In a dim corner of a room, the only light source came from the television screen. And sitting cross-legged in front of it was a—how should one put it?
A girl wearing a strange hamster onesie. She looked entirely like a lazy glutton. Around her were countless empty snack bags, none of which had been properly thrown into the trash can.
On the TV in front of her, a late-night anime was playing—clear evidence that she was part of the otaku tribe.
Rip!
The sound of another two bags of snacks being torn open.
"Ahh~ So salty."
First, she sampled the potato chips. Then she reached for another box of snacks—a chestnut-shaped chocolate which she popped into her mouth.
"So sweet. Salty and sweet snacks alternating like this… It's a combination that never gets boring. Truly, an endlessly enjoyable way of snacking."
Was she explaining to someone? Or was she just narrating her own actions?
After a few rounds, her mouth began to feel dry. She picked up a bottle of cola nearby, unscrewed the cap, and greedily drank with a satisfied look on her face.
There was no denying—this was the epitome of a "dried-up woman" image.
If her classmates from school were to witness her like this, it would be nothing short of a lightning strike on a clear day.
Why? Because in school, she presented a completely different image.
Graceful, gentle, perfect grades, athletic prowess—a beautiful girl with radiant ash-blonde hair and a model-like figure. She was the flawless goddess admired by all the boys in school.
Even passersby would mistake her for a celebrity because of her dazzling beauty.
And yet? This perfect high school girl, in the comfort of her home, had completely let herself go.
A hopeless couch potato through and through. The two images simply couldn't be connected.
If this side of her were exposed, it would be a massive blow to her classmates' perception of her.
Of course, considering how perfect her image at school was, the most likely reaction from her classmates would be denial—thinking that this slovenly version wasn't her but just someone who looked similar.
Unless she boldly revealed the entire transformation process from school goddess to couch potato in front of everyone, there would be no way for them to believe it.
While munching and drinking and watching anime, the show finally ended, and the pile of empty snack bags had grown considerably. The bottle of cola was now empty too.
She glanced at the time. It was nearing midnight.
Then she looked at her game console.
"Hehe, I finally got my hands on the limited edition of Urban Hunter: Light Wheel. Seriously, if Onii-chan hadn't been so slow, I wouldn't have nearly missed out."
Turning off the TV, she immediately booted up her computer. She planned to browse some otaku news.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica? Ranked number one in trending.
She clicked into the forum thread and was nearly overwhelmed by the thick, screen-oozing darkness and curses. She jumped in surprise.
What the heck was going on? It wasn't that the series was bad, but that everyone was cursing the author's malice towards the characters.
Apparently, this was a dark-themed series?
That piqued her curiosity.
For years, magical girl shows had always followed a joyful, heartwarming style—sweet and lovely like sugar and cake.
And now someone had dared to make a dark-themed magical girl series? Feeding poison to the viewers?
Of course, this wasn't the first time someone had tried.
In this world full of countless creators, others must have attempted such ideas before—only to sink like stones in the sea, unnoticed.
"Eh? The art is really detailed."
Just from the colored cover illustration alone, it was clear that the artist had great skill.
She decided to read the content to see just how rage-inducing it was.
Ripping open a pack of dried squid snacks and popping open another cola bottle, she resumed her ritual of snack-binging while diving deep into the 2D world.
As the clock on the wall ticked on, at some point, she stopped eating and drinking—not because she ran out, but because she no longer felt like it.
"Ehehe~~"
A laugh cold enough to freeze the air escaped her lips. She now looked like a ghostly being, her presence eerie enough to resemble a demon wearing a Oni mask.
Now she fully understood why so many people wanted to curse the author. Was this even human behavior? This guy must be a demon.
"Eh?!"
She clicked into the author's profile.
Hmm… the account had been around for about half a year, barely used. It was registered via email, and when she saw the email address…
Wha-wha-wha—she doubted her eyes and rubbed them.
The next moment, she rushed to log into the online game she played earlier today.
Once inside her character, she opened up a chat log with a certain friend. Scroll, scroll, scroll—back to an event several months ago. The friend had asked her to send game strategy materials to an email address so he could compile it for the guild.
"Found it!!!"
She began cross-checking.
"I must be mistaken. Let's double-check."
"No way they're the same. I must be sleepy—my vision's blurry. Look carefully!!!"
No matter how many times she looked, it was the same email. In other words, the same person?
At that moment, she seriously wanted to challenge the guild leader to an IRL PK (player kill).
Of course, to PK in real life, she'd need to know his location.
She needed to find a way to lure him out to deliver the Urban Hunter: Light Wheel limited edition in person.
Of course, so-called "IRL PK" was just talk—she was a good girl. How could she do something so violent?
So what would she do instead? She'd decide once they met face-to-face.
Time to act.
She started combing through all the information on the guild channel. Finally, after about ten minutes of digging, she found a valuable clue.
The guild leader had once tried to buy a limited-edition game from a now-inactive former member at a high price. Sadly, the guy refused to sell.
And she just so happened to own that limited edition game. Perfect bait to lure him out for a face-to-face exchange.
But would it be dangerous for a girl to meet someone offline? Maybe she should send her brother instead?
Wait, she could just cross-dress. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before—and no one had ever caught on. People even mistook her for a handsome boy and she had unknowingly made a bunch of girls fall for her.
Perfect. She opened a private message and sent him a note, hoping the guy wouldn't check his mail after he already sent out the game.
...
Meanwhile, on the other end—blonde twin-tailed girl Eriri was once again falling apart.
The last page of Episode 5 had the outsider magical girl's attack leaving Sayaka lying in a pool of blood—life or death unknown!!!
She seriously wanted to crawl through the internet and beat the author into a pig's head!!!
...
And far above, in the celestial realm, the sudden surge of negative energy from the human world drew some attention—eventually being passed on to a certain water goddess for processing.