Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Kaguya Wants Me to Surrender
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"... Amamiya-kun, surrender yourself."
A voice as cold as ice, devoid of any emotion or warmth, entered his ears, like the bitter wind of the coldest winter days, threatening to freeze both body and soul.
The girl speaking wore a high-quality moon-white dress-pajama. Her silky black hair fell naturally to her waist. She had luminous, snow-white skin and delicate, flawless features.
If he wasn't mistaken, she seemed to be his classmate... Shinomiya Kaguya?
The new semester had just begun, and he happened to be in the same class as the girl in front of him. However, they had never spoken until now, making her a standard 'background classmate.'
Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath, looking down at his hands. His left hand held a black collar, and his right gripped a white leash. He couldn't help but fall into thought.
He was clearly about to go out and walk his dog. He had just crouched down to tie his shoelace, and when he looked up, his Akita Inu had turned into an ice sculpture girl wearing pajamas?
Could it be a dog-girl's repayment?
It wasn't for nothing that he worked hard walking her every day... Just kidding.
What kind of repayment starts by telling someone to surrender!
Amamiya Natsuki looked up and scanned his surroundings.
The familiar street had quietly vanished, replaced by a strange room. To call it a room might not be accurate-no one would build a room the size of a soccer field.
There were no doors or windows on the walls. Besides Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya, there were no other people or creatures in the room. There weren't even tables or chairs, as if it were just an empty box.
Even stranger, despite the lack of any light source, he could see clearly in the room.
The bizarre phenomenon, completely unexplainable by science, made Amamiya Natsuki wonder if he was dreaming.
The clear, pleasant voice, like the collision of pearls and jade, sounded again. Shinomiya Kaguya clutched her chest, her face showing no emotional fluctuations.
"Sorry, I refuse," Amamiya Natsuki instinctively retorted.
His first conversation with a classmate started with surrender; something was definitely wrong!
Shinomiya Kaguya's voice was clear and cold, her eyes like a still lake, without any ripples: "Although I don't know how you secretly kidnapped me here, my bodyguards will track you very soon... Your only way out now is to surrender."
What was with that look, as if he were 'a dying man'?
If he didn't surrender immediately, would he end up feeding the fish in Tokyo Bay?!
"Shinomiya," Amamiya Natsuki said with a serious expression, "you must have misunderstood something."
Shinomiya Kaguya didn't speak, only lowered her gaze to the collar and leash in Amamiya Natsuki's hand.
"I was just about to go out and walk my dog," Amamiya Natsuki replied frankly. "It's perfectly normal to be holding a collar and leash, isn't it?"
Hearing Amamiya Natsuki's explanation, the ice sculpture girl's eyes widened slightly, and a chill several times more intense suddenly erupted.
"Wait," Amamiya Natsuki quickly said, "This really is a collar and leash for walking a dog, not tools prepared for you."
The cold current index soared again; his soul was about to freeze.
Amamiya Natsuki silently raised his hands: "... Is it too late for me to surrender now?"
Shinomiya Kaguya didn't speak. She suddenly widened her eyes, her pink lips slightly parted, revealing two rows of teeth like perfect shells. Compared to the ice sculpture girl from before, her current dumbfounded expression was unexpectedly cute.
"Something's behind you!"
Amamiya Natsuki's heart stirred, and he quickly turned to look.
A giant snake, easily over ten meters long, had appeared in the room at some point. Its body was clearly segmented, and even stranger, besides its larger head, its body's length and thickness were exactly uniform.
A peculiar sound suddenly echoed in both their minds.
[Welcome to the Bizarre game]
[game Instance: The Snake Catcher's Tale]
[Clear Conditions: 1. Successfully catch the snake, 2. game time of thirty minutes. Fulfill either condition to exit the instance.]
[Clear Reward: See the true nature of the world]
[Failure Penalty: Random]
[The game is about to begin. Wishing players a pleasant game.]
As the strange sound faded, the motionless Anaconda suddenly 'came alive.' Without any probing or hesitation, it swam directly towards Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya.
Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath and turned to Shinomiya Kaguya, whose face was pale and who clearly hadn't recovered: "What are you spacing out for? Run!"
Shinomiya Kaguya finally snapped out of it.
Even the 'Ice Princess' couldn't remain calm and composed when facing a monstrous snake.
Fortunately, the giant snake didn't pursue them relentlessly. Instead, it made a turn, swallowed a light orb nearby, and then swam away at a leisurely pace.
Besides the giant snake, many scattered light orbs, about the size of a soccer ball, also appeared in the room. There was one in the corner where the two of them were leaning. Amamiya Natsuki cautiously touched it, and his finger passed through it as if through air, without any tactile sensation.
The two stopped against the wall. Amamiya Natsuki caught his breath and looked at Shinomiya Kaguya:
"Shinomiya, did you hear a strange sound just now?"
"I did," Shinomiya Kaguya's face was pale, and her chest heaved continuously. She was clearly terrified of snakes and showed signs of melting from an ice sculpture into a snowman. She tried her best to keep her voice steady. "It said, 'Welcome to the game'..."
Indeed, both of them heard the exact same sound.
"It seems we two are the game players," Amamiya Natsuki analyzed in a deep voice. "The Snake Catcher's Tale... should be about catching that giant snake."
In the entire enclosed space, besides Amamiya Natsuki and Shinomiya Kaguya, the two 'players,' there was only one giant snake. The target was exceptionally clear.
The problem was that this snake was too big!
With an ordinary small snake, he might grit his teeth and try to catch it bare-handed. But catching an Anaconda bare-handed?
That's like an old man eating arsenic, just asking for death!
"That giant snake suddenly appeared out of thin air..."
Shinomiya Kaguya took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. She could face robbers calmly, but an unknown giant snake beyond her comprehension was truly difficult to remain composed about.
"I was just about to go to the Park to walk my dog. I bent down to tie my shoelace, and when I looked up, I found myself here. Now there's this thing appearing out of nowhere... let's call it an Anaconda for now." Amamiya Natsuki didn't notice the ice sculpture girl's subtle movements. He frowned, "We must have encountered a bizarre phenomenon that cannot be explained by science."
The giant snake was full of indescribable oddities, as if it weren't a creature from Earth. Only an Anaconda was closest in terms of size.
How could an ordinary person capture a giant Anaconda bare-handed?
Amamiya Natsuki carefully considered all usable items: a collar, a leash, and an ice sculpture girl... He quickly reached a conclusion.
The only way to clear the game seemed to be surviving for thirty minutes...
Looking at the giant Anaconda in the distance, Amamiya Natsuki was already preparing to give up when he suddenly felt a slight warmth in his eyes. Immediately afterward, a line of text slowly appeared above the Anaconda's head in his field of vision:
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Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Kaguya, Can You Not Be So Useless?
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[I have a dream... to break through the dimensional wall!]
Amamiya Natsuki was astonished to see the words appearing above the giant snake's head.
As Amamiya Natsuki gazed intently, more text appeared above the giant snake's head.
[Status: Happy, Evolving]
[Remark: A Greedy Snake that doesn't want to break through the dimensional wall is not a good Greedy Snake]
"... So it's Greedy Snake!"
Amamiya Natsuki's eyes suddenly narrowed, and the previous strangeness and awkwardness were instantly resolved.
No wonder this strange snake's tail and body were the same thickness, completely inconsistent with biological evolution standards, because it wasn't a real flesh-and-blood creature at all!
"... Amamiya-kun, what did you just say?"
The cold voice of the ice sculpture girl entered his ears.
"I said it's Greedy Snake..." Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at the calm-faced ice sculpture girl and said in surprise, "You can't see the words above that snake's head?"
"Hmm?" Shinomiya Kaguya stared at the Greedy Snake on the other side of the room, her willow-like eyebrows slightly furrowed. "I don't see anything... Has Amamiya-kun become so scared that he's talking nonsense?"
Amamiya Natsuki was certain he wasn't talking nonsense.
Now, not only the Greedy Snake but even above the ice sculpture girl's head, a line of text had quietly appeared.
[So scary, so scary, so scary (>_<)]
[I hate snakes the most. They're so big; I'll be swallowed whole, won't I!]
Indeed, the prettier a girl is, the more she lies.
Just now, I was secretly admiring your composure, your ability to remain unfazed even when a mountain collapses, but it was all just a facade of calmness. Your heart was already trembling, wasn't it!
[Remark: This player's morale is low. All attributes-execution, reaction, speed, courage-are reduced. Morale can be boosted to help her recover her state.]
[Recommended method: '... Shinomiya, can you not be so useless?']
"Nothing," Amamiya Natsuki shook his head, suppressing the urge to complain, and then said, "This snake isn't a real creature; it's the Greedy Snake from a video game... Look closely, no snake can move in a straight line without any body undulation."
"That's right." Shinomiya Kaguya nodded slightly, her tone calm. "Due to their body structure, snakes typically move in an S-shape... Their current way of moving doesn't conform to the biological laws of snakes."
After a pause, Shinomiya Kaguya asked again:
"You haven't played it?" Amamiya Natsuki looked at her in surprise.
She hasn't even played Greedy Snake. Is she a primitive person who traveled through time?
Perhaps sensing Amamiya Natsuki's impolite gaze, Shinomiya Kaguya's voice turned cold: "games are just a cheap form of entertainment for ordinary people, meant to consume the excess energy of commoners. Siomiya people don't need to play them."
"games are the ninth art! Even if you haven't played them, you shouldn't disparage them. Apologize to all the game players in the world right now!" Amamiya Natsuki couldn't help but retort, then pressed his temples and took a deep breath. "Greedy Snake is an electronic game from the last century. The gameplay is very simple: control the Greedy Snake to keep eating things, and the Greedy Snake's body will continuously grow larger."
"That Greedy Snake's body has already started to grow," Amamiya Natsuki said with a serious expression. "If we plan on just hiding for half an hour, that snake's body could very likely fill the entire room."
Shinomiya Kaguya silently looked at the Greedy Snake, her face still devoid of emotion: "...Do you have a plan?"
"I do," Amamiya Natsuki nodded. "In the Greedy Snake game, the Greedy Snake cannot touch its own body, otherwise it will eat itself, and the game ends."
"To clear the game, we need to find a way to make that Greedy Snake's head touch its body."
Shinomiya Kaguya was quite intelligent: "That Greedy Snake's goal seems to be to chase food... So, we lure it with bait?"
Amamiya Natsuki nodded and said, "That's the only way."
As they spoke, the Greedy Snake leisurely swam over from a distance.
As the distance closed, it was clear that this Greedy Snake's body was noticeably several sizes larger, already exceeding the Anaconda's maximum size.
Amamiya Natsuki said decisively, "Go to that corner."
If nothing unexpected happened, the basketball-sized transparent light clusters on the ground were the Greedy Snake's food. To execute the bait plan, they had to choose an empty area without 'food' so that the Greedy Snake would follow closely.
It could be seen that as its body grew, the Greedy Snake's speed also significantly increased, making it impossible to shake off as easily as before.
The two quickly ran to the empty corner, where the nearby light clusters had already been eaten.
Shinomiya Kaguya was probably about to go to sleep, wearing a one-piece nightgown and dog-themed slippers.
Slippers were naturally not suitable for running. In her haste, her foot slipped, and she was about to fall to the ground.
Looking at the giant snake, nearly half a person tall, behind her, the ice sculpture girl's pretty face quickly paled. No one could remain unfazed at such a moment.
Amamiya Natsuki was quick-witted, pushing the ice sculpture girl away and simultaneously retreating himself. The Greedy Snake passed exactly between the two of them.
The nearby energy light clusters had been eaten, and the Greedy Snake evidently had no intention of letting them go. After swimming a short distance, it turned at a ninety-degree angle and swam towards Amamiya Natsuki.
Hey, hey, you chose the wrong target, didn't you?
Aren't fragrant girls more delicious?
Amamiya Natsuki was about to run when he suddenly noticed that this Greedy Snake's body had already formed a half-enclosed shape. He took a deep breath, stopped himself, and, reaching over the Greedy Snake's body, threw the leash to Kaguya:
"Grab the rope, and pull me over in a moment."
Shinomiya Kaguya quickly understood what Amamiya Natsuki wanted to do. Biting her lower lip, she bent down and gripped the leash tightly.
The two waited nervously.
In just seven or eight seconds, the Greedy Snake returned, its target precisely Amamiya Natsuki.
Amamiya Natsuki quickly shouted.
A pulling force quickly came from the other end of the leash, but it was noticeably weak.
Amamiya Natsuki made a snap decision and quickly said the motivating words he had just thought of: "Kaguya, can't you show some ambition?"
The force on the leash suddenly increased.
Amamiya Natsuki used the momentum to climb over the Greedy Snake's body, quickly flipping to the other side.
Amamiya Natsuki let out a long sigh of relief.
The motivational method really worked, instantly boosting the ice sculpture girl's state.
The Greedy Snake no longer had time to turn and directly collided with its own body, then instantly turned to stone.
A cold voice echoed in their minds.
Amamiya Natsuki only felt his vision suddenly blur. When he became clear again, he was already on the street outside his home, with an Akita Inu obediently sitting in front of him.
Amamiya Natsuki pressed his temples, momentarily unable to distinguish between reality and illusion.
A line of text suddenly appeared in his vision.
[You received a reward: The Truth of the World]
[You received ten game coins]
Amamiya Natsuki's interest greatly increased. He was about to open it to take a look when barking suddenly entered his ears.
The obediently squatting Akita Inu suddenly barked forward.
Amamiya Natsuki followed the sound and saw a tired office worker, carrying a briefcase after work, passing by.
What was important was... what was with the distorted black mist wrapped around the office worker?!
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Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Girl Who Can See
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A distorted black humanoid, vaguely resembling a female figure.
And blood-flowing eye sockets, and menacing claws hanging down to the ground...
"...What in the world is this thing?!"
Looking at the monster on the man, Amamiya Natsuki felt completely unwell.
While the Greedy Snake was scary, it was still acceptable. This thing in front of him directly made his SAN value plummet.
As Amamiya Natsuki stared, a line of text slowly appeared above the distorted monster's head.
[Status: Confused, Distorted]
[Warning: Do not let it know you can see it]
"It appeared again." Amamiya Natsuki pressed one eye and fell into thought. "Previously, in that strange game, Shinomiya Kaguya seemed unable to see the text prompts... Is this something only I can see?"
Amamiya Natsuki was very sure.
He had never seen a Spirit before.
"So... this is the so-called 'seeing the truth of the world'?"
Spirits really exist, but ordinary people can't see them. Now that he's cleared the game, he's successfully unlocked the ability to see Spirits?
This isn't a reward at all, it's a punishment!
Perhaps sensing Amamiya Natsuki's gaze, the Spirit, whose limbs were clinging to the middle-aged office worker, actually detached from the office worker, twisting its form, and walked over step by step.
"Should I turn around and run now?"
Amamiya Natsuki's forehead broke out in a cold sweat, and he forcibly suppressed the urge to flee.
If he ran, he would definitely be exposed, and he had a feeling something terrible would happen...
Between the instinct to flee and the strange warning, Amamiya Natsuki chose to trust the latter.
The Akita Inu ran away with its tail between its legs, only daring to bark continuously from a distance.
Damn it! They said dogs were the most loyal, but it abandoned its master and fled!
As he spoke, the female Spirit had already arrived in front of Amamiya Natsuki.
A distorted, hollow, hair-raising muffled voice entered his ears.
Amamiya Natsuki silently tensed his facial muscles, not letting himself show any unusual expression. He ignored the distorted Spirit in front of him and quickly squatted down to continue tying his shoelaces.
"My shoelaces came undone again."
The distorted Spirit also bent down, tilting its head to look at Amamiya Natsuki, its hollow, dark eye sockets staring directly.
Amamiya Natsuki kept his eyes straight ahead, continuing to bend down and tie his shoelaces.
Not only could he see it, but he could see it clearly, completely exposed.
But at a time like this, only a fool would answer that they could see it!
The distorted Spirit continued to ask.
Amamiya Natsuki's expression remained unchanged as he continued to tie his shoelaces.
"Darn it, I accidentally tied a knot."
If you have the patience, keep asking. Today's shoelaces are not getting tied!
The distorted Spirit, having confirmed that Amamiya Natsuki could not see it, turned around and left in disappointment.
After secretly observing with his peripheral vision and confirming that the distorted Spirit had walked far away, Amamiya Natsuki finally let out a sigh of relief.
It's finally gone. What in the world was that thing?
Amamiya Natsuki, who was walking his dog past a Convenience Store, suddenly stopped, looking at the three distorted Spirits inside, and silently turned to leave.
"No more walking, going home."
The number of vengeful spirits in existence is far greater than imagined.
However, besides myself, no one else seems to be able to see them...
Amamiya Natsuki's heart stirred, and he remembered his teammate, Shinomiya Kaguya.
Did the young lady Shinomiya, who also received a 'clearance reward,' also see the distorted vengeful spirits?
At the Shinomiya family mansion.
Shinomiya Kaguya hid under her covers, tears welling in her eyes, trembling.
(Ahhh! What was that? Why was there such a terrifying thing next to Hayasaka!)
The house was cold and empty, with no one inside.
After taking a bath, Amamiya Natsuki returned to his room, silently opened the game store, and sighed again.
This store... was so empty it brought tears to his eyes.
Amamiya Natsuki had already discovered the existence of the game store when he was tying his shoelaces earlier. He had been quite excited at the time, but after entering, he realized what true disappointment was.
The game store was incredibly shabby; there were no pay-to-win systems or top-up systems at all, and there was only one item for sale-
Attribute: After opening the blind box, you will randomly receive a gift, including items, abilities, attributes, and vengeful spirits. The top-tier reward: Divine Authority
Please explore the blind box probabilities yourself. After midnight every day, the gifts in the blind box will automatically refresh. You can also actively refresh by paying ten game coins, with no limit on the number of times.
So why are 'vengeful spirits' mixed in there?
Is this thing really a gift?
If you accidentally open a vengeful spirit from a blind box, you'd have nowhere to cry!
"So, should I draw a blind box?"
Amamiya Natsuki felt a little antsy.
No one can refuse the blind box gameplay, especially with the top-tier reward of Divine Authority.
Everyone knows the probability of winning is super low, but what if?
What if he got a one-shot kill and successfully obtained Divine Authority?
There must be lucky people in the world, so why couldn't it be him?
Amamiya Natsuki was still debating whether to draw a blind box when a line of text slowly appeared in his vision.
Hint: The blind box echoes with the screams of vengeful spirits...
Amamiya Natsuki silently dispelled the urge to draw a blind box.
But... the ability to see hints can even penetrate the blind box in the game store?
A wave of drowsiness swept over him, and Amamiya Natsuki closed his eyes, quickly falling into a deep sleep.
Amamiya Natsuki woke up to the sound of his alarm clock.
Today is monday, and it's time for school again.
Amamiya Natsuki got up, dressed, walked to the window, pushed it open, and saw the bright sunshine outside, with pink and white cherry blossoms blooming brilliantly, a beautiful spring day.
After washing up, Amamiya Natsuki walked to the refrigerator, pulled open the refrigerator door, and prepared to take out a carton of milk.
A vengeful spirit's head silently met Amamiya Natsuki's gaze, its mouth full of sharp fangs, and misty, saliva-like liquid constantly dripping.
Amamiya Natsuki expressionlessly closed the door.
Amamiya Natsuki took a deep breath, silently opened the game store, and looked at the only blind box in the store.
"The blind box should have refreshed. Let's see what's inside..."
As Amamiya Natsuki silently gazed, a moment later, a line of text slowly appeared above the blind box.
Hint: There is a power in the blind box that makes evil spirits fear.
Amamiya Natsuki's eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he exchanged points for the blind box.
Amamiya Natsuki felt a slight weight in his hand; a blind box had already appeared in his grasp.
After opening it, a soft sound echoed in Amamiya Natsuki's ears.
You opened the Daily Lucky blind box.
You obtained a basic aura: Spirits Begone!
Introduction: Passive ability, no consumption, within five meters, banishes all evil spirits.
"It's a bit short and weak..." Amamiya Natsuki silently evaluated, then turned and pulled open the refrigerator door. "You actually hid in the refrigerator to scare people. Die!"
Amamiya Natsuki picked up his schoolbag and left for school.
Just as he stepped out of his house, he happened to see a long-haired, black-haired girl emerge from the neighboring house. She had faint dark circles under her eyes and was covering her mouth, yawning tiredly.
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Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Miko: Hello, My Friend, Goodbye, My Friend
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Amamiya Natsuki raised his hand to greet her.
The long-haired, black-haired girl's voice was sleepy.
The eldest daughter of the Yotsuya family next door.
A quiet girl who loves to study.
The Amamiya family moved in three years ago, and Amamiya Natsuki and Yotsuya Miko happened to attend the same National Middle School. In a sense, they could be considered childhood friends.
"Your dark circles seem heavier. What have you been doing lately?"
Amamiya Natsuki asked casually.
"Nothing at all." Yotsuya Miko bit her lower lip lightly. "I... just watched a horror movie, so I didn't sleep well."
"You dare to watch a horror movie alone, what courage, heroine."
The two walked towards school while talking.
As they passed a crosswalk, Amamiya Natsuki's gaze suddenly sharpened.
Among the crowd on the other side of the road was a particularly noticeable female office worker, dressed appropriately, with a good figure and a pretty face, very eye-catching.
Amamiya Natsuki silently watched the woman, but his gaze was not on her face, but on her back-
Behind the female office worker, a huge, swollen baby vengeful spirit was sprawled, a long tongue hanging from its mouth, occasionally flicking its tongue to wrap around nearby pedestrians, but unfortunately, no one could perceive it.
Amamiya Natsuki suddenly noticed Yotsuya Miko's pale face, looking down at her toes, her fingers tightly clutching her sleeve, her knuckles slightly white.
"Miko?" Amamiya Natsuki lowered his voice, "What's wrong?"
Yotsuya Miko bit her lip, shaking her head subtly.
Pedestrians waiting on both sides of the intersection began to move.
The beautiful woman moved with them, the baby vengeful spirit on her back wriggling happily.