When Wu Yan's hand touched a certain spot on the hot spring, it rapidly shrank before turning back into a gemstone, lying quietly in his hand.
After tossing the Portable Hot Spring into his Space Ring, Wu Yan sat down right where he was. He casually picked up a few stones and arranged them in a circle, then pulled a pitch-black ring from his Space Ring.
Wu Yan placed the ring on the stones. No one knew what he fiddled with on it, but the moment he finished, a flame suddenly flared up from the ring with a whoosh.
Ignoring all of this, Wu Yan took several jars and bottles from his Space Ring and set them aside. Then he took out several pieces of meat and some iron skewers, threaded the meat onto them, and placed them over the fire to roast.
Every so often, he picked up one of the jars or bottles beside him and sprinkled its contents over the meat. As he roasted in an orderly manner, Wu Yan opened the system's "Status" option.
Character: Wu Yan Abilities: "Swordsmanship Proficiency," "Culinary Arts Proficiency," "Perfect Memory," "Turbulent Return of Celestial Dance" Equipment: Kusanagi Sword Summoned Character: Mikoto Misaka Equipment Points: 51000 Item Points: 8300000 Ability Points: 81000 Summon Points: 11000 Level: 45
When Wu Yan saw his level, he was briefly stunned before accepting it.
Seeing that he had risen fifteen levels in such a short time naturally left Wu Yan somewhat dazed. But on second thought, there was nothing strange about it. That terrifying army of monsters had been completely wiped out by the three of them. Among that enormous number of yokai were even ten Level 40 monsters and hundreds above Level 30. Reaching this level was only to be expected.
Besides, there had been heaps upon heaps of monsters above Level 20. That much was obvious from the 8300000 Item Points Wu Yan still had left after exchanging for the Portable Hot Spring, Rapid Healing Potions, and clothes.
Although Level 20 monsters could not give Wu Yan much experience, and some had been killed by Hinagiku, their numbers had still been terrifying. Hinagiku was only Level 18—how many could she have killed? There were simply too many of them.
And thinking about it carefully, with a cheat that let him level up through battle, after killing so many monsters, he had only risen one rank according to Sparlier World's standards. What a disgrace to transmigrators...
As for Mikoto's status beneath Wu Yan's character status, there had not been many changes, but...
Character: Mikoto Misaka Ability: Railgun Strength: C Endurance: C Agility: B Mental Strength: A Equipment: None Level: 69
Compared to her previous status, there had been no changes aside from her level increasing by one. But that one level had not been easy to gain.
After all, Mikoto could not be compared to him. Among that army of yokai, plenty had been stronger than he had been at Level 30. Fighting them counted as challenging enemies above his level for Wu Yan, so naturally he had gained much more experience and leveled up so many times.
But not a single one had been stronger than Mikoto. Forget stronger—Level 40 had been the highest among them, far below her. The experience Mikoto received could be described as negligible, yet the sheer number of monsters had still pushed her up one level. That truly had not been easy...
After closing the system, Wu Yan began to ponder.
He was already Level 45, equivalent to a mid-tier fifth-rank warrior. It was about time for him to exchange for new equipment and abilities...
"Mmm~~~" A soft murmur woke Wu Yan from his thoughts. When he turned his head, he could not help but smile.
Mikoto's eyelids trembled slightly before she opened her eyes. Covering her mouth, she yawned, and only then did she fully wake up. The first thing she saw upon awakening was Wu Yan sitting before a campfire that had somehow been lit, roasting some unknown meat and smiling at her.
"You're awake?" Wu Yan waved at Mikoto with his free hand, while his other hand kept turning the skewer. It seemed that being distracted did not affect his grilling at all.
Mikoto startled and hurriedly sat up, looking around. When she saw that the corpses all over the ground had disappeared, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. If she had really slept beside corpses, even if they were not human corpses, she would not have been able to bear it. Whenever she remembered that bloody scene...
Mikoto hurriedly shook her head. Although she was much better now, she still could not quite let it go.
Watching Mikoto's reactions from beginning to end, Wu Yan could not help sighing. Of course he knew that Mikoto had not fully accepted the fact that her hands were stained with blood, even if she had prepared herself for it.
His eyes shifted, and Wu Yan suddenly began to smile, his smile utterly inexplicable.
Hearing Wu Yan's strange laughter, Mikoto frowned. For some reason, she suddenly felt extremely annoyed, so annoyed that it overwhelmed all her other emotions.
"Why are you laughing so unpleasantly?" Mikoto glared fiercely at Wu Yan.
"Nothing..." Wu Yan stopped laughing, but the smile on his face did not fade in the slightest. He was still grinning like a hippopotamus, making Mikoto even more irritated.
"BiliBili." A burst of electrical crackling sounded, signaling that its owner was extremely displeased and that the consequences would be severe.
Wu Yan's expression stiffened. He glanced somewhat fearfully at the current running over Mikoto's body, then gritted his teeth and stared at her without blinking. His expression changed again, becoming one of deep reminiscence.
Wu Yan's lecherous expression finally made Mikoto realize that something was wrong. She looked herself over, and instantly, her eyes widened, her gaze went blank, and her mouth fell open. Even the electricity stopped.
A snow-white short-sleeved shirt paired with an ordinary gray skirt made for an extremely simple outfit. Yet this very outfit gave Mikoto an expression as if she had seen a ghost.
My clothes were changed...
Mikoto understood what had happened, but she had not changed these clothes herself, and Hinagiku was still asleep. That left only one answer!
"W-why... why..." With a blank expression, Mikoto turned toward Wu Yan, her mouth opening and closing as she spoke. As for why she was asking why, it was simply because she did not want to face reality.
Seeing the reaction he wanted, Wu Yan's smile became even brighter. "What do you mean, why?"
Like a machine, Mikoto slowly placed her hands on her body. Hugging her chest, she said blankly, "M-my... my clothes..."
Wu Yan raised a hand, held a finger in front of himself, and wagged it. "Isn't that obvious? They were covered in blood, so of course they had to be changed!"
"Bili!" The restless arcs of electricity jumping around showed how unsettled Mikoto was. Wearing the most forced smile imaginable, she asked, "Then who changed my clothes? Did Hinagiku change them when she woke up earlier?"
Mikoto's hopeful gaze fixed on him made Wu Yan feel enormous pressure. He was already beginning to regret using this method to distract her.
Wu Yan stopped smiling. After taking a breath, he declared righteously, "How could it have been her? In this world, only I am considerate enough to do something like that, so be grateful!"
The temperature of Mikoto's face rose higher and higher, her complexion beginning to flush. At an unimaginable speed, the heat on her face instantly broke past its limit. Finally, with a bang, a puff of smoke rose from her head.
Her mind went blank, and Mikoto's head began to sway uncontrollably from side to side, then up and down.
That reaction was a little too exaggerated...
Wu Yan's mouth twitched as he watched Mikoto, whose eyes had turned into spirals, whose face was bright red, and whose head was swaying. So innocent...
Just as Wu Yan was smugly pleased with himself, Mikoto suddenly stopped moving. Her head lowered, and her expression darkened completely.
"BiliBili!" Blue light suddenly surged forth as electric arcs flashed wildly over Mikoto's body. With a broken smile on her face, Mikoto looked at Wu Yan.
A chill shot from Wu Yan's spine to the top of his head, making him shudder involuntarily. Watching Mikoto slowly rise like a thunder god, a huge drop of cold sweat slid down Wu Yan's forehead.
Forcing a smile uglier than crying, Wu Yan swallowed. "C-calm down... Mikoto, calm down!"
A demonic voice came from Mikoto's mouth. "Tell me your final wishes. I don't know whether I'll remember them, but if I happen to recall them someday, I'll consider granting them!"
"Haha... haha..." Wu Yan laughed dryly at Mikoto. "Don't joke around, Mikoto. Look, I did it for your own good, right? A girl should keep herself clean. It's not that big a deal..."
"Not that big a deal!" Her unbelievably low voice rose slightly, but it did not make Wu Yan happy. Instead, it made him even more desperate.
"I see. So to you, this is just 'not that big a deal.' If that's the case..." Her face crimson, Mikoto glared at Wu Yan and shouted, "Then forget your final wishes. You—"
"Mikoto! If I die, you'll die too!" Wu Yan let out his final wail.
"Die!!!"
"BiliBili!"
"Ah!!!"
The moment Hinagiku woke up, the miserable scream startled her badly. Thinking yokai were attacking, she sprang up, summoned White Sakura into her hand, and vigilantly looked ahead. But when she saw what was happening, her wary expression froze.
Mikoto's face was blood-red, and wisps of smoke occasionally rose from her head. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she glared fiercely at some wretched lump on the ground.
Wu Yan lay on the ground. Unlike Mikoto's red face, his face was black, as was the rest of his body. Smoke even drifted from his mouth as he puffed it out.
"What happened here?!" Hinagiku stared at the "crime scene" in astonishment, completely unable to process it.
Mikoto looked at the stunned Hinagiku, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. Her face darkened as she lowered her head.
How was she supposed to say it?
Scratching her head with a strange expression, Hinagiku looked at Mikoto, whose face was so red it was smoking and who seemed too embarrassed to face anyone. She felt that something was strange, but could not figure out what.
Rolling her eyes helplessly, Hinagiku stepped toward the two of them. But the moment she took a step, she froze.
Why did it feel a little chilly down there?
She reached down and touched herself, immediately going blank. She could tell that the outline of the close-fitting garment she wore underneath was different from before. Its hem, which had originally reached her thighs, had become slanted—and very noticeably so.
Her safety shorts were gone...
Combining Mikoto's reaction with Wu Yan's miserable state, along with her own refreshed body and wet hair, then looking down at the outfit that matched Mikoto's like a sister set, a very bad thought formed in her mind...
A blush began to creep across Hinagiku's face. Looking at Mikoto, she spoke in a very, very quiet voice. "Mikoto, could it be that our clothes, and the blood on our bodies, were..."
Hearing Hinagiku's voice, Mikoto did not lower her hands. Instead, she spread her fingers apart, revealing two teary eyes. She glanced at Wu Yan on the ground and nodded with a near-crying expression.
After Mikoto nodded, Hinagiku's face became even brighter than her hair. Rage burned in her heart as she strode over to Wu Yan and viciously slapped him!
Slap!
"Ah!"
Before you continue