RNP Page 137
Page 137
Yutenji Wakana gritted her teeth and finally took out a test tube containing a viscous oily substance from her bag, clutched it tightly in her hand, and peeked out again to observe the monster in the distance.
Good, its attention is still on that Adventurers' Guild envoy, and it hasn't noticed this side...
She held her breath and carefully took a step forward, preparing to slip away to another exit, when suddenly she heard a soft "thud" under her feet.
She looked down and saw a Chinese language exam paper filled with answers, which had somehow drifted to her feet.
isn't it?
Almost simultaneously, the monster's paper-made body suddenly froze, and countless eyes of various shapes and sizes instantly opened on its torso—pencil sketches, ink washes, childlike scribbles—all eyes focused on Yutenji Wakana.
Without a second thought, Yutenji Wakana threw the test tube she was holding onto the ground and ran away.
The bottle shattered, and the viscous, oily substance inside flowed out rapidly, instantly forming a smooth, mirror-like area ten feet in diameter between her and the monster.
【Grease Techniques】
[One-Ring Incantation]
[Casting Time: 1 action]
[Casting Range: 60 feet]
Duration: 1 minute
[You designate a point within casting range, and a smooth grease covers an area with a diameter of 10 feet centered on that point. For the duration of the spell, this area transforms into challenging terrain.]
When grease appears, every creature standing within its area must make a Dexterity saving throw; if the throw fails, it falls to the ground. Creatures entering the area or ending their turn within it must also make the same Dexterity saving throw; if the throw fails, they fall to the ground.
You're crazy, aren't you? Luckily, Sister Miaomeng still had the samples she used when she was researching skincare essential oils!
A fleeting sense of smugness crossed her mind as she turned her head, only to have the heel of her high heel suddenly sink into a crack between the floor tiles, making a soft, crisp sound.
A sharp pain shot through her ankle, causing her to lose her balance and fall heavily forward.
"It hurts..."
Yutenji Wakana quickly pushed herself up from the ground, clutching her throbbing right ankle, tears welling in her eyes from the pain.
I should have known better than to wear those awful high heels...
But looking at the scattered papers on the ground, she didn't dare take off her shoes.
After all, she had personally witnessed what happened to the people who came into contact with those papers.
So she could only endure the pain, avoid the pieces of paper on the ground, and struggle to stand up.
But his legs became increasingly weak and gradually lost sensation.
She looked down and saw that sheets of paper with neat handwriting were gradually peeling off her fair, rosy thighs.
"It's so expensive, but the effect is not even half of what String Scroll Workshop offers. I suggest you avoid it."
"Dressed so hot, you can tell you're out here for a shopping trip."
"Why are you banging on the table? Do you really think we're here to see magical artifacts?"
The popularity of her video account has been declining. Occasionally, when she appears on camera for a longer period of time and deliberately shows off her legs, the number of views will rise slightly. However, the sales of potions and props shown in the background are still the same as usual, without any momentum.
Despite having prepared herself mentally, running an independent workshop proved to be far more difficult than she had imagined.
...But what can we do?
How can an unknown workshop compete with large workshops that offer high-quality products at low prices?
Every year, countless young people with dreams come to Tokyo, only to be met with harsh reality and suffer setbacks.
Yutenji Wakami was just an ordinary member among the masses.
The paper continued to peel away silently, this time revealing her cheek, which she was so proud of.
"Ruomai, how have you been in Tokyo lately?"
"It's great, Mom! Sales have been really good lately. Everyone loves the Kumamoto-themed alchemical potions!"
"That's good... By the way, your brother got into a fight at school again. The other party wants to settle out of court, and Mom has already paid half of it, but there's still 40 left..."
"...I understand, I'll transfer the money shortly."
Why should we always live for others?
Are one's own dreams really so worthless?
Feeling lost and powerless.
Yutenji Wakana felt her body growing lighter and thinner, as if she were truly about to become a sheet drifting with the current...
A blank sheet of paper without any self.
The monster crossed the area covered by the [Greasy spell]—although the paper at its bottom absorbed the grease, making its movements slightly sluggish, it did not fall as expected.
It drew closer step by step, and the shadow made of countless sheets of paper loomed over Yutenji Wakanagi, who was slumped on the ground.
I'm sorry, Mom... I shouldn't have disobeyed you.
Yutenji Wakame sniffed, her nose feeling a little sore, and her vision began to blur.
Dad is right... I'm just a little girl who will never grow up.
He fantasized that he was definitely better than him... but in the end, he couldn't achieve anything.
In the end... he's still a loser...
She closed her eyes resignedly.
However, the expected outcome did not materialize.
The monster's approaching footsteps suddenly stopped, and its countless eyes all turned in another direction, seemingly drawn by a stronger "emotion".
Ugh?
Yutenji Wakana blinked her blurry, tear-filled eyes and looked in the direction the monster had left.
At the far end of the staircase, a boy wearing a gray-white school uniform jacket stood quietly.
The longsword he held emitted a dazzling blue light, like starlight, illuminating the entire dark underground.
Is he a student of Yuu-gaoka?
"Go quickly——"
She instinctively raised her hand, as if to shout.
Even the Adventurers' Guild's commissioner fell without a fight, so for students like them to go up there... would just be throwing their lives away.
But my throat felt like it was blocked by something, so dry that I couldn't make a sound.
...Let's run away.
An idea quietly emerged.
Yes.
Now that he has drawn the monster's attention away, I can survive, right?
Let's run away.
Isn't that what I've been doing all along?
Seize every opportunity, even if it means giving up everything, to try your best to survive.
As if suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly opened her handbag, took out a reagent bottle filled with silver liquid, twisted off the cap, and poured the shimmering liquid all over herself.
The cool liquid flowed over her skin, soaking the detached paper, which then clung back to her body, and the transformation process abruptly stopped.
It really works!
“Wow——!!!”
The sound from afar echoed throughout the entire underground station.
Yutenji Wakana, enduring the excruciating pain in her ankle, stood up, leaning against the wall, and glanced back one last time at the boy in the distance.
At the entrance of the subway station, countless sheets of paper surged up like a living white tide, intertwining and overlapping, instantly forming a thick, impenetrable wall of paper that blocked his last escape route.
...sorry.
Without further hesitation, she withdrew her gaze, bit her lower lip, and walked towards another exit without looking back.
Behind me came the sound of paper being cut and the dull thud of metal piercing flesh, mixed with heavy breathing, followed by the roar of a monster.
"Is that all? You glutinous rice ball really delights me... I wonder what this is—"
The boy's voice stopped abruptly, and after a moment, a suppressed chuckle rang out.
"How did you know I had a perfect start with a triple-color double-lucky draw in the Fighting Spirit and Body Tempering game?"
Who asked you?!
Yutenji Wakame's legs buckled, and she almost fell to the ground.
That day, a genius arrived at the Body Tempering Sect, and fragments of his good fortune flew through the air.
Despite her body growing cold, Yutenji Wakanagi quickened her pace, limping toward the light not far away.
However, from the other exit direction, the paper began to wriggle and gather like living things, as if it wanted to completely seal off that area, just like before.
The closer she got, the more parts of her body were transformed into paper.
Just then, the suppressed chuckle behind him suddenly turned into unrestrained, maniacal laughter.
"Haha, just kidding, the lukewarm water I was watching that day wasn't actually a monster girl at all!"
What is this?
Yutenji Wakana almost laughed out of anger, and even the transformation process in her body slowed down a bit.
...etc?
The laughter stopped, replaced by a surge of anger.
"Password, how come he also has 100% fake gold, two-cost jump coin watercolor, three-cost guide, four-cost big collision, five-cost fraudster, is this poet?"
A great magic spell? That's certainly very rare.
"Mother..."
Yutenji Wakana, who was about to continue walking, suddenly stopped.
She turned her head in surprise and looked at the boy behind her.
Half of his face had turned into a lifeless white sheet of paper.
But the remaining eye remained bright, and it calmly swung its sword to parry and dodge.
Clear tears silently slid down his face behind the children's sunglasses he wore.
Until the very end... all emotions vanished, leaving only endless sorrow.
......
What was the purpose of all those nights spent researching formulas, failing time and time again, and getting back up again and again?
Ruomai of Youtian Temple couldn't tell.
More and more twisted limbs sprouted from the monster's body, dancing erratically and bypassing the range of the sword light, attacking the boy's sides and back from all sorts of tricky angles.
The word "若麦" is written as "young wheat".
Wheat, as the name suggests, only becomes stronger the more it is trampled.
But... if we just run away like this, what difference is there between us and those worthless pieces of paper that drift away in the wind?
Yu*yue-Yi/*Shou/fatiansi Ruomai glanced back at the exit that was now so close, narrowed to just enough for one person to barely pass through.
damn it!
The transformation process stopped instantly.
She turned around suddenly.
I, Yutenji Wakame, have never trusted anyone in my life except myself.
But... just considering that you've also been tormented by powerful spells—
I'll trust you this once!
She suddenly reached into her handbag, and relying on her memory, found two familiar-looking reagent bottles, which she then tossed high into the air.