"Lord Kisaragi, we can only see you this far."
In front of Shin'o Academy, a girl dressed in a white top and crimson hakama was bidding farewell to a reluctant-looking young man.
"You'll have to make the rest of the journey on your own."
The girl smiled brightly, seeming to look forward to the days ahead.
"Good grief, Ise Shizune. That was a pretty heartless thing to say."
The boy curled his lip in disdain. "I'm still your Chief Priest, after all!"
"Yes, yes, Chief Priest."
Ise Shizune placated him gently. "While you're at the Spiritual Arts Academy, please, please, please don't get into any more trouble."
"After all, there are upper-ranking nobles here, even members of the Five Noble Families."
"If you offend them, people of our standing will probably be tossed onto the execution grounds and put to death in no time!"
For once, the boy didn't argue with her. He simply nodded and replied with a smile:
"I understand, Shizune."
Ise Shizune was taken aback for a moment by his response, then finally broke into a smile. She waved goodbye and left the area around the academy.
Today was the entrance ceremony at Shin'o Academy. There were plenty of boys like him, including quite a few nobles dressed in finery.
This was the Soul Society, the world of the Shinigami.
His name was Kisaragi Akira, Chief Priest of the Shrine in Nikkotsu District, Rukongai—in other words, its head priest.
Kisaragi Akira could no longer remember how long he'd been in this world.
The hard days when he'd gone hungry had ended when he joined the Shrine. After that, he'd relied on his knowledge of and familiarity with the con-artist profession.
Step by step, Kisaragi Akira had risen to the top of the Shrine, becoming its head—no, its Chief Priest.
Although the Nikkotsu Shrine consisted of only him and Ise Shizune,
that did nothing to diminish Kisaragi Akira's standing in Rukongai.
As the only Chief Priest in several nearby districts, Kisaragi Akira had quite a bit of authority.
He personally handled duties such as rituals, exorcisms, and prayers, while Ise Shizune helped him out.
Of course, in certain emergencies, Ise Shizune had to step in herself.
For example, when they encountered bandits, rebels, riots, or even Hollows that had slipped into Rukongai.
After all,
Kisaragi Akira had never received any formal training. He had no idea how to fight, and even if he had some talent, he couldn't turn it into enough strength to fight with.
To stop such incidents from happening again and again, Ise Shizune had thought it through carefully before making the final decision to send Kisaragi Akira to the academy for training.
Even though this would cost the Nikkotsu Shrine some of its prestige, Ise Shizune had still made the choice, considering the future of the Shrine and its Chief Priest.
However, Kisaragi Akira didn't have any grand ambitions, and he was even less eager to enter Seireitei, that troublesome whirlpool.
He just wanted to protect his own little patch of land.
Naturally, that seemed like an extravagant wish in this dangerous world.
Still, Kisaragi Akira thought there was some hope.
Because his cheat had arrived a year ago.
[Sign-In System]
Just as the name suggested, all he had to do was sign in to keep getting stronger. Compared with the self-discipline system next door, it required even less effort.
But when Kisaragi Akira looked into the cheat more deeply, he found that the thing was an absolute trap.
Daily sign-ins, monthly sign-ins, yearly sign-ins.
Of the three available methods, each one was more of a rip-off than the last.
On his first day, he received a fine broom. It swept smoothly and cleanly, with a wonderfully comfortable feel in his hands.
The reward for his second day was two stone lanterns, just right for the front of the Shrine. Their main purpose was to "stand tall and shine bright."
The reward for his third day was a set of fine Shrine Maiden Outfit, which he gave to Ise Shizune. It greatly improved the girl's opinion of him.
That one was at least somewhat useful.
The sign-in rewards that followed were all random odds and ends—mostly junk.
Only occasionally did he get something that could improve his life.
Useful items were few and far between.
These included, but were not limited to, Genryusai's secret-recipe roasted sweet potatoes, premium konpeito, sweet dried persimmons, and a bound set of Seireitei Communication.
This continued until his first monthly sign-in.
[First Monthly Sign-In, Sign-In Successful]
[Obtained Exclusive Trait: Spirit Particle Affinity]
[Spirit Particle Affinity: Spirit particles see you as a friend and are highly attuned to you. Your spiritual energy cultivation speed is doubled!]
Thanks to this entry, Kisaragi Akira started trying to train. He still fell far short of the geniuses, but he'd become one of the standouts among ordinary civilians.
After all his hard work and the rewards he'd steadily received from signing in,
by the eve of his departure for the academy, Kisaragi Akira's stats had reached a relatively "impressive" level.
[Name: Kisaragi Akira]
[Identity: Shrine Maiden of the Reversed Bone Shrine, Rukongai Commoner, First-Year Student at the Shin'ō Academy]
[Spiritual Pressure: lv10]
[Swordsmanship: lv10]
[Hand-to-Hand Combat: lv10]
[Flash Step: lv10]
[Demon Arts: lv10]
[Exclusive Trait: Spirit Particle Affinity]
His simple, all-rounder stats made Kisaragi Akira's current strength perfectly clear.
Based on his calculations and deductions, his current strength was on par with that of a standard Shinigami officer.
Although Kisaragi Akira had forgotten many of the details of the world of Bleach after so much time,
he still knew that a Shinigami officer wasn't even fit to be called cannon fodder.
Let alone that he might still be weaker than Ise Shizune.
Fortunately, this level of strength was more than enough to get into the academy. He'd even been placed in the elite class.
All he could say was that Reishi Affinity had done him a huge favor.
As Ise Shizune's figure disappeared from sight, Kisaragi Akira put aside his jumbled thoughts and turned his gaze to the academy's magnificent, enormous gate.
[Location Sign-In: Shin'ō Academy]
[Obtained Exclusive Trait: Danger Instinct]
[Danger Instinct: You have an inborn sensitivity to danger far beyond that of ordinary people, especially when facing a life-or-death crisis]
The sudden acquisition of the entry brought a dramatic change to Kisaragi Akira's six senses. Everything in the world became clearer to him.
The dangers lurking all around made his hair stand on end, and his entire body tensed up.
His weakness made Kisaragi Akira feel as though the whole world was hostile to him.
Until—
A warm voice came from behind him. "Excuse me, are you also a new student at the academy?"
Kisaragi Akira turned around. A boy dressed in the same blue-and-white student uniform came into view.
He had a warm, sunlike smile, slightly wavy brown hair, and brown eyes. His slender frame gave him a rather frail appearance.
"Yes, I'm Kisaragi Akira."
After hearing his introduction, the refined, gentle-looking boy's lips curved into a faint smile. He spoke slowly:
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sosuke, Aizen Sosuke..."
A new story begins!
The pace of this novel will be a little slower, though not too slow overall. I'll weave in a bit of everyday life as well.
Before you continue