017 Acquire the True Treasure

About five minutes into the 1v1 face-off between Kamiyagawa Kazu and the headless JK in the forest.

The real world.

"Don't grab me there! Stop it! Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

Kamiyagawa's consciousness returned to reality, and he struggled to rise from the ground.

That's right, he had died.

He was defeated in the solo battle against the headless JK.

"It seems that the idea I could win by brute force was just an illusion," Kamiyagawa said as he rubbed his temples, picking up a newly generated damaged paper person from the ground.

Back in the game five minutes earlier.

Kamiyagawa had unleashed a ferociously powerful Grandiose Slash, slamming the headless JK hard onto the ground.

If this blow had landed on a regular person's shoulder, they would most likely have lost their ability to fight altogether.

But can you really compare ghost stories with people?

That thing doesn't play fair.

The headless JK convulsed a couple of times on the ground, then bounced back up in an extremely contorted position and, like an unrestrained wild dog, pounced on Kamiyagawa on all fours.

The two were instantly entangled in close combat.

The combat skills and muscular memory he had acquired from practicing Wild Tachi Self-Manifestation Style gave Kamiyagawa the ability to parry some of the headless JK's onslaught.

He didn't block everything, but at least he blocked half of it.

While using the sakura twig for defense, he also managed to strike the opponent's body several times with sweeping and vigorous blows.

Kamiyagawa's attacks were effective.

Under the consistent thrashing and chopping of the sakura twig, the headless JK was becoming increasingly weaker.

However, the same could be said for Kamiyagawa himself.

Being gripped and scratched by the headless JK, his life force was also rapidly depleting.

Ultimately, this back-and-forth spectacular battle ended with Kamiyagawa's inability to hold on any longer, an unfortunate conclusion.

Quickly recalling the details of the fight that had just occurred, Kamiyagawa took out his phone.

On the black screen, the usual red lettering appeared as a death notification. This time, the red words displayed were—

[Newbies Clashing]

Kamiyagawa: ...

Don't get angry, don't get angry.

Why lose your cool over a game prompt?

"Objectively speaking, I've made a lot of progress. Half a month ago when I first encountered the headless JK, I couldn't even fight back. And just now, it was a close defeat; I was just a little bit away from winning."

Kamiyagawa knew exactly where he fell short.

The weapon he had picked up was too inferior, inflicting limited damage on the headless JK.

Annoyed, Kamiyagawa said, "If only I had a sharpened weapon, it wouldn't even have to be a tachi, with a chopper I could completely take down that delicate JK!"

"Wait a second... chopper?"

...

Dusk.

As soon as the Substitute Paper Person was refreshed, Kamiyagawa logged into the game, heading straight for the artificial lake in the western area of Karyou Ghost School.

He vividly remembered picking up the Thousand Silver Needles there and getting tricked by the game when a headless JK with a chopper suddenly appeared behind him and took him out.

And that JK was carrying a chopper!

If that chopper was a droppable item, wouldn't it be much better than a sakura twig?

He needed to figure out a way to take down that chopper-wielding JK!

At a certain bench by the artificial lake, the spot where he had previously picked up the Thousand Silver Needles,

after standing there for just over ten seconds, Kamiyagawa heard a rustling sound coming from behind him.

It's here!

He spun around quickly.

Out of the corner of his eye, from behind some low bushes by the lake, he saw a headless JK gripping a gleaming chopper, sprinting out fast!

From the position of its hands on the chopper and the direction of its charge, one could easily surmise that it had a firm and clear target to attack—

That was Kamiyagawa's kidney.

Damn, what's with this guy's obsession with getting his kidneys killed!

The JK with a sugarcane knife is either an elite mob from the Karyou Ghost School, with a speed that is much faster than the others.

Even though Kamiyagawa came prepared this time, just as he was barely turning around, the JK with the sugarcane knife had already charged in front of him.

Pfft!

The sharp tip of the knife easily pierced through the skin, stabbing straight into Kamiyagawa's abdomen.

Ouch!

Even if the kidney wasn't punctured, it still hurt like hell!

Kamiyagawa was in pain, but being somewhat experienced with death by now, he didn't panic even with death looming over him.

"I hope the monsters in this crappy game can inflict damage on each other, otherwise my life tonight is wasted!"

Kamiyagawa grabbed the cold and soft back of the hand of the JK in front of him, which also meant grabbing the handle of the sugarcane knife stuck in his gut.

His left hand was already poised on the Mirage Pouch, and after bumping into the JK with the sugarcane knife, he quickly pulled out a small, moldy, salty fish snack.

Holding the fish snack, Kamiyagawa also took the opportunity to tightly embrace the more elastic, slender waistline of the JK with the sugarcane knife.

"Today, you're not getting away. Come on, let's use our bodies to make a nest for the sea witches in the lake!"

[Salted Fish Snack (common material). A fish snack cured with coarse salt, perhaps a preferred food of some spooky tale?]

Splash, splash—

Before the JK with the sugarcane knife could fully break free from Kamiyagawa's embrace, joyful splashes came from the artificial lake.

It seemed like something agile and terrifying was surging out!

The sound of coming out of the water was inherently a bit scary.

But at this moment, in Kamiyagawa's ears, it was like a mother's lullaby, bringing immense comfort.

"Great, they arrived quickly."

Several shadows flitted by, moving so fast they left afterimages.

This time Kamiyagawa caught glimpses of reflective scales, wet fur, and smelled a fishy odor. Soon after, he was dragged to the ground by a tremendous force.

Along with the JK with the sugarcane knife he was hugging tightly, they were both dragged into the artificial lake.

[Karyou Ghost School Member (mutant) has died, obtained 10 Soul Crystals!]

[Obtained Bloodstained Chopper!]

On the submerged phone, a blood-red death notice emerged—[Awesome]

...

Kamiyagawa, who was devoured by a group of sea witches, respawned back to reality.

As his consciousness returned, Kamiyagawa felt something extra in his palm.

It was a bright, blood-stained sugarcane knife.

Successfully obtained a treasured weapon!

Mission accomplished!

Raising his phone, the first thing he saw was the high praise summary offered by the death notice for the first time, [Awesome].

"Not bad, very impressive. It seems my smart moves have even dazzled the game system," Kamiyagawa smirked.

He tapped the screen and saw the information about the Bloodstained Firewood Knife—

[Item Name: Bloodstained Chopper]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Effect: Kidney Strike, piercing the kidney will cause additional massive damage to the enemy.]

[Description: Go ahead and stab, it's just a couple of kidneys.]

"A bonus damage for piercing kidneys... I just don't know how high the extra damage is."

But then again, I'm now a brawny swordsman skilled in Grandiose Slash.

What's valued is opening wide and closing big, fair and square.

This sugarcane knife ability to stab kidneys sneakily carries a cunning and sleazy air, somewhat mismatched with myself.

"Well, anyhow, I don't have any other weapons to use for now. I'll first test out the damage with the sugarcane knife in the game tomorrow."