Uesugi Tetsu found it strange.
Because a craze for supernatural phenomena had clearly swept across Twitter earlier, and the number of people throughout Tokyo who had attempted to summon White Brahma was estimated to be at least several hundred, if not over a thousand.
Then why had it come looking for Kitano Runa, who had never summoned it?
"Um, I think..." Kitano Runa stammered, giving an awkward, embarrassed smile. "Maybe it was because I tried more than a dozen summoning rituals in one night? I put White Brahma last, so it got angry?"
"Huh?"
Uesugi Tetsu froze for a moment, wondering if White Brahma's roar had damaged his ears. "Could you say that again?"
Kitano Runa repeated herself clearly.
In an instant, the hospital room fell into an indescribable silence.
Uesugi Tetsu looked at Kitano Runa, who was glancing left and right while scratching her head with a finger, his expression complicated. "Kitano-san, you... your skills are mediocre, but your courage is extraordinary. It's a miracle you're still alive."
Kitano Runa lowered her head, light reflecting off her lenses. "That's why I went with Manatsu to that place before—oh, right, the Special Affairs Division!"
Sis, you nearly wiped out the Special Affairs Division headquarters.
Uesugi Tetsu broke into a cold sweat. Dropping more than a dozen high-star demons in all at once might really have been enough to overrun the Special Affairs Division in Arakawa Ward while its numbers were low.
Still, that should have been impossible.
Uesugi Tetsu recalled what Nanjō Emi had said earlier about the "sea-level theory."
--It meant that, for now, only low-star demons could break through the barrier of Everworld and enter the mortal world along with the omens of the First Wave.
That was probably why both the kappa and the White Brahma Projection he had encountered had only been one-star entities. Otherwise, White Brahma could have descended in its true form instead of taking such a pointless detour.
"But I didn't summon them just because everyone else was doing it," Kitano Runa said. "Because I've been able to sense strange movements since I was little, but I'd never witnessed anything with my own eyes, so I thought all of it was fake."
Uesugi Tetsu said, "Since you were little?"
Seeing Uesugi Tetsu's puzzled expression, Kitano Runa began counting on her fingers, listing one after another the "fake supernatural phenomena" she had encountered as if reciting treasured memories.
Uesugi Tetsu felt numb listening to her and had no idea what to say.
He remembered the Kukuri game the five of them had played earlier. Strictly speaking, that had been their first time playing a genuine supernatural game, and it had ended in tragedy.
But Kitano Runa before him... she had done every reckless thing imaginable.
Some of the strange details were so eerie that they raised goosebumps all over Uesugi Tetsu's body. Even he, as he was now, might not have survived those situations.
Yet Kitano Runa was still standing perfectly fine before him, listing them off like dishes on a menu.
She was practically an indestructible cockroach.
Without a doubt, Kitano Runa possessed an extraordinary constitution.
She simply hadn't realized it herself yet.
"Kitano-san, give me a moment to process all this information."
Uesugi Tetsu raised a hand, stopping Kitano Runa from naming her fiftieth "dish." He sighed, then looked toward the prompts he had yet to finish reading.
I'd better check the rewards and calm myself down.
[You may choose two of the following five rewards!] [1. 800 Soul Ash.] [2. Obtain a quest item related to the identity of Walker. After completing the quest, you can increase the rarity of the identity "Walker."] [3. Select one demon incarnation and grant it a random talent.] [4. Skill Adaptation: Select one skill for modification, reducing the proficiency required for it to level up.] [5. Exclusive to Laughing Brahma: Raise the quality of the demon incarnation Laughing Brahma from "Rare" to "Epic"!] [Note: Your demon incarnation Laughing Brahma originally required the special item "Red Brahma's Mask" to raise its quality to "Epic."]
"Whew--"
Uesugi Tetsu sucked in a cold breath. The rewards for clearing this dungeon were truly excessive, offering both quantity and quality.
With five options lined up before him, he was practically plunged into a crisis of indecision.
However, the first option could be eliminated immediately.
Eight hundred Soul Ash sounded like a lot—more than all the Soul Ash Uesugi Tetsu had earned so far—but in reality, it amounted to nothing. It wasn't even enough to pay for two ten-pulls.
Besides, who could guarantee that two ten-pulls would produce the Three-tailed Fox from the gacha pool?
Therefore, the Soul Ash reward, something only a short-sighted person or a gambler would choose, was eliminated first.
Next was option two: increasing the rarity of the identity Walker.
To be honest, the identity of Walker, which could trigger special events, had indeed brought him many benefits.
Whether it was the blacksmith agreeing to forge a weapon for him, the office-worker netizen giving him a fragment of the Great Onmyō Art, or the Five-tailed Fox he had encountered in Edo Castle...
All of these conveniences had come from the identity of Walker.
However, by the same token, Uesugi Tetsu suspected that Ai Bielie's decision to target him and Ririko also owed something to the identity of Walker.
Otherwise, how could Ai Bielie have ignored so many important figures and set her sights on two insignificant nobodies like them?
But overall, the benefits brought by Walker still far outweighed the drawbacks.
Still, since he could choose only two out of five this time, Uesugi Tetsu decided to put it on the list of candidates for now. There was no harm in seeing what the remaining rewards offered before making a decision.
Option three granted a random skill...
Another gambler's option. Knowing that his luck was absurdly terrible, Uesugi Tetsu rejected it at a glance. Then, when he saw option four, his eyes lit up.
--Reducing the proficiency required for a skill? Using that on Tennen Rishin-ryū would bring enormous returns.
But exactly how much would it reduce it?
The panel provided the answer: [One-third.]
Uesugi Tetsu swallowed. If he chose this option now, Tennen Rishin-ryū would immediately enter the Proficient level.
Likewise, the proficiency required for the next level would drop from a possible 1,000 points to 666.
The further he progressed, the greater the benefits of this option would become!
Uesugi Tetsu had practically decided to choose it, but the word "Epic" in the fifth option mercilessly slammed into his eyes.
Uesugi Tetsu had no choice but to change his affections.
--First use "White Brahma's Mask," then select option five and directly raise Laughing Brahma's quality from the commonplace "Superior" to the noble "Epic"!
Laughing Brahma was the foundation of his survival at this stage. In other words, the stronger Laughing Brahma became, the faster Uesugi Tetsu himself would grow stronger—by leaps and bounds!
So there was no need to hesitate over this route. The first choice was locked in: option five!
Then which reward should he choose as his second?
In his left hand was the special item capable of raising the rarity of Walker. In his right was a reduction in the proficiency required for leveling up, with astonishing long-term returns.
Both were crucial to his future development and could not be ignored.
Uesugi Tetsu felt deeply conflicted. Why couldn't he choose both?
Just then, the hospital room door was shoved open with force, and a black-haired, black-eyed young man entered from outside with a gloomy expression.
"Looks like the two of you have recovered pretty well."
The young man curled his lips and spread his hands. "Seems my unnecessary presence isn't needed after all."
Uesugi Tetsu stared at him and let out a surprised sound. "Kurosaki Akira, the Onmyo Junior Official of Arakawa Ward?"
The young man froze for a moment and looked toward Uesugi Tetsu.
"Who are you? How do you know me?"
How could Uesugi Tetsu not know Nanjō Emi's colleague? In fact, he had specifically asked her for a list earlier and memorized all the Onmyo Junior Officials in Arakawa Ward, along with their attendants.
When Nanjō Emi had questioned him about it at the time, Uesugi Tetsu had simply replied that it was better to be prepared.
And now, that preparation had come in handy.
Uesugi Tetsu solemnly asked the question he had wanted to ask for a long time:
"--Kurosaki, do you know where Sister Nanjō is now?"
Before you continue