"That's about it. Review it later because we have a quiz tomorrow, dismissed."
Sounds of dismay rang as the teacher leisurely left the classroom.
Soon, the students also left the classroom with their friends, leaving only one figure sorting out his materials alone.
The young man didn't seem to mind being left alone; it could even be said that he preferred such treatment.
After sorting out his bag, the young man looked at his phone and saw 1 unread message in the inbox.
Curious, he opened it and saw the following.
[Onii-chan! After your dismissal, buy Komachi an ice cream!]
The young man sighed helplessly, "There goes my remaining allowance."
Despite complaining, after leaving the school, he went directly to the nearest convenience store and bought the ice cream regardless.
While walking, he noticed that the people around him were nowhere to be found, in contrast to the long-familiar sight he was acquainted with.
His keen senses were telling him that was something amiss.
But after seeing the people in the distance, he ignored his gut feeling and walked towards the dilapidated alley.
This time, however, the young man finally gains a hint of clarity; just before he takes a step toward the alley.
'Something's wrong. Why did I go regardless, knowing something was amiss?'
The young man, Hikigaya Hachiman, took a moment to deliberate as he slowly stepped back from the alley.
'I better take a detour.'
As if sensing his hesitation, something immediately latched on his shoulder, halting him on the spot.
Hachiman's eyes dilated as he broke into a cold sweat after seeing something in the alley.
He mustered up all his energy to utter a word, but in the end, he failed as the creature in the alley violently pulled him deep inside.
BANG!!
"Ack!!"
After crashing into the wall, Hachiman slumped on the floor, feeling excruciating pain all over his body.
His consciousness was blurry due to immense pain. Despite this, he gritted his teeth, trying his utmost to look at the figure who suddenly attacked him.
But the figure... was nowhere to be seen.
Hachiman turned his head around, searching for the figure. Unfortunately, there are no traces or signs of it at all.
It's as if it suddenly evaporated into thin air.
Yet despite this, Hachiman remained vigilant. Although his entire body was aching from the impact earlier, he had no choice but to swallow it, at the very least, before leaving the alley.
His limbs were shaking, leaning one of his hands on the wall. Slowly, he started to stagger toward the entrance of the alley.
He took the first step, second, third, until-
A shadow cast over him.
Hachiman paused at his track; before slowly lifting his head.
Above him, he saw a terrifying and unforgettable sight.
A gaping mouth filled with thousands of jagged teeth; was roughly 10 cm away from gnawing his head off.
At this moment, Hachiman fell into a daze, motionless as he waited for his impending doom.
'Komachi... I'm sorry, it looks like your brother won't be able to bring you the ice cream.'
A thought flashed by as Hachiman slowly closed his eyes.
BANG!
But suddenly, an explosion resounded over the alley.
"Kiiieck!!!"
After hearing this, Hachiman immediately opened his eyes. Instead of seeing abyssal-like maws, he saw a figure clad in armor with a familiar-looking horn on its mask.
[CLOCK OVER!]
"My grandma used to say; failure at some point in your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable. In this regard, you passed."
The figure clad in armor glanced at Hachiman's bleeding hand; he saw a shard of a mirror the size of a kitchen knife digging into his flesh.
Hachiman sensed the figure's eyes on his hand. But instead of keeping the shard, he decisively threw it away.
A hint of surprise immediately appeared in the eyes of the figure.
"Hm? It doesn't seem like you're worried about me."
Hachiman heaved a sigh and looked at the figure.
"... No. I can tell that it would only waste both of our time and cause unnecessary misunderstanding."
The figure clad in armor fell into silence before responding.
"... You're awfully calm."
Hachiman responded with a wry smile.
"I just walked from the gate of hell earlier."
The figure looked profoundly at Hachiman; before eventually retracting his transformation.
"Is that so... Heh, it looks like my partner is right."
After retracting his armor, Hachiman saw a man exuding warmth and brilliance akin to the sun. Unlike the superficial gazes he usually receives, the man in front of him was different; he was looking at him with straight and firm eyes.
"Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself."
After saying that, the man suddenly thrust his finger toward the sun in heaven.
"Walking the path of heaven, the man who will rule everything. My name is Tendou (Path of Heaven) Souji (Ruler of All)."
Roughly 10 minutes just before Hachiman's encounter.
In a dilapidated bookstore, amidst worn works of literature, lies a book akin to a pamphlet. It has a thickness of a light novel and texture as if it has been recently printed. It was an in-and-out book compared to its neighbors.
Within the imaginary space of the book lies two figures; the smaller one who's about to cry and a young man with a calm and contemplative expression.
"So you're saying that; I should've been your Host. But because of my sudden death, the contract was void, and as compensation, I got integrated into the book?" The young man said with a strange expression.
The loli nodded in dismay, "You became a half-initiator like me but also a ghost. Because of that, the contract extracted the energy I saved up for graduation to realize the compensation... sniff*."
The loli was doing its best not to shed her tears but recalling the tragic incident, her bottled-up emotion finally gushed out like a dam.
"I-I saved up sniff*... worked hard for a decade sniff*, even if my classmates were bullying me sniff* I-I..."
Her eyes were watery, looking at her slightly worn-out hands. She was huddling in the corner of the space, silently crying as if the entire world was weighing her down.
Seeing this, I felt my conscience eating me. I sighed and slowly walked towards the loli.
Yet despite sensing my approach, the loli remained motionless.
I inwardly shook my head and asked, "How much energy was left after the extraction?"
The loli, Alice, remained silent.
After not getting any response, I didn't inquire any more, seeing Alice immersed in her grief. Instead, I decided to tinker with my half-initiator authority and finally saw the remaining energy value.
[Imaginary Value: 50]
After successfully operating my authority, a series of memories suddenly appeared in the depths of my mind.
The Imaginary Space authorities, capability, theorem, possibility, etc.
All the basics that an initiator must learn quickly integrated within my mind.
I also learned about the so-called initiator thing. Apparently, it is a title for students who have successfully awakened and mastered the basics of the authority to affect reality. With the backing of their schools, these students could travel to another world they were assigned; to pick a Host to fight the invaders.
The connection between the Host and the Initiator is symbiotic. The Initiator will give the Host power, fame, and wealth; in exchange, the Host has to fight the invaders to provide the Initiator the energy to upgrade their authority.
Also, to ensure the interest of the Initiator, once it was deemed that the Host had expressed malice toward the Initiator, the Initiator can effectively void the contract and deprive the power given to the Host.
Of course, it could also be applied to Initiators who maliciously abused their Host for energy accumulation. Allowing the Host to return to their ordinary life and get compensation, making them live a life free of troubles, etc.
There's also a protocol for deceased hosts. Once the Host dies under any circumstance, the Initiator has to issue compensation according to the protocol.
Under normal circumstances, the compensation can be paid using Initiator's currency. But Alice, the little loli, has used up all her money to prepare for her upcoming traversal. Hence, the ingrained protocol at the Imaginary Book immediately used the energy that Alice accumulated to pay off the compensation.
Resulting in the present embarrassing yet tragic situation.
Soon, after the brief immersion, I immediately got into work and used Imaginary Sonar to detect the closest possible Host for Imaginary Book.
While I was engrossed in my work, a voice suddenly rang behind me.
"W-what are you doing?" Uttered in a weak yet pleasant chime-like voice, I turned my head and saw Alice looking at me with her slightly teary eyes in puzzlement.
Instead of answering, I turned my back on her and suddenly thrust my finger toward the ceiling. Soon an imaginary sun appeared within the Imaginary space.
"... My grandma used to say, as long as I move forward on the path I firmly believed in, even the world will make concessions for me." I glanced at the dumbfounded expression of the loli and resumed my work.
Thankfully, it didn't take long to find a qualified Host.
It's just that... why does our esteemed Host look familiar?
I rubbed my eyes and once again confirmed.
"... Is that Hachiman??"
Back to the present, after introducing myself, I finally retracted my hand and looked at Hachiman with the expression, "it's your turn."
As one can see, the ones who cosplayed Kabuto and Souji were non-other than me! Ren!
I don't know if it's normal, but Hachiman had the same expression as Alice after seeing my display. They are both astonished.
Regardless, the sluggishness in Hachiman's expression dissipated as he responded.
"... My name is Hikigaya Hachiman."
I didn't say much and just nodded. Afterward, I summoned the material body of the Imaginary Book and made it float in front of Hachiman.
"This is?" Hachiman glanced at the book with puzzlement.
I cleared my throat and assumed an expression of solemnity.
"Hikigaya Hachiman! From now on, as the potential inheritor of all Kamen Riders, I ask of you... Are you willing to bear the responsibility that comes with this power?" I stood still and awaited Hachiman's response.
"Potential Kamen Rider?" Hachiman stared at the book before glancing at the remains of the monster that nearly took his life.
I didn't try to dissuade or tempt him; this is the basic respect I usually uphold when it comes to serious matters. Especially in Hachiman's case, once he chose to embark on this path, he would have to fight countless invaders from another world. Although it doesn't really matter much because if I want to, I can immediately give him the golden belt of Ohma Zio.
But I won't. Because it won't be constructive for Hachiman's development, not only as a person but also as a Kamen Rider.
Although it's unclear why I can bypass the energy requirements required when using powerful imagery, that doesn't mean I'll abuse it and take it for granted. Who knows, maybe that thing was secretly marked by a price.
Soon, as if finally making up his mind, Hachiman firmly stared in my direction and gave me his answer.
"I-"
Sadg
Is gud.