Chapter 289
Hayasaka Ai saw through it at a glance and was about to say something sarcastic when she suddenly heard the 'click' of the door lock. She turned around and her bright blue eyes immediately lit up.
Yuki back. Eavesdropping was ineffective. Those old foxes seemed to have guessed that someone was monitoring them, and they didn't say a word of the truth. It's better to have an open and honest talk later.
As for which direction this faction should take, Yuki's idea is simple: increase the number of friends and reduce the number of enemies through physical means, and that will be enough.
"Huh, you two didn't go out?" Yuki sniffed, noticing a strange sour smell in addition to the aroma of coffee.
Mai Sakurajima and Hayasaka exchanged a glance, neither of them speaking, and silently came forward, seemingly unconcerned that Yuki would get lost.
"You went back to the administration office?" Mai Sakurajima asked.
"Yeah, I was startled at first, thinking I wouldn't be able to come back. What are you laughing at, senior?" Yuki naturally reached out and took the coffee, pulled up a chair and sat down, then told him everything that had happened.
Spying on others is something to be kept secret; the main focus is on the points allocated to it.
The Alienated Grade items were priceless, but Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima weren't envious. When they heard about the point system, they even specifically asked him if he needed points.
Yuki naturally shook his head in refusal; he wasn't a novice when it came to running a breeding team.
The four of them worked together, and apart from Kaguya Shinomiya getting an extra player kill, their results were roughly the same.
"Including the final mission evaluation, each person received an average of 9 enhancement points, 6 specialization points, oh, and a bloodline skill and a large amount of weaponry. It's truly an unprecedented harvest!"
"Well, I borrowed some points from Miss and accumulated 8 specialization points. I can now upgrade my physical attributes to 'monster' level. Then I'll use the enhancement points to upgrade my bloodline skills and Lucky Candy," Hayasaka Ai, unfolding her panel.
Player: Hayasaka (Dungeons experienced: Bloodthirsty Red Moon, Demon Hospital, Forest Sea Labyrinth, Battle on the Raging Seas, Calamity of Blood, Global Insect Calamity)
Faction: Thorny Rose
Physical Strength: Monster (LV.7)
Storage space: 16 cubic meters
Ego Trait: The Fool's Mask LV.3
Equipment: Death Knell Revolver (Arcane Grade, Forged 3 Times), Storm Cleaver (Transcendental Grade), Flying Boots (Transcendental Grade), Lucky Earrings (Chaos Grade)
Item: Lucky Candy (Transcendental Grade Level)
Transcendental Grade Skill: Gun-Kata (Mastered)
Bloodline Skill: [Ghost Shooter (LV2)]
[Entering Spirit Form for 2 minutes greatly increases physical resistance, weakens energy resistance, and unlocks Terrain Adaptation]
[Shadow Heart: Shadow Teleportation]
Residual reinforcement points: 0
Specialization points remaining: 0
Points: 0
Overall rating: Monster I
As expected of my eldest apprentice, the team's secondary DPS, not only has his skill finally crossed the threshold, but even his impoverished state is so similar to mine.
Yuki seeing that bunch of '0's, Yuuki couldn't help but complain, "The maid has squeezed every last point out of her; it shows how eager she is to become stronger."
Overall, she should be similar to Blood Demon Luguna, but it's hard to say how they'll perform in a fight. Hayasaka Ai is a specialized player; Blood Demon can't withstand a single shot from her, and she can't fight the Demon in a one-on-one battle either.
"I'll keep it simple. I don't have enough specialization points, so I didn't focus on specializations. I'll prioritize getting my physical attributes to the Transcendental Grade first," Mai Sakurajima said proactively when she saw Yuuki looking at Yuki. She added, "I'll save the enhancement points for you; you'll need them in the Borderlands."
"Thank you for taking care of me, Senior Sister." Yuki immediately cupped his hands in thanks; it was truly wonderful to have a thrifty and capable woman by his side.
Mai Sakurajima's overall rating was only raised to Transcendental Grade III, which is enough considering she's not a combatant. Even Monster III powerhouse couldn't do something like infiltrating the insect hive to find the queen.
"What about the other two?" Yuki ignorance.
"Miss and Hiyori haven't added any skill points yet, but Miss has more, with 10 skill points remaining. She's hesitating about which direction to take."
Kaguya Shinomiya is an archer, but she is more than just an archer. Due to her unique characteristics, her accuracy is at the level of causality, and based on this, there are many possible paths to take.
Should you focus on increasing attack power and range to become a sniper? Or enhance concealment and physical attributes to become a ranger? Or concentrate on support abilities to control the battlefield?
"No rush, let her level up her trait to LV4 first. There's a big leap from 3 to 4." Yuki wasn't in a hurry. He had a lot on his plate, and he didn't have time to study how to allocate skill points one by one.
As for Shiina Hiyori, it's even simpler. The core is on the 'Void Puppet'. Just strengthen it as much as you can, since she can withstand the side effects as her abilities improve.
I need to find those people from 'Daytime', meet with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, then go to the Borderlands to find Johnny Silverhand to gather information, and finally go to the trading market to collect enough points to level up.
Yuki gets a headache just thinking about it. Even without the pressure of dungeons, the sense of urgency hasn't lessened at all. How come there are so many annoying things to do?
He was suddenly glad that he didn't have any ambition to become 'king', otherwise just forming factions would have consumed all his return time.
Seeing Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima beside him, all his chaotic thoughts vanished.
"Senior, I'm hungry."
"Wait half an hour, I'll make dinner now. Hayasaka, go and call Kaguya and Hiyori back." Mai Sakurajima quickly came to her senses and breathed a sigh of relief.
Her biggest worry was that Yuki would become a conquest machine.
At the Borderlands, Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge.
The dark hall was deathly silent. By the light of the crystal ball, the eerie paintings on the walls could be seen from the Shinomiya Oko.
There were angels and demons inside, and each of them had Hundred Eyes. Those eyes seemed to be alive, and when you looked at them, you felt like you were being watched.
The red-lacquered cylinder was covered with strange patterns, creating a very strong religious atmosphere. Even after experiencing more than a dozen instances, I was still terrified.
After passing the assessment and ascending to immortality, he was shocked by the empty Outpost, which was completely different from what he had imagined. If it weren't for other players exploring the area together, he would have thought he had come to the wrong place.
After completing a faction quest and confirming that the restrictions had been lifted, Shinomiya Oko did not hesitate and followed the guidance to the Borderlands. With the help of the Chaos Item he brought, he accumulated a large number of points and finally found a way in.
"Damn it, I should have emptied the warehouse. There's actually fair trade here." Celas gritted her teeth. Who knew the ascension would be like this? She thought it would be another Dark Forest, and she was afraid that if she brought too many items, someone would covet them.
"That idiot Chun got scammed and completely misled us!" Nagumo Miyabi cursed through gritted teeth. That fool really screwed us over.
The message relayed across instances caused panic among the 'Zhou' team members. They reluctantly participated in the assessment, knowing they would face retaliation from powerful figures after ascension. Their wavering resolve led to heavy losses for the team.
Then they ascended to immortality, and they were just about to kneel before everyone they met when they found out there were no powerful figures around, and the few players they encountered were all acquaintances.
"Alright, it's a good thing his intelligence was wrong. Who wants their life and death controlled by a powerful person?" Shinomiya Oko was quite open-minded, but his brows remained furrowed.
For the past twenty days, he had been gathering intelligence and had also obtained a lot of information from faction missions, but the more he thought about it, the more something seemed off.
The assessment came too suddenly. Other factions didn't have any 'Transcendental Grade' level restrictions, their members came from different worlds, and their own pioneers were nowhere to be found. They were directly connected to the Borderlands.
The unusual occurrences made him uneasy, so he sold several Chaos Item and made up his mind to find the so-called "Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge" who claimed to understand all things.
This is a player organization, whose affiliation is unknown. As long as they pay the same price, they will have all the information about the Reincarnation Game.
Upon entering this strange hall, Yellow Light felt that the other party must have some skills.
Yellow Light had a small goal: to first become the king of the 'Thorny Rose', and after accumulating strength and finally advancing to the level of a monster, he felt it was his destiny.
'I've laid out my plan. I killed several leaders of conglomerates during the assessment. Their players ascended to immortality and had no choice but to submit to Zhou's command. My power will grow stronger and stronger, eventually sweeping away all opponents.'
A faint smile appeared on the man's face. Having seen a wider world, his ambition was burning brightly, and he had the ability and experience to put it into practice.
Rustling sounds.
A strange sound of footsteps approached, and all seven or eight players looked in the direction of the sound. Suddenly, a head popped out from the dark shadows. The face was not visible, but all that could be seen was a hood covered with eyeballs.
The hood was alive; when the eyes looked out, no one dared to meet their gaze.
"Gentlemen of Thorny Rose, the Hundred Eyes of True Knowledge has already reviewed your submitted manuscripts."
The voice was neither male nor female, echoing in all directions.
"That's complete nonsense. Perhaps the term 'Imaginary Tree' exists in a certain instance, but it doesn't exist in the Reincarnation Game."
Really.
If it weren't for the man's overwhelming presence, the players would have already been cursing him out, and they wouldn't understand why Shinomiya Oko would spend so much money to verify this; it's obviously just a fabricated story.
"As for the doubts you raised, while one of the sub-items has appeared in some camps, the combination of them is unprecedented."
This last point is somewhat interesting, but it's practically meaningless. They paid for the answer, so if it's strange, you should go look it up.
Just as everyone was getting impatient, the Hundred Eyes head in the distance suddenly disappeared. Among the many veteran players present, including some monster-level ones, no one could figure out how it moved.
With just a single step, he appeared before Shinomiya Oko, his bald head covered in sweat, accompanied by astonishment.
Absolutely surpassing monsters, causing even the soul to tremble—who is this being?!
Before he could react, all one hundred eyes turned to him at once.
"Mr. Yellow Light, there's a very interesting term in your manuscript, and I have something to ask you."
I'm the one who paid!
Shinomiya Oko wanted to the Roar, but he humbly lowered his head. "Please ask."
The visitor didn't speak, only waved his hand, and the manuscript in his hand shattered, the words inside seeming to come alive as they danced around the man.
The Imaginary Tree: fruit, leaves, pioneers...
Many incomprehensible yet impressive terms flew by, until finally two blood-red words landed before Yellow Light's eyes.
He glanced at it and froze on the spot, completely unexpected by this term. Cold sweat broke out on his brow, and he only calmed down when he remembered that players in Borderlands cannot attack each other.
Suddenly, his heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly. He clenched his teeth and heard a deep, stern voice.
"You ignorant weakling, where did you come from...?"
"Have you learned the name 'Taiyi'?"
Chapter Three: The War Between Two Women (4K)
After dinner, Yuki, having searched for 'Day' without success, decided to go for a walk and used a portal to arrive directly at the meeting point of the players from different factions.
Just as noisy and bustling as last time, Mai Sakurajima and the others looked around, their mouths agape, looking both excited and nervous.
Is this the Borderlands?
Thousands of players, some of whom weren't even human, were fortunate enough to have encountered Levi Ackerman and others after going through faction quests, so they weren't exactly like country bumpkins.
"It feels like a megacity; it has everything."
"How about we go check out that 'Heavenweave Pavilion'? They even sell clothes there."
"What is Hunter's Barbecue? I want to try it."
Prosperity awakened a woman's instincts; everything here was something that couldn't be obtained in the Reincarnation Game, a product of a player's skill or item.
Yuki glanced at the beautiful clothes in the shop window that looked like something out of a classic fantasy novel, then looked at the familiar campfire at 'Hunter's Barbecue', and gently scratched his face.
"The stay fee is very expensive, it costs 20 points per day."
"Hmph, it was all Mai Sakurajima- senpai's treat, so it's none of your business to feel bad about it." Kaguya glanced at her sideways. Mai Sakurajima had paid the toll and generously covered everyone's expenses.
Keep in mind that the toll fee is 100 points, which is equivalent to 1 enhancement point. Even if you just made a fortune, it's still quite extravagant.
"We just went through a brutal dungeon, we should relax a bit." Mai Sakurajima didn't seem to care at all, and said generously, "How about we wander around for a bit first, and then accompany Yuki to run errands?"
Of course, no one objected. Even a rich woman like Kaguya couldn't possibly eat 'giant bird' meat or buy magical underwear that could keep her skin forever young on Earth.
Players pulled out all the stops to earn points, and the Borderlands was filled with countless specialties from various worlds and dungeons, not ordinary items.
Yuki wanted to warn them that such spending would result in buying a bunch of junk unrelated to the battle, but seeing that everyone was so enthusiastic, she let them go.
It feels a bit like going back to Earth.
He glanced at the beautiful girls surrounding him, all dressed in school uniforms. They weren't particularly noticeable in this Borderlands filled with strangely dressed people, and he thought to himself that it was nice to have a good look at them.
Prices aren't high; 10 points are enough to eat your fill of 'Great Monster Bird' meat. I don't know how the hunters made it, but the texture is tender and delicate, and the golden-brown skin is so oily it practically drips with juice. It even slightly increases your fire resistance for a short time after eating it.
Similar to the fruit tea in the Elf Teahouse, it can be considered a special consumable.
Mmm, living off a woman is really delicious.
Yuki picked his teeth, completely forgetting his earlier opinion, and stared blankly at the various stockings in front of him.
Next to the barbecue restaurant is a three-story building, somewhat similar to Earth's CBD. A genius player acquired a large plot of land, built a shopping mall, and artificially divided it into hundreds of small shops, renting them out to casual players from various factions.
The items inside weren't particularly valuable; they were mostly odd and unusual trinkets. The target audience was players like Mai Sakurajima, who had reached a certain level of strength and had spare cash.
Business was booming, with no fewer than a thousand players loitering in the three-story building. Most of them were human-looking, dressed in strange casual clothes.
"What a genius! Considering that players will be on missions, the shops are directly managed by the Machine Intelligence. Anyway, there's no theft or forced buying and selling in the Borderlands."
Yuki looked around, occasionally picking up a strange wooden carving to examine it. These things were not ordinary, but they were far inferior to level 2 items and had virtually no practical value in combat.