Reincarnation Stream Player

"Not necessarily, but unless an emergency arises, we must stick together. I suspect there will be a countdown or something before the mission starts, and regardless of what the other two are doing, we must join up."

The three of them reached a consensus; they had survived the entire instance by huddling together for warmth, and they weren't used to being lone wolves anymore.

The matter was happily decided just like that. As for a team name or a mascot, those were trivial matters, and there was no need to waste time on them here.

"Second point: Enhancement Points and Specialization Points have unlocked more ways to be used." Yuki lifted his greatsword and pointed at Hayasaka Ai's waist: "Take a closer look—is there anything special about the Death Knell Revolver?"

He had clearly seen the mosaic behind the equipment panel, which he assumed was unlocked via the permissions granted for completing the Newbie Instance.

Chaos Item: Bloody Chainsaw Sword (Chaos Grade), Forged Once

Strengthens the user slightly as the slaughter progresses, up to a limit. Forging effect: Overload Mode

Side effect: As the strengthening progresses, the user's cognition becomes increasingly violent. Once the limit is reached, the body begins to cool down, resulting in fatigue.

Description: Slaughter brings pleasure, slaughter brings excitement, but once the pleasure fades, only endless fatigue remains.

Hayasaka Ai drew her gun and examined it carefully: "Oh, you mean to say that Enhancement Points and Specialization Points can be used to forge items."

She had received the prompt as well. This counted as a third way to use them, beyond upgrading skills or strengthening items: enhancing an item without changing its grade.

The Death Knell Revolver had also undergone one forging, which was where its infinite ammo effect in normal mode came from.

Common, Alienated, Chaos, Transcendental, Arcane, Chaos, Abyss.

"Uh, I'll just use levels 1-7 to describe it; it's simpler. Anyway, the cap is level 7, and items undergo a qualitative change at level 3."

Yuki rubbed his chin, deciding to use an easy-to-understand description.

Just like upgrading a skill from Proficient to Excellent, upgrading an item from Chaos Grade (Level 3) to Transcendental Grade (Level 4) requires a surge in Enhancement Points, and it's not just a simple choice.

Given the nature of this game, the power would certainly increase from Chaos to Transcendental, but the side effects would surge along with it. Yuki wouldn't dare use an Arcane Grade (Level 5) item even if someone handed him one.

"Enhancement Points can forge items, but the effects are random—either adding extra abilities or reducing side effects. This limits the growth speed of item-based players." Yuki sighed; another dream shattered.

If you don't want to kill yourself, you have to gamble a massive amount of Enhancement Points on forging, just like rerolling sub-stats in certain games. Who knows when that will ever end?

"Don't be so depressed, this is normal. After all, items can be snatched from others, while random skills aren't necessarily useful." Mai Sakurajima didn't seem to care much and comforted him: "It's just that this way, Enhancement Points get spread thin."

"No, this actually gives players greater freedom. Physical strength, Ego Traits, items, and skills—each has its use and its cost." Hayasaka Ai took over, clearly possessing ample experience with online games.

Specializing in one area requires investing massive resources, but over-specializing makes it hard to handle different situations?

Yuki rubbed his chin. Since he couldn't find any loopholes in the game itself, he looked at his current two Specialization Points and two Enhancement Points. He wanted to add them to everything, but he didn't have enough for anything.

"Back to the original question: don't you think Li Dan's luck is a bit too good? His main weapon hasn't been forged, and he spent a lot of points elsewhere, yet the Death Knell Revolver is still so powerful?"

Hayasaka Ai couldn't quite keep up with Yuki's train of thought. Who knew how he deduced this from the fourth way to use Enhancement Points?

"You mean... either he was lucky enough to randomly pull a top-tier piece of equipment, or it's a special reward like that sword of yours, or there are other ways to obtain Chaos Items?"

"Like being able to choose, or trade. He has too many items on him; even if all of them were S-rank ratings, that would be hard to achieve."

At this moment, it was as if someone had turned off the lights. The pure white space gradually dimmed, the light contracting, making it hard to see the faces of Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima clearly.

I just finished analyzing the unlocked permissions, and time is already up? Can't you leave me a bit more time to get some perks?

"Hurry up and say it! What's the third thing?"

Even though they were only a few meters apart, Hayasaka Ai's voice came from very far away.

"The most important thing: how to use the two Enhancement Points and two Specialization Points. This concerns our survival rate in the next instance." Yuki slowed his speech, unhurriedly saying:

"It's important, but there's no time to explain. Give me your contact information; let's find a time to meet offline."

The so-called team-up was more like an invitation to clear a dungeon. It had no restrictions and lacked secret means of communication. Just like how Li Dan and Thomas relied entirely on spore puppets, they had no way to exchange information in reality.

Yuki had cast his hook, but he didn't hear any response. He waited confidently, unafraid that the fish wouldn't bite.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you? Leaving the most critical thing for last!" Mai's voice came through, sounding indignant as if she had been outmaneuvered.

"Senior, I still need to research it." Yuki argued righteously, laughing out loud: "Besides, it's not hard for me to find the two of you. I was just afraid that showing up suddenly would be awkward for both sides."

One was a big celebrity, the other wore a Shuchiin uniform; he didn't mean a word of his lie.

The pitch-black space fell silent for a moment. First, Hayasaka Ai recited her phone number, as if she were terrified he might actually show up at her door, and then Mai Sakurajima helplessly provided her contact information as well.

Yuki memorized them one by one. By now, he couldn't hear any sound at all, only the pitch-black darkness and deathly silence before him.

Please select a return location: Entry Point or Random Area

Amidst the prompt, that familiar sense of blurring emerged. His smile vanished before he knew it. He fell silent for a moment, closed his eyes, and raised his hands, which were stained with the scent of countless blood.

Living Corpse, Li Dan, Giant—one figure after another flashed through his mind, as if carved into his brain. He waved his hand, letting these nightmare-like shadows dissipate into smoke.

He opened his eyes, his gaze burning like a torch.

"Going home!"

Chapter 3: Enhancement! (Revised)

Squeak, squeak, squeak—

The sound of summer cicadas drilled into his ears, followed by the sea breeze, slightly briny, blowing against his face. The sun was brilliant, and several banyan trees cast mottled shadows along the corridor.

The sunlight made his red pupils contract. Yuki stood there blankly, gazing at the scenery in the distance.

The lawn, the harbor, the azure sea shimmering with sunlight, and the whistles of several ferries—these things were reflected in his eyes one by one, giving a sense of a hot and peaceful summer day.

Just like that, I'm back?

Yuki blinked repeatedly, his frozen brain gradually coming back to life as he slowly lowered his head.

A gray coat, a white shirt, casual trousers—exactly the same as when he had left. He turned around slowly, and the sight of his dilapidated apartment door, plastered with small advertisements, came into view.

He was back. Just as he had chosen, he had returned to the starting point as if it were all a dream. He had opened this door, entered a bizarre corridor, and when he looked back, the door had already changed.

Yuki raised his hands to cover his face; he wanted to laugh, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

It had been less than forty-eight hours, yet he felt the need to use the word "recollection," as if the experience were already a distant memory. But as Mai had said, it had indeed been long enough.

"Everything I've experienced in the last dozen years combined isn't as intense as these two days and two nights."

Yuki muttered to himself. Only upon returning to this hallway did he realize how unreal everything felt.

Running, fighting monsters, killing people, and even gaining teammates—Yuki had long wanted to play games with Mai Sakurajima and Ai Hayasaka, and his goal had been achieved, though it had shifted from a strategy game to the Reincarnation Game.

He took a step forward, and the entire world changed its appearance. Even though he was back to normal, a slight focus of his mind allowed him to see his character panel and those few Chaos Items.

I don't think I can go back to how things were, can I?

Yuki placed his hand on the door lock, hesitating to turn it, as an absurd question surfaced in his mind:

If it had been Li Dan who returned, what would he be like?

That veteran Player had left a deep impression on him—his obsession with survival and Transcendental Grade power, his ability to betray and exploit anyone without a shred of morality. And it was precisely that lack of a bottom line that Yuki had seized upon to turn the tables.

"If he could have trusted Thomas, if he hadn't treated me as an uncertainty that had to be eliminated, everyone could have survived, and it would have been much easier."

Yuki shook his head to himself. He could guess the mindset Li Dan would have upon returning: he would seize every second to train himself, never making contact with anyone in reality.

Because in his eyes, ordinary people were inferior species that hadn't evolved, and anyone could become a Player, a stumbling block in the next dungeon.

Then why return at all? Why didn't the Reincarnation Game just keep the Players in that pure white space?

Vaguely, he had a strange feeling that it was precisely because of the presence of Ai Hayasaka and Mai Sakurajima that he had managed to seize those few moments of respite.

So, aside from gaining a new experience, he hadn't suffered a distorted mentality or a darkened personality?

Ding-ding—

The sudden ringtone startled Yuki. He pulled out his phone and saw that the signal had been restored; it was a message from an unknown number.

[I have arrived home safely.]

She actually knew to report her safety?

Yuki smiled involuntarily. While lowering his head to reply, he turned the lock and walked back into the room.

[Senior, do you feel like everything is a bit strange?]

[Yeah, I'm having a hard time processing it. I probably won't be back to normal for a couple of days.]

[You still want to go back to normal?]

[What else? Returning to my original life is the reason I kept going. Even if I have nightmares, at least I have time to be awake, right? You don't mean to tell me you enjoyed that Bloodthirsty Red Moon, do you?]

Hmm, that's a novel perspective. Is she just treating the Player status as a mere identity?

Enjoyed it? Aside from proving that my ten years of preparation weren't in vain, I felt sick enough to vomit.

Yuki sat on the sofa, crossed his legs, and typed again.

[Point taken. Staying true to oneself rather than becoming a toy for the game—that's how one avoids becoming someone like Li Dan.]

[What Li Dan? I think you're overthinking things. Didn't we come back from that terrifying Red Moon just to live a normal life? Anyway, I'm going to take a shower.]

[If you feel lonely or scared, Senior, I can provide an on-site sleep-companion service.]

After sending it, there was no response for a long time. A few seconds later, she sent a sticker of someone smashing a cat's head.

Yuki laughed even more happily. He subconsciously tossed his phone aside, then sat frozen on the sofa, blinking several times before smiling bitterly and covering his face.

He had been contemplating the meaning of life at the door just a moment ago, yet he had returned home and sat on the sofa in his most comfortable and familiar posture without even realizing it.

"She guessed right. I really do overthink things."

Yuki rubbed his face. The Reincarnation Game had allowed him to "get what he wished for," and his years of effort hadn't been in vain. Mai's words had awakened something deep within him.

I've been waiting for transcendental phenomena all these years, silently preparing for everything, but is this adventure or power what I truly crave?

"No. I prepared in silence to survive the anomalies, and I survived for the sake of an ideal life. When I entered the Reincarnation Game, I felt a sense of relief, which is completely different from the ecstasy I felt when I was reborn."

Yuki answered his own question. His gaze swept across the empty room. The clues that looked like something out of a crime movie had been wiped clean. On the coffee table lay a fashion magazine featuring a photo of Mai Sakurajima, along with a flyer for a diving club.

That's right. If he hadn't entered the Reincarnation Game two days ago, he would have cast aside his past and started a completely different life.

"Too bad, I still have to allocate my points and spend time thinking about them." Yuki washed his face with cold water and sat on the sofa to open his personal panel.

Player: Yuki (Simple Template)

Dungeons Cleared: Bloodthirsty Red Moon

Physical Strength: Human (Excellent)

Storage Space: 0.5 square meters

Ego Trait: Vestment of the Unknown (LV.1), randomly draws a vestment, cooldown: one day.

Equipment: Chainsaw Sword +1 (Chaos Grade); Reinforced Long Blade (Alienated Grade)

Items: Distortion Kaleidoscope (Chaos Grade); Soil-Offering Contract (Chaos Grade); Infinite Rope (Alienated Grade)

Transcendental Skills: Reinforcement Magecraft (Mastered), Vitality Shift (Mastered)

Important Skills: Firearms Proficiency (Mastered), Combat (Mastered), Edged Weapons Proficiency (Proficient), Self-Hypnosis (Mastered), Biological First Aid (Mastered)

Enhancement Count: 2

Specialization Count: 2

Hmm, Chaos Grade is a Tier 3 item, while Alienated Grade is a Tier 2 item.

For a newcomer, this is undoubtedly quite strong, especially the Chaos items; he has five of them in total, an amount others wouldn't be able to accumulate even after two or three instances.

Moreover, these were obtained under abnormal instance conditions, which fills Yuki with confidence, making him feel that Li Dan's words hold some truth.

If Bloodthirsty Red Moon is just a normal difficulty, wouldn't I be able to carry girls to farm points and reach the pinnacle of life like some overpowered protagonist?

That would be a bit boring, and the Reincarnation Game shouldn't be that embarrassing.

Pulling back his thoughts, Yuki looks over his panel again and again.

Item-based build? With the side effects involved, he understands the principle that biting off more than one can chew is a mistake.

Skill-based build? It takes 1 enhancement point to go from Mastered to Proficient, and 2 to go from Proficient to Excellent; there simply aren't enough points regardless.

In the end, it has only been one instance, and the cards in his hand are not yet enough. After some thought, Yuki decides to maximize his personal combat power.

"Use the first specialization point on physical fitness."

As the words fall, there is no miraculous phenomenon from the heavens, but Yuki's gaze sharpens; he feels as if something has changed—in the language of cultivation, his life force is now brimming.

He immediately stands up, picks up the fitness equipment in the corner to pump iron, goes out for a long run, and finally bangs his head against the wall. By the time he returns to the sofa, he is exceptionally energized.

Truly miraculous; just like that, he has become stronger, with his speed, strength, endurance, and recovery all improved across the board.