Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

It's worth a try. Surely the tentacle monster's screams and bursts of speed can't be without cost?

First, test your endurance and speed. If the other party has better endurance, then think of another way to escape.

Yuri maintained his pace and began to dodge. The street was quite straight, so there was no suitable cover, which meant he had to control the distance.

Chapter 8 Escape and Conclusion

Yuri stared intently at the person opposite him. He wasn't used to breathing heavily, but if it was a way for him to relieve tension, he would.

The octopus monster's intelligence level was not high; it only used the same few phrases and could hardly communicate (or, more likely, it simply didn't want to communicate with Yuri).

However, this does not mean that the octopus monster's tactics are monotonous and predictable.

In reality, the octopus monster's movements were very erratic, seemingly coming up out of nowhere. Yuri suspected that the octopus monster didn't have a fixed pattern at all.

Yuri dodged the flying tentacles by sidestepping, then darted to the other side before they turned into a sweeping attack. A wound on his body reminded him that he couldn't always just dodge to one side—otherwise, he'd be in trouble if the octopus monster bothered to flank him.

The thing before me, so eager to devour me, is ultimately a spirit, not a living being. Like an ordinary ghost, this thing can control its own body to some extent, stretching and compressing, appearing like tentacles—but those are not the tentacles of a living being, ultimately not tentacles.

So in some ways he and Yuri have the same problem—he has to carefully direct the actions of each extension point, but there are too many extension points for him to control. (Or her? Yuri can't tell the gender from the octopus's face.)

For living beings, mastery of their limbs is an instinctive behavior, and for spirits... it is also an instinctive behavior, but this octopus monster's "tentacle limbs" are not natural, or at least not all of them are; some of them are clearly newly formed and beyond control.

And luckily he couldn't control himself, otherwise Yuri would have been captured long ago.

Cornered by the tentacles, Yuri then used the wall to glide upwards, dodging their grasp. He then braced himself against the wall and leaped outwards. In that critical moment, Yuri had tested this: while the ghost could fly upwards along walls, its "ground" was quite flexible. First, if it jumped horizontally far enough, it would become real ground (jumping from the ground and getting close enough to the wall should have the same effect). Second, the ghost's own will could also influence things at times—in the same critical moment, Yuri considered this in mid-air, then his descent instantly reversed, nearly landing on a tentacle. If this foolish trajectory hadn't caught the tentacle off guard, Yuri might already be in its stomach.

Once again, I dodged the tentacle's variable-speed sweep. Thanks to the ghost's all-around vision, I could keep an eye on the main body while also watching the tentacles, without any physiological limitations.

The means of counterattack are not entirely zero. Yuri just seized the opportunity to punch the tentacle, and it felt real. Moreover, the opponent's tentacle retracted even faster (or it may be that Yuri was too eager and it was a hallucination).

Yes, since every part of a spirit is part of the spirit, there is no reason why tentacles are invincible. As long as one is careful, one can fight back.

"My opponent and I are evenly matched," Yuri told himself, trying to find a bittersweet sense of humor. His opponent couldn't control his full consciousness, so he couldn't exert his full strength to grab Yuri, and Yuri couldn't do the same either. Therefore, dodging and counterattacking at the same time was very difficult, and he might even get himself caught in the crossfire.

I don't know how the other side will launch their attack, and the other side doesn't know how I will dodge; we're both just guessing.

The difference is that he guessed wrong and failed, while I guessed wrong and died suddenly.

This is not fair!

Yuri quickly regained his composure and retreated for what seemed like the umpteenth time, narrowly avoiding the thrusts of several tentacles.

The situation was getting worse—on the surface it looked like just another ordinary exchange, but Yuri knew he had just lost focus and drifted off.

Being distracted in battle can be fatal.

The changing light and shadows in his field of vision indicated that it was getting later. How long had this been going on? An hour? Two hours? It couldn't be more than that, but Yuri was starting to feel dizzy. The opponent's actions didn't seem to have changed much, but even if the opponent was dizzy—Yuri didn't think that both sides losing their flexibility would be more advantageous for him, the one passively dodging.

He lost focus again, and this time the price was that his hand was entangled. Yuri was poked a few times by another tentacle, but he still managed to shake it off with all his might.

This can't go on any longer; we must immediately activate Plan B.

Yuri sprinted down the road, abandoning this evasive tactic he had previously abandoned—once the distance grew too great, the octopus monster would use a jet-propelled charge to catch up, unleashing a powerful attack as it did so. While this obviously took a toll on the octopus monster (otherwise it would have used it so frequently), it posed an equally significant risk to Yuri.

The octopus monster probably didn't know what Yuri was trying to do, but it was clear that it intended to stop Yuri from leaving no matter what, perhaps because it was unwilling to give up after spending so much time on this.

So it sprayed and chased after it.

This time, Yuri did not stop, but continued running in a straight line. Then, he left the ground at full speed, materialized in the air, and landed on the truck bed that Yuri had chosen.

He then rolled around repeatedly, barely managing to grab onto the corner of the container before it completely flipped over, bringing himself to a stop.

The tentacle monster let out its loudest scream since they had encountered it, giving chase with all its might. But with Yuri, a humanoid ghost, and a tentacle monster with similar speed, the chances of catching up with the truck were extremely slim.

Unless he also materializes and grabs a car, then we'll see headlines about the tentacle monster in tomorrow's newspapers, along with a photo of myself stuffed into the tentacle monster's mouth. Yuri discovered another drawback to this method: when it comes to adjusting his posture, he's clearly no match for the tentacle monster.

This didn't happen, and Yuri breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the tentacle monster disappear into the distance.

Modern technology is truly amazing.

Even a materialized spirit has a weight close to zero, and the resistance it encounters when moving comes more from wind resistance and its own power source. As long as it stops imitating humans (i.e., pressing down hard in the void), Yuri can be quickly carried to high speed by the vehicle.

Of course, timing is crucial. Yuri almost rolled off the truck and caused an accident—it seems the driver of the car behind the truck had noticed him, but he probably thought he was on top of the truck from the start—if Yuri rolled off, it might have caused the other driver to brake suddenly and…

Fortunately, none of this happened, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be taken into consideration.

Modern technology is truly amazing.

After hitchhiking for a while, Yuri vanished into nothingness again and got off the bus. He tried his best not to do it in front of the driver behind him, but he was sorry if he was still seen.

………………

And where am I again? Yuri knew the way to his residence, but it was definitely not in the area he had explored in the past.

Yuri proceeded cautiously until he was drawn to a commotion in one of the areas and stopped at the entrance, alerting the guards.

A spirit-like, human-sized, upright rat guard. It bared its teeth and claws, fiercely threatening Yuri.

Clearly, it is a spirit.

Yuri took a step back to indicate that he meant no harm, and then began to observe the guard.

A spirit, a not-so-powerful spirit (but still on par with Yuri), a guardian—preventing those he deems unqualified from entering this area—this junkyard.

“Not a spirit, leave immediately,” the impatient rat guard said, speaking in a strange language with hissing sounds. For some reason, Yuri could understand it. The rat guard then switched to a different language, the kind spoken by the people nearby, and repeated itself. This time, it spoke more slowly and haltingly, but the meaning remained the same.

I am indeed not a spirit, and I have no intention of starting a fight. I was just beaten and forced to flee. Yuri continued to retreat. "I have no hostility and will leave immediately." His words also had a hissing sound.

What did I just say? In the other person's language?

“You can also speak spirit language, very good. As long as you leave obediently, we’ll keep to ourselves.” The rat lowered its guard slightly, but its eyes remained fixed on Yuri.

It wasn't time to dwell on this anymore. Yuri distanced himself a little and turned to leave, not forgetting to note the name of the location... Hmm, it was a junkyard. Just as Akemi had said, the junkyard was the territory of the rat spirits—although Yuri had previously imagined it as a crazy swarm of little rats.

…………

That evening, Yuri successfully returned to his lodgings, but Akemi still hadn't come back. Based on experience, she was probably out having a big meal at a shady restaurant by now. The lodgings didn't have their own kitchen, and although there was a shared kitchen in the building, it was old and dilapidated and rarely used. Akemi had considered buying an induction cooker, but ultimately decided against it, as she didn't want to buy a refrigerator and other kitchen utensils to go with it.

Yuri has never even tried cooking.

Therefore, Mingmei always goes to eat at very cheap restaurants in remote corners, while slightly more formal restaurants are expensive and scarce (Mingmei's words).

Perfect timing, Yuri can use this time to organize his thoughts.

First, the plan to use attrition to deal with the opponent failed. Even if the opponent's actions did require the consumption of spiritual essence, the opponent had enough reserves to support the squandering—or could be replenished in time? Yuri added this possibility: the opponent did devour some repeaters on the road. If it wasn't that they couldn't absorb them but just generally looked down on them, it would fit the current situation.

The conclusion is that it's impossible to wear down the other party in ordinary locations. There are too many ghosts in the city; fewer have self-awareness, but there are countless repeating machines.

Secondly, the other person's self-control is not outstanding. More often than not, they are simply squandering their large physical and energy reserves. While they are not completely brainless or mentally challenged, they clearly are not utilizing their abilities to the fullest.

And I was defeated and forced to flee by such an opponent; I, too, failed to understand my own capabilities.

If the other party shows significant improvement while Yuri does not when they meet next time, the situation will not be very optimistic.

Furthermore, if the source wasn't experiencing hallucinations due to his shock—given the octopus monster's poor self-control—perhaps many of the tentacles were newly formed? Perhaps they grew after the octopus monster devoured more ghosts?

There was no evidence, but it was very likely that Yuri would face even more tentacles the next time they met... or tentacles with tentacles? Yuri banished the unsettling thought from his mind.

Secondly, aside from its shrieking (which was constantly blocked by the protective barrier, so Yuri had almost forgotten about it), the tentacle monster's attacks basically consisted of tentacles, tentacles, and more tentacles. This was a good thing; if it threw a few more spirit orbs, hiding would become even more difficult.

Also remember that the opponent's tentacles can absorb energy, although this is not a problem for Yuri - if he is really entangled, even without absorbing energy, Yuri is no match for that bunch of tentacles.

Yuri was convinced that trying to fight the tentacle monster at close range would be a foolish thing to do, and even if he brought Minmei along, it wouldn't end well. But fighting from a distance... that was outside the scope of his "ability".

Perhaps I could ask Akemi if she has any way to acquire ranged weapons and make them effective against spirits, like... a bow and arrow? Or throwing knives?

Option 1: Try to get your hands on something that can remotely attack the tentacle monster, and then deal with it using range (and possibly numbers).

Then, the tentacle monster is a greedy, uncommunicative, and dangerous ghost-devourer. Yuri believes that all ghosts would be hostile to it if they knew about it and saw it in person. However, although it cannot manifest as easily as Yuri, it has a very large range of movement, and although he has never seen it turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble, he obviously does it—as evidenced by its tendency to avoid the territories of stronger ghosts.

Option Two: Contact other ghosts, try to surround it, and then swarm it. The tentacle monster isn't strong enough to withstand a group attack. Whether it can grow to the point where even a swarm of nearby ghosts can't defeat it is still unknown—but Yuri believes few ghosts would be willing to take this gamble.

Judging from this encounter, the tentacle monster's perception range isn't very large; in fact, it's likely even smaller than Yuri's. With careful reconnaissance, it's quite possible to avoid the tentacle monster in advance. Then, based on this, Yuri can quickly improve himself; as long as he's faster than the tentacle monster, he can turn the tide.

Option 3: Avoid the problem. This plan can be implemented now, but it won't help solve the fundamental problem.

Finally... if there's a way to gain a deeper understanding of the tentacle monster, perhaps we can find its weakness... it can't be without a weakness, right?

Option 4: Find more information about the tentacle monster.

Yuri compiled his list—all of these solutions could be used together, but none of them were guaranteed to be successful.

Forget it, there's no such thing as a sure thing in this world.

Chapter Nine: Good Plans, No Decisive Action

When Akemi got home, she saw Yuri scribbling on a piece of paper.

"Doing problems again?" It's no wonder she thought that way. With limited access to books, Yuri had no choice but to treat doing problems as part of his entertainment. Akemi couldn't understand this and thought Yuri loved learning.

This image is good, and Yuri doesn't intend to object—moreover, if Akemi knew that she felt more comfortable doing problems than doing nothing, she might kill Yuri.

“No, not this time.” Yuri put down his pen. “It’s a much more serious situation—”

"what?"

"—I encountered that octopus head—or hunter, devourer—whatever, I don't know its exact name." During the fierce battle, Yuri tried to observe the octopus head, but because he could only manage to glimpse it briefly during lulls in the fighting, he only learned more and more about it. "It was almost impossible to negotiate with it. As soon as it saw me, it rushed at me to eat me up—I struggled for a while before I managed to escape."

Yuri gave a general description of the battle. Although it lasted a long time, there wasn't much to say; it was basically a repetitive chase. Including the final jump from the vehicle, the battle only lasted a little over half an hour.

Yuri himself estimated that it would take one or two hours, which shows that he was indeed already in a state of confusion.

"In short, this is a very ferocious guy, and he has a large range of activity—at least enough to include my range of activity." Yuri thought of the encounter, in fact, Yuri stepped on the other's route and then bumped into him head-on. "And this hunter will backtrack, although the range of perception is limited, there is no place that is absolutely safe."

Akemi sat on the sofa and nodded.

"I see... After hearing what you said, I did some research over this period of time—"

"When did you look up the information?" Weren't you overwhelmed by your studies?

"I've been asking someone to look up some information lately, so please don't interrupt me."

"I see," Yuri thought.

“The results don’t show any completely identical cases, but there are similarities.” Mingmei spread out her homework. “To put it simply, this is likely a high-level spirit, but for some reason—for example, it was defeated by another high-level spirit—in short, it fell into a weakened state and is eager to quickly replenish its spiritual essence to revive itself.”

Yuri had never considered this possibility.

“The hierarchy of spirits isn’t absolute. Even if a spirit is clearly one level higher, the outcome of the fight isn’t guaranteed. But if it’s two levels higher, there will be a noticeable difference. Unless the attributes are extremely incompatible, there’s no chance. If it’s three levels higher, even if the attributes are incompatible, it’s hopeless. There’s simply no way to fight.” Mingmei continued. “Judging from its actions, it seems to only attack opponents who are considerably weaker than itself, but it looks down on these opponents, even if they can actually pose some obstacles to it now.”

Level? I thought the hierarchy of spirits was a relative value...

"What is the level of a spirit?" Yuri asked after confirming that Akemi had finished speaking. "And what level am I?"

"Oh, this is a rough classification method, which divides spirits into several levels according to their ability level for easy categorization. You, as a spirit, may not use it much, but you can clearly feel that you are at a different level from some other spirits, right? For example, those simple echoes."

“Yes.” Yuri nodded in confirmation; the theory might be correct.

“Those echoes are classified as Level One, and all ghosts without a self are placed in this level,” the convincing high school girl mysticist said. “As for spirits, they correspond to the level of particularly weak and pure nascent spirits.”

"So what's my level?" That's still an unanswered question.

"...From my observation, Tier 2?" Akemi thought for a moment. "I haven't thought about this much, but based on what I know, if my grandfather's classification is correct, you are Tier 2. Within Tier 2, you belong to the type whose basic performance isn't particularly outstanding but who has a lot of tricks up their sleeve."

"...Isn't this just a little bit better than being mentally challenged?" Yuri was deeply shocked.

“Yes, that’s true, but it’s not entirely without its advantages.” Mingmei pointed seriously. “The stronger the spirit, the more it accumulates, whether it’s experience, spiritual essence, life, journey or anything else. This means that their essence is becoming more and more profound. A particularly strong spirit will also be subject to particularly strong constraints. This is determined by their essence. If a spirit does not abide by their essence, it will be punished, and the stronger the spirit, the more severe the punishment.”

"For example?"

"For example, if two ghosts share the same obsession with 'revenge,' their very nature imposes a taboo on them: 'If they see their enemy, they must fight to the death,' which is a limitation. In this situation, if the first level two ghost lets the enemy go, it might suddenly lose half of its accumulated spiritual essence, while if the second level four ghost lets the enemy go, it might lose all of its spiritual essence and instantly become unable to move, at the mercy of others... for a very long time."

"So, this hunter also has his own weaknesses, and they might even be extremely targeted weaknesses?" Yuri added this to his notebook.

“That’s how it is in theory.” Akemi didn’t seem as relaxed as Yuri.

"So how do we discover this weakness?"

“The usual way is to understand the background history of this spirit, which will be related to it in most cases,” Mingmei thought for a moment. “For example, if the ghost of King Arthur appeared in front of you and was about to kill you, you should change your name to Mordred and find a place called Camlann to deal with him, or use Mordred’s sword to deal with him, or disguise yourself as a witch, or... in short, it is usually related to the historical background.”

"I haven't read this story. Could you tell me about Mordred and what happened to her in the end?"

"Mordred, the traitor in the Arthurian legend, betrayed his king and fought a decisive battle with him in a place called Camlann. After the fierce battle, King Arthur was seriously injured and died. Well, Mordred himself was killed by being hacked to death."

...I feel that even if King Arthur's ghost really appeared in front of me to kill me, impersonating Mordred wouldn't be a good idea.

"By the way, if I guess wrong, will it still have some effect?" Yuri asked, hoping it might work, and unsurprisingly received a negative answer.

"We can't count on that—who can see an octopus monster and know its name, characteristics, fears, and what it can't do? Even if you know its name, you can't know what it's afraid of. As for long-term observation... that's definitely going to be done, but we can't rely on it."

Yuri circled around. "Is it possible that after it absorbs enough energy, it will no longer care about my existence? It can return to its proper domain and compete with rivals that can match it, such as beating its enemies into a pulp?"

"That's possible, but it's also possible that before it leaves, it will kill some weak spirit that dared to make it fail, embarrass it, and run away so fast to vent its anger."

"..."

"And you said he can't communicate and completely looks down on you, right? That makes it even more likely."