Vol. 1 Chapter 1 – The Light-Attribute Asahi-san

School is its own small society.

Status within the so-called school hierarchy can be broadly divided into two categories.

One is the gloomy type… the lower class belonging to the non-normie attribute.

They’re the bottom tier who spend their breaks either fiddling with smartphones chosen for performance over trendiness or pretending to sleep.

Their friendships generally consist entirely of others in the same tier within their grade level, and they have few, if any, acquaintances outside of school.

They might have a few more friends if they participate in club activities, but otherwise, their situation is simply miserable.

Having a significant other is rarer than pulling the highest rarity character in a predatory mobile game.

If you were to use game attributes as an analogy, they are unequivocally the dark attribute.

They are like the dust and dregs drifting at the bottom of the deep sea, beings that would vanish in an instant if exposed to light.

I’m sixteen, a sophomore in high school, and my only hobby is gaming.

Although I attend a college-prep school, my grades are closer to the bottom than the top, and I’m not in any clubs.

And I, Kageyama Reiya, am no exception; I belong to that lower stratum.

As for the other category… well, there’s no need to think of an example.

Because the very embodiment of it is sitting right next to me now.

“Aah!! I died!!” (Asahi Hikaru)

In a studio apartment, a beautiful girl with medium-short hair cried out, controller in hand.

Asahi Hikaru.

The most popular girl in our school is currently sitting on my bed, engrossed in a video game.

And it’s not some puzzle game on a smartphone favored by the popular kids, but a hardcore die-and-retry game that probably less than 1% of Shibuya’s high school girls have even heard of.

On the screen, unpleasant-looking old men were killing each other with swords.

“Ugh… So frustrating… One more time!! I’ll definitely win next time!!” (Asahi Hikaru)

Unfazed by the ominous character for ‘Death’ displayed on the screen, she threw herself back into the grueling battle.

Her body leaned forward in concentration; she lamented when she lost and threw her hands up in joy when she won.

“One more time,” “one more time,” she repeated, losing track of time as she immersed herself in the virtual world.

It was a sight unimaginable from the girl who always shone at the center of the A-list members in the classroom.

However, it was undeniably the figure of a gamer, just like us.

“I died again!” (Asahi Hikaru)

As the character for death appeared once more, Asahi-san leaned back against the bed.

She was wearing casual clothes, different from her usual uniform.

Girls’ fashion is more incomprehensible to me than quantum mechanics, but I could tell it suited her exceptionally well.

Perhaps because she was relaxing during her private hobby time, she exuded a certain unguardedness not usually seen.

Being alone with her like this in a room that couldn’t be called spacious…

It felt like a Damage over Time attack, steadily chipping away at my HP gauge.

‘Hesitation is defeat.’

The line spoken by a character on the screen sounded as if it were directed right at me.

She, on the other hand, didn’t seem particularly bothered by this situation.

“One more time!! This time for sure!!” (Asahi Hikaru)

Asahi-san forcefully pressed the confirmation button on the controller, challenging the boss once again.

Her gaze fixed on the monitor was utterly serious.

Two weeks had already passed since she started coming over like this on weekends to play games.

How did we end up in this kind of relationship?

To unravel the history of this battle between light and dark, we need to turn back time a little.

---

• ‘Hesitation is defeat.’: A famous line from the game called Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_eU1_0KFN8