Chapter 147: The STG Player Without an Umbrella on a Rainy Day.jpg

"Yuuji, you don't look so good. What's been going on lately?"

The class president and his friend, Chi Sok-in, asked with concern.

The boy, Sakai Yuuji, looked exhausted, always tired, as if merely standing there had drained him completely, and he could collapse at any moment.

His aura had also changed mysteriously—no longer lazy, but now harder and more streamlined.

Occasionally, classmates caught glimpses of strange black, rigid lines flickering across his face when he turned his head, as if his entire demeanor had shifted.

He slowly shook his head, his face filled with regret and pain.

"I wanted to help. I wanted to fight alongside you against the Red World."

Why had he ever said something so stupid that day? Now every night became a terrifying, grueling training hell.

"Small cup!"

That evaluation still echoed in his ears.

Boom!

Boom boom boom!

Flame bullets and fireballs, no bigger than a palm, spun within the seal, some fast, some slow, their paths blurred, stirring invisible ripples in the air—though lacking power and damage, that was only true for Fire Breath Warriors.

Even the most ordinary Free Art light projectiles, when they struck Sakai Yuuji, easily sent him flying; though not lethal, the pain was just as intense.

He endured this pain hundreds of times each night.

—Bullet hell.

That strange man, who seemed to harbor vague malice toward him and looked like a demon, had smirked and named this training method thus.

"I'm still alive…"

A muffled voice, tinged with pain, Sakai Yuuji struggled to rise—he'd marveled more than once that even a Torch could survive being blasted away; if he were still human, he'd surely be dead from internal ruptures by now.

"What's the point of this?"

"Dodging bullets is part of Free Art etiquette—whether you like it or not, you play… Kid, this is all for your own good."

Seconds later, a crimson downpour, humming as it cut through the air, surged toward Sakai Yuuji—the boy who had been an ordinary human not long ago.

More astonishing still, he maneuvered his body to barely evade most of the barrage, with only occasional hits grazing his arms and legs.

Chaotic existence energy churned the air; the shriek of gales mixed with intense heat waves flooded his senses, and the occasional pain sharpened his mind, restoring focus and clarity unlike ever before.

In that fleeting instant, time seemed to sink into mud; everything before him became crystal clear, and Sakai Yuuji strained to calculate every bullet's trajectory and landing point, minimizing his injuries as much as possible.

"Good. That's acceptable."

Indeed, pressure brings progress.

Though his posture was clumsy, his reactions and movements had grown refined enough to qualify as a competent gymnastic monkey—he could even barely join a street dance crew now.

After enduring pain and gaining progress, he underwent a remarkable transformation.

At least he was no longer vulnerable to being taken down by a single blow from a passing Red World being; combined with the "Favor" ring of the fireproof barrier, his safety was reasonably assured until the Dance of the Masked Party kidnapped him to have the "Ritual Serpent" possess him.

Of course, achieving this level of training within just one month was impossible without frequent healing using existence energy—applied brutally to his wounded body.

That existence energy came from himself; after all, it regenerated automatically at midnight, and if he didn't use yesterday's, it would be wasted.

"Next, training in sensing murderous intent."

Jia Ji seized a massive steel sword nearby, weighing over a hundred kilograms—solidly forged, golden hilt, faintly etched patterns, clearly designed as a training tool that sacrificed everything for sheer weight.

He swung the sword once, and instantly, a violent wind pressure, born of pure strength alone, split the ground with a ten-meter-long crack, making Sakai Yuuji, watching nearby, flinch and stagger, his thin frame trembling.

Though it seemed to possess only weight, this exaggerated sword was in fact a magic treasure—"Vampire·Brotsaog"—and when infused with existence energy, crimson patterns emerged, granting it the ability to injure opponents merely through contact, without needing to strike them directly.

Jia Ji had acquired it one day while walking, helping Xia Na buy pineapple buns, when he encountered two Red World beings—some minor fools called the Aichan siblings—and took it as spoils of battle.

Beside them stood a middle-aged man in sunglasses and a suit, smoking—a top-tier Red Worlder acting as their bodyguard: Shu De Nai, one of the Three Pillars of the Dance of the Masked Party.

In ancient mythology, the figure known as Chi You was none other than Shu De Nai; without holding back, he could take on twenty thousand Fire Breath Warriors alone.

When Jia Ji passed them by, he suddenly struck—two punches, one each, sending the incestuous Aichan siblings straight to hell; Shu De Nai reacted instantly, transforming into a chimera.

After trading two direct blows with Jia Ji, his arms exploded into purple flames, and Shu De Nai, as expected, wore the expression: "Who the hell are you?" and "What the actual fuck is this?"

"The 'Zero-Time Miso' you seek is in our possession—inside a Mistis named Sakai Yuuji."

Jia Ji had voluntarily revealed this information; after a long, piercing look at him, Shu De Nai withdrew—whether true or false, such a vital clue demanded consultation with the "Strategist" back at the Starlit Palace.

"So—are you ready?" Jia Ji twisted his wrists, gripping "Brotsaog" with both hands, aiming straight at the centerline of Sakai Yuuji's body, forced to face the onslaught.

Yuuji swallowed hard, nodded, his gaze resolute as if marching to death—truly manly.

He knew that whether he was ready or not, that absurdly massive sword would strike him in the next second.

"White Emperor Sacred Sword! Eat my Giant Lion Slash!"

"Wait… what is that?"

This New Year's sword technique, capable of cleaving a building in two, never came down.

In their eyes, reflected an impossible spectacle.

Amidst the gloomy, dark crimson sky, a phoenix rose from the ground, blazing like a radiant sun, spreading its glory through the stagnant seal.

(End of Chapter)