I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

"I had barely landed when three or four more tasks appeared on this list."

Even though he was already in his early forties, he couldn't help but complain, "Even if it's incredibly durable, you can't treat it like a super ox or horse and exploit it like that."

Yasui, the junior officer, also sighed: "The 1.5th wave is coming up in a few days. Since you, Lord Nakamura, have chosen to become an 'executor,' it's understandable that things will be a bit hectic lately."

"Then, Mr. Yasui, I wish you success in your work."

A sudden surge of spiritual energy, so subtle that it was almost overlooked by Uesugi Tetsu, propelled Nakamura, who was wearing a wide black haori, into the air a thousand meters high within seconds.

The next instant, a terrifying thought, as powerful as the sun, swept across the ground.

Uesugi Tetsu felt his breath catch in his throat, and he was almost forced into the ground by the substantial pressure to become a dry radish.

He looked around again and found that everyone, including Yasui, was completely unaware, continuing their conversations and tasks as usual.

—It seems that without sufficient strength, one cannot even perceive the terrifying aspects of a demon-god level.

Uesugi Tetsu circulated his internal energy several times before he could barely eliminate the subtle discomfort.

He shook his head and heard Tamamo beside him say that they should first send their family to the Special Affairs Office in Shizuoka City to prevent harm from the 1.5th wave and the demons.

—From the very beginning, her younger siblings and parents came to Shizuoka City for this purpose.

—It's just that the timing of the black phone booths was too opportune.

"Well then, Uesugi-san, I'll be going now."

"Okay, Chisa, just make sure you get plenty of rest these next couple of days."

After accepting thanks from Chisa and Tamamo's parents, Uesugi Tetsu bid farewell to Chisa, who was already holding the amulet with great affection.

"Uesugi-nii... um, why not call him Uesugi-dai-nii?"

Uesugi Tetsu could still hear Tamamo muttering in confusion as she got into the black sedan belonging to the Special Affairs Department.

Watching the car drive away, Uesugi Tetsu said to Yasui, who was almost constantly giving orders to the surrounding operators, "If any demons appear, call me anytime."

After saying that, Uesugi Tetsu moved a chair over and found a shady spot to lean against.

—Since Tamamo is sending his family to the Special Affairs Department building, he might as well take this opportunity to check out the two special items he obtained after completing the mission.

First, there was the red brass rotary telephone, exactly the same as, and even more exquisite in, that was placed in the black telephone booth.

【An old-fashioned rotary telephone (special item)】

[Quality: None]

[Effect: When using this phone to communicate with others, you can obtain their names and locations.]

At first, people thought it was just an ordinary phone call.

Uesugi Tetsu's indifferent gaze swept down until he finished reading the "Effect" section, after which he suddenly sat up.

I'm super, box!

This thing is ridiculously powerful in certain specific situations!

However, Uesugi Tetsuya suspected... if he used it to make a phone call to a being of the demon-god level or even higher, would the other party be aware of this effect?

For powerful spirits and deities, this is not an impossible thing.

"Hmm... I'll use Nanjo-nee as a test case next time."

Without taking out the actual phone, Uesugi Tetsuya moved on to the next special item.

【Walking Permit (Special Item)】

[Quality: None]

[Effect: None]

[—Give it to the caretaker of the procession, and He will understand its purpose.]

The incomprehensible yet impressive introduction perfectly matches the mysterious aura of the wanderer.

Uesugi Tetsuya took it out and examined the letter in his hand, which was the same size as an ordinary envelope and had a white jade-like texture.

This material... reminded him of the Key of History that the God of Calamity had given him during the Walking Gathering.

Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've participated in a walking gathering.

Previously, the God of Calamity said that it was not allowed to enter for at least a week, but the current time interval has far exceeded that—Uesugi Tetsuya forgot about it when he got busy.

After all, it was nearly a hundred days ago for him, and there wasn't anything particularly attractive about the walking gathering.

"If you have some free time later, take some time to visit the gathering place."

Having made this decision in his mind, Uesugi Tetsu leaned back in his exceptionally sturdy engineering plastic chair and took a short rest.

Numerous special agents came and went around him, but none of them bothered him.

Now that the near-god-level black phone booth is dead, the next task will pose no difficulty to the Special Affairs Department.

"Yo, Uesugi-nii."

It was Tamamo's cheerful voice that woke Uesugi Tetsuya.

He slowly opened his eyes, full of energy, yawned, and saw the golden-red sunset slowly sinking towards the horizon.

Uesugi Tetsu glanced at Yasui, who was still calmly talking to the people around him, and asked Tamamo,

"Shizuoka City, is everything alright?"

"Well, there are only a few minor issues left. There's nothing else we need from you, Uesugi-nii."

Tamamo shrugged, then extended her hand to him: "Let's go back to Hamamatsu to pick up Yagyu."

"Right on my mind."

Uesugi Tetsuichi grasped her hand and stood up from the chair, then heard Tamamo's sincere voice coming from beside him.

"Thank you so much for helping me and my family this time, Uesugi-san."

"You should be thankful."

Uesugi Tetsu lowered his head and shrugged at Tamamo, saying, "Tamamo, you should remember to help me out a lot in the future."

Yuzao immediately displayed an aura of unparalleled strength, forcefully patted her puffed-out chest, and loudly proclaimed, "I will not shirk my duty!"

The two hitched a ride with the Special Affairs Department and arrived in the outskirts of Hamamatsu City shortly after the moon rose.

The once deserted streets and alleys were now bustling with activity; you could find a huge crowd in any noisy spot.

The appearance of the secret realm and its reputation on the top 100 list have attracted countless challengers and busybodies who have settled not far from it.

This has made the surrounding area bustling with activity.

While walking, Uesugi Tetsu happened to pass by the old bus stop where he had previously boarded the Kisaragi train.

He then realized that he was in a hurry and hadn't had time to look at the black and gold VIP card and the note that had appeared on the seat.

Putting the VIP card aside for the moment, Uesugi Tetsuya first clutched the unremarkable piece of paper in his hand and waved it in front of his eyes.

The front of the note explained how to use the Black Gold VIP card.

— [By channeling spiritual energy into the card and silently reciting the destination in your mind, you will know when the next Kisaragi Train will arrive.]

This simple description made Uesugi Tetsuya's eye twitch.

This is practically a blatant declaration that "trains are available on demand."

Hmm... it's best to use such a huge privilege sparingly. It's never a good idea to suddenly change course on a train that's halfway through its journey unless absolutely necessary.

Once or twice is fine.

If this happened too often, Uesugi Tetsu was afraid that every time he entered the mortal world, he would encounter a bunch of powerful demons whose journeys he had delayed.

Then the back...

Uesugi Tetsu blinked.

There is only one sentence on the back.

--【haven't seen you for a long time】.

Uesugi Tetsuya looked at the bus stop, which seemed no different from any other, and said softly,

"haven't seen you for a long time."

……

"Yagyu, how much have you finished?"

"I've used up all three chances... I'm on the thirty-seventh floor."

The two looked in the direction that Yagyu Akira was pointing.

He discovered that even after reaching the thirty-seventh floor, his ranking had already been pushed to the bottom of the top 100 list, dropping to around eighty.

And there are at least fifty or sixty more names followed by the ranking of "[Thirty-seventh floor]".

Yagyu Chi explained, "The stone tablet was recently updated again—if it's the same floor, the less time you spend on the walkthrough, the higher your ranking."

When Uesugi Tetsu looked up again, he found that the person at the top was not Minamoto Shizumi.

It was Kyujou-in Jin.

Although he still hadn't killed the projection on the forty-first floor, he had already surpassed Yuan Jingshui.

Uesugi Tetsuya was not surprised by this.

The Eye of Interpretation opened, looking towards the kimono-clad beauty chatting and laughing at the edge of the field of vision... Just like before, no matter which angle you looked at her, she was a humanoid nuclear bomb emitting white light.

This four-stage breathing method is too abnormal.

Just as Uesugi Tetsu was sighing inwardly, he heard Tamamo click her tongue and say...

"Damn, Jiujieyuan Jin is still as abnormal as ever. He just eats and drinks all day, lies there and does nothing, yet he still easily takes first place in the top 100. I almost doubt if he's even the same species as us."

As she spoke, Tamamo sighed regretfully.

"If he had taken it seriously from the beginning, he might be on par with the eldest sister of the Yuan family by now. What a pity."

How can one reach this level without any cultivation?

Uesugi Tetsu suddenly began to doubt his earlier statement to Chisa that "talent is not important"... How come there are monsters everywhere in this world?

But then he thought about it again and found himself amused.

Monsters are good. The more monsters there are in the present world, the easier it will be to deal with the mortal realm and subsequent waves...

In the distance, Jiujieyuan Jin suddenly turned around and looked at him, following his gaze.

The young man, whose charm was outrageously high, turned slightly pale. Surrounded by onlookers, he turned his head and asked with a hint of anticipation in his eyes, "..."

"This one, why don't you try the secret realm?"

Of all those eyes on me, why did they just happen to pick me out?

Or perhaps, it's some kind of special connection between the strong?

Uesugi Tetsu raised an eyebrow, feeling countless gazes directed at him.

He pondered for a moment, recalling the hint he had seen earlier—

[You have obtained an unknown and powerful buff!]

[This buff will take effect the next time you enter the "Projection Realm"!]

Chapter 224: Number One on the Top 100 List, the Prize Pool Continues to Accumulate! Level 41 of the Secret Realm: Slay the Oda Army!

Are we to enter the Warring States Secret Realm here, under the gaze of so many people?

Recalling the buff that was specifically marked with the word "powerful," Uesugi Tetsu knew that the forty-story level certainly couldn't stop him.

Even if the projection loses its mind in the extremely rare event of entering again, all my long-term training will not have been in vain.

In the same "angry" state, Uesugi Tetsuya now believes he can deal with the projection within two minutes.

Of course, getting injured is unavoidable.

With this powerful buff, which even caused Genjiro Shizuka and Kyuuketsuin Kin to fail on the forty-first floor, Uesugi Tetsu felt that he might as well give it a try.

Uesugi Tetsuya pouted, feeling his skin tingling from hundreds of different gazes.

But to achieve third place on the top 100 list in full view of everyone, and even to surpass everyone else and win first place, is a bit too ostentatious.