You say this is a love game?

Chapter 007 Earth Online, quit the game!

Kohei Sakamoto enthusiastically narrated the evolution history of the "Thirteenth Staircase".

The original prototype of this thing can probably be traced back to the "stair taboo" in girls' schools in the Kansai region during the Showa period. That is, if you hear laughter when counting to the 12th step, you will encounter misfortune the next day.

Later, through repeated transmission and development, this strange story gradually took its current form, which is the most classic version: "The staircase has twelve steps during the day, and thirteen steps appear at midnight. Anyone who steps on it will be trapped there forever."

Listening to Kohei Sakamoto talk at length, he mentioned the "rolling marbles" and the "Thirteen Sounds of the Taiko Drum", the "Miharayama Girls High School Mass Suicide Incident" in Tokyo, the "Four Girls High School Students Disappearance Incident" in Hokkaido, and even mentioned the evolution of the Osaka version - that place accurately located the time of this strange story, which was refreshed on Wednesday at 21:13, but that was actually the time for the night shift change at the factory in the Hanshin area at that time.

Only then did Takahashi Hideo realize that this guy was serious.

This guy is so passionate!

After that, Sakamoto Kohei also made a suggestion: "Senior, should we give it a try?"

"What are you trying?"

"What a weird story." Sakamoto Kohei scratched his hair.

"Now? But the time for this strange story is 2:00 AM, right?"

"Senior, you are quite knowledgeable!"

"I've played with the president before..."

As he spoke, Takahashi Shugo reminded: "Kaidan are all fake, there will be no harm if you try."

"I know, I just like ghost stories, I'm not a fool."

Sakamoto Kohei shook his head and said, "This kind of liking is almost like liking a certain game... Or rather, it's precisely because strange stories are fake that I like them. Otherwise, who would really like something that brings such misfortune?"

He shook his shoulders, vividly pretending to feel a chill.

Come on, the master of ghost stories doesn’t believe in the existence of ghost stories even more than I do.

Sakamoto Kohei chuckled and said, "It's just a hobby to relieve boredom, just like some people like to make up ghost stories. Kwaidan is just a type of ghost story...Okay, senior, we've talked for so long, and the atmosphere is just right. Why don't we go to the stairs over there and continue chatting?"

Takahashi Hideo was pulled over.

Just play it, it’s not your first time anyway.

They headed for the nearest stairs.

However, this time Takahashi Hidego had a different opinion: "Should we go up or down?"

"Are there still ups and downs?"

"If I can reach the thirteenth step by going up, why can't I go down?"

Sakamoto Kohei muttered, "It seems so. How about we try it together? One of us goes up and the other goes down. What do you say, Senior?"

Takahashi Hideo also wanted to try something new: "I tried going up before, so this time I'll go down."

He walked up the stairs and saw Kohei Sakamoto standing on the second floor on the platform at the corner of the stairs.

"Are you ready?"

Takahashi Shugo shouted down.

The sound echoes.

He didn't know if it was because of the high vantage point, but as he looked down from the stairs and was some distance away from Kohei Sakamoto, he suddenly felt vaguely uneasy.

It's probably psychological factors at work.

People tend to get nervous when they have wild thoughts.

"Okay, let's go together."

There was no problem with Kohei Sakamoto. His figure was shrouded in the gaze, and the afterglow of the setting sun painted the corridor in warm tones. Some of the light overflowed onto him, making him feel warm.

The two men were very agile and after shouting "one, two, three", they took the first step at the same time.

Takahashi Hidego and Sakamoto Kohei agreed to count together. The sound could help confirm each other's presence and reduce the absurdity.

They counted as they walked up the stairs carefully.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but it’s too quiet.

Although they didn't speak loudly, the silence around them allowed them to hear each other clearly.

When they counted to six, they both reached the middle of the stairs. They faced each other, and Sakamoto raised his hand and lightly high-fived Takahashi Shugo.

Snapped!

Feeling the solidity coming from his palm, Takahashi Shugo breathed a sigh of relief for some reason.

"Hehe, is everything okay?" Kohei Sakamoto was a little excited.

Takahashi Hidego looked down at the remaining stairs. Everywhere he looked was dyed with the colors of dusk, so dim that it seemed to suffocate him.

...so sticky it makes you feel sick.

He felt inexplicably bored and a little scared. People can easily scare themselves, and this kind of divergent thinking makes people suspicious.

If I say it out loud, I'll definitely be laughed at.

Takahashi Hidego twisted his sweaty palms and pretended to be calm, saying, "Let's finish this quickly. My family is probably going to rush me home."

"Then continue—Seven!"

They said "seven" at the same time, and Takahashi Hideo walked towards the first floor.

When he took this step, he felt as if he had overlooked something.

But at the same time, the dull feeling became lighter.

"Eight! Nine! Ten!"

The eighth step, the ninth, the tenth... He went down, and Kohei Sakamoto went up.

He felt more and more relaxed as he walked, and his nerves, which had been tense for some reason, also quietly relaxed.

Eleven, twelve...

"Thirteen!"

There are only twelve steps in Yami High School. When "thirteen" is called out, it actually symbolizes that Takahashi Shugo has arrived at the corridor.

He let out a long breath.

"Sakamoto, I'm here."

He said without turning his head, with his hands in his pockets, and suddenly felt that he should be indescribably handsome at this moment.

Until he heard Sakamoto Kohei's trembling voice from above his head: "Fourteen..."

What fourteen?

Is he kidding me?

Takahashi Hideo was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that this might be Sakamoto Kohei who wanted to scare him. He immediately looked up at the corridor, thinking that he could see his junior's evil smile as if his conspiracy had succeeded.

But he was wrong.

There is darkness before my eyes.

Takahashi Hidego suddenly trembled. Without any warning, a thick darkness appeared at the end of the corridor. The handrail of the stairs penetrated deep into the darkness, but there was no sign of Kohei Sakamoto on the stairs.

"fifteen……"

This time he heard clearly that Kohei Sakamoto's voice came from the darkness.

Along with it came the sound of light footsteps.

"Sixteen... Seventeen..."

Sakamoto Kohei's voice grew fainter, as if it were receding further and further from him. Listening closely, he could even detect a hint of tears.

It was pitch black up the stairs.

Takahashi Hidego realized something and his face suddenly turned pale.

He wanted to rush forward, but the little bit of rationality left in his mind and the flood of fear held him back. He stepped back in horror, his feet straying and he fell to the ground in the corridor.

"Come back! Sakamoto! Come back soon!"

He shouted towards the darkness on the stairs, but the only response he got was the sound of Kohei Sakamoto counting numbers.

"twenty……"

In an instant, Takahashi Hidego felt a cold wind blowing past, almost freezing his blood.

He couldn't move or even breathe.

"Twenty-three, twenty-four—"

The sound of counting stairs became increasingly frightened, increasingly softer, and increasingly distant...

Until it completely disappeared.

An increasingly chilly feeling spread across my ankles.

Takahashi Hideo stiffened his neck and looked down.

A skinny hand was pulling at his ankle.

Chapter 008: Why isn’t Soul a love-raising game?

late at night.

Everything was quiet except for Mizutani Makoto who didn't sleep in the middle of the night. Instead, he put on his coat and went straight to school.

He made some preparations.

Of course, we can't expect him, an outsider, to understand much, not to mention that time is limited. In addition, he is not going to report to the country, but to solve it alone, so there is even less he can do.

It's nothing more than throwing the kitchen knife at home into the system backpack, and buying an amulet at the Buddhist temple.

The great thief's ghost hands are useless.

He did try to inquire indirectly, asking the abbot of the Buddhist temple whether there were ghosts in the world or not, but his sincerity only earned him gasps and looks like a fool.

Come on.

He knows less than I do!

A lone light in the distance illuminated the street. Mizutani Makoto walked for a while and arrived at the Private Yami High School at 11:46 pm.

He stood at the school gate.

The shadow of the iron fence of the school gate cuts diagonally on the asphalt road, revealing a solemn silence.

The night wind blew the fallen cherry blossom petals across the back of his neck, and Mizutani Makoto subconsciously shrank his neck.

Maybe it's a psychological effect that makes him always feel cold.

No, this is most likely a ghost school, it's normal to be cold and gloomy!

Mizutani Makoto felt a little scared, so he checked his "backpack" again before the mission started.

Now, there are three things lying quietly in his backpack, among which the "Immortal Totem" needs no explanation, and the two extra ones are the "real objects" he newly put in.

Yes, this backpack can hold real items.

First of all, there was the amulet he obtained from the Buddhist temple.

【Tiny Amulet】

[Description: A talisman with a slight faith blessing, providing a slight protection against ghosts and monsters.]

【Review: A small shelter at 1200 yen, the best value for money. 】

Below is a kitchen knife:

[Mizutani family kitchen knife]

[Description: An ordinary-looking kitchen knife, showing some wear and tear due to improper maintenance by the owner.]

[Comment: The resentful knife wants to remind you—it's time to sharpen the knife.]

This backpack function is the focus of Makoto Mizutani's research.

As early as when the backpack first appeared, Makoto Mizutani had envisioned that an unlimited and infinite backpack would be a truly amazing plug-in.

But his excitement quickly cooled after he failed in his attempt to stuff the "stone" into his backpack.