I'm Standing on a Million Lives - Episode 2 Recap

In a flashback, Yu asks Yusuke if he’s turned in his homework stating his plans for the future. Yusuke hadn’t yet so he turns the question back on the girls. Kusue reveals she wants a career in pharmaceutical research.

Back in the present, Yusuke is alone in the forest hunting goblins to raise his rank. He realizes his current level is far too weak to take on the troll from the last episode. Yususke stumbles on a log point that reveals Yu had wished for a Yotsuya to be their next party member, but there are two Yotsuya’s in their class. Yusuke concludes that there’s a 50% chance that Yu wanted him and not the other Yotsuya. The idea of having his own harem motivates him to become a strong, reliable hero.

After killing several goblins, Yusuke is able to raise his rank to 9. He then notices in his interface that Kusue has died and is not returning to life. Fearing the worst, he makes his way back to the village to find it in ruins! A log point shows Yusuke that Kusue had been training earlier. She explains to a village boy that she doesn’t want to be a burden to her team, feeling she’s been a burden too long to her family due to her weak body. That’s why she’s doing her best to get stronger in the game. Suddenly, the troll appears. To protect the village boy, Kusue sacrifices herself and gets eaten.

After seeing this, Yusuke realizes how selfish he has been his whole life. The troll comes out of nowhere to kill Yusuke, but he is determined to defeat it. He wants to bring Kusue back to life, believing she’s a better person than him and deserves to live more than he does.  He runs from the troll and learns its movement patterns. Eventually, Yusuke spots a goblin and kills it, raising his rank to 10. The increase summons Game Master, who bestows the new class of Chef. As a Chef, Yusuke has kitchen knives as weapons and can see weak points within his enemies.

Yusuke uses his new skill to carve open the troll’s stomach. This action frees Yu and Kusue to revive. The three work together to kill the troll, each dying several times over. Finally, Yusuke comes up with the right strategy - he jumps in the troll’s stomach and slices him from inside. This paralyzes the troll long enough for Yu to stab it in the head with her staff and release a blast of wind, exploding the troll’s head from the inside! 

With this, the quest is cleared and all three team members increase in rank. As a reward, Yusuke asks what happens after the tenth quest is completed. The Game Master shows a brief scene of a massive dragon landing in Tokyo. The three are then transported back home. Kusue walks with Yusuke, which is the first time a girl has ever walked with him.