NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Myriad Realms Roulette
At this moment, Miko was sitting on a bench with a bottle of Pepsi that even a dog wouldn't want to drink. She appeared calm, but in reality, she was almost on the verge of crying out of fear!
And in front of her stood a twisted ghost with a hundred eyes and a grotesque face filled with an ominous black aura. It slowly bared its jagged fangs as if ready to devour its opponent in an instant!
Seeing this horrifying scene, Shun's face turned deathly pale.
As an ordinary human without any supernatural powers, being confronted by a ghost capable of taking his life at will triggered an instinctive sense of helplessness and fear, almost making him turn and flee for his life.
'Stay calm! Stay calm! The more I lose control, the more I'm inviting death...'
Shun consciously regulated his breathing, pushing his mind and body to their limits under the intense pressure.
At that moment, a golden roulette wheel appeared in his field of vision.
The roulette wheel seemed to emit an eternal glow, allowing his thoughts to enter a state of serene clarity.
Now, he could hear the subtle sounds of insects underground in the courtyard, feel the flutter of feathers as birds flew across the sky, perceive the falling leaves' trajectory, sense the wind currents on the rooftop, and... see the hundred eyes filled with cunning and malicious glances.
Unsurprisingly, Shun's demeanor and actions caught the attention of the fierce ghost.
If Shun had turned and fled now, the ghost would likely haunt him relentlessly and claim his life.
At that moment, he had no time to pay attention to his newly activated golden finger. After regaining his composure, he walked toward the rooftop as if he couldn't see the ghost.
The hundred-eyed ghost roared like a predator and swung its massive hand as though ready to smash the approaching young man into pulp at any moment.
Yet Shun acted as if he still had no idea of its presence.
Miko, witnessing this scene, almost screamed out loud.
Luckily, the ghost with a hundred eyes was only testing if the person in front of it could see it. The ghost's huge hand swept past Shun's ear, creating nothing more than a gust of wind.
Shun kept walking, the sound of his steps resounding loudly amidst the strange and eerie atmosphere.
Under the watchful eyes of both Miko and the hundred-eyed ghost, Shun approached the girl.
"Takema-kun?!"
Miko was slightly startled by his sudden appearance, feeling a hint of relief.
Though she often saw malevolent spirits, Miko possessed a heart far stronger than that of an average person. Despite being a young woman, she had a resilience that wouldn't flinch even in the face of danger.
But still, feeling afraid was normal!
Even though Miko looked calm now, deep down, she was so frightened that she was nearly in tears.
Shun, pretending not to notice the ghost, quickly stood in front of Miko, grabbed her Pepsi, and took a large gulp, then reflexively made a disgusted face:
"Just as I thought, Pepsi tastes awful!"
Miko: ?
Hundred-Eyed Ghost: ?
Seeing the perfect young man before her, Miko was momentarily stunned.
However, Shun took swift action, grasping her wrist and pulling her off the rooftop with urgency.
"Come on, class is about to start. If you stay up here any longer, you'll be late!"
"Eh... Yes!"
Miko snapped back to reality, responding quickly and following him off the rooftop.
The fierce ghost, realizing neither of them could see it, shook its head and disappeared as if it had lost interest.
On the staircase next to the door...
"Finally safe, thank you for your help."
Miko's legs gave way, and she collapsed onto Shun.
"It's okay. For now, as long as you pretend not to see them, you won't be attacked."
Shun gradually regained his composure, letting out a sigh of relief and gently patting her back to comfort her.
After a moment, Miko stood up, albeit embarrassed. Despite the slight embarrassment, she nervously asked him:
"Takema-kun, can you see those things too?"
"We've been through life and death together, so just call me Shun."
Shun nodded and said, "I just realized today that I can see those ghosts. How about you?"
Although in Japanese culture, calling someone by their first name so soon might seem awkward, Shun's words made it seem acceptable. After all, the other party was a perfect Tokyo boy.
"Shu-Shun-kun, I only realized I could see those things last January. The situation was..."
Talking about it brought tears to Miko's eyes as she recalled her ordeal.
Since suddenly being able to see ghosts, she had been terrified daily, facing life-and-death situations repeatedly, constantly fearful that the ghosts would discover she could see them.
Finally finding someone who could share in her experiences, Miko poured out her troubles and shock over the past month to Shun without hesitation.
The two chatted until the bell rang before returning to class together.
It was clear Miko's mood had improved significantly, but Shun returned to his seat with a heavy heart, guilt seeping away slowly.
'Yotsuya Miko didn't originally have this ability, but suddenly being able to see them means...'
'It's true that the rise of mysterious forces is intensifying. It could be that Miko's latent abilities awakened, or maybe the ghosts' presence is more active due to potent spiritual energy, or both?'
'Judging by this, more people might start seeing ghosts, or more ghosts may appear in the world.'
'No wonder the sudden surge in unexplained deaths. Maybe some unlucky souls saw ghosts at night and died suddenly.'
Reflecting on today's life-threatening encounter, the sense of helplessness and shadow of death weighed heavily on Shun's heart.
'I just wanted to be the protagonist of an ordinary light novel harem!'
'Why? Why force me into this?'
'Myriad Realms Roulette, show me your limits!'
The golden roulette, which had shrunk into the bottom left corner of his vision, seemed to respond to its master's desperate plea, illuminating in an eternal light, revealing the full power of the roulette world before Shun!
[Myriad Realms Roulette]
[①: The Myriad Realms Roulette automatically absorbs external energy, allowing travel to different worlds once a month, staying for 100 days. Returning early allows for accumulated time for future visits.]
[②: Each world visited by the Myriad Realms Roulette is random. Worlds that have been visited can be anchored, allowing the host to return to them during monthly travels.]
[③: The Myriad Realms Roulette grants the host the All-Language Mastery ability.]
[④: The Myriad Realms Roulette comes with highly compatible system-changing abilities.]
[⑤: The Myriad Realms Roulette includes a personal space. The initial space is ten cubic meters and will expand as the host's spiritual power increases.]
[⑥: Based on the host's level of plot involvement and behavior in each world, points and rankings are awarded upon return.]
[⑦: Roulette points can be used for: True Spirit Reincarnation, Ability Upgrades.]
[⑧: When an evaluation level reaches S-rank, the host receives a draw from the universal realm.]
[⑨: …]