[Simulation Initiated: Life 2 – Spirit Hunter of the Desolate Wastes]
[Warning: High Spiritual Madness Risk Detected. Commencing Mental Fortification Protocols…]
[Good luck. You're gonna need it.]
I didn't fall this time. I sank.
It was slow, suffocating. Like being dragged through a black sea of memories not mine—visions of bone-covered plains, whispers that weren't words but still clawed at my thoughts. The void trembled around me, a breath away from cracking.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in a forest or mountain range.
I was standing alone in the Wastes—an endless expanse of gray sand and scorched stone under a purple sky. Bones littered the dunes like broken promises. The air was thick with malevolence. Every breath tasted like ash and madness.
[Simulation Identity: Feng Han – Apprentice Spirit Hunter]
[Mission: Hunt 10 Malignant Spirits and survive for 30 simulated years.]
[Bonus Objective: Resist Madness Infliction for full duration.]
[Reward Tier: Nightmare Difficulty – Scaling Based on Mental Fortitude.]
"Great," I muttered. "Because walking into a haunted wasteland where the sand wants to eat my face is totally sane."
[Sarcasm Detected. Coping Mechanism: Active.]
I reached for my waist and found a spirit blade—a long, curved sword forged from obsidian and laced with silver runes. It pulsed faintly in my grip, humming like a whisper on the edge of my mind.
My robes were simple—gray, torn at the edges, already stained with soot and dried blood.
The world around me was utterly silent.
But I wasn't alone.
Day 1 – Year 1 (Simulated):A whisper woke me before dawn. Not in sound, but in pressure—an invisible weight pressing down on my chest like cold fingers.
The first spirit attacked before I even saw it.
One moment I was squinting into the horizon, and the next, a shrieking blur of black smoke and teeth launched at me from beneath the sand. I barely ducked.
The battle was fast, messy, and nothing like the first simulation. This wasn't about brute strength.
This was about staying sane.
The spirit blade hummed with a mind of its own, drawing power from my will. Every slash screamed through the air, burning the spirit's smoke away until I struck its core: a twisted, floating eye, blinking wildly as it disintegrated.
[Spirit Slain: 1/10]
[Mental Strain: Mild. You still know your name. For now.]
Year 5:
Sleep was a luxury I couldn't afford anymore.
The Wastes were more than a battlefield. They were alive. They whispered, dug into your memories, tried to replace them.
Once, I almost forgot my name. Another time, I dreamed I was back in Kuoh—but everyone's faces were blank, and Rias offered me tea made of blood.
The only thing that grounded me was repetition: practice, meditation, movement.
And the system's occasional sarcasm.
[Reminder: You're still hot garbage compared to the sect leaders. Please do not attempt any flashy moves.]
[Also, eat something. You're hallucinating snakes again.]
I laughed. Or cried. Hard to tell, really.
Year 12:
The tenth spirit didn't come quietly.
It waited—biding its time, watching from beyond the veil as I wandered further into the ruins of the old spirit temples. The bones here were larger, blackened by energy that made my teeth ache. The wind spoke in tongues.
When it attacked, it shattered the ground beneath me and dragged me into a subterranean chamber made of obsidian mirrors.
Its body was a hundred mouths. A mass of writhing tendrils and gnashing teeth, all screaming memories that weren't mine.
[Status: High Madness Contamination Detected.][Mental Shielding Initiated: Emotion Dampening – 40%]
The fight lasted hours.
I bled. I burned. My blade shattered once, and I had to rebuild it mid-battle using the dust of fallen hunters and raw willpower.
But I didn't give in.
I remembered who I was.
I was Akuma Nozomi.I was the man who spat in the face of gods and ghosts alike.And I would not break.
With one final roar, I severed the spirit's core, and the world cracked open like glass.
[Simulation Complete.]
[Duration: 30 Simulated Years.]
[Achievements Unlocked:]
• Soul Fortitude +++
• Spirit Blade Manifestation (Bound Artifact – Class C)
• Mental Defense: Anti-Illusion Field (Passive)
• Spirit Hunter Technique: Whisper Severing Slash
• Unique Trait: "Still Mind in the Storm" – Increases resistance to mental and emotional manipulation by 40%.
[Congratulations. You didn't go insane. Much. Returning to real world in 3… 2… 1…]
Back in Kuoh – Real World
My eyes snapped open, body rigid and drenched in cold sweat. The sky outside was still dark—pre-dawn.
I looked down at my hand.
The spirit blade wasn't gone.
It hovered faintly beside me, semi-transparent, wrapped in chains of spiritual light. Only I could see it, but I felt its hum deep in my bones. My soul had claimed it.
I stood up, my heartbeat steady despite the weight of what I'd just lived.
Thirty years of blood, ghosts, and madness… and now I was back in a high school with perverts and demon royalty.
"...This is going to be a weird day."
Later That Morning – Kuoh Academy Courtyard
I was halfway through a convenience store sandwich when Rias appeared again, elegant as ever in the shade of a sakura tree. Akeno was at her side, fanning herself with deceptive serenity. Kiba and Koneko trailed a few steps behind, watching me more intently than usual.
Rias spoke first. "You've changed."
"I get that a lot," I replied, chewing slowly.
"You're hiding your energy again," she said. "But something's different. It's quieter. Heavier."
Koneko stepped closer. Her golden eyes narrowed. "You smell like ghosts."
[System Alert: Akuma has gained passive spiritual pressure. Sensitive beings may react instinctively.]
"Cool," I said. "Do I also smell like trauma? Because that's the real bonus."
Akeno giggled, then tilted her head. "What are you, Akuma-kun?"
"Still working on that."
"Would you consider telling us where your power comes from?" Rias asked. "At least a little?"
I met her gaze. Cool. Calm. Dangerous.
"I spent thirty years in a world that eats people's minds and spits out their bones. I cut down things that didn't bleed, and I came back with my head still on straight. Barely."
Silence.
"Ask me again when I've figured out if I'm still human."
A pause. Then Rias smiled faintly.
"You're not what I expected."
"Neither are you," I replied.
[Emotional Defense Cracked: 4%]
[Relationship Progress: Rias Gremory – Caution → Curiosity]
Afternoon – Kuoh Academy Rooftop
I found myself back on the rooftop again, the wind cool against my skin.
And once again... Koneko followed.
She sat beside me without a word, biting into her snack. A sweet bean bun this time.
I glanced at her. She stared at me.
Finally, she spoke. "You're lonely."
I didn't answer.
"I can tell," she added.
I sighed. "Do you stalk everyone this aggressively, or am I just lucky?"
"No. You're strange. But not evil."
I smirked. "Wow. I should put that on a T-shirt."
Another pause. Then, quietly—
"I think you're sad."
I stiffened.
She took another bite and stared at the clouds.
We sat like that for a long time. Not talking. Just... existing.
And for once, the silence didn't feel like a weight.
That Night – Akuma's Room
I stood in front of the mirror, studying the faint glow of my spirit blade, the deep red pulse of the stone at my neck, and the shadows beneath my eyes.
My phone buzzed.
A message from the system.
[New Simulation Available Soon – Life 3: Demon-Slaying Monk of the Frozen Abyss]
[Warning: High Mortality Rate. Suggested Preparation: Emotional Detachment.]
I stared at the screen for a long time.
Then I turned it off.
Because for the first time since waking up in this world, I didn't feel like running back into the madness.
Not yet.
I sat down at my desk, pulled out a textbook, and tried to act like a normal student for once.
Even if I knew it wouldn't last.