Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes

Not long after finishing up his business in the lab, Leon received a message that Muramasa Taki wanted to see him.

He knew it couldn't be anything important, otherwise he would have just said it directly.

But to show that he valued her, he quickly put down his work and greeted her in a friendly manner.

He was immediately taken aback when Taki said "go back to school" upon meeting her.

You're already an extraordinary being, and you still want to go back to school? Do you really think this is some kind of Japanese anime plot?

That's a school, not Academy City!

"The demon sword still has a lingering effect on me. According to what Master Riyan once said, I need to spend a certain amount of time interacting with generally good people in order to calm my mind."

"The school is the most suitable place."

Takii didn't say she wanted to go back to school for fun or to show off.

She hadn't been to school for a while, and a strange, unusual anxiety was creeping into her heart. Exhilarating battle scenes kept flashing through her mind, making her feel like she was going through withdrawal, wanting to cut something.

This was definitely not normal, and she remembered what Riyan had once said.

Even though the demon sword is gone, the effects are still lingering on me.

Or perhaps it had nothing to do with the demon sword, but was simply that the battle that day awakened her deeply buried bloodlust.

Regardless of the possibility, she felt she needed some time to calm down, and returning to school would be a good option.

"So that's it, I understand."

This is indeed a very good reason. They are just partners, and their previous surprise was more out of curiosity. If Muramasa Taki really made this decision, they would not risk losing face for such a small matter.

It's just going to school; this is a good opportunity too.

Leon took out his tablet and showed some data to Taki.

"You may not know this, but the first confirmed supernatural event we have is the one that happened at Komagome Academy."

"And quite coincidentally, the knight's true identity is a classmate of yours named Nobi Tomoyoshi, who happens to be somewhat connected to the first supernatural incident."

“We’ve always suspected that Komagome Academy has some extraordinary secrets, but the investigation results haven’t been very good. If you decide to go back to school, perhaps you could look for clues in that direction.”

Taki glanced at the documents, and Komagome Academy stood out, looking like an extraordinary military academy.

But if we're going to talk about it that way, Honmyoji Temple is also quite special, as it has Nobi, Takii, and the demon sword as intersecting elements.

Was this intentional or random?

She recalled the discussions she had with other players in the player lobby during this time.

Regarding the gaming platform, it is now basically certain that the players selected by the 'unknown' should have at least one game genre they are very good at, and it is highly likely that it is the game that was selected.

From this perspective, their information is transparent in the face of the 'unknowable'. The reason they were selected is more due to their talent in a certain type of game. Therefore, the so-called intersection between players is more like a coincidence.

The concept of 'unknowable' is not simply about letting them play a game or giving them power, but about telling them about the history that has happened and the disasters that will soon erupt in reality because of that history.

The purpose of giving them power is to enable them to solve that disaster—that's Nobita's view.

Taki neither agreed nor disagreed with this.

At least this view aligns with the association's interests, allowing the world to maintain order and not collapse due to extraordinary emergence.

“I will keep a close eye on it, Mr. Leon. This is the weapon I promised you.”

Taki picked up a one-handed sword that was lying next to him and placed it in front of Leon.

His spirits lifted, and he held the sword up with both hands. Whether it was psychological or not, he seemed to feel the sword's soft hum.

"I'll take it back and arrange for experiments and tests, and compare it with the original material. Does this sword have a name?" The sword had an ordinary design, but Leon looked at it with obvious delight.

This is part of their collaboration. Taki would provide them with a handcrafted weapon every month for experimentation, and she would also receive a report on the experiment, which would allow her to understand the special features of the weapon she forged from a physical perspective.

Let's call it 'for experimental use'.

"What a nice name."

Leon said against his will.

The name doesn't really matter; he just hopes the lab can reverse engineer the weapon and deploy it on a small scale.

Even if you can't work in reverse, it's still great to get some inspiration from this.

In order to cope with the increasingly severe supernatural disasters, they truly do not give up any hope of improving their ability to fight back.

Things like ultimate weapons are best avoided if possible.

Japan doesn't want to eat a few more mushroom clouds either; not only are they carcinogenic if consumed in large quantities, but more importantly, the aftermath is troublesome.

The US and Japan used to be enemies, so it was understandable that you abandoned it.

Now we're allies, and you're the one throwing things at me, while I'm the one getting hit?! What kind of dog—no, what kind of ally—is this?!

Therefore, Japan is strongly unwilling to repeat a heat wave of 6,000 degrees Celsius unless absolutely necessary.

Although Japan is unwilling, not unable, that button has never been in Japan's hands.

Therefore, if the disaster really spreads, Amei will inevitably choose to make things difficult for her allies, letting them bear the blame for the evil deeds.

Japan is well aware of this.

It's true that Leon was sent by the Americans, but he's on the front lines. Who knows who would be hit if a nuclear bomb were dropped?

Before he arrived, the president patted him on the shoulder and said: You will witness the arrival of a brand new era! I hope you can withstand the dust of this dramatic change and remain loyal to America.

But they didn't tell him that the dust of the era would be made up of nuclear warheads!

Only Godzilla could withstand this.

My thoughts returned to reality, and the atmosphere in the living room became silent.

The only things he and Taki could talk about were official business. After spending a few days together and combining previous information, Leon roughly understood Taki's true personality.

She appears gentle on the surface but is actually aloof and keeps a safe social distance from everyone.

After seeing her raise her teacup, Leon took his leave and returned to the laboratory with the "experimental" sword.

Takii continued to brew tea and drink alone, facing the vast sea view outside the window, shimmering in the afternoon sunlight.

"It should be soon."

Having calmed down considerably, she muttered to herself.

According to the schedule, the points for "Demon Blade" will be settled today, and after the points are settled, the release of the new game will not be far away.

I wonder if, as Uesugi said, there will be a short, low-reward game sandwiched between the two main games, with no new players.

Will there be any exciting battles inside?

Thinking of this, her heart, which had finally calmed down, began to feel anxious again.

She had no choice but to take out sword oil and cleaning paper and carefully maintain the Demon Slayer sword in her hands.

Before we knew it, the stars had fallen into the night.

[Month: The points have been tallied.]

After seeing Uesugi's private message, Taki finished up what he was doing before turning off the light and going to bed.

[The points for "Demon Blade" have been calculated. You have earned 60 points.]

As soon as I entered the player lobby, a settlement message popped up.

Uesugi was slumped over the table, looking rather unhappy.

"Good evening, everyone."

Renault had just arrived and, maintaining his persona, greeted everyone loudly and cheerfully.

Seeing that everyone from the 'Mutual Aid Association' had arrived, Uesugi asked the advisor, "So? How many points do you have? Uh, it's okay if you don't want to say, it's just for the sake of counting."

That way, we'll know who's richer in the future. Uesugi held back the rest of his sentence.

Taki knew that in the previous game "Subway", 'Hiro' who completed the perfect ending had 50 points, while she had 10 more points than Hiro. In what way did she do better than Hiro?

"I have 60 points this month. Do you know the points calculation standard?"

Since it's only an extra 10 points, Takii has no reason to hide it; it's not like a crucial piece of information, such as an ability.

Upon hearing this number, Uesugi's eyes practically watered.

My God, how unfair!

Her total reward for "Escape from the Other Shore" was only 110 points. Not only did her opponent have the ability to fight against the Demon Blade and get the first-place reward, but she also had such a high score.

Waaah, why is there such a huge difference between the games?

She only received 10 points this time, not even enough to buy a small pill. Even with the human hat, the game was almost a complete loss for her.

I'm so broke I want to jump off a building.

But she can't blame anyone else, because she can't beat Fa Cheng and has difficulty controlling the demon sword. Continuing would only waste her lifespan, which is not worth it.

Therefore, I chose to cut my losses and stop playing. Since Takii has already completed the game perfectly, there's no longer a requirement to play at least once a day.

That's probably why her settlement was so bad.

However, even if it costs more than a dozen lives to continue the breakthrough, it probably won't be worth 30 points for a single Longevity Pill.

Nobita is a good example; he completed the game with the normal ending but only scored 20 points.

This shows that no matter how much she struggles with her skill level in this game, the maximum score she can improve is very small. Stopping the game after someone has completed it perfectly is the best choice for her.

“I’m the same as the knight, only 20. Island, what about you?” Renault lied; his score was 30.

Oshima opened the message again to check it, no longer as reserved as when they first met: "Yes, I'm 20 too."

"It seems that players who complete the game with the normal ending will only receive 20 points," Renault analyzed.

Uesugi had already guessed this when he learned about Nobi's score.

She was thinking about Takii's problem.

"If you have 60 points, then I do have a guess."

"When Hao first completed the game, he achieved the perfect ending. This can be seen in the player's private messages. His message and the announcement of the perfect completion appeared at the same time."

"And while your first ending wasn't perfect, I'm sure it wasn't bad, at least it was an excellent ending, and you later got a perfect ending."

"In summary, the settlement score is most likely related to the number and quality of the endings after clearing the game, but it is not a simple accumulation. Otherwise, your score would be more than 60. I guess the highest settlement score a single person can get is 80, and it definitely won't reach 100."

"Of course, I'm referring to games like Subway and Demon Blade. Escape from the Other Shore is obviously much smaller in scale, so the points awarded are also less."

Unbeknownst to him, Uesugi had inexplicably adapted to the role of the encyclopedia and strategist in the game.

This is exactly what she wants; otherwise, the information she sells wouldn't be convincing.

Uesugi started the discussion, and then everyone else shared their opinions. Uesugi then secretly jotted down everyone's thoughts, a way of pooling wisdom.

[New games have been added]

A message suddenly popped up, and the players instantly fell silent, their attention immediately focused.

[The spirit of forbearance (strategy, action): Escaping is not the spirit of forbearance.]

Is this a game about ninjas?

Several people had different expressions.

When Uesugi, who was terrible at the action, saw the word "action" on the label, his angina pectoris suddenly flared up.

She developed a condition where the sight of any 'movement' made her want to die.

Was escaping to the other side the only highlight of her life?

Nobi cleared his throat twice: "Now that the new game has been released, everyone should focus on completing it for the next few days. Remember not to discuss how to beat the game among yourselves."

"Understood, Knight Guild Master!" Renault was the first to respond.

Players left the lobby one after another and entered the game at different times.

"Moon, aren't you going to start the game first?" Takii browsed the exchange shop, exchanged for a small longevity pill, and saw that Uesugi was still sitting there, staring blankly in a deserted direction.

"Ah, oh, I'm not in a hurry, I'll come in later."

Uesugi was staring blankly at the words, "Escape is not the way of the ninja."

The current trend is escapism, which is shameful but useful.

That's such a classic line. It makes you think of some kind of action RPG where you're constantly facing waves of powerful enemies that you have to fight to defeat.