In the Hall of All Living Things, the main sanctuary of the [Temple of All Living Things], an elderly monk sat cross-legged before a magnificent statue of Buddha. He was dressed in grey robes, his eyes lowered. Were it not for the occasional tok-tok of his wooden fish, one might mistake him for a corpse that had been dead for days.
There was no trace of benevolence on this old man's face. Underneath his withered, tree-bark skin, something was constantly writhing—squirming like countless earthworms beneath the surface. It was a sight that would make one's scalp tingle.
Three long sticks of incense burned in the censer before him. The smoke they emitted wasn't the usual grey-blue, but a faint, sickly blood-red, carrying a distinct stench of rotting corpses.
And if one looked closely at the entity seated upon the lotus throne—the massive golden Dharma Body—its left and right hands were forming the "Seal of Demon Sealing." The compassion usually seen in its brows was gone, replaced by a thick, concentrated hatred. It looked as if tears of blood were about to stream from its eyes. This was no Buddha; it was an immensely evil Demon, poised to swallow everything whole.
Suddenly, the ground trembled violently. The residual ash from the burning incense fell into the censer, and the sound of the wooden fish stopped.
The old monk slowly opened his mouth.
"Fukuichi. Go down the mountain and investigate what has happened."
"Yes, Uncle Enzō."
"Why do you hesitate?"
The old man looked up, glancing at the young monk standing at the temple entrance. The youth wore green robes and had a constant, squinty-eyed smile on his face.
"Uncle Enzō... there is one thing I do not understand."
The monk called Fukuichi let the smile fade from his face.
"The Abbot... has he truly passed into Nirvana?"
"That is not for you to ask. Go."
"Yes."
Once the Hall of All Living Things returned to silence, Enzō closed his eyes again.
As if recalling some terrifying existence, the old man shuddered.
"Nine hundred years... why struggle over a single moment?"
He shook his head and resumed the slow, rhythmic tapping of the wooden fish.
"Senior Brother is confused."
---
Kenmei Isayama had no idea that the gates of the [Temple of All Living Things] had opened, or that a monk of the "Fuku" generation was currently descending the mountain to personally deliver some "warmth."
"Hahaha! Die, you bastards!"
Kenmei was busy.
If he hadn't seen the [Points +31,000] notification from the first artillery barrage, he might have retained some sanity.
To get that many points, he definitely must have blown up one or more mini-bosses.
So now, he had gone completely feral. Kenmei prowled the edge of the village, clutching burning propane tanks and hurling them directly into the settlement.
BOOM!
Kenmei even added his own sound effects as he threw them, feeling the explosive flames in the dark night and the constant tremors of the ground.
Watching the fire soar into the sky, seeing the Wraiths being blown to pieces, and watching his Points count tick up and up... Kenmei had only one word in his heart.
Ecstasy.
This was way more satisfying than throwing firecrackers as a kid. It felt so good that every hair on his body stood on end. Originally, he planned to stay at a safe distance and use a psychic arm to toss the tanks into the village.
But Kenmei didn't care about safety anymore. He had already exceeded his quota. Any kill he got now was pure profit.
His motivation skyrocketed.
What about the Wraiths charging straight at his face?
They got the Molotov Cocktail treatment.
CRASH.
Kenmei smashed a bottle right onto a Wraith's skull. The sound of shattering glass was music to his ears.
Instantly, 1,500-degree flames engulfed the Wraith's body. Drenched in fuel, it continued to burn until it was reduced to ash.
The burning figures running wildly through the forest were his masterpieces. If not for the relentless torrential rain, Kenmei's "Cocktails" and "Hell Cannons" would have started a forest fire long ago.
Kenmei discovered that blowing up that weird, fleshy biomass yielded a ton of Points. It looked scary, but once blasted apart by a propane tank, it was practically free money. It contained massive amounts of Cursed Energy, though he had no idea where it came from.
Suddenly, Kenmei's impression of the village changed. This wasn't a demon's lair; it was an all-you-can-eat buffet.
How many Points did he want? Just blow them out of the ground!
Kenmei glanced at the notifications popping up non-stop. His heart pounded. Spending days modifying these propane tanks had been worth every second of sore hands.
"A person?"
Just as a maniacally laughing Kenmei, clutching a Molotov in one hand and a propane tank in the other, prepared to move to the next spot on his map...
He suddenly found his path blocked by a figure wearing a straw woven hat. He couldn't see the face.
What struck Kenmei as odd was that this guy was different from every other Wraith he had seen. He had a perfect flesh-and-blood body, giving the illusion that a living human was standing before him.
Impossible! It can't be a human!
Aside from the ominous [Temple of All Living Things], Kenmei had already scouted this godforsaken place with his drone. It was an isolated island surrounded by endless fog. Even the drone almost lost connection. There couldn't be any humans here besides him.
Wait... are those monk robes?!
Kenmei realized his blind spot.
Although slightly different from the robes in his memory, the black fabric and the kesa clearly identified him as a Zen monk.
Instantly, his wild, carefree heart clenched tight. The smile froze on his face, replaced by a sudden surge of crisis.
He had been having a blast playing "Bomberman," but deep down, he had worried that making too much noise might attract the attention of the [Temple] he dreaded so much.
At the time, Kenmei thought, Worst case scenario, I die. Whatever. The profits were high enough to justify the risk.
Well, now the game admin had come to ban the hacker.
He knew very well that he couldn't handle a swarm of Wraiths, let alone whatever came out of that Temple.
[WARNING: You have encountered a High-Risk Unit of the Temple of All Living Things: Precept Monk. Alignment: Lawful (Evil)]
[World Exploration +2%]
Kenmei chuckled lightly at the bright red text. He hurled the burning propane tank in his hand straight at the monk.
He felt like a crazed bomber cornered by the police.
"No one in this world can judge me!"
In the split second before the nearly point-blank explosion, Kenmei drew a small knife and cleanly slit his own throat.
"Fuck you! You bald donkey!"
Everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his familiar living room.
"Heh. Temple of All Living Things."
Kenmei looked at the dirty Teru Teru Bozu in his hand, took out a wooden box, and sealed it with psychic chains.
"Next time, I'm definitely killing you all."
[Warhammer Simulator] is now open for you!
Kenmei turned his attention to his [Warhammer Simulator] balance. The Points total had reached 123,560.
[Start D-Rank Simulation?]
Kenmei looked at the spinning wheel in front of him and clicked "Yes" without hesitation!