Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 304, Section 51: Flying Noodles

Oshima Umeta appeared at the entrance of Peach Blossom Village.

He habitually glanced at the public area and found that Nobita and Uesugi were already online.

Nobita was still dressed in his full-body knight's armor, standing silently in front of the quest board, lost in thought.

Uesugi sat in his seat, looking down at something on the virtual screen, a barely suppressed smile playing on his lips.

"Strange, the fields are fully ripe, why haven't they been harvested yet? They're not even replying to my private messages. How many points are we wasting?"

Oshima had just harvested his own vegetables when he passed by a field and noticed that the vegetables were glistening and ripe. He waited for ten minutes, but no one harvested them. Ethan then brazenly went in and stole a bunch of vegetables.

He couldn't say anything; the crops in the field had definitely been ripe for more than ten minutes, and according to their agreement, they could steal them at will.

It's estimated that less than half of it has been stolen by now. Considering his already pitiful points, it's a huge loss, causing Oshima a pang of heartache, even though it has little to do with him.

"I don't know." Uesugi looked up, a clear smile playing on his lips beneath his mask. "Taki mentioned it to me, saying he saw Tata in Florida, but he didn't go into details. Maybe... he's tied up with something in real life."

Her voice sounded much lighter than usual.

Oshima and Nobita (in their armor) exchanged a glance.

Uesugi seemed a bit off today. His smile was impossible to hide.

"So, do you have some good news to share today?" Nobita couldn't help but ask.

Uesugi was visibly taken aback, his fingers unconsciously touching his cheek: "Huh? Is it that obvious?"

“Quite obvious,” Nobita affirmed, and Oshima nodded silently in agreement.

Uesugi's mask in the player lobby is the kind of masquerade that only covers half of her face, which is why her smile is noticed.

If it were someone like Nobita in full armor, even if he died inside for a while, no one would notice.

Uesugi seemed a little embarrassed. She coughed lightly, slightly suppressing her laughter, but her tone was still cheerful: "Ahem, it's related to ability."

In a great mood, she revealed a little bit.

Nobita immediately understood and stopped asking questions.

Abilities are always a secret or a trump card for any player.

Regardless of whether players secretly scheme against each other's abilities, at least openly, players won't ask about this.

It's been a while since the rewards were distributed, so it's probably not related to the game's rewards, but rather to abilities. Therefore, it can only mean that new growth abilities have been unlocked.

so good.

Thinking of this, Nobita felt a little anxious.

He and Uesugi were players from the same batch. Uesugi should have unlocked the intermediate growth ability, while he has only unlocked the basic growth ability. He's fallen behind.

This is because he didn't know Uesugi's potential level, otherwise he wouldn't have thought that way.

Abilities with lower potential levels are easier to upgrade, so it's fair to say that Uesugi's pace is quite slow.

Who could blame her for having three requirements for growth: fearlessness, keenness, and elegance? Only keenness is something that can be achieved.

Elegance is out of the question, and fearlessness is out of the question.

Even so, Uesugi Hitomi finally unlocked the core ability of [Cat Form Switching].

This means that even when facing battle, she now has a way to conceal her true identity.

Congratulations, congratulations.

"How's the situation in Tokyo? I've seen a lot of news about unrest in Osaka; the security situation seems to be quite bad."

Oshima took the initiative to change the subject, saying that he and his family had temporarily left Tokyo and planned to return once things returned to normal.

"We need to look at it from the perspective of different areas."

Uesugi composed herself and resumed her usual tone. She had just unlocked her ability yesterday and had toured various parts of Tokyo, gathering a considerable amount of firsthand information.

"Police resources are stretched thin and they can't cover so many areas. But I heard a few days ago that a group of people who took advantage of the chaos to rob were executed on the spot."

"The reconstruction is generally going smoothly. The volcanic ash has mostly settled, and power supply to the city center has been restored. Production is also restarting. Thanks to the Ksitigarbha statue to disperse the radiation, otherwise the entire Kanto Plain would probably be uninhabitable for decades."

"In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary?" Nobita's voice was devoid of emotion.

Oshima glanced at the virtual screen, and after confirming there were no new notifications, he put it away with a mixture of regret and relief.

"Is the game now refreshed once a month?" Oshima asked the two curiously.

“The official game is released every month, with a ‘one-off game’ in between, which only has one reward.” Uesugi and Taki discussed this issue. “Maybe we spent too much time completing Silver Cup Manor? So there wasn’t enough time for us to unlock the one-off game.”

"It's also possible that the actual disaster hasn't happened yet," Nobita added, suggesting another possibility.

"It's good to be able to rest. Young people shouldn't always be thinking about causing trouble." Uesugi was in a good mood and thought this was a good idea.

Because the disaster in Florida was far away and had already been resolved, players were under much less pressure.

As they chatted and laughed, black mist surged and condensed around Muramasa Taki's seat.

"Has Tian been online?" That was the first question she asked when she came in.

"He hasn't even harvested the crops, so he must not be online. Otherwise, how could he resist harvesting them?" Two more days later, Uesugi would have been tempted to steal them.

Had something happened to Tian? Muramasa Taki hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should reveal the details of how she dealt with the manor owner.

Even though others didn't ask, they were certainly curious, because in the game, the amount of information one has is related to the ending.

No one ever thinks they have too much information.

Moreover, since the silver cup ended up in Iwasaki's hands, saying it out loud can serve as a reminder to everyone.

"I contacted Tian on the night the disaster struck."

Muramasa Taki concealed the fact that he and Ami knew about the Silver Cup and deliberately went there, and then recounted most of what happened that day.

The main issues are how to deal with the manor owner, the suddenly appearing suspected vampire, and the silver cup that fell into the hands of the demonic mist.

"The silver cup... is it the Holy Grail?" This was Uesugi's first thought upon hearing this.

"No, more importantly, how did Tian come up with that solution? There's no clue about it in the game at all, is there?" Nobi couldn't connect drinking the sewage from the silver cup with eliminating the manor lord.

"The silver cup shouldn't be the Holy Grail. Have you heard of the Three Horsemen of the Holy Grail?" Taki had been searching through many ancient texts and had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Lu Du, who had been quietly listening in and had somehow logged on, could no longer contain himself. He jumped up from his seat, raised his arm, and shouted excitedly, "I know! I know!!"

All eyes turned to her. Although Ludu was probably quite young in real life, she was French, so it wasn't surprising that she knew the story of the Holy Grail Knights.

This story is quite popular in France.

The others nodded in agreement. After playing the game, they all had developed a habit of catching up on various legends from around the world.

“I’ve read The Death of King Arthur and Percival, but there’s no scene like this where a silver cup is used to purify or destroy demons,” Uesugi recalled carefully. “That’s not how it happened!” Ludu exclaimed, hands on his hips, his face flushed with excitement. “The Grail Knights really did that!”

Oshima looked at her strangely: "Did you see this in anime? I think I've seen a similar setting in a game, where the Holy Grail Knight is tied to the ability to purify poisonous springs. It feels like there must be some historical reason behind it."

Although Ludu didn't understand the King Arthur and Povars they had mentioned earlier, it didn't stop her from nodding emphatically: "This is a secret passed down through our family for thousands of years! It's about the thrilling Trials of the Seven Springs for the Grail Knights, blah blah blah."

She began her signature, melodramatic narrative again.

Ludu is sometimes like a little girl, full of curiosity and innocence, but other times she can suddenly become excited and speak with a bunch of super cringeworthy descriptions.

The crowd listened patiently, automatically filtering out the exaggerated embellishments and extracting the core message.

In summary, it's a legend that Ludu heard from somewhere: a long, long time ago, the Grail Knights undertook a trial, and the Seven Springs represented the Seven Deadly Sins, all of which involved drinking water from a silver cup.

This seems to be the closest we can get to the legend. But the problem is, the most orthodox texts about the Grail Knights don't mention it, so where did Tian get this information from?
"The West really likes to use narrative structures like the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Virtues," Nobi's voice was solemn as he looked around at everyone. "In other words, there might be six more trials like this?"

If every trial were like this, with clues hidden in obscure legends in nooks and crannies, the difficulty of solving it would increase exponentially.

It seems we really need to ask Tian about the situation and where his ideas came from.

In contrast, the silver cup falling into Iwasaki's hands is nothing to write home about; his ability is just too unfair.

Nobita might have been able to cause him some trouble before, but now it depends on luck, whether he can pull out a magic-specialized righteous partner.

However, even if you manage to pull one out, the partner's abilities will be limited by Nobita's own hero level, so the effect is hard to say.

As for the vampire that appeared out of nowhere, Nobita's first thought was Mori.

However, based on Taki's description, the difference between him and Mori's previous abilities is quite large, except that they both like the color red.

Has he been hiding this all along? Or is there really someone else, an old geezer who revived with the game?
The group exchanged ideas, hoping to find solutions that might be useful in the next game.

Lu Du's bright eyes swept over the crowd, but he gave up on asking them for help on how to openly serve his grandmother pasta.

To be honest, she was very, very satisfied with her abilities.

Even though there are some things she doesn't quite understand.

I don't quite understand the literal meaning.

[Ability - The only designated Holy Sauce Apostle on Earth by the Flying Spaghetti Monster Cult (Those who fold spaghetti will not enter Heaven)]

[Potential: B, Growth Requirements: Kindness, Food, Faith]

Basic capabilities:

Holy Communion Manifestation (Manifesting Noodles: Consuming mental/physical energy to draw spaghetti bolognese from a plate above the head, which can be molded into weapons/tools, e.g., noodles harden into a whip, or weave into a net for restraint)
Note: Excessive consumption of noodles can lead to hypoglycemia unless consumed by the individual.

Final line of defense (the noodles on the plate above the head never slip, automatically blocking one fatal attack, with a 24-hour cooldown and loss of the ability to manifest Holy Communion within the time limit)

[Growth I: Revelation from the God of Spaghetti (One new [Divine Revelation Spaghetti Recipe] is refreshed daily. The consumer gains corresponding extraordinary effects, such as: Popping Candy Cream Spaghetti, which can enhance jumping ability/defense. The strength of the effect depends on the strength of the consumer and the user.)

Note: There is a chance of creating terrible food, which will weaken your combat power.
Growth II: Spaghetti Armor (The entire body is wrapped in noodles to form the [Angel Spaghetti Armor], with angel wings made of noodles unfolding from the back, greatly increasing mental and physical strength)

Growth III: Sauce Paradise (Summons a sauce storm within the area, lasting ten minutes; refreshes the user's abilities and enhances all abilities; pasta is no longer limited; the user's strength increases; pasta armor enters berserk mode)

With this ability, it would be hard to starve to death.

Besides, pasta is so delicious, she'd be happy to eat it every day!

The problem is that she can't explain to her grandmother how pasta came about.

I originally wanted to ask the Chosen Ones for advice, but then I remembered Nobi's warning: don't reveal your identity or abilities, even to other players in the same guild. Otherwise, you could be exploited by malicious individuals, potentially bringing disaster upon yourself or those around you.

She was afraid of that.

I was afraid of causing trouble, making my grandmother angry, or even getting her hurt.

This is something she can never accept.

Listening to the discussion, Lu Du suddenly remembered that the crops on his farm were almost ripe, so he quietly turned around and jogged towards Peach Blossom Village.

As soon as she arrived at her plot of land, she saw the spotted fox lurking furtively at the edge of the field.

The calico fox noticed Ludu's arrival and smacked its lips in a remarkably human-like manner, but it didn't leave. It simply changed its posture and continued to squat and watch, clearly having calculated the time when the crops would ripen, just like a net manager.

Unlike other players, Ludu did not drive away or show any disdain.

She simply crouched down, cupped her face in her hands, and stared quietly at the fox with her clear, large eyes, not blinking.

This was the first time the calico fox had encountered a player like this. Sensitive and delicate, it usually disliked being stared at like that, feeling as if the other person was mocking its unique fur color.

But Ludu's eyes were too clear, without a trace of mockery or wariness, leaving it with no reason to vent its anger.

"嘤嘤嘤!"

It flicked its tail with a hint of disdain, as if to leave. After all, Lu Du's family only had the cheapest radishes, so it couldn't steal many.

"Village Chief Fox! I...I have a question I'd like to ask you."

We can't reveal this information to the players, but the fox village chief isn't a player!

That's exactly what Ludu was thinking when he squatted down.

"Eek?" Sanhua turned her head slightly in surprise. These people should know the rules pretty well, so what else do they want to ask her?

Not allowing people to steal vegetables won't do.

"Village chief, would you like some spaghetti?"

Ludu trotted up to it, smiling as he pointed to the plate of spaghetti bolognese above his head that seemed frozen in time.

Sanhua has never heard of pasta. It doesn't need to eat. If it had to eat something, it would prefer spiritual energy.

Ludu clumsily manipulated her abilities, several strands of pasta extending and transforming from the plate, quickly weaving into a small plate and a fork. She then pulled out some noodles coated in rich meat sauce, placed them on the plate, and handed it to the fox, her eyes full of anticipation: "Village Chief, try it, it's delicious!"

The calico fox sniffed cautiously.

This unreserved enthusiasm made it difficult for it to refuse.

It eventually reached out its paw and took the plate of pasta. It first carefully tasted one bite, then a second, then a third, and finally ate the whole plate of pasta.

It might not admit it, but the rich aroma of the meat sauce was indeed quite appealing.

Since he was being paid by someone, Lu Du could now confide in San Hua about the problems he was facing.

Sanhua took another plate, nodding and whimpering as she ate, though it was unclear whether she had actually listened.

(I still think it's a bit outrageous. Anyone with more information is welcome to add to this.)

　Ludu's abilities were indeed too obvious; many people guessed them.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)