So I Was Laughing

Main Quest (First Phase): Ascension Path

Mission Objective: End Space has disguised the Explorer. To the inhabitants of this world, the Explorer is a lifeform composed of highly concentrated Spirit Particles. You are currently a refugee in North Rukongai, District 80. Find a way to join the Seireitei and open the ascension path.

Time Limit: 3 natural days

Difficulty: Easy ~ Difficult

Success Reward: 500 Doomsday Coins

Failure Penalty: Erasure

Join the Seireitei... At first glance, this mission did not seem particularly dangerous, nor did it appear difficult. But the difficulty range marked on the menu gave Lu Li pause.

In Soul Society, the refugees of Rukongai occupied the lowest social standing, but talented individuals did not have much trouble joining the Seireitei.

After all, the Gotei 13 needed fresh talent as well. In the original story, many outstanding Shinigami had come from Rukongai and joined the ranks after studying at the True Spirit Arts Academy.

Though he did not know what level his talent stood at in this world, he should still be stronger than most refugees. Entering the academy through the normal route should not be difficult.

The problem was that he might not be able to make it to the "admissions office" safely. The higher a Rukongai district's number, the more chaotic it was. Located at the edge of Soul Society, it would be perfectly normal for something to happen on the way to the Seireitei.

End Space had only told him where he was, not what point in the timeline he had arrived at. After thinking it over, Lu Li decided that there was too little information available, and overthinking it would be pointless. He should first check his own condition.

After End Space had sent him into this world, some information had appeared in his mind, telling him how to use the space's basic functions.

Lu Li summoned the menu in his mind and examined his status.

Explorer No. 404040404

Level: lv.1

Reference: Other than Luck, the average adult possesses 5 points in each attribute below.

Note: The Explorer's body has not been fully datafied. The following values are only for self-reference and evaluation.

Life Source: 100%

Soul Source: 100%

Constitution: 15 points

Strength: 15 points

Agility: 15 points

Spirit: 20 points

Charm: 6 points

Luck: 1 point

Since this was his first time checking, every attribute came with an explanation.

Lu Li had played games before. Put simply, Life Source represented his physical "health bar," while Soul Source represented his "mana bar," and was also connected to his soul to some extent. However, because he was a real living being, these two values could not be completely datafied.

Constitution determined the upper limit of Life Source, stamina, defensive resistance, and the speed of recovery from injuries.

Strength determined carrying capacity and attack power, while also affecting sprinting speed alongside Agility. Agility also affected neural reaction speed.

As for Spirit, the description suggested that it affected mastery over moves and skills, the damage of certain skills, perception, and resistance to abnormal control effects.

Charm affected the results of conversations with characters, the abilities of summoned creatures, and resistance to certain abnormal control effects.

As for Luck, it was marked as being related to the randomness of opening items, crafting, drops, and the like. It was difficult to improve.

Lu Li stared at his 1 point of Luck and fell into thought, unsure whether it was high or low.

"Ah—"

Just as he was thinking, a scream suddenly came from the distance. Lu Li immediately became alert and looked toward the street corner.

A figure wearing Shinigami Robes flew through the air, trailing blood everywhere, before crashing into a broken wooden house.

The few refugees on the street, dressed in ragged clothes, were startled as well. No one knew where their frail bodies found the strength, but they scrambled up and ran.

Judging from their reaction speed and the way they fled, it was clear just how chaotic this place usually was... Their proficiency was heartbreaking.

The ones who were not proficient had probably already gone to "reincarnate."

Lu Li frowned slightly at the sight. He had seen clearly just now: the person who had been sent flying was most likely a Shinigami. This was no brawl between refugees.

A Hollow? Or Soul Society's Rebels? He might soon be able to determine which timeline he was in.

By then, those refugees had already run past Lu Li. They assumed he had been scared stiff when they saw him standing there, but none of them warned him.

In the blink of an eye, two more bloodstained figures ran out from around the corner. The Shinigami in front seemed to be shouting into some kind of communication device.

"Encountered a Rebel attack in North Rukongai, District 80! Requesting reinforcements! I repeat, requesting reinforcements!"

The shouting Shinigami had lost an arm. With his remaining hand, he gripped his Asauchi tightly, his eyes filled with terror at the prospect of death.

He and another squad member were running for their lives, clearly no match for the Rebels he had mentioned. Upon seeing Lu Li, he did not change direction. Instead, he charged straight toward him.

After briefly assessing the situation, Lu Li understood why the first phase of his Main Quest had such a wide difficulty range.

Clearly, if he had not sat there at the beginning inspecting his status and thinking, but had simply left right away, he would most likely not have encountered this. If he were lucky, he might even have made it all the way to the safe zone and completed the mission.

Even now, if he chose to run, he might still be able to avoid the danger before him.

But that was not what he wanted.

Blood splattered before Lu Li's face. Terror still filled the eyes of the spinning head in the air. The Shinigami responsible for making contact ultimately failed to pass by Lu Li; before he could reach out, the Rebels behind him had already severed his head.

The other Shinigami had his chest pierced by the other Rebels and died with his eyes wide open.

Clang—

The headless Shinigami's Asauchi fell to the ground, embedding itself before Lu Li. It was still stained with the blood of enemies and its owner, which trickled into the parched earth.

Dressed in tattered coarse linen, Lu Li stood there and watched the ten Rebels inspecting the Shinigami corpses.

They were called Rebels, but in truth, they were former refugees of the Soul Society who had grown dissatisfied with Seireitei's rule. Aside from a very small number of organized rebel groups, most were merely a disorganized rabble.

Yet the few Gotei 13 members who had died before Lu Li's eyes were merely ordinary Shinigami as well, unable even to use Shikai.

From the sounds of the battle just now, Lu Li could roughly gauge the strength of these Rebels.

"What are you laughing at?"

At that moment, a disheveled Rebel shouted at Lu Li.

"A refugee from around here? Deal with him. The pursuing forces should be here soon."

The Rebel leader glanced at Lu Li. Blood still dripped from the blade in his hand, while the scar across his face made him appear even more vicious.

Lu Li raised a hand and touched his face. "So I was smiling."

As he spoke, his body trembled. The Rebel approaching him assumed this refugee had been scared out of his wits and driven mad.

That Rebel raised his blade and slashed at Lu Li. None of the others paid attention to what was happening here, focused only on checking the dead Gotei 13 members for anything that could be used to trace their movements.

The sound of a sharp blade cutting through flesh rang out, but the one who fell was not the refugee—it was the Rebel tasked with dealing with him.

Lu Li now held the Asauchi that had been embedded in the ground moments ago. He flicked the blood from the blade, scattering an eerie arc across the earth.

His gaze swept over the stunned Rebels. His body still would not stop trembling, and he bared a row of pale teeth in a grin. "This is a pretty nice place. It's been so long since I've felt this excited."

Uncertainty flickered in the Rebel leader's eyes, but he quickly made his decision. "Together! Kill him!"

A spear tore through the air, lending a trace of coolness to the scorching heat. Lu Li merely tilted his head slightly, and the shaft swept past the ends of his hair.

In the next instant, beneath the baffled gaze of the Rebel who had ambushed him, Lu Li's long blade swept upward from below.

Into flesh, through bone, Soul Severance!

In the blink of an eye, two Rebels had been cut down. As Lu Li stepped forward, an invisible pressure seemed to unfurl around him, forcing the Rebels surrounding him to take an involuntary step back.

Under the gaze of the many Rebels, Lu Li raised his head to look at the sky and the blazing sun. He took a deep breath and savored the feeling of being alive.

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