Chapter 325
Of course, this comes at a price: just like taking an overdose of stimulants, lifespan is rapidly reduced.
Looking at the restless mercenaries who seemed to have inexhaustible energy, Yuki a thorn in his side. Thousands of wizards were right at his feet; he wondered what use they would be.
This...
After thinking for a moment, Kento Nanami realized that the sooner he satisfied Hint 3, the more options he would have. Because of Hint 1, it was best to obtain the mark from story characters.
"Alright, let's each send one person from our two factions to hunt them down, and meet the third prompt as soon as possible. The rest of us will stay and guard the Soulless Ones."
The suggestion was reasonable. Kento Nanami glanced at the expressionless Frieren and gestured for him to proceed.
Yomi Isayama was feeding Rita and the others pocky. The medieval natives had never eaten this before, and they were all overjoyed. The black-haired girl didn't look over, as if she didn't care.
Kyojuro crossed his arms, his eyes gleaming, practically screaming "Choose me!"
Kento Nanami, on the other hand, looked lazy and had no intention of working overtime.
Who should I choose?
Yuki was in a dilemma; these three all had very different personalities. Kyojuro?
No, this guy is too straightforward. I'm a cunning old fox; we'll definitely become enemies.
"Miss Yomi, come with me. Frieren, you go and take care of Rita." Yuki said honestly. This was an absolutely rational choice. Yomi Isayama had kept a low profile all along, and this composure was enough to demonstrate her strength.
Phew, I couldn't hide it from him after all.
The girl glanced at the office worker with a mocking look in her eyes. She had indeed kept a low profile all the way, and hadn't even had any contact with Yuki, feeding the Soulless Ones like an outsider.
"Miss Frieren, have some too." She casually tossed a few boxes of Pocky to a girl of similar age, gripped her long sword, and stood up. "Xiao Wu, Bell, and Saemon, get the duty roster ready. Don't fall asleep later."
"Yes, boss." The players replied respectfully.
My hunch was right; this is the key figure.
Yuki almost fell for it. After all, in terms of backstory, Yomi Isayama is more ordinary than Taketo Kento Nanami and the Flame Pillar. Stripped of the transmigrators' Prophet, one is full of cunning and the other is passionate and fiery, which makes them more eye-catching.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Miss Mai Sakurajima," Frieren muttered quietly from the side.
"I'm not worried about that, because she's more interested in you than I am."
"What's the meaning???"
"This person likes to eat oranges."
Leaving behind the bewildered Mushroom, Yuki led Yomi Isayama out of the palace, glancing at the smiling girl out of the corner of his eye.
Black hair, black uniform, short skirt, katana, knee-high socks—this anime-inspired look is a bit over the top! She has a cool and edgy personality, loves to take care of others, and is the kind of girl who's really stylish.
Yomi Isayama didn't care about Yuki's gaze, and instead deliberately puffed out her chest. "Mr. Li isn't as scary as you think. It's rare to find someone who is both powerful and ordinary. For example, Rita seems to have a twisted sense of humor, but she's actually looking at people with strange eyes."
"Have you been observing for a long time?"
"Hmm, I've been watching the show while eating melon seeds, oh no, eating pocky drinks. Want one?" Yomi handed him one, leaving Yuki unsure how to respond.
"I don't eat these kinds of children's snacks."
"Haha, Mr. Li is quite concerned about his image."
Confirmed, this should be Yomi Isayama before he turned evil.
'Ga-Rei' is an old anime. Yuki only vaguely remembers that the girl's Destiny was very tragic. The look in her eyes made Yomi feel chills all over, and she quickly crossed her arms over her chest.
"W-What happened?"
"It's nothing, I just suddenly felt that the Reincarnation Game is quite gentle at times." Yuki stepped onto the stairs, looking at the lightning in the sky. As a transmigrator, he understood the other's life.
If Obito Uchiha were dragged into the game in front of that bridge and found like-minded companions, which world would be more like hell—the one he was in or the one he stayed in?
"Oh~~~~~" Yomi deliberately dragged out the tone, hiding the nostalgia in his eyes, "Mr. Li is also a man with a lot of stories. Why did you suddenly start praising the Reincarnation Game?"
"Every player has a story, Miss Yomi, you live a very carefree life."
"I'd say it's overly carefree, a bit like giving up on life. Back in my hometown, I'd probably be scolded, told things like I don't act like a proper young lady." Yomi Isayama stuck out her tongue, crossed her arms, and looked hopeful.
"But we have to do it this way. 'Laugh out loud when you're happy, and cry out loud when you're sad.' That's what I taught someone. If you don't take it as a motto, even if you go back alive, you won't be recognized."
It sounds naive, but Yuki didn't mean to mock him, because that's exactly what he did.
My power can be so great that it can destroy a star, and I can kill countless people, but some things have changed, and I am no longer myself.
"You still have lovers left in your hometown?" Yuki's cold expression faded, replaced by a smile.
"No, she's just my little sister, my cutest little sister!"
"The ghost is strong while the humans are weak. Aren't you afraid she'll become a player too?"
"That's why I'm working so hard. By the way, Mr. Li, do you have any ideas on how to help me out?"
The city was vast and deserted, with chatter rising and falling. Yuki hadn't expected the hunt to turn into a chat session, but how to put it...
He must be pleased to see such a lively Yomi Isayama, since each of these 'acquaintances' is neither a potential harem member nor a stepping stone to godhood.
Some of them are kind, some are evil, some are as lucky as the Yomi, and some turn evil on the spot. They chat and struggle with people from all over the world, which is interesting enough in itself.
Through the mouth of the Yomi, Yuki learns about the situation of the 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons': humans are being suppressed by demons and are at a disadvantage due to their limited authority.
Humanity is planning a counterattack, so players like Yuki, who are both strong and intelligent, have become targets. Yomi Isayama has been keeping a low profile, searching for allies.
Yuki nor denied the invitation, saying that he already had too much to handle since his return.
Aether Particles, War Orphans, Judge, and the need to purge one's own faction—it's actually more troublesome than a dungeon.
As they chatted, they approached the Forest Elf Tower. Yomi Isayama immediately shut up, clearly showing that, like Hayasaka Ai, she was very good at distinguishing between time and place.
The azure tower emitted a faint light, and like the Tower of Asura, it was connected to the giant island by a covered bridge; the door at the other end was already open.
Someone's already up here?
Yuki made a gesture, separating from Yomi and hiding behind the giant sculptures, which were completely different from the previous Asura Witch Spirit.
Some have crocodile heads and fat pig bodies; some have nine heads; and some look like a cluster of sea urchins covered in sharp spines.
'Forest spirits Witch Spirit, all sorts of strange creatures?' Yuki glanced at it, then switched to his Devil's Vision, where he could see that the azure covered bridge was the same as before.
The eerie energy surged like a high-pressure water jet, disappearing without a trace after pouring into the giant island. Due to its extremely high energy density, Yuki could not cut it, nor did he dare to.
If such a massive amount of energy were to explode, what would happen to Monster IV? It would be instantly reduced to ashes.
Someone came out.
Upon hearing footsteps, Yuki tightened the invisibility cloak he had acquired, squinted, and looked ahead, only to see a massive shadow appear at the doorway.
A... tiger?
It truly is a tiger in the literal sense, except it stands upright with a machete strapped to its back, exuding a terrifying aura of savagery.
It cautiously poked its head out to look around, waved its hand, and several smaller, dark figures followed closely behind.
"Be careful, these are people from the Manual of Hundred Demons. Don't stare at them; their intuition is very sharp," Yomi warned, gritting his teeth as if he knew them well.
Damn, so you're a player.
Yuki quickly looked away, relying solely on his hearing to locate the creature. At first glance, he had mistaken it for Witch Beasts; had it not been for Yomi's warning, he would have already been discovered.
"What's the background of that tiger? Do you know it?"
"The S-rank demonic beast Tiger Vanguard, is a player who slowly climbed up from the bottom. It's inherently violent, loves to eat people, yet is exceptionally cunning. We once organized a campaign to exterminate it, and almost our entire squad was wiped out." Yomi added, his eyes filled with hatred:
"By the way, I was the only survivor of that squad."
Tiger Vanguard? Which Tiger Vanguard?
Yuki paused for a moment, automatically ignoring the story of Yomi.
In his memory, Tiger Vanguard was a tiger who ate takeout every day and had many strange facial expressions.
For example, things like, "Auswählen sending him! Why is someone sliding in again?"
What is an S-class monster?
"The Demon Extermination Squad likes to categorize their targets into different levels, which makes it easier to make quick decisions when they encounter them in dungeons."
"Then what am I?"
"Uh, an S-rank monster, I guess." Yomi was clearly suppressing a laugh.
What kind of monster is that?
Yuki was speechless, but after learning about the 'overall faction rating' from Bradley, he roughly understood the strength of Tiger Vanguard.
A Monster II or Monster III player, if their faction's overall score isn't particularly high, should have teammates in the Transcendental Grade to Monster I range.
His tense muscles relaxed slightly. This overall score was extremely advantageous to him because his Monster IV score only counted as a single person, while Thorny Rose and Frieren were two other scoring systems.
To take it to an even more extreme level, Frieren could also reach Monster IV.
However, players Taiyi from dungeon monsters; each has their own trump card. Yuki didn't dare to underestimate this 'Manual of Hundred Demons,' and a loud tiger roar could be heard from afar.
"Damn it, this is the second phase? How am I supposed to find that guy in such a big city?"
"Your Majesty, please keep your voice down. I've served you so well, isn't that enough to quench your thirst?" A woman with a seductive face, fox ears and a fox tail, took the strong arm. Seeing the bulge in the tiger's leather pants, she glared at him and bent down to serve him.
Hiss--
The monster raised its tiger head with a smug look and looked at the noble tower explorers who had come up with it. It was a standard adventure team, and their expressions were completely blank, especially the women, whose clothes were disheveled. They had received a lot of help from these monsters along the way.
Behind them was a group of the Alliance Tower Explorers dressed in black robes and black clothes, their eyes equally dull.
The Forest Elf Tower was perfect for Tiger Vanguard. It swept through the first floor, wiped out a player squad, and turned the rest into flesh golems. It then proceeded to the top floor, killing its way through everything in its path.
But it cleverly avoided the Witch Spirit and never considered stealing the mark.
'Where did those two Judge go? Tsk, if the terms weren't so good, I wouldn't have bothered with them.' Tiger Vanguard took a deep breath, stretched out his tiger paw and pressed down on the head of the hardworking fox girl, seemingly feeling extremely comfortable, but he squinted his tiger eyes and surveyed the city across the covered bridge.
There's a dangerous smell. Do they think I'm stupid? Players who need to send two Judge must be very difficult to deal with.
"Corpse Demon, send them to deliver it. Don't make me go find it myself."
Tiger Vanguard roared, and a bald, skinny monster who looked a bit like a lecherous old man quickly nodded, as if he would be sent to the tiger's mouth if he was a step slower.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The Corpse Demon took out a staff that looked like a tree branch and waved it lightly. A dozen or so tower explorers walked onto the covered bridge like zombies. Tiger Vanguard stared intently, his waist movements becoming more and more exaggerated.
"You lot, trade all the reward points you get from this dungeon to me later. I'll compensate you when we get back. This dungeon is tough; I'll have to upgrade it properly."
No one dared to object; the law of the jungle was the rule of the monsters. Everyone, including the groaning fox girl, handed over their points. The player panel was immediately opened, and anyone who dared to hide a single point would be shredded into pieces.
Is this the legendary breeding team?
Tiger Vanguard's voice was so loud that Yuki didn't even need to concentrate to listen; this was the darkest and cruelest essence of the Reincarnation Game.
Except for certain dungeons, there is no friendly fire in the game. Only now did he understand what Bradley meant by "the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker." If he were ruthless enough, his seniors would never have had a chance to develop.
Yuki thought of artists who enjoyed torture and killing; if the normal world could breed perverted players, then these monster factions were even more likely to emerge.
"Are all the Manual of Hundred Demons this bad?"
"Not necessarily. Occasionally there are good monsters, and there are also demon hunters among us." Yomi's voice was calm, clearly indicating that he had seen many such cases, including those that were even more selfish and defied normal values.
"This tiger demon is very strong, conservatively estimated to be at Monster III level. Defeating it won't be easy."
Yuki didn't respond. He hadn't considered being a champion of Justice, because of the first hint that players shouldn't fight each other; there might be opportunities for cooperation.
Tiger Vanguard's words had bothered him greatly; if he had arrived any later, he probably wouldn't have heard them.
"Is it looking for someone?"
"Uh, it seems so. I guess it's some player." Yomi was a little disappointed. This Mr. Li was too pragmatic. "He's probably not looking for me. This is the first time we've met in the dungeon."
The two are enemies, but Yomi seems more like someone seeking revenge.
Yuki nodded slightly. The probability of finding the Yomi was extremely small. In a daze, he connected several things.
Wait, could it be they're looking for me?
He suppressed his urge to spy on Tiger Vanguard, listened to the approaching footsteps, and looked up slightly to see a black dot hovering in the air, moving very slowly.
It resembled a paper airplane, appearing and disappearing amidst the thunder; had it not emanated a different kind of soul energy, the Demon Eye would have been completely unaware of it.
Someone is watching.
This is not surprising; all players will try their best to monitor the giant island, and the seven towers are the most important. The key is to either hide your trump card or destroy them.
But this paper airplane looked Taiyi to Yuki; it was white, barely noticeable, and somehow resembled Deidara's clay.