『Felix Karl Grimm』
Despite being the person chosen to wield the Chaos Gacha, I was never much of a gambler, but at this moment, with the Wheel of Worlds spinning. I couldn't help but feel what real gamblers felt when they put their children's college savings on the line.
My heart clenched every time I saw words like Berserk or Darksouls or Bloodborne- fucking Bloodborne!? Alright, I have a feeling I got quite lucky starting with Cyberpunk now.
More names passed by, Demon Slayer, Fallout, even Danmachi and for some reason, stuff like Wolfenstein and so on until it landed on...
"Jujutsu Kaisen, a world with a veil of normalcy with a disaster of curses lurking beneath. How delightfully chaotic."
The Dealer declared with an almost purr in her tone as the wheel landed on the world of Jujutsu Kaisen.
I collapsed back onto my seat with a plethora of conflicted emotions. My mind racing with a thousand thoughts per second.
On one hand, fuck yeah, a world with a simulacrum of normalcy! I'd get to breathe actual air, and eat actual food!
But on the other hand... the dangers were massive. And while they were trivially easy to avoid by just going to somewhere like Greenland, if I knew anything about the Gacha, it wouldn't desire something so boring. I could do my own thing and hunt curses without getting involved with the mess that was canon but...
Missions.
Crud.
"High risk, high reward again, eh?"
The Dealer's fingers rapped against the wooden bar.
"Indeed, that is the core of the Gacha no? This world seems like it would be... spectacular."
I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed deeply.
"Spectacularly dangerous you mean. I'm fairly strong, but not enough fight sorcerers who can tank 50cal like it's a light tickle on the lower end. But at the same time, it is a world that would indeed help me grow a lot even beyond the tickets."
There was, of course, the obvious tickets of defeating wild Cursed Spirits, hunting Finger Bearers, stealing Sukuna Fingers, and there was also the appeal of getting training from people with constitutions as good as mine or better. Plenty of hand-to-hand fighters that could help me get a handle on my Kure physique. Which I supposed made this world somewhat worth it.
"Well, I assume I'm going to end up close to canon like before? Not that it mattered much in Night City in the grand scheme of things, but I have a feeling it will be a rather different here."
The Dealer nodded just as I expected, her long horns bobbling in the air.
"Indeed, it would be very insubstantial to place you elsewhere. Anything else would be like offering a plate of fries without salt or any sauce."
My eyes snapped wide open.
"Oh my Patron, I will finally get to eat real food."
Fries, french fries, made of real potatoes, not nutrislop or the RealMeat or Scop. Real, actual potatoes. The concept almost feels distant to me. The crunch, the taste, the feeling.
This must feel weird to hear from me, probably among the greatest Mercenaries of all time in the year 2076 and the legendary terrorist that brought down Arasaka Tower. But I would kill anyone in my way to be able to eat real food again. That was among the worst parts of living in Night City.
Yes, the Dealer served drinks, but they were only drinks and no food. And the drinks here didn't really satiate me. It was like the concept of drinking along with the sensation and taste but without the actual drink being there.
But I barely managed to calm myself back down to ground myself.
"Alright... so, how is this going to work? Unlike Night City I can't exactly just... slip in, I don't even know Japanese. And I have to have actual records there since Japan, again, is not a hellhole like Night City where legality is a formality."
The dealer rubbed her chin.
"That will be fixed rather simply. You will be inserted in a basic role. A basic backstory that justifies your existence. You will be a Highschooler in Japan, you are an orphan who recently moved out of your foster home. Of course, that means you will know Japanese, consider it a gift for your inconvenience. Well then, I have kept you long enough, good luck Felix, you will need it."
I blinked as I felt the sensation of transmigration once more.
"Hey wait a sec-!"
And then I was gone.
✧―✧―✧―✧「」✧―✧―✧―✧
『Felix Karl Grimm』
"Ugh..."
My eyes opened groggily to a new sensation.
A relatively comfortable bed, sunlight streamed in through the window of a modest, somewhat messy but cozy studio apartment. Through the gap of the window I felt it. I took a deep breath through my nose and felt it fill my lungs with a delightful sensation.
Fresh air.
My body reflexively all but jumped out of bed as I patted myself down. I was wearing a simple cotton shirt and pants. I felt a bit of a sting in my head as the wave of information came crashing down. I was still Felix Karl Grimm, a name that my backstory was bullied quite a lot for. I was a High Schooler just as the Dealer said. I didn't exactly mind, my age remained the same after all.
The information was not exactly memories, but more like a "You know this now.". I knew who I was supposed to be, how barebones my life before coming here was and-
Who gives a damn man?
I spun on my heel and threw open the door to the balcony and stepped outside. The clean, bright sunlight hit my eyes like a welcome embrace.
Holding onto the railings I looked down at the busy Tokyo streets below, the smell of people, trees and fresh air.
"Ahahahahaha!!!!"
Fresh air!
Trees!
People that don't look like ghouls!
No ads everywhere!
Trees!
FRESH AIR!
Wild animals!
No constant noise of machinery, hum of plasma, distant gunfire, or ads playing!
I'm... I'm tearing up.
This must be heaven. I had almost forgotten how the regular world felt. Albeit, I didn't use to live in Japan, so this place was still unfamiliar, but y'know? This kind of bustling metropolis felt lively and invigorating compared to the overbearing and, excuse my language, fucking shitty Night City.
I think I will first thoroughly enjoy my stay in Tokyo and act like a borderline tourist until I get involved in anything Jujutsu and especially Kaisen. I feel like a sinner plucked out of hell and placed into heaven.
Being greeted with this, I couldn't but spend an uncomfortable amount of time in the balcony just taking it all in before a grumble of my stomach alarmed me.
Normally, I had negative appetite due to the cuisine of Night City, but now? Now? I'd finally get to eat!
Going back into my apartment, I rifled around and found a wallet, with my student ID and a few thousand yen. I wasn't exactly rolling around in money since I was an orphan and all. But I could easily make more.
After all...
[Status]
Name: Felix Karl Grimm
Titles:
The Reaper of Night City
Active Abilities(2/2)
-Superhuman(Uncommon)
-Precognition(Elite)
Buddy, I was used to going in gang hideout and walking out with a pile of bodies behind me and no scratch on me. The concept of lacking money was just a quick way of telling me I hadn't stretched my fingers yet.
Throwing on a hoodie and some sneakers I walked out of my home and felt like a true tourist without any worries as I blended into the morning crowd.
Oh right, morning crowd. Didn't I have school?
Eh, who gives a damn? I was not going to waste my time with goddamn school. I was a world travelling gambler, and I was just out of Night City, and I had some sort of grand mission I had to hunt down in this world. I deserved the respite.
The worries about school left my mind as fast as they came to. I was here to enjoy my life and complete my mission, speaking of...
'Mission.'
As expected, the mission interface popped up in front of me, and I couldn't help but scratch my head at the conditions.
[Mission: Jujutsu YOUR Kaisen]
Description: You have landed in the world of Curses and dangerous humanity risking plots. And it's up to you to make the best of it all. Place your mark on the world or prove yourself to be a real match to the monsters of this world.
Conditions:
Hunt Down Over 500 Cursed Spirits
OR
Hunt Down a Special Grade Cursed Spirit
OR
Get Promoted to Grade 1 Sorcerer
That was a big yikes.
A big yikes.
I'd have to step my game up a LOT to hunt down a special grade. Sure, I was superhuman, but like, I was an action star kind of superhuman, the kind that still gets hurt by bullets. Not the kind that can get slapped through a skyscraper and come out with mild scratches like Sorcerers.
Granted, I didn't exactly have a measure for how strong my Seraph Tracers were yet. But I had a long way ahead of me before I hunt a Finger Bearer, let alone a true Special Grade. And I felt like getting promoted to Grade 1 would be a hassle and a half, considering how bigoted the higher-ups of the Jujutsu world were.
But I had time, and unlike Night City, I didn't mind spending time in this place.
That is, until stuff like Culling Games and such happen anyway.
...Anyway! Food, I could finally eat good food.
Although there was still the matter of padding out my wallet.
✧―✧―✧―✧「」✧―✧―✧―✧
I counted the bills in my hands with some satisfaction. Pickpocketing Japanese civilians felt like taking candy from a baby when I had Precognition, Superhuman and Interfacing. Of course, I only picked the people who looked like they could take the loss and placed the wallets back in their pockets afterwards. But I still netted myself 400,000 Yen after an hour.
Sure, it was a downgrade from being a multi-millionaire in Night City, but this money meant infinitely more to me than those numbers in my bank account. Because those could not buy me...
Ramen!
Burgers and Fries!
I am going on a binge. I am not stopping until my stomach bursts. Kure have incredible metabolisms, and I would be putting it to the taste today.
Hehehehe...
"Gueh... kikikiki!"
My ear picked up a nasty noise and I tilted my head slightly to a disgusting mix of a fly, monkey and some other gerbil jumping on the shoulders of a salary man who looked mildly annoyed by the whole affair. Unable to sense the critter on his back.
So that's what a cursed spirit looks like in person, huh? It would certainly beat most Maelstrom in a beauty pageant.
Gah! Stop comparing everything to Night City! You're finally out of that place, the last think you wanna is thinking about it.
I shook my head.
I think that place permanently altered my brain chemistry in a bad way. Being in regular ol' Tokyo after it felt like being high on drugs on MaxDoc.
For today, curses are not my problem. What is my problem is...
I walked into a ramen stall in the streets and got hit with the smell of appetizing food like a sledgehammer. I took a seat and took a deep breath while trying to suppress the tears.
"What do you want, kid?"
The kind-looking older man behind the stall, without any of the cynicsim or guardedness of Night City vendors, asked me as he busied himself with dishes.
"I'll take whatever is the best ramen you'll serve pops, price doesn't matter."
"I'll make my favorite Tonkotsu ramen then."
I watched the man get to work on my meal with rapt attention. It was like watching actual magic happen as he worked the ingredients. My mouth watered up like there was a storm going on inside there. And after what felt like forever, my meal was served in front of me. The noodles, eggs, pork slices peeked out of the surfaces of the broth, and I picked up the chopsticks before inhaling a mouthful of ramen.
"Mmmh!"
An explosion of flavor erupted in my mouth. My taste buds, all too used to NutriSlop Paste were almost overwhelmed by the taste, the savory, the sweet, the umami, the deliciousness. It was enough to make a white tear run down a man's leg.
This is it, this is heaven.
"Well kid, you must've been starving to enjoy my ramen that much."
The man laughed heartily while I nodded and shoveled another bite into my mouth.
"I really was."
I really was starving all this time.
A/N: The wheel of worlds spins and lands on... Jujutsu Kaisen! Totally not because I got back to binging Jujutsu Kaisen again. No way. But it is definitely a good world for gambling, plenty of feats to achieve and enemies to encounter. Will it be an easy or safe world? Hell no. Will it be a fun one? Hopefully. What did you guys think about the world chosen? I'd love to know.
Not much happens this chapter other than Felix settling in, but for him it really is a lot. He finally gets to enjoy the real world for once. Night City really did a number on him that he didn't quite realize until he ended up in a world that was not nearly as messed up as that one. And Felix will be dammed before he lets a world like this go to waste.
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