This situation was rather unusual.
In the past, whenever he returned from Everworld, the messages he saw were usually from his corporate-slave friends or Sister Nanjō.
After opening the Line profile with a background of a clear blue sea—the sort of profile picture people in China would probably call "Calm and Peaceful"—Uesugi Tetsu saw a simple message from the offline Ririko.
[Li: I'm learning a breathing technique at the Special Affairs Division. I'll figure it out in a few days, then sneak over and teach you.]
Was this something she could teach in secret?!
Uesugi Tetsu stared at the message, speechless.
Ririko, a brother for life!
Ririko had joined the Special Affairs Division specifically for this breathing technique that could transform ordinary people, and her first reaction after learning it was actually to teach it to him.
This strengthened Uesugi Tetsu's resolve to give the Calming Charm to Ririko.
In the past, he had to call his dorm roommate "godfather" just to get him to bring back some food, yet Ririko tossed every good thing she had at him without hesitation.
Where else could he find such a selfless and generous buddy?
Uesugi Tetsu tapped away all the red notification dots on Line, then sat on his bed. With his physique and Willpower having risen at the same time, he wasn't sleepy at all.
He wondered whether he should take the opportunity to study the Imperial Spirit Technique.
Taking out the Nanjō doll he always carried with him, Uesugi Tetsu examined it as it sat there like a dead object. If he could use the Imperial Spirit Technique to develop its normal functions, it might bring him a new surprise.
After all, it was practically the highest-starred item in his possession.
However, after one sweat-drenched attempt after another, Uesugi Tetsu looked at the spirit arts attribute on the panel, which had only one point, and silently stuffed the doll back inside. Its face had collapsed into an expression of utter discontent.
He looked at his substantially changed personal panel and sighed—
[Uesugi Tetsu] [Physique: 8→12] [Willpower: 8→9] [Charm: 9] [Spirit Arts: 1]
Although his physique had officially surpassed that of ordinary people and entered the inhuman realm, he decided to wait until he drew a new avatar before studying the Imperial Spirit Technique or anything like that.
However, there was still a problem right before him.
Since returning from Everworld, Uesugi Tetsu had subconsciously kept circulating the Ki-ai Technique. He looked at the time on his phone—it would be time for class in two hours.
Should he go to school?
Before yesterday, Uesugi Tetsu would probably have answered yes.
He believed that demons and Supernatural Phenomena were unlikely to appear in crowded places like schools. Besides, there was a dojo and Ririko at school. If he didn't go, how could he practice swordsmanship and raise his proficiency?
But yesterday, Ai Bielie had nearly killed both him and Ririko even in broad daylight, completely disregarding all the ordinary people at school.
If he went to school now, he would only endanger those innocent students.
Pushing open the door, Uesugi Tetsu was about to greet Ghost Dad with a good morning as usual when he suddenly realized that the figure who always sat on the sofa had vanished!?
Turning his head, Uesugi Tetsu saw that Ghost Dad was crouching on the balcony.
A huge mouth filled with sharp fangs had deliberately grown on his face, and he was happily gnawing on the weakly moaning demon in his hands.
Uesugi Tetsu pretended not to see anything. While searching for ingredients in the refrigerator, he watched from the corner of his eye.
Before long, a star appeared above the head of the green-skinned demon with sparse hair and a duckbill.
[Kappa (One Star)]
Uesugi Tetsu narrowed his eyes. One-star demons were not common, yet one had wandered without warning to the entrance of his own utterly ordinary apartment.
Did this prove that the omen of the First Wave had arrived?
Uesugi Tetsu exhaled deeply and sent everything he had seen and heard to Nanjō Emi.
Perhaps some relatively weak demons had already come ashore and were gradually beginning to roam the mortal world.
But this also proved that Ghost Dad did more than watch sports and secretly eat up his family's electricity. He was genuinely good at guarding the house!
His hopes of raising his father into a dragon had truly succeeded.
Clang.
Just as Uesugi Tetsu was about to heat up a boxed meal and fill his stomach, the sound of a bowl smashing onto the balcony tiles suddenly rang out.
He pretended not to hear it.
Uesugi Tetsu honestly finished his boxed meal first. Only after Ghost Dad had sat back down to watch the game did he casually say, "The clothes on the balcony should be brought in too," while quietly scooping up the porcelain bowl from the floor.
[Kappa Bowl] [Quality: Ordinary] [Effect: Slightly increases water affinity after being equipped.] [—The porcelain bowl perched atop every kappa's head.]
Uesugi Tetsu froze. He hadn't expected it to be an item, and it even made up for his relatively weak underwater combat ability.
This father of his really did know how to give him unexpected pleasant surprises from time to time.
After placing the Kappa Bowl into his storage pack, Uesugi Tetsu was already imagining the wonderful future in which Ghost Dad brought him several extra items every month for guarding the house.
He could count them as the rent and electricity fees his father had willingly paid. That was perfectly reasonable.
Just as Uesugi Tetsu was considering whether to go outside and find an empty place to practice his swordsmanship, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
Who would be calling him at a time like this?
He took out his phone and found an unfamiliar number.
After thinking it over, Uesugi Tetsu still answered. "Hello, who is this..."
"Uesugi-kun! Please save me!"
A trembling yet still clear female voice came from the other end of the phone.
Uesugi Tetsu was stunned for a moment before quickly recalling the owner of that voice.
—Kitano Runa!
—The quiet girl with glasses and braids who was Ririko's best friend.
But hadn't she gone to stay at the Special Affairs Division headquarters with Shizuma Manatsu? Could something major have happened at the Special Affairs Division?
No, that was unlikely... Nanjō Emi and Ririko hadn't sent any news from their side.
So was this a personal problem?
He had clearly warned her, yet she had still managed to get herself into trouble.
He now somewhat understood how Nanjō Emi viewed him.
Uesugi Tetsu didn't think much more about it and simply asked, "Your location?"
"I sent it to you..." After several fearful gasps, Kitano Runa's extremely weak voice came through. "It's the White Brahma."
Uesugi Tetsu's pupils contracted—the White Brahma from Arakawa Ghost Village had already entered the mortal world?!
There had been no warning at all.
In an instant, Uesugi Tetsu's attitude changed completely.
He now had to thank Kitano Runa properly. If she hadn't risked herself to lure the snake from its hole, his main quest might have become impossible to complete and left him stuck.
"Uesugi-kun, you have to hurry. I can't hold out much longer..."
After saying this, the call was disconnected.
"Dad! A friend asked me to go out and play!"
After shouting this, Uesugi Tetsu immediately pushed open the door and sprinted out. While running downstairs, he found the location information Kitano Runa had sent in a text message.
—It was less than three kilometers in a straight line from his home.
—At Laughing Brahma's running speed, that distance wouldn't even take three minutes.
Uesugi Tetsu casually found an alley without surveillance cameras and transformed into Laughing Brahma, then pulled his oversized school uniform jacket over his head.
That way, unless someone observed him at close range, no ordinary person could recognize that this was actually a Laughing Brahma.
At his current running speed, ordinary people could see no more than a blur flashing past before he was gone.
On the way, Uesugi Tetsu also called Nanjō Emi and Ririko, but neither answered after ringing for a while.
"So that's why she came to me."
Laughing Brahma's eyes were icy as she sped through the streets and alleys.
"Kitano-san, don't panic... I'm coming to help you!"
Before you continue