““A STALKER?!””
Jun and Asa screamed. Takumi didn’t say anything, but was making a grim face behind his bangs.
They had asked Saki who was the guy who dropped her off in front of the gate, and after telling them it was her brother Haru, Saki told them what happened to her yesterday.
“Are you okay, Saki? Did he do anything weird to you?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. He didn’t do anything, maybe because Haru-nii picked me up.”
Saki answered Asa who asked out of worry.
“I’m sorry you had to go through such a scary experience, Saki.”
“…but, why did they come for you, Saki-chan? I mean, if we assume it’s Daniel’s maniac fans, shouldn’t they go for Takumi who defeated him? I don’t see a reason why they’d come for you, it’s not like they know you’re with Takumi.”
Jun made a sound argument, but Asa challenged him.
“It must be because Saki is really cute, it doesn’t have anything to do with Omega.”
I know I would kidnap Saki for myself, added Asa. Saki didn’t know how to respond to that joke and could only let out a bitter laugh.
“Should I ask Momo-san?” Suggested Takumi out of nowhere. “I’m sure Momo-san knows about how to deal with a stalker.”
“N-no, please don’t! Momo-chan is a busy person, I don’t want to trouble her with the problems of someone like me. …Besides, Haru-nii said he’s going to drop me off to school everyday, so it’s fine.”
Saki immediately turned down Takumi’s suggestion, but Asa didn’t sound convinced.
“But, your brother is a university student, right? Maybe he can drop you off in the morning, but what if his classes lasted until late at night, who’s going to pick you up?”
“Well…”
“Here’s my idea. We’ve got two boys here, make use of them. They’re only good for times like this after all.”
Asa pointed at Takumi and Jun with her thumbs, earning a reprimanding “Oy,” from Jun.
“But, Takumi-kun has his training, and Jun-kun has club activities. I’ll feel bad if they have to make time for me. I’m fine, really, I’ll just stay in school until Haru-nii picks me up, and if push comes to shove, I can order a taxi and —ouch!”
As Saki was making her excuse, Asa flicked her forehead to make her stop speaking. Then, with her arms on her hips, Asa reprimanded Saki who was holding her forehead in pain.
“You’re a friend, Saki, not a burden. We’re not expecting something out of you, we’re here because we cherish you. Learn to depend on us, we want to be your help too.”
“That’s right. So what if I miss some club activities? You’re more important, Saki-chan.”
“Yep.”
“Asa-chan, Jun-kun…”
Saki looked at her two friends, almost unable to hold her tears back. That was when Jun and Asa turned to Takumi who had been silent the whole time.
Takumi looked confused, instigating a sigh from Asa. “You say something too, Takumi.”
Finally getting what they wanted out of him, Takumi racked his brain for a moment then opened his mouth.
“Well, you know…you said you want to be my friend, but friendship is a two-way relationship, so let me be a friend for you too?”
“Why did it become a question at the end?” Protested Asa.
“Takumi can say something good for a change,” commented Jun.
“Don’t force yourself, okay?” Saki supported him.
They asked him, and this is how they responded after Takumi gave them what they asked. Takumi began to wonder if he made friends with the wrong crowd.
A few moments later, the bell rang and Sasaki-sensei entered the classroom. It was time for homeroom.
♤♠♤♠♤
Lunch — a sacred time for any high schooler. Today, Jun was having lunch with the members of the soccer club, while Saki was invited to have lunch outside by her friends, meaning that today, for once, Takumi could enjoy his lunch in total serenity.
“—TAKUMI, WAS THIS YOU?!”
Or so he had hoped…
The one who interrupted Takumi right in the middle of saying “bon appetit” was Asa who walked in a hurry all the way from her clubroom. In her hand was her phone playing a video.
It was a TikTok video about a cropped up guy pointing up and explaining something. After the video looped, Takumi finally captured everything that the guy was saying.
To summarize, the guy was talking about Daniel Mitchell aka Kurosaki Zero. Starting from Daniel’s debut last year, the number of people who fell victim to him and his fans, and the various scandals that he was part of. The video continued with the guy saying that Zero was defeated by a mysterious newbie from Japan, and the video was transitioned to an edited clip of Takumi walking with blackened Ame-no-Masamune, the frames were interpolated and edited to give Takumi more swag in each step. At the end, he showed Takumi’s official Twitter account that Shizuka was managing, telling his viewers to click follow.
“There’s this too.”
Saying that, Asa scrolled up a few videos then showed her phone to Takumi again.
What Takumi was shown was an edited highlight of him battling Daniel. There was also an obnoxious English song that didn’t fit the theme of the video playing over it.
After looking at it, Takumi opened his mouth.
“Yeah, that’s me. Why?”
He answered honestly, not showing any sign of gloating. He didn’t see a reason to hide it from Asa.
For a moment, a mixture of emotion was seen flashing across Asa’s face, before she let out a sigh. It felt like she’d been sighing a lot when it came to Takumi.
“…I knew you started participating in Omega Battle, but I didn’t think it would be this big of a deal. It feels weird to see someone I know being viral on TikTok.”
Asa grumbled as she scrolled down again. Takumi looked at her, then looked at his lunchbox. After saying “bon appetit” once again, he started eating his lunch without minding Asa.
Asa, who’d gotten used to Takumi marching at his own pace, opened her mouth again. Though, oddly, she looked a bit sheepish.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Say, can I ask you something Omega related?”
“Nn?”
Takumi tilted his head 45 degrees, still chewing his food.
“How does it feel like…you know…entering a Dungeon?”
“…Dungeon?”
Asked Takumi after he gulped his food.
As far as Takumi knew, the word Dungeon largely referred to two different things.
The first was a room or a cell where prisoners were held, usually underground. This kind of dungeon could be found within a castle, a fortress, or a stronghold, ranging from a simple cell to a chamber of torture.
The second was a word often seen in the context of video games. A dungeon in a video game typically referred to a specific area within the game that was designed to give players challenges such as puzzles and enemies, with the promise of treasures at the end of it.
Unless he missed another definition of Dungeon, Takumi couldn’t understand why Asa specifically used that word.
Seeing Takumi’s presumably confused face behind his bangs, Asa elaborated further.
“You know, Dungeons like in isekai fantasy stories. Lately, there are a lot of stories on web novel sites about Dungeons from another world suddenly appearing in our world, right? And in these stories, people stream themselves while they’re exploring the Dungeons and being overpowered, right? And these E…whatever Zones, they also appeared out of nowhere, and you can use psychic abilities which are like Skills and Magic and stuff inside of it, right? Don’t you think that’s too much of a coincidence to have so many similarities? If you ask me, these whatever Zones are actually Dungeons from another world, but Omega and the government keep them to themselves for their own profit. As someone who’s entered the Dungeon, what do you say, Takumi?”
Looking at Asa who talked much more than she ever was, Takumi gulped his food and opened his mouth.
“I didn’t know you read that kind of novel, Imai-san.”
That was when Asa realized she’d been blabbing around by herself. She hid her reddened face behind her hands that she crossed in front of Takumi.
It was kind of adorable.
“I-it’s fine, right? I’m part of the literature club, and this kind of novel is actually fun once you’ve read them. Besides, it feels real with those Zones actually existing in real life.”
“I guess so.”
“So, how is it? Do you have, like, a Status window popping up when you enter it?”
Asa asked out of genuine curiosity.
If it was Jun, he would say “there’s no way that’s true, Asa-chan,” and laughed. If it was Saki, she would start rambling about some content creators who organized a LARP session in an EXP zone, pretending as if they were actually in an isekai Dungeon. Neither of them would answer her question outright.
Asa knew they both had no malice, but she didn’t want to get those responses either.
In that sense, whilst Takumi was as sociable as a dead fish in the market, he was at least genuine and honest.
This was a part of Takumi that Asa had come around to.
“No, there’s no such thing as a Status window. Other than being able to use ESP, being inside an EXP zone feels totally normal.”
As expected, Takumi answered Asa honestly without any bias.
“But then, how do you even use psychic powers? I’ve seen Fighters screaming the name of their attacks, like Fireball! Or Momo Beam! But I don't see you doing that in the clip. Or is it that? You’re a prodigy who can use chantless magic?”
Chantless Magic? Takumi wasn’t sure what Asa meant, it was probably an isekai fantasy thing, but he still racked his brain to find an appropriate analogy to describe the feeling of wielding psychic power.
“Hmm…entering an EXP zone feels like you suddenly remember how to move a third arm, I think.”
“A third arm?”
“My coach can explain it better than me, but for example, when you sit seiza for a prolonged length of time, your legs will fall asleep, right? But if you keep sitting like that for, say, years, your nerves will die and you will lose all sensation in your legs.”
“…that sounds scary.”
Asa shuddered at the thought, but Takumi wasn’t done.
“That is what happened with psychic power. It’s a limb that we never use our whole lives, and we can only use it inside an EXP zone. At first you don’t know how to use it, but after repeated practice, you’ll be able to move it as naturally as your arms.”
“It sounds like rehabilitation to me.”
Maybe it is, said Takumi under his breath, validating Asa’s observation.
“…but then why do people scream attack names? I read from somewhere that synchronized motoric functions, like moving your paralyzed limb together with your other limbs, helps rebuild damaged nerves, is that something like that? Does screaming the name of an attack create a connection with a set of actions in your brain, like Pavlov’s dog who salivates when he hears the bell rings?”
“No, it’s because it sounds cool.”
Takumi casually brushed off Asa’s brilliant theory.
“—according to Saki, that is. My Fighter senior said it’s to build engagement with the audience. By shouting the name of your attack, the audience can expect what kind of move you will make next. Especially if you shout the name of an ultimate attack, the audience will be hyped up to see a big attack incoming. Omega Battle is less about battle and more about entertainment, or so she said.”
“…That’s such an underwhelming but logical reason.”
Asa looked a bit disillusioned.
“So…it’s not a Dungeon from another world, is it?”
“I’m not sure.”
A hint of disappointment was heard from Asa, but Takumi once again denied her.
“Many scientists believe that parallel worlds exist. EXP zones might not be the kind of fantasy Dungeons from isekai fantasy stories, but they could be something from a parallel world where psychic powers are commonplace and just happen to somehow end up here.”
Takumi was reminded of Amrita. The Indian woman would start to ramble on about the freakish nature of EXP zones out of nowhere when she was frustrated.
“…Takumi, are you trying to console me?”
“?”
“Nevermind. Haah.”
Asa let out a defeated sigh. She really let out a lot of sighs when it came to Takumi. This time, however, a small smile showed on her lips.
“Well, thanks for accompanying me chatting. I should go back to the clubroom and continue my lunch.”
“Sure thing.”
Asa stood from her desk and left the classroom. As Takumi finished his lunchbox, he wondered whether that was the first time he and Asa talked just by themselves.
♤♠♤♠♤
LoveGrimmjow #Hallow — Yesterday at 23:41 PM
Cya losers
I’m out of here
—————— June 2nd, 2022 ——————
Aizen86 — Today at 1:23 AM
I’m leaving too.
They’ll be hot on my ass if they know I’m receiving dough from you
Don’t blame the player, blame the game.
Aizen86 — Today at 1:27 AM
For what it’s worth, you were a good client.
Best of luck in your next tidings @Zero
—Daniel looked at the screen of his laptop, color drained from his face. He just woke up after drowning himself in alcohol the day before. His head was throbbing from a hangover, and yet he had to deal with this transgression.
This was supposed to be a fun little trip to Japan. He’d go to maid cafes in Akiba, earn some money from Battles, then spend them all on figurines.
Everything was going perfectly until two days ago. His draw against Isshin wasn’t that bad, he’d gotten a win in a Battle beforehand and Isshin just barged in on his victory.
However, it was his defeat against Kou that he couldn’t stand.
Daniel had tasted defeat before, obviously. However, if it was any other time, Aizen would get the address of his opponent and he’d tell that to his friends on Discord. What they do with that information, Daniel didn’t care.
However, that battle against Kou was different.
Kou not only defeated Daniel, he humiliated him in front of thousands of people. Worse yet, the clip of that Battle was going around the internet and had been watched by millions. Daniel lost his face, a lot of people left his Patreon and Discord server. Even his most trustworthy friends, who’d usually stay with Daniel no matter how many times he was defeated, left him. They refused to listen to him no matter what excuse he made up. In fact, they ridiculed Daniel with hurtful words he didn’t know they were capable of saying.
That was obvious. People Daniel attracted were not the kind of people driven by sympathy, but people who relish in schadenfreude from the suffering that Daniel brought upon his victims. Now that it was Daniel who’d become the victim, they simply took him as the butt of the joke.
And with that, Daniel’s empire that he had painstakingly built over the past year, crumbled in just a single night.
Daniel felt his entire life was crumbling down and he could do nothing about it.
That was when—
Otaku King — Today at 11:56
You wake up now?
@Zero
@Zero
Whatever.
Just know that you brought this to yourself. Even I can’t help you now.
I told you to hold onto your last remaining money, but I’ve known you the longest, I can tell you just blew it all up on booze anyway.
Zero — Today at 12:02
fuck off
Otaku King — Today at 12:02
Fuck YOU.
While you’re busy getting fuckfaced I’m out there doing my homework
Look at this
https://twitter.com/ichibankoocho_/status/…
—Daniel clicked on the hyperlink. It redirected to a day-old tweet of what seemed to be the account of a school headmaster.
When he clicked Translate Post, the status said as followed:
“My student is an Omega Fighter. #Omega #OmegaBattle #Battle”
Under it was the gif of Kou walking towards Daniel with Ame-no-Masamune in hand. Looking at the replies, the owner of the account seemed to use it to gloat over other headmasters from other schools.
A notification ping was heard, and Daniel opened his Discord back—
Otaku King — Today at 12:05
@Zero
I saw a girl with pins on her bag that night.
She goes to this school.
I’m sure she has something to do with Kou. We’ll make him pay.