Although Kamiya River lay flat and spread out, death did not come as expected.
The hideous red demon did not suddenly attack, but remained kneeling upright, methodically and steadily.
He spoke, his voice deep and muffled, like an old drum that had been barely struck: "One hundred soul crystals... to teach you swordsmanship..."
Kamiyagawa:?
Soul Crystals sound like some kind of currency in this game.
The current situation should be that as long as you pay 100 Soul Crystals, you can have a one-on-one sword fight with the Red Demon and learn various sword fighting postures and techniques!
Kamiya River suddenly realized that this red oni was actually an NPC in the game.
"But I don't have any soul crystals," he replied tentatively.
The Red Demon merely raised his eyes slightly: "One hundred soul crystals... to teach you swordsmanship..."
It's understandable for NPCs to repeat the exact same lines.
Buzzing.
The phone in my pocket started vibrating, and a line of text popped up on the dark screen—
[The Red Oni of the Kendo Club is willing to teach you swordsmanship, but you must offer 100 Soul Crystals as tuition.]
"If I learn powerful swordsmanship in the game, will I become a swordsman in real life? Just like learning the Five Thunder Orthodox Technique yesterday."
Kamiya took out his phone and only glanced at the notification on the screen.
I spent some extra time in the kendo club, but didn't trigger any additional story events with the Red Oni.
No matter what Kamiya said, the other party would only reply with the same sentence, or simply remain silent.
"It seems there's no need for me to come to the Kendo Club until I've collected a hundred Soul Crystals."
Kamiya River is about to leave.
He glanced at the tightly closed door, wondering if the group of headless high school students outside were still eagerly waiting.
There is no back door in the kendo club, and the only two windows are equipped with security bars. The main door is the only entrance and exit.
With no other choice, Kamiya smiled bitterly, straightened his collar, and with an air of self-assurance, walked out through the main door with his head held high.
"Waaaaah—"
"Giggle giggle—"
Familiar cries and laughter rang out in a chaotic cacophony.
The headless high school students, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly and contentedly tackled Kamiyagawa to the ground...
On the dark phone screen, a large red character appeared—
[miserable]
...
"It hurts, it hurts!"
Kamiya struggled to get up from the ground, as if waking up from a terrifying nightmare.
After returning to reality from the game, he looked around and found himself still in the cherry blossom grove.
Although he died at the entrance of the kendo club in the game, in reality, his body remains by that specific cherry blossom tree, which is the location of the shrine in the game.
The body only reacts when you are about to wake up, which is when you are near death in the game.
Kamiya discovered this yesterday.
This is better than having to maintain the same physical state as in the game and then shouting, running, and jumping around at school.
Kamiya picked up his phone and saw a large character for "misery" displayed on the screen.
Kamiyagawa:...
I know I just died a terrible death, there's no need to remind me like this.
However, I didn't expect that the death message in this game wasn't fixed.
[The substitute paper doll has been used up. Current stock is 0. Refresh time is 12 hours.]
As usual, a white paper figure appeared out of nowhere next to the cherry blossom tree.
The little paper doll had many tears and looked miserable, just like Kamiyagawa's death state in the game.
Kamiya silently put away the paper figure, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and headed towards the school building.
...
Today is Friday, and the school is filled with a joyful atmosphere as the weekend approaches.
Because of the original owner's aloof personality and poor interpersonal skills, Kamiyagawa, despite having an extremely attractive face, had no real friends in his class.
Nobody paid any attention to him, and he didn't need to pay attention to anyone else.
I also ate lunch alone in the cafeteria.
The set meal cost 300 yen and came with a glass of iced lemonade; it tasted pretty good.
During his meal, he overheard some students chatting nearby—
"Have you heard? Hanako's story is really popular again lately."
"I know, I know. And I also heard that you can see Hanako from the girls' restroom on the third floor of the west teaching building."
"..."
The students at Hana Rin High School seem to be very enthusiastic about exchanging urban legends.
Kamiyagawa remained absent-minded during the afternoon classes.
My gaze kept falling on the math teacher's shiny forehead and the English teacher's snow-white thighs, while my mind was a jumble of thoughts about things related to "Kwaidan Monogatari".
A headless high school student, a red demon who teaches swordsmanship, incomprehensible magic, Hanako in the toilet...
They waited like that until school was over.
Kamiya lingered at school until about 6:20, then went straight to the cherry blossom grove.
The substitute paper doll has been refreshed, giving it a second life, and a new round of the game has begun.
Ignoring the headless JK's cries, Kamiya left the cherry blossom grove.
This time, he chose to explore the west side of the school, which is the area around the cafeteria and artificial lake.
There were many headless high school students near the cafeteria, so Kamiya couldn't get close for the time being, and wandered over to the vicinity of the artificial lake.
As a popular spot for socialites on campus, the scenery around the artificial lake is actually quite nice in reality.
But in a game filtered through a ghostly lens, this place exudes an indescribable eeriness. The lake is a lifeless pool, without the slightest ripple, yet it inexplicably gives the impression that some unspeakable monster lurks within it.
Kamiyagawa carefully circled half of the lake, avoiding the headless high school students, and then spotted a strange object—
She was also a female high school student, but her uniform looked slightly different.
Moreover, he was soaking wet from head to toe, dripping water constantly, his skin was deathly pale, and his legs and arms were entangled with black or green water plants.
Another important point to note is that she has a head.
It has a head!
"Although it has a head, it looks like a drowned ghost." Kamiyagawa watched quietly from a distance. "However, if a red oni can be an NPC, there's no reason why a drowned ghost can't."
After thinking for a while, Kamiya began to approach the girl who appeared to be a drowned ghost.
I hope the other person is someone I can talk to and trigger events with, or someone I can trade with like the Red Oni.
If not, it's not a big problem.
At worst, I'll just have to go back to reality and cool down for 12 hours.
As Kamiya approached, the drowned ghost raised a pale, wet arm and spoke, her voice muffled as if veiled by mist: "I need... help..."
You made the right bet!
This drowned ghost can also communicate!
Kamiya became slightly excited, then asked in as calm a tone as possible, "What can I do to help you with?"
"A letter...deliver it to Keisuke Nagasawa...come back here...and I'll give you your reward..."
The drowning ghost pulled out a piece of white paper that was soaked in water and handed it over.
The paper was simply folded in half. Kamiya glanced up at it but didn't see any writing. Nevertheless, he calmly accepted the quest item and said:
"Keisuke Nagasawa? Where should I look for him?"
Delivering a letter, is that right?
Finally, I've encountered a normal beginner quest that you'd expect in a game, and it even explicitly states that there's a reward!
Leave it to me, I'm a pro at delivery!
The drowning ghost lowered his hand again: "Give it to Nagasawa Keisuke..." here we go again.NPCs repeatedly read their scripts.
Buzzing.
[The drowning ghost Kuriyama Shoko by the lake hopes you can deliver an important letter to Nagasawa Keisuke. I suggest you try your luck at the Shimizu Trading Company building; you might find the person she's looking for.]
My phone vibrated; another game-related text message popped up. "I didn't open this picture of the Shimizu Trading Company building either. Also... Kuriyama Shoko, so this drowned ghost actually has a name."
Kamiya suddenly remembered that in the original owner's memories, he had indeed heard of an incident many years ago at Karin High School where a female student drowned in an artificial lake. Is that female student named Kuriyama Shoko? I can't remember.
Afterwards, Kamiya tried to communicate with the drowned ghost a little more, but the result was the same, and the feedback was always the same: "Leave it to Nagasawa Keisuke."
There's no other way; I can only do this delivery mission after the blueprint for that Shimizu Trading Company building is released. However, to be fair, the monsters in this picture of Hana Rin High School are mostly headless high school students.
That Shimizu Trading Company sounds like a gathering place for overworked office workers. What kind of monsters will this trash game put in that map?Is it the workaholic soul?