The group walked along a mountain path… mm, Saiki was leading at the very front.
Second was the girl named Yao Yao. She nervously clutched the hem of Saiki's clothes, looking left and right.
But Saiki didn't mind. As long as she didn't hug him, it was fine.
Akiyuki, who had recommended Saiki take the lead earlier, walked right behind Yao Yao, staring intently at Saiki's back.
Akiyuki [This boy named Saiki must be a hidden big shot.]
(What exactly did I do to make you think that? I just pointed out a signpost.)
Akiyuki [No other reason. This time I got a talent skill that lets me see people's auras to judge strength. With this skill I can tell who's strong and who's weak ahead of time. I can take the lead far ahead, far ahead, far ahead…]
(I see. What a familiar skill. But your inner thoughts don't match your appearance at all.)
Akiyuki [I've checked everyone else's auras, but this boy named Saiki… he has no aura at all!]
(…Wait, no aura should mean you look down on me, right? It can't be that my aura is so huge it covers the entire area, right? That way you could still see others' auras, but such a ridiculous guess—no normal person would think that far.)
Akiyuki [It must be that his aura is so massive it completely covers the surroundings. That's way too ridiculous. As long as he's here, we should be able to clear this properly this time.]
(Mm, your imagination is really something. But usually skills like that stop being useful later on.)
Third in line was the somewhat tall Li Ming.
Li Ming [Didn't expect to do another horror game. I was originally planning to propose to my girlfriend. We agreed that if I survive this time, I'd definitely propose to her.]
(Don't casually raise death flags like that. Your girlfriend will cry.)
Zhao Gao [A bit hungry. Should've drunk the soup from that instant noodle bucket earlier. If I don't survive this time, at least I'd die full.]
(We just started and you're already planning your ending? If you really die here, your next life you'll definitely be a starving ghost.)
Besides Akiyuki, there was one other person who could hear this—it was Su Sheng, who had just been "abandoned" by the university. He stood at the very back as the last in line.
Originally he had been third, but Akiyuki didn't want him behind her. As for fifth, Zhao Gao was terrified of having something creepy behind him, so he begged to switch places.
Su Sheng [Ah, damn it. It's all that Saiki's fault I lost so much face.]
(If you're going to blame someone, at least have a proper excuse.)
Su Sheng [Heh, but no matter. Later I'll just perform well again. That way those two beauties will definitely respect me, admire me, fall in love with me, and be unable to resist me… hehe.]
(Yare yare daze, do you think you're Wang Dachui or something? How can you fantasize so much!)
After walking for 10 minutes, the sky darkened much faster than Saiki had expected. The sun had completely set, and under the hazy moonlight there were no stars.
The surroundings had gradually grown dark, but though there were no stars in the sky, a beam of light shone down on Saiki's group. Yet no one felt reassured; instead it gave a creepy feeling.
Because this wasn't moonlight or starlight. It was a deep blue light, and the beam only illuminated their group.
There was no such light anywhere else around them. Some people even felt a cold wind at their backs.
But when they turned around, there was nothing.
The others started getting scared and began talking to distract themselves and calm their nerves.
"Akiyuki-neesan, seriously, as a girl you can stay so calm. I really admire you."
"Once you get… used to it."
Akiyuki [I'm super scared too!]
"This time we have to finish the quest early."
"Hope we reach the village soon."
"Tch… what's… there to be afraid of. It's just a mountain path."
"Hope this time… we succeed."
Saiki's expression changed. He stopped walking.
His sudden stop nearly caused the six people behind to crash into him, but fortunately their earlier chatting had relaxed them a bit, so no one fell.
"What are you doing? Saiki, why did you stop!"
Su Sheng roared from the back.
Yao Yao: "What's wrong? Saiki-oniichan?"
"What… happened."
Saiki slowly turned his head. Under his glasses and the deep blue light, no one could see his eyes clearly.
[Nothing. Just calling roll. I'll start. 1.]
Everyone looked confused.
Yao Yao froze for a second behind him but quickly reacted: "2."
Akiyuki frowned slightly and continued the count.
"2."
Immediately after.
"3."
"4."
"5."
"6."
"What the heck, pulling these weird stunts."
Su Sheng pursed his lips: "7. What's wrong? Is there a problem with this? This…"
He stopped mid-sentence because he suddenly realized what he had just heard. He said 7. But at the beginning, hadn't there been only 6 people walking out?
"Gulp!"
Someone swallowed hard.
Someone suddenly realized something and asked:
"How many of us set out just now?"
Akiyuki: "6."
"..."
6, correct. Next the entire group's faces turned pale with terror as they scattered. They had just heard 7 numbers.
Everyone looked around to confirm the count and identities.
At the very front was still Saiki.
Then came Yao Yao, wearing a skull necklace that didn't match her at all.
Next was Akiyuki, then Li Ming, Zhao Gao. In the middle stood a long-haired girl whose eyes were covered by her hair, and Su Sheng stood right beside that girl.
"You… you…"
Su Sheng pointed in terror at the girl in front of him. He remembered Zhao Gao had been in front of him earlier.
In an instant, Saiki appeared in front of this girl dressed in farmer's work clothes.
[Who are you!]
He placed his hand on the girl's shoulder, but the moment he touched her, Saiki felt something strange.
(This texture… it's wood.)
Yet the girl still kept her head lowered, making "woo woo woo... woo woo woo... woo" sounds from her mouth.
The voice didn't sound like a girl's at all. Everyone grew even more frightened, nervously watching Saiki's bold move.
Because of the extra person discovered, everyone's positions had become jumbled. Li Ming now stood at the very front, staring dead at the "person" in front of him. Zhao Gao hid behind Li Ming.
Akiyuki held Yao Yao in front of her, shielding her from behind.
Su Sheng had backed up two steps, now three steps away from the girl. He wanted to retreat further, but his legs felt weak.
Everyone looked toward Saiki—some shocked, some terrified, some in disbelief. Yao Yao watched nervously.
And the girl finally stopped crying. Slowly, she raised her head…