RWWOKS Chapter 75

**Chapter 75: Illusions**

Jumping off the old four-wheeled cart, Fang Bo and the others finally arrived at their destination.

“This ride was awful,” the sorcerer Ali muttered, rubbing his sore backside, reminiscing about his family’s convertible sports car.

Even in the dangerous world of sorcery, Ali was still a rich kid, which was likely one of the reasons behind his strong sense of justice.

Having never experienced the hardships life can throw, he tended to view the world with a more “gentle” perspective—something unrelated to his exposure to danger.

“Thank you,” Fang Bo expressed his gratitude to the driver as he hopped off the cart, his eyes locking onto the Infinite Train, currently undergoing repairs at the station.

Thanks to his decent charisma, he easily got the exact time of the train’s next departure from the staff with just a few words.

Upon learning that the train wouldn’t be operational until noon the next day, Darren frowned. This meant they might need to stay overnight in a nearby town.

As the saying goes, “The longer the night, the more dreams.” The ninja, with his extensive mission experience, had already sensed the looming danger.

“Be careful,” Darren couldn’t help but voice his concern after they left the station. “We’ve relied too much on external forces, and the space might try to adjust the mission’s difficulty.”

His statement left the two newer reincarnators puzzled.

Fang Bo, in particular, was confused. He had relied on story characters’ help before, and nothing too drastic had happened.

Seeing their bewildered expressions, Darren paused before explaining, “There are two situations when borrowing the strength of NPCs.”

“First, you can leverage the plot naturally, in which case you don’t need to worry about any changes to the mission.”

“Second, you can force the plot, like when you used your position and responsibility to pressure the Insect Pillar into helping us.”

While it could lead to success, the latter would trigger the space’s punishment mechanism—in simple terms, it would increase the mission’s difficulty without you realizing it.

“If you want to understand it simply, the first method is a demonstration of intelligence. The second is exploiting the system, which naturally comes with consequences.”

Reflecting on his past actions, Fang Bo realized that in previous missions, such as the Attack on Titan world and the Black Cat Brigade, he had indeed followed the natural flow of the plot to seek assistance.

But this time was different. To be blunt, Butterfly Shinobu and the Infinite Train had no direct connection. Without the venom research or his request as the Tenth Pillar, she likely wouldn’t have gotten involved at all.

Over the years, there had been countless rumors about the Upper Moons and Muzan. If the Nine Pillars rushed out every time they heard something, they wouldn’t have time for anything else.

Just like Darren said, Fang Bo had indeed exploited a loophole. He hadn’t completed any prerequisite tasks, nor had there been any actual battles before his “invitation.”

“So, there are this many rules hidden in the system,” Fang Bo thought, silently adjusting his understanding of the space.

During missions, leveraging the power of the plot was allowed—in fact, the space encouraged reincarnators to do so.

But everything had to follow the rules. If Fang Bo hadn’t earned the “Pillar” title, Butterfly Shinobu probably wouldn’t have responded to an unverified rumor.

Asking for her help should have triggered a series of tasks that, once completed, would have led to the current situation.

In short, the rule was clear: you can use the plot, but you can’t cheat.

Using the Blue Spider Lily to lure Muzan into a trap? Fine. That’s a demonstration of strategy and planning.

Claiming that Muzan was the son of a medicine seller? Also fine. But you can’t force the Nine Pillars to come along unless you have solid evidence.

Otherwise, even if the Nine Pillars joined out of a sense of duty, the Demon Slayer Corps would be hit with a string of “accidents.”

Feeling a bit troubled, Fang Bo rubbed his temples and asked, “How far will the space go to balance things? They’re not going to throw a second Upper Moon at us, are they?”

“Not that extreme,” Darren shook his head, looking toward the distant town with a nostalgic gaze. “At most, the space will adjust things slightly and throw some unexpected trouble our way. Like, say, an ambush tonight that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“That’s a relief, then.”

As long as there wasn’t a drastic power imbalance, Fang Bo, with his foresight, still held the upper hand.

The space’s adjustments would still have to follow basic logic. It would come down to who could better leverage the plot.

He reminded himself not to carelessly trigger space’s countermeasures, but there was no need to be overly fearful either. If the opportunity presented itself, playing with the system’s rules could even be fun.

If Darren’s guess was right, tonight might offer just such an opportunity.

While the two discussed the space’s mechanics, Ali hesitated nearby before finally turning around, his expression serious and sincere.

“Calling story characters ‘NPCs’ isn’t fair to them.”

Fang Bo smiled wryly, unsure how to respond.

Anyone who didn’t understand Ali’s background would likely think he was a bit crazy.

Thankfully, Darren, ever composed, simply nodded, though he frowned slightly.

Seeing that Ali wasn’t going to explain any further, Fang Bo decided to drop the matter.

After all, they were only temporary teammates. As long as they cooperated on a basic level, there was no need to forge deep friendships.

Soon, they arrived at the small town near the station.

It was a rustic livestock town, the air filled with the pungent scent of animal manure.

From the moment they entered, the sorcerer from Jujutsu High kept a frown on his face, clearly wishing he could stay at the station instead.

But after overhearing the earlier conversation, Ali pinched his nose and followed them into the inn.

If they really encountered enemies, he wouldn’t be able to handle it alone. He’d just have to bear with it.

“Boss,” Fang Bo, ever conscious of his position as the Tenth Pillar, took out the Demon Slayer Corps’ stipend and paid for their lodging. “We’ll need your biggest room.”

“One room?” The innkeeper was stunned.

His gaze flicked between the three men before him, an odd expression crossing his face as he accepted the money.

He even hurried ahead while leading them up the stairs, as if afraid of something.

Soon, their room was ready, and the three-man team quietly awaited nightfall.

With nothing else to do, Fang Bo took out a small tool given to him by Zanko and began practicing his hypnosis technique.

Watching the constantly swinging object, his two teammates curiously leaned in.

“Are you practicing hypnosis?” Darren’s expression was slightly puzzled.

“Yeah,” Fang Bo nodded, his hand continuously moving, keeping the string swinging back and forth.

Of course, he wasn’t just playing around. He was trying to make his mental energy resonate with the object.

Back when his hypnosis skill had been strong enough to become a registered ability on his status screen, it meant that it could have a considerable effect on enemies.

If it weren’t for the contract between them, he would have used his teammates to practice.

“That’s too basic,” Darren interrupted his attempt, pulling out a small book from his mark and tossing it over. “Follow the methods in there. It’ll be much better than the sloppy technique you’re using.”

Though scolded out of the blue, Fang Bo didn’t feel angry. He knew this was just Darren’s personality.

Besides, the book Darren had tossed over was a valuable item.

“Fundamentals of Illusions?” Fang Bo’s eyes lit up.

He’d almost forgotten—this guy had been through the Naruto world, and his Sharingan was practically synonymous with illusions.

Back with the Black Cat Brigade, Zanko had only taught him some basic hypnosis, which at best could hold an enemy for a second or two.

But the long casting time made Fang Bo realize hypnosis was almost useless in real combat.

Illusions, on the other hand, were a different story. They could be considered an advanced version of hypnosis, with a variety of techniques that were much harder to defend against.

“Maybe I should delve deeper into illusions.”

If he ever got to the Naruto world, besides mastering puppetry, he could also explore illusions.

As a series of powerful illusion techniques flashed through his mind, Fang Bo’s excitement grew, and he eagerly began studying the illusion manual.

Focused on his research, time passed quickly, and before he knew it, night had fallen.

Tired of waiting in the room, the team decided to head out for dinner and see what kind of enemies the space had in store for them.

“I wonder if they have steak. I need more protein,” Ali said, holding his nose and looking around, his gaze somewhat lost.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a thick black fog was spreading.

It was a darkness so deep it didn’t just swallow up the streetlights—it seemed to consume the very essence of the night itself.

A drunk man staggered along the road, muttering incomprehensible words as he wobbled toward his home.

But the farther he walked, the stranger things felt. The lights around him dimmed, and even the bright moon in the sky had mysteriously disappeared.

“What the hell is going on—”

Before he could finish his sentence, a young man with blue veins on his face appeared in front of him.

The youth’s cold blue irises stared at him, and the drunkard realized with horror that there were characters carved into the young man’s eyes.

“Lower… Six?!”

“What nonsense are you babbling about, brat? Do you even know—”

The drunkard’s instinct to curse kicked in, but before he could register what was happening, his head was already in the boy’s hand.

The demon opened his mouth and bit off the man’s cheek, chewing a few times before spitting the meat out.

“Filthy human.”

With a casual toss, he discarded the mutilated head, his blood-stained mouth slowly curving into a grin as he gazed toward the distant town.

“Lord Muzan gave me a strict order, so tonight, you all die. None of you will escape the darkness.”

Raising his hands high, the endless black fog spread out like a tidal wave.

**Blood Demon Art: Shadow Annihilation!**

In the blink of an eye, the entire town was plunged into the deepest darkness.

—

(End of Chapter)

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