[Meme]

　　No Grudge.

　　It's getting dark.

　　The surroundings made Ryota think of a possibility.

　　"Could it be… the time I teleported back was too late?"

　　He immediately took out his cell phone, then connected to the network to calibrate the phone's time.

　　The screen reads 7:34 p.m.

　　Half an hour had passed since he had taken part in the adventure.

　　"Not suprisingly..."

　　Ryota was slightly taken aback.

　　For a while, he didn't know if he was lucky? Or bad luck?

　　If he was lucky, he would already be fully armed and just waiting to kill the ghost with one strike. As a result, time flew by, which made him lose his chance to fight. How could he sleep peacefully before the ghost died?

　　But if it's bad luck... that doesn't seem to be the case.

　　After all, this could be considered as giving him more preparation time, so that he could face ghosts in a better state.

　　"Wait! Since there is no crisis for now, why not issue a mission to clear it?"

　　Ryota suddenly thought of the basic function of the Adventurer's Guild.

　　If possible, he still wouldn't touch the ghost-like thing himself.

　　It is human nature to subconsciously avoid his own weaknesses.

　　Ryota immediately summoned the system light screen and entered the task module.

　(Crush Grudge.)

　　[Task difficulty level C, please offer a reward of 40,000 points to release the task]

Ryouta: "..."

　　What happened! ?

　　Grudge... so strong?

　　"No, that's not true!"

　　Ryota frowned.

　　Could Grudge, who was created by an illusion, be rated as C level difficulty?

　　No matter how he thought about it, that was impossible!

　　"Could it be that… Hayasaka really hit the spot, that Grudge isn't an [Evil Spirit], but some sort of [Meme]?"

　　Ryota remembers what Hayasaka said in the safe room.

　　He immediately initiated a taks request.

　　(Destroy Grudge who's after me.)

　　[Task difficulty level 2E, please offer a 1500 point reward for releasing the task]

　　"That's right! What I encountered should have been one of Grudge's avatars."

　　Ryota has a judgment in his heart.

　　But 1500 points... Why does it still feel a bit high?

　　Not that he only had 300 points, so complaining about 1500 points was too high.

　　His current comprehensive strength rating was 2F.

　　Honestly, if he really was prepared, with enough holy water bullets, he was confident he could kill any Grudge he came across.

　　Based on this reckoning, the Grudge he met at most could only reach Rank E, right?

　　Ryota thought for a moment, took out his cellphone, and called Hayasaka.

　　He needed more information.

　　Of course, upon making contact, he did not forget to immediately evacuate from his original position.

　　He had been shooting around here recently.

　　Not run this time and wait to go to jail?

　　Considering the safety of the Shirogane family, Ryota does not return to the Shirogane family.

　　Instead, he went to urban areas far from residential areas.

　　Immediately, he edited the email and sent it to Hayasaka.

　　Especially asking questions about the characteristics of some [Meme] level ghosts.

　　For example, what form does the avatar exist in, what is its relation to the main body, and… Will it continue to get stronger over time.

　　Just as Ryota was about to run to the city, Hayasaka's answer finally came: "It looks like we teleported back didn't we when we just left, Shiro-chan, you should be safe now? As for your question, I don't know much about the first two, but I do know about the third…"

　　Ryota finished reading the message quickly.

　　The atmosphere got a little heavy.

　　Because Hayasaka mentioned that a ghost-like form would devour the souls of those who were killed.

　　Every time one more person is swallowed up, one more person's power can be used.

　　It's not just about strength.

　　Simply put, ghosts can use other people's souls as a source of power to activate their own characteristics.

　　The more souls one gets, the more effective the trait will be.

　　For example, someone caught by Kayako will lose vitality and freeze, which is one of its characteristics.

　　Therefore, the hidden forces in this world basically kill ghosts at the sight of them.

　　As more victims engage in their killing patterns, the more powerful they become, and then continue to complete upgrades.

　　Upgrade from ghost to [Rule] level step by step.

　　"So, I feel like Kayako is stronger than when I met her before. Isn't that an illusion?"

　　Ryota confirmed his earlier guess.

　　Maybe after he left, Kayako went off to kill other damned people.

　　And if he remembered correctly, there was a setting in the piece he read before traveling—namely, the person that Kayako killed would form a new Grudge.

　　Then, will the new soul power extracted from the person killed by Grudge be used by Kayako?

　　Thinking of this, Ryota felt a sinister feeling.

　　Could this be a [Meme] level trait?

　　Even if it is an avatar, it can continue to get stronger.

　　So how strong is the real Grudge...?

　　Suddenly, a sense of urgency hit Ryota's mind.

　　The ghosts in this world are too dangerous!

　　It's no wonder that killing a Grim Reaper is rated as A level difficulty by the system.

　　Tens of millions of abnormal deaths in the world every year, if it is the work of the Grim Reaper, accumulated over the years... How many souls has he merged?

　　Saying that the only lucky one might just be "ghosts have their own killing rules, and they don't kill people indiscriminately".

　　And, only the [Red Advent] phenomenon could turn the souls of the dead into ghosts.

　　"No! Grudge targeting me must be eliminated immediately. It's too dangerous to let go!"

　　Ryota realizes the seriousness of his problem.

　　If the guess is correct. Then it wouldn't take long, maybe the sword in his hand couldn't kill the Grudge he encountered.

　　Ryota quickly replied to Hayasaka's email: "I'm safe now, don't worry, thanks for the information."

　　After replying, he started to memorize all the details about Grudge in his mind.

　　According to his earlier guesses, he was targeted by Grudge on August 20, along with three school bullies.

　　In accordance with the characteristics of the curse, the four of them must have gone to a certain house before being infected with the curse.

　　Ryota remembers very clearly that the only house he stayed in that day was that of one of the three intruders.

　　Grudge might be there!

　　Actively looking for Grudge, he has to go there.

　　Ryota held the hilt of the sword, took a deep breath, and tried his best to suppress the tension in his heart.

　　But just as he was about to leave, his cell phone suddenly rang.

　　Ryota was a little surprised when he saw the caller's number he didn't recognize.

　　He was even more shocked when he connected.

　　Because the person who contacted him was a policeman.