"It really is a fun quest."
As Chika spoke, she displayed the quest details.
[Timed Fun Quest: An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth]
[Endure for a moment and the anger grows; retreat one step and the loss increases. You've finally realized—the best way to conquer fear is to face it directly]
[Quest Objective: Before midnight, frighten any three ghosts]
[Quest Reward: One random active skill]
[Failure Penalty: None]
[Note: Cheating is prohibited]
[Friendly Reminder: Moderate gaming benefits the mind; gaming addiction harms the body. Manage your time wisely and enjoy a healthy life]
After reading the message, Natsuki silently turned to look at the ice queen.
Sure enough.
Kaguya folded her right arm across her chest, biting her lower lip slightly.
"Unfair unfair unfair!"
"Why does Fujiwara's fun quest have no penalty when mine always do?"
"It's too unfair!"
"..."
"Eh? There are actually quests inside loot boxes?" The blonde gyaru was amazed. "This is my first time seeing one."
Natsuki looked at the pink-haired girl and said:
"Are you doing this quest or not?"
"Of course I am!" Chika clenched her fists, her voice bright. "I definitely want more active skills, especially Amamiya-kun's Evil-Repelling Aura. I really want it!"
"Go big or go home!"
After saying this, the pink-haired girl suddenly made a peace sign, her face showing a slightly smug smile:
"Besides, there's no penalty for failing the quest anyway—ehehe~"
Stop laughing! If you keep talking, the ice queen is going to sulk again!
"Then let's do it." The blonde gyaru propped her chin on her right hand, pondering thoughtfully. "But how do we complete it?"
Chika thought for a moment:
"Ghosts would be... evil spirits, right?"
As she spoke, an evil spirit covered in water plants, still dripping water, passed through the wall and drifted in.
The four of them turned to look simultaneously.
Sensing their gazes, the evil spirit silently approached, its cold, hollow voice rising:
"You... can see me?"
Marin's face paled slightly as she quickly lowered her head, staring intently at her manicure.
Can't see, can't see, can't see...
"Amamiya-kun, let's use this one as a test subject, okay?"
Chika turned to look at him, speaking quietly.
"Sure."
Natsuki nodded lightly.
"...Can you see me?"
The terrifying face covered in water plants and mud pressed close to Kaguya's face. She could almost smell the earthy stench.
"The weather's nice today." Natsuki spoke up. "Perfect for looking at the scenery by the window."
"Right, the wind is gentle too."
Chika picked up the topic, wrapping her arms around Kaguya's: "Kaguya-chan, let's go look at the scenery by the window."
The four quickly dispersed.
The evil spirit circled around them once before disappointedly turning away:
"Can't see... can't see me..."
"Amamiya-kun."
Chika secretly wiggled her pinky finger, giving Natsuki a meaningful look. Then she took a deep breath, quickly approached the evil spirit, and suddenly made a scary face.
"Uraaa—"
"..."
The air instantly fell silent.
The blonde gyaru covered her chest with her right hand, eyes wide, expression tense.
Actually proactively trying to scare an evil spirit—Chika-chan's courage is incredible!
The evil spirit froze for two seconds before black mist suddenly rose from its body. It extended a waterlogged, pale right hand, reaching for Chika:
"You can see me!"
"Amamiya-kun!" Chika quickly retreated two steps. "Help!"
Natsuki had naturally been on guard. Hearing this, he didn't hesitate and decisively activated his Evil-Repelling Aura.
An invisible force instantly affected the evil spirit. Black flames burned fiercely across its body before it quickly disappeared amid twisting and wailing.
"Th-that's amazing!"
The blonde's eyes widened as she looked at Natsuki with shock and wonder.
Though Chika had mentioned there was a skill to deal with evil spirits in the real world, this was her first time seeing it with her own eyes.
"Eh, wait." Marin was intensely curious. "If Amamiya-kun is this powerful, why not use it in the game?"
"I can't use it." Natsuki sighed. "This skill only works in the real world. It gets sealed when I enter the game."
"Makes sense, otherwise it would break game balance." The gyaru grabbed Natsuki's arm, her eyes sparkling. "But even so, it's super amazing!"
Kaguya's eyebrows twitched slightly as she suddenly spoke:
"Fujiwara, how's the quest progress?"
"I didn't scare that evil spirit gentleman at all." Chika shook her head, folding her arms in thought. "Was I not fierce enough just now?"
Natsuki couldn't help but complain:
"Couldn't tell you were trying to scare anyone. You were clearly just acting cute."
"I was not!" Chika protested. "I always use this move to scare people. I've scared lots of people with it, even Pesu is afraid."
Hey, Pesu is your dog, right?
You don't even spare your dog—just how chaotically terrifying are you!
Kaguya analyzed thoughtfully:
"These evil spirits have no rationality. Ordinary scares probably won't work on them."
"Makes sense." Natsuki nodded. "An evil spirit with intelligence..."
His gaze shifted to Mrs. Kaguya.
"Eh?"
Mrs. Kaguya, who'd been reading on the sofa, tilted her head to look over: "Natsuki-kun is so mean. I'm a guardian spirit, not an evil spirit."
"Scaring Atake-neesan feels like cheating somehow." Chika thought for a moment. "What about those little old men?"
"You mean those super tiny evil spirits that look about the size of dolls, right?" The gyaru clasped her hands behind her back, nodding in agreement. "They do look like little old men. I think it could work."
Evil spirits in the real world came in all shapes and sizes. Many didn't even have humanoid forms. Among them, the little old men were most numerous, frequently appearing in various dark corners. Not even reaching knee height, even Miko wasn't afraid of them—they were basically at the bottom of the evil spirit food chain.
"We'll know if it works by trying." Natsuki said. "I have a feeling it probably won't work."
"Wait." Chika raised her hand to stop them. "You guys open your loot boxes first. Maybe there'll be surprise quests."
As it turned out, there were absolutely no surprises.
Natsuki expressionlessly put away a box of tissues, then left the activity room with the three girls.
Acting together, they soon found a little old man evil spirit in a corner.
The thing saw them and quickly hid behind a vending machine.
"Uwaaah—"
Chika raised both hands to her face, making a scary face at the evil spirit.
"You... can see me?"
A shrill, baby-like voice rang out, cold and hollow.
Chika nodded: "I can see you."
"She can see me!"
The little old man's eyes immediately turned red. It leaped up and pounced at Chika. Though small, its movements were exceptionally agile and swift.
"He-he-help!"
The pink-haired girl jumped in fright and quickly hid behind Natsuki.
Natsuki silently activated his Evil-Repelling Aura. The little old man evil spirit vanished in smoke: "Looks like it won't work."
Kaguya pondered:
"Based on previous observations, evil spirits in reality have no self-awareness, or they simply lack the emotion of fear."
"Then what do we do?" Chika looked pitiful. "I finally got a fun quest. I don't want to give up."
"Um, I have an idea." Marin raised her right hand. "In amusement park haunted houses, the staff members dressed as ghosts also count as ghosts, right?"