Chapter 105
The Reincarnation Game is really interesting. It has so many strange skills and characteristics hidden inside. He never thought that someone would dismember themselves and control each part of their body in battle.
Legs, hands, torso, head, eyes—this is clearly a complete skill tree, bizarre and powerful.
What capabilities would a torso with the largest volume possess?
As he played, his curiosity was piqued, and he quickly found the answer.
The torso came head-on, stirring up a thick fog. It was neither a sword nor a spear, but an entire wall of thick fog.
It was originally intended as a shield, no, it was more than just a shield.
A faint light shone through the mist. Smoker's right arm was hidden behind his torso, holding a beautiful azure crystal. This Chaos Item was not offensive; it could only quickly condense the moisture in the air into ice.
So when Yuki crashed into the wall of mist, he immediately felt his body become sluggish and heavy, with ice crystals condensing all around him, as if trying to seal him inside.
Click click click.
In an instant, shattered ice appeared all around. Yuki knew all along that there were no absolutely powerful items in the world, only items that were suitable or unsuitable. For example, this item was a perfect match for him.
By manipulating the mist and then using tools to solidify the gas, Smoker clearly put in a lot of effort.
"But you used it a little too early."
Yuki didn't venture deeper into the fog. His Chainsaw Sword, which had already warmed up, spun at full speed, and with all his might, he slammed it down hard on the nearby sling.
Splash--
The steel cable, more than half a meter thick, snapped and, under the pull of gravity, was pulled back like a spring. The force was terrifying, causing the newly solidified ice crystals to make a crisp 'crack' sound.
The ice wall was shattered so easily, turning into countless shards of ice that scattered everywhere. The ice shards themselves were a kind of hidden weapon, but the enemy ignored them and rushed straight in.
The Smoker witnessed the entire scene, his eyes widening as he flew through the air.
You can play it like this??
Besides his Transcendental Grade strength, his ability to utilize the battlefield environment is even more impressive. Yuki was beyond Smoker's expectations. Seeing that he had caught up with him instantly as the ice crystals were torn apart, Yuuki made his move.
Approaching the head, faster than planned, the Smoker instinctively contracted his limbs and torso.
Stop him, we must stop him...
Its mouth stretched to its limit, grasping the thick mist. This time, it was even stronger than before and would not be easily shattered.
But Yuki still exceeded his expectations. He didn't back down or resort to tricks; he simply slid across the icy steel cable.
Courageous and fearless.
Facing the white mist that formed swords, spears, and halberds, he charged forward head-on, unleashing his energy to its Limit.
Soul energy. Full power.
Reddish-gray energy surged like waves, tearing apart the close-fitting mist. Greatswords and longswords swung so tightly that they cut the weapons made of white mist inch by inch.
There's no way to retreat; we have to fight to the death.
The Smoker immediately understood the situation: his opponent's full strength was still beyond his Limit. "Trying to outdo me in ruthlessness? I'm not afraid of you!"
As a player who rose through the ranks from the bottom, Smoker may not be as clever as Kanai, but he is ruthless to the core. He summoned back his limbs, which were enveloped in a thick mist, like a suit of armor.
As if it had gained a core, its strength increased sharply. Yuki slashed down, breaking through the white mist and embedding itself into the forearm, but its strength was exhausted and it could not break the bone.
Is this even possible?
Yuki didn't freeze. The experience of tracking the demon core in the hospital had given him a wealth of knowledge. At this moment, he didn't care about anything else; he had to bite the opponent's vitals like a mad dog.
The Smoker's limbs, like floating cannons, had lost their previous vastness and unpredictability, becoming more solid and practical. The mist itself was versatile in both offense and defense.
Clang!
The slash returned, scattering ice crystals. Yuki recognized it as the arm that held the Chaos Item, its hardness several levels higher. At the same time, the two legs were already close together.
It never ends, but if you focus all your attention on attacking, how much energy will you have left to dodge?
Throwing his Chainsaw Sword to knock away a leg, Yuki ignored the last 'floating cannon' thrusting at him, gripped the sword with both hands and raised it above his head, while the energy surrounding his body contracted completely.
He revealed his true form, clad in a red school uniform, standing atop a steel cable, aiming at the head dozens of meters away, and channeling energy into his longsword.
Concentrate, solidify, extend.
A giant blade, several meters long, appeared, filling Smoker with a sense of crisis, but he was not afraid; rather, he was delighted.
"I'm faster!"
The right leg he was controlling couldn't accelerate, but the mist swirling around it extended, transforming from armor into a spear that pierced Yuki's left chest. In addition, he used his torso to shield the back of his head, forming a wall of mist.
Offense and defense are intertwined; life and death hang in the balance.
Puff.
Yuki's left chest was pierced by the spear tip, and the rapidly elongating white mist was indeed faster and could indeed Piercer the enemy who had withdrawn all energy defenses.
Before Smoker could even confirm his victory, the gray-red light blade had already slashed down.
Battle Continuation? Or perish together?
The thought flashed through his mind, but he had no time to dodge. The light blade, concentrating all its energy, had already slashed down, splitting the fog wall in two and annihilating his torso and head together.
Clatter.
Yuki landed on the bridge, and in the blink of an eye, all the fog had disappeared, as if he had just been in a hallucination.
He glanced at the hole in his left chest, then expressionlessly brandished his long sword.
"But I am stronger."
Chapter Nineteen: The Game, Evolving?
After the sword strike, not a trace of mist remained, except for a few more human remains scattered across the bridge.
Yuki lowered his head expressionlessly, glanced at the hole in his chest, and then shook his coat as if nothing had happened.
Vitality Shift.
This skill is useless against demons, but it's perfect for players. Almost every player studies human anatomy and knows where to attack for maximum damage.
The key is to do something counterintuitive, to create the illusion that he can turn the tables and win.
Yuki glanced at the frozen river, feeling a pang of regret. After Smoker died, the rock had simply fallen into the river, so there was no need to bandage it. He took off running towards the other side of the bridge.
Why choose this place for the final battle? It's because if things go wrong, we can escape as quickly as possible.
He turned his head and saw the player's severed limbs slowly disappearing into the bridge, rushing headlong into the thick fog. Then, a bright white light filled his vision.
[Player voluntarily leaves random quest, time taken 4 hours]
[Reward: One enhancement point.]
A strange murmur arose, and Yuki could no longer feel the stinging pain in his left chest. The Tyrant had told him that leaving a random quest would automatically repair his body, but there was no prompt, making it unclear how to obtain more rewards.
"So the reward is a speed race. Oh well, I wasn't planning on getting any rewards from the game anyway."
Yuki wasn't disappointed. It was an experiment after all, and it was already good enough that he didn't have to pay for it; in fact, he made a fortune.
[Chaos Item: Impact Hammer (Chaos Class)]
[The hammerhead releases a shockwave upon contact with an object; the force varies depending on the swinger's striking power. Uses: 0/10. Cooldown: 6 hours.]
[Side effect: The impact feedback to the user causes shock to the arm holding the hammer.]
[Description: Please remember that force is relative.]
No wonder that purple-haired boy is such a muscular man; most people would break their own bones if they hit him with a hammer. Speaking of which, after players enable the forum trading function, Chaos Item complement skills or traits.
Yuki discovered another piece of information: once a player survives two dungeons, they accumulate some assets, thus gaining the power of choice, and the combat system begins to take shape. Then, for veteran players like Smoker with four experience levels, the system is complete, and all that remains is to refine it.
The random dungeon space shrank faster than the regular dungeon, and the light quickly dimmed. Yuki did nothing but close his eyes and savor the fast-paced quests of the past few hours.
Four players, two Chaos Item, abundant Soul Energy, one Enhancement Point...
His fingers trembled slightly as a hunting urge surged within him, but reason quickly suppressed it all.
We must not let greed blind us. Such opportunities are rare and hard to come by. If it were a real encounter, how would we gather intelligence and plan psychological tactics in advance?
Besides, other people aren't stupid. Who can guarantee they won't be the fish that takes the bait next time?
"Almost there, the Demon Heart is about to enter a new stage, right? If the Reincarnation Game is stupid enough, wouldn't I be able to farm rewards with Hayasaka Ai and the others using random missions?"
After a jumble of thoughts, darkness had completely engulfed him.
"Return."
From being dragged into the random mission to returning, only a few hours had passed, but the people from the academy and the consortium had already reacted.
On the surface, it was said that a case had occurred, and the police were mobilized to cordon off the scene. In reality, the two sides were in contact remotely, and because of the encounter, they were very cautious and only dared to probe from a distance.
With Yuki, it was one thing to not know who the enemy was, but this time it was clearly the player group from the Advanced Nurturing High School who was behind it.
Of course, neither side that gets dragged into this is stupid. They need to investigate the matter thoroughly before taking a stand, and there is a lot of room for maneuver in this process.
"How you operate it is none of my business; my job is just to muddy the waters."
Yuki, who ignited the fuse, chose to return directly to his rented apartment in Izu. There was no way he could just wait for someone to come to him; only a fool would return to the same spot.
Yuki wasn't nervous because he hadn't revealed his identity from beginning to end, and even Shiina Hiyori hadn't appeared.
If you can find even the slightest clue through a random investigation, I'll eat my hat.
He had considered posting the robotic arm in the trade thread, but ultimately decided against it. On one hand, it would be too embarrassing, and on the other hand, even if the other party couldn't come and kill him through the internet, they might be able to find clues if they had divination skills.
Yuki was very patient, acting as if it were none of his business, and wasn't in a hurry to contact anyone. He just stared blankly at the two Chaos Item in his space.
This was an experiment, and a key part of it was testing one's Limit; the results are now available.
Because of the mission rating system, a player's seniority does not necessarily indicate their strength, but the four people he killed were quite representative.
"After all, having an organization behind them and someone to guide them means they can avoid many pitfalls, and their strength is definitely above average, even disregarding their intelligence advantage—"
Is the Limit four dungeon levels?
He probably had a pretty good idea of what was going on. The strongest veteran player he had ever seen was Tyrant, and the latter, as a retail investor, was much weaker than Smoker.
To fight against a level four opponent at the second level is an incredibly terrifying rate of growth, which also brings out the unease under the Crimson Moon.
"The more I look at it, the more it seems like they're nipping me in the bud. Oh well, I'll investigate further."
Yuki didn't do anything extra, just browsed the forums and then took a nap.
After battling several players for hours, I was a bit tired. And friends who often play the assassin should know that once you've committed a crime, you must resist the urge to show off and let the limelight fade away first.
Perhaps he was truly exhausted, or perhaps he felt a sense of security from shifting the blame elsewhere, Yuki slept straight through until noon the next day.
He didn't rush to make external contacts, but instead boarded the Shinkansen to Fukuoka. Only after he was far enough away from Izu did he turn on his old-fashioned phone.
Ding ding.
Not long after, his phone vibrated. He answered it, held it to his ear, and waited patiently for several seconds before he heard a sound.
"You are very professional."
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka admired the other party's caution; he left absolutely no clues. Even though he had taken measures to jam communications and ensure the safety of the conversation, the other party was still not at ease and did not turn on the phone until the next day.
"Thank you," Yuki said coldly.
"You're a former assassin?"
"Pretty much. Do you want to create a psychological profile of me?"
"That's insulting to each other's intelligence. Someone as careful as you wouldn't leave even the slightest clue." Ayanokoji leaned against the wall. He had considered it before, but now he had given up.
A professional, cautious, and powerful hunter.
This was his most profound impression at the moment, so he took a deep breath and asked, "I'll handle the rest. Do you have any thoughts on participating?"
I'm so bored I'm just jumping into this mess. Whatever you do will benefit me anyway.
"I'm not interested now, but I'd like to know more about the Reincarnation Game." Yuki grinned, still indifferent.
Ayanokoji wants to disrupt the balance and fish in troubled waters, Yuki wants to know more information; it's a win-win situation for both of them.
He had finished his business and passed the test. Someone who could take down four players in a short time was qualified to negotiate, regardless of his intelligence or strength.
"I'll send you what I can tell you, and what I can't tell you is the rule of the game, it has nothing to do with my subjective will." Ayanokoji also seemed very straightforward. He had a lot to do right now and didn't have time to argue with Yuki.
His reasoning was the same as Yuki's: knowing this information wouldn't harm him no matter what he did.
Is it guaranteed to be authentic?