Chapter Text
Part One: Blue Lock
The boy was cold. Oh so cold.
He opened his eyes to be met with dreary white walls, surrounding him. He shivered, letting out a dry cough.. His head lulled to the side, feeling as soulless as the white that threatened to consume him. His mind felt foggy, éven conjuring words or taking in his surroundings felt like an impossible task.
[Ding ding ding!]
A grating voice sounded out in the desolate room. Was it a hospital room? It certainly looked like one yet focusing on the details to figure that out felt far too arduous.
[Hello User, you have triggered the interface with the key words, “Shitty novel, shitty author! What type of ending is that? ]
User? Interface?
Itoshi Rin finally gained some clarity, realizing this wasn’t some form of dream. He placed his hands onto the ground, attempting to push himself up but instead he let out a hiss in pain. He looked down to see them blistered and wounded.
The last thing he remembers is…petrified screams, blinding lights and a deafening honk. Right. The last thing he remembers is getting hit by a car on the way to see his brother’s game.
He remembers the feeling of the cold cement, heavily contrasted by the warmth of his own blood that pooled underneath him. The sounds of people screaming and little kids crying. A white haired guy and his purple haired friend, who he had bumped into, hovering over him. One of them was on the phone while the other was slapping his cheek to keep him awake. Despite their best efforts, his eyes had closed never to be opened again.
Except they were open again. And he was somewhere he didn’t recognize with a grating Google Translate like voice ringing in his ear, spouting nonsensical things.
He had a theory but it was completely based on fantasy. He has heard of situations like these albeit only in lukewarm light novels that he read to pass the time. He won’t admit that he enjoyed them.
If his guess was right…
“System?” He called, wincing at how hoarse his voice sounded. The pressure of talking after so long elicited a cough out of him.
[Yes, User?]
Despite sounding monotone because of its Google Translate-like voice, the vocabulary packed a lot of cheer. Cheer that he simply didn’t feel.
“Explain.” Rin hissed. His awareness slowly returned to him. Although this allowed him to take in the situation, it also made him notice the dull throbbing of his head and how his entire body hurts, feeling as if it had been stabbed in numerous angles continuously.
[Ah..not so friendly? That’s normal! You’ve had quite the..accident back in your home world]
Basic in your home world, so his hypothesis is correct. He is dead and he did in fact transmigrate. But to what is the question.
[Welcome to your new world and home! The historical cultivation light novel Blue Lock! Starring Isagi Yoichi as the protagonist. And you are currently in the body of the antagonist Rin Itoshi]
…
Shit.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Blue Lock was a popular cultivation light novel. Arguably, one of the most popular.
It was an action thriller centered around the protagonist Isagi Yoichi. You followed his journey in the elite sect Blue Lock, run by the sect masters Ego Jinpachi and Anri Teieri. Unlike other peaks that promoted brotherhood and helping the public. Blue Lock was a peak focused on success, becoming the best of the best in your field.
The novel took inspiration from a football project called Blue Lock which aimed to produce the best strikers in the world. Perhaps the author was a football fan as well as a light novel nerd. Rin can’t deny that he felt incredibly joyous coming across an unexpected crossover of his interests.
Isagi Yoichi naturally, as comes along with being the protagonist, dominated the peak. Although it wasn’t instant. The novel drew you in with the compelling character development of various characters, intriguing backstories and drives, and action. Rin had been a devout follower of the novel in its beginning stages, eager to read more.
Yet when it started gaining attraction, the writing changed. Rather than exploring plot, it devolved into a harem romance with Isagi Yoichi right in the middle. Interesting characters with their individual drive, purpose and passion were thrown aside in favour of devout lovers of Isagi, who seemed to lose their rationality around him.
And of course every harem protagonist needed the villain in their story to make them shine brighter. Itoshi Rin was the antagonist and rival of the protagonist, coincidentally sharing the same name as him. Originally he was a pillar of strength Isagi Yoichi wanted to surpass yet as the novel degraded he became a petty villain with nonsensical plots against the protagonist, who would always get rescued by one of his many lovers.
This disappointing decline in writing was met with praise from many of the readers, loving the cliché harem and the petty villain who would be met with constant face slapping. Nobody seemed to share the qualms Rin had with its writing, despite that he made sure to let the author know of the degradation of every chapter.
It became a running joke in the fandom, the guy who hates the novel yet continues to read every single chapter of it. But Rin paid no mind to the scathing replies telling him to just stop reading. He continued critiquing, hoping that one day the author would listen to him and go back to their old writing style.
Well, it never happened. And now with his unfortunate demise, it’ll probably never happen in the future either. After all, he was one of the only critiques. Everyone else adored the cliché lukewarm writing.
The day he’d died was coincidentally the day the novel ended. He hadn’t expected it to end. He had opened the latest chapter, 1589 Chapter: The End, with widened eyes. It was rather short. He was able to skim it fairly quickly as he walked down the street on his way to his brother’s football game. The one that he had mockingly sent him an invite to, saying he wanted to talk after the game.
He had scoffed when he read that message. Talk? After so many years of not seeing him after that dreary night and he wanted to talk? His anger had quickly been quelled by the notification of a chapter update, anger transforming into curiosity.
That anger was reignited when he read through the chapter. He knew that the novel was shitty but he hadn’t expected the end to be so horrid! Everything ended abruptly. Itoshi Rin died from unknown reasons and then Isagi Yoichi left the peak, leaving his harem of lovers behind.
What type of shitty ending is this? What the hell did Itoshi Rin die from? Why did Isagi leave the peak and all his lovers? And most importantly, what happened to Isagi?
He felt bitter, the character who shared a name with him had a confusing ending and his beloved protagonist had gone god knows where for no reason!
Rin opened the comments to see similar confusion on everyone’s behalf. So, he hadn’t missed some sort of secret chapter or anything. Rin clicked his tongue and furiously wrote a paragraph. He had spent years on his novel, and spent a lot of money to access chapters early. And this is what he got?
“Shitty novel, shitty author! What type of ending was that?” Rin mumbled to himself angrily as he finished and posted his comment. He was so busy with his phone that he bumped into some white haired guy, throwing him off balance and making him let go of his ticket.
The wind picked it up and Rin’s eyes hyper focused on the ticket. He couldn’t let it go. Not when it was the first thing Sae had sent to him in years. He ignored the mumbled apology of the white haired guy and chased after his ticket.
He didn’t care about his surroundings as he jumped and grasped onto the ticket. He felt relief as he landed back on his feet with the ticket in hand. And then a loud honk coursed through the street and a car crashed into him, the impact sending him flying.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
And now here he was, in the body of the antagonist Itoshi Rin. Although originally he was equally as interesting as the rest of the novel, he degraded and was reduced to a petty villain who was only used for face slapping.
Though Rin hadn’t minded that too much, it was better than the rest of the writing. At the very least the face slapping was a little refreshing albeit boring and repetitive. He would get beat up, humiliated, tortured, etc throughout the novel as a consequence. Though it never held Rin back from continuing his harassment of Yoichi.
He definitely didn’t find it satisfying anymore, considering now he was in the body of the antagonist. Shit.
Rin took in a deep breath, not unlike the technique he would use to meditate. What’s done is done. It’s best to get as much information as possible about the situation. The consolation did little to quell the anxiety threatening to devour him but it was a start. A task to begin.
In novels, these types of systems usually come with tasks, information and perks. Surely, this one will be just as useful…right?
“So…” Rin started, pausing to let out a small cough before continuing. “What are you? Where am I?”
[Glad you asked, User! I am System 294724 but you can just call me System! I am here to guide and assist you to assure user satisfaction and safety. I keep a track of your scores, quests, relationships and even have an internal storage that you can access anytime! You are currently in the infirmary of the cultivation peak Blue Lock. After your death, your soul binded with the body of Itoshi Rin who’s soul also recently vacated its body]
Death. Right. He’s dead.
Rin turns to his side, finally feeling the soft cushion of the bed underneath him, and closes his eyes. He takes in a deep breath, willing himself to cry.
He died on his way to his brother’s football game. The first time he was supposed to see his brother in years. Now, he’s never going to see his brother again.
Will he even miss him? Last time they’d talked, he had been disowned by him. He probably wouldn’t care. Maybe he would even smile at the news.
Would his parents care? He hadn’t seen them in months. Maybe they’d be upset for a while but they’ll quickly move on. It’s not like they cared much, if they did then he wouldn’t be alone all the time. If they cared, Sae wouldn’t have had to take care of him when he was younger.
He let out a soft sob, tears streaming down his face. It continued for a while, his body wracking out sobs as he mourned himself. Because no else will.
After he finished crying like a toddler, he wiped the tears away with the back of his hand.The movement coaxed a whine out of him, his entire body hurt. What the fuck happened to the stupid antagonist to end him up like this?
Whatever, it’s not like he had any friends anyways. No one would care. This could be an opportunity for a fresh start. A redo at life. In his previous life, he had given everything up after that snowy night. He had quit football like his brother advised. He hardly spoke with the meager amount of friends he had made over the years and eventually the distance cut off those friendships.
He just repeated a soulless cycle of waking up, going to school, coming home and watching some shitty horror movie and going to sleep. The invitation from Sae had coaxed him out of his shell and had him actually going out for something other than school or necessities.
Maybe this life gives him an opportunity to do something better. To be something better.
[That’s right!]
The sudden appearance of the System surprised him, nearly making him fall off the bed.
[Oh sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you. I can read your thoughts. Don’t worry I won’t invade your privacy unless necessary.]
“Okay…” Rin muttered in response, placing a weak hand on top of his chest to calm the furious beating of his heart.
[Your purpose is to play the character of Itoshi Rin and clear any plot holes and encourage character growth of the characters. This will award you certain points called Story Points, shortened to SP. SPs can also be awarded through the clearing of side quests, relationships you build, and self growth.]
So, basically he had to fix the rancid plot? He better be getting rewards for this.
As if reading his thoughts, it was in fact reading its thoughts it did say it could do that, the System continued.
[ SP can be exchanged for items and upgrades. And along with SP you can sometimes gain rewards which include and are not limited to items, skills, new story paths etc. Though User is reminded to not let SP points go under zero.]
“Why?” Rin questioned. That sounded awfully ominous.
[Once SP points go below zero, the account will be terminated and the soul will be permanently disconnected from the body.]
“Disconnected?” Rin’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”
[Account termination leads to the User’s soul being ejected from the character and going back to its original body.]
Original body? His original body is dead. So basically…
“You mean to say that I will die if my SP points go under zero?”
[User is correct]
Alright…let’s avoid that scenario. As lonely and depressed Rin was, he liked to be alive thank you very much. Well…that was debatable on some days but nonetheless he is not looking forward to that scenario.
“Alright, any other rules?” He asked. Better to be safe than sorry.
[You are restricted from disclosing the existence of the system to any character in this world. As well as revealing you are a transmigrator to any character in this world. Any attempt will have immediate intervention and punishment orchestrated by the System.]
The cheery vocabulary was gone…so this was in fact super serious. Whatever, it’s not like he planned on going around and saying that to people. They’d probably think he had gone insane if he tried.
[You must also remain in character until the beginner mission is done. OOC will lead to deduction in SP points]
Rin blinked. “Remain in character? I thought you wanted me to change the plotline.”
[Yes, that is why the OOC feature is temporary. It can be disabled once the beginner mission is completed.]
“Alright, what is the beginner's mission?”
[The beginner mission will be triggered once the opportunity arises.]
Alright so no prior preparation. That’s…fine. It’ll be okay. He’ll figure something out.
[Anything else, User?]
The cheery vocabulary was back which did nothing to comfort him, if anything it just made it worse.
“Do I have…any main missions? Or do I freestyle improve the plot?”
[User is allowed to make changes as he wishes. Although the two main missions include (1) Nurture the protagonist Isagi Yoichi and (2) Reform your role as the antagonist]
Alright, he was already planning on side stepping from the role of the villain. He had no interest in being beat up, tortured and humiliated. He wasn’t a masochist. And number one he’ll do it happily.
The best part about this whole situation was probably the fact that he gets to meet his beloved protagonist, Isagi Yoichi.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Itoshi Rin was the number one disciple in the Blue Lock sect. Strong, intelligent and undeniably gorgeous, he was an inspiration for many and also elicited the jealousy of many.
Having so many perfect qualities, you would naturally think he would be adored. Yet unfortunately his personality was…subpar at best. He was arrogant and cold, thinking of all those who weren’t as good as him beneath him and all those better than him as bugs that needed to be crushed under his feet.
His mind was focused only on crushing his older brother, a famous and young cultivator Sae Itoshi. His hyperfixation on his goal left him no time nor will to make any friends, leading him to be all alone.
Safe to say, he didn’t have the best personality. But that didn’t stop people from being drawn to him in the beginning of the novel, one of them being the protagonist. Originally the two were rivals, they bantered, worked beside each other and devoured each other’s skills. A competitive yet almost heart warming rivalry.
This changed after the events of the annual U20s conference. It took place in the month of October, where much like the Halloween superstition in real life, demons and monsters were strongest during that time. This caused a lot of safety concerns for the general public.
Therefore, various sects established the annual U20 conference where disciples from various sects would come together to compete and eradicate as many demons as possible. Renowned cultivators and immortals would come and watch and bet on who they think would win.
Though the year Isagi Yoichi and the rest of the sect disciples attended the annual U20s conference, their sect master Ego had pulled some strings to get young and famous cultivators to join and pose an obstacle to the disciples.
Itoshi Sae, same name as his real brother, who had joined the conference due to curiosity had been pleasantly surprised by Isagi Yoichi and complimented him to Itoshi Rin. This made the insecure Rin, the one who had been vying for his brother’s attention and recognition all this time, go into a frenzy.
They were rather similar in that regard. Not just sharing names and looks but also how both of their brothers had seen no worth in them and had abandoned them. Yet unlike the novel Rin, Rin had relented and given everything up. Quit like his brother told him to.
He wonders if he hadn’t quit, if he hadn’t given up, would he have been more similar to the novel Itoshi Rin? Hyperfixated on achieving his goal. Constantly chasing after his older brother. Being arrogant and disliked yet simultaneously being a magnet that attracts?
That day Isagi Yoichi and Itoshi Rin’s relationship changed drastically. Going from a competitive albeit healthy rivalry to one of pure hostility. And this soon degraded when the writing started catering to the audience who loved clichés. Then Itoshi Rin’s character was transformed into a jealous stupid villain who would lay traps and attempt to harm the protagonist only for the protagonist’s harem members to rescue him and punish Rin in gruesome ways.
This scenario always led to lovey dovey romance between Isagi and his numerous lovers, one of them being Rin’s brother. Itoshi Rin was only a stepping stool for Isagi to enter the limelight and receive the protection and adoration of many.
This made the ending even more confusing. Why did Itoshi Rin die from unknown circumstances rather than at the hands of the harem members? Why did Isagi Yoichi disappear after his death?
Fuck this.
Rin had a lot of things he needed to clean up and even more things to worry about. Yet he can’t help but feel a bit joyous about meeting his favourite protagonist.
Don’t judge, everything is going to shit right now. Sue him for trying to conserve some happiness!
Itoshi Rin closed his eyes, deciding to rest. Too much has happened and he has way too much information on his hands. He’ll sleep on it and figure out the rest tomorrow.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
Part Two: Halo?
Rin spent the night dozing in and out of sleep. He would wake up from the nightmares, the pain of the car crash, memories of the night his brother left him and other times he would wake up from the body pains that threatened to make him sob once more.
He then would lie in bed staring up at the ceiling as he thought things through until sleep took him once more. This pattern repeated through the night until sunlight streamed through the curtains of the infirmary. And by that time he felt like a piece of shit that had been stepped on and ran over numerous times.
His body was covered in cold sweat from waking up from nightmares and recovering from whatever the fuck that happened to the original body. His eyes were puffy from his numerous crying sessions from the times he thought about his death or when the pain got too much. He was sore and aching all over and now that there was light he saw how his body was covered in bandages.
Another thing that caught his eye was his long dark green hair. The colour was similar to his hair in real life though the length went all the way down to his waist. He ran his hand through his hair, the feeling of the soft lush hair against the skin of his hand was soothing.
He rubbed his eyes, wishing he would wash his face and hide the evidence of him crying. The window covered by the curtains let in streaks of golden light, bathing the room in golden hour.
Birds chirped softly outside the window and a cool fresh breeze caressed his face, as if comforting him after a long night of crying. A moment of peace after an arduous night. Rin could almost fall asleep again.
[Good morning, User! Glad to see you awake!]
The annoying Google Translate-like voice echoed throughout the room once more, shattering the peace of the moment. Rin let out a sigh,
“Good morning.” Rin replied courteously. He couldn’t bring himself to be mean to the System. Not only because it was his guide and the only thing he could really rely on. But also because it sounded so…childish.
It pulled at his heartstrings, he couldn’t be mean to something so childlike, couldn’t bear to be like the mean-spirited interviewers that his brother had to deal with since he was little.
The System dinged, snapping him out of his thoughts. The System was about to say something but the door opened before it could.
Rin’s eyes quickly went to the door. His eyes landed on a woman. She was…short, around 157 cm…ish? She was young with delicate features and shoulder length brown hair, which was currently in a braided half up half down. Her white robe which faded to a dark blue fluttered due to the breeze.
“You’re awake. How are you feeling?” The woman asked. If he was right then this should be…Anri one of the sect masters of Blue Lock. The main organizer and the administrator of the sect. Even though Ego is the brains behind this sect, without Anri he wouldn’t be able to achieve as much as he has.
What was she doing here?
“I’m…fine.” Rin picked his words carefully and kept a neutral face, he didn’t want to be out of character and startle her.
“That’s good to hear. That demon was rather aggressive, my apologies. I didn’t think that activity would lead to this.” Anri said sympathetically, her eyes softened at the sight of Rin’s face. It’s probably because of the puffiness of it, practically announcing his tears. Thankfully she didn’t comment on it. Rin didn’t want to explain either.
“What demon?” Rin asked. This was his opportunity to learn more about what bit of the novel he’s in. He cleared his throat and explained more. “I don’t remember what happened.”
He doesn’t really remember Rin getting injured at the hands of a demon in the novel. It probably happened in the very beginning but those details were fuzzy. After all, the novel spanned over 1500 chapters. Over time a lot of the details became fuzzy from how repetitive and long they were.
Perhaps he should ask System if it has a copy of the novel.
“Oh,” Anri’s eyebrows furrowed in worry as she walked towards the bed. “I did hear you sustained a head injury. Perhaps that is the reason.”
“During the field test with demons, you and Shidou Ryuusei got into a fight.” Anri explained. “The scuffle distracted the both of you and the demon got an opening.”
The rest was self-explanatory. Of course, it was this. Itoshi Rin getting into a fight with one of the male leads and leading himself hurt. Though it still doesn’t give him a clear view of the timeline.
[This is during the beginning of the novel, do not worry User]
The System’s voice rang in his head, relieving him instantly. That’s good. If it was later into the novel, he doesn’t know how he’ll manage to complete any of the system’s missions.
“Ah, my apologies. I’ve been burdensome.” Rin bowed his head respectfully to apologize. He felt bad for Anri, often being dismissed. He wanted to be respectful, perhaps this is one of the first steps in unfucking Itoshi Rin’s life.
Anri’s eyes softened and she smiled at him. Anri and Rin have rarely interacted at this point. He can tell that even without knowing that this is the beginning of the novel. Because if it wasn’t then she wouldn’t give him a smile like that. Her character had been watered down to a protective and doting “mother” of Isagi Yoichi who would do anything for “her baby”.
After all, everyone has to adore the protagonist. And everyone who doesn’t will be swiftly dealt with.
“I can’t say I approve of your scuffle but thank you for apologizing.” Anri came forward and patted him on the head softly. She really is a caring person, enough to even give the renowned asshole a head pat. He tried not to react to it or else it would be out of character. “Don’t worry about it, focus on recovering for now.”
It reminded him of nii-chan.
“Thank you.” Rin thanked curtly, trying his best to remain in character, though sincerity showed through either way. Anri nodded and called in a healer for a check up.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
A thorough check up showed that his recovery would take a day or two more despite the serious condition. It’s all thanks to Rin’s ridiculously overpowered golden core. Because naturally the protagonist’s rival and antagonist can’t be weak can he?
Another rule that only applied in the beginning. As the story went on, Rin's abilities and intelligence degraded. Almost comparable to Zantetsu.
Anri soon left after making sure he had everything he needed. Rin let out a sigh as he leaned against the headboard of the bed, finally relaxing. He didn’t even notice how tense he got from talking to Anri.
To be fair, it was his first conversation in this body. He did his best to just be quiet. It’s hard to be arrogant. In his previous life, he was rather…gloomy. Quiet and introverted. Most of his ambition and flare had died out that night.
Rin banged his head against the headboard, not too hard though. He doesn’t want to worsen his concussion. But he also needs to stop thinking about that night. The death is really making him reflect on his past life.
He sighs. It’s no use, it’s not like he can do anything about it now. He’s dead in that world. And perhaps he was dead to many people even before that.
[Oh right, User! I have something for you!]
Rin snapped out of his thoughts, perking up in curiosity.
[As a new and beginner User, the system administrators have decided to give you something to help your journey!]
A gift? Rin hadn’t expected that but he’ll take it with grace. He needs everything he can get right now. Resources, knowledge, skills hell, even a new quest or two would help him gather his thoughts and plan out his next actions.
A screen appeared in front of his eyes. It looked like a roulette wheel in those casinos.
[Here you can roll a reward, they range from skills to resources! Press on the wheel to start it]
The System sounded awfully excited. Perhaps it likes gambling? Or maybe it’s just really kind and loves giving gifts. Who knows?
He read some of the rewards. He didn’t understand all of them but the ones he did sounded pretty good.
Rin pressed on the wheel, biting his lip in anticipation. He hopes he gets something good. Something helpful like the OOC removal or the level up.
The wheel slowed, Rin’s eyes lit up as it was nearing the OOC removal. Only to pass it and land on…
[You have received the White Lotus halo! Congratulations!]
“White Lotus Halo?” Rin repeated in a confused tone. What the hell was that? Although Rin has read light novels, as evidenced by his presence in this world, he wasn't an expert in them.
And he also tends to read many of them into the wee hours of the night, forgetting all about them and their terminology when he wakes. The only one he’s read when he has functioning brain cells is Blue Lock.
[The White Lotus halo gives you an innocent effect, making you likeable in the eyes of the characters! It’s a perfect gift for a reforming villain!]
Rin agreed, that does sound pretty good. It makes everything a lot easier. Even when he is under the stay in character rule, he can still appear harmless.
Though…he had the suspicion that that’s not all.
“Is that it…?” Rin asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Are you hiding anything?”
[Haha, of course not User! Why would you even think that? (◞ w ◟") ]
Rin raised his brow before letting out a relenting sigh. It’s not that big of a deal, he’s sure the system wouldn’t try to actively harm him. There’s probably not much the system gets from that.
Plus if it makes him seem likeable, surely that’ll outweigh the possible cons? He equipped the halo, he’ll need to use whatever he can right now.
Just as he settled in once more, the door burst open again. He was tempted to let out a groan but that wouldn’t be very in character. He turned to the door once more, this time his eyes widened.
He was met with the figures of Isagi Yoichi and Shidou Ryuusei. The two people he didn’t expect to see.