011 Mirage Pouch

In the izakaya named Shirakiya, a terrifying scene was unfolding.

From the letter brought from the Strange Tale World, black sewage poured out like a dam bursting.

Nagasawa Keisuke, who was closest to the letter, was bound by the slippery, fishy-smelling black hair strands, unable to break free, and could only watch in despair as more and more sewage flooded out.

Soon, the water reached his ankles, then his thighs, then his waist and abdomen, and finally, his neck.

In less than a few minutes, Nagasawa Keisuke was completely submerged in the water.

The icy water rushed into his nostrils and filled his lungs, air was squeezed out of his body as he choked in despair.

Nagasawa Keisuke felt as though he had returned to that night eight years ago, when the wind was strong, and the water dark. However, this time, it was he himself who helplessly drowned in the water.

In his haze, Nagasawa seemed to hear Sachiko Kuriyama's voice.

"Keisuke, why are you just watching?"

"Keisuke, why did you leave me behind? Why aren't you with me?"

"Keisuke, do you love me?"

...

"Sir! Sir!"

"What are you standing there for? Call an ambulance!"

The owner and staff of Shirakiya were bewildered, as a customer in their establishment had suddenly fallen ill today.

There had been two customers who came in for lunch, a man who looked like a career elite and a handsome high school boy.

After the meal, the two seemed to have a bit of an argument, and finally, the high school boy slapped a piece of paper on the table and left first.

The man who was left behind sat idly in the restaurant for a while, and as he stood up to pay the bill, he started to have an attack.

He screamed hysterically, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying, overturning tables and chairs while shouting.

Then he collapsed on the ground, convulsing, with tears, snot, and drool flowing everywhere.

The owner of Shirakiya immediately called for an ambulance.

After a scramble, Nagasawa Keisuke was taken to the hospital.

The remaining staff began to clean up the mess in the restaurant.

After they had finished, nobody noticed that the white paper the high school boy had slapped on the table had quietly vanished.

But compared to a customer suddenly falling seriously ill in the restaurant, that kind of thing was trivial, wasn't it?

Besides, Nagasawa Keisuke, who was sent to the hospital, didn't die. On the contrary, after the doctor's examination, the conclusion was that his body was quite healthy.

In the end, Nagasawa Keisuke's sickly behavior that afternoon was preliminarily diagnosed as being caused by some kind of psychological disorder.

Inside the single patient room.

Nagasawa Keisuke had not yet come to and was still in a deep sleep.

On the bedside cabinet next to the hospital bed, there lay a piece of white paper quietly.

Unnoticed, uncared for.

It's unknown how much time passed before dirty marks of water flowed out on the white paper.

The sewage water reached the floor, forming crooked words—

"Keisuke, do you love me?"

Perhaps, the unknown "psychological disorder" that Nagasawa Keisuke suffered from would last for a very, very long time.

Who knows?

...

Strange Tale World.

Karyou Ghost School, the beginner's map.

After the Substitute Paper Person refreshed in the evening, Kamiyagawa promptly started the game and entered it.

As usual, he ignored the headless JK crying in the Sakura forest, adeptly avoided the minor monsters, and tiptoed towards the western area of the school where the Drowned Ghost resided.

By the artificial lake.

The spot where Drowned Ghost Sachiko Kuriyama had previously stood.

Kamiyagawa did not find Miss Kuriyama here, but he did see a small stack of fine gray-white crystalline stones on the ground, along with a small cloth pouch tied with a red string carrying the scent of salt and dampness.

[You've obtained 120 Soul Crystals!]

[You've obtained a Mirage Pouch (small)!]

[Item Name: Mirage Pouch (small)]

[Quality: Rare]

[Effect: Mirage Space. The internal space is much larger than its physical size, and it can significantly reduce the weight of the items stored within.]

[Description: This magical little pouch was found by the Drowned Ghost Sachiko Kuriyama at the bottom of the man-made lake. It might have been swept there by a hidden underwater current from some unknown water domain. At present, the phantom mirage space inside the pouch is quite small, and can hold only a limited number of items.]

"Lucky me, Miss Kuriyama sure is generous," Kamiyagawa grinned.

120 Soul Crystals, plus a rare quality item, that must be the reward for helping Sachiko Kuriyama.

For a simple task like delivering a message, the rewards are seriously generous.

Perhaps Miss Kuriyama, who was wealthy in life, remained wealthy even after becoming a Drowned Ghost?

120 Soul Crystals are enough for Kamiyagawa to go pay the tuition to the Sword Dao club's Red Ogre.

Coach, I want to learn swordsmanship!

And that space ring, ah no, Mirage Pouch is also a nice treasure.

When you play an RPG, what you do is push the story forward, complete quests, and pick up junk.

Kamiyagawa already had The Five Thunderbolt Method fragment and the Thousand Silver Needles in hand and as the game progressed, he was bound to pick up more and more junk.

Eventually, there'd be so much he wouldn't be able to carry it all.

The acquisition of the Mirage Pouch would solve that problem nicely, providing a home for all the selectively picked junk Kamiyagawa collected!

It's pretty much like a trash bag.

"Also, there's one line in the item description that's quite intriguing," he mused.

[It might have been swept there by a hidden underwater current from some unknown water domain.]

It seemed that there was probably a hidden current below the artificial lake that led to other bodies of water.

As far as Kamiyagawa knew, the artificial lake at Karin High School in reality was supposed to be closed off. But in the Strange Tale World's Karyou Ghost School, one couldn't simply compare things to how they were in reality; anything was possible.

"There's a hint about the map layout hidden in the item description. Looks like I need to pay closer attention in the future," he thought.

"Also, I wonder if the bottom of the artificial lake counts as part of the school. If it does, completing the quest to explore 80% of the Ghost School might be a bit tough."

Speaking of which, if I had chosen that Kappa's Fresh Cucumber at 50% new as my companion item, maybe I could have opened up this underwater map?

Kamiyagawa pondered for a short moment, but didn't dwell on it too much.

You have to look at issues with a view to development. The Kappa's Cucumber is just an excellent-quality item. Surely he'll be able to find a similar function item or a skill to replace it later on.

Next, Kamiyagawa opened the Mirage Pouch, intending to put the fragment of The Five Thunderbolt Method and the Thousand Silver Needles inside.

Upon opening the slightly salty-smelling pouch, he found an unexpected bonus.

There was something inside!

They were three small dried fish of similar size, possibly very old, with mold now covering their surfaces.

Since they were an extra gift, Kamiyagawa wasn't too picky and casually took one out.

[Salted Dried Fish (Common Material). These dried fish, cured with coarse salt, might be a favorite food of some strange tale creature?]

"Some strange tale?"

Kamiyagawa was muttering to himself as he looked at the text on his phone. Suddenly, the dark waters of the lake behind him burst into splashing sounds.

Splash splash—

It seemed something was churning out of the water!

Kamiyagawa was startled and turned around sharply, only catching a glimpse of several humanoid shadows in the corner of his eye.

These shadows moved incredibly quickly, leaving trails behind them. Kamiyagawa didn't even have time to see what these things were before he felt an immense pulling force at his ankles!

Splash!

Kamiyagawa was dragged headfirst into the lake in an instant.

On his phone screen, a red death notification popped up—

[Noob]