Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

She felt something foreign on her neck, and gently picked it up. It was the snake bone she had given to her son.

She always wore this snake bone close to her body before giving it to her son, never taking it off.

Why are you coming back to me now?

"Longzheng? Longzheng, wake up."

She called out to her husband who was standing nearby.

"Hmm... Huh?! You... you're alright?"

When Oshima's father, still half-asleep, saw his wife sit up on her own with a calm expression, he immediately woke up and rushed to the bedside to ask anxiously.

"Answer me first, wasn't this snake bone on Mei Tai's body? When was it tied back to me?"

"Oh, this was specially delivered by Mrs. Mei last night. She said that you need the protection of your ancestors now more than ever."

"What about Mei Tai? Is he alright?" Oshima's mother nervously gripped her husband's hand.

The latter thought carefully and shook his head: "No, he's even more energetic. He seemed absent-minded for the past two days. But after giving you the snake bone yesterday, he seemed much more energetic. Maybe he poured his wish for your speedy recovery into the snake bone."

Oshima's mother breathed a sigh of relief: "It's alright. It's alright."

She looked at the snake bone in her palm with a complicated expression. She hadn't known where the stinging pain came from before, but now she could feel that once she removed the snake bone, the stinging pain would come back again.

Therefore, the cause of the stinging sensation must be related to our ancestors.

Fortunately, his son seemed to be unaffected.

"Longzheng, please help me with my discharge from the hospital."

"Oh? No, no, no, you should continue to observe first. I'll call the doctor right away. Don't worry, lie down and wait for me. I'll be back soon! Don't worry about the children. They're having a sports meet these days. The teachers will let us know if anything happens."

As her husband hurriedly left, Oshima's mother pursed her lips and gently clutched her chest.

The physical pain is gone, but why does my heart still ache?

Komagome Academy.

Men's restroom.

"The Red Team is too strong. The combined points of the Blue and White Teams are only as many as the Red Team's."

"Actually, the Red Team won by a narrow margin in both the horseback riding and obstacle course races, and didn't have a significant lead."

"Our green team has a lot of big guys, giving us a big advantage in tug-of-war and pitching. They haven't even started to exert their strength yet. As long as it's tomorrow, everything will be fine."

"By the way, have you heard about the extraordinary red-armored warriors that have appeared recently?"

"What red armor and green armor? They can't compare to a single hair of Muramasa-san's. She's still a student at our school! Her student status is still there! How can you be so fickle in supporting other extraordinary beings!"

"I, I'll just say that recently at night a righteous superhuman who looks like he's wearing red armor has appeared, fighting evil everywhere."

"No interest. Right now, I just want to be a member of Class 3, Grade 1. Maybe Muramasa-san will come back to class someday, and then I can..."

thump.

The two people, who were washing their hands and chatting, glanced curiously at the innermost cubicle, as if the sound they had just heard had come from there.

They tacitly stopped talking and resumed their conversation after leaving the restroom.

Inside the compartment.

Oshima Umeta sat on the toilet, head bowed, body tense, fists clenched.

After a while, his body gradually relaxed.

He silently got up, walked out of the cubicle, and turned on the sink to wash the sweat from his face.

"call"

He casually wiped his face, looked at himself in the mirror, and tried his best to make his appearance look like it was on a normal day.

Oshima Umeta has begun to adapt to the stabbing pain in her heart, and can manage it by venting it alone every now and then.

He could sense that the stinging pain he felt was not as intense as his mother's; at least he wouldn't faint from the pain at night.

He also has a way to avoid pain, which is to enter the game.

Once you enter the game, your body will automatically enter a deep sleep for one hour. Three times will equal three hours, which is enough.

After a few days of vacation, he spent a lot of time adjusting and getting back to normal. Today, he is able to go to school as usual and has even joined the cheering squad.

Pain did not bring him only bad things.

Originally, he was in a prolonged daze and absent-mindedness in reality because of the killing in the game, and he had difficulty concentrating.

However, the pain actually helped to alleviate the persistent guilt, which made him look more energetic than before.

I don't know if this can be considered a blessing in disguise.

For these reasons, he had enough justification to convince his cowardly self to return the snake bone to his mother.

As long as she perseveres, everything will be alright, especially since Muramasa Taki becoming an extraordinary being greatly inspired her.

Others might not know how she acquired her extraordinary abilities, but Oshima Umeta, who was also a player, could guess.

His thinking was similar to Renault's.

Muramasa Takii gained his extraordinary abilities by achieving the game's ending, just like the other extraordinary abilities that appeared before.

That means he can also become extraordinary.

He didn't pray for any great power; he only hoped to suppress the inexplicable stinging pain he was experiencing.

After taking a few rounds of diaphragmatic breathing to calm himself down, he walked out of the restroom, maintaining a normal appearance.

After grabbing a quick bite at the class stall, the break passed quickly. The afternoon competitions were the jump rope and the bread-eating race. Oshima, as a member of the Red Team support team, also arrived at the competition venue.

The cheering squad is not entirely composed of girls; it includes both men and women. Under the command of the squad leader, they cheer for their respective groups in a serious or quirky manner, while also competing against cheering squads from other groups.

It's something like "What are you looking at?" or "What's it to you if I'm looking at you?"

But Oshima soon noticed that things were a little different from this morning; the girl seemed less energetic.

"This morning's event featured those two celebrities from the archery club, so naturally the girls were cheering enthusiastically. Ugh, I'm so envious."

Those in the know gritted their teeth in anger.

"A celebrity?" Oshima looked like he had just gotten online.

"Don't you know? Imagawa and Higashiyama are known as the twin peaks of archery, invincible under heaven. Especially Higashiyama, who's in the same class as Muramasa-san, I'm even more envious!"

The person in the know had red eyes, and his expression was even more ferocious than when he was in the most pain, like he had eaten chili peppers for his hemorrhoids.

"."

Oshima silently turned his head away. The girl next to him had already heard what that guy said and was pointing and whispering. Even if he didn't care about these things, he didn't want to be lumped together with them.

The saying "archers are often overpowered" is indeed true.

He endured the stinging pain and made it through the day.

In the evening, I visited my mother to confirm that the snake bone could relieve her stinging pain.

Are you really not feeling unwell?

Faced with her mother's concerned inquiry, Oshima simply shook her head and smiled, "I don't feel anything. Could it be a hereditary disease in my mother's family?"

"It's good that you're alright. Maybe so. If you feel unwell, remember to tell Mom." The mother hugged her child tightly, feeling relieved.

"Yes, I'm fine."

Tonight, Oshima's mother will be hospitalized for another day for observation. Oshima went home alone, rushed into the entrance hall, hid in his room, clutched his heart, and curled up on the bed like a shrimp.

He endured the pain until 11 PM, and only when he was nearing the peak of the agony did he choose to enter the game.

Instantly, I felt completely relaxed.

In comparison, the discomfort caused by being manipulated by the demonic sword was utterly insignificant.

In the game, he finally had a chance to catch his breath.

Now, the character he controls has overcome numerous obstacles and successfully reached the gates of Edo Castle.

He did kill some people at first, but later he found some tricks and gradually got under control.

The humanoid progress bar has only increased to one-third of its maximum.

He pondered the abilities of the sword slave given by the demon sword. He had no desire to use them, but if he didn't, how could he enter the city?

He found a good spot and, while escaping reality, slowly began to think.

Then, Facheng arrived.

He originally thought that Hosei had come to fight him, but he didn't expect that Hosei was there to deliver a message, representing Tokugawa to invite him to a decisive battle.

"That's right. If you're ready, please come with me."

Fa Cheng glanced at the demon sword, shook his head, and silently sat down to the side to chant scriptures and meditate.

After thinking about it, Oshima agreed. Then, the process was similar to that of Muramasa Taki, where he faced Hattori Masanari. The difference was that Hosei did not transform Oshima's demon sword into a magical method to exorcise demons.

But because of this, he can unleash the power of the demon sword by sacrificing his own blood.

After dying twice, he finally managed to kill Hattori Masanari.

Then Tokugawa turned against them.

Fa Cheng did not stand on his side, but simply watched silently as everything unfolded.

Until he, who had no strength left, was swiftly killed by the samurai.

You have successfully completed the ending - Spilled water cannot be gathered up again.

[Ending Evaluation: Normal ending. The sword can be swung countless times, but the lives lost will never return.]

[First-time completion rating: B-]

[Final Reward: Ability - Temporary Hero (Even the shortest-lived hero needs a grand entrance)]

[Potential: B-, Growth Requirements: Justice, Compassion, Patience, Growth Abilities: Flight, Guilt Sense, Light Suit]

Before he could finish reading through all this massive amount of information, another message popped up.

[Testing has confirmed that the perfect ending has been achieved. All players have reached the first ending. Rankings are now frozen, and rewards have been officially distributed.]

[The game "Demon Blade" will be shut down in two days. Points rewards will be settled after the game closes.]

[Players, you're having a great time!]

The game is over?

Was he the last one to reach the final ending?

It's really not surprising at all.

Chapter 170: A Grateful Heart

Despite the pain, Oshima studied the situation for half an hour and finally understood the details of his abilities.

Timely hero.

As the name suggests, his ability has a very strict time limit. Each use requires a 12-hour cooldown and he can only be used for 5 minutes.

Regardless of whether the objective was achieved within those 5 minutes, he would be immediately recalled.

However, he also couldn't leave early; he had to wait for 5 minutes.

Fortunately, he could choose an unchangeable image as a cover for himself.

The initial ability is quite interesting. It has a "grand entrance" skill when you enter the game. You need to designate a small area, and then that area will flash red for ten seconds. Then a large island will fall from the sky, like Pantheon's ultimate, and will deal splash damage to villains.

Then, within those 5 minutes, he can choose a villain and force that villain to fight him, unable to escape (unless he has a special ability or item).

His core competency is "gratitude".

By receiving thanks and gratitude from others, you accumulate gratitude points, which can not only extend your appearance time when necessary, but also enhance yourself.

Oshima clutched his heart and tried using the tiny bit of gratitude he had left. Instantly, the stabbing pain in his heart melted away like an ice spike meeting heat.

"Huhu."

He closed his eyes, enjoying this rare moment of peace.

Because he knew that such a small amount of gratitude wouldn't last long.