After Asfi took the letter and departed, Xia Jia was brought to the backyard by Astraea—a space cluttered with various documents and books.
“These are the records and notes left behind by the children who explored in the past.
Before you start your adventures, I think it would be better for you to study here for a while, Xia-chan.”
Following the Goddess’s gaze, Xia Jia picked up a book at random; it was a formula for manufacturing gunpowder, apparently a manuscript from a senior member of the Familia who was born in the City of Criminals.
Beyond that, there were magic insights from senior mages and other knowledge regarding the practical application of magic.
“There’s even a map of the Dungeon here.”
“Yes,” Astraea’s gaze flickered.
“These are all the fruits of our predecessors’ hard work.
You must absorb them well, Xia-chan.
Do not let the efforts of our predecessors go to waste.”
“Understood.”
Xia Jia nodded earnestly.
To be honest, without these notes, Xia Jia might not have even known how to cast magic or how to mobilize his mental energy.
In the world of DanMachi, magic is not simply a matter of reciting an incantation to release it successfully.
Leaving aside short-form incantations and instant-cast types like Bell’s, during the process of long-form or even ultra-long-form incantations, if an error occurs in the mobilization of mental energy, a massive explosion can occur.
Perhaps due to the blessing, the risk is reduced, but the probability of such an accident still exists.
Therefore, parallel incantation is a required course for high-level magic swordsmen and is classified as an advanced technique.
With at least another week before Asfi would return to Orario after delivering the letter, Xia Jia decided to use this week to absorb knowledge and complete his own plans.
Just as he was about to set his grand designs in motion, Xia Jia encountered his first problem in this other world.
“I won’t let you live and eat here for free!”
At lunchtime, Cecile delivered a ruthless ultimatum: “In normal circumstances, as the ‘Captain,’ I would naturally help you as a ‘member,’ but…”
Cecile shook her finger: “But!
Right now, we are opponents!
I will not engage in such conduct that helps the enemy!”
After speaking, her stiff expression faltered slightly, and she added:
“At…
at the very least, until we decide the winner, I won’t help you!
You must find a way to earn Valis yourself to cover food and lodging, including commissioning equipment for adventuring.”
Looking somewhat ashamed, Cecile turned red as she concluded: “In, in short, before you think about beating me, worry about how to solve your own hunger first!”
“If you are willing to surrender, it’s not like I couldn’t find it in my heart to help you.”
Girl, ‘tsundere’ is already out of style…
Xia Jia did not feel angry; it was entirely expected—this was simply the advantage of being a girl.
Come to think of it, the fact that she actually considered covering his expenses after they decided the winner was quite surprising.
I am a man who has women willing to support him!
However, as things stood, a huge problem had emerged: Xia Jia was out of money.
The 50,000 Valis he got from Asfi had been reduced by 10,000 to gather information.
The remaining 40,000 Valis was barely enough to acquire a set of beginner adventurer equipment.
This was not Orario.
In the Sword City, which was teeming with blacksmiths, the weapons created by just any smith were far from garbage.
Naturally, there was no such thing as equipment sold specifically to novice adventurers.
In the Sword City, blacksmiths were obsessed with fame and technique; “trash” had no value here.
Even if a novice blacksmith produced a defective item, it would be melted down and reforged.
The inner-competition was pushed to the extreme, so it was almost impossible to buy a set of cost-effective armor for 20,000 Valis.
One could say that this directly blocked Xia Jia’s plan to go out and hunt monsters.
However…
“I’m not in that much of a rush to level up, anyway.”
Xia Jia was waiting—waiting for the moment when Ryuu learned of his existence and provided a baseline of favorability.
Once that happened, even if he had to go out bare-handed to take on some surface-level commissions, it wouldn’t be difficult.
Until then…
Xia Jia needed knowledge, and further development of his [Mystery].
Three days later…
Asfi set off to return to Orario, and Xia Jia went to see her off.
Upon learning that Xia Jia had joined the Astraea Familia, Hermes didn’t show much reaction, but instead handed Xia Jia a business card with a meaningful look.
“I imagine you aren’t the type to be satisfied with mediocrity and will eventually go to Orario.
Take this; it’s the card of a merchant caravan I’m familiar with.
When you want to head to Orario, you can ask them for help.”
Xia Jia took the card, glanced at it, and tucked it away securely.
“Thank you very much.”
“No problem.
Next time you come to Orario, remember to come find me.
I’ll take you to see some ‘good stuff,'” Hermes laughed suggestively.
After seeing Asfi off, Xia Jia returned to the smithy, but Astraea pulled him aside and cautioned him:
“You rejected Hermes’s invitation.
While he seems unbothered now, he will likely play some pranks on you, so be careful if you meet him again.”
Xia Jia froze for a moment, then fell into thought.
It was true; he had left Hermes to come to Astraea’s side without even saying goodbye, which was indeed somewhat impolite.
Remembering how Hermes liked to mess with Bell, while it wouldn’t be fatal, he would likely be in for some misery.
Xia Jia nodded: “I understand, I will be careful.”
Astraea smiled: “Alright, let’s continue.
We should be able to experiment with your magic today.”
Indeed, in three days, Xia Jia had skillfully mastered the technique of converting mental energy into magic power through incantation.
In other words, he could now use magic.
The two arrived in the backyard.
This was the area Cecile used for testing swords, where several wooden target dummies stood, looking the part.
“Come on!”
Xia Jia closed his eyes, mobilized his mental energy, and gradually formed magic power.
“Foundation of the world, endpoint of time, dual destiny is inevitable.
Shine, heroes of the heavens and worlds, listen to the call of the descender!
Stars, gather here!”
Following the basic incantation method, as the chant concluded, a thumb-sized spatial void appeared in front of Xia Jia.
“It’s so small!”
Xia Jia attempted to thrust a thin sword into the spatial gate, and instantly, a notch appeared on a target in the distance.
He then tried to move it left and right to see if the spatial gate could cut objects; the result was…
“It doesn’t work?
The magic itself has no attack power; objects touching the boundary become intangible and don’t take normal effect.”
It was as if no matter how you grazed it from the outside, if you wanted to hit the bullseye, you had to aim precisely.
As Xia Jia mobilized more mental energy, the gate expanded suddenly, reaching the width of three fingers before instantly annihilating.
Xia Jia panted heavily.
I’m spent after just one go.
I really am weak.
Astraea analyzed from the side: “Based on your current mental energy, this is about your limit.
As your magic stat increases, the size and duration of the gate will also change.”
Xia Jia nodded, and after resting for a moment, said: “Then, let’s proceed to the next experiment.”
Saying this, Xia Jia placed a goblin’s finger bone on the ground and used melted magic stone solution, stolen Mithril, and iron to sketch a magic circle on the floor.
With the blessing of [Mystery], Xia Jia used this method to temporarily imbue the current location with [Mage].
The Development Ability [Mage] allows a magic user to manifest a magic circle at their feet to increase the power of their magic.
Xia Jia was simply using [Mystery] to manually replicate this effect to temporarily enhance his magic.
“I remember that Amid, the Saint of the Battlefield, relied on [Mystery] to construct magic circles to increase the intensity of her healing magic, and was even able to split magic for multiple uses.”
“It’s a kind of field-creation skill.”
“Not only that, even without [Harmony], she assisted the gods in creating elixirs; you could say she mastered [Mystery] to its extreme.”
Having completed the magic circle, Xia Jia began to rely on [Mystery] to attempt to tamper with the magic incantation, thereby changing the magic mode within a certain range.
“Element of silver and iron.
Foundation of stone.”
“Surging wind, blocked by four walls.”
“Block the gates of the abyss, descend from within the barrier.”
A red pillar of light erupted from the magic circle on the ground, and the goblin finger bone, which had originally been reduced to a drop item, underwent a startling change.
A short, green-skinned figure appeared within the circle.
The throwing goblin that Xia Jia had previously defeated appeared once again, now as a summoned creature.
“Success.”
Cold sweat broke out on Xia Jia’s forehead, and a wave of dizziness washed over his brain.
Its combat strength was fundamentally no different from when it was alive.
Fifteen minutes later, the goblin dissolved into spots of light, and the goblin finger bone that served as the medium disappeared as well.
“To actually resurrect a deceased monster to fight in coordination…
this is truly a miracle.”
“Yes.” Xia Jia looked at Astraea and said: “Another piece of my puzzle is complete.
Now I can try further.”
“There’s more?”
Even Astraea was startled.
Using the Descent Magic to summon the original through a monster’s material was already terrifying enough.
This meant that if he had a scale of the Black Dragon, and provided he had enough magic power, Xia Jia could even summon the Black Dragon itself.
But now, Astraea was hearing that Xia Jia intended to go even further.
“What are you going to do?”
Xia Jia revealed a mysterious expression: “It will definitely take you by surprise.”
After resting for the day, by the time his mental energy had fully recovered, it was already night.
Under the moonlight, Xia Jia and Astraea returned to the clearing, accompanied by Cecile.
Xia Jia slowly approached the constructed magic circle and reached into his chest pocket to take out a badge of a sword and wings.
“That is…” Astraea’s expression went blank.
“The Captain’s badge that Alise once wore.”
Under the Goddess’s shocked expression, Xia Jia placed the badge in the center of the magic circle and began to chant:
“Fill.
Fill.
Fill.”
…
“I am the one who achieves all virtuous acts in the world.
I am the one who punishes all evil in the world.
You are the seven days entangled by the three great spirit echoes, coming from the wheel of suppression; Guardian of the Balance—!”
A crimson light flashed by, and with a muffled grunt, Xia Jia collapsed to the ground.
After thinking it over, Kobayashi Hikaru couldn’t come up with any reason other than this for why Kujo Tetsu would come looking for him.
The more he thought about it, the more grateful he felt toward Tetsu.
Not just because Tetsu had saved him and driven out the thing that had been fighting him for his body.
But because back then, Tetsu had only beaten him with a wooden sword instead of using something worse.
In Hikaru’s eyes, that made him a literal saint.
If the circumstances allowed it, he would have wanted to kneel on the spot and kowtow.
Seeing that Hikaru’s mind was still relatively clear, Tetsu relaxed slightly.
Glancing at Mr.
and Mrs.
Kobayashi, who were watching nervously through the window, he got straight to the point.
“Tell me what happened during the Substitute Game.”
Hikaru nodded and sank into his memories, beginning his account.
“It was 2022.”
“My girlfriend and I train at the same kendo hall, so after practice that day, we were planning to go do karaoke with another couple from the dojo.”
At this point, Hikaru let out a bitter laugh.
“But Misa ended up talking to another girl about the Substitute Game.
Then she turned to me and asked, if she got replaced by one of the dead and everyone’s memories of her were altered, would I still be able to tell it wasn’t really her just by instinct.”
“At the time, all I wanted was to prove how I felt.
And I also figured there was no way ghosts and spirits were real, right?
So in a moment of hot-headed stupidity, I agreed.”
“The other couple wanted to try it too, so we decided to do it that same night.”
Tetsu said nothing.
He just listened.
Honestly, Hikaru’s story matched Tetsu’s image of teenage couples perfectly.
Girls liked using little emotional tests to probe their feelings, turning them into romantic games.
And boys, eager to prove themselves, would stubbornly agree.
As for what happened next, Hikaru explained it clearly enough.
To make it more exciting, they picked the most famous cursed building in Chiba City as their location.
Back when he’d first gotten the system, Tetsu had often farmed wandering spirits there for levels.
He had even exorcised a vengeful spirit there once.
But lately, he hadn’t been going anymore.
“You lot were pretty bold.”
Thinking of what that building was really like, even Tetsu had to shake his head.
For him, it had only ever been beginner-zone material.
But for ordinary high school students, it was genuinely dangerous.
Even without the Substitute Game, running into a single vengeful spirit there could have cost them their lives.
Hikaru gave a pained smile.
“Yeah.
We really had no respect for this kind of thing.”
Then they sat in that cursed building until 3:30 in the morning on Sunday, and followed the book’s instructions to light the candles.
And, unfortunately, the candle with the special marking ended up in Hikaru’s hands.
“At first, I didn’t think anything of it.
I just followed the rules, took the picture, and then went over to the window with my candle, planning to wait out the thirty minutes before going back to where we’d gathered.”
“The others each found their own corners and planned to wait it out too.”
“But then something started to feel wrong.”
A look of real terror slowly spread across Hikaru’s face, and his pupils trembled.
“I’d been scrolling on my phone the whole time.
Then, when about fifteen minutes had passed, I suddenly lost signal.”
“And then I started hearing all these different voices in my ears.
It felt like countless pairs of eyes had all turned to stare at me.”
Hikaru swallowed hard, his hands gripping the bedsheets beneath him.
“Then the scenery in front of me changed.
The abandoned building turned into a burned-down school.”
“A school?”
Was it Yomiyama Junior High?
Tetsu guessed as much.
Seeing Hikaru’s mental state starting to waver, he placed a hand on the boy’s forehead and used his spiritual power to calm him.
“Yes!” Hikaru nodded hard.
“At the time, I was standing outside a classroom labeled Class 3-3, and every shadow inside turned to look at me.”
“I panicked.
I just wanted to run, but the shadow standing at the teacher’s desk lunged at me.”
“Then I realized I couldn’t move my body anymore.
All I could do was watch as my own body walked out of the school building.”
“And after that?
How did you get out?”
Tetsu calmly sorted through Hikaru’s account.
Since Hikaru was still lying here instead of having been fully replaced, and had only ended up struggling with the dead for control of his body, it meant the Substitute Game hadn’t fully succeeded.
“It was a girl with an eyepatch.”
Hikaru took a deep breath.
“I don’t know if she was alive or not, but she grabbed the candle out of my hand and snapped it in half.
The moment she did, I found myself back in the abandoned building.”
“At that point, I had temporary control of my body again, so I ran home.”
“At the time, I honestly thought it was over.
But then…”
A bitter smile spread across his face.
“After that, my parents noticed something was wrong and sent me here.”
Tetsu rubbed his chin.
He had the sequence more or less straight now.
That explained why Hikaru hadn’t been fully replaced and yet had still ended up like this.
The core of the spirit game was really just a summoning ritual for something inhuman.
Even though the candle had gone out, it hadn’t gone out according to the proper method, so the dead thing had remained inside Hikaru instead of being sent away.
At the same time, it also hadn’t been able to completely overwrite Hikaru’s existence, leaving the two of them locked in a struggle over the body. This chapter was taken from novelping . com without permission.
The school Hikaru had seen should indeed have been the Other Side of Yomiyama Junior High.
What was strange was the girl who had saved him.
Was she a benevolent spirit like Suzumoto Mayu?
Or a living person with the ability to glimpse the hidden side of the world, like the Godmother?
There were still too many unanswered questions.
But Tetsu had gotten a fair amount out of Hikaru’s story.
It looked like he would have to play this Substitute Game himself.
No matter how detailed someone else’s description was, nothing beat experiencing it firsthand.
“That’s everything,” Hikaru said.
“Kujo-sama, is there anything else you want to ask?”
Tetsu was certain Hikaru had told the truth.
People could lie, but instinctive emotional responses did not.
That said, the truth as a person understood it was not always the truth of what had really happened.
There was still one thing that didn’t add up.
Looking at Hikaru, Tetsu asked his final question.
“Can you get me in touch with your girlfriend?”
Yes.
If Hikaru had been dragged into Yomiyama Junior High’s Other Side because he drew the ‘extra’ candle, then wound up in a fight with the dead over his body and landed in a psychiatric hospital, that explained why he hadn’t gone to school.
But then why had his girlfriend shut herself up at home and refused to come out?
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught “Equilibrium”?
l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I’m a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh!
— Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220)
“Is this chat group even serious?” (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal!
(Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World?
65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I’m Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
“I’m just a Valkyrie passing through.” 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi – Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon?
55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime?
80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero?
75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai’s Otherworld?
Wait—Who Are You People?!
80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I’m Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I’m Konoha’s Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki,
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught “Equilibrium”?
l (Chapter 80) Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178) Zenless Zone Zero: I’m a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 ) TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110) Yu-Gi-Oh!
— Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter220) “Is this chat group even serious?” (Chapter125) I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal!
(Chapter250) Can Playing Games Save the World?
65 Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77 From Junkman to Wasteland 66 Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31 I’m Grinding Proficiency Like 46 From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220 Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42 Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65 Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185 From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20 The Way the Umamusume Look at 68 Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248 Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65 Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76 Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66 My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65 Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230 Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154 I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40 The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125 Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67 Uma Musume: From Beginner 145 Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85 Uma Musume: I Want All 120 I Can Copy Unique Skills 115 Summoning an Evil God, but the 75 Supernatural Multiverse 110 My Harem Is Indescribable 100 Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105 “I’m just a Valkyrie passing through.” 67 Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105 Still playing traditional Honk 80 The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85 What Should I Do After Switchi – Volume2/3 Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78 Hell-Difficulty Dungeon?
55 Transmigrated as Sukuna 80 Checking In in Demon Slayer 85 The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100 I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85 My Best Friend Into a Slime?
80 A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90 What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero?
75 Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80 Why did they assign me to Uma 75 MYGO Beauties 70 DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70 The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80 Honkai’s Otherworld?
Wait—Who Are You People?!
80 Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57 The Uma Musume Who Became 55 I’m Definitely Not the King of 60 After Maxing Out Every Class 45 Naruto: I’m Konoha’s Local Men 35 Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34 I, the Elden Sword Saint 27 Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24 No One Knows Pokémon Better 18 I, Sakazuki,