Can someone in MyGo stay in an adventure group forever?

Page 33

The figure that had been lunging forward finally came to a standstill, and the two bright yellow lights gradually dimmed.

Koshimura had just breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, a sudden change occurred.

A jet-black, viscous liquid, seemingly alive, suddenly gushed from the pierced wound, clinging to the cold guitar blade and rapidly spreading upwards along the sword.

Koshimura instinctively tried to loosen his grip on the sword hilt, but his body was already immobilized.

An indescribable, excruciating pain shot through his palm, as if countless steel needles had pierced it simultaneously, while the viscous, black liquid was continuously and frantically pouring into his body through the wound.

The numbness continued to spread upwards, and within a few breaths, his entire right arm lost sensation. His consciousness sank into the abyss, and the edges of his vision began to gradually blur.

Just then, a clear, melodious piano sound suddenly reached my ears.

The sound was strange, with a slightly discordant melody. It didn't sound like a normal performance; rather, it sounded like...a reverse playback?

Suddenly, a phantom that looked exactly like him appeared behind him.

It was as if some kind of videotape had recorded all his actions and was then replaying them.

The phantom faithfully repeated his actions, plunging the sword in its hand into the black-clad man's body with a muffled thud.

Until the movement of that phantom figure completely overlapped with that of Koshimura Sawa, who was standing frozen in place at that moment.

The black viscous fluid that was raging in Yuecunze's blood vessels finally stopped its agitation and lost its activity. Like ordinary dirty blood, it began to slowly flow out through the holes in the palm.

Koshimura staggered forward, quickly releasing his grip on the sword hilt, letting the sword, stained with black liquid, fall to the ground.

"Luckily, I managed to save one more time..." Toyokawa Shoko leaned weakly against the wall, her face growing paler, but she seemed to finally relax and let out a long breath.

She pressed the piano keys again.

【Blazing Orb】

The flames pierced his heart.

Then, the darkness receded like the tide.

Bright as day.

------

Although it had long since cooled down and tasted like meat coated in glue and processed with advanced technology, this bento box, which was only worth 300 yen, tasted exceptionally delicious at that moment.

The still-burning [Blazing Orb] in the air served as the only light source in the alley, preventing people from accidentally sticking their chopsticks up their noses while eating their lunchboxes.

Koshimura glanced quietly at Toyokawa Shoko sitting next to him.

The girl lowered her head and wolfed down her food. The disposable chopsticks from the convenience store danced in her hands, leaving afterimages. A large mouthful of rice filled her cheeks, making her fair face look bulging.

Xiang'er has a round face.

"Seriously... is it really okay for us to just sit here and eat like this?" Koshimura Sawa kicked the grotesque corpse on the ground. "Wow, it's all hard—"

"What are you doing, eating?" Toyokawa Shoko looked up and glared at him, then slapped him with her hand in displeasure.

Knowing better than to speak, Yuecunze kept quiet and continued to silently eat his rice. The alley fell silent again, with only the sounds of chopsticks clinking against the lunchbox and the chewing of food remaining.

The silence was broken by Toyokawa Shoko's voice.

"What was that spell that just now...?" She swallowed what was in her mouth and asked softly.

"Ok?"

"It was the last spell you cast..." Toyokawa Shoko recalled, "otherwise, that attack wouldn't have been able to miss."

“...It’s Silver Light’s Sharp Words.” Koshimura paused for a moment, suddenly feeling a sense of mission, like a torch being passed down from generation to generation.

"Silver Light Sharp Words?" Toyokawa Shoko tilted her head in confusion.

Yuecun Ze put down his chopsticks and briefly explained the effects of the spell "Erjiu Niliu Jiuyi San 8 Liuyue Yi*".

"What—how could there be such a spell?!" Toyokawa Shoko was immediately shocked and wanted to deny it.

"Hmm, Li Yi Yi Qi? ⑥ Yi 3er〔〧〒 兒〔9 迩... That's what I thought too when I first learned about this spell." Yue Cunze remained noncommittal.

The air fell silent again, with only the cold moonlight filtering in from the narrow alleyway, falling on the two of them.

"Teach me."

"Want to learn?"

The two spoke almost at the same time.

"Ugh?"

Koshimura Sawa and Toyokawa Shoko were both stunned for a moment, then looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

"I can teach you, but..."

[A. "So, Toyokawa Shoko, what is the price?"]

[B. "This is a family-inherited magic technique, passed down only to family members. Miss Xiangzi, would you like to become part of my family?"]

[C. "If you want it, then trade it for your socks. You already know the rule."]

Byd is getting more and more outrageous.

"So, what was the price, Toyokawa Shoko?"

"This..." Toyokawa Shoko clearly hadn't expected him to be so direct, and a blush of embarrassment rose on her fair cheeks. "I...Iling, I can teach you too..."

"Sorry, I've reached my limit for known spell slots."

“Then…” Toyokawa Shoko bit her lower lip, “I can take you down into the cave.”

"Go down into the cave?"

"Yeah, it's about farming resources in the caves that the Adventurers' Guild has designated..."

Voids are generally classified into two types. The most common type is unstable, randomly occurring voids, which are usually considered a hazard that needs to be addressed.

However, if a certain void is found to be able to stably produce magic stones or specific resources, it will be fixed by the Adventurers' Guild by setting up a "beacon," becoming a fixed void that can be entered and exited repeatedly.

This is commonly known as a "copy".

“Deal,” said Koshimura Sawa directly.

What he lacks most right now is practical experience and resource accumulation. Judging from Toyokawa Shoko's experience, he's probably done this a lot. For him, an experienced veteran is willing to take him through dungeons, which is like a godsend.

Seemingly surprised that he agreed so readily, Toyokawa Shoko was also taken aback.

However, she quickly nodded vigorously.

"Then let's do it tomorrow... at RiNG's practice room."

The atmosphere fell silent again, and Yuecunze's gaze inevitably fell once more on the corpse curled up in a ball not far away.

Does this kind of situation... happen often?

He remained silent for a while before finally asking the question he had always wanted to ask.

“It happens occasionally…” Toyokawa Shoko stammered.

"To be honest," Koshimura's tone suddenly turned serious, and his voice rose sharply.

"Desuwa happens frequently!"

Oh no, how did it suddenly turn into Bai Xiang's form from being scared?

Koshimura softened his tone: "Why didn't you call the police?"

"Call the police?" Toyokawa Shoko gave a wry smile. "What if I told you... the Metropolitan Police Department is also under their control?"

Looking into the tired golden eyes of the girl in front of him, Yuecunze suddenly felt his heart skip a beat, as if something had gripped it.

If even the Metropolitan Police Department is unwilling to take action—

So, how has she been coping these past few days?

During the day, they need to attend classes diligently to earn scholarships that can support them; at night, they drag their exhausted bodies to work; even walking home late at night, they have to be constantly on guard against attacks...

There was no one to rely on, no peace, only endless pursuit and fear.

A strong feeling of suffocation instantly gripped Koshimura's throat.

Most horror games, no matter how oppressive or heavy the atmosphere is, usually include a "safe house" or similar design for players to rest and recuperate.

Because the core of terror is to undermine the participants' sense of security from various angles and in various ways.

But what if there was no such thing as a "safe house" from the very beginning?

What if you don't know what the so-called "end of fear" is from the very beginning?

Aside from Darkwood, which was so terrifying that Koshimura Sawa repeatedly uninstalled and reinstalled it, no other horror game would be designed like this.

Because endless fear does not provide sensory or psychological stimulation.

—It is a profound despair that leaves one powerless.

"What about the Adventurers' Guild? They've already involved professionals, aren't they going to do anything about it?" Koshimura asked through gritted teeth.

“We can’t trace them,” Toyokawa Shoko said calmly. “They are all desperate criminals who do things for money, and they have their own independent internal network. Their identities are all fake, and the electronic devices they carry are also anti-trigger devices. They will automatically destroy themselves if no vital signs are detected after a period of time. Once they are dead, they are just a pile of rotten flesh... We can’t find any clues at all.”

"The Adventurers' Guild is mainly responsible for dealing with voids, and it's impossible for them to devote too much energy to focusing on an ordinary professional."

"Besides..." Toyokawa Shoko's lips curled into an extremely bitter smile, "Even if I told them, no one would believe me."

"What value is there in being hunted down someone who has already lost everything—no background, no wealth, no dignity?"

"But didn't you ever think about—"

"What can I do?!" Toyokawa Shoko suddenly stood up as if she had lost control of her emotions, her chest heaving violently. "I can only kill them one by one! What else can I do?!"

It seemed that uttering those words had exhausted all her strength; she leaned back against the wall, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said softly as she slid down against the wall.

"...It's alright." Koshimura Sawa was silent for a few seconds. "So...who exactly wants to kill you?"

"No comment."

"Alright." Koshimura's voice sounded somewhat helpless.

Just as Toyokawa Shoko was about to say something, she saw him stand up expressionlessly, bend down and pick up the guitar sword that had fallen to the ground.

They walked step by step toward the direction where the body was.

To Toyokawa Shoko's astonished gaze, he raised the sword in his hand high.

Then, he stabbed the already mangled corpse hard!

puff!puff!puff!

Each thrust was accompanied by a dull, teeth-grinding thud.

But his face remained expressionless, as if what he saw was nothing more than a pile of garbage.

"Alright." He drew his guitar sword and sat down again next to Toyokawa Shoko.

"Now we're accomplices."

Toyokawa Shoko was completely stunned. She stared blankly at Koshimura Sawa's blood-stained profile, her mouth slightly open, unsure of what to say.

Just as Toyokawa Shoko was still reeling from the shock, Koshimura Sawa suddenly reached out his hand to her.

"Give me the phone."

Shoko Toyokawa was still a little dazed, and subconsciously took out her iPhone 13 from her pocket and handed it to him.

Damn, even the factory girl's phone is better than mine.

Koshimura took the phone, tapped the screen quickly a few times, and handed it back to her: "Okay, here's my Line and phone number. Contact me immediately if anything happens."

"If you don't listen to me, I'll find you by any means necessary and beat you until you contact me immediately if you're in danger."

Shoko Toyokawa blankly took the phone and stared at the new name that had appeared in her contacts.

For some reason, I felt a strange, long-lost warmth.

Her fingers tightened unconsciously around her phone.

"Thanks..."

"Ok?"

"It's nothing." Toyokawa Shoko stood up, brushing the dust off her clothes. "Although I don't know why you took pictures of me without my permission, but... you're probably not a bad person."