Reincarnation Stream Player, at Your Service

"They followed the scent here to eat us." Yuki bared his teeth. The chaotic pounding behind them had quieted considerably; without thinking, he knew they had changed routes.

Before he could say they should move, the Walkie-talkie in Mai Sakurajima's hand crackled again.

"Don't come to the room. Go straight to the rooftop. Living Corpses are everywhere."

It was Li Dan's voice, still maintaining his responsible attitude. Yuki had not responded to him even once, so it would have been perfectly reasonable if they had all been wiped out.

"Should I answer?" Mai Sakurajima raised the Walkie-talkie, taking on the role of communications officer herself.

"Tell him we're heading up. Try to sound scared and desperate."

"There's no need to act." Mai pressed the transmit button, her voice trembling as if she were about to cry. "Brother Li, I'm on the second floor. Can you come get us? I-I'm really scared."

She really was a professional actress. Her voice was enough to break anyone's heart.

Yuki nodded in satisfaction, tearing off his already rag-like jacket and slowly wrapping it around his hand.

"The castle is shaped like a pyramid. The higher you go, the narrower it gets, and there's only one path to the top floor. That Li Dan might not be the type to go easy on women."

Hayasaka Ai brushed the dust from her short skirt and rotated the wrist holding her axe. "Time to risk our lives?"

"Yes. Put all your remaining strength into this. Stay close to me, and don't stop no matter what." Yuki gripped his steel blade and entered the corridor, still taking the lead.

"Wait. If we exhaust ourselves, how will we survive the next wave?"

"You're still thinking about the next wave?" Yuki paused and glanced at the black carpet of heads shifting outside the window.

"Gamble with me one last time. If we lose, pick how you want to die."

As his words fell, his pace gradually quickened. The blade dragged across the floor, carving a straight line into it, making Hayasaka Ai frown silently.

"You're cornered, and you're still not panicking?"

"What's there to panic about? At least I have a blade in my hand and teammates behind me." Yuki stepped steadily onto the stairs, listening to the chaotic footsteps above. As he passed the corner, he pushed off with his toes.

Universal Principle Four: Never despair before death catches up to you.

Kill!!

As he rounded the corner, he collided head-on with several Living Corpses. Before they could pounce, his blade had already swept through them, spraying blood across the walls.

Behead, sidestep, drive forward behind the headless body. The corpse in front of him was instantly torn apart, while the blade piercing through its remains thrust upward through another Living Corpse's chin and burst out through the crown of its skull.

He pulled his blade free and ducked. The Silver Moon Ring swept across the floor again, leaving several pairs of lower legs behind as the Living Corpses tumbled down the stairs.

"Stay against the wall."

Hayasaka Ai chopped down head after head that approached her, dragging Mai Sakurajima along as they followed Yuki closely.

They reached the third floor. Yuki turned sideways toward the corridor. Without needing any reminder, Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima rushed ahead. The moment he turned his head again, a Living Corpse launched itself at him like a long jumper.

Trying to ride me?

Yuki reacted faster. He raised his blade with both hands and leaned forward. He felt the dull resistance of steel sinking into flesh as the Living Corpse was split in half down the middle, foul blood splashing over his body.

At that point, he had no time to worry about infection. Seeing shadows swaying down the corridor, he turned and ran, braced himself against the railing, then climbed upward along the outside of the stairs with both hands and feet.

"You behind me, me in front. Don't take the stairs. Climb straight up."

"Okay."

Yuki stepped on the handrail, gripping the railing with one hand and holding his blade with the other. He focused only on cutting legs. The longblade, reinforced with fixed Reinforcement Magecraft, sliced through bone with astonishing ease.

The Living Corpses clearly had no intelligence. How could they have expected the Players to be so devious? To bite people, they had to bend down, but once their legs were severed and their balance shifted, they immediately became human tires rolling down the stairs. Soon, they piled up at the landing, and some simply smashed through the windows and rolled outside the castle.

More than a dozen Living Corpses were stacked together. Without legs, they still waved their arms as they crawled forward, creating a scene straight out of hell.

Hayasaka Ai had no time to look, while Mai Sakurajima did not dare look. She kicked off her high heels, climbed over the railing, and used all her strength to follow the blood-stained figure ahead.

They had reached the fourth floor. One more floor!

Yuki had spent several hours exploring the Ancient Castle earlier, and that knowledge now proved useful. The front section had five floors, with the rooftop above them. But he glanced back and knew the final trial was coming.

The Living Corpses that had rushed into the castle had been alerted by them and were all surging this way. The stairwell was packed with heads. It was too narrow, and their legless kind had blocked the landing, so they could not catch up for the moment.

Looking left and right, both corridors were full of swaying figures. According to the speed he had calculated, only a small number of Living Corpses could reach them first. At least the footsteps overhead were not dense.

But now they were like filling in a sandwich. Dense black shadows filled both side corridors and the stairs below. Even if they stood still and let him cut them down, he would die of exhaustion.

"Hayasaka, use the item! Mai, carry her!"

Hayasaka Ai had just grabbed Mai Sakurajima's hand and climbed the stairs, one of her dress shoes having been yanked off. Hearing Yuki's voice, she clenched her teeth.

Chaos Item. Activate.

A slender Petal extended outward and accurately drilled into the head of the foremost Living Corpse. The moment it tasted blood, it swelled wildly, blooming into a swaying flower atop its head.

Branches danced back and forth, slicing apart the surrounding flesh. Fed by the countless bodies, they continued splitting until they quickly filled the entire stairwell.

The connection between the fourth and fifth floors seemed to have a blender installed. Living Corpses kept rushing up only to be shredded apart. Most of them did not die; they still crawled along the floor, the bloody sight making everyone's eyelids twitch.

Hayasaka Ai felt like her head was splitting apart again. The pain was so intense she could not even stand, but Mai Sakurajima hoisted her onto her back, gritted her teeth, and climbed with all her strength.

"Hayasaka, you should lose some weight."

Hayasaka Ai had no mood to respond to the jab. She groaned, "Ten seconds!"

"I know. Keep up!"

Yuki's face remained expressionless as he charged ahead. It was as if he had an architectural blueprint in his mind; the moment he reached the fifth floor, he turned right.

The stairs to the rooftop were fifty meters ahead. No matter what, they had to make it there.

His stamina was nearing its Limit, and the hand gripping his blade was trembling slightly. Ten Living Corpses drawn by the scent stood ahead, blocking the corridor.

He glanced behind him. Mai Sakurajima's legs were already shaking. She had probably never been this exhausted in her life. Their eyes met, but neither spoke.

Stay close to me.

The figure ahead of her eyes pulled away, growing faster and faster. His brisk walk became a jog, and then he leaped.

Kill!!

Yuki charged directly into the Living Corpses. His first strike split the entire head of the corpse before him apart. Amid the spray of red and white fluid, he crouched and landed, feeling shriveled fingers brush through his hair.

He felt himself enter some strange state. He forgot fear, fatigue, even swordsmanship and stamina. He simply opened his mouth and poured the rage in his chest out into the world.

His left foot stepped forward. He twisted at the waist and turned, gripping the longblade in reverse as it carved a silver arc through the corridor.

Waist Slash!

Two Living Corpses still in midair were severed in half. Yuki did not even look at them. He sprang upright like a coiled spring, his blade piercing the next skull. He twisted the blade, carved through its face, pulled it free, and threw himself backward. Using the momentum of his slide, he slashed left and right in rapid succession.

Slash, slash, slash.

The blade severed muscle and bone, sending Living Corpses collapsing one after another. Then they crawled on their hands, reaching for the black-stockinged legs running close behind him.

The carpet was soaked through with blood, slick beneath her feet. Mai Sakurajima did not dare look down. She was not thinking of anything either, only staring blankly at the blood-stained figure ahead.

Like the only light in a deep, dark corridor, he left her with no need for wild thoughts. Like a moth chasing a bonfire, she only needed to follow her instincts.

Two left.

Yuki could not worry about what was behind him. He had cut all the way through the corridor and could already see the stairs in the distance. Brighter moonlight shone down from above, making the man standing beneath it seem strangely conspicuous.

The man stared wide-eyed, as though the charging Yuki were a stranger to him. Yuki froze as well, cold sweat instantly covering his back.

Li Dan's eyes were devoid of light, yet they carried an inexplicable killing intent.

How could this be? It shouldn't be.

Yuki was baffled. A full two seconds passed before Li Dan raised his enormous revolver and aimed down the corridor.

Bang!

A Chance to Catch His Breath

Bang, bang, bang.

Dull gunshots echoed through the corridor, making Yuki's pupils contract.

Just moments ago, he had thought Li Dan was going to kill him. Firing repeatedly at such close range—was he not afraid of hitting them by mistake? But he quickly realized that Li Dan was completely confident.

The heads of the remaining two Living Corpses in front of him exploded at once. He could even hear the shriek of bullets passing beside his ears.

It was as if the bullets had eyes. The head of the Living Corpse clutching Mai Sakurajima's legs exploded, allowing her to stagger forward. The tide of corpses pouring into the corridor also paused as the heads of several in front burst simultaneously.

It's a shooting skill. Not even an Olympic champion could be this fast or accurate.

The thought flashed through his mind, but he did not dare dwell on it. He grabbed Mai Sakurajima behind him and dragged her toward the stairs with all his strength.

"Thanks, Brother Li!"

"Stop talking. Get up there and rest."

Li Dan wanted to ask how these three newcomers had made it here. He wanted even more to go down and see for himself. Even as an old Player, he found it unbelievable.

And why did I think that just now...

But the surging tide of corpses rolling forward interrupted his thoughts. Even his rapid fire could not hold them back.

"Thomas, help out! Do you want us all to die?!" He shouted upward, the veins on his forehead bulging with urgency.

"Fine. Remember, you owe me one."

Band Guy's logic was enough to make people laugh in anger, but he moved quickly. A blur rushed down from the stairs, the greatsword in his hand making a whining sound.

Bzzzz—

As his arm swung, the saw teeth tore through the floor like tofu, actually carving a huge hole into the building. The charging mass of corpses immediately fell into the floor below.

That was not all. He backed toward the rooftop while swinging the greatsword back and forth, and in a few quick strokes, he cut apart the entire staircase. There was more than ten meters between the rooftop and the fifth floor. Even forming a human ladder would take some effort.

This is the strength of an old Player?

Yuki had already returned to the rooftop, but unlike the two women lying on the ground like corpses, he leaned over to look below. At a glance, he saw the difference between the two sides.

Effortless. If Thomas wanted to clear every Living Corpse in the corridor, it would not even be difficult. Not only was that Chainsaw Sword far stronger than his Mutated Longblade, but Thomas's physical abilities were a whole tier higher as well.

Is the gap between new and old Players really this huge?

Looking at Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima, who looked like corpses except for their heaving chests, he finally understood the meaning of those "hints." If it were just simple slaughter, old Players faced too little threat. Even if that made it difficult for new Players to survive, what fairness could they expect from the Reincarnation Game?

If you want to live in this game, you have to risk your life. Without risking my life those first two times, I'd still be an ordinary person. Forget getting here—I wouldn't even have been worth Li Dan lifting a hand. They would have torn down the stairs long ago.

Yuki exhaled a foul breath. He had never thought himself some kind of saint. In this game, every Player was judged by their value. That applied to Mai Sakurajima, and it applied to him.

Bang.

A steel floor panel was placed over the opening. Thomas brought over several heavy crates and stacked them on top, ensuring the Living Corpses below could not push it open. Only then did he sweep his vicious gaze around before it quickly settled on Yuki's face.

"You actually made it here alive? Huh, your blade mutated?"

"Yes. After killing the Licker, I received a gift from the Crimson Moon." Yuki gripped his blade, his face full of lingering fear. Before the other man could speak, he continued on his own.

"That monster was terrifying. It killed the college student, so the three of us set a trap. We suspended a piano and used it to pin the thing down, then cut off its head."

"Liar! That thing couldn't possibly be pinned down. It would just vanish into the moonlight!" Thomas cut him off at once, his face vicious. "Tell the truth, or I'll send you down there to feed the Living Corpses."

"It's true. At first, all I could do was run. But while I was running, I noticed that in places where the moonlight was dim, it took longer for it to merge into the moonlight. So I ran into the basement. I had no other choice."

Yuki still looked shaken. He was not lying either; he had simply omitted the part where he killed the Licker head-on.

Thomas's gaze turned suspicious. As an old Player, he had naturally discovered that clue too. But had Yuki merely been lucky, or was he exceptionally observant?

He did not know. But one thing was very clear: this bastard had fooled him before. Anyone who dared fight from the first floor all the way to the rooftop with a blade was definitely no ordinary person.

"Did you unleash your potential because you were forced into a corner?"

"What else was I supposed to do? Just obediently wait to die?" Yuki looked innocent. Was that not obvious? Then he started muttering to himself. "Just like on a battlefield, people who aren't afraid of death are favored by Lady Luck. Just now, I felt like I'd gone crazy. No, I was seeing red. Was that adrenaline?"

His words became increasingly incoherent, and his whole body shook as if he were freezing. Combined with his ragged clothes, he really did look rather pitiful.

When people were forced into desperate situations, they could unleash terrifying strength. Old Players understood that better than anyone, because that was how they had survived.

But risking one's life also required some foundation. Looking at Yuki now, his abilities were decent, but not terrifying enough to inspire wariness.

That acting could rival mine. You weren't babbling about luck like this earlier.

Mai Sakurajima secretly glanced at Yuki, then immediately closed her eyes. Her professional instincts told her it was best to play dead right now.

"Enough. Strong newcomers benefit the entire team. They were responsible for exploring underground in the first place, so they had a better chance of discovering the truth than we did." Li Dan stepped forward, separating the two tense sides. Then he bent down with a smile and patted Yuki on the shoulder.

"You have good observational skills. In this game, you do not necessarily need to be strong, but you must be smart. Because you discovered the condition, you had the chance to kill the monster."

Like a kind, generous teacher imparting experience, Li Dan explained it. Based on his reconstruction, if the Licker could be trapped, even ordinary people might be able to kill it. Once someone was pushed to the brink, miracles ceased to be miracles.