Chapter 24
Finger Man's mornings start early.
Wake up, polish Buchi—'Proof of the Chosen One'—on the bedside table with a high-quality cloth, and while at it, polish the sapphire brooch too.
A sound comes from the next room.
Seems my neighbor is an early riser too.
With a slight sense of kinship, I complete my daily routine: 100 coin tosses × 3 sets, 100 finger snaps × 3 sets.
Take a shower, warm up, dry my hair, and check today's fate-determining Daily Mission to see if it'll be good or bad.
"Haaah, okay... shaa... okay, haaah... okay, shaa... okay... Daily Mission! Yaaah!!"
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★Daily Mission★
Let's work hard every day, little by little!
'Steel Mental Power'
Stop passersby with "Power!" 0/100
Consecutive days: Day 23
Steady Rank: Gold 5.0x multiplier
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I realize.
A troublesome one has come—or so it seems.
Please don't send me the weird ones.
I just want to enjoy a normal Daily Mission every morning—something like, "Oh, this is nice, this'll do"—without any fuss.
Complaining won't help.
Since it's my first Daily Mission and a weird one at that, it might turn into an unimaginable trial.
"Stop passersby with 'Power,' huh? So, force them to stop?"
As usual, I put on the brooch and wear 'Adolphen's Holy Shroud.'
Might as well put on those sunglasses Shurado said suited me.
Leave the room.
My neighbor comes out at the same time.
Terrible timing—now we're awkward.
Feeling uneasy but thinking, "They might be Dungeon Foundation staff or explorers, so I should at least greet them," I open my mouth.
The neighbor was an unusual woman.
She gave off a mature impression,
though she seemed younger than me.
A long black coat. Sunglasses. A black suit with a black tie. Basically Matrix material. That alone describes her style.
Her features are refined, so she's less 'cute' and more 'beautiful'... or maybe 'handsome' fits better.
"Good morning."
"Yo."
Her reply was surprisingly casual.
For her appearance, she's quite cheerful, huh?
But I'm at a loss for words.
Silence takes over.
"Um..."
"......"
What is this atmosphere?
Wait, huh? She's holding car keys. Ah. That car—the one parked outside before. I looked it up. Supposedly, it's a high-end ride for politicians and royalty... Huh? This kid's car?
"Uhh... that key, it's a Century, right? Super expensive car. I looked into cars recently..."
"......"
"It's cool, right? That classic, vintage exterior... you know..."
Why am I being ignored...? Did I do something wrong?
"......(nods)"
The girl nodded.
Does that count as a reaction?
"Sunglasses. Lame."
With just that, she stares at me for a while before walking past.
'Sunglasses... lame...?' What does that even mean...? Wait, is she saying they're uncool...? Yeah, no other interpretation. I knew it. Musicians, bodyguards, and Keanu Reeves are the only ones who can pull them off as fashion items.
Shurado said they suited me, but... that was probably just lip service since we're acquaintances...
Even the blunt-talking Shurado wouldn't say, "Nah, that's lame as hell!" outright...
I quietly take off the sunglasses and stash them in my chest pocket.
Rough start to the morning. Ugh.
Leave the hotel.
Spot a passerby.
Lucky to find a villager so easily in Gunma.
Alright, time to focus on the Daily Mission.
Stop passersby with 'Power,' was it?
"Ah..."
Tried to call out but failed.
Unlike the camp, talking to people here is way harder.
And I have to stop them with power?
This isn't just suspicious—it's report-worthy.
"Brutal..."
This Daily Mission is practically designed to kill Gold members.
"Hey, you!"
"Eek?! Wh-what?!"
Somehow managed to forcibly stop one person.
"Wrong person."
"Huh?"
The passerby left, eyeing me like a dangerous creep.
Happy now, Daily-kun?
──────────────────
★Daily Mission★
Let's work hard every day, little by little!
'Steel Mental Power'
Stop passersby with "Power!" 0/100
Consecutive days: Day 23
Steady Rank: Gold 5.0x multiplier
──────────────────
Huh?
Why isn't it counting?
Freeze with the window still open.
I realize.
"'Power!' to stop them"... no way...
A woman walks up from behind.
I spin around with force—
"Power!"
"Whaaa?!"
"......(deadpan)"
"......Huh? Uh... huh? (confused)"
──────────────────
★Daily Mission★
Let's work hard every day, little by little!
'Steel Mental Power'
Stop passersby with "Power!" 1/100
Consecutive days: Day 23
Steady Rank: Gold, multiplier 5.0x
──────────────────
So that's what they mean by stopping people with "Power!"
"Shout 'Power!' to stop them," they said.
Oh God.
That's way too cruel, isn't it?
"Eh? Uh, wh-what...?"
"Nothing (deadpan)."
I walked past the woman.
I absolutely didn't have the courage to keep facing her right there.
Fine, daily.
I'm ready now.
Let's do this. Power!!
────
── Gakidou's Perspective
An agent's morning starts early.
Waking in the dark, she knocks out 100 push-ups in three sets, followed by 100 pull-ups in three sets, then wipes off the faint sweat with a towel.
She showers, facing her reflection in the fogged-up mirror.
With just a step, those cold, piercing blue gemstone eyes—which could turn girls into girls and boys into girls, making them all fall—stared back at herself.
Her expressions were sparse; she had always been bad with words.
She had practiced smiling, even hired a communication coach for private lessons. She tried.
But she didn't feel like she had changed much.
Maybe it was the aura she carried—just being there tensed the air, made people stiffen, left her with no close friends.
This girl had never been "normal."
They say a person's accumulated life shows on their face.
Good people have pure, soft expressions.
Evil people have mean, nasty ones.
Gakidou had nothing.
Looking in the mirror, she felt like she was something tiny and flimsy.
She turned off the shower, drying her wet hair.
Suddenly, a noise came from next door.
*Patpatpatpatpatpat──*
*Snnap, spinspinspin──*
(What was that sound?)
Mysterious as it was, her neighbor was definitely awake.
"Those who conquer the early morning conquer life." Sharing this morning conqueror kinship, Gakidou finished dressing, tightened her black tie crisply, and lastly, gently placed her sunglasses on.
Taking the Century key handed down from her grandfather last month, she spun it playfully on her finger and left her room.
Then, her neighbor—Akagi Hideo—stepped out at the same time, bumping into her.
"Good morning."
"(Goo)d (morning. Nice wea)ther."
Gakidou intended that to be a smooth reply.
She hummed with a pleased (expressionless) face.
"? Uh......"
Akagi Hideo looked puzzled.
Gakidou stared straight at him.
"That key... it's for a Century, right? Super expensive car. I've been looking into cars lately......"
Gakidou was taken aback.
Not because her neighbor was Akagi Hideo.
It was the sunglasses he wore—they matched her tastes *bitterly* well.
(So cool... I want them...)
"Sunglasses (where did you... get th)em?"
"..."
Gakidou stared at Akagi Hideo.
(Silence as the answer. I see. So, they're from an exclusive market—members-only or invitation-only auction. As expected of an explorer with the Sapphire Approach. Speaking not with words, but silence. I don't know his name, but this guy's no ordinary man. I'll remember him as Mr. Sunglasses.)
Satisfied with her sharp deductive skills, Gakidou walked past Akagi Hideo.
(Today, I'll work hard gathering intel around Finger Man.)
Gakidou's policy was thorough investigation of a target's peripheral information.
She had the skills, followed the textbook approach. But her one mistake? Investigating *too* much of the periphery.
The target's personal details, their face... any normal agent would start there. But super-elite agent Gakidou attacked the *outer* periphery instead.
Hence, until today, Agent G had never even seen Finger Man's face.
A failure beyond imagination.
Getting into her beloved car, Gakidou coolly set off for another day of investigation.
By day's end, she learned that Finger Man—Akagi Hideo—had been shouting strange things at passersby near the station.
(Finger Man... what's his game? Shouting "Power!" and confusing people—he just seems like a creep. But there's gotta be a reason...)
"Power...... Power...... W-wait! ──Power! Finger Man was saying 'Power!'? (※Correct)"
Rarely, Gakidou stumbled onto the truth.
Yet, the super-elite agent still racked her brain.
"'Power' makes no sense... There's gotta be deeper meaning... W-wait! ──Power? (You want power?!) Is that what he meant?! (※Incorrect)"
(Finger Man was offering evil power contracts to passersby...!)
Shocked by her realization, Gakidou rushed to draft a report for the Agent Master's office. Reading it, the Agent Master clutched his head again.
It didn't end with the report.
Gakidou's righteous heart prompted her to create an online forum thread titled 'Rumors of Finger Man.'
To her, it was covert ops—both gathering intel and warning the world about Finger Man.
But she didn't know.
That this thread would amplify Finger Man's image, steadily spreading through the digital world.
That the rumors, propagating the terror of Finger Man, would gather as a massive energy around the oblivious Akagi Hideo.
"Finger Man... what *are* you thinking?"
What are *you* thinking, is the real question.
Agent G's investigation continues──
────
Pikon!
A sharp sound rang in Akagi Hideo's ear.
"Whaa?! Ah, did I level up again...?"
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Akagi Hideo
Level 105
HP 7,355/7,355
MP 1,250/1,250
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv4'
'Phobia Syndrome Lv3'
'One Strike'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv2' G3
'Proof of the Chosen One' G3
'Labyrinth Conqueror' G4
'Adolphene's Holy Shroud' G3
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"Time to sleep."
Akagi Hideo, who had grown accustomed to occasionally leveling up, was swiftly put back to sleep.
Of course, he had no idea that Phobia Syndrome had leveled up while he slept.
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'Phobia Syndrome Lv3'
Proof of one who delights in spreading terror.
Can acquire others' fear as experience points.
At Lv3, acquired experience points receive a 3.0x multiplier.
Unlock Condition: Infect 100 people with phobia.
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Finger Man's terror spreads ever further——