As they walked through the hospital corridors, Chika Fujiwara and her companions couldn't help but notice the state of the other players emerging from nearby wards. Many looked worse for wear, with some nursing injuries and others in tears.
"Oh no, everyone seems to be struggling," Chika said, her voice filled with concern. "I wish there was something we could do to help them."
Kaguya's response was cold and pragmatic. "We can't help everyone, Fujiwara. Offering assistance to strangers without reason might make us look suspicious."
Chika lowered her voice, "But Natsuki and I could use our skills together to catch that troublemaker, Zhang San."
Natsuki sighed. "The problem is, we can only deal with one vengeful spirit at a time. If we help one person, others will come asking for help too. What then?"
Chika fell silent, realizing the complexity of their situation. It's one thing to lend a hand when you can, but trying to save everyone is foolish and impossible.
As they approached the nurse's station, hoping to gather information about the hospital, a commotion broke out in the corridor. A male player shoved a girl to the ground, snatching something from her before running off.
"Are you alright?" Chika rushed to help the fallen girl, her face flushed with anger. "How could he just steal from you like that?"
The girl bit her lip, her eyes landing on Natsuki. Suddenly, they lit up with recognition. "Oh my gosh, it's you! The big shot!"
Natsuki raised an eyebrow, feeling a sense of familiarity but unable to place her.
"We met at the Ghost Academy, remember? In the exam room? I was sitting by the window," the girl explained excitedly. "I can't believe I ran into you guys. I'm saved!"
Natsuki wanted to explain that they were just newcomers themselves, not the experienced players she thought they were. But before he could, the girl quickly produced two items.
"I know the rules," she said, displaying their properties. "This is all I have!"
The items were a handful of ever-growing leeks and a "Speech Bow" that enhanced the wearer's speaking abilities.
"I've only played three times, so I don't have many game coins," the girl explained, bowing deeply. "Please, take these. They're all I got from the blind box."
Natsuki explained, "Game coins are crucial, but we've already found out they can't be traded or given away. The items from blind boxes are fair game, though - they can even be stolen."
He reminded himself that as newcomers, the chances of meeting a high-level player were slim. Most newbies had pretty basic items, and blind box contents were purely luck-based.
Chika looked at Natsuki expectantly. Kaguya whispered, "A fair exchange is better than helping for free."
After a moment's hesitation, Natsuki agreed. "Alright, I'll take the items. Come to my room later - the ward's safe."
The girl's face lit up with relief as she bowed gratefully.
Natsuki then asked what the man had stolen from her earlier. It turned out to be food.
"Wait, what?" Chika said, suddenly aware of her own hunger. "I only had breakfast this morning... Isn't there a cafeteria?"
The girl shook her head. "There's no cafeteria. The hospital only has four floors, and we can't go anywhere else."
When they tried to verify this, they found the corridor ends blocked by an impenetrable black fog.
As darkness fell again, they returned to the ward, all feeling surprisingly hungry.
"Looks like we have another problem to solve," Natsuki said, rubbing his temples. "A food crisis."
Rikka, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. "Well, the vengeful spirit in my ward might be able to make food."
Curious, Natsuki asked, "What kind of ghost is your roommate?"
Rikka made a horn gesture on her head. "A cow."
"A cow?" the others echoed, puzzled.
As they discussed how a cow ghost might create food, Chika excitedly raised her hand. "I've got it! It must be milk-"
"That's enough," Natsuki cut her off. "You can't drink that stuff without sterilizing it first."
"Why not?" Chika argued. "Fresh-squeezed juice is fine to drink. When I was little, I saw ranchers drinking fresh milk straight from the cow."
"Juice and raw milk are completely different things!" Natsuki exclaimed.
Chika, undeterred, continued, "I read this manga once about four beautiful girls stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash..."
"What, like a girl version of Robinson Crusoe?" someone chimed in.
"If a boy showed up, it'd be a typical dating sim plot," someone joked.
Chika continued her story, "One of the girls fell asleep on a raft and drifted away. When her friend found her, she was nearly unconscious from dehydration. To save her, the other girl took off her..."
Suddenly, Chika stopped, her face turning bright red.
"Took off what?" Natsuki asked, his expression neutral. "Go on."
"I can't say it!" Chika shook her head vigorously. "It's forbidden knowledge!"
Rikka's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Wow, that's amazing!"
Natsuki sighed, "Spoiling stories, saying you can eat anything, and leaving sentences unfinished are all really annoying habits."
"Fine, I'll tell you!" Chika puffed up her cheeks, took a deep breath, and said with determination, "What she took off was..."
"That's enough," Kaguya interrupted, rubbing her temples. "Let's change the subject."
The group then discussed other matters, like how passing the first game always rewards you with "the ability to see the real world."
"I don't want that reward at all," one girl said. "I don't want to see those evil spirits."
The others quickly agreed, even Kaguya nodding slightly. Their discussion turned into a sharing of grievances.
Asuka Kujo, another newcomer, spoke up with tears in her eyes. "I've tried everything - salt in the corners, crosses, rosaries, amulets, holy water, peach wood swords, praying at shrines... nothing works. I used to be on the volleyball team, but now I can't even go to practice because I see scary spirits around my teammates all the time."
"Oh, Asuka-chan," Chika said sympathetically, "Keep trying those blind boxes. Maybe you'll get lucky and get a spirit-repelling ability like Natsuki's."
Asuka looked even more dejected. "But I don't have any game coins, and the blind boxes are full of useless stuff."
"You know," Natsuki mused, "I almost feel like the vengeful spirits in the game are easier to deal with than the evil spirits in reality."
He explained, "The real-world spirits can't communicate and just seem to hate the living. But take Sadako, for example - she's terrifying, sure, but at least we can talk to her."
"After combing her hair, you even wanted to give Sadako maternity leave..." someone remarked, shaking their head.
Kaguya nodded thoughtfully. "There must be some connection between the game and reality that we haven't figured out yet."
As the darkness faded and light returned, Natsuki tapped the TV. "Sadako, we're heading out for a bit. You stay here, okay?"
Sadako, who had been eavesdropping from the edge of the well, felt her black hair tremble and quickly retreated.
Natsuki sighed. How could someone so thin-skinned survive in society? Remembering Sadako's backstory as a former Himura Dairy employee, he thought, "No wonder you were probably bullied a lot."
The group left the ward and entered the corridor. Rikka stopped at a door and whispered, "This is it."
"Don't worry," Chika said confidently, clenching her fist. "Natsuki and I can use our combined skills. We won't lose!"
"Please don't jinx us," Natsuki muttered as he grasped the door handle.
As he pushed the door open, he immediately understood why Rikka had called the vengeful spirit a cow. The spirit had a humanoid form, but with horns on its head, a swinging cow tail, and a large bell tied to its chest. Its... chest was certainly cow-like in proportion.
However, its eyes were blood-red, and its mouth was full of serrated shark-like teeth. Natsuki thought wryly that if this spirit went to a dentist in Rijima, it probably couldn't afford treatment even if it pawned its underwear.
...
[Current Power Stones: 285]
For every 15 Power Stones, 1 Bonus Chapter will be uploaded on the same day.
[Target: 300]
...