1 Chapter 1 – Invitation

[Hello~ It's nice to meet you, Rai. Ossa is here to give you an offer.]

On a peaceful morning, in an average room belonging to an 18-year-old chubby young man with black hair and eyes named Rai, a shadow-like creature appeared from thin air.

The creature suddenly popped up before him when he was reading the current trending web novel on his phone, namely 'Corrupted Guardians.'

Ossa was… odd. His body was like a rat made of intangible black smoke, hovering ever so slightly in front of his face.

"A rat?" Rai asked. Even though he was surprised by Ossa's sudden appearance, he still managed to keep his calm.

[How rude. I am Ossa, the leader of Extity, and an extraterrestrial spirit! I sense great potential in you. How about joining hands with me to conquer the world? I think you can become the Commander of Extity in a short time!]

"…"

Being a fan of the new novel, Rai had read about something like this many times. And the word Extity was familiar to him. In fact, it was the name of the evil organization in the web novel he was reading lately.

[Hmm? I thought you would be interested considering the thick Dark Magicule inside you. But are you not?]

"I am indeed interested in your offer." Rai finally replied as he lowered his hand, looking at the shadowy, rat-like creature.

[Then–]

"But it's sketchy." He narrowed his eyes in the most disinterested manner possible while leaning back against his bed, interrupting Ossa's words. "I don't believe you. Dark Magicule inside me? We are on Earth, where magic isn't real."

Sketchy, but believable. Actually, his heart was racing in excitement at the fact he was given the offer to enter the world he certainly liked and was told he had the potential to become strong in that world.

The existence of this creature named Ossa already told Rai that his offer was genuine. It wasn't a special effect or anything. But signing a contract shouldn't be done in a hurry. That was why he kept his cool, trying to analyze the situation.

[It's real, I assure you!]

"Prove it." He said shortly, looking at the rat-like shadow that suddenly froze in place. "Prove that magic exists."

[That's easy!] Ossa exclaimed as he danced in the air, hovering away from Rai to the middle of the room. [Watch closely!]

The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed. Books and other belongings slowly rose into the air without any kind of interference. The drawers were pulled open, and the clothes got scattered on the floor.

Save for the Magical Girls figurines with suggestive clothing and each one in a naughty pose, anything else wasn't spared. It showed how big of a Magical Girl fan Rai was and how Ossa appreciated it.

The culprit of this mayhem was the rat-like shadow creature. His shadowy body flickered a strange, dark aura, the same one covering the floating objects.

[How is it? It's real magic!] Ossa cackled with delight as the creature looked at Rai.

Rai was too stunned to even respond. His jaw dropped as he saw real magic for the first time—real magic used by an extraterrestrial spirit from a novel that somehow was in front of him.

"Holy sh– You're not lying!"

Calming himself from too much excitement, he took a deep breath and asked,

"So, what's the contract? It's not the one who makes me sign and then needs me to work more than 10 hours a day with minimum wage, no? I heard there is also no vacation and no rest at work. Is the contract like that?"

[There is nothing like that!] Ossa reacted strongly and shouted.

The flying objects fell to the ground.

A loud, shattering sound followed suit.

Both Rai and the extraterrestrial spirit looked at the messed-up floor in silence.

Rai moved first, going up to his bed to avoid being hurt by those broken and sharp pieces, and looked at Ossa with raised brows. Fortunately, some of those that landed on the soft bed were spared from their fate of breaking into pieces.

"What will you do about this?" He asked with a low tone, not leaving any room for comment, as he surveyed his messy room.

[Tha– I will grant one request.] Ossa replied with a defeated tone. [But you can't request something absurd like giving you all my power.]

'Got you.' A smirk appeared on Rai's face.

"I am demanding the contract to favor me."

[…Alright.] The spirit hunched his body. It slowly approached Rai and landed on his lap. [Should I explain the spirit contract to you?]

Rai nodded, prompting Ossa to continue his explanation.

[This contract is between you and me. I only need you to follow one condition: while you will get the power, I will also take care of the world-hopping process. It's simple, no?]

"What's the condition?"

[You need to fight Magical Girls.] The spirit replied with a cheerful tone. [Your power will grow once you corrupt the defeated Magical Girls.]

"Sounds troublesome." Rai released a sigh as he shrugged his shoulders. "Can I not have a mandatory duty to fight them? I will use the favor from earlier."

[That's difficult...] Ossa replied in a defeated tone as its shadow deflated. [Let's do it like this. You will help Extity with a mission once a month at least, okay? I need you to become a Commander in the future, at least. Besides that, do anything as you please.]

"Once a month is okay, I guess." He touched his chin in deep thought. "And the work scope is?"

[Having fun with Magical Girls, I said. Just leave the male Guardians to the weak grunts.] The spirit's mood lifted after hearing Rai's positive reply.

"That's acceptable." Rai nodded at the rat-like entity. "So, how does the contract work? Where do I sign it?"

[It's simple!] His cheerful tone returned. [It's a magical contract. I have prepared a body in my world that you can use. Don't worry. Your appearance won't change. And onc–]

"Wait, I can't change my appearance? At least I want to become a bit handsome, or maybe androgynous, and give me some muscle, can you? And make me fit enough to at least become top 1% in physical strength in that world."

Rai interrupted Ossa once more, causing the spirit to tremble in anger.

'If only the young man in front of me had no talent and latent Dark Magicule,' he thought. This whole request was the human's fault to begin with. But Ossa wanted to get the young man in his organization no matter what. 'It will use a good chunk of my power, but it can't be helped.'

The talent the young man had deep inside him was too valuable not to get. So no matter what, he must get him to work with Extity.

[That's too much. I can make you look more attractive, but 1% top physical strength is impossible. At most, only the top 10%, knowing how my world is filled with strong people.] Ossa gave up on the condition. And before Rai could raise his voice, the spirit continued.

[You will also get a transformation that you can customize if you don't like your basic appearance. As for your power, it is to turn anything you have into a magical weapon of your imagination. I can't change that as it is your innate power.]

"… I don't mind that," Rai replied with a soft smile.

That power worked for him. Instead, that power sounded versatile enough to handle almost every kind of situation, as long as he had a good imagination. And the fact the spirit could also increase his physical strength to become top in the 10% in that world was a great addition.

Rai hadn't had much hope in the first place and only asked for the impossible, to be given the best the spirit could offer.

"So, that's it?"

[Right now, yes. I will continue the explanation if you have no more questions.]

Truth be told, Rai had already made up his mind earlier. This offer interested him a lot more than the other thought. He also didn't mind fighting the Magical Girls as he wanted to play with them too.

The fact he could get his freedom just by helping the organization once a month was a bonus he didn't expect to be granted, as was his appearance.

"Alright, last question. Will I be observed?"

The creature perked up.

[Only the first few days until you awaken your power. I hope you stay in the Extity's base during your awakening and training.]

"That's not a problem." Rai nodded as he looked at the spirit made of pure darkness. "I guess I also need to report daily, even though I live outside the base."

[Of course.] The spirit somehow managed to nod. [You will start as a special minion, working directly under me. By gaining achievements, you will be able to rise in rank in no time at all.]

"A minion, huh?"

Ossa found himself being scrutinized by Rai's dark eyes, which looked like they came from the depths of the abyss. The spirit's body shuddered as if hit by lightning.

Rai thought the spirit was too weak-willed, so he decided to take this to his advantage.

"How long am I going to become a minion?"

[Probably a month.] Ossa replied almost immediately, jumping with enthusiasm. Thankfully, Rai didn't seem to mind being a minion at first. [I will teach you how to use and increase your Dark Magicule during that time.]

"I see." Rai nodded, smiling at Ossa. "So I become something like an extra villain, eh? That sounds interesting. Let's negotiate the contract further."

The extraterrestrial spirit nodded his rat head.

Inside, Ossa thought that he had successfully managed to recruit maybe the most talented person with latent Dark Magicule inside of him. He was thrilled by the prospect!

Of course, he didn't mind Rai's behavior at all. Rather, he was glad the young man he found was careful and calculative. As long as he could pull this young man into his world, then the rest would be easy.

Naturally, he didn't know what kind of person Rai truly was. He didn't know Rai's plan. But when Ossa heard another request the young man had, he smiled widely. The young man was as interesting as he had thought.

As the spirit used his magic to begin the world-hopping process after they agreed to the contract, a grin crept into Rai's face.

'Finally, I can have the fun I want, and away from this shitty world.'

The room was soon engulfed in a dark light. It was so dark that no light could even enter the room, making it look like a black hole.

Then, as the light disappeared, no creature or human could be seen inside the room.