I Am a Reincarnation Stream Player: Digging Deeper

"Should we dig it out?"

"Let them hide their strength if they want. They'll eventually come out on top. It's more fun when everyone's betting on it," Yuki said nonchalantly, glancing at Frieren above him. "You should focus on recovering your magic power instead of continuing to deplete it."

"This bloody water is too dirty; I don't want to swim in it."

Yuki rolled his eyes, then patted his shoulder and said, "Then sit on my shoulder, and we'll fly when we encounter enemies."

Frieren gripped his staff tightly, looking at the calm sea. He had a feeling that some monster might emerge from it. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly descended.

A soft, warm touch came from the back of my neck, and two long, slender legs stretched out of my robe, clamping around my neck. My brain quickly calculated the contact area.

Her hip circumference surpasses everyone else's.

"Good."

"What's good???" Frieren immediately became wary.

"Uh, you ate well, it was quite heavy."

"Then I'll just fly."

This little incident lessened the nauseating stench of blood considerably. In the end, Frieren still rode on Yuki's shoulders, watching the group advance through the sea of blood toward the next pillar of light.

She was surrounded by giant skeletons, like pale islands. Her expression changed as she saw the ripples on the sea becoming more and more pronounced.

Something's not right.

Yuki also stopped and stood in waist-deep water, surveying his surroundings. The mercenaries also stopped and drew their weapons.

It's coming. Unlike the first level, where there are countless Witch Beasts chasing us, we weren't attacked when we were on the island. Of course, it's not like the Witch Beasts on the second level are all asleep.

"Look ahead! Look ahead!!"

With a gasp, everyone looked up and saw the sea of blood surging with giant waves, crashing towards them like a wall from afar.

A barrage of arrows and magic spells rained down, but it was like trying to cut water with a knife—the water just kept flowing. All that could be done was splashing up tiny waves. As the giant wave approached, everyone's expressions turned grim.

This wasn't just a wave; it was also filled with countless tiny black dots, looking almost like sesame seeds.

"A Level 4 Witch Beasts, the Fangtooth Fish!"

Yuki didn't know what Fangtooth Fish was, so he quickly told everyone to jump onto the skeleton next to them.

"Defense spell, full power!"

One by one, energy shields rose up, and the giant waves crashed against them, shattering them with a deafening roar, but what remained was chilling.

Beyond the defensive magic, there were countless swarms of Witch Beasts, each about the thickness of a forearm, a type of fish with sharp teeth, frantically devouring the shield.

There are too many. Even if a wizard could kill one with a single shot, it would be impossible to kill them all. The key is that one wave subsides only for another to rise.

Yuki felt countless hateful gazes converge on him. He was the one who had led everyone to their deaths, and now it was too late to retreat.

But Yuki didn't care at all. He glanced at Frieren, who understood, and the azure light spread along with the sea of blood.

Detecting magic.

With the Demon Eye less effective, Frieren's detection magic was even more unrestricted, spreading far and wide along the waves. At the same time, Yuki turned around and looked at Peggy, who was covered in sweat.

"Stop holding back, show us what you've got!"

"I, this..."

"Enough nonsense. Back on the first floor, when the bloodline was spreading, some people weren't afraid at all. To be precise, the bloodline went around them." Yuki looked at several mercenaries covered in blood. They were wearing heavy armor, not a single inch of skin was exposed.

Yuki knew perfectly well that something was wrong with the people in the group. The reason why Peggy didn't insist on letting him bring in the follow-up troops was because some key figures had already hitched a ride.

You think you can fool me with your acting skills?

Waves of blood surged one after another as the Witch Beasts gnawed away at the protective shield layer by layer. In just a few minutes, the Fangtooth Fish had piled up in layers, making it pointless to have Peggy standing in front of the stage any longer.

If the defenses are breached later, Yuki might not die, but they certainly won't survive.

"What do you want?" came a voice that was neither clearly male nor female. This was the second mercenary, after Peggy, to Yuki directly.

Its armor was heavy, but it never made a move throughout the entire battle, and its soul was incredibly pure, even purer than the newborn babies seen in the town.

"Are the Soulless Ones the core of the Rebels?"

"How did you know?" The mercenary couldn't hide his surprise. This person had been under surveillance the whole time and couldn't possibly have had time to gather such in-depth information.

"Of course we see with our eyes. We have all sorts of strange skills; you can't be completely unaware of them, can you?"

Yuki pointed to the Demon Eye, which was glowing red, and as soon as he finished speaking, panic and killing intent filled the air.

If these eyes fell into the hands of the Alliance or the Nobles, they would be doomed; all their kin would be wiped out. But seeing Yuki's sword, he abandoned such a foolish idea.

"No wonder we couldn't fool you no matter how we acted. But how did you know about the existence of the Soulless Ones?"

"Does it matter? I'm tired of this show. I want to climb the tower, and you want to face the Witch God directly. Can't you help each other?" Yuki was unusually decisive, skipping thousands of words of explanation.

The blood-soaked waves washed over them. The 'why' was indeed unimportant. Yuki was simply stating his position: he would stop his ride here, and they would also help with the road-clearing work.

He wouldn't dare stop the tower exploration without some real skill; he wanted to use the situation to force the other party to reveal their abilities before making a judgment based on their value.

He was the only chess player.

"The biological reaction is five kilometers away, and we can't pinpoint its location. How are we going to get there?" Frieren was acting as the radar, suddenly spoke up, while Yuki looked at the mercenary, who clenched his fists.

"We cannot resist the giant waves, but the Witch Beasts will ignore us. As long as we can get close, we can find these filthy monsters."

Sure enough, I was wondering why those blood streaks kept circling around you.

Yuki had long suspected the abilities of the 'Soulless Ones'. They were too pure, untouched by the dust of this world, and naturally possessed some special abilities, but the price was that they could not use witchcraft.

"Follow me, Frieren, hold the line."

Without hesitation, Yuki saw the thick layer of sharp teeth and raised his sword.

Cut!

Without needing to use soul energy, he tore the low-level Witch Beasts apart with just his slashing force. Yuki gap was less than a meter wide. Fangtooth Fish that was biting the electromagnetic field. Looking back...

The Soulless Ones emerged from the gaps. They lacked the superhuman speed of wizards and were unable to activate the Soul Crystal on their armor. Yet, among the hundreds and thousands of Fangtooth Fish that flew up, not a single one attacked them; instead, they all surged towards the Yuki.

Because it has no soul, it is pure; because it is pure, it is like being invisible?

This strange scene gave Yuki a sudden thought, and looking at their speed, he understood why they weren't soloing the tower.

The Witch Beasts could ignore them, but the waves of blood they slammed in and the bone spikes they kicked up could either accidentally injure or kill them.

Another wave of blood followed, about a hundred meters high. Yuki grabbed the other man by the throat, tucked him under his arm like a chick, and then, with his knife in one hand, charged into the wave.

Swish!!

The sword energy was like a crescent moon, Breaking Waves through the waves and Divide the Sea. In this wave was a huge Witch Beasts, shaped like an octopus, waving countless tentacles covered with barbs. If you were entangled, you would be smashed to death by wave after wave.

Yuki's response was simple: he froze the Soulless Ones and brought her in front of him. He heard a scream and finally realized it was a woman.

But what if she's a woman? Yuki had absolutely no gentlemanly manners. He shrank back and charged forward. The tentacles paused for a moment, as if wondering why their target had disappeared.

The confusion only lasted a second or two, but that was more than enough for Yuki.

Thump.

Yuki instantly surpassed the speed of sound, passing directly through the gaps in the tentacles, and then rode the waves, piercing through layer after layer of giant waves.

The screams stopped. Even with the electromagnetic field protecting him from being crushed by the airflow, what would it feel like to be held in someone's hand and skimming the sea at supersonic speeds?

The giant waves were broken open one after another, and the hidden Witch Beasts had no time to stop them. The five kilometers were crossed in less than a minute, and the upward steps were within reach.

But here, towering waves surged, like sea Tatsumaki swirling around the altar, then sweeping away into the distance wave after wave.

"Tell me, where is the guardian Witch Beasts?"

The Soulless Ones was almost fainting, feeling dizzy and surrounded by an evil aura.

These raging waves could block the Devil's Vision, but they couldn't stop the Soulless Ones, out of place in this world, from instinctively pointing to the place that disgusted them the most.

"Over there, kill it, and these waves of blood won't surge toward us."

"Okay, you can rest for now."

Yuki threw him directly into the sea. The Witch Beasts in the waves didn't chase him; they all went towards Frieren. The Witch Beasts on the second level were far stronger than those on the first level, and Frieren couldn't stop them.

Blood-Burning Heart. The Heat.

Concept Enhancement. Cutting power.

Yuki charged into the Roar waves, sword in hand. He saw a huge, blurry shadow and, without hesitation, pressed his sword against his waist, meeting the shadow head-on.

The Night Furnace Domain.

Glug glug.

The Soulless Ones struggled to his feet from the blood, removing his helmet like a drowning man, and foul-smelling blood gushed from the gaps in his armor.

The girl, with black hair, black eyes, a round face, and a slightly chubby face, kept gagging, choking until tears streamed down her face.

"Cough cough cough, that damned barbarian."

Her physique was only at the level of an excellent human, and she couldn't be strengthened with Soul Crystal like a wizard. Yuki's struggle almost took half her life.

Everything happened too fast, so fast that she didn't even have time to react. Her vision was blurry, and all she could see were countless soul beasts all around her. The long training calmed her down instantly, and even her breathing and heartbeat became weak.

Calm down, calm down. Getting too emotional will trigger the hunting reflexes of the Witch Beasts.

Not daring to move a single finger, the Soulless Ones are not absolutely 'invisible'. To cross the beast horde, they must undergo long-term special training; the slightest carelessness will result in being eaten.

"But that barbarian didn't even ask me!"

His emotions began to waver again. The records said that dealing with these cunning chosen tower explorers required patience, like fishing. Little did he know that Yuki would use himself as a human shield to Piercer the giant wave.

At such a fast speed, what could she say except scream? What was even more frustrating was that the Fangtooth Fish seemed to sense something and was swimming towards her with its mouth wide open. She couldn't even get angry.

I forced myself to calm down again, but the Witch Beasts stopped swimming as if ice had melted into blood.

A reddish-orange light burned in the distance, and the girl couldn't help but raise her head, slowly opening her mouth wide.

The whirlpool remained, but no giant waves were being pushed towards them. The sea was burning, burning a hole in the whirlpool. A man with black hair and red eyes held two swords, his armor covered in blood and cuts.

Solved? A level-one Witch Beasts was defeated? He conquered the second level of the Tower of Asura??

"You..."

"So you're a lady. I'm sorry I was a bit rude earlier." Yuki gave a gentlemanly bow, a stark contrast to his earlier fierce and rude manner.

"The floor guardian is dead? That was a monster!"

"That Witch Beasts did reach the level of a 'monster,' but it's not enough." Yuki nodded slightly. The Witch Beasts was very fierce, but also very confused.

Before it could even react, Yuki attacked from five kilometers away, unleashing his full power and deploying his domain. All that remained was a fierce but futile death throes.

The battle was unremarkable and not worth Yuki.

"Madam, what's your name?" Yuki sized her up, his dark eyes sparkling with a cunning glint in them.

"Uh, Rita," the girl answered instinctively, noticing a hand placed in front of her. It was this hand that had just killed a level one Witch Beasts, a monster that required several level one wizards to defeat.

She didn't dare to shake hands, quickly stood up, and looked back. Seeing that Peggy and her mercenaries were rushing over to join them, she calmed down a bit.

"Miss Rita, are you afraid of being used as a human shield?" Yuki asked softly, as if he had seen the best use for the Soulless Ones.

They can act as meat shields, causing the Witch Beasts to become suspicious. This is equivalent to giving the Witch Beasts a debuff, which is very useful whether they are trying to break through or kill them. No wonder they are hiding it.

If players acquire a meat shield, they can conquer the tower very quickly.

"You want to capture me and use me as a human shield?" Rita's eyes changed, filled with fear, anger, hatred, and a resolute determination to die rather than submit. "There won't be a next time. Otherwise, even if we all die inside the tower, I will take you with me!"

Well, it seems to have offensive capabilities, but it shouldn't be used carelessly.

"The situation was urgent, and I had no choice but to use it just now. I will consult you about it in the future."

Yuki was very sincere. He was very strong, stronger than any known wizard. The key was that his attitude was excellent, which left Rita at a loss for words. She was still angry inside, but dared not turn against him.

Breaking through two levels so 'easily' is comparable to that shameless Alliance. As far as she knows, the Tower of Asura only has four levels in total. At this rate, she will soon be able to face the Witch Spirit directly.

The girl was both angry and conflicted. Just then, that hand reached out a second time, steady and full of grace.

"I think we should have an open and honest discussion about how to cooperate."

Chapter Eight: I am the Asura! (5K)