man with a pipe—glanced up. "Interested in the fox?"
"Yeah." Takeshi pointed. "How much?"
"Ten silver."
Takeshi pulled out his pouch. He had no idea how much money he actually had, but—yeah, okay, there were definitely more than ten silver coins in here.
He handed them over.
The old man wrapped the mask in cloth and passed it to him. "Good choice. That one's got character."
"Yeah," Takeshi muttered, tucking it into his suitcase. "That's one way to put it."
He didn't need a mask.
He had no logical reason to buy it.
But holding it made him feel a little less displaced. A little less like he'd been ripped out of his life and dumped into someone else's.
So he kept it.
The walk continued.
The streets grew quieter. The buildings taller. The air… heavier, somehow. More magical.
Takeshi's head started to ache.
Not badly. Just a dull, persistent throb at the base of his skull.
Probably from all the new information his brain was trying to process. New world. New body. New everything.
He rubbed his temples, sighing.
The system screen flickered.
[Distance Remaining: 0.3 km]
"Almost there," he muttered.
At least the screen was useful. Without it, he'd probably still be wandering the market asking strangers for directions.
He turned a corner—
—and froze.
All Star Academy.
It rose before him like something out of a fantasy movie.
Massive. Towering. Impossible.
The main gates were easily twenty feet tall, carved from dark stone and inlaid with glowing blue runes. Behind them, the academy sprawled across what had to be miles of land—spires, courtyards, floating walkways, training grounds.
It looked like a castle and a university had a baby and then gave it way too much magical steroids.
Takeshi stood there, suitcase in one hand, half-eaten skewer in the other, staring up at the gates.
"…Okay," he said quietly.
He took a breath.
Then another.
"Okay."
This was it.
No turning back now.
He walked up to the gates, adjusted his glasses, and stepped forward.