"No more stupid choice missions?"
"That's amazing!"
Natsuki's mood soared hearing this.
"Can you change the training format too?"
"Last time Ace bombarded me with Ultra Guillotines for twenty hours straight. You understand my pain?"
He pushed his luck. Made another request.
That hellish training was too hellish.
"That..."
Hearing Natsuki wanted to change the training format too, Hikari's tone grew difficult.
"The bracelet wasn't entirely made by me. I only developed part of the system."
"Everything else is easy to modify. But the training format... it's fixed. Unchangeable."
"Huh?"
Natsuki froze.
Even Hikari couldn't change it.
This thing... really came from that existence's hand?
But... did that old man really have such twisted taste?
Ultraman King. Mysterious and powerful beyond measure. To the entire Ultra Race, calling him a legendary deity wasn't excessive.
Natsuki couldn't imagine such a venerable existence designing this pile of hellish training methods.
King... did your character setting collapse?
"Fine. However hellish it is, at least it genuinely increases strength."
After thinking, Natsuki accepted reality.
Then he asked:
"What about those two Travelers locked in the Space Prison?"
"Any useful leads?"
He hadn't forgotten the two he arrested in the previous world.
"About that... after they were imprisoned, the existence behind them tried to eliminate them directly."
Hikari stroked his chin. Thought while speaking.
"We successfully blocked the attempt. Afterward, we did extract useful intelligence from them."
"The mastermind's identity remains unclear. But after analyzing samples of the Space-Time Source Energy they collected, I theorize... they're gathering it to seal something."
"Seal?"
Natsuki frowned.
"Can you determine what specifically?"
Anything involving sealing wasn't simple.
"Can't deduce it yet. We'll probably need to confront the mastermind directly to confirm."
Hikari shook his head.
The opponent was extremely cautious. They still had too little intelligence.
Could only theorize the opponent used a special system to indirectly manipulate these Travelers.
"Be extra careful executing your mission in this world. The opponent has likely noticed your presence."
"Understood."
"If I encounter danger, I'll respond cautiously."
Natsuki nodded.
Even if powerful enemies appeared later, his years of combat experience weren't for show.
After finishing these matters, Hikari's form gradually vanished.
Simultaneously, the bracelet projected a notification.
[Version upgrading... Upgrade successful!]
[Upgrade contents: Choice Mission system deleted, Random Challenge system added, Training Mentor non-selectable, Training duration randomized, Scene optimization upgraded, various bugs fixed]
[Enter Mental Training Space? YES/NO]
"Efficient. Probably prepared the update package in advance."
Natsuki looked at the text. Rubbed his chin.
"Mm... should I test it out?"
"Natsuki-san's going to train?"
Shinji could see the bracelet's notification too.
"Rest well. I'll test it first."
Natsuki decisively selected YES.
He wanted to see what differed in this upgraded training.
[Entering Mental Training Space. Please prepare.]
After the text appeared, "Shinji's" body leaned back. Lay on the bed. Expression peaceful.
"Eh? Already asleep?"
Misato got up for water. Saw Shinji's room light still on. Checked on him.
Seeing him fast asleep, she turned off the light.
"Good night, Shinji."
Time passed. How long, unclear.
"The train will depart shortly. Please hold on securely."
A female subway announcement voice rang out.
Reached Shinji's ears. Woke him from drowsy sleep.
"Where... is this?"
"Inside a train?"
Shinji rubbed his eyes. Looked around at the subway car environment. Recognized he seemed to be on a late-night train. Wearing a white shirt.
"Eh?"
"Is this my dream? Or Natsuki-san's?"
Shinji pinched his thigh. Couldn't wake himself. Determined this wasn't an ordinary dream.
"Not Natsuki-san's homeland... no matter how you look at it, this is Earth. An ordinary train."
He initially thought he'd dreamed of Natsuki's past again. But the surroundings confirmed this wasn't Natsuki's memory.
"Why am I here?"
Confusion filled his mind.
Looked up. Checked the train's station route.
"Terminal station... none?"
"Departure station... Kisaragi Station?"
Shinji suddenly realized something. Eyes widened.
A chill crawled up his spine.
"Kisaragi... Kisaragi Station!?"
Growing up in Japan, he knew what Kisaragi Station represented.
Legend said in 2004, late one night, a girl boarded a train's last departure at Kisaragi Station. After boarding, a series of bizarre and eerie events occurred.
She tried asking online friends for help. Tried calling the police.
But when police arrived, they discovered Japan never established a station called "Kisaragi."
And that girl, after that night, vanished completely.
Seven years later in 2011, the missing girl appeared out of nowhere. According to her, she had no idea seven years passed between boarding and escaping.
After this incident, countless people theorized the girl boarded a non-existent phantom train. Traveled to another dimension.
And now.
Shinji Ikari sat on this train.
"No way!"
"Is the urban legend... real?"
Shinji felt a cold wind blow between the cars.
Several sleeping people sat on seats along both sides. Exactly like the scene described in the urban legend.
Through the window, he saw no scenery. Only pitch darkness.
"Where is this train... heading?"
Remembering the urban legend's horror, Shinji panicked.
No matter what, he should escape first!
He spun around. Clenched his fist. Punched the window.
BANG!!
A powerful strike. Hit the glass. Caused zero effect.
And bizarrely, the transparent window didn't even reflect his image.
He was... trapped here.
"Young man, what's wrong?"
While he panicked, a man beside him woke. Held a briefcase. Wore a gray work coat. Asked with confusion.
Seeing no response, he introduced himself:
"I'm a teacher at a nearby middle school. My name is Takeshi Yamato. If you have troubles, you can tell me."
Meanwhile, in another dimension. Inside a bizarre factory.
Natsuki looked down. Examined his body made of unknown metal.
Somewhat speechless:
"Shit. Why am I a kaiju again!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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