Regaining consciousness back on Earth, Ichirou promptly rose from his bed, eager to see if he could still walk.
He walked in circles and released a sigh of relief before his face turned grim.
"Those bastards! How are they so strong?!" Ichirou shouted, slamming his fist into the wall.
He then remembered something Yuji said about killing to get stronger.
"Is that how you both got stronger?" Ichirou wondered.
He was contemplating whether he could kill someone and feel alright afterwards.
"Why am I struggling to make my decision?!" Ichirou was biting his nails in nervousness.
He bullied plenty of people, even beat them up leaving some broken bones and bruises, but he never went so far as to kill them.
While he was thinking about who he could kill and feel less guilt, a face appeared in his head.
"That's it! My pet Yuji!" Yuji was his first thought of the perfect target. Mainly because he has had a lot of experience dealing with him.
He was about to barge out his home, but paused when he felt his phone vibrate.
He took his phone out his pocket and looked at the emergency video broadcasted by the government.
He sat down on his couch to watch the video.
"Hello, players. This message is to all players who have been causing chaos this past month. While you were in the tower, we deployed military personnel everywhere. Any players who are caught committing crimes, will be punished heavily. Also, during this month you're required to go to a police station and register as a player. You will also have to show your status window. To do that, you must open your status window like usual, but with the intent of showing someone else. We understand if you wouldn't want to show your stats, so when you're showing the window, you can purposely show just your name and user."
When the video ended, he received a text message, he opened the message and it was from the government.
Ichirou read the contents of the message, "Are you a player? We have created the player association. This is a job for players who are willing to maintain the peace of this country. If you decide to join, you will be given a large sum of money per month. To join, go to the police station and register."
Ichirou kissed his teeth, "Dammit! Just when I was planning to get stronger they had to send out the military!"
He was curious about the part about showing just your username or name. If he remembered clearly, it only showed your name not username.
To confirm his thoughts he opened his status screen.
| Hoshino Ichirou (EgoKiller) (22) |
| Level: | | 2 |
| Title: | | None |
| Class: | | None |
| Rune: | | None |
| Strength: | | 7.5 | +
| Agility: | | 6.3 | +
| Intelligence: | | 5 | +
| Luck: | | 0 | +
| Stat Points: | | 0 |
Upon seeing his username showing next to his name, he wondered how that happened?
He got up from his seat and prepared to go register as a player and join the player's association.
***
Yuji, within the wall of his room, had recently regained consciousness. Sensing a gentle pressure on his chest, he observed Misaki's head gracefully nestled upon him.
'She must have been waiting here for a while,' thought Yuji as he gazed at his adorable younger sister. In the midst of trying to lift her and lay her on his bed for rest, a funny idea unexpectedly crossed his mind.
He retrieved one of the water bottles he had purchased from his inventory, allowing a little chuckle to escape before gently pouring a small amount onto her face.
Startled, Misaki swiftly rose from the bed, briskly patting her face to rid it of the water. Her eyes met Yuji's, who stood amused with a water bottle in hand, laughter escaping him.
Flushed with anger, her face turned red as she exclaimed, "Why would you do that?!"
Wearing a smile, Yuji playfully responded, "Well, you told me I better come back, and here I am, but you seemed to be peacefully asleep, instead of praising your brother."
Amidst the commotion, she had momentarily forgotten Yuji was in the tower. Relieved to see him unharmed, she smiled and expressed, "Thank you..."
Yuji playfully placed his hand to his ear and teased, "What was that?"
Observing her brother's smug expression, she swiftly delivered a kick to his stomach, retorting, "You were just lucky!"
Yuji erupted in laughter, and despite her initial resistance, Misaki couldn't help but join in, creating a shared moment of joy they both would cherish.
Yuji shared his experience in the tower, carefully avoiding sensitive details. He weaved a narrative with a mix of truths and lies.
"What?! You're in a group with r100!" Misaki exclaimed.
"Yup."
"Do you know who he is outside the tower?" Misaki asked.
Shaking his head, Yuji remarked, "He probably changed his character to avoid recognition."
Misaki sighed, and Yuji informed her of his temporary leave. Instead of insisting that he stay, as she often did, she surprisingly allowed him to go without resistance.
Smiling, Yuji noticed his sister started recognizing his capabilities. Having faced darkness through his regressions, he found strength in the support of his family and friends, propelling him forward.
As Yuji was about to leave, Misaki halted him, asking, "Wait! Did you happen to see the video and message from the government?"
Yuji nodded, "I saw it while you were sleeping. I'm heading there now to register."
The real reason the government was able to come up with the player association and registration idea in such a short time was from the help of the game masters.
They've already achieved the chaos they wanted in the first month, but now they need to establish a system to prevent players from killing each other before entering the tower.
The grim reality is that tens of millions of players worldwide lost their lives in the first month, excluding civilians. With such a trend, a significant portion of the players would perish before reaching the halfway point of the tower if it continued.
Indeed, the government hasn't attained full control over the players. These changes signify the onset of a new era. With more players joining the player association and the government gaining power, the players will become more obedient over time.
Misaki nodded, and Yuji departed shortly after. Despite claiming he would register, he had no intention of doing so immediately, as he had until the end of the month. Instead, he was heading to meet up with Atsuko.