Why is my Isekai in the Slice of Life anime was become a Horror Story?

Interlude 1-12: Information About the World is Gradually Being Unlocked

Ten minutes later, inside the small room.

Takahashi Takakai closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then slowly opened them.

"Alright, I've got a general understanding of the situation."

In the Japan region, or at least the Tokyo area, the number of active players here currently doesn't exceed 50. Most of them are independent players, operating without an organization. There are only three player organizations, each with fewer than ten members.

For example, the organization [Female Mask Gang] has five members, all of whom are female. Thanks to a special Obsession they acquired from a Dark Night-level hospital stage, they can replace and usurp the existence of others. In dangerous situations, they can use this usurped existence to take over and protect themselves—a particularly powerful Obsession.

This information helped Takakai completely clarify his doubts about the betrayer's modus operandi. It seems the betrayer killed Maeda Miwa and used the Obsession to usurp her existence, then pretended to be her. In the first and second loops, the so-called [Maeda Miwa, turned into a horror story Knock-on-the-Door after her death] was actually the betrayer releasing the usurped existence, allowing it to replace her, getting attacked and killed by the horror story. This is how she escaped.

To some extent, it can be said that if Takakai hadn't acted immediately in the third loop to eliminate the betrayer, after completing the usurpation of her existence, Takakai would have to strike twice to kill her. The disturbance in that case would be huge. If that happened, it would make finishing things in the third loop uncertain.

The reason Takakai couldn't find this Obsession when eliminating the betrayer was quite simple. As its name suggests, [Substitute flesh and blood], to use this, one must swallow it into their body, allowing the sticky mass of flesh and blood to take over a part of their body. Even if the host dies, this Obsession will not leave the body, instead slowly eroding it from the inside until only a layer of human skin remains. Then, it will control that skin to enter a state of uncontrollable madness and return to the horror stories map.

Yes, Takakai understood from Gotoh Hitori that when an Obsession loses control in the real world, it returns to the horror stories world.

If a player uses an Obsession and it loses control in the map, it will summon a distortion related to the Obsession into that map, increasing the danger level. Conversely, if the Obsession loses control in the real world, it will disappear for about five to ten minutes while swallowing everything affected, sending them into the corresponding Obsession map.

Considering that Obsessions seem to have the ability to hide from the perception of ordinary people, this explains why large-scale supernatural horror events have not yet occurred in the real world.

No, perhaps it should be said that they have not yet occurred…

Takakai couldn't help but think of the strange things floating everywhere.

"It's hard to believe there are such disgusting Obsessions. Accepting and using something like that, no wonder they end up going crazy."

Shijo Maki, sitting beside Takakai, sighed lightly, her expression showing that she also found it repulsive.

The power of [Substitute flesh and blood] is immense, but the side effects are extremely obvious. The user of this flesh-and-blood substitute will develop a craving for fresh flesh and blood from their own kind, their personality will change drastically, and their body will undergo severe abnormal transformations over time. Even a normal person, after using this, will inevitably become a bloodthirsty and violent madman. Moreover, this is something that can't be returned; once used, it stays with you for life, and only death can free you from it.

"This is exactly the kind of perfect villain, and they have become our enemies. These guys sure know how to stick together. Kill one, and the other four immediately come looking for us. They killed Maeda Miwa, so they must have some basic information about us by now. But if they really know everything, why haven't they acted yet? Couldn't they just come straight here?"

Takakai was not afraid of [Female Mask Gang]. Whether it was killing one or five, it was all the same. As long as they weren't cute girls like Shijo Maki, Kaguya, or Bocchi, he wouldn't feel any regret killing anyone. The only thing that made him hesitate was the current situation. If they could quickly find and kill Maeda Miwa, it showed they weren't weak. But judging by their behavior at the mall, it seemed that [Female Mask Gang] had no information about Takakai's group at all, to the point of having to hire someone to investigate.

"Could it be that a group of veteran players with unstable minds can't even force a confession from a useless person?"

Takahashi Takakai increasingly felt confused.

However, from Takakai's personal perspective, it was understandable to feel perplexed due to the lack of information.

Of course, he couldn't know how frustrated and deeply confused the four members of [Female Mask Gang] were at this very moment, unable to gather the information they wanted.

Maeda Miwa was indeed not a tight-lipped person.

In fact, after escaping from the Shirakawa apartment, this woman had immediately gone to a hotel, getting drunk in wild parties to relieve the fear accumulated at that deathly apartment. She openly talked about what happened at the Shirakawa apartment, and as a result, the members of [Female Mask Gang], who were at that hotel, discovered her right away.

The subsequent interrogation, no matter how bloody, no longer mattered, but the important thing was that Maeda Miwa, who seemed to have a loose tongue, couldn't provide the information that [Female Mask Gang] was hoping for. The reason for this was simple:

Before being discovered by [Female Mask Gang], Maeda Miwa had consumed five times the normal dosage of a hallucinogen.

This substance, extracted from a highly toxic mushroom, had become increasingly popular in Japan. It creates an intense feeling of exhilaration, causing users to fall into vague hallucinations. Despite Tokyo police efforts to crack down, this hallucinogen was still circulating in entertainment spots.

After the life-or-death emotional upheaval in the Shirakawa apartment, Maeda Miwa recklessly used the substance to relieve her stress, pushing herself to the brink of madness and unable to say anything coherent. Moreover, the invasive effect from [Substitute Flesh and Blood] caused the members of [Female Mask Gang], already extremely violent and ruthless, to lose control and kill Maeda Miwa right on the spot during the interrogation. They left in anger and began seeking other ways to track down those who participated in the Shirakawa apartment mission.

Although [Female Mask Gang] put in a lot of effort searching, they themselves felt there was little hope. After all, the participants of the mission came from all over the world, while this small gang had a very limited reach. Therefore, they leaned toward the possibility that an experienced veteran was behind this and focused on investigating secret information channels. On the market, they only hired two people who occasionally mentioned relevant information to draw attention and also try to find additional clues.

"Anyway, for now, just keep things under wraps," Takakai finally said.

The number of active players in Japan didn't exceed 300, and globally it was around 2,000. At least, the number of registered accounts on the global network dedicated to players—affected by [Obsession], making it unrecognizable to ordinary people and impossible to click—was also about 2,000. Gotoh Hitori had shared this information with Takakai and Shijo Maki and provided the link to that network, officially introducing them to the player community.

As Takakai had guessed from the start, the [Admission Ticket], the item players received after completing a regular mission, was actually invisible, visible only to its owner, and could be summoned at any time for confirmation. Ownership transfer was only possible when both players were within a two-meter range. To use it, players had to wait until the monthly mission opening, when the ticket could be used to replace a mission arranged by the Sacrifice Game, reducing the element of surprise and increasing the chances of survival.

There was a huge demand for [Admission Tickets], especially the [Dusk Level Admission Ticket]. The [Dark Night] level missions were extremely difficult, almost guaranteeing death; [Red Moon] level missions were so terrifying that even hearing the name would make people horrified. Even top-tier players could only survive with great difficulty. Sacrifice Game wouldn't care about that; as long as two A-rank evaluations were achieved at the same level, the next mission would definitely be placed at a higher level. Hence, [Admission Tickets] became a lifesaver for many veteran players.

However, this method also had its limits. Gotoh Hitori, though she hadn't experienced it herself, knew from the stories of veteran players who helped her clear the first mission that regardless of achieving two A-rank evaluations at the same level, as long as five consecutive missions were completed at the same level, the next mission at that level would begin to be targeted. If the players didn't change the mission level after being targeted, the targeting would become increasingly apparent, and completing the mission would become more and more difficult.

Typically, regular players are assigned an identity by the game, which allows them to determine their role and the rules they must follow. However, for veteran players who are "targeted" by the system, they enter dungeons in a state of "no identity" or even a "chaotic identity." For example, Old Guo cannot obtain the "landlord" identity like Maki or others and will be directly regarded as an enemy by the corpses in the apartment, suffering a brutal beating.

Suppose Old Guo manages to escape the Shirakawa Apartments and continues to participate in it repeatedly. The targeting will only worsen because he keeps entering Dusk-level dungeons. He might start on the third floor, surrounded by porcelain child dolls and the footsteps of debt collectors. Or worse, he might be thrown straight into the living room of apartment 109, with an open diary in front of him, the name of the little girl glaring at him. In the worst-case scenario, he would be thrown into apartment 304 to face the couple, who had now turned into fuel for Takakai.

The only way to escape this targeting is to participate in dungeons with higher difficulty levels, such as Dark Night or even Red Moon. However, most players are terrified of the danger level of Dark Night dungeons. Therefore, unless they are "targeted" to the point of dying right from the start, most veteran players still try to stay in the Dusk-level dungeons, knowing they will face disadvantages.

As for why the Dark Night dungeons are so terrifying for players...

Takakai Takakai looked at Gotoh Hitori, hoping she would explain.

The pink-haired girl nodded seriously, then pulled out her guitar.

"No no no, can't you just explain it the normal way? Please?" Takakai raised his hand, not wanting to hear another "musical explanation."

Gotoh Hitori, her eyes welling up with tears, reluctantly put the guitar away.

It was true that in anime, she often wore a pouty expression, but not to the point of being that emotional, right?

Eventually, after taking a bit more time, Takakai understood the differences between the three difficulty levels of the Sacrifice Game from Gotoh Hitori's explanation.

First, a common feature of all the games is the presence of four clues related to the core of Obsession.

At the easiest level, the Dusk dungeon only has one core Obsession, and all four clues are true. This means that all Dusk dungeons stem from the obsession of an individual, and players can use these clues to infer how to solve the puzzle, even try to take over the core Obsession.

The second level, the Dark Night dungeon, is characterized by one false clue among the four. As of now, these dungeons are divided into three types:

Single-core type: Similar to Dusk, but the timeline in the dungeon spans several decades, with many Obsessions of the dead people intermingling, making the search for the core Obsession extremely difficult. This is the most common and easiest type in Dark Night.

Multi-core type: Contains two to three Obsessions. These dungeons are no longer based on a single Obsession but are a combination of overlapping Obsessions. They are often considered true nightmares, places where even experienced players avoid.

Downgraded from Red Moon type: These are originally Red Moon-level dungeons that have been downgraded in difficulty due to one or more Obsessions being removed. Despite being "downgraded," these dungeons still retain the high danger level of Red Moon. Players call them "False Red Moon."

The third level, Red Moon, has even less information. Gotoh Hitori has never encountered this level of dungeon, and among the players she knows, no one has survived to tell the tale.

For example, a Red Moon-level dungeon called "Campus Incredible" was once discovered to have up to 8 different Obsessions. However, after three Obsessions were removed, this dungeon was downgraded to Dark Night level.

When it came to Obsession, Takakai realized that, within the player community, the Shirakawa Apartments dungeon had started showing signs of being fixed three months ago. This was the only Dusk-level dungeon currently undergoing the fixing process. Therefore, if Takakai and Maki completed the dungeon without an admission ticket, they would easily attract unwanted attention.

As for the "Spirit's Blessing" that Takakai and the others had received, it actually worked based on a completely different system from the Obsession Core Items. Players who took the Obsession Core Items were still following the usual method to clear the dungeon—only they had these Core Items as part of the process. When an Obsession Core Item was taken, before it spiraled out of control, the related dungeon would transition into a "locked" state, making it inaccessible.

In contrast, receiving the Spirit's Blessing required satisfying the core obsession of the dungeon, identifying its weaknesses, and destroying the entire dungeon. In this case, the admission ticket would be immediately deactivated rather than temporarily suspended. This made it relatively easy for other players to determine which dungeon had its Obsession Core Items taken and destroyed, unless the dungeon was a new one that no one had entered before.

"I see... but Shirakawa Apartments has long been suspected of being upgraded to Dark Night, so no one wants to go there anymore. You guys... well... how did you manage to clear it?"

Despite the difficulty in speaking, Gotoh Hitori couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"Uh... try?"

Takakai thought for a long time before giving this vague answer.

"If I had to say, it's basically just doing your best, with a bit of luck... something like that."

Shijo Maki, standing beside him, nodded and, after thinking for a moment, repeated the same response.

And then, Gotoh Hitori vanished again.

Oh no, she had crawled back into the cardboard box.

Now that he thought about it, where did this box even come from? It seemed like a prop straight out of a comedy film, always appearing whenever needed.

"Anyway, thank you very much for the valuable information. I hope we can meet again in the future, Gotoh-san."

After exchanging and clarifying the information the current players had gathered, Takakai and Shijo Maki refrained from bothering Gotoh Hitori, who had practically turned into a rock, and left the small room and underground market.

They had originally planned to look for an Obsession to trade, but since the Obsessions from Old Guo's dungeons, the impostor, and Shirakawa Apartments weren't suitable for trading, they decided to let it go.

However, they had learned that the next market would begin about three days before the next mission, so if they prepared more thoroughly in advance, the next time would surely be better than this one.

"Gotoh-san, do you know how to clear Shirakawa Apartments during its fixed phase?"

Just as they were about to leave, Shijo Maki suddenly turned back and asked Gotoh Hitori once more.

Gotoh Hitori, who had been relieved, immediately tensed up again. After a long moment of nervous thought, she reluctantly recalled and replied to Takakai and Shijo Maki.

Based on her attitude and response, it seemed like Gotoh Hitori wasn't particularly interested in these matters, but a rather strict friend of hers had made her remember quite a bit of information about the dungeon.

Based on some information sold by players who had previously participated in the fixed phase dungeon, the rescue team had nearly succeeded in evacuating all the residents from the second and first floors. However, it seemed there was an issue when they tried to evacuate the third floor. Therefore, players could disguise themselves as residents by swapping clothes with corpses and allow other players to pose as rescue team members by wearing badges. By reenacting the past event, they could escape the apartment. However, the prerequisite was to accurately identify the residents who had been successfully evacuated, and players wearing the rescue team badges would surely not survive the escape.

After compiling the information provided by Gotoh Hitori, Shijo Maki raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Takakai next to her.

"It seems we've chosen a more difficult path?"

At this point, fully realizing they had chosen a path that most would avoid in a beginner's dungeon, Takakai could only shake his head lightly, letting out a long sigh of resignation.

"To some extent, it could be considered self-inflicted hardship."

Shijo Maki also shook her head slightly, speaking as she climbed the stairs, gradually leaving the dark underground square and returning to the sunlight.

Whether it was self-inflicted hardship or not depended on whether the final reward was worth it.

Takakai had intended to say that.

But when he looked at Shijo Maki in front of him, her right hand tucked into her jacket pocket, her left hand swinging freely, he smiled and said nothing. He simply walked ahead, gently taking her small hand in his.

And together, they continued their way forward.

(Note: Honestly, this story is quite complex to translate, with so many difficult terms that I had to look up. It took me twice the time compared to translating two other stories at the same time, so if there are any mistakes, please don't be too harsh on me :v)

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