"I am ready, Master!"
Runa Yozakura shouted this in the middle of a rain-slicked street, her forehead pressed against the muddy asphalt.
I stared down at her, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
(She actually bought it. She thinks I'm a hidden master. I'm a scammer who rents a 1R apartment above a Laundromat.)
My vision blurred slightly. The brief surge of Desire Points from our earlier contact was fading. The Mana Void was hungry again, gnawing at my nerve endings.
My right hand, which I had tucked into my coat pocket to look cool, was vibrating so hard it was slapping against my thigh.
"Stand up," I commanded, my voice tight. "Kneeling in the mud is undignified."
Runa scrambled to her feet. She was drenched, her novice gi clinging to her skin, but her eyes were burning with an intensity that scared me.
"Where do we begin, Master?" she asked, bouncing on her heels. "Do we hunt the Dungeon Boss? Do we meditate under a waterfall?"
I suppressed a cough that tasted like iron.
"We begin," I said, pointing down the street, "by going inside. The damp air... it interferes with my aura."
(It interferes with my immune system. If I catch a cold right now, I will literally die.)
Ten minutes later, we were standing in my apartment.
It was a tiny, single-room box filled with empty cup noodle bowls, unpaid bills, and a futon that had seen better days. The wallpaper was peeling. The air smelled of stale curry.
Runa looked around, blinking in confusion.
"Master... this is your dojo?"
I walked over to the single window and stared out at the neon lights of Neo-Tokyo, keeping my back to her so she wouldn't see me grimace in pain.
"Material wealth is a shackle," I lied smoothly. "I choose to live in squalor to sharpen my spirit. Comfort breeds weakness."
(I live here because rent is 30,000 yen and the landlord doesn't ask for a background check.)
"I see!" Runa gasped. "You are training your mind to ignore the filth of the world! Truly, a higher state of existence!"
She looked at a pile of dirty laundry like it was a sacred artifact.
I moved to sit on my solitary chair, but my legs gave out halfway. I collapsed into the seat heavily. My hand gripped the armrest, knuckles white, shaking violently.
Rattle. Rattle. Rattle.
The chair vibrated against the floorboards.
Runa's eyes snapped to my hand. Her expression shifted from awe to concern.
"Master?" She stepped closer. "Your hand... it's trembling."
(Crap. Crap. Hide it.)
I tried to stop it, but the Void was erratic. It felt like my nerves were being stripped of their insulation.
Runa reached out. "Are you injured? Did the goblins—"
"Don't come closer!" I barked.
She froze, hand hovering inches from mine.
I took a ragged breath, forcing my face into a mask of pained restraint. I needed a lie. A big one. Something that explained why a "God" looked like he possessed the constitution of a sickly Victorian child.
"Do you know why I refused to draw a weapon earlier?" I asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
Runa shook her head slowly.
"My power," I said, looking at my trembling hand as if it were a nuclear warhead ticking down. "It is not... normal mana. It is pure, unadulterated Yang Energy."
(It's actually a total lack of energy, but semantics.)
I looked up at her, narrowing my eyes. "My body is a vessel for the power of a Sun God. It is too potent for this reality. I have placed nine hundred and ninety-nine seals on my core just to exist without vaporizing this city."
Runa's eyes widened. "Vaporizing... the city?"
"This trembling," I lifted my shaking hand, letting her see the violence of the spasm. "This is not weakness, Runa. This is the engine revving against the brakes. My body is fighting every second to keep the power in."
I clenched my fist, digging my nails into my palm to stabilize it for a second.
"If I were to touch you carelessly... if I were to spar with you..." I let the sentence hang in the air. "Your mind would be incinerated by the sheer pleasure of my aura. You would lose yourself."
(Please believe it. It sounds stupid even to me. "Sun God"? Really?)
Runa stared at my hand.
Then, she swallowed hard. A flush crept up her neck.
"So..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "You are holding back... for my sake?"
She looked at my shaking hand and didn't see a dying man. She saw a titan struggling to contain an ocean in a teacup.
"The vibration," she murmured, eyes losing focus. "It's the hum of absolute power."
[Target Status: Delusional.] [Desire Points Gained: +20.]
She suddenly dropped to her knees again, slamming her forehead onto my cheap linoleum floor.
"Forgive me, Master! I doubted you!"
"It is fine," I waved dismissively, fighting the urge to pass out. "Get up."
"I will help you!" she declared, reaching into her gi. She pulled out a thick, slightly damp envelope. "I know you said wealth is a shackle, but... please accept this offering! It is my tuition fee!"
She slammed the envelope onto my wobbly table.
"One million yen!"
My heart stopped. Then it restarted with a vengeance.
(One million?! That's six months of rent! That's actual food! That's... medicine!)
I looked at the money. I wanted to grab it and weep.
But Renji Amagiri, the Sovereign of Desire, does not weep over cash.
I sighed, picking up the envelope with two fingers as if it were a dirty tissue.
"If it eases your conscience," I said indifferently. "I will hold onto it. Though, to me, this is merely paper."
(It is beautiful, sweet, life-saving paper.)
"Thank you, Master!" Runa beamed, tears in her eyes. "I will work hard! I will become strong enough to bear your touch!"
She looked at me with such pure, unadulterated devotion that I felt a twist of guilt in my gut. She really believed I was going to make her a legend.
All I had was a lie and a body that was falling apart.
Suddenly, the blue screen flickered in my peripheral vision. The text was red this time.
[System Warning.] [Target: Runa Yozakura.] [Desire Purity: 100%.] [Warning: Target's belief is absolute. If you fail to meet her expectations, the Reality Backlash will not just reset your progress...]
The text scrolled ominously.
[...It will shatter your mind.]
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
I looked at Runa, who was now happily inspecting my moldy bathroom.
I had saved my life, yes. But I had also just strapped myself to a bomb.
"Runa," I called out.
"Yes, Master?" She poked her head out, smiling brightly.
"Don't get too comfortable," I said, closing my eyes. "Training starts tomorrow. And it will be... hell."
(Because I have no idea what I'm doing.)
"I can't wait!" she chirped.
I stared at the ceiling.
Three months to live. A million yen in my pocket. And a disciple who would probably kill me if she ever found out the truth.
(What have I done?)