Chapter 231
[Use of Transcendental Grade skills, locked on]
[Player Space, Privacy]
[Battle Mode, Not Allowed]
Apart from the faction name, all other items were locked, and Yuki tried to change them but couldn't, which was obviously a pre-set program.
Who set it? That's obvious—it's those vanished pioneers.
"The pioneers set the rules, so in a sense they really are gods?" Yuki stroked his chin, finally understanding the significance of this identity.
Normally, he would have the most power and be the strongest player in the Outpost.
"But I'm not normal, which is actually a good thing."
Yuki considered the unique characteristics of his own faction, such as the most crucial point—
The standard for participating in the assessment is the Transcendental Grade level, with at least one Transcendental Grade level member in each team. This means that all those who can make it are experienced veterans.
Especially Zhang Jin, Mr. Ye and others, they are too senior, once the restrictions are lifted, they will be able to unleash their accumulated talents.
Using the analogy of cultivating immortality, the Aether Particles can ascend to the immortal realm at the 'Nascent Soul stage', while those from our own camp must at least reach the 'Tribulation Transcending stage'. Those who fail to reach this level are eliminated halfway and have no chance to see higher scenery.
Moreover, the struggle from ordinary people to the Transcendental Grade level is much more difficult than that of Frieren and the others. Those who survive are all elites who have experienced all sorts of bizarre and wonderful dungeons.
Besides, there are only five of us, and we have to participate in dungeon missions. We don't have time to play games of power with them.
Yuki decisively gave up the idea of becoming the boss. He never wanted to be one anyway. He preferred to be a cunning schemer, hiding in the shadows and using the opportunities he gained to ambush people.
He had already checked; the Trailblazers can open other players' room doors and enter, naturally having a higher level of access.
"A god-like killer is still a god. This way, I can seize the opportunity to physically persuade my opponents. However, I can't see any future direction either; there are no opponents at all."
Yuki felt his state was strange. He didn't want to be a flag bearer, nor did he need to be. If the mission of the pioneers was to link their own faction with the heavens, that task had already been completed before he arrived.
"We need to prepare for the next dungeon quest. Let's stop exploring here." Yuki suppressed his thirst for knowledge; the dungeon quest was the key, and only the living could continue exploring.
I have about a day left. I need to adjust my mindset and clear all these random thoughts out of my head.
You can gather intelligence even in dungeons. Without Wu Raian, he'd probably still be completely clueless. There's also another hidden danger—
The Reincarnation Game only tricked me once, it shouldn't be able to keep using its moves consecutively.
Having experienced it twice, Yuki had gained some experience. The killing intent of the Reincarnation Game comes from key points, and he didn't know when the next key point would be.
"But I have no choice." Yuki glanced at the Black Blade. To uncover the secret, he had to keep going, even if it meant giving up. His survival instinct would force him to keep going.
Swish.
Yuki drew his sword, plunging the entire space into darkness. He turned, gripped the handle, and gently turned it, then glanced back at Yuki.
The mysterious space was pitch black, yet there was a strange feeling of being watched. Since they had agreed to enter the instance mode, Yuki didn't think much of it.
"Let's wait and see, we'll meet sooner or later."
He uttered a nonsensical remark, opened the door, and the light illuminated his face. He took another step out, and several familiar faces appeared before him.
I said I'd go explore alone, but everyone still came, even though they couldn't help in any way.
"Did you do this?" Hayasaka Ai asked as soon as she saw Yuki, as if she had been holding back for a long time.
"Hmm, how's the name?"
It really was him.
The group exchanged glances, a chill running down their spines. This was altering the player's stats—something only a GM could do in online games.
"What does 'Thorny Rose' mean? Why would you choose such a name?"
"I don't know, I just went with my gut feeling and chose it. Doesn't it sound nice?"
"Not quite, it's rather abstract," Hayasaka Ai muttered to herself, seeing Yuki gritting his teeth as if he were desecrating the art of naming him.
What it's called doesn't matter, but this intuition has come to me several times.
She pondered to herself, not paying attention to Yuki's latest findings, which he summarized as concisely as possible, and upon closer listening, found nothing substantial.
Aside from naming the child, there are no other benefits. It seems this privilege is blocked, and we'll have to break the seal slowly.
But upon closer examination, it's terrifying. Who sealed it? Why were so many permissions locked, yet only the faction name was set to 'None'?
"Could it be that the special assessment criteria were left behind by a predecessor?" Hiyori tentatively guessed.
"I don't know, I'm completely baffled too." Yuki honestly shook his head, and was about to use his privileges to check the other rooms when he suddenly remembered something. "Huh, how did you know there were faction names? Did someone happen to see their player panel?"
"No, but there was a whispering prompt."
Was there a notification? I didn't hear it.
Yuki hadn't paid any attention to it after making Yuki changes. Upon hearing this, his expression suddenly changed, and he didn't bother to check the other rooms. He hurriedly opened his player panel.
[Faction: None]
Nothing had changed, which made him blink and instantly look at Hayasaka Ai. The two were of one mind, and the latter immediately opened the panel.
[Faction: Thorny Rose]
That's strange.
Yuki was even more confused. Was this considered exploiting a bug? Had it been fixed, but not completely?
Could it be that I'm not on their side?
Yuki considered one possibility, but then dismissed it. How could we not be on the same side? Even if our methods of 'ascension' were slightly different, we had come to the same Outpost.
Could it be that the method is different? No, no, no, our faction was 'None' before. It was indeed my change. Besides, we are all on the same planet, as close as can be.
Everyone noticed that Yuki's expression was off, and they all looked at his panel, and were all stunned for a moment.
The factions are misaligned? How is that possible? Was this idiot switched?
No one could understand what they were seeing. The Reincarnation Game was supposed to be flawless, so how could this scene be explained?
If players from different worlds had come together, hostility would have already emerged, but not Mai Sakurajima and her friends, not only because of their feelings for each other, but also because they understood each other too well.
They've been with Yuki since their rookie days, they come from the same world, and they even live in neighboring cities.
"Mr. Yuki, quickly check your team status." Shiina Hiyori reacted the fastest.
Just as he was wondering if there was something wrong with his soul being transported to Yuki was startled and quickly checked, but the result puzzled him even more.
The team status remains active.
"Paradox! Frieren told me that different factions can't team up. What's going on?"
"Either Miss Frieren is lying, but the chances are slim; she has no reason to lie to you about this setup." Hiyori gently bit her lip and analyzed, "Or perhaps there's something wrong with 'nothingness' itself, Mr. Yuki. Don't you think this sounds like a philosophical question?"
Nothingness is existence, existence is nothingness, oneness is wholeness, and wholeness is oneness.
Yuki squinted, unsure how the conversation had escalated to a philosophical level, but for him, it was nothing more than an unwanted nuisance.
Since arriving at this Outpost, countless questions have lingered around me. Some can be speculated on, some can be answered by other players, but most are utterly unanswerable questions, with no clues whatsoever.
"In other words, can I team up with any faction, use contract items, or go to any Outpost?"
"This needs to be verified, and it won't be easy." Hiyori nodded; she only knew one thing:
Yuki's situation is very special and must not be exposed. If the verification is successful, she can hardly imagine the subsequent impact.
"Everyone, remember, this matter must absolutely not be leaked." Mai Sakurajima clapped her hands lightly, her expression serious.
The reasons why can be investigated gradually, and the methods for using it can be verified, but leaking this information is the only dangerous thing.
Everyone was well-versed in the art of survival, and they nodded quickly. As the saying goes, "Possessing a treasure is a crime," and they were not strong enough yet; the more special something was, the more dangerous it would be.
Fortunately, I am surrounded by trustworthy people.
Yuki a sigh of relief. If he didn't trust him, he wouldn't have shown such shock. His brain raced, using reason to eliminate any distracting factors.
"Under the premise of confidentiality, this is a good thing. It gives me an extra layer of authority and an extra possibility."
Yuki wasn't bothered by the 'why' at all. Ever since joining the Reincarnation Game —no, ever since transmigrating and seeing the words 'live on the diary'—he'd been surrounded by question marks all these years. Just thinking about it was pointless.
Verification isn't actually that difficult. Aside from the explicit rules, nothing in the Reincarnation Game is absolute.
Team formation and contract signing can be bypassed with special items. If the verification is successful, I'll really be rich. It's like the Reincarnation Game gave me such a precious item.
Yuki remembered that golden fountain pen. Even the Reincarnation Game couldn't detect it; wouldn't it be perfect for bluffing?
"Alright, don't worry about why. As long as it's useful, it might come in handy in the next dungeon."
Seeing his confidence, the others didn't say anything more and quickly came to their senses.
Yes, time is running out. The next mission should be starting soon; that's the crucial one.
Everyone subconsciously glanced at their watches; the countdown from the seventh to the tenth day was flashing incessantly. This was a range calculation; under normal circumstances, the time without rest could not exceed ten days.
At most three days, at least half a day, someone will receive the task notification.
"I wonder if the dungeon has changed this time. After all, we've reached a new stage," Hiyori muttered to herself, her past experience no longer relevant.
"There will definitely be changes. The 'faction' isn't just for show; it will definitely exacerbate conflicts between players," Hayasaka Ai answered without hesitation, prompting the others to nod in agreement.
Based on past experience, even 'compatriots' from the same world can fight like madmen, with all sorts of betrayals, deadly attacks, and scheming emerging one after another. Where is there any reality to restrain them?
Now that the scope has expanded countless times, even if one makes enemies with certain players, there's no chance of revenge in these myriad realms. Wouldn't that make them even more unscrupulous?
"There might also be changes in the game settings. Have you noticed? The atmosphere of Calamity of Blood has changed somewhat."
Yuki also thought of something: the Calamity of Blood, in a sense, wasn't a dungeon.
It's not that strange. Considering the apostles' identities, it's essentially a player-versus-player battle.
This is like a turning point. In the past, the dungeons were actually more in line with the setting of the 'everyday world', and mental fortitude was even more important than strength.
"Everyone, disperse and get yourself together. Hayasaka, make everyone a cup of coffee."
The maid curtsied and turned to leave, but Kaguya stopped her.
"I'll do it. I've recently gotten some experience brewing black tea," she said casually, then deliberately asked Yuki, "Do you want some?"
"Drink it, just don't drug me."
"Who drugged you? You might as well just drink water." Kaguya snorted and turned to leave.
Hayasaka Yuuyu looked at her, and her senior also had a slightly annoyed expression. Yuki spread her hands and sat alone by the window.
I'm in strategy mode right now, so I can't be bothered with all that. I need to get the first important thing done first.
The Vestment of the Unknown.
After upgrading this trait to LV3, Yuki stopped investing specialization points in it and started using quests to pull for positive-type Mystic Codes, which was sufficient for the time being.
He discovered that this characteristic far outweighed its quantity; even storing five rather useless costumes was not as valuable as having one trump card that could be put to great use.
'I'll figure out how to improve it once I have enough specialization points. This thing is too unpredictable, and it really doesn't suit my taste.'
Randomness and scarcity dictate that these characteristics can only be used as supplementary features or as the core of a strategic plan.
"Extract."
As soon as he finished speaking, illusory light and shadow unfolded in his field of vision, and countless pieces of information began to be injected and extracted. A few seconds later, he received feedback.
[Drawing Conceptual Craft Essence. Your Latency Is Too High]
[Upon activation, a delay field is created centered on the user, making the user appear delayed to others. The field covers an area of 2000 square meters, lasts for 15 minutes, and is immovable.]
It was a very simple explanation, but apart from Yuki, probably no one could understand what it meant. Even he was slightly taken aback.
"So that's what it is."
Network latency may sound quirky, but in reality, it's a power that touches upon 'time'. In simpler terms, it means that within the same space, the two parties are not in the same dimension of time.
"In short, it's too laggy, but I don't know how laggy it is. It's useful, but the coverage area is too small. Strong users can sense something's wrong and retreat within seconds. It's very dependent on the environment in which it's used."
All the painful memories flooded his mind. Yuki scratched his head, unable to think of how to use it for the time being.
Clatter.
Just then, a steaming cup of black tea was placed beside him. Yuki looked up and saw Kaguya Shinomiya holding a tray and staring at him.
"I didn't poison it, you can drink it without worry."
The black tea emitted a strong aroma. Yuki took a sip, and his expression changed slightly.
As expected, it has a natural talent; the aroma, temperature, and taste are all just right, making the best use of the premium tea leaves obtained from the game.