The Brahma, A Ghost God

Uesugi Tetsu casually found a shop and bought an XXL hooded coat and a fox mask, then stored them in his inventory backpack.

Since the area unlock quest for tonight required his main body to board the train, he decided to transform into Laughing Brahma as soon as any abnormality occurred, just in case.

The coat and mask were props for disguise in front of any ordinary people who might appear.

After sitting down on a rocking chair in a secluded park, Uesugi Tetsu began searching for information related to Kisaragi Station on his phone.

He was certainly aware of this famous ghost story throughout Japan, but he had forgotten most of the details.

This was crucial for unlocking the next area, so he couldn't be careless.

--The ghost story of Kisaragi Station, simply put, is about a girl who boarded a train bound for Tokoyo late at night. After getting off the train, she arrived at a station named "Kisaragi," which sounds like "oni" (demon/ghost) in Japanese.

Then she encountered all sorts of demons and spirits, got lost in Tokoyo alone, and could never return to the real world.

It's just that simple a story.

However, Uesugi Tetsu read it with particular care, not only the original version but also various subsequent derivative works, which he meticulously read through one by one.

With the example of Two-Shaku-Sama before him, Uesugi Tetsu knew that any version, no matter how far it deviated from the original, could become part of a real ghost story.

He, therefore, focused his research on "the passengers on the train" and "the tunnels and stations passed."

Since the sole objective this time was to reach Kisaragi Station, the only potential danger could come from the train itself and its passengers.

"Five sleeping passengers... could also be five different demons."

But since most of the Kisaragi Station ghost story focused on what happened after leaving the train, Uesugi Tetsu couldn't get a clearer understanding.

He only knew that he had to be wary of the passengers on the train.

"But just being wary isn't enough without sufficient strength."

Putting down his phone, Uesugi Tetsu took out the White Brahma mask, which looked like it was crying, from his inventory backpack.

There was no need to hesitate. He used it, activating Effect Two!

The moment he willed it, the White Brahma mask shattered, dissolving into a weeping sound filled with deep anger that lingered in Uesugi Tetsu's ears.

[You have used "White Brahma's Mask"!]

[Your Demon Incarnation - Laughing Brahma's potential has met the standard!]

[The quality of your Demon Incarnation - Laughing Brahma has been upgraded from "Super Excellent" to "Rare"!]

As the prompt popped up, Uesugi Tetsu immediately felt his body become a little stronger.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, realizing that an upgrade in quality also brought an increase in the attributes of his Demon Incarnation.

However, the main event was yet to come.

[Detected that the quality of your Demon Incarnation - Laughing Brahma has reached "Rare," distributing rewards...]

[The quality of your Demon Incarnation - Laughing Brahma has been upgraded from "Rare" to "Epic"!]

[The quality of your Demon Incarnation - Laughing Brahma has reached its upper limit!]

[Prompt: When your Demon Incarnation - Laughing Brahma reaches One Star and a Half, it will evolve into Demon Incarnation - White Brahma!]

This promotion was unusually quiet, and the power in his body did not increase again. Was the main change in the upper limit and potential?

Uesugi Tetsu gently rocked on the rocking chair and opened the brand-new Laughing Brahma panel--

[Laughing Brahma (Youth Form)]

[Quality: Epic]

[Rank: One Star]

[Rank Cap: Three Stars and a Half]

[Talents: Ghost God (Weak), Greed, Anger, Delusion (Weak), Berserk]

[--Laughing Brahma, White Brahma, Red Brahma. All are Brahma, and also Ghost Gods.]

The first thing that caught his eye was, of course, the attention-grabbing "Epic" after the word "Quality."

Before today, Uesugi Tetsu would never have imagined that he, who didn't even have a few Rare quality equipment, would have raised the quality of his first Demon Incarnation to the unimaginable Epic level.

The prompt mentioned that the Demon Incarnation's potential had met the standard, which must be why the purple light had floated out when he drew Laughing Brahma back then.

If it were a different Brahma, perhaps even with the White Brahma mask in hand, he wouldn't have been able to use it.

It would only serve as a decoration, and he would also suffer the penalty of a greatly reduced Charm stat.

Secondly, although the rank had not changed, the cap had indeed increased from "One Star and a Half" to "Three Stars and a Half."

It seemed that the upper limit for the Brahma race was a Three Star and a Half Evil Ghost, still a small, insurmountable chasm away from becoming the legendary Four Star [Ghost God].

Next were the two talents that had changed slightly, besides "Berserk"--

[Ghost God (Weak): Ghost God Power, Ghost God Might, Ghost God Appearance.]

The talent, whose description was somewhat unclear, was likely an upgraded version of the original "Ghost God Power." He would have to test its specific effects when he transformed.

[Greed, Anger, Delusion (Weak): Deals additional damage to targets with negative emotions. The more negative emotions accumulate, the higher the damage dealt.]

Had the original control skill become a passive?

"Or perhaps this is a youth version of a complete talent, requiring further upgrades to gradually complete it into a full, powerful talent?"

Uesugi Tetsu felt his idea was sound, so it seemed the plan to upgrade the Laughing Brahma to One Star and a Half also needed to be put on the agenda.

He now had a little over 400 Soul Ash. After unlocking the Kisaragi Station area tonight, he was sure he could quickly perform another ten consecutive draws to initiate the Laughing Brahma's second upgrade.

[As your Demon Incarnation - Laughing Brahma - has reached "Epic" quality, it can now be materialized into special equipment for you to wear.]

The final prompt made Uesugi Tetsu raise an eyebrow slightly.

What did this mean?

He clicked [Convert to Equipment] next to the Laughing Brahma's name with his mind and then found a meticulously crafted, lifelike Laughing Brahma mask in his hand.

[Brahma Mask]

[Quality: Epic]

[Effect: Stores one talent from "Demon Incarnation - Laughing Brahma," retaining 50% of its effect. Does not consume an equipment slot when worn.]

[--A supremely perfect evil ghost mask, even the most skilled craftsman could not find a single flaw.]

Uesugi Tetsu was slightly taken aback, seeming to finally understand the true meaning of a Demon Incarnation after it was upgraded to Epic quality.

In an instant, he even envisioned himself in the future, adorned with dozens of similar equipment, bearing tens to hundreds of talents.

"But, let's take things one step at a time first."

Uesugi Tetsu touched his empty stomach. His last meal was the bento box he ate for breakfast at home, and now it was evening. Not to mention he had just gone through intense combat, leaving him ravenously hungry.

Time's up, time to eat.

Uesugi Tetsu casually picked a Yoshinoya by the roadside, intending to order an extra-large beef bowl to fill his stomach.

But as soon as he walked into the shop, he saw two familiar figures.

Uesugi Tetsu blinked, looking at the woman who had casually tossed her black tie aside, her cheeks flushed, and who was guzzling beer into her mouth.

"Nanjō-senpai?!"