Anime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 6

Chapter 6: S+ Instance Clear Reward

“You’re a first-year too?”

Asuna stared at him, her hazel eyes wide with disbelief. She simply couldn’t reconcile the image before her. This mysterious boy—still casually gripping a heavy-duty power drill and a bloodstained chainsaw, his true face completely hidden from view—was actually an incoming high school freshman just like her.

And not just any high school. He was enrolling at Private Shuchiin Academy?

The admission standards for Shuchiin were notoriously draconian. It stood as the undisputed apex of academia in the Sakura Prefecture. Over ninety percent of its student body hailed from pedigrees of immense wealth and political power, while the remaining fraction consisted of absolute prodigies scouted for their monstrous intellect.

Asuna’s own father was the CEO of a massive electronics manufacturing conglomerate, and her mother was a respected university professor. Combined with a lifetime of rigorous elite tutoring and flawless grades, she had barely secured her own qualification to enter Shuchiin’s high school division.

‘So that’s how it is…’ Asuna thought, her gaze lingering on the chainsaw-wielding boy as they finally walked out of the suffocating lobby.

Stepping outside into the biting night air, she finally got a clear look at the full scope of the so-called “sanatorium.”

The architecture bore no resemblance to a normal hospital. Several blocky, brutalist concrete buildings, each about four or five stories high, loomed in the dark. They surrounded a central, dilapidated courtyard choked with dead weeds and cracked pavement. There were no guard rails, no security booths, and no modern facilities near the exit. There was only a pair of rusted, unlocked iron gates that ground together with an eerie, metallic screech whenever the cold wind hit them.

The moment the two of them pushed past the heavy iron gates and stepped beyond the courtyard’s threshold, the oppressive atmosphere shattered. Simultaneously, both of their phones chimed with a sharp notification tone.

Asuna pulled out her phone and tapped the app with the unsettling eye icon. Several lines of bright, blood-red text immediately flooded her screen.

[Congratulations to “Player” Yuuki Asuna. You have cleared the Novice Instance and obtained formal Player status.]

[Instance Clear Rating: A+]

[Reward: Basic Class “Swordsman” unlocked. Obtained Skill “Blessing of the Wind”. Obtained Equipment “Ordinary Quality Sword”.]

[Swordsman: A combat class specializing in bladed weapons.]

[Class Passive: When fighting with sword-type weapons, proficiency increases at an accelerated rate. There is a moderate chance to awaken a “Player’s” personal exclusive sword skill during high-stress combat.]

[Blessing of the Wind: Consumes a small amount of Mental Power to drastically reduce body weight and increase agility. A blessing-type magic.]

[Ordinary Quality Sword: Choose one type of sword to permanently obtain the corresponding ordinary quality weapon.]

Reading the final line, the distinct, elegant silhouette of a rapier subconsciously flashed through Asuna’s mind.

A split second later, gravity shifted against her palm. A sudden, very real weight settled into her right hand.

“This is…”

Asuna looked down, her breath catching in her throat. Gripped tightly in her hand was a slender, perfectly balanced rapier—an exact, flawless physical replica of the weapon she had just imagined.

Even though she had already accepted that this twisted “game” was reality, the ability to conjure physical matter out of thin air was entirely too surreal. It completely shattered the fundamental laws of conservation of energy.

A few steps away, Asagiri stood in silence, the glow of his own phone screen illuminating his mask as a different set of red text scrolled past.

[Congratulations to “Player” Utsunomiya Asagiri. You have cleared the Novice Instance and obtained formal Player status.]

[Instance Clear Rating: S+]

[Reward: Special Class “Diplomat” unlocked. Exclusive Talent “Persona” unlocked. Obtained Item “Teddy Bear Doll That Recites Dirty Jokes”.]

[Diplomat: Special support-type class.]

[Class Passive: When communicating with any type of target within an instance, the effectiveness of all Diplomacy-type rhetoric—including intimidation, deception, appeasement, guidance, and persuasion—is drastically increased. (Note: Ineffective against “Players”. The target of negotiation must possess basic self-awareness and cognitive thinking ability.)]

[Teddy Bear Doll That Recites Dirty Jokes: A non-living replica modeled after a certain Otherworldly bear mascot. The activation timer and volume can be programmed in advance. Upon activation, it will continuously broadcast a variety of extremely crude dirty jokes. (Note: The maximum volume setting is capable of causing slight eardrum hemorrhaging.)]

[Persona: A physical projection of the mind formed by your inner self, rebellious spirit, and core beliefs. (Can also be manifested in the real world.)]

[Persona is completely synchronized with your consciousness. No verbal commands are required. Initial summoning does not consume Mental Power or Stamina. When a Persona actively engages in combat or uses skills, it will draw upon your Mental Power and Stamina. (A Persona cannot be permanently destroyed by any type of attack, but each time it is temporarily shattered, it will inflict a massive drain on your Stamina and Mental Power.)]

[When different Personas are equipped, you will passively gain their corresponding stat enhancements and elemental affinities, even if they are not actively summoned.]

[Current Persona Slots: 3]

[Existing Personas:??? (Unlocks upon first summoning), None, None.]

“Did you get the clear notification too?”

Hearing Asuna’s voice break the silence, Asagiri casually pocketed his phone and nodded.

“Yeah, just got it. S-rank plus. How about you?” he asked, his tone completely flat, devoid of any bragging.

Asuna didn’t feel a shred of disappointment or jealousy at his superior rating. On one hand, simply surviving and clearing the nightmare safely was a massive victory in itself, and an A+ was nothing to scoff at. On the other hand, whether it came to piecing together the twisted lore of the asylum or executing the actual brutal violence required to survive, she hadn’t made any crucial contributions. It was only natural that the system graded him higher.

“By the way,” Asuna asked, tilting her head slightly. “What did you mean by the ‘assessment’ earlier?”

Asagiri let out a dry, amused chuckle.

“I meant exactly what it sounded like. How about forming a team?” He gestured to his pocket. “I just checked the app updates. Now that we’re formal Players, a few new functions have unlocked, including a friend system. Like I said back inside, your baseline stats, adaptability, and mental qualities meet the exact standards I want in a partner. More, you pulled an A+ on your first run, and I got an S+. I highly doubt there are many people out there scoring that high in a Novice Instance. If we party up, we’ll hold a massive tactical advantage in whatever nightmare this app throws at us next.”

“A team, huh…” Asuna murmured, considering it for only a moment before nodding. “Okay. I’m in.”

She didn’t need to overthink it. Even though this “Yoshiaki Hojo” had a personality that bordered on the abstract—and occasionally crossed the line into outright unhinged—his sheer competence was obvious. The only reason she was standing outside breathing fresh air right now was because of his ruthless efficiency. Sticking with him was the most logical choice for survival.

Pulling her phone back up, Asuna handled to the newly unlocked social tab, tapped the ‘Add Friend’ button, and held her device out, gently bumping it against Asagiri’s screen.

A second later, both phones chimed in unison. A crisp line of system text popped up on her screen.

[You have successfully added “Player” Utsunomiya Asagiri as a friend.]

Asuna stared at the screen. She blinked once. Then twice.