Splash—
Amidst the sound of splashing water, Kaguya slowly sank into the bathtub, immersing her entire body in the hot water.
"Mmm..."
After a soft sigh, the long, black-haired girl stretched slightly in the water, then opened her crimson eyes and gazed at the bathroom ceiling.
The result of Gao Hai and Maki's initial investigation yesterday was gaining the friendship (?) of a friendly veteran girl player. They obtained a good deal of information from her, laying a solid foundation for further contact with player groups.
"Bone ash... purple talismans..."
Kaguya whispered the names of these two items, her expression thoughtful.
The bone ash, capable of preventing the living from becoming part of an anomaly after death, could also hinder corpses that had turned into anomalies to some extent, and even briefly obstruct the anomalies themselves. This item was crucial for the upcoming instances, and the small amount Gao Hai had scrounged from Lao Guo was definitely not enough. The problem was its exorbitant price. Kaguya herself only had a hundred thousand Japan Yen in pocket money. Although she had a black card with no limit, using it could expose her identity, and her family would surely notice if she spent such a large sum.
Even if the anomalous nature of the bone ash itself prevented her family from knowing what she bought with the money, it was still possible that it would lead them to increase their surveillance on her. Until the boundaries of the 'information concealment' that protected players from ordinary people were clear, Kaguya wasn't prepared to act.
Maki had a bit more allowance than her, about one hundred fifty thousand a month, but even combined, that was only two hundred fifty thousand. According to the prices Gao Hai and Maki had inquired about, a 500-gram box of specially prepared bone ash often cost twelve million Japan Yen and required a Twilight-level Obsession Item as part of the deal. Money alone was absolutely not enough to buy it.
The other item, the purple talisman, was a paper charm said to be made from human blood and a special paper obtained from a specific Twilight-level instance. This item was even more expensive. Its effect was bizarre; many players called it 'Luck Burning.' To use it, one had to ignite it. While the talisman burned, the person who lit it would inexplicably gain good fortune. The effects varied widely, from dodging certain death and miraculously obtaining impossible items to even guiding the actions of anomalies for one's own benefit. Of course, there were also cases where someone destined for a gruesome death would, after lighting the talisman, die swiftly and smoothly instead. All in all, it was a peculiar item that could temporarily boost one's luck.
However, without exception, every player who had used this talisman fell into a streak of bad luck after it finished burning. Furthermore, based on current statistics, this decrease in luck was likely permanent. Thus, players referred to this as 'burning one's own luck,' which was, in a sense, quite fitting.
Thirty million Japan Yen plus an Obsession Item, or it could be traded for a good Obsession Item without the cash... This thing clearly has powerful side effects, so why is it even more expensive? For once, Kaguya wore a troubled expression. She never imagined that she, the daughter of a financial magnate, would be struggling with money.
Whatever. Instead of dwelling on this, I should be thinking about the next mission.
There were still over twenty days to prepare for the second instance.
All the various items and tools needed to handle potentially complex environments were ready. According to the information Gao Hai and Maki had gathered, it seemed players could only bring items within a certain size limit that they could carry on their person. Players who attempted to 'put things like cars, tanks, or ships into their pockets, or at least make it look like they did, to bring into an instance' had all failed. The player known to have brought the largest item into an instance had carried his grandfather's WWII Mk1 cannon. He had treated the recoilless rifle like a shoulder-mounted launcher, carried it on his back, and successfully brought it into the instance. He then fired three shots at an elderly woman anomaly holding only a ballpoint pen and had his brains scooped out amidst the flying sparks.
Anyway, that wasn't the main point. The important thing was to ensure all three of them were in the same instance.
Kaguya, Maki, Gao Hai.
As players who had already completed one mission together, they had developed a certain synergy. If they could tackle the second mission as a team, their survival rate would surely increase significantly. Especially Gao Hai. Kaguya had confirmed that he possessed an Obsession Item or a special ability that allowed him to rewind time and start over. Although his behavior suggested that this ability had limitations and had to be used cautiously, there was no doubt that with him in the same mission, he could hopefully turn the tide and start anew even if they faced a total party wipe.
Therefore, they had to secure three Twilight-level instance entry tickets to make sure all three of them were in the same mission.
But the problem was, entry tickets weren't easy to get, especially Twilight-level ones... they were a hot commodity. Even though Gao Hai and Maki had asked the veteran player, Hitori Gotoh, for as much help as possible, she had only offered to do what she could, and from the looks of it, they would probably have to give up at least one Obsession Item.
What a hassle.
Kaguya couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
I wonder what the other two are doing right now. Maki, and Gao-kun...
Sensing the water gradually cooling, the girl stood up from the bathtub, wrapping a towel around her body to cover her graceful figure.
Meanwhile, in a small alley, several delinquents with brightly colored hair lay on the ground, their faces crestfallen. They looked at Gao Hai with fear, mixed with a strange sentiment of 'Why is it us again?'
"So, you're out of money?"
Gao Hai's expression soured.
"We really don't have any! You're the sixth group to rob us this month! We don't have a single cent left! Because we kept getting robbed, our gang went bankrupt and disbanded. How could we have any money!"
The bruised and swollen delinquent cried out, his face a mask of grief and indignation. From his tormented look, he had probably taken quite a few beatings recently.
"Tch, someone beat me to it..."
Gao Hai sighed in annoyance, shrugged, and turned to leave.
He had originally planned to act like a standard novel protagonist and use these delinquents as ATMs to supplement his income.
But as he wandered around, Gao Hai discovered that many others had already had the same idea. It seemed quite a few players, after gaining supernatural powers, had come looking for these thugs to test their skills. This left Gao Hai quite disappointed.
Tonight, just like before, the unseen things were wandering everywhere.
Inquiries to Hitori Gotoh and searches on a strange website—apparently built using some kind of Obsession Item—showed that no other player in the real world could see these things like him. It seemed to be a hallucination unique to Gao Hai, another world that only he could perceive.
But Gao Hai had a feeling that if these bizarre scenes continued to develop, more people would eventually be able to see them one day.
Or perhaps... when that time comes, it will no longer be just a matter of 'seeing' them.
"What's the use of worrying about things that haven't happened yet? Better to focus on surviving until next month."
With a self-deprecating chuckle, Gao Hai walked on. He took out his phone and replied 'Let me join' to Maki's message from a minute ago, which had said 'I'm going to take a shower.' Then, he wandered aimlessly through the streets and happened to pass by a ramen shop. The aroma made Gao Hai realize he was a bit hungry, so he entered the shop.
Beep—
His phone buzzed with a reply. Gao Hai looked down and lit up the screen to see Maki's response: 'Pervert! There's no way I'd let you join!'—words that made it easy to imagine her voice and expression.
So Gao Hai replied, 'It's okay, I can make a reservation for the future,' then looked up at the not-so-large shop in front of him.
And immediately noticed a certain girl with a ribbon in her hair, heartily slurping down noodles.
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