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Chapter 1: The System That Arrived Seventeen Years Late
🕑 Added 2025-07-30 20:01:02 +0000 UTCTuesday, 4:30 PM – Shibuya, Tokyo
After thanking the guy who came to take over his shift, Aoki Kei pushed open the door and stepped out of the convenience store where he worked part-time.
It was still early summer, so even in the middle of the afternoon, the temperature outside was fairly pleasant.
But as he mentally calculated his monthly wages against the rent he’d just paid yesterday, a trace of irritation surfaced on his face the moment he stepped out.
If nothing unexpected happened, he’d be surviving on cheap bento meals again this month.
There was nothing left in his wallet beyond food money, and most of his part-time earnings had gone toward rent.
As a student, finding a high-paying job was nearly impossible...
Seventeen years since transmigrating to Tokyo, and this was what he had to show for it. Pathetic.
He worked at a convenience store to cover his tuition and rent.
Whatever little was left went into just staying alive.
His phone was an outdated model bought two years ago, and not long ago, he’d been stressing over his absurd utility bills...
He wasn’t much different from an overworked corporate drone—no, scratch that, he might actually be worse off than most of them.
But even so, considering the circumstances, it was impressive he’d managed to come this far.
In his previous life, Aoki Kei had been an ordinary university student—until one day, a truck (clearly trying to meet its quota) hit him and sent him flying into the middle of nowhere in Tottori Prefecture, Japan.
He’d been reborn from infancy, starting off in an orphanage.
No golden finger, no one to care for him, no adoption.
Even though he was in another world, there were no exploitable information gaps—aside from some similar place names and architecture, this world was completely different from the one he came from.
And any plans of profiting off plagiarizing songs or novels from his old world had to be scrapped—his memories were too fuzzy.
He was a transmigrator without any system advantages.
The only edge he had over kids his age was a slightly more mature mindset.
At age seven, he was sent to a poorly resourced public elementary school in Tottori.
At thirteen, he advanced to a public junior high where the teachers were arguably less competent than himself.
In Japan—a country rigidly stratified and class-conscious—his future could be predicted at a glance.
Unwilling to live a mediocre life, Aoki declared at the end of junior high that he wanted to attend a private high school in Tokyo.
The educational resources there were leagues above rural Tottori.
Only in Tokyo did he have even a sliver of hope to change his fate through education.
Naturally, the orphanage director had no objections—but he also offered no financial support.
And so, at sixteen, Aoki Kei began his life in Tokyo: juggling part-time jobs and school, grinding through life with sheer willpower.
Unlike most high schoolers who enjoyed youth and romanticized adolescence, Aoki had only one goal.
Study hard. Change his future.
His dream school was the University of Tokyo, located in Bunkyō, famously nicknamed the cradle of decadent politicians.
His dream job? A rotten politician who’d leech off the nation’s blood.
For over a decade, he poured himself into this dream.
Waking early, working three jobs a week, never complaining, staying disciplined through thick and thin—all for the chance to get into Tokyo U.
Until just moments ago...
For the first time since arriving in Japan, the life goal he’d clung to for seventeen years wavered.
He had been walking back to his rented apartment as usual, but stopped when he passed a small park.
It was a park he walked by every day, equipped with basic facilities.
Around preschool dismissal time, parents often brought their children here to play.
But Aoki hadn’t stopped because he wanted a turn on the swings.
No, his eyes had caught sight of a girl who looked strangely familiar.
Not someone he recognized from his seventeen years in Japan.
He was sure of that. But there was still something about her...
Blonde hair tied in a side ponytail. A school uniform he didn’t recognize. Bright red eyes.
An aura of energy that radiated from her without even trying.
With all his experience from watching anime in his past life, he didn’t need more than a glance to place her.
Ijichi Nijika—one of the main characters from the popular music manga Bocchi the Rock!
Of course, seeing a real-life anime girl might make anyone stop and stare.
He’d be surprised, maybe even amazed that he was living in an anime world.
But it wouldn’t be enough to shake the life goal he’d been striving toward for years.
No, what truly made him hesitate was the light blue screen that suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
————————————————————————
[You’ve encountered the heroine Ijichi Nijika, who is currently looking for a temporary guitarist. Your choice is…]
[Option 1: Take the middle path—ignore the heroine, carry your cheap bento back to your dingy apartment, and continue your monotonous, AC-less summer life in 40°C heat. (Reward: 500 points | Ending: A Life Repeated Daily)]
[Option 2: A strong man’s life needs no rehearsal! Confess to Ijichi Nijika in the middle of the park and shout: “Ijichi Nijika, you’re the kind of woman I could call Mother!” (Reward: 500 points | Achievement: The End at the Beginning)]
[Option 3: Approach the heroine and ask if her band needs a temporary guitarist. If she says yes, offer your help. (Reward: 500 points + 100,000 yen cash)]
————————————————————————
A system?
Aoki froze for a second. Then realization dawned.
Ah… the golden finger that had arrived seventeen years late—only showing up after he’d already built his life goals and worked toward them relentlessly.
His eyes quickly scanned through the options.
After a short pause, he took a deep breath.
Option two was clearly insane, so he tossed that one out immediately.
As much as he wanted to yell at the system for being so late, and as tempting as it was to choose Option 1 to keep life simple... Option 3 was way too generous to pass up.
Forget the points for now—just that big, bold 100,000 yen was enough to spark something deep inside him.
100,000 yen. That was nearly 700 dollars.
Even if he didn’t use it to upgrade his lifestyle, just holding that money would bring peace to someone who had lived seventeen years in poverty.
A true man wouldn’t bend for a few cups of rice.
But cash? Cash wasn't rice. So bending for it didn’t count.
Of course, there was a problem: he didn’t know how to play guitar.
If he chose Option 3 and offered to help, he’d probably just end up embarrassing himself in front of Nijika—and might even ruin her plans.
His gaze lingered on the dazzling “100,000 yen” flashing on the panel. He hesitated.
For half a second.
Then he made his decision.
Worst-case scenario, he could later help Nijika find Bocchi-chan. Close enough—no harm done.
Sorry, walking 100k yen lady!
With his mind made up, he stepped into the park.
He wasn’t far from her when he called out to the blonde girl, who was busy looking at her phone.
“Uh... excuse me. I saw you looking for a guitarist earlier. I, uh, know a little. Need some help?”
