"A story character."
Xiang Nan stated this outright.
Katsura Kotarō.
He immediately recognized the newcomer's identity—and that duck, Elizabeth, was also the runaway Gintama "mascot."
Seeing a stranger who seemed to know him, Katsura was astonished, but there was no time to think it over.
He was already set to flee with Elizabeth.
If the innkeeper spotted him…
Orban had been simmering with anger. The moment he learned the man was a story character, he prepared to kill him.
After all, killing a story character earns completion points.
Just then, however, the door was flung open.
In came Beishi, who had been out for some time.
Excitement and tension warred on his face; his expression was complicated.
Xiang Nan keenly noticed Orban's odd look. With Orban's strength, he could have killed Katsura in an instant—this world has no "energy" cultivation system, so with Everyone's combined power, defeating a purely physical Katsura Kotarō would be easy.
Orban gave Xiang Nan a tiny shake of the head.
Xiang Nan understood at once: the system had warned him—players are forbidden to attack story characters in this world.
"Katsura!"
Beishi burst in; he was about to speak, but when he saw the "Zura" he froze, then called out in delight.
Katsura, who had just slid open his door to slip away, stopped, glanced back—
These strangers seemed to know him, yet he'd clearly never met them.
Hmm…
He hesitated not at all.
Grabbing Elizabeth, he darted out, vaulted through the window at the corridor's end—the balcony—and was gone.
Just like that, they escaped…
"What's going on?"
Only now did Xiang Nan look at Orban.
"The system told me that story characters in this world can't be attacked by players," Orban answered helplessly.
It was the first time he'd seen such a rule.
Could it mean the plot hadn't begun?
Impossible—the plot's start only decides whether one officially enters Reincarnation Dimension mode.
"I've made a major discovery."
Beishi had collected himself; he spoke gravely.
"What is it?"
"This world probably has no players!" Bei Shi enunciated every word.
"What!?"
Orban, Pigeon, even Xiang Nan all jumped.
Recalling Katsura Kotarō's reaction, Xiang Nan suddenly understood.
"First, Gintama works differently. We're in Kabukicho—the biggest stage in Edo, holding over half the story characters. If players were here, this place would be crawling with them, whether to meet characters or to level up. Today I ran all over, met many story characters. In other worlds we're called 'Nameless' (Hunter x Hunter), or 'Reincarnators' (King of Fighters). Wherever players appear, the main‑world factions—Shōgunate, Amanto, whoever—notice. Complete isolation is impossible if players exist.
"Besides, Kabukicho is small; it's easy for a player to build a force. Hiding and 'power‑leveling' in secret? No chance—too cramped.
"In short, story characters should be used to strangers who recognize them. Yet my tests show some characters have zero experience with that, and no one in Kabukicho has ever reported mysterious outsiders.
"So I'm sure: we are the only players here!"
"Not just players—the only intruders," Xiang Nan added.
Clearly, Gintama is a special world.
Their Nen still functioned—Xiang Nan had tried—but they could not attack story characters; no quests appeared; hidden plots couldn't be unlocked manually.
"Since entering this world—though it's been less than a day—I have a strange feeling," Xiang Nan said, rubbing his chin.
"What feeling?" Orban asked.
"We seem to be blending into the world's art style." He thought of their absurd day in the host club, of Katsura popping up in an outlandishly comic way—exactly Gintama's chaotic humor.
"You mean… the world is subtly assimilating us?"
Pigeon half‑understood.
"It's just a hunch. So far, the effect is minor. Maybe the world is simply unique. Nen still works; we just can't hit story characters—that's manageable."
They'd only just arrived; the "assimilation" was still too faint to measure.
A battlefield thought flashed through Xiang Nan:
The Reincarnation Dimension involves not only players but also the world setting—its designated battlefield.
"No players means no variables; the plot is untouched, resources unclaimed… and Gintama is an episodic gag manga; its main storyline is mostly hidden anyway. That fits," Orban said to Beishi.
"Looks like we didn't just open an instance—we opened a hidden instance," Pigeon chuckled.
"Enough speculation," Xiang Nan refocused them. "Given the situation, let's plan. The system gave no quest, but with your Gintama knowledge, what's the greatest, most valuable resource we can collect under free action?"
Beishi fell deep in thought.
"Mmm… from a Hunter x Hunter power scale, usable resources here are few. Maybe some alien tech—Amanto spaceships far outclass anything in our Hunter world—but that's support gear. Even if we haul it back, infrastructure limits might stop it working. If we grabbed data and sold it to the Republic of Padokea military, we might get upgrades…"
He was speaking to Xiang Nan.
"Not worth it. We're blind to the rules and the time limit. I need resources that give us immediate, personal power boosts," Xiang Nan cut him off.
"In that case… there's really nothing. Gintama's power ceiling is low; no energy systems. A few races are physically strong, sure, but without energy they can't match us. Even the leads just use martial arts, swordplay, hand‑to‑hand."
So… had they entered a world with almost no value to them?
Would they leave empty‑handed?
"Energy… wait."
Suddenly Beishi clapped his hands.
"Altana—the planet's life force! I almost forgot."
He grew excited.
"Altana, the Dragon Veins—planetary energy usable by humans. The secret villain I mentioned, Yoshida Shōyō, became immortal through Altana, living for centuries, and his physical might is terrifying. The Tendōshū use Altana to consume worlds across the universe, but Earth's Dragon Veins are still intact."
Dragon Veins? Planetary life force?
The three felt a chill of awe.