Chapter One: How to Play When Faced with Total Annihilation at the Start?

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Uesugi Toru curled up inside the cold iron locker, peering out through a narrow crack.

That thing... the fox badger must have wandered off by now, right?

The abandoned school campus was eerily silent late at night—no moonlight, not even the faintest sound of insects.

Inside the locker, flanked by two equally cold comrades, Uesugi Toru thought bitterly:

“Trying to hide in a locker to escape a vengeful spirit, just like in a game, really is a dead end.”

Sure enough, they’d hidden only to end up dead—three of them, like an exhibit, neatly arranged and lively in their final moments.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up here, transported into this nightmare.

After spending several seconds absorbing the remaining memories, Uesugi Toru gradually pieced everything together.

In short, the five of them had agreed to meet here at midnight for a bravery test—in the classroom rumored to have a corpse hidden inside the walls—to play "Fox Badger."

It’s the Japanese version of the pen-spirit or spirit-board games.

But as the saying goes, summoning spirits is easy; sending them away, not so much...

On top of that, his buddy “Kumamoto” had specifically found a cursed spirit board to use for the game.

Apparently, several high school girls had previously played Fox Badger with it—and unsurprisingly, they all met with tragic accidents.

The girls had held hands and jumped onto the tracks just as the train passed—a scene too horrific to describe.

Recalling this, Uesugi Toru’s brow twitched sharply.

Good grief, the whole thing came with a bundle of soul rings.

With all those buffs stacked up, if the evil spirit didn’t show, it’d feel like it was cheating them of their effort.

As for the current situation, no need to say more—the original three guys had long since passed on, one girl had died on the stairs before they even squeezed into the locker to wait for death...

So now, the fox badger must be hunting down the last remaining girl, Tokugawa Ririko.

“Thank you, Ririko.”

Uesugi Toru sincerely thanked the girl who had bought him time with her life.

Without her, he might not even have had a chance to activate his cheat and would have croaked already.

Focusing, he closed his eyes sharply, then opened them again.

A status panel unfolded before him.

[Uesugi Toru]

[Physique: 3]

[Willpower: 4]

[Charm: 9]

[Spirit Arts: 0]

[Soul Ash: 50]

“What a weak physique,” Uesugi Toru muttered. “With charm this high, am I supposed to seduce a female ghost?”

But the problem was, the fox badger didn’t exactly have a gender. Even if he could endure for a time, it wouldn’t do him any good.

Uesugi Toru continued to scroll down.

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Directly below “Soul Ash” appeared a gently swaying, cold bamboo forest, labeled:

[Newbie Exclusive Salvage: Gloomy Bamboo Grove]

Followed by ominous purple-black twisted text—

[First ten consecutive salvages half price!]

Alright, alright—you’re gonna make me play the gacha game too, huh?

Still, Uesugi Toru didn’t complain too much. Having a cheat was good enough; even the fifty Soul Ash needed for the draws had been supplied by the three brothers in the locker. No need to ask for more.

Time was tight and the mission urgent, so no more words.

He drew immediately!

In an instant, the bamboo grove in the darkness began to tremble, nine pale white lights shooting out in no particular order.

Uesugi Toru ignored all but the last beam of light.

A guaranteed pull!

Give me the guaranteed one!

As if hearing his silent plea, the bamboo grove shook wildly, and eerie cries of children echoed from within.

Finally, a dazzling purple light drifted lazily from the center of the grove.

The purple glow faded, revealing a finely crafted card floating before his eyes, bearing a pale face with fangs and a creepy grin.

[Laughing Hannya (Juvenile Form)]

Uesugi Toru’s eyes narrowed slightly—this didn’t seem like a guaranteed pull after all.

Although the gacha pool hadn’t specified what the guarantee would be, judging by the nine white lights before it, the guarantee would at most be blue or green tier.

To get a purple light was purely luck.

Without hesitation, Uesugi Toru began reading the description and usage instructions for [Laughing Hannya].

[Laughing Hannya (Juvenile Form)]

[Quality: Superior]

[Rank: Half Star]

[Max Rank: One and a Half Stars]

[Talents: Demonic Strength (Weak), Fearful Smile]

[—A laughing hannya who entertains itself by scaring and playing pranks on children, not yet fully grown. Perhaps its potential goes far beyond this?]

The moment his consciousness touched the [Laughing Hannya], Uesugi Toru grasped its practical use—

He could wield cards to transform into yokai and legends from history and folklore.

Not bad.

Uesugi Toru grinned.

That fox badger had just scared them senseless—well, now it was his turn to make it feel that kind of fear.

It’s a traditional virtue; one should return kindness with kindness.

But the quality of Laughing Hannya was only “Superior” green tier—was that because it had the potential to ascend to higher star levels and quality?

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Unable to think of anything else, Uesugi Toru continued to browse its two talents.

[Demonic Strength (Weak): The Hannya is a demon god. All Hannya possess bodies and spiritual power far beyond ordinary spirits and monsters. Even a low-level Laughing Hannya is no exception.]

[Fearful Smile: The Laughing Hannya’s smile exists inherently to frighten others. Any being that meets your gaze must pass a “Willpower Check” after you smile; failure results in forced paralysis.]

What a berserker with built-in crowd control.

The two skills fit together perfectly. Without hesitation, Uesugi Toru equipped the card.

Inside the locker, a pale face with fangs and a creepy mask flew out with a sinister chuckle, clicking onto Uesugi Toru’s face.

His status panel immediately changed—

[Uesugi Toru (Laughing Hannya Avatar)]

[Physique: 3 → 10]

[Willpower: 4 → 6]

[Charm: 9 → 6]

[Spirit Arts: 0 → 2]

In an instant, he felt his mediocre high school body inflate like a balloon; his muscles sharpened and defined, his steady heartbeat thundered, the rush of blood was audible, and even his senses sharpened.

He could even feel a strange, indescribable power flowing within—this must be what they called spiritual power.

The locker, which had barely held the three brothers, creaked under the strain, clearly overloaded.

Looking beyond the locker, the pitch-black darkness that had been impenetrable now appeared as clear as daylight.

“About time.”

He recalled the fox badger with the old man’s face from his memories.

Compared to it, he now was just a slightly dangerous wild dog.

Click—

Strong fingers tore open the thin locker door. Wearing the Hannya mask as one, Uesugi Toru bent and stepped out.

Only then did he notice the other two brothers’ bodies were slightly closer to the locker’s outside, with one conveniently blocking half of his own body.

Perhaps they wanted him to survive more than anything...

Uesugi Toru silently shook his head, crouched down, and gently closed the terrified eyes of his two comrades.

The pupils beneath the Hannya mask were pitch-black and cold, devoid of emotion.

He wondered if Ririko, the girl who had risked her life to buy him time, was still alive now...

At that moment, a loud crash echoed from at least a hundred meters away, followed immediately by a girl’s roar:

“You bastard, get away from me—!”

In the deep silence of night, Uesugi Toru heard it clearly—there was no doubt it was Tokugawa Ririko’s voice.

The vengeful spirit nodded in understanding, stepping out with heavy strides. Its terrifying, ferocious laughter rippled through the eerie corridors like a shockwave:

“Ririko, don’t panic! I’m coming to help you!”