One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds...
In the quiet dormitory, every minute and every second felt exceptionally long.
Yamada originally had a cold smile and mocking eyes, but when Natsuki held on for over a minute without fainting or giving up any of the blood-colored thorns, the cold smile on Yamada's face had quietly disappeared.
Then two minutes.
Three minutes...
Natsuki stood quietly in the dormitory, his body unmoving, as if nothing had happened. But with a careful look, one could see that sweat had already soaked his clothes, even forming a puddle on the ground.
"This man... why is he still holding on?"
"Ordinary people simply cannot bear that level of despair and pain. He should have chosen to let go, abandon the girls, and escape alone..."
Time ticked by.
The ten minutes that usually passed in the blink of an eye now felt as long as a century, finally stumbling to an end.
Ten minutes ended.
The blood-colored thorns entwined around Natsuki quietly disappeared.
Bang.
The moment the blood-colored thorns disappeared, Natsuki involuntarily fell to one knee. His clothes were already completely soaked with sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water, and there was even a puddle on the ground.
"...You won."
Yamada's gaze fell on Natsuki, her expression complex.
It turned out that not every man in the world was a coward, and not every man would choose to escape. There really were people who would choose to stand up and bear all the pain and despair alone... It was just that she hadn't met one.
"I will keep my promise and let you leave."
Yamada slowly closed her eyes, and her entire being transformed into a faint light, dissipating into nothingness.
Clatter.
A grayish-white crystal fell to the ground, then transformed into a stream of light, automatically merging into Natsuki's body.
At the same time.
The girls finally regained their ability to move, and they all got up from their beds and quickly came to Natsuki's side.
"Natsuki, how are you?"
Marin's eyes were misty as she hugged Natsuki tightly.
Sayu's tears were pattering down, "Those things must have been super painful and despairing, right?"
Kaguya bit her lip tightly, leaning close to Natsuki's ear, her eyes slightly red, and said:
"President, can you hear me? Quickly use your Copy and Paste ability to share the pain with us."
"That's right." Chika reacted, quickly wiping away her tears. "President, President, quickly use your ability."
Hayasaka clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms, and whispered:
"President... seems to have fainted."
At this moment, a hand suddenly grabbed Hayasaka's calf, followed by a faint voice:
"I haven't fainted yet, I can still be saved."
"Eh eh eh?"
"Natsuki is awake!"
The girls' eyes immediately brightened. Just as they were about to speak, they heard Natsuki lower his voice:
"Quickly leave the school, lest that evil spirit goes back on her word."
"I'll carry Natsuki out."
Marin quickly stood up, wiped the tears from her face, her eyes firm, and without caring about Natsuki's sweat-soaked body, she immediately carried Natsuki on her back.
The other girls didn't contend, and they quickly walked out of the dormitory building, then headed towards the school gate.
The path was unobstructed. All the vengeful spirit girls along the way stood rooted to the spot, as if petrified, losing all sound.
As they stepped out of the school gate and saw the "Game" notification pop up, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Since the game notification said they had cleared the Vengeful Spirit Girls' School, then they must have truly left.
"Are you out?" Natsuki's voice rang out, "Marin, put me down."
Marin turned her head to look, her voice filled with worry:
"Can Natsuki really walk by himself?"
Natsuki said:
"Currently, there's no problem."
"Then, alright…"
Marin hesitantly put him down.
After Natsuki stood steady, he could even do a set of warm-up exercises.
"Eh, eh, what's wrong with President?" Chika's eyes widened in surprise, "He seems really relaxed?"
Hayasaka frowned slightly, and a flash of lightning suddenly crossed her mind, blurting out:
"Could it be… Super Long Delayed Reaction?"
"So it's that ability."
Except for Kaguya, who was stupid stupid Understand Understand and didn't react for a moment, the other girls all showed expressions of sudden realization, even Chika, who had experienced it the fewest times, was no exception.
Natsuki exhaled lightly and admitted:
"That's right, to avoid fainting in the dormitory, I used the Super Long Delayed Reaction ability to temporarily suppress the pain and despair."
[Skill: Super Long Delayed Reaction]
[Type: Active]
[Usage: Learned/Permanent Skill]
[Effect: After activating this skill, pain, fatigue, happiness, fear, etc., during the skill's duration will be delayed, finally erupting the moment you deactivate the skill]
[Note: There was once a girl who liked me, and by the time I realized it, her child was already in kindergarten.]
Marin bit her lip, immediately becoming worried:
"But it was already so terrifying, and you suppressed it with the Delayed Reaction for a full ten minutes. Once it erupts instantly, Natsuki definitely won't be able to bear it, right?"
Sayu hugged Natsuki's arm, her gaze firm as she said:
"Natsuki-sama, quickly use Copy and Paste to share that pain with us."
Chika said tearfully:
"That's right, we'll help President share it."
The Super Long Delayed Reaction ability is actually rarely used normally. In reality, the most copied ability is [Evil Spirit Exorcism], and in instances, the most copied abilities are [Seize and Eliminate Evil] and [Shadow Walker].
But after multiple tests, the Delayed Reaction ability can also be used in some special situations. After all, in the ability description, besides being able to temporarily suppress fear, it can also temporarily suppress happiness, and then let it all erupt at once… I'll stop there, those who know, know.
Except for Kaguya, Hayasaka, Marin, and the other girls had more or less experienced the effect of the Delayed Reaction, so they naturally knew the horror of the instant eruption after the delay.
Just activating the Delayed Reaction for a few tens of seconds, the subsequent delayed eruption could make one's soul fly out of their body. Natsuki has now suppressed it for a full ten minutes. Once he deactivates the Super Long Delayed Reaction, allowing the pain during that time to erupt instantly… it's hard to imagine how much despair and pain there would be.
"I've already thought of a better candidate…"
Natsuki raised his right hand and lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap.
The half-human, half-spider "Kumoko" appeared out of thin air.
Kumoko was an employee recruited after defeating the Strange Tale 'Door of Despair'. Although she was an employee, she basically never had to do anything; instead, she was pampered with good food and drink every day, and occasionally had to go to the hospital to feed on despair… Now it's time to pay back with her body!
"Oh, such rich despair and pain."
Kumoko sniffed her nose, crawled in front of Natsuki, and said in surprise:
"What's wrong with you? You're not going to kick the bucket, are you?"
"That's right, I'm indeed going to kick the bucket." Natsuki said casually, "So, you wouldn't want to have no more snacks and toys in the future, would you?"
"Tch."
Kumoko snorted lightly and instructed:
"Hold out your hand."
Natsuki extended his right hand as instructed.
"Ah mmmmph…"
Kumoko opened her mouth, bit Natsuki's finger with an 'mmmph', her sharp fangs piercing the skin, and then she began to slurp.
Natsuki hadn't deactivated 'Delayed Reaction' yet, so he felt nothing and let Kumoko suck his blood. On the other hand, the girls nearby were quite nervous.
"Miss Kumoko, will President be okay?"
"Why are you still sucking blood?"
"Natsuki is going to be sucked dry by you."
"… "
Kumoko ignored them, still slurping blood. After a while, she finally stopped.
"Ptooey~"
Kumoko spat out Natsuki's finger, raised her hand to wipe the corner of her mouth, and said with a pleased expression:
"Blood filled with despair and pain is indeed the most delicious food in the world. Human, you're very good, I'm very satisfied. Next time you accumulate so much despair and pain, remember to call me immediately."
There won't be a next time. That kind of despair-ridden pain, I absolutely don't want to experience it a second time!
"You can go back."
Natsuki waved his hand, sending Kumoko back to the Theater, then exhaled lightly and silently deactivated [Super Long Delayed Reaction].
The next second.
Pain, numbness, fatigue, damp coldness… countless delayed sensations surged forth, erupting instantly, causing Natsuki to let out a low groan.
"Natsuki, how do you feel?"
Marin quickly supported Natsuki, asking worriedly.
Natsuki pressed his forehead and exhaled lightly:
"I feel… completely drained."
Sayu said tearfully:
"Just now, Kumoko really sucked a lot of blood, her belly is all swollen."
Natsuki adapted to his body while joking:
"If each of you kisses me, I should be able to fully recover."
"Tsk~"
Hayasaka crossed her arms over her chest, secretly sighing in relief upon hearing this, and retorted:
"President still has the energy to joke, so he's fine after all."
No sooner had her words fallen than Marin suddenly stood on tiptoe and, under the gaze of the other girls, kissed Natsuki on the cheek.
Just kiss!
She and Natsuki are in a proper dating relationship, so what if she kisses him?
Marin has always been a person who dares to love and hate, otherwise, she wouldn't have been the first to accept the confession and agree to everyone dating together.
Most importantly, Marin only felt something in her chest wanting to overflow; in short, she really wanted to kiss someone… she couldn't help it, absolutely couldn't help it.
If Kaguya hadn't been watching nearby, it wouldn't have just been a kiss on the cheek.
"Eh?"
Marin's bold and fiery action caused the other girls to freeze, then they all looked towards Kaguya.
Among the girls present, if one were to say who had the strongest possessiveness, it would naturally be Kaguya.
However, Kaguya didn't speak, only her eyelashes trembled slightly, and then she turned her head to look elsewhere.
Seeing this, Marin put her hands on her hips, raised her chin, and gestured to Sayu.
"Eh…"
Sayu blinked her eyes and naturally wouldn't refuse, because she had always positioned herself as a 'pet' rather than a girlfriend, so she basically wouldn't be jealous.
Seeing Marin's gesture now, she quickly stood on tiptoe and swiftly kissed Natsuki on the cheek.
Marin's gaze shifted, and she looked at Chika, urging:
"Chika-chan, it's your turn."
"Eh, eh, eh?" Chika's pretty face flushed, and she quickly shook her head, "I, I'll pass."
It's fine to secretly kiss when alone, but kissing a boy in front of Kaguya and Hayasaka? It's too embarrassing no matter how you think about it!
"What does it matter?" Marin leaned into Chika's ear, whispering, "That night at the hotel, we clearly already…"
"No, don't say it! Quickly forget about that day!"
Before Marin could finish, secretary Chika's pretty face instantly flushed, steam billowing from the top of her head as she involuntarily recalled the Tetris game from that night.
She, Marin, Sayu, and Juju, actually together… It must have been that her brain was fried that night! There's no other reason!
"I won't say it, I won't say it." Marin covered her mouth, her eyes curving, "Chika-chan wouldn't want others to know, right?"
Chika: "…"
Having no choice, secretary Chika could only walk up to Natsuki with a flushed face, stand on tiptoe, and give him a kiss.
"Very good." Marin nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Kaguya and Hayasaka, "Everyone agreed before that we would advance and retreat together."
Hayasaka crossed her arms over her chest and said nonchalantly:
"I have no problem, it mainly depends on what Kaguya-san says."
Kaguya: "…"
It's one thing for you to kiss President in front of me, but you actually want me to join in? I can't do it! There's no way I can do it!
"No need, I feel like I've fully recovered."
Natsuki coughed twice and changed the subject:
"What about your main quests now?"
Kaguya secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said:
"I haven't checked… I'll check now."
Skipping the kissing for now, the girls all checked their respective main quests.
"It's already cleared." Kaguya pursed her lips and said softly, "The game has given notification that we can leave the instance now… If we don't leave, we can stay in the instance for a maximum of two more days."
Chika followed:
"My main quest is also complete."
Hayasaka mused:
"The difficulty of the school should be quite high, so after successfully leaving the school, the main quest was completed directly."
Marin agreed with a nod:
"The difficulty is at least several stories high."
With abilities and inventory sealed, almost turning into ordinary people chosen for the first time, surviving in a school full of blood-lettered quests was inherently an extremely difficult task.
If Natsuki hadn't broken in and stirred up the school, it would have been impossible to clear it in such a short time.
"Can we stay for two more days?" Natsuki nodded slightly, "That's about right."
Within two days, Shoko and the others' main quests should basically be completed.
Kaguya raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and said softly:
"By the way, I just saw something fly into President's body. What was that? Is it dangerous?"
"Let me take a look."
Natsuki opened the notification bar for the game.
The first thing that caught his eye was a completion notification for a side quest.
[Side Quest: Yamada's Redemption, Completed]
[You have successfully eliminated the despair and pain from Yamada, allowing her to find redemption. Quest rewards will be issued upon completion of the game.]
"Not bad."
Natsuki clicked his tongue lightly, not expecting to have completed a side quest without even realizing it.
His gaze continued downwards.
Lines of notifications appeared before his eyes.
[You have redeemed Yamada, and you have received a gift from Yamada.]
[You have obtained a Rule Fragment.]
[A rule-type item has been detected on the player. Would you like to merge it?]
"Hmm?"
Natsuki raised an eyebrow slightly.
Could the so-called Rule Fragment be that stream of light after Yamada disappeared?
Besides that, there should be no other possibility.
No wonder Yamada was incredibly powerful, able to curse the entire Girls' Academy by herself. Even the prompt said not to fight her head-on. It turns out she had mastered some kind of rule.
"As for the rule-type item on me…"
Natsuki extended his right hand, and a Rule Card appeared in his palm. Inside the card, a pumpkin lantern burned with a faint blue flame. "It must be this, right?"
Rule items were incredibly rare. At least, so far, Natsuki hadn't heard of anyone else obtaining a rule item. It's just that this thing had many restrictions on its use and was rarely directly useful in dungeons.
"Merge."
Natsuki said softly.
The next second.
The Rule Card suddenly melted, transforming into a stream of light that imprinted itself on Natsuki's hand, eventually forming a black crescent moon mark, which then quietly disappeared.
"President, what just happened?"
Chika asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, there's no danger…"
Natsuki briefly explained the situation to reassure the girls, then checked the game notifications.
[Rule Fragment successfully merged.]
[You have unlocked all permissions for the Night Rule.]
[You have successfully mastered the Night Rule.]
Looking at the series of notifications, Natsuki suddenly had a realization.
Because the Rule Card was obtained through improper means, he had never been able to control all its permissions, which is why it existed in the form of a Rule Card. To open the Theater or summon employees, he first had to take the Rule Card out of the game inventory. He couldn't find a way to unseal it before, so he could only ignore it. Now, it was finally completed.
After the Rule Fragment successfully merged, he completely mastered the rule, as if it had become a part of his body. He could activate or deactivate it at will, no longer needing to rely on the game's power.
Natsuki continued to check and found that this item had changed from an item to an ability.
[Rule: Night]
[Quality: Unique]
[This ability is unique. It cannot be strengthened, cannot be destroyed, and cannot be transferred. When you master this rule, there will be no second master in the world.]
[Ability One: Night Theater. When night falls, you can open your exclusive Theater for performances.]
[Ability Two: Restricted Access. You can set rules that everyone in the Theater must obey.]
[Ability Three: Master of Strange Tales. You can borrow the power of Theater employees.]
[Note: Only rules can counter rules.]
"A unique ability?"
Natsuki was quite satisfied.
Even golden legendary skills did not have the unique attribute. Take Time Stop, for example; Natsuki could learn and master it, and other players also had the chance to master it. But the power of the rule now truly belonged only to Natsuki; no one else in the world would master the same ability.
In addition, there were no cooldown or duration restrictions in the skill description, so it could obviously be activated indefinitely, though it was unclear if there would be a price to pay.
At the same time, while he used to only be able to open the Theater at midnight, now he could open it as soon as night fell.
Natsuki clenched his fist, and a realization dawned on him. The rule ability, integrated into his body, would not be affected by the dungeon's seals and restrictions. For example, in the Despair Girls' School just now, if he and Chika and the others had arrived together, Chika and their skills and inventory would still be sealed, but the power of the rule would not be restricted and could still be used.
The description of the rule ability was not much different from before, but Natsuki could feel that the actual effect was completely different. As for the specific differences, he would need to carefully study and verify them to know.
Unfortunately, it was daytime now, so he would have to wait until night to try it.
"Natsuki, where are we going now?"
Marin asked softly.
"Hmm…"
Natsuki pondered for two seconds, then waved his hand:
"Let's eat first; I feel like I'm about to starve."
"…"
Everyone's game inventory was stocked with many healing foods. They found an empty park and sat down, eating and drinking heartily. Their bodies quickly recovered mostly.
In short, young people have good bodies.
"Fully revived." Natsuki tried clenching his fist, feeling a surge of energy throughout his body. "Let's go, let's meet up with everyone."
Although Natsuki had teleported over, the map was already imprinted in his mind. After identifying the corresponding landmarks, returning naturally posed no problem.
There was no conversation along the way.
Although they encountered some wandering monsters along the way, they couldn't stop them from returning. Happy Community quickly appeared before their eyes.
"Chika-chan! Kaguya-chan!"
Tsubame stood at the entrance of the community, standing on tiptoes and waving happily.
Beside Tsubame, there were also Shoko and two random players, as well as Haruno and Yukino.
After teleporting away from the rental house bathroom earlier, Natsuki hadn't ignored Shoko. Instead, he had briefly explained the situation to Shoko via his notebook, which is why Tsubame and others were waiting at the community entrance beforehand.
"Ah, it's Senpai and everyone!"
Chika smiled brightly, raising her right hand high and responding happily.
Successfully reuniting in the dungeon, both sides were naturally very happy. Even Kaguya and Yukino, who usually didn't get along, nodded slightly in greeting.
Only the two random players felt completely numb.
They went out once and brought back several girls, and they all seemed very close… his kidneys were going to fail, right?
They definitely would!
After the two groups met, Tsubame naturally asked about what happened at the academy. Chika and Marin exaggerated the story, making Tsubame and the others listen with various degrees of apprehension.
Natsuki didn't participate in the conversation. He was slowly rehydrating when his sleeve was suddenly tugged lightly…