Three months.That was the prognosis the doctor gave me yesterday. "Mana Void Syndrome," he called it. A fancy way of saying my body was a black hole that was slowly eating itself from the inside out.The assassin standing in front of me, however, was offering a much shorter timeline.About three seconds."Renji Amagiri," she said, her voice muffled by the heavy rain pounding against the neon-lit alleyway. "The Syndicate sends its regards."She held a jagged, mana-infused dagger to my throat. The tip glowed with a sickly green poison.I coughed, and a spray of blood splattered onto the wet pavement between us. It wasn't from her knife. It was just my lungs failing, like they did every Tuesday.(Oh god. This is it. I’m going to die in a dumpster behind a cat cafe. I didn't even clear my browser history.)My knees buckled. The pain in my chest felt like someone was scraping my ribs with a rusty spoon. To any observer, I looked like a pathetic, dying man.Which I was.But I couldn't let

"I am ready, Master!"Runa Yozakura shouted this in the middle of a rain-slicked street, her forehead pressed against the muddy asphalt.I stared down at her, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.(She actually bought it. She thinks I'm a hidden master. I'm a scammer who rents a 1R apartment above a Laundromat.)My vision blurred slightly. The brief surge of Desire Points from our earlier contact was fading. The Mana Void was hungry again, gnawing at my nerve endings.My right hand, which I had tucked into my coat pocket to look cool, was vibrating so hard it was slapping against my thigh."Stand up," I commanded, my voice tight. "Kneeling in the mud is undignified."Runa scrambled to her feet. She was drenched, her novice gi clinging to her skin, but her eyes were burning with an intensity that scared me."Where do we begin, Master?" she asked, bouncing on her heels. "Do we hunt the Dungeon Boss? Do we meditate under a waterfall?"I suppressed a cough that tasted li

"Must you interrupt my rituals with such trivial matters?" I asked, holding the envelope of cash like it was a dirty diaper.Mr. Tanaka, my landlord, stopped hyperventilating long enough to glare at me. "Trivial?! You owe me three months of back rent! And you're running a... a brothel in here!"(It's not a brothel. It's a very intense, non-sexual, magical medical facility. Also, please don't call the cops.)I stood up. My legs were still shaking from the massage exertion, but I locked my knees. I needed to end this conversation before he noticed Runa was actually just wearing a torn gi and covered in salad dressing.I activated the System interface. I had 40 Desire Points left after the massage.[Shop Open.] [Item: Cosmetic Aura - "The Killing Glare".] [Cost: 10 DP.] [Effect: Makes the user's eyes appear to glow with predatory intent for 5 seconds.]I bought it immediately."Mr. Tanaka," I whispered.I stepped over the spilled olive oil. I lowered my head, letting my bangs shadow my e

The Hobgoblin charged.It was three hundred kilograms of muscle, rage, and bad dental hygiene moving at the speed of a truck. The ground shook with every step."Master! Get back!"Runa threw herself in front of me. She was brave. She was loyal.She was also twenty kilograms lighter than the club swinging toward her head.CRACK.She blocked it with her sword, but the impact sent her flying. She slammed into the cavern wall, sliding down into a heap of groaning limbs."Runa!"(She's dead. Oh god, she's dead, and I'm next. I need to run. Move, legs! Move!)I tried to turn around. My brain screamed at my muscles to flee, to dive, to do anything.But my body didn't listen.The fear was so primal, so absolute, that it locked my joints in place. I stood there, frozen like a statue, my hands still in my pockets because I was too terrified to even take them out.The Hobgoblin roared, raising its club for the finishing blow on me. Spittle flew from its mouth, landing inches from my shoes.The s

The interrogation room was cold, sterile, and smelled faintly of cheap coffee and desperation.My wrists were shackled to the metal table with "Mana-Dampening Cuffs."(Joke's on you. You can't dampen zero mana. These are just heavy bracelets.)Across from me sat Detective Sae Kirishima. She had removed her jacket, revealing a white blouse that strained slightly against her chest as she leaned forward. Her eyes were glowing a piercing, electric blue.[Truth Sight] was active."Let's try this again," she said, her voice tight with controlled anger. "Name?""Renji Amagiri," I replied smoothly."Occupation?""Freelance Consultant for the spiritually gifted."(Unemployed scammer.)Sae narrowed her eyes. "My skill says... 'Partial Truth'. Consultant? You barely have a registered address."She slammed a file onto the table. It was the printout of my stream stats."You killed a Hobgoblin Boss with a gesture," she hissed. "But my sensors picked up no mana usage. No incantations. Physics says t