MTL NOVEL Chapter 22: Chapter 22
[Ding! Omedetou gozaimasu, player! Mission completion reward has been issued.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired a special skill: Yin-Yang Weirdness.]
[Yin-Yang Weirdness: The host's attacks will be imbued with Yin-Yang energy, giving a chance to poison the target upon impact.]
[Additionally, you have received a fixed mission reward: 1 million yen. Current balance: 2.1 million yen.]
Hozuki Nozomi blinked at the floating system prompts in front of him. Mission completed?
Did Mitaka Jin seriously check out of Sakurasou on his own?
Hold up, he was the landlord, so how come he wasn't informed?
Also, it was an unspoken rule at Sakurasou to throw a farewell party for anyone leaving. It was a tradition—a way to celebrate, even if someone was moving on. When Kanda Sorata left, everyone had sent him off with smiles and laughter.
But Mitaka Jin, that idiot, just up and left. No proper send-off, no notice.
What a mood-killer.
Then again, Nozomi wasn't going to complain. If that guy was gone, it saved him the trouble of dealing with whatever drama would've come next. One less thing to worry about.
Shaking his head, Nozomi turned his attention to his newly acquired skill.
"Yin-Yang Weirdness?"
The name alone was bizarre. He furrowed his brows.
"What kind of weird ability is this?"
Reading the description again, his eyes gleamed with curiosity.
"So my attacks now have a chance to poison the target?"
He scanned his surroundings, eyes locking onto the pillow beside him.
Perfect test subject.
Without hesitation, Nozomi clenched his fist and punched the pillow.
Once. No reaction.
Twice. Still nothing.
Three times—
[Ding! Target (pillow) has been poisoned. Yin-Yang Weirdness activated!]
A moment later, a health bar appeared above the pillow. Nozomi's eyes widened.
Oi, what the hell? Even inanimate objects have HP?
Fueled by intrigue, he threw a few more punches.
[Ding! Yin-Yang Weirdness has stacked!]
As the health bar dropped to zero, the pillow suddenly burst apart with a loud bang!
Cotton stuffing scattered for a brief second—before vanishing into thin air as if it had never existed.
Nozomi sat frozen in place.
Yabai… this skill was actually amazing!
Forget 'weirdness'—this was a straight-up instant kill technique! If he hit a target enough times, they'd eventually drop dead.
A grin crept onto his face.
Finally, he had something truly useful.
His previous skill—Spirit Eye Attack—was decent. It allowed him to charge up an attack that inflicted extra damage on spirits, but it was a one-time use per enemy. If he couldn't finish off a tough opponent in one go, he'd be in deep trouble.
But now? With Yin-Yang Weirdness, he just had to keep hitting, and eventually, the poison would take effect.
Not just on monsters, either. Anything that had HP could be affected.
The proof was right in front of him—well, it was before his pillow disintegrated into nothingness.
Next time he ran into Yotsuya Miko, the girl with those powerful spirit-seeing eyes, he wouldn't even need to rely on double damage rebound tricks. With Spirit Eye Attack and Yin-Yang Weirdness, he'd be able to take down evil spirits without breaking a sweat.
Heh, his future was looking brighter already.
His gaze shifted to the bed, noting the mess of tangled sheets.
Well, this was all thanks to him and Kamiigusa Misaki.
Of course, it wasn't like he had pounced on her like some wild beast.
It was just last night…
Misaki Kamiigusa and Chihiro Chigusa had a drinking contest, and, as expected, Misaki got absolutely wasted.
Then, in the middle of the night—
Misaki Kamiigusa, in all her chaotic glory, actually jumped from the third-floor window straight into Hozuki Nozomi's room, staggering right into his bed.
It nearly gave Nozomi a heart attack.
Before he could react—
The dazed and intoxicated Misaki suddenly leaned in and kissed him.
For a normal guy, full of youthful energy, being pushed down like this…
Nozomi wasn't made of stone.
So, the next morning, Misaki tiptoed out of his room, wearing his oversized shirt.
Unfortunately for her, she ran into Mitaka Jin.
Meanwhile, back in her own room, Misaki was rolling around on her bed, face completely red.
"Uwaaaah!! This is so embarrassing!"
Last night, in her drunken haze, she had dreamed of Nozomi gently brushing her hair aside… then things escalated, and he had done all sorts of things to her.
It was… intense.
And then, for some inexplicable reason—maybe the alcohol had completely fried her brain—she had actually jumped through his window and into his bed!
Then… well, everything happened.
The worst part? Nozomi hadn't even been mad about it. He had just sighed and lent her some clothes like it was no big deal.
Misaki covered her face with both hands, kicking her legs in frustration.
Why was he so gentle? So cool? And yet, so wild at the same time?!
"Noooo! I can't keep thinking about this! Misaki Kamiigusa, snap out of it!!"
She flopped onto her futon, hugging her pillow tightly.
Her brain was fried. Her heart was in chaos. And the production of the magical girl anime? Temporarily put on hold.
While Misaki was busy having an emotional meltdown in her room, Nozomi was already up, dressed, and having breakfast.
Taking the bento Sayu Ogihara had prepared for him, he left for school alongside Shiina Mahiru.
On the way, they ran into Mishima Sumireko.
After all, she also lived near Sakurasou.
So, the three of them ended up walking together and taking the train.
After Nozomi's introduction, Mahiru and Sumireko exchanged polite greetings, getting to know each other briefly.
Once they arrived at school, Sumireko, not wanting to attract attention, split off from them.
By the way, she was now the librarian at Sobu High School.
With her top-tier grades in Japanese literature, the student council had easily approved her application.
Thus, only Nozomi and the stunning blonde Shiina Mahiru were left walking together.
Their presence alone drew countless gazes as they made their way down the halls.