The world didn't move.
Katsuro stood there, his bruised body swaying slightly, blood still fresh in his mouth — but everything else had gone still. The air, the trees, even the far-off hum of traffic beyond the fence… silenced.
A dense pressure wrapped around him. Not heavy. Not painful. Just—
Tight. Intentional.
Like a fist gently pressing around his mind.
His fingers still clutched the strange object he'd pulled from the dirt. It looked like a keychain plate, but metallic and strange. Old, but untouched by time. As if it hadn't been waiting here for decades — but for him. Only him.
The metal surface no longer reflected the cloudy sky. It showed only the symbols — clear, deliberate, as if etched freshly by some invisible hand:
+[LOCK]=
△{GEAR}->
≣[KEY]✓
->◇?
He blinked. The letters didn't move. But somehow, they felt… alive. His fingers twitched. The plate vibrated slightly — not in the air, but in his thoughts.
And then, a sound.
Ding.
Not external. Not from the device.
It echoed directly into his head, like a notification from inside his brain.
[System Initialized] Welcome, Katsuro Shiba.
He froze.
"...What?" he whispered aloud.
You are the registered holder of: SHIFT LOCK: Unique Class - Unbound System.
Katsuro's breath hitched. He spun around. Nothing. No speakers. No lights. Just wind through gray leaves.
"Who's—?"
This system has no voice. All responses will be provided through internal cognition.
"Internal… cognition?" he repeated.
Yes. You think. I respond. We are linked.
His stomach twisted. He'd read manga like this. Webnovels. Watched late-night anime reruns with busted plotlines. This kind of thing didn't happen. Not to real people. Especially not to him.
He staggered backward. The tree bark scraped his shoulder.
Was he dreaming?
He didn't feel like he was. The pain from earlier still throbbed — sharp in his ribs, dull in his jaw. His mouth tasted like blood and dirt.
So this was real.
He looked down at the device.
It no longer pulsed.
Instead, a new symbol flashed across it, made purely of characters:
[▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒] 0% Sync
Begin System Synchronization? Y/N
Katsuro stared. His heart pounded like it wanted out.
He wanted to say no. Wanted to drop it. Walk away. But his fingers refused to move. His mind raced — but one thought echoed above the rest:
What if this changes everything?
He swallowed.
"Y," he whispered.
[System Sync: 1%...]
Pain.
Not physical — but raw, emotional. Old memories spilled into the front of his brain. Every punch, every laugh, every whispered insult. Times he couldn't fight back. Times he didn't.
Faces blurred by anger. Words like poison.
He saw himself. Too big for his desk. Too slow to dodge. Too hopeful to stop hoping.
[System Sync: 4%...]
"Why are you doing this to me?" he muttered. Not sure if he meant the system — or the world.
Reflection required. Power without understanding is wasteful.
"I didn't ask for power."
Correct. You didn't. That's why you were chosen.
Katsuro sank to his knees. He didn't cry. He'd run out of tears months ago. He just stared at the device, fingers trembling, as the next message appeared:
[System Core Type: Lock]
[Mode: Adaptive]
[Class Path: ??? (Unassigned)]
[Access Granted to First System Menu]
Then the screen shifted — not visually, but mentally. As if it projected inside his skull. A mental screen, layered behind his eyes.
And the first thing it showed was… a mirror.
Not of his face — but of his stats.
[User: Katsuro Shiba]
Strength: E-
Speed: E-
Vitality: D
Intelligence: B+
Willpower: A
[Traits]:
Quiet Heart
Unseen Flame
Stubborn Hope (Locked)
[Unique Ability Detected: ???]
He blinked. His fingers tightened around the metal.
Your class has not yet formed. Your power will be shaped by choices — not gifts.
"So no cheats," he muttered.
Correct. Only doors. And locks.
Another prompt appeared:
[First Lock Available: Would you like to attempt to unlock a Trait?]
Y/N
He didn't answer right away. He breathed. Thought. Every word burned into his brain. There was no system voice, but the presence of it... it felt real.
More real than the people who walked past him every day.
Finally—
"Y."
[Attempting Unlock... 12%]
His eyes snapped shut.
More images. Not memories — possibilities. Him, standing taller. Not thinner. Not stronger. Just... unbroken.
Words echoed. From his past. From his mind.
You'll never be anything. You're trash. Why are you even here?
The system pulsed.
Then — a sound. Not a ding. Not a beep. But a click.
Like a lock sliding open.
[Trait Unlocked: Stubborn Hope → Burning Resolve]
And then — pain.
His head exploded with heat. His chest burned like someone had lit a match inside his heart. He fell forward, gasping. Dirt filled his mouth.
The world didn't fade — but it did shift.
When he stood, he felt nothing different.
No muscles. No speed. No glowing eyes.
But something inside him had clicked.
He wasn't powerless.
He was just locked.
And now, something had turned.
He checked the mental screen again.
[Trait: Burning Resolve (Passive)]
Every time the user is beaten, their mental resistance increases.
Cannot be suppressed by fear.
Cannot be erased by pain.
He exhaled.
This wasn't magic. Not exactly.
But it was a start.
A seed.
And no one could take it from him.
He stood. Bruised. Limping. But upright.
And for the first time in years, he didn't feel like a background character.
He felt like something had just begun.
Behind him, the wind stirred. The sky broke — just slightly. A line of sun across the gray.
He put the device in his pocket.
Didn't throw it away.
Didn't fear it.
He would learn. Understand. Grow.
And when the world came again with fists and fire…
He'd have something to show them.
SHIFT LOCK — Activated.
+[LOCK]= ➤ [UNSEALED 1/??]
△{GEAR}-> Ready
≣[KEY]✓
->◇?
[World Access Permission: Granted] [New Realm Unlocked — Fantasy World: Veritas] [Current Realm — Modern World: Tokyo]
Katsuro's eyes widened.
SHIFT LOCK is designed to function across parallel planes. Two worlds. Two lives. One path.
He felt the ground tilt — or was it his mind?
World transition is not immediate. First Lock determines Anchor. You are now recognized by both realms.
A map unfolded in his mind — not detailed. Just two shapes. One dark, one glowing. Interlocked.
Tokyo and something else.
Veritas.
You belong to both.
Katsuro's legs buckled.
He wasn't just getting stronger.
He was being pulled into something bigger.
Two worlds. Two chances.
One lock at a time.