Reincarnation Stream Player

Three meters.

The monster drew closer, seemingly enraged to the point of madness as it sprinted at full speed. Yuki Sorajima lunged forward, his palm seizing the golden doorknob first, and then—

He straightened his body, pressing his entire back against the door.

Thud!

The bladed weapon carved several scratches into the chest of his jacket, and the mass of yarn slammed violently into the door. Before Yuki's constricted pupils, those petals—sharp enough to slice through flesh—failed to leave a single mark on the door. Instead, upon impact, they disintegrated like flowers scattered by a goddess.

This was not a matter of physical impact, but the rules of the Reincarnation Game punishing the eliminated; the damage was far greater than the collision from ten minutes ago.

Hiss—

Accompanied by a piercing, agonizing shriek, Yuki suddenly lunged forward. It was like stepping into a thicket of thorns. Ignoring the stinging pain radiating through his body, he stared at the milky-white "stamen" in the center of the scattered petals and, without a word, drove the Scalpel deep into it.

General Principle Two: High risk, high reward!

Chapter 4: Players Do Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (Revised)

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

His heart hammered like a drum. Yuki remained in his forward-leaning posture, staring at his right hand without blinking.

The Scalpel had been driven deep into that mass of brain matter. As he twisted his wrist to gouge out a large cavity, his peripheral vision caught the sight of solidified "petals" all around him. Some had already sliced through his skin and embedded themselves in his flesh, with beads of bright red blood trickling down.

It would only take a second for these bone-like blades to act like a blender, mincing his body into another bloody work of art.

"But I bet correctly."

With a heavy gasp, Yuki watched as this "flower" rapidly withered, as if drained of all moisture.

The split petals retracted toward the center, reconstructing a pair of towering breasts, a fair neck, and a head with blonde hair and blue eyes. The sweet-looking girl's eyes were hollow, staring straight at Yuki before she slowly sank downward.

Huh?!

Yuki instinctively took a half-step back, then watched as the unblemished corpse sank as if into quicksand, melting entirely into the floor in just a few seconds.

"That's it?" Yuki blinked several times, then hurriedly turned around. Seeing the scratches on the walls and floor, he finally turned his head back in a daze.

Did I actually kill someone? Is this thing human or a ghost?

There was no answer, but regardless of the result, he wouldn't feel much guilt. It wasn't until that strange voice sounded once more that he leaned against the wall, as if all the strength had been drained from his body.

[Player has completed the Newbie Tutorial]

[Completion: S]

[Personal Panel unlocked. Expand?]

This Reincarnation Game truly lacked prompts, and unlike other infinite-style games, it provided no stage-based mission guidance. However, certain principles remained universal.

The voice, which sounded like a synthesis of countless people, invigorated Yuki. He latched onto the keyword "game" and began searching for the most advantageous solution based on the intelligence he had gathered.

There were no points, but the "S" completion result indicated his guess was correct, and he gained a clearer understanding of what the "Newbie Tutorial" entailed.

"It's actually an elimination system. In that case, even those who used the simplest solution wouldn't be too foolish, and it gives me a rough idea of this game's style."

It was somewhat eerie, the elimination rate was brutal, and it focused heavily on the player's self-exploration. He couldn't find any similar scripts for comparison.

Yuki lowered his left hand from the door. He had chosen to gamble, but he hadn't gone "all-in"—he had prepared a backup plan all along.

The lock had already been turned. If an accident had occurred, he would have lunged through the door without hesitation. Just like now, even though the door had a crack, the monster had slammed into it with full force and it hadn't budged.

"If you can't see it, you can't break it. If there was any gambling involved, it was more about whether this identical door pushed in or pulled out. But surely this game wouldn't mess with my head like that."

Yuki subconsciously curled the corners of his mouth. A sense of excitement from winning the gamble filled his heart, and it took him several seconds to return to his usual indifferent expression.

Don't get too happy yet. I've only caught a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg in this game; I have to keep going.

"Expand panel."

Player: Yuki Sorajima

Physical Strength: Human (Excellent)

Ego Trait: None

Equipment: Scalpel (Common Grade)

Chaos Item: None

Primary Skills: Firearms Proficiency (Novice), Combat Technique (Mastered), Bladed Weapon Proficiency (Proficient), Biological First Aid (Mastered), Reconnaissance (Proficient), Self-Hypnosis (Mastered)

Enhancement Count: One

Specialization Count: None

The panel expanded in a thousandth of a second, yet Yuki's brows immediately furrowed. This panel was not what he had imagined.

"Setting aside items and equipment, why is there no quantitative data? And what is an 'Ego Trait'?"

The strange voice was clearly lazy; it offered no answers to the questions flooding Yuki's mind. He could only helplessly rub his chin and make some rough judgments.

Physical Strength was clearly the base attribute value. Fortunately, he noticed an asterisk next to it and focused his gaze on it, reading the content:

[Physical Strength represents the player's current comprehensive value: strength, speed, endurance, intelligence, etc. Human stages are: Weak, Ordinary, Excellent, Limit, Extraordinary, Transcendental. Expand for detailed data?]

"So it's an average value. 'Human stages'—does that mean there are non-human existences beyond this?" Yuki understood immediately. This quantitative data was actually quite scientific; after all, biological states fluctuate under different circumstances, making it impossible to simulate them with simple numbers.

If a mother sees her son about to fall from a building and can sprint across the street in a few seconds to catch him, absorbing hundreds of kilograms of impact with her bare hands, what would that speed and strength be measured at?

If a soldier can go days without a drop of water on the battlefield and still wield a rifle to kill the enemy, what would his stamina and willpower be measured at?

Yuki did not dwell on this question; he was simply curious as to why he had been rated as "Excellent."

"Expand—no, close!"

It took only a second before he let out a pained, low growl, clutching his head with both hands and retching repeatedly. It took a long time for him to recover, the veins on his forehead bulging.

"Digitization? Are you messing with my head, you bastard?"

That fleeting glance had nearly made him faint because the panel was too detailed—excessively so!

Muscle fiber density, cellular activity, alveolar oxygen capacity...

There were thousands of items, all dense with decimal points. This was not something a human could analyze; at the very least, the human brain could not process so much data in such a short time. It felt more like a taunt from the game:

You like data quantification, don't you? Is this detailed enough for you?

Hoo, hoo, hoo.

Yuki opened his eyes, his heart still racing. He had lost all interest in the panel. At the end of the day, it was just an assessment of himself that couldn't influence others; if anything, the game's style was infuriating.

He had never heard of a game that would make someone faint just from looking at the interface. If this had happened during combat, that experience alone would have been enough to get him killed several times over.

Consequently, he became even more cautious, pulling himself together and carefully reading the explanations.

Skill levels: Novice, Proficient, Skilled, Excellent, Master, Legendary...

This was straightforward enough, and Yuki understood it after a brief comparison.

For instance, he had only trained with firearms at a shooting range due to objective circumstances, so his hand-to-hand combat, which he had put more effort into, was naturally a step higher. As for "Sharp Weapons," that likely referred to swordsmanship, which was even better than his unarmed combat.

The intelligence analysis and detail observation he had focused on cultivating over the years were all categorized under [Reconnaissance], so receiving a "Skilled" rating made sense. However, moving from Skilled to Excellent required two enhancement points, Excellent to Master required three, and so on.

It fit the "game" logic perfectly—the more specialized you are, the harder it is to improve.

"The Ego Trait is a manifestation of a specific characteristic or desire in my life. Huh, that's quite novel." Yuki was very interested in this point on the panel, as it was something he had never seen in any game he could recall.

The description sounded a bit like a "Life-Bound Artifact" from a cultivation novel. Unfortunately, it wasn't unlocked yet, so he would have to wait to study it properly.

He reined in his curiosity and turned his attention to the final, unknown item.

[Enhancement Count: Can enhance any one item, piece of equipment, or skill.]

[Specialization Count: Can specialize body attributes or the Ego Trait.]

[Both can raise an evaluation level, or be consumed to randomly obtain a skill or item (New Players Only).]

Hiss, so generous and brutal?

Yuki was stunned. He never expected the Reincarnation Game's stat-boosting to be so simple and crude. Setting aside the lottery, raising an evaluation level?

He had spent ten years and countless amounts of sweat to reach the "Proficient" level in combat and swordsmanship; this felt inconsistent with the game's style.

But as he calmed down and thought about it, he realized it made sense.

"These rewards definitely aren't common, and Specialization points are even more precious than Enhancement points. I took a gamble and ended up with a 'Newbie Starter Pack'?"

That monster wasn't actually strong; veteran players in the game would certainly be able to take it down. But one shouldn't forget that this was a "Newbie Tutorial."

Ordinary people, let alone observing details and gathering intelligence, would probably have been scared witless at the sight of it. Those with slightly better composure might choose to flee or charge blindly, but no one would think to find a way to solve it amidst the unknown chaos—or rather, have the means to solve it.

"Unless someone was dragged into the game while carrying a rocket launcher, ordinary firearms wouldn't stand a chance. Even if someone had super-strong psychological resilience or observation skills, they wouldn't understand the meaning of the word 'game'—at least, not yet."

Dragged into this eerie castle, any human would only think about how to survive; who would think about "clearing" it? Only someone like Yuki, who prepared for exams every day and was always ready for anything, would take such a risky path and understand the general principles of "Infinity" or "Reincarnation."

"Is this the biggest benefit of being transmigrated? Hmm, if I hadn't spent ten years doing all kinds of training, that weak otaku body wouldn't have had the capacity to execute this."

Yuki smiled. Only by combining his consciousness with his capabilities did he earn the right to receive the "Newbie Starter Pack." As he pondered it further, he felt something was off—why did it feel like someone had already written the script for him?

"Forget it, now is not the time to overthink. I'll figure out how to use those enhancement counts later; let me check out the teammates first."

He shook his head, looked at the door crack emitting a red glow, took a deep breath, and pushed it open gently.

Creeeak—

The door let out a harsh sound. Yuki stepped out, his brows knitting together instinctively.

The monotonous, long corridor was gone, replaced by a hall. It was luxuriously and classically furnished. A massive, ornate crystal chandelier emitted a dim light, yet it was enough to see the people and objects within the hall clearly.

There was a thick, blood-red carpet, various swords and blades hanging on the walls, a huge round table in the center, and sofas and chairs scattered about. Directly opposite the door was a floor-to-ceiling window. Outside was pitch black, making one wonder where the red light had come from.

His gaze swept across the room. Excluding the decorative suits of armor, Yuki could distinguish nine figures. They were men and women, some standing, some sitting, but none were speaking; only the "tick-tock" of a clock could be heard.

Two people were standing by the table, clearly drawing more attention in the deathly silence, but Yuki's gaze only lingered on them for a second before shifting to the window.

The night breeze stirred the white sheer curtains, making the person behind them appear and disappear. Yuki stared straight at her, and the reason was simple: she was far too eye-catching.

A tall figure paired with waist-length black hair, which looked layered under the warm light. The bunny girl outfit looked incredibly sexy yet completely out of place in this environment. Her beautiful little face was taut, as if she were struggling to adapt to the current situation—it was, quite literally, a sight to behold.

The girl quickly noticed his gaze and glared back as if in self-defense, pulling the sheer curtain around herself. But the rude Yuki did not look away.

This had nothing to do with the temptation of her indignant expression; it was because Yuki recognized her—or rather, he had been planning to go to Kanagawa Prefecture to find her just over ten minutes ago.

A massive wave of confusion filled his brain once more. Yuki's lips moved, and an absurd thought flashed through his mind:

Do Reincarnation Game players not dream of Bunny Girl Senpai!?

Chapter 5: Crimson Moon Hanging High

Mai Sakurajima? How could it be her? Could there really be such a coincidence in this world?

Even when the girl whose head he had just split open with a single strike truly had her head split open, Yuki had not been this surprised. It had nothing to do with her appearance; he had long since known what kind of world he had transmigrated into.

But it was too coincidental. His final outing to scout the area had been specifically to confirm whether there were any supernatural phenomena surrounding Mai Sakurajima, only for him to be dragged into the Reincarnation Game. Yet, just as he was carefully analyzing the girl's facial expressions, he suddenly heard a rhythmic tapping on the table.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"You walk in here and start staring at a woman—do you not have me in your eyes?"

The slightly irritable tone drilled into his ears. Yuki turned his head to see a young man of about twenty, dressed in a black leather jacket, staring right at him.

With a chiseled face, a bulbous nose, narrow eyes, and a tuft of red hair dyed on his head, he looked at first glance like the lead singer of some underground band. This kind of getup was common among those low-life thugs who talked about musical dreams while actually spending their days causing trouble and living off others.

But this man is no thug.

Yuki's gaze drifted downward, landing on a greatsword resting on the table, its blade lined with jagged chainsaw teeth. The faint, chilling light reflecting off the metal proved this was no cosplay prop.

"Hey, didn't you hear me? Do you have any idea how long we've been waiting for you?" The Band Guy seemed to read Yuki's scrutinizing gaze. He hoisted the greatsword with one hand and jumped off the round table. The aura he exuded, far beyond that of an ordinary person, made Yuki's brow twitch, instantly casting the matter of Mai Sakurajima to the back of his mind.

A veteran Player?

The fact that someone had entered the Reincarnation Game before him proved that his situation had nothing to do with Mai Sakurajima. Looking at the aggressive Band Guy, he quietly reached a hand into his pocket.

"That's enough, Thomas. We're all companions here; we need to work together to clear this dungeon."

Accompanied by a gentle voice, a hand blocked the Band Guy's path. It was a man in a black suit wearing rimless glasses, looking much like a corporate slave, but the large revolver holstered at his waist added a certain sense of credibility to his words.

"Clearing a dungeon requires useful people. This guy barely made it through the newbie tutorial—what kind of use could he possibly be?" Thomas sneered, though he stopped in his tracks. "And Li Dan, this is our first time working together. Don't act like we're so familiar."

"Since we're the only two veterans here, shouldn't we take on a bit more responsibility?" Li Dan didn't seem angry; his temperament appeared quite mild.