Manga World: Extracting Superman's Power

In the early morning, birds perched on branches, curiously peering at the passersby on the road below, chirping noisily.

Inside the classroom of Class B, Year 2 at Teitan High School, Azuma Shoyo sat with a sleepy, bleary-eyed expression, one hand propping up his cheek as he stared blankly out the window at the scenery.

"Shoyo-kun, did you not sleep well last night?"

Hearing the voice, Azuma turned his head. His dull gaze gained a slight spark of life as he replied, "Oh, it's you, Ran. Yeah, I couldn't sleep last night."

"That's no good! We have a test today, Shoyo-kun. You've got to pull yourself together!"

Ran Mouri gave him an encouraging gesture, clenching her fist as if to say "You can do it!" before returning to her seat—just to Azuma's right, separated only by an aisle.

A little while later:

"Huh? Shoyo-kun, did you not sleep well last night?"

…What?

Again?

Azuma turned helplessly toward the new voice.

"Yes, Sonoko."

Standing in front of him, Sonoko Suzuki put her hands on her hips and said, "This won't do, Shoyo-kun! How can you be so listless? Don't tell me you've run into some kind of trouble!"

"No trouble, just insomnia," Azuma replied, shaking his head.

In truth, he had run into trouble—self-inflicted trouble, no less.

Azuma Shoyo wasn't originally from this world. In his previous life, he lived on Earth as an ordinary office worker. One night, after pulling overtime and heading home late, he was hit and killed by a truck that ran a red light.

After his death, he transmigrated into this world.

Azuma was reborn here, gaining awareness while still in his mother's womb in this life. However, because his brain wasn't fully developed at the time, his consciousness came in fragmented bursts.

Over the years, he pieced together an understanding of this world. It wasn't some parallel version of Earth—it was a fusion of multiple slice-of-life anime worlds.

For instance, the Sonoko Suzuki standing before him and the Ran Mouri who'd just spoken to him were popular characters from Detective Conan.

Beyond that, Azuma had seen news about the Shinomiya Group on TV, and on his family's bookshelf sat a copy of Love Metronome, written by Kasumigaoka Shiyu under her pen name, Kasumigaoka Utaha. He'd also frequently spotted a popular idol named Hoshino Ai on television.

All these signs pointed to one thing: this wasn't a simple parallel world but a composite of various fictional anime universes from his past life.

The good news? Most of these anime were lighthearted, everyday stories.

Well, except for Conan, where people died left and right. Otherwise, things were relatively safe.

The bad news? Azuma was a transmigrator without a cheat ability—no golden finger to rely on!

In the blink of an eye, Azuma had reached 17 years old.

He'd attended Teitan Elementary School as a child. Thanks to his family's modest wealth in this life, he'd lived comfortably enough.

That is, until two years ago, when his parents in this world perished in a sudden plane crash.

The loss hit him hard. Over the years, Azuma had genuinely come to accept and love them as his parents. For a long time, he sank into despair, only pulling himself out of the gloom with the support of a few friends.

Now, two years later, Azuma was in his second year of high school. One more year, and he'd graduate and head to university.

But…

Looking at Sonoko Suzuki and Ran Mouri in front of him, Azuma couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

Could he really make it to his third year?

Wouldn't he just stay 17 forever?

Sure, eternal youth sounded nice, but it felt… weird.

Still, this world wasn't just the Conan universe. So, once that smug Kudo Shinichi turned into Edogawa Conan, who knew if time would start behaving strangely? It was hard to say.

And…

While it'd be a while before Kudo Shinichi became Conan, Azuma had stumbled into a far more pressing problem.

He'd been completely wrong about this world!

All this time, Azuma had assumed he'd transmigrated into a slice-of-life anime world. Sure, there'd be some danger, but nothing he couldn't handle.

Over the years, he'd even trained his body intentionally. He wasn't at Ran's level—kicking down telephone poles with one strike—but he could probably take on three or five average adults without much trouble.

But yesterday, after school, everything changed. He overheard some students from the neighboring class talking about new transfer students.

Normally, that wouldn't have mattered. Except these two transfers were named Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana!

If it were just one of them, Azuma might not have jumped to conclusions. But both together? There was no doubt—they were the protagonists of Mieruko-chan, hands down!

"Damn it! What happened to my peaceful slice-of-life world? Ghosts and spirits now?!"

Azuma tugged at his hair in frustration. That's why he hadn't slept last night—this revelation had kept him awake.

Finding out that this wasn't just a cozy everyday world but one with supernatural entities had left him tossing and turning all night. He kept imagining something lurking in the dark corners, watching him.

Okay, fine—he didn't have Yotsuya Miko's ability to see spirits. He couldn't spot ghosts or gods. But there's a phrase for this: "jumping at shadows." That was Azuma's current state.

Even if he couldn't see them, he felt like ghosts were everywhere!

"Maybe I should transfer schools?"

The thought crossed his mind.

After all, sticking close to plot protagonists tended to drag you into all sorts of bizarre situations.

Who's to say he wouldn't end up targeted by some spirit because of Yotsuya Miko one day? That'd be a disaster!

But then again, you can dodge the first punch but not the fifteenth.

If this world had a Yotsuya Miko, why couldn't it have more? What if something like a Campione! god-slayer showed up? The fallout from one of their battles could wipe out who-knows-how-much, and where could he even hide?

"Forget it. Whatever happens, happens!"

Azuma thought with a hint of resignation. As a transmigrator without a cheat, what could he do?

He'd just lie flat and take it.

"Shoyo-kun?"

Sonoko waved a hand in front of his face.

She was a little curious about Azuma. Though they'd all gone from Teitan Elementary to Teitan High together, they hadn't been in the same class until high school, so they weren't particularly close.

Sonoko always felt there was something mysterious about him—like he was hiding some earth-shattering secret. It piqued her curiosity, making her want to dig deeper.

Plus, Sonoko was a sucker for good looks, and Azuma happened to hit her aesthetic sweet spot. If he weren't so aloof, she might've made a move by now.

"Sorry, I zoned out. What did you say?" Azuma snapped back to reality and looked at Sonoko.

"If you ever need help with anything, Shoyo-kun, feel free to come to me anytime!"

Sonoko winked at him, then dashed off before he could respond.

Azuma glanced at Sonoko as she returned to her seat, shaking his head inwardly. He actually liked her quite a bit—she was fun. But he wasn't the type to charm girls easily, and pursuing someone felt like too much hassle. Plus, he also had a soft spot for Ran, the girl at the next desk.

After all, who didn't love "Angel Ran"?

The day's classes ended, and it was time to head home.

Azuma grabbed his bag and left the classroom.

Behind him, Sonoko tugged Ran along, the two whispering to each other about something.

Just then, Kudo Shinichi strolled over, hands in his pockets, exuding his usual cool vibe.

"Hey! Weren't we going to that new ice cream shop? Let's go already!"

Shinichi glanced at the whispering pair, inwardly grumbling, Women are such a hassle.

"Shinichi, you're so ungentlemanly! Don't you know boys are supposed to wait for girls?" Sonoko shot him a disdainful look.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm waiting for you right now, aren't I? What more do you want?" Shinichi retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Forget it. You wouldn't get it. Ran, let's go!" Sonoko huffed, pulling Ran toward the classroom door.

"Sonoko, slow down!" Ran said as she was dragged along.

"Tch, so weird," Shinichi muttered, then followed them.

Meanwhile…

As Azuma passed by the hallway, he instinctively glanced into Class C next door.

He caught sight of a short-haired orange-haired girl pulling a long-haired brunette toward the door.

"Huh? Are you from the class next door?" Yurikawa Hana, spotting Azuma lingering by Class C's entrance, asked innocently with her cheerful personality.

"Yeah. You two are the new transfer students?" Azuma nodded and asked.

"Hi! I'm Yurikawa Hana. Nice to meet you!" the orange-haired girl said with a bright smile. "This is my friend Yotsuya Miko. What's your name?"

"Azuma Shoyo, from Class B," he replied, glancing at Yotsuya Miko, who was staring at him.

Or… was she? He couldn't shake the feeling she wasn't looking at him but behind him.

Uh-oh. Bad vibes. Was there something behind him?

A bead of cold sweat slid down his temple.

"I've got something to do. See you later!" Azuma said quickly, then bolted toward the stairs.

"Weird. Does Shoyo-kun have somewhere urgent to be?" Yurikawa Hana mumbled, tilting her head in confusion. Then she grinned and hugged her best friend's arm. "Miko, what do you think of the new school? I think it's pretty great! Everyone's surprisingly nice!"

Yotsuya Miko forced a small smile and nodded.

"Hana, let's head home."

"Hmm, wanna grab something to eat on the way?"

"No, I'm a bit tired. I just want to rest."

"Oh, okay then."

The two chatted as they walked toward the stairs, but if you looked closely, you'd see Miko's smile was strained.

Ughhh! Why are they here again? I thought transferring schools would get me away from them! Miko's mood was sour, and she barely registered what her bubbly friend was saying.

Rushing home at top speed, Azuma splashed cold water on his face in the bathroom, finally feeling a bit better.

"Phew! I knew it—running into those people never ends well," he muttered to himself.

He stepped out of the bathroom and headed to the kitchen to make something to eat.

Ding!

[American Comic Entry Extraction System Activated!]

Azuma froze mid-step.

"A system?"

He tentatively called out in his mind.

[The American Comic Entry Extraction System is at your service. Would you like to receive the usage instructions?]

It was real?!!

Azuma's eyes lit up with wild excitement.

"Yes! Receive it! Right now!!" he shouted internally.

The next moment—

A flood of information appeared in his mind.

It was the system's manual.

The American Comic Entry Extraction System could help Azuma extract "entries" (abilities, traits, etc.) from various American comic characters. The system came with a [Gate of American Comics], a portal that would take him to worlds dominated by American comic elements—movies, TV shows, comics, novels, and more.

The method of entry was simple: sleep.

Yes, just by falling asleep, he could cross into those worlds.

Azuma had one chance per day to enter the Gate of American Comics. The moment he closed his eyes and drifted off, he'd pass through the gate into a random comic-inspired world.

In that world, the system would generate a reasonable identity for him—though it'd only be an ordinary one, nothing special.

Returning to reality was just as easy: sleep again.

And here's the kicker—no matter how long he spent in either world, when he woke up in the other, only one night would have passed.

To everyone in his current world, Azuma never disappeared.

But in reality, he'd been gone for a while.

How did it work? The system didn't say, and Azuma didn't need to know.