001 Strange Games and Headless JK Girl

```

Late spring, dusk.

The cherry blossom trees on both sides of the school path were ablaze with blossoms.

The sunlight at sunset was intoxicating, the breeze gentle, and the delicate cherry blossom petals fluttered down, creating an enchantingly romantic atmosphere.

Kamiyagawa walked along the pebbled path strewn with cherry blossom petals, pausing now and then to check his phone and look around.

He resembled a Pokemon Go player.

"It seems to be around here."

In fact, Kamiyagawa was playing an AR mobile game, but it wasn't Pokemon Go.

The game he played was called "Strange Tales".

A very strange game indeed.

It had appeared on Kamiyagawa's phone out of nowhere, and no information related to it could be found online; it couldn't even be uninstalled.

Once the game was launched, a two-dimensional street view map appeared, prompting the player to go to certain real-world locations before the game could officially start.

The location indicated by "Strange Tales" was within the premises of the Karin High School where Kamiyagawa currently studied.

Because of the thought "this might be the 'golden finger' benefit for transmigrators," Kamiyagawa started the game with a sense of serendipity.

Following the guide from "Strange Tales," Kamiyagawa micro-adjusted his own location and moved five meters to the right, standing right in front of the trunk of a large cherry blossom tree.

Buzz buzz.

His phone started vibrating.

[Start Game]

A start button emerged on the "Strange Tales" page.

"Finally, it's here."

Anxious, excited, and with a hint of indescribable anticipation, Kamiyagawa slid his finger and pressed the start button.

The next moment, his phone...went dark.

Kamiyagawa swiped at the screen a few times and pressed the power button, but there was no response.

The phone, which was perfectly fine just moments ago, had seemingly turned into a brick.

"Are you kidding me?"

Kamiyagawa internally screamed that he had been tricked, and only when he moved his gaze away from the phone did he notice that the surroundings seemed to have changed—

The sun, previously hanging like a salted egg yolk in the west, had unknowingly completely set below the horizon.

Without the glow of the setting sun, the light instantly became dim and eerie, and the scenery around seemed as if it were filtered through the underworld, even the splendid cherry blossom forest lost its appeal.

"Something's off."

Kamiyagawa looked down and saw something new beneath the trunk of the cherry blossom tree he faced.

It was a small wooden Divine Cabinet; it was unclear what resided within, but a faint yellow-green glow flickered around it.

"This wasn't here before; it appeared all of a sudden."

All of the changes around him had happened abruptly after Kamiyagawa pressed the start button for the game.

Having confirmed this, Kamiyagawa actually felt a strange sense of relief.

Indeed, as a transmigrator, he could accept any bizarre occurrence.

Then, he lifted his phone up in front of him again.

A new piece of text appeared on the pitch-black phone screen—

[Strange Tale World load complete.]

[This is a chaotic world brimming with a multitude of spirits and ghouls. The moment you set foot in this world as a living person, you have only one goal—to defeat all the demons and assorted malevolent entities and become the supreme ruler of ghosts!]

[So, future ruler of ghosts, before the story of your journey officially unfolds, please first choose one of the following companion items to obtain—]

[Item name: Kappa's Half-Eaten Cucumber]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Effect: After use, enhances swimming capability significantly, with a chance of mastering the Kappa's underwater breathing technique.]

[Description: A cucumber cherished by the Kappa, long treasured, second-hand at fifty percent, can be used internally or externally.]

"Cucumber for external use... Kappas like face masks too, huh?"

Kamiyagawa, with a disgruntled expression, skimmed past the first item.

[Item name: Daitengu's Tall Wooden Clogs]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Effect: When equipped, increases a certain amount of movement speed and allows one to travel with the wind.]

[Description: Wooden clogs covered with patina due to constant use by great demon Daitengu, imbued with demon energy, are no longer ordinary.]

Worn to a patina, really?

Well, the second item isn't quite appealing either.

[Item name: Five Thunder Righteous Method (Fragment)]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Effect: After learning, one will obtain a rudimentary understanding of the Five Thunder Method.]

[Description: A special selection generated based on the affinity of your soul. An ancient Taoist Sect spell from the Huaxia magic system. Once mastered, one can summon resplendent heavenly thunder to aid in battle. However, due to the significant loss of content, the power of the incomplete spell is lost. Perhaps you can find a way to complete the spell?]

Kamiyagawa didn't hesitate among the three companion items, firmly choosing the fragment of the Five Thunder Righteous Method.

As a transmigrator whose soul originated from Huaxia and was a collector in his past life of gaming, even a second's hesitation would be disrespectful to the terms "special selection" and "Huaxia Taoist Sect spell" in the item description.

Furthermore, even being a bit more rational and setting aside personal emotions, Kamiyagawa still had reasons to choose the fragment of the Five Thunder Righteous Method simply from a gamer's perspective.

According to the description, the Kappa's cucumber seemed to be an item specialized in enhancing underwater combat abilities with a very specific application, but useless if not in water.

The Daitengu's clogs, on the other hand, had a broader application. A certain increase in speed made them a general-purpose item, applicable in many situations, yet seemingly of limited significance.

But the Five Thunder Method was different.

Even though it was a low-tier fragment, the text clearly hinted at the potential to complete the spell.

```

That means this thing has room to grow, and the potential ceiling is sky-high!

If I could learn the complete version of the Five Thunder Method later, wouldn't it be a thousand times stronger than the trash collected from Kappa and Daitengu?

So the bet's all set, ao!

[Obtained the incomplete scroll of the Five Thunder Righteous Method, learned Five Thunder Method·Incomplete]

After choosing the incomplete scroll of the Five Thunder Righteous Method, a text popped up on the smartphone screen like this.

Immediately after, an ancient book, tattered beyond recognition, appeared out of nowhere in Kamiyagawa's hands.

At the same time, an odd tickling and numbing sensation burgeoned within his body, stirring restlessly, subsiding to calm only after several minutes.

Kamiyagawa tried to manipulate that strange tickling and numbing sensation that had just been harbored into his body.

As this thought arose, his hands naturally formed a hand seal.

It was a Taoist hand seal called Five Thunder Finger, a type of Thunder Method seal.

Kamiyagawa naturally didn't understand how to form seals before, nor did he know the Taoist methods. All of these Taoist knowledge points appeared inexplicably in his mind after the game hinted that he had acquired the Youth Edition of the Five Thunder Method.

Pi-pi-pa-pa—

Once the Five Thunder Finger seal was formed, Kamiyagawa's body experienced a series of tiny, dense explosions, with flashes of electricity flickering nonstop.

The actual effect was comparable to static electricity generated when taking off a woolen sweater on a dry winter night.

After executing a set of Thunder Method spells, he reached out to touch his forehead, feeling slightly mentally scattered, "So, the incomplete version of the Five Thunder Method is basically just static electricity with boosted power, huh?"

However, choosing the incomplete scroll of the Five Thunder Method was betting on its growth potential; it was acceptable if the spell was a bit useless in the early stages.

"Speaking of which... now that I've chosen the companion item, does the game start? There should be a tutorial for beginners, right? At least let me understand the mechanics of the game."

Kamiyagawa squatted down and lightly touched the Divine Cabinet on the ground.

For a moment, those yellow-green specks scattered in every direction like fireflies on a summer night.

At the same time, the phone vibrated once more.

[Map unlocked, Karyou Ghost School.]

[Regional Quest 1: Explore over 80% of Karyou Ghost School. (0/100)]

[Regional Quest 2: Vanquish Rank D Strange Tale, the Doll Ghost Hanako.]

"Hanako? Can I actually encounter that thing here?" Kamiyagawa swallowed nervously.

In Japan, Hanako of the Toilet is a very famous school ghost tale.

Alright, I'm beginning to understand everything.

What I need to do now is to use those little static shocks on me to defeat Hanako, this widely-known major ghost tale.

Such a simple task...simple my ghost!

This is no different from sending me off to fail!

A slightly chilly evening breeze blew over for no reason, and sakura petals trembled as they fell, forming a sakura blossom rain.

At the same time, some sounds were intermixed with the wind.

"Wu wu wu wu——"

You could hear someone crying.

It was the sobbing voice of a girl.

"Could it be an NPC providing guidance for the tutorial?"

Kamiyagawa put aside that regional quest for the moment and followed the sobbing sound toward the dimly lit sakura forest. After walking about a dozen or so meters inside, he encountered a silhouette.

It looked like a girl, but the upper part of her chest was obscured by the sakura trees' shade, making it hard to see.

But he could see her sailor suit, pleated skirt, black knee-high socks, flat leather shoes, the exposed arms, and thighs were fair and smooth.

A standard, cute high school girl attire.

"Hello?" Kamiyagawa spoke.

"Giggle giggle giggle giggle——"

At that moment, the girl in the woods suddenly stopped crying and instead emitted a bell-like, pleasant chuckle, then swiftly charged towards Kamiyagawa.

The sudden turn of events left no time for reaction.

What Kamiyagawa saw next made his heart skip a beat.

The girl from the sakura forest emerged from the shade, revealing her entire body which had been covered in shadows—

Above her chest was a blue ribbon tied into a neat and pretty bow. However, above the collar where there should have been a head, there was nothing, absolutely empty!

This thing wasn't any NPC, but a monster!

"No, if it doesn't even have a head, which part of its body was crying?"

In the face of such a situation, Kamiyagawa's reaction was quite commendable; he didn't freeze in terror or become weak-kneed. After voicing a senseless complaint inside his mind, he quickly turned to flee.

But the headless JK's movements were clearly faster. Not far from running away, Kamiyagawa was tackled to the ground.

The headless JK straddled his back, giving off a sensation that was soft yet chilling.

In a panic, Kamiyagawa hurriedly performed a Five Thunder Finger seal.

Concentrated pale blue sparks exploded in an instant!

The headless JK on his back shivered slightly from the abrupt sparks but did not loosen her grip on Kamiyagawa.

After unleashing a set of Thunder Method spells, the situation remained unchanged, without any improvement.

Bad news, I'm done for!

"Giggle giggle giggle giggle——"

The headless JK let out a light-hearted laugh and used her pale, slender hands to tightly choke Kamiyagawa's neck.

Deprived of oxygen, suffocating, his lungs felt like they were about to burst, his blood chaotically surged, blocked at his throat.

Kamiyagawa couldn't break free from the grasp of the monster on his back and could only let his consciousness slowly blur...

The smartphone clutched in his hand fell to the ground in the last moment; the originally black screen displayed two large red characters—

[Death]