Second Update (Continued)

When he closed his eyes and opened them again, he was still standing in the hotel by the beach.

He checked the time. Not much had passed.

"I'm exhausted!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka flopped onto the bed, looking as though she intended to go straight to sleep.

Although all injuries and physical fatigue were reset upon returning to reality, mental exhaustion still remained.

Despite being so cautious, Hiratsuka Shizuka still wanted to laze around in bed for a while.

"Time feels like it's passing so slowly." She lit a cigarette out of boredom.

"Isn't slow time exactly what lets us do more things?"

Tsukikawa Shu sat down as well and fumbled around in his pocket.

Watching Tsukikawa Shu's movements, Goto Hitori blinked and nervously shuffled backward.

She had a bad feeling about this.

Sure enough, Tsukikawa Shu soon pulled Goto Hitori's unfinished daily-use item from his pocket.

"Don't run!"

Tsukikawa Shu grabbed Goto Hitori by the arm in one swift motion.

"Waaah, no! Let me rest for one day!"

Goto Hitori's expression changed, and she immediately began begging.

"Your stamina had already recovered when you left the Inner World."

Tsukikawa Shu would hear none of it. With a hard pull, he tossed poor Bocchi onto the bed.

Goto Hitori could only tremble helplessly and let him have his way.

"Don't go too far."

Still sprawled lazily on the bed, Hiratsuka Shizuka said faintly.

Another happy day.

After returning home, Tsukikawa Shu opened the Inner World forum as usual.

It was as lively as ever.

The Inner World had just ended, and those who had survived all logged online to passionately voice their opinions.

"Who the hell posted all that made-up strategy nonsense? You people nearly got me killed!"

"Give me back my family and friends! I trusted your guide, and my whole family died! I almost died too!"

"Damn it, this is deliberate misinformation! Do you know how many people you've harmed?"

Quite a few survivors indignantly went online and cursed out the fake strategy posts.

But they were ultimately a minority, and before long, everyone was treating them as entertainment.

"You Sitting Oblivion Daoist, don't think you can fool me!"

"Wake up. You don't have a little sister, and you don't have a wife."

"My child, you've become deluded~"

Most newcomers entering the Inner World had nothing but death awaiting them. Only a small number survived.

Whenever he went online, Tsukikawa Shu would look at the new IDs and roughly estimate the number of people.

"Maybe I can have Fujiwara Chika look into it later. She should be able to find more accurate data."

Then Tsukikawa Shu opened the post he had made earlier.

As the number of daily-use items steadily increased, Tsukikawa Shu could clearly feel that humans ultimately had their limits.

So, he posted a message on the forum seeking skills that could improve stamina and performance in that department.

Stamina would gradually increase as one's level rose, but skills for that sort of thing were difficult to obtain. Instances probably would not drop such items, either.

When he checked today, someone had actually sent him a message.

The message came from someone nicknamed "Y." They did not even have an avatar, making them seem extremely cautious.

"I happen to have a skill that meets your requirements. The skill is called 'Ecstasy Technique.' Are you interested?" the other party messaged.

"Let me see the skill description first," Tsukikawa Shu replied.

After a moment, the other party quickly replied.

The message contained a detailed description of the skill, just as Tsukikawa Shu had expected.

It was a Fine Grade skill that could enhance ability in various aspects. It was not especially outstanding, but it was sufficient.

That was fast. Were they really that eager to sell this skill? Tsukikawa Shu stroked his chin.

It was obvious that the other party was somewhat anxious, which was why they were constantly watching the forum.

"One Fine Grade weapon," Tsukikawa Shu offered.

"Skills like this are hard to come by. At the very least, you need to offer a Rare Grade weapon or skill, or give me 1,000 Refined Ore," the other party replied.

Tsukikawa Shu smiled at the response.

Tsukikawa Shu: "Who in the market is buying this kind of skill right now? Do you want it or not?"

Y: "No, no. I saw the message you posted on the forum. You must have lots of women around you right now, so you definitely can't keep up and must need this kind of thing. Asking for one Rare Grade weapon isn't excessive, is it?"

Tsukikawa Shu: "How do you know I can't keep up?"

Tsukikawa Shu: "But you, with that skill, nobody else would want it either, right? If I don't buy it, it'll just rot in your hands."

The other party fell silent.

The Inner World was incredibly dangerous now. Low-level players only cared about survival, while high-level players were busy grinding levels. Who would want such a useless skill? Tsukikawa Shu was sure the other party understood that as well.

The person on the other side of the screen was surely regretting obtaining such a skill. It was tasteless to keep and a pity to discard, so they were desperate to sell it.

Sure enough, after a long silence, the other party replied.

"Can you add a little more? Add another 100 Refined Ore or one Fine Grade support item, and we have a deal," the other party replied.

"No. One Fine Grade piece of equipment for one Fine Grade skill. Neither side gains or loses anything. If you don't want it, forget it," Tsukikawa Shu replied.

The other party went silent again for a while.

Y: "Fine."

The two completed the transaction through the Inner World system.

[You have completed a transaction with "Klein"]

[Your weapon: Field Short Sword has been delivered to the other party's warehouse]

[You have obtained the skill: Ecstasy Technique]

Seeing the other party's real name, Tsukikawa Shu found it somewhat familiar, but he did not care much. The man was merely a minor character from some anime.

Now that he had acquired the skill, he could properly carry out his daily tasks again in the future.

Shuchiin Academy.

Fujiwara Chika suddenly straightened from her seat as though she had been startled awake from a dream.

Tomioki Nagisa and the others were seated around her, and they too had just awakened.

But only a handful of them remained in the hall, which had been bustling earlier.

"Where is everyone else?" Iino Miko looked around.

"I heard that people who die in the Inner World also die in the outside world," Tomioki Nagisa said.

Just as they were still wondering about it, a scream suddenly came from outside.

Fujiwara Chika and the others hurried out. Following the crowd's gaze, they saw someone impaled on the sharp railing atop the wall.

Nita Goichi's fat body hung there motionlessly. He had been dead for quite some time.

The sharp iron rod had pierced his body right through the heart, killing him in one blow.

"Did he get stuck while climbing over the wall to skip class?"

"How tragic. It hit his heart exactly. Even if someone had found him, it would've been too late."

"He's so fat, yet he still dared climb such a high wall."

The surrounding students gathered to watch, while the girls covered their mouths and stared at the scene in disbelief.

Before long, police officers and teachers arrived to separate the crowd and secure the scene.

Fujiwara Chika and the others stood at a distance, looking at the corpse stuck on the railing.

The location where his heart had been pierced was exactly where Tsukikawa Shu had stabbed him in the Inner World.

Deaths that occurred in the Inner World would take on all kinds of plausible forms in reality, ensuring a person's normal death.

Nita Goichi was not the only one. The others had died in the same manner.

Some, like today, were accidentally impaled on railings. Others killed themselves after losing control of their emotions, or died in various accidents. Those who died in the Inner World could not possibly remain alive in the outside world.

"Stop standing around! All of you, get back to class!"

At that moment, the Student Council and Disciplinary Committee Members arrived as well, quickly dispersing the students.

Facing the Student Council, especially the black-haired, red-eyed girl among them, everyone seemed to feel an inexplicable chill. They instinctively stepped aside and made way for her.

Shinomiya Kaguya, eldest daughter of Shinomiya Ganan, head of the direct main family line of the Shinomiya Group, one of the Four Great Conglomerates, was a true lady of high society.

She was quite friendly toward her attendant Hayasaka Ai and friends like Fujiwara Chika, but she had always been aloof in her interactions with others and was known as the Ice Princess Kaguya.

Combined with her status in the Student Council, the surrounding students all maintained a basic sense of awe toward her.

As for the love-detective prodigy Fujiwara Chika, her advice was:

She just needed to fall in love once!

But turning someone so cold by nature into a young girl head over heels in love was an impossibly difficult task.

"Kaguya!"

Fujiwara Chika spotted Shinomiya Kaguya and, as usual, pounced at her.

Only upon seeing her friend did a smile appear on Shinomiya Kaguya's face. But she soon composed herself and asked seriously,

"What are you doing here?"

"Watching the excitement!"

Fujiwara Chika raised her hand and answered as if it were only natural.

"Then go back!"

Shinomiya Kaguya said irritably, then looked at the people behind Fujiwara Chika. "And you lot, why aren't you in class? What are you doing here?"