After escaping the hospital, I locked myself in a barrier for a week—inside the barrier's time, of course. The whole time, I pestered the system for a quest to save Hinata so I wouldn't have to constantly patrol the park.
I copied my begging tactic from Tsukiko—when she's around, you either agree or kill her. I lasted almost three hours when she begged me to take her out for her birthday. I ended up agreeing because I caught myself subconsciously pulling a butcher knife from my inventory.
The method worked. On the seventh day, the system finally gave in.
Param-pam-pam.
You've Done It!!!
The quest to save Princess Hyuga will be issued one hour before the event, with the location marked on the map.
Now I can focus on grinding. I've already spotted a perfect place.
I'm standing at the entrance to an abandoned district, carefully reading the warning that popped up when I activated the illusionary barrier. Seems like no surprises. Recommended levels are 8 to 12. Mobs are likely around level 10, with the boss at 14. I've got food and water for six months of self-sufficiency, and I even forced myself to buy a couple of Minor Healing Potions and Minor Regeneration Potions, despite my inner cheapskate protesting. I'd love to find their recipes and brew them myself—that'd be awesome. I could try reverse-engineering them by experimenting with ingredients, trial and error. It'd be faster and cheaper with a recipe, but not as fun. After double-checking everything, I stepped into the barrier.
The district looks the same—dilapidated, half-collapsed houses and empty streets. I tried to leave for a test, but just like my first sewer run, I can't exit until the boss is dead.
I spotted the first mob in a nearby building with a partially collapsed roof—a ghost. A white, translucent, humanoid figure with dark hollows for eyes and mouth, an elongated torso, long skinny arms, and no legs. My selective perception, which only works on game items or things I've made, identified it as "Ghost, Level 10."
I pulled my sword from my inventory, gripped it firmly, charged at the ghost, and sliced it in half at the waist. The sword went through easily, and I was already celebrating an easy win when the ghost slapped me. Its hand passed through me, freezing my insides and dropping my HP a bit. I spun around and jumped back—the ghost was completely unharmed, its HP bar not even budging a millimeter.
This wretched cousin of Tobi chased me for three hours. Why Tobi? Because this thing is intangible too, letting all attacks pass through it and moving through walls like they're nothing. Using natural obstacles to shake it didn't work.
What kind of monster gave this unkillable beast a level 10 tag? Sure, it's slow, doesn't have much HP, and its damage isn't huge, but it never tires and ignores all physical attacks. Maybe energy or magic attacks would work, but I don't have any.
After running for another four-plus hours, I started to tire out. To catch my breath and recover, I decided to dive into the deep shadow plane—it'd buy me some time. Unfortunately, I can't leave the barrier through shadows; I tested that in the sewers. The barrier creates a sealed pocket world with a space-time anomaly—you can only leave through the single exit.
The barrier also isolates part of the shadow plane, so there are fewer shadow creatures here—one or two at most, not like the outside world where you'd face a swarm of nearly 20. But that doesn't help me much. Even if I hide in the shadow plane and the ghost loses interest, I can't leave until the boss is dead. I've got supplies for six months—maybe I'll figure out how to deal with these ghosts. Too bad I left my salt shaker at home; I think salt harms ghosts.
Lost in thought, I didn't notice a shadow creature getting too close. Luckily, I was near the exit and bolted out, but the creature grabbed my belt with a tentacle. As I escaped the shadow, I partially dragged the creature with me. Thankfully, my belt snapped when it pulled me back, and I tumbled forward through the ghost, which had been hovering by the shadow of the house I'd dived into.
I rolled away and turned to see the shadow creature wrap its tentacles around the ghost, crushing it easily. It snatched the dropped crystal with another tentacle and ate it.
I drew my sword to commit seppuku and activate my Death God's Visage, but the light reflecting off the blade hit one of the creature's tentacles, vaporizing most of it. The creature screeched and retreated back into the shadow.
It took me three weeks, two days, six hours, and twelve minutes to clear the barrier. After the shadow creature ate the ghost, I spent a week trying to create a skill to damage ghosts. "Death God's Visage" didn't work, but "Bite of the UNKNOWN THING" proved versatile—I could even bite intangible beings with it. Now I can't wait to meet Tobi again; he's in for a surprise. I haven't forgotten how he tossed me around as a baby.
But biting ghosts to death—and partially eating them—only worked on level 10 ones. Each contact with a ghost damaged me, and they didn't just stand there; they hit back. By the time one died, I'd be down to just over 50 HP—barely enough for three more hits. Taking on higher-level ones would be suicide. Plus, after each ghost, I'd be so sick that the "Sudden Diarrhea" debuff felt like a mild inconvenience.
After I bit my first ghost to death, the system spat out a jumbled mess of symbols and sounds, counted from one to ten, then back down, and only then gave me the "Steel Stomach" skill at level 10. It's glitching again, but that's fine—Steel Stomach will make things easier.
After I bit all the level 10 ghosts in the area to death, the system notified me I'd gained a new energy type: reiryoku.
That's awesome—all it took was biting 50 ghosts to death! Sure, my stomach suffered after each one, but it was worth it. Now I need to visit my subconscious to find my spiritual sword—then all these ghosts will meet a distant relative of my tenant.
No luck with the sword. I searched my subconscious with the Xenomorphs, even checked on the Fox. He cussed me out when he realized the "cockroaches" that have been plaguing him for years were my doing. I jotted down a couple dozen of his insults—when else will I get a masterclass in profanity from a thousand-year-old being? I'll have that chance every visit now, but I'm not eager to face his killing intent again; it's not pleasant.
Sadly, I returned empty-handed and had to figure out how to deal with the level 15 boss and its four level 12 guards.
I had to use the shadow creature to take down the boss. The guards were a hassle—they were much faster and caught me before I could dive into the shadows. By the end of our game of tag, my Deep Shadow Plane Dive skill hit level 76, so I wasn't just diving into shadows anymore—I was doing a running swan dive.
The boss was the hardest. It seemed smarter and wouldn't go near the shadows. So we sat there—me in the shadow, him at a safe distance. On the fifth day of this standoff, I ran out of ideas. I couldn't do anything with reiryoku or mana—my negative Control made channeling reiryoku into my sword impossible. Throwing all my potions and concoctions at him did nothing. Out of frustration and desperation, I even threw my drum at him—no effect. Next went a lip-rolling machine, then a soul crystal. The crystal didn't pass through him—it hit him in the forehead and took off a bit of HP.
For the next two hours, I pelted him with crystals. They didn't do much damage, and he was dodgy. When his HP dropped to half, he charged me. I was ready with crystals slotted between my fingers like brass knuckles, snapping my teeth—half HP gave me a decent shot at winning.
I'm noticing a bad trend. In the first barrier, I had to eat rats to avoid starving; in the second, ghosts to escape. As they say, once is chance, twice is coincidence—better not make it three. Eating ghosts made me feel awful, but I gained reiryoku, and my Steel Stomach hit level 87. I can now eat canned food without opening the can—everything digests fine.
Here's a thought: if I eat a monster with an elemental affinity, will I gain something from it?
Searching the boss's area, I found a stash with 10,000 ryo and some Academy shinobi books in a cabinet. Too bad there wasn't any weapon—my sword's durability is shot; it might break soon.
The ghost district run netted me: Strength and Wisdom up by 1 each; Dexterity, Intelligence, and Intuition up by 2 each; Speed and Will up by 3 each; Endurance up by 6; and Spirit up by 10. Control jumped by a whopping 23 points, which I'm happiest about. I also gained decent EXP and new ingredients—26 vials of ectoplasm. I'd have taken more, but I ran out of containers.
Until I figure out how to deal with ghosts without partially eating them, I'll need a new grinding spot.
It's been over a week, and I still haven't found a way to fight ghosts. I had to find a new grinding spot—a cemetery. There, I found skeletons starting at level 12, with a level 18 boss. They were tough at first—destroying them with a sword was a nightmare. Even a severed spine didn't stop them; it just turned one skeleton into two units. The upper half crawled toward me, trying to grab and bite, while the lower half approached to kick me. I swapped my sword for a pipe I'd kept in my inventory since the sewer run. It didn't last long either, so I finished the rest off with pieces of their own tombstones.
I need a break to find or make a weapon. The game shop doesn't sell weapons, but the auction does—for KD. You can buy stuff with KS too, but it's mostly ingredients.
Tsukiko's grandpa helped with the weapon issue. His shop didn't have anything, but I ordered a mace through him—though based on my sketch, it's more like an iron baseball bat. To keep up appearances, I also bought a couple of crates of empty sake bottles—my apartment's already full of unexplainable containers.
My order will be ready in a week, so I'll spend that time studying the books I found and brainstorming ghost solutions.
The books were super useful—no techniques, but they had chakra control exercises and physical training routines, which I'm now working on.
I fired up the moonshine still and got my first batch, but I messed up a bit. I hadn't given up on killing ghosts, and the only idea I had was to infuse a weapon with chakra. So I practiced infusing a piece of metal with chakra—and that metal was the still.
The result smelled like moonshine, burned like moonshine, but glowed blue in the dark, which was concerning. I kept ten one-liter bottles as-is and stashed them in my inventory. With the rest, I decided to make a liqueur—yesterday, I got lucky at the auction and bought three kilos of berries for dirt cheap. So what if they were in the potion ingredients section, not food? They looked like purple strawberries—no big deal. I'd eaten a pineapple with a red core that tasted like apple, pomegranate, and kiwi, and it was in the food section. Unlike the purple strawberries, that was just a labeling error—happens to everyone. So, two two-liter jugs labeled "Elite" now sit on the shelf by the window.
One fine day, I was so desperate I decided to use one of my achievements and locked myself in the bathroom to think. But first, out of habit, I checked the forum for new articles and useful info. Luck smiled on me—a kind soul had posted a bunch of potion and concoction recipes in the public domain, including what I needed. The description said applying this concoction to a weapon would enchant it, increasing damage to elementals and ghosts by 30%.
The recipe was simple, but the ingredients were rare and expensive. For example, it needed seven tails of a hellrat. I found only three at the auction—three KD each, ouch. And don't get me started on "demon blood given willingly."
Still, I decided to try. As the saying goes, "If you don't have proper paper, use toilet paper." I'll swap the rare, pricey ingredients for cheaper alternatives and use more of them. I'm only dealing with level 10 to 15 ghosts, not level 100 elementals.
I gathered everything and started brewing per the recipe. First, fill a one-liter cauldron of dead iron with pure mountain spring water and bring it to a boil over a magical flame. I don't have a cauldron like that—I've got a ten-liter stainless steel pot; it'll do. I can't make a magical flame, but I'll boil it on a spirit lamp fueled by my moonshine—it burns great. The water in my bathroom isn't a mountain spring, but it's clean and cold—close enough. Next, channel 1,500 units of mana into the cauldron via a ladle made of lunar silver. Uh… my ladle died in a past experiment, and it definitely wasn't silver. Plus, with my Control, channeling mana through an item is impossible. Damn, I'll have to stick my hand in the cauldron. I don't have that much mana either—just 12 units—and I can't substitute chakra; I've only got 880 of that. Fine, I'll make up the difference with the Fox's chakra.
Next, a lich's right rib. I've got plenty of bones from those skeletons—like I knew I'd need them. I'll use the one from the boss. Which one's the right rib? I'll toss in both—and a couple more, just to be sure they're from the boss. Now stir ten times clockwise, channeling three units of mana per stir. Ugh, I'll have to stir with my sword—I'll be applying this concoction to it anyway, so no harm done. I'll stick my hand in at the end of each stir. Damn, my mana hasn't recovered yet—I'll use reiryoku for now and switch to mana once it's back.
Hellrat tails—I'll substitute with Rat Queen tails. The herbs are mostly as per the recipe. Last, three drops of demon blood given willingly. I've got that covered—I'm called a demon, it's even in my traits, plus I've got a demon Fox in my gut. So I'll use my own blood. Now stir well and let it sit for an hour, then bottle it.
I set an alarm so I wouldn't miss the timing and ruin the concoction. To pass the time, I practiced my shamanic summoning dances and songs with the drum. I haven't given up on summoning Hapsiel—100 free levels if I succeed. I spent the hour circling the pot.
The alarm snapped me out of my trance. Time to bottle the concoction. I approached the pot, opened the lid, and looked inside. The brew looked back at me—and winked with a third eye.
It reached for me with… uh, not that… tentacles? Right, tentacles.
— Hey, put those tentacles away—I'm not a magical girl for you to reach for with tentacles! Oh, they're my favorite purple color. And those expressive green eyes—all three of them.
— Bulb-bulk. — The brew replied.
— I name you Sumire. You'll be my pet. Here, have a cookie—I made it myself.
— BULK!!! Bul-bulk!!! — Sumire responded, starting to digest the cookie.
Yes, having a pet is a great idea. You come home after a genocide spree, and it greets you, happy to see you—no more loneliness. All positives.
@! $%@%@# $%^#^%$% &&% ^%^*%^ $#%&^$$%&$ ^&%^ $&$&?
Ahem.Param-pam-pam.
Congratulations!!!
Achievement Unlocked: "Practitioner of Potion-Brewing-Alchemical-Chimerological-Occult Sciences LEVEL EIGHTY"
"Practitioner of Potion-Brewing-Alchemical-Chimerological-Occult Sciences LEVEL EIGHTY":
Incompatible ingredients, equivalent exchange, turning the inanimate into the animate? Never heard of it—I swear by my drum.
3% chance your brewed potion, concoction, or whatever gains unintended properties.
2% chance to get something completely different when brewing exactly to the recipe.
1% chance to get who-knows-what when brewing exactly to the recipe.
Affinity with Chaos +10%.
So much benefit already! Though the achievement's name is a tongue-twister, and it has a level for some reason.
If it has a level, I can raise it. That article had more interesting recipes—let's brew something else.
Param-pam-pam.
Congratulations!!!
Quest Generated: "Peace of Mind"
Conduct NO experiments for one month.
Reward: 10,000 EXP, an enchanted sword that damages intangible entities.
Penalty for Failure/Refusal: "Sudden Diarrhea" debuff for life.
The quest name's odd, but whatever—the reward's what matters. Now I'm a real transmigrator: a cool sword and EXP for doing nothing for a month.
I'll accept. The penalty kills any desire to refuse.
— But if I brew exactly to the recipe, that's not an experiment, right?
@%^**@%#@%*@$^%#$^$@^$%^&! #$#%^#$^! #$^
Param-pam-pam.
Congratulations!!!
Quest Generated: "Peace of Mind 2"
For one month, halt ANY activity related to brewing potions, concoctions, or soups—just to be safe.
Reward: 5,000 EXP, 1 skill point.
Penalty for Failure/Refusal: "Sudden Diarrhea x2" debuff forever.
I'll accept this one too. I'll spend the free time on Control exercises.