"Gh-gh-gh-ghost!"
Chika completely failed to notice her charging foul just now. She grabbed Natsuki's sleeve nervously, completely shaken.
Hey, aren't you supposed to be an airhead?
You weren't scared of all those spirits in the vengeful spirit school, but you're afraid of a ghost now?!
Natsuki rubbed his nose and looked up. His eye twitched slightly.
On the ceiling of the corridor crouched a massive, terrifying vengeful spirit. Like a giant snake, it had a head resembling a woman's. Black hair hung down, nearly covering the entire corridor. The hair seemed to have a life of its own, constantly twisting and writhing in the air.
Mr. Zhou Shuren's story of the beautiful snake woman used beauty to lure people. The evil spirit before them... was like a car crash scene. Unbearable to look at.
This was a monster that existed only in the depths of nightmares.
An ordinary person would lose massive SAN points just from glancing at it, goosebumps rising all over.
Sorry.
I misjudged you, Fujiwara-san.
Anyone would be scared seeing this thing. Even being an airhead wouldn't help.
Even Lady Kaguya was no exception. She involuntarily stepped back half a pace. Her expression remained cool and composed, but above her head, "so scary so scary so scary" kept floating up.
"You... can see me?"
The long-haired evil spirit lazing on the corridor ceiling heard the commotion. Over a dozen crimson, terrifying eyes all focused on them at once. An eerie, chilling voice reached the three's ears.
"I can s—"
Chika's eyes were brimming with tears.
Before she could finish, Natsuki clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Don't speak." Natsuki leaned close to Chika's ear, lowering his voice and speaking quickly. "Act like you didn't see anything."
After officially becoming players, they could see the world's true nature.
Honestly, compared to the real world, Natsuki actually found the spirits in the vengeful spirit school more endearing. At least they had human forms. Some spirits, aside from their pale faces, floating walk with no sound, and tendency to keep their heads down, weren't much different from ordinary people.
The evil spirits appearing in the real world were each more terrifying than the last.
The evil spirit coiled in the corridor clearly didn't believe them. Like a giant snake, it spiraled toward them. Crimson light blazed in its eyes as its black hair rose into the air, letting out hissing screams:
"You saw me! I'm going to eat you!"
Fortunately, Natsuki had kept his Evil Dispersion aura active the whole time. When the hair came howling toward them and entered the aura's range, it was like flammable material accidentally falling into fire—it rapidly burst into flames.
The fire spread upward, burning along the black hair.
The evil spirit in the corridor first looked bewildered, then began screaming and slapping at the flames on its body before quickly fleeing into the distance.
"...It left."
Kaguya let out a breath of relief, only then noticing her palms were sweaty.
Even the Ice Princess Kaguya had things she feared, and ghosts were one of them.
Rather, aside from perverts, no one could face something like that calmly.
"Wh-what was that just now?"
Chika's eyes were misty. "That was way too scary!"
"Someone's coming." Kaguya pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose and said quietly. "Let's talk in the classroom."
At the same time.
"Miko, are you okay?"
The orange-haired girl extended her right hand and waved curiously in front of Miko Yotsuya. "Why did you suddenly stop walking?"
Hana looked up at the ceiling and glanced around. "There's obviously nothing in the corridor."
You're wrong.
There was a super scary evil spirit coiled up in the corridor just now.
"I'm fine." Miko shook her head. "I just suddenly remembered something very important..."
"Huh, what?"
"When you called out to me, I suddenly forgot again."
"Oh dear, so sorry."
"..."
Miko grumbled internally as she walked upstairs, her mind involuntarily replaying what she had just witnessed.
That terrifying evil spirit coiled on the corridor ceiling like a snake—just from getting close to Natsuki, its entire body had suddenly burst into flames, and then it fled in a panic?
What had just happened?
Miko also recalled what had happened at the convenience store entrance this morning. The evil spirit in the convenience store uniform had inexplicably dissipated. She had wondered at the time what had happened.
Thinking about it now, it must have been related to Natsuki.
Having witnessed that scene, the black-haired, golden-eyed girl couldn't help but clench her small fists. On her weary face—tired from lack of sleep and constant tension—a happy smile appeared.
Cause for celebration!
Hope had finally returned to her bleak life!
About a week ago, shortly after the new semester began, Miko had been walking home in the evening when her eyes had somehow started seeing all sorts of terrifying evil spirits around her.
Salt for exorcism.
Crosses.
Garlic.
Holy water.
Shrine charms.
Miko had even gone on Amazon and gritted her teeth to buy a peach wood evil-warding sword.
Unfortunately, none of it worked.
No one else could see these evil spirits, let alone drive them away or destroy them.
Miko felt like a husky that had wandered into a wolf pack. Once her identity was exposed, she'd be torn to shreds. Every day she lived in fear, walking on thin ice. Life had become nothing but darkness.
But now...
"Ehehe~!"
It's decided. Tonight, I'll take the initiative!
I'm his childhood friend, after all. There's no way some random girl is going to suddenly fall from the sky, right?
In the classroom.
Natsuki walked to his seat and set down his school bag.
It was still early. The classroom was mostly empty with only a handful of students. It was quite quiet.
"Kaguya-chan, can you explain now?" Chika asked quietly. "Why is reality even scarier than the game?"
"I'm not entirely sure either..."
Kaguya pressed her pink lips together slightly, her fingers playing with the hair by her ear. Her tone was cool as she recounted everything that had happened from yesterday until now, then said, "My intuition tells me that if those evil spirits find out we can see them, something terrible will happen."
Chika wanted to cry but had no tears.
Regret.
Such deep regret.
Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world.
"The Evil Dispersion aura that drove away that evil spirit just now—it came from a mystery box..."
Seeing Chika looking at him, Natsuki explained.
"Huh?" Chika's eyes lit up. "So you can open mystery boxes?"
"Where, where? I always have super good luck."
Natsuki reminded her: "You can see it when you open the Game Shop."
"Mm... I see it." Chika stared at the empty air before her, murmuring to herself. "There's also a permanent attribute next to it. Price: fifty Game Coins."
Natsuki looked over curiously but could only see empty air. As expected, other players' game panels weren't visible.
What a shame. Can't see the mystery boxes in other people's shops. Can't help even if I wanted to.
"The attribute is called 'One Centimeter Miracle.' After purchasing, you can make any part of your body grow one centimeter..." Chika's eyes went wide. "What's the point? Growing one centimeter taller isn't useful at all."
"..."
Natsuki fell into deep thought.
One Centimeter Miracle—where exactly would be the best place to add it?