Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

I was stunned by the situation for a moment, but I couldn’t just stay there forever, so I began to tidy up my appearance.
After all, I was currently wearing nothing but a single thin, tunic-like dress—not even underwear. If I stayed like this, I’d quickly lose body heat and become unable to move at all.

Since no menu popped up like in a game, I would have to put on each layer myself—but that wasn’t a problem.
I had brought the Rookie Priestess Dress we designed, the starter outfit for the Priest class that I’d brought along to wear after changing Jobs. It was the outfit Iris wore most often in the concept art I’d drawn several times for 『Worldgate Online』. Since I had also compiled detailed setting materials for it, I was thoroughly familiar with its structure.

…Or so I thought. I had seriously underestimated the complexity and hassle of girls’ clothing.

One after another, the outfit sets—which, in the game, were represented by just three or four icons for the entire body—piled up into a small mountain once I had taken all the individual pieces out.

Incidentally, back when this was a game, although my legs and hips moved a bit more freely than in my original body, it seemed I couldn’t escape the effects of my real-world injuries, so my movements were quite restricted.
The same went for this body; while I might be able to manage standing and walking, I wasn’t entirely confident I could perform any other actions.
Since I simply couldn’t maintain my balance, I had to sit down to change, but I hesitated to sit directly on the floor of the ruins completely naked, without even underwear, so I spread a cloth I’d taken out of my bag across the floor. This was another item my younger sister had made me carry as part of “a girl’s etiquette,” but in a situation like this, I was grateful for it.

I sat on the cloth and slipped my legs into the underwear one at a time. At first, I thought, “Just a tiny scrap of fabric?” but when I put it on, the soft, comfortable fabric fit perfectly. Along with a strange sense of security, as if I were being protected from something, I felt something of my former self as a man begin to chip away bit by bit.

Next up was the bra. I picked it up and hesitated about whether to wear it… I looked down and saw the tiny spots right in front of me, and honestly thought, “Do I really need this?” But… in the end, considering I’d have to walk afterward, I decided to put it on. They say it hurts if it rubs.

…Why am I so used to putting one on, you ask? I was thoroughly trained using the real thing just in case someone ever brought it up—is there a problem with that?

Next, I took out a pair of black tights. In the game, they had the effect of mitigating cold damage. Obviously, they wouldn’t have that effect here, but I figured they’d at least provide some peace of mind, so I put them on while still sitting down. This was incredibly difficult.

Next was the petticoat that kept getting caught on my fingers… I hesitated a bit over whether this was necessary too, but since the lingerie set in the game—designed to be “sexy”—looked so delicate and fragile, I decided to wear it just in case. Since I didn’t know when I’d be able to get a spare set of underwear, I wanted to avoid any unnecessary wear and tear.

Only after layering up this much did I finally get around to my starting outfit. Even at this stage, I was already completely exhausted. I couldn’t help but reflect on just how much effort goes into a girl’s grooming.

I put on a sleeveless blouse and a skirt paired with a frilled petticoat. Although the hem sat well above the knees, the multiple layers of ruffles were designed so that my undergarments wouldn’t be easily visible.
I slipped a robe over the top. I had expected to struggle to untangle my long hair after it got caught in the fabric, but to my surprise, it slid effortlessly through the gaps in the robe and cascaded smoothly from my hands—a sensation that made me involuntarily exclaim, “Oh…” in awe.
The robe—a slightly sheer, pale cream-colored, knee-length garment embroidered with gold thread in places—was longer than the skirt worn underneath. It featured four slits starting around the curve of the waist, allowing it to billow out softly thanks to the petticoat beneath, with the petticoat’s frills peeking out through the slits.

The sleeves flared out like trumpets, and fluffy ruffles peeked out from slits that extended slightly below the elbows. When I let my arms hang straight down, the ruffles were cut so that only my fingertips peeked out from their peaks. I fastened the two rows of buttons on the front securely, then adjusted the fit around my waist with the ribbon at the back to finish the look.

I checked in a hand mirror to make sure it was on properly.
Looking only at the securely buttoned blouse and the robe worn over it, the impression was that of a demure priestess. However, the fluffy frills visible here and there from the skirt and sleeves softened the otherwise stern atmosphere, giving it a vibrant cuteness.

Finally, taking fieldwork into account, I struggled once again to slip on a pair of short, thick-soled boots that reached just above the ankles—and with that, I was ready.

I stood up and spun around on the spot to check for anything odd, and as I moved, the hem of my skirt fluttered up gently.

……No way. It might have been fine in a game, but wearing it in real life was just too cute. The shock of seeing myself in it was almost blinding.

Suddenly overcome with embarrassment, I hastily pulled on my cold-weather gear—a hooded poncho, another adorably cute item, no less—and left the room.

.

As soon as I stepped outside, the cold air stung my skin. Fortunately, though, at this time of year, it was only cold enough for snow to start piling up—nothing I couldn’t bear.

I pulled out a long staff—slightly longer than my height—adorned with a moderate amount of flashy decoration: a few gemstones scattered here and there, and a gold ring that jingled softly.
It looked impressive, but it was actually the result of Equipment Fusion… a system that transferred only the appearance of one piece of equipment to another. So I had only swapped out its look; its performance was, at best, slightly below average. That said, it was more than enough for someone like me, who was still at Level 1.

I gave it a test swing, but it felt perfectly natural. It seemed I’d be able to use it without any issues.
I lightly cast 『Divine Spear』 at minimum power. Since this is likely one of my few means of self-defense, I wanted to get a handle on its performance.

The result… Since I no longer had the system’s assistance, the homing function was gone. I discovered that unless I kept the target firmly locked on until the moment of impact, the spear would fly off on an erratic trajectory like a missile that had lost its target.

There was a cooldown, but no delay. Instead, I confirmed that there was a bit of recoil upon launch that my body can’t quite control.

The MP damage mechanic was still intact, but I also discovered that it was more useful in this world than I had expected.

I tested it on a rat I happened to spot, and it seemed that in this world, your physical condition deteriorated when your MP dropped significantly. Once it fell below a certain level, you would faint.
Healing magic had no effect on the fainted rat, but when I tried casting 『Mana Transfer』—a spell that transfers MP—it immediately woke up and scurried off somewhere, so I’m pretty sure my assumption was right on the money.

It was a big relief to discover that 『Divine Spear』 could serve as an effective means of attack if I were ever attacked, as it gave me a little mental breathing room.

On the other hand, this applies to me as well—since MP damage or overuse of magic could render me incapacitated, I would need to exercise caution when casting spells.
Especially since my abilities were currently greatly diminished, I’d better assume it was no longer possible to spam support spells recklessly, relying solely on MP like I had back in the game.

Furthermore, the effectiveness of potions and other medicinal items had also been significantly reduced.

As a test, I drank a bottle of Magic Water, an MP recovery item. While I could feel my mana gradually returning…the decrease in immediate effectiveness was striking, and there didn’t seem to be any noticeable change right after drinking it.
Also… what was surprisingly troublesome was that, since it was a liquid, it sat in my stomach right after I drank it. This body’s stomach capacity seemed small, so I supposed I shouldn’t expect to be able to chug down many bottles in a row.

.

After testing all my main spells and confirming they all worked, I tried to contact the two people who should have been waiting for me in the nearby town… but—

“The Chat…doesn’t work either, obviously.”

The chat window didn’t respond at all, so I gave up right away. In that case, the best strategy would be to wait for those two capable fighters to come here, but…

“…What if I’m the only one who got teleported here…?”

A creepy, unpleasant thought reared its ugly head. My bag’s capacity was already strained by my equipment, and since I was supposed to meet up with them in town, there was almost no food or water left inside.
Just a few bottles of Magic Water and two slices of sandwich—that was all. Waiting for two people who might not even come, or who might not even be here…

“…I guess I can’t just leave it up to them after all. I have to go.”

As if to shake off my unease, I wiped away the tears welling up in the corners of my eyes, steeled my resolve, and stepped out onto the snowy plain where I had originally come from in the game.

.

……I thought I had checked everything carefully.

However, because this world looked almost identical to the game, and the magic was nearly the same, albeit slightly altered, I must have been overly optimistic, thinking “it’ll all work out somehow.” At that time, I don’t think I was seriously considering what it meant for this world to be reality.

***

Little kids often change their clothes while sitting or lying down, don’t they?
By the way, the fact that Iris-chan uses the term “MP” shows she’s still very much thinking in game terms.