Chapter 99: Phew, No Need to Lie on a Board Anymore
It was over!
Marisa was on the verge of tears, her mind already fast-forwarding to the month she'd have to spend recovering in a hospital bed.
But by some miracle, the Magic Cannon seemed to curve at the last second, bizarrely grazing past Haruto's hair without touching him.
She stood there, stunned, still clutching her Mini-Hakkero. The next second, pure, unadulterated joy erupted from her. She started dancing on the spot, waving the octagonal furnace around like a trophy.
"Whoa! I survived! I don't have to lie on a board after all, ze!"
"Come on, fire two more shots at me," Haruto said casually.
This time, however, Marisa refused, shaking her head so fast it looked like a rattle. No way was she tempting fate again.
"You don't seriously think that was just you missing or me getting lucky, do you?" Haruto sighed, a note of helplessness in his voice. "Haven't you noticed that Reimu hasn't been worried at all from the very beginning?"
Marisa finally paused. Her gaze shifted to Reimu, who was still sitting lazily on the tatami mats, her expression utterly devoid of tension.
Considering Haruto had just promised to take Reimu to "make big money," his status in her heart right now should have been of paramount importance. If he got hurt, her payday was at risk.
There was only one explanation—Reimu never believed for a second that Marisa's Magic Cannon could pose any real threat to this personal "God of Wealth."
As this thought settled, Marisa hesitantly raised the Mini-Hakkero again. Flames flickered to life as the furnace's core began to preheat once more.
"Well... be careful, then..."
Haruto didn't reply, only beckoning her forward with a gentle, almost lazy flick of his hand.
Boom—!
Another blinding pillar of starlight erupted from the furnace.
Just as the beam was about to incinerate him, Haruto's right foot shifted a mere inch to the side, and he tilted his head just so.
Whoosh—
BOOM—!
The Magic Cannon seared the very tips of his hair as it screamed past, slamming into the ground behind him and blasting a new crater into the shrine's courtyard.
"I get it! I've read about this in manga! It's that last-second dodge, using the smallest possible movement, isn't it?!" Marisa's delicate face lit up with even more excitement. Without another word, she immediately ramped up her magical energy output, firing three more Master Sparks in rapid succession.
Haruto easily sidestepped the first two beams. As the third one bore down on him, he simply condensed his youki into his left hand and gave the approaching torrent of energy a light swat—
The Magic Cannon instantly veered off course, smashing into a stone table not far away and shattering it into a thousand pieces.
Reimu, who had been leisurely sipping her tea, shot to her feet. But after a quick glance at the unharmed Haruto, she silently sat back down, though her eye twitched at the sight of the wreckage.
Haruto's clothes were only slightly dusty. He gave them a casual pat, completely unfazed. After all, he had undergone several days of "special training" in the Sunflower Field. Combined with the enhancements from his recent instance rewards, his strength was on a completely different level than it was during his fuzzy ball days.
Forget two or three blasts; he could probably dodge a dozen attacks of Marisa's caliber without breaking a sweat. As long as he wasn't caught by a direct, point-blank hit, Haruto was even confident he could defeat her in a real fight.
He pointed at the "Sunflower Field Day Trip" slip in Marisa's hand. "Now, do you still think this special training isn't worth it?"
"It's worth it!" Marisa nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling.
Reimu sipped her tea in silence, thinking to herself that this guy's ability to swindle people was becoming more and more proficient by the day.
After giving Marisa a few more reminders about what to expect in the Sunflower Field, Haruto returned to his room.
"Hurry up and ship the goods so we can collect the money," Reimu urged, handing the Ghost Phone to Haruto and rubbing her hands together in greedy anticipation.
"No rush," Haruto replied calmly, scrolling through the messages in the group chat. "We have the product and the reputation. Are you afraid we won't be able to sell it?"
The group was practically boiling over with activity.
Messages like "Freaking awesome!", "Big shot, please carry me!", and "How many instances have you even cleared?" scrolled by in a continuous, frantic stream.
Haruto thought for a moment, then selected a few questions to answer.
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: Including the instance in the video, I've cleared three so far. I'm a Newcomer, not some Veteran Player from launch.]
The moment he sent the message, the chat was instantly flooded with a tidal wave of question marks.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, someone cautiously typed out a question.
[Player A: Big shot, stop joking! You've only cleared three instances? Which means you'd only cleared two when you recorded that video? That's impossible.]
[Player B: Exactly. With your kind of strength, you're either a Mandated Person or a Veteran Player from the first batch who's managed to survive until now.]
Mandated Person?
Seeing the unfamiliar term, Haruto raised an eyebrow and typed a question back.
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: What is a Mandated Person?]
The group chat went quiet again before a member offered a concise explanation.
[Player C: They're a group of the top-ranked players in the Death Game. They get chosen by the system as 'Mandated Persons.' Unlike the rest of us, they can freely choose when to enter an instance.]
Free choice of time?
Haruto was somewhat surprised.
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: Doesn't that mean they can participate whenever they want, or just never participate if they don't feel like it?]
[Player C: Theoretically, yes, as long as their rank doesn't drop. However, for players at that level, entering an instance is no longer just about survival.]
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: Then what is it for? To become stronger?] Haruto pressed.
The person paused for a while before messaging back.
[Player C: I'm not exactly sure; it's all hearsay. But becoming stronger is likely just one reason. As for the rest... all I know is that among the Mandated Persons... some of them aren't even human.]
Not human?
Haruto's eyebrow rose again. He didn't doubt it for a second. The world was a vast and strange place; he never believed he was the only non-human chosen by the game.
Everyone in the chat had assumed Haruto was just playing dumb, but seeing that he seemed genuinely ignorant, they reluctantly began to believe he really was a Newcomer. Still, that didn't stop them from tagging "The Most Handsome Realm Demon" with a flood of new messages.
[Player D: I'm a total noob, big shot, please carry me!]
[Player E: With your current strength, Big Shot, even those Mandated Persons probably can't compare to you, right?]
Someone else chimed in.
[Player F: I've seen clear videos of Mandated Persons in action. While they made it look easy, they definitely didn't show the kind of overwhelming, god-slaying power you did.]
[Player G: +1.]
[Player H: How could they compare to the Big Shot? He can even slay gods!]
[Player I: Big Shot, if we run into trouble we can't handle, can we hire you to help?]
[Player J: Right, right, right! Big Shot, please help us clear instances!]
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: Thanks for the invite.] Haruto politely declined but left the door open a crack. [I'm not that strong, but if there's truly a problem you can't solve, you can post a commission. I'll consider taking it if I find it suitable.]
Liu Haoran suddenly popped up.
[Liu Haoran: Don't be so humble, Big Shot. If your strength isn't considered strong, then I, Liu Haoran, am just the weakest of the weak.]
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: I'm really not that strong,] Haruto replied with a helpless sigh. [Did you all forget? I said that parasol belongs to an older sister of mine, and the talisman cards attached to it in the video are hers too. Fighting that initial Butler was one thing, but dealing with that final monster... I couldn't have done it on my own.]
The group fell silent once more. After a moment, a player asked tentatively.
[Player K: Big Shot, is your sister a player too?]
[The Most Handsome Realm Demon: No.]
Haruto didn't try to hide it. It was no longer a secret that powers existed outside the confines of the Death Game.
No one in the group was a fool. Since Haruto hadn't intentionally hidden the details, they had already guessed he was using the power of a "relative." And now, they knew this "relative" was likely not human.
They connected the dots: Haruto's ID, "The Most Handsome Realm Demon"... a youkai?
The word instantly materialized in everyone's mind, and they collectively drew a sharp breath. Although they had long suspected the existence of non-human races, especially among the Mandated Persons, seeing it all but confirmed was another matter entirely.
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