The progress of the Marauder sequence acting process is going well, likely because I'm in a world where I can act freely without facing any consequences. Everything is going smoothly, perhaps too smoothly—so much so that I'm starting to feel bored.
I've already achieved what I set out to do in Kyoto: I'm ready for graduation. In fact, I completed everything I needed two months ago, and the first opportunity to graduate is still three months away. The company I established, Re-Logic, is prepared for its second game release. We've also created a sub-company dedicated to light novels and manga. We've secured contracts with factories for merchandise and collectibles for LOTM.
All my efforts have paid off, and now I find myself with nothing to do. I even managed to handle the paperwork by nurturing loyal and capable team members, ensuring that the company can function independently. I only need to review important paperwork that my employees have been instructed to bring to me.
I've decided not to rush the releases for Terraria and LOTM. Terraria is still at version 1.1, and since LOTM gained considerable traction in both the Japanese and Chinese fandoms within its first 300 chapters, I've slowed down the release rate to three chapters per week. There's enough content for four more years, with unpublished chapters stored on a USB stick, all of which are complete.
Interestingly, I've produced more artwork than I initially anticipated, but I have no interest in creating more at this time. I do have the piano, but that's a topic I'd rather avoid for now. My friends are also busy. It's not their fault; we're all students, and I'm the one who seems to be overdoing it. I offered to help them with their studies, as I've done in the past, but they declined, saying I made it too easy, and they didn't want to become spoiled.
I can't disrupt Ayano, Yuki, and Noan; they each have their own challenges at home, and I don't want to intrude and create more problems for them. In fact, they would likely be happy about my presence, but I don't feel right taking advantage of their kindness. I just promised to bring them a gift the next time we reunite.
Marin is currently outside of Kyoto, celebrating a birthday with her grandma for the first time alongside her father. Thanks to my help, she achieved a great score on her exams, which was both her request and her reward. As for Mira, she's busy with her job. It's puzzling how the timelines between my world and hers are intertwined, but it might be a sign from my LUK or the Essence.
I even visited the one place where I made another true friend, but when I went to his house, no one was there. Mira's situation is similar to that of others, as it's daytime in their worlds, and no one is around for a quick chat. There's a setting I'm interested in exploring, but the portal will take another week to be ready.
So here I am, inside a dungeon—this time an undead one—filled with a mix of skeletons, zombies, and ghosts, passing the time... and taking down monsters.
Worst of all, thanks to my high-level skills combined with the enhanced stats from the [Marauder Potion], everything has become too easy. Even the ghost, which I could only damage with mana-based skills or [Touki], now falls to me more easily than the zombies and skeletons.
This is due to [Spiritualism]. Thanks, Klein.
Even the Shards I'm gaining aren't making this any more challenging.
I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored. I'm bored.
A skeleton appears. I pull a wooden spear from the inventory, take aim, and [Throw]!
Headshot. +4 Shards.
[Throw Lv.29->30]
[Spear Throw Lv.7->8]
I'm not in the mood, Essence, although I appreciate the level-ups.
The day continued like that—moping, finding enemies, one-shotting them (or two-shotting, depending on my mood), recovering any dropped items, and repeating the cycle.
It went on like that for half an hour until my Essence revealed how broken it was.
//
**Game Update**
After reviewing my accomplishments and the boredom you experienced, we've decided on some new features!
- Self-imposed growth restrictions until age 15 are now completely lifted.
- The two skills expected to come with your 15th birthday can now be awakened by using [King of Awakening] on yourself.
- Party feature unlocked.
- New dungeons available. [Dungeon Creation] now has a longer list of possible dungeons.
- New settings restrictions have been lifted. You can now create settings with magic/energy systems. (Note: original limitations still apply.)
- The hardcap for [Setting Creation] portal-making timing has been lifted. As long as you continue to grow, the time to create a portal will decrease from the normal five months.
- A new item has been added to the enemy drop pool.
- [Shop] search function upgraded. You can now find items of interest with fewer parameters.
- A skill in the [Shop] is now 99% off.
- Essence user-only functions can now be temporarily lent to party members.
//
Hell yeah.
---
After an undead slaughter party, just to ensure I was testing out those updates, I discovered that, yes, there is a skill for sales.
//
Paper Trail (Waifu Catalog-Modified)
Type: Skill
Cost: 12,500 Shards (1,250,000)
You've entered a new world, and authorities are questioning your presence? Keep your Hypnosis spell away! You can now receive the legal documentation of anyone who enters a new world! Keep in mind that this does not guarantee it's faithful to your person!
//
This skill is beneficial, possibly essential for me and anyone who follows me. It also doesn't specify that it's restricted to party members, so...
I didn't take it right away because, after my rampage against the dungeon monsters and the raids on empty houses in the [High School of the Dead] setting, I only have 4,500 Shards. It's a good result given the short timeframe, but not enough for the skill.
I'm also curious about the original setting of the skill. What anime would refer to itself as 'Waifu Catalog'? Probably one filled with waifus.
Now that the skill is available, let's check out the new dungeons. As the list of dungeons tied to me appeared, one caught my attention. Interestingly enough, there was additional information about it.
//
[Challenge - Masachika Kuze]
A 1vs1 against yourself. No more, no less. Are you ready to take the Challenge?
Additional details: No permanent death. No stat, experience, or drops can be found here. Fight yourself to become better.
//
"I wanted this since I unlocked [Dungeon Creation]. Where were you five years ago?! Anyway, you're on!"
As I entered the dungeon, I appeared in what looked like the tournament arena from the Dragon Ball martial arts tournament, standing in the spot where fighters would start. Directly across from me stood my replica, down to the last detail, with my intense glare reflected back at me.
As I pulled a wooden spear from my inventory, he mirrored my actions. I noticed a copy of the screens I had become fond of, but his were red instead of blue.
I smirked, and he smirked back. No words were necessary—being a copy of me, he knew what would happen next.
We both sprinted towards each other and swung our spears simultaneously.
Perfectly at the center of the arena, we faced off, crazy smiles plastered on our faces. I had always wondered how I would compare to myself.