Chapter 31: Perfect Hidden Armament

“…I can’t let it be exposed, right?”

The words came out somewhat haltingly as I took a casual sip of the ice-cold coffee.

The chill slid down my throat, but it failed to carry away the tangled knot in my head.

Even without a mirror nearby, I could imagine the expression on my face right now—the kind of look that said, “I know there are no options, but I still feel troubled.”

“Does it feel difficult, Yoruichi? Regarding my request?”

Yune spoke in that research-log-like tone of hers, stating the conclusion I had already reached in my heart.

I didn’t have the energy to argue, so I simply nodded.

“Blue Sea Academy is about to hold the BHAO KNOCKOUT. If I participate, it’ll be easy for me to get targeted. But if I don’t participate and get eliminated or drop out directly… my parents will probably have issues on their end.”

Ah, that’s exactly how things are.

No matter how reluctant I felt, this point couldn’t be avoided.

Right now, my parents were able to find relatively stable work at THE EARTH RING company precisely because I held the status of “Blue Sea Academy student.”

Even though they still belonged to the strictly managed category, their treatment was at least a little better than ordinary people’s.

This was probably the “added value” brought by the name Blue Sea Academy.

In other words—

if I were eliminated because of the BHAO KNOCKOUT or simply forfeited and left school, my parents would also be affected to some extent.

“Haa…”

I let out a long sigh, paused for a moment, and finally finished my sentence.

“So I… have to participate in this BHAO KNOCKOUT.”

“You don’t need to worry about that—it may not be perfect, but I’ve already prepared a countermeasure.”

As Yune spoke, she took out her phone and performed a few simple operations on the screen with her right hand.

Immediately after, a light beep-boop notification sounded, and an AR image unfolded directly in front of me.

“Uwaa?! D-Don’t do it so suddenly!”

A black shadow abruptly entered my field of vision. I instinctively shrank back, pressing myself into the sofa.

It was good that the soft cushion caught the back of my head, but the problem was—

my waist-length black hair got pressed down in my panic.

“Ouch… ow, ow.”

“Idiot. With hair this long, you should tie it up properly.”

Yune scolded me in her usual calm tone.

However, when I looked up and met her serious expression mixed with a trace of concern, the defenses in my heart unconsciously loosened.

“Ah… it’s fine.

If we’re talking about tying my hair, I actually prefer girls with long, straight, loose hair, so I have a bit of an obsession with how I look now.”

In the end, my tastes were probably rather traditional.

Compared to neat and lively hairstyles, I was more easily drawn to that classic “Yamato Nadeshiko” style of long straight hair.

That’s why, even though I knew the Night Witch’s current appearance wasn’t the most practical for combat and movement, I had no intention of changing it.

“Mm… Having your own aesthetic preferences isn’t a bad thing in itself.”

Yune rested her chin on one hand and nodded thoughtfully.

However, she quickly brought the conversation back on track.

“This armament… will definitely help you.”

“A-Armament?”

I had only glanced at it briefly earlier and thought it was just a mass of black shadow.

But once it fully unfolded, I realized that the “black” wasn’t simple at all.

It looked more like the faint glow at the boundary between the night sky and the horizon.

Within the deep blackness, faint traces of blue shimmered through, as if countless stardust were scattered inside.

—It was a cloak.

I was certain of that.

It floated in mid-air as an AR projection, carrying an unreachable sense of distance.

Yet my gaze felt drawn into it, unconsciously stretching toward the inside of the cloak, as if a whole universe was truly hidden within.

“Its name is CHASE THE STARDUST.

It’s an armament that dropped from defeating a wild lord-level BOSS.”

“…CHASE THE STARDUST. It’s really beautiful.”

Almost subconsciously, I murmured my evaluation.

Unlike equipment that emphasized bold colors and violent aesthetics, this cloak gave off a deeper, more captivating feeling.

“This armament is extremely effective at hiding your identity.

To prevent high-tier BHAO players from noticing your changes, this is also one of the chips I’m giving you.”

At this point, Yune paused, tilted her head as if reweighing something, then gently shook her head.

“Honestly, I can’t think of anything more suitable.After all—I plan to use you as bait, Yoruichi.You could be targeted by unknown forces at any time.”

“Eh… so that’s how it is?”

I subconsciously opened the interface.

Display attributes.

On the surface it looked like I was muttering to myself, but in reality I had tapped the AR panel.

Soon, the detailed attributes of CHASE THE STARDUST unfolded before my eyes.

“Mm… let me take a look first.”

An armament dropped by a lord was attractive enough on its own.

Moreover, judging from Yune’s explanation, it perfectly solved the problem I was currently facing.

Since that was the case, carefully checking it was only natural.

⸻

CHASE THE STARDUST

• Voice Mix: Alters voice output, simulating “Galaxy Guardian”

• Undetectable Appearance: Blurs body silhouette

• Galaxy Path: Generates adjustable bright/dark galaxy pathways (supports pure dark / pure bright)

• Probe Prohibition: Except for Tier, all other information cannot be captured by probing skills

⸻

“This armament…”

I deliberately lowered my voice to make sure Yune could hear me without attracting attention.

“Have you decided, Yoruichi—will you accept it or refuse?”

“If I combine it with the fake ID you gave me, I can make it ‘indistinguishable from the real thing,’ right?”

“Correct. To other players, you will simply be an Unknown Name Warrior with special equipment.

But fundamentally, you will still be the Unknown Name Warrior.”

Yune analyzed it calmly, but her slightly furrowed brows showed she still had some concerns.

“However, the Night Witch is a well-known dark-type character in BHAO. Her skill characteristics have already been memorized by a large number of players. The risk of exposing your identity through skills still exists.”

As expected of Yune—she really had thought it through thoroughly.

But—

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

I gave a natural smile.

After I became able to raise my Tier again, this issue was no longer a problem.

“This is the greatest advantage brought by my Tier 6 skill.”

“Oh? Would you tell me—your countermeasure?

Of course, if it involves privacy, you can choose not to say.”

Yune took a sip of her now lukewarm milk.

The satisfied expression that briefly appeared on her face was quickly suppressed back into calmness.

“Of course I can.”

I looked at her, my tone calm yet filled with unquestionable confidence.

“Regarding my fourth skill—NIGHT DAWN…”