Chapter 555
The Death Staff is no longer needed; its effect of intimidating high-level players is completely useless.
I don't need the Foxfolk Feather Fan and the Freezing Jewel anymore; the Illusion and Frozen effects are useless and just take up my slots.
Looking at the pile of items in his hand, Yuki selected two items, spent 24 enhancement points to upgrade them to Chaos Grade level (level 6), and inserted them back into the empty slots of the Furnace.
[Chaos Item: Crystal War Banner (Chaos Grade)]
[Creates a powerful defensive barrier; its defensive strength is directly proportional to the amount of energy injected, and it has an extremely high energy capacity.]
[Side effects: The user cannot move and requires a continuous power supply. If the barrier is broken, the damage is reflected back to the power supplier.]
This thing is both powerful and useless. Yuki can't just stand there as punishment. Fortunately, he got too many items this time, so he has room to adjust.
[Chaos Item: High-Magic Energy Ball (Chaos Grade)]
[This serves as an energy storage space, making it a favorite among magicians, and it recharges itself over time.]
[Side effect: Requires an infusion of energy called 'magic power'. Once depleted, it will endlessly drain the user's magic power. If not replenished in time, it will self-destruct.]
A power bank with side effects, but when combined with the Crystal War Banner, it becomes a perfect set of items. As for 'magic power', Yuki's Epic Metamorphosis can perfectly match it.
"Now all I need is an energy core that can continuously release energy, so I can keep recharging it using Void Conversion." Yuki nodded in satisfaction, looking at the corpses scattered all over the ground, admitting that this was a treasure trove.
There are no useless Chaos Item, and there's no need to pursue high-level ones. As long as you can use them, even level 2 items can be upgraded to level 6 with enhancement points. The key is how you match them and what effect you want to achieve.
Unlike Yuki Mona has 'Myriad Mechanisms, Hundred Hands' to control multiple items simultaneously, Yuki has 'Night Furnace', which can achieve effects in specific locations.
The Night Furnace is my signature item, so I'll take this opportunity to upgrade it. The first thing I need to address is the Furnace's strength.
Even powerful enemies of Epic Rank III or higher cannot be contained; the labyrinth created by the Universe in the Sleeve can be forcibly broken open by others, and even the Furnace itself can be destroyed.
"Yes, in this way, the Crystal War Banner and the High-Magic Energy Ball can reinforce the Furnace, forming a defensive combination with the Demonbreaker's Domain; the Universe in the Sleeve and the Hunter's Trapping Net form a trapping group; Hidden Dragon Flying Sword and the Duplication Cube belong to the direct attack group."
Yuki stroked his chin, somewhat like cleaning a house, categorizing things in the messy Furnace. Overall, the slots remained the same, but the effects were much stronger.
The cost is a large number of points, but that doesn't matter. The more you kill and loot, the more you sell, forming a perfect cycle. No wonder epic-level players like to take advantage of chaos; it's riskier than dungeons, but the rewards are also greater.
But for me, the risk is actually smaller.
Yuki looked at the panel again and again, his heart gradually burning with excitement.
That's not enough. We need to keep killing. The Six Gods' Authority requires killing, upgrading the Night Furnace requires killing, and upgrading the items to the Abyss Grade (level 7) also requires killing.
Every player can get everything they want; soul materials can be used as bullets, and excess items can be shared with the upperclassmen.
This is a Slaughter Cycle, and the current situation is perfect for it. The Judge are overwhelmed, so when is a better time to fish in troubled waters?
"You guys are quite polite; you even helped me keep those hyenas at bay."
Yuki suddenly turned his head and saw a lump of mud in the pool of blood. The mud had not concealed its presence and, upon hearing these words, coalesced into a human form.
It was a thin man with bluish-gray skin who revealed his true form without using any disguise skills.
Orochimaru?
Yuki wasn't surprised; Uchiha Madara was the Grand Inquisitor, so Yuki was naturally one of his close associates.
"Heh, just doing some good deeds within my power, preventing them from coming to their deaths." Orochimaru chuckled coldly, glancing at the Chaos Item on the ground. "You're really wasting them. If you picked them all up, you could sell them for a few hundred points."
"And then you followed the trail and found something on me, so you could use it to serve the Judge later?" Yuki snorted; his methods were quite common.
This isn't just about players using Aether Particles. If your true identity is discovered, you'll make enemies of many factions, and the Judge can use the threat of "keeping your secret" to blackmail you.
"Even someone as strong as you is afraid?"
"The blood feud between factions can spill over into the dungeon. I may be strong, but my subordinates might not be." Yuki raised his head, exuding the aura of a king who rules over gods. "You're curious about my identity, so you can take a more direct approach."
Orochimaru's expression darkened. He had used his detection tool, of course, but there was no feedback, proving that this person possessed an extremely advanced stealth skill.
"For example?"
"For example, if I kill you, it directly triggers the defense mechanism of the Reincarnation Game, making it clear who I am and what faction I belong to." Yuki spread his hands, conjuring a crystal spear, and stepped towards the epic-level Inquisitor.
"If you want war, then let's fight! You're not qualified to try and extract information from me with nonsense. Summon the Grand Inquisitor!"
A terrifying pressure swept over them; Yuki was challenging the authority of the Judge, causing Orochimaru's expression to shift between anger and uncertainty.
Among the countless players in the Borderlands, only a few can stand at the pinnacle, but none of them are ones he can challenge. This has nothing to do with strength, but rather, given the current situation, whether the Judge dares to wage war against a powerful faction to avenge him.
Every ounce of strength was used to the Limit. The vacancy of Dio Brando had not yet been filled, and the Grand Inquisitor had no time to fight a bloody battle with powerful enemies other than Taiyi. Factions like Valhalla and the Savior could be eliminated, but at a price. Taiyi would be laughing his head off.
"As you wish." Orochimaru bowed and instantly turned into mud and disappeared, leaving the city that had just raised its long sword somewhat bewildered.
Wait, I've only just started acting.
Yuki smiled and lowered his spear. Orochimaru must have been badly beaten; he had actually become polite.
Pretending to be weak to outmaneuver others is always a poor strategy; the best approach is to pretend to be strong to outmaneuver weak.
There's no need for further explanation; if the strength is sufficient, a great scholar will naturally help with the debate. Looking at the remaining items on the ground, he vanished instantly. Not long after, dozens of low-level players surrounded him, like hyenas devouring a rotting corpse.
The Reincarnation Game is similar to harvesting leeks; Yuki one crop, and soon after, new leeks will grow from the corpse.
Although the dungeons are brutal, they actually protect players. The rules limit the strength gap between players entering the dungeons, and weaker players can use the storyline to close the gap.
The truly dangerous place is actually the Borderlands, a place without warning or elimination. Of course, the Reincarnation Game also has its rules; it wants to nurture the monsters, not to have the strong destroy their fishponds.
However, there are loopholes in the rules regarding authority and Judge. After thinking it over, it's still 'Taiyi's' fault.
The Great Cataclysm caused the Reincarnation Game to lose its ability to be patched up and severed its connection with the reincarnators. If the reincarnators were still around, the players would be unable to cause any trouble, or rather, everyone would be climbing an infinitely extending ladder and wouldn't have the energy to cause any problems.
The Great Cataclysm have eliminated the possibility of players advancing, and the replacement Judge mechanism is no longer able to crush the Borderlands. Faction wars have been unfolding all along, but epic-level players have had difficulty participating. I have simply ripped off the last veil, allowing epic-level players to act with impunity and making the flames of war burn even hotter.
Yuki leaned against the rock wall. This place used to be the lair of a dragon player. This dragon, who had just entered the Epic Rank I, wanted to live a life of seclusion and no one dared to provoke him because of his private space.
But Yuki arrived, shattering space and tearing it to pieces. The 'Monster Front,' which had signed a protection contract, received the news but pretended to be dead.
"I told you before, unless the Judge intervene, they won't dare mess with me. They're just thinking of unifying the Outpost and sending me out of the country."
Yuki glanced at the giant dragon head under his feet, picked up the crimson jelly-like soul material in his hand, and smiled contentedly.
Besides murder and robbery, he also came here for a 'sociological investigation,' believing that observing one aspect could lead to understanding the whole picture, and each return brought him new insights.
The order of the Reincarnation Game —no, to be precise, the Borderlands— has long been shaken. It's only being held together by those dozen or so Grand Inquisitors. After all, no faction can field dozens of epic-level players. Anyone who dares to act recklessly will be slaughtered like a chicken.
However, as 'Taiyi' gained more and more prominence, the order was shaken more and more violently. The Grand Inquisitors were busy dealing with a tiger and had no energy to add enemies. Especially after the 'Race Game', they discovered that every wanted criminal was a potential ally of 'Taiyi'.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. They can't even find Taiyi, so why would they waste their time adding to the enemy's fighting strength? It's easy to issue a trial order, but capturing the enemy is a different story.
"Brilliant! The unscrupulous players have found someone to rely on, which inadvertently protects Taiyi, while I, as 'Taiyi,' can still move freely under this protection. If this continues, more and more players will test the limits."
Yuki smiled gleefully. Was this 'Taiyi' covering for 'Taiyi'? Then Orochimaru's attitude was perfectly normal.
A player of Epic Tier III or higher broke the rules. You're not going to turn a blind eye, are you? Are you really going to put them on trial? Sure, to judge a player of this caliber, you'd need a Grand Inquisitor leading a hunting party, right? Now Dio Brando's life is quite valuable.
What if you lead a team to judge but encounter 'Taiyi'? If the two team up, wouldn't you just be feeding them? Inside the instance, the Judge can't escape either, and they can't provide support. How many times can ten Grand Judges perish?
It's so frustrating! The existence of 'Taiyi' has given players a lot of confidence. If they really piss us off, what's the harm in killing the Judge? As the saying goes, if this place doesn't want me, I'll go join Taiyi.
Therefore, upholding the rules is meaningless and will only lead to more and more enemies. If we adopt a policy of appeasement, our authority will continue to be damaged. We still need to solve the problem at its source, but the problem is that they can't find 'Taiyi'.
"A perfect cycle, even Sōsuke Aizen couldn't figure out a solution, not to mention this guy's strange attitude."
Yuki already knows who the commander-in-chief of the Judge' side is. Aizen trying very hard, but he is also very helpless. However, only Yuki knows that this Aizen is no ordinary person. His ambition is beyond even the control of the Reincarnation Game.
Good thing, I just want to run away. After I leave the Reincarnation Game, I don't care how you fight.
He licked his lips, constantly reflecting on his plan and looking for loopholes. Just as he had anticipated that the Judge would use the reincarnation item to find him, there was definitely a Grand Judge lurking inside the instance at this moment.
Heh heh, I'm not going into the instance. If the Outpost triggers a resonance, I'll just run away, go back, change my identity, and keep messing with you guys.
He was even more pleased. 'Nothingness' was the strongest and most unsolvable cheat. The dungeons of the Reincarnation Game were ingenious, but the Borderlands were full of loopholes, and it was easy to join a faction war.
For example, this time he obtained access to Outpost such as 'Controller', 'Nindo Group', 'Ark World', and 'Interstellar War'. Everywhere is a hunting ground, and every hunt means a huge harvest.
[The brain of the Lava Dragon, sourced from an Epic-level player, requires 24 Specialization Points to forge and has a chance to upgrade Chaos Item to Abyss Grade- level (Level 7)]
[Keywords: Control class, Summoning class]
Overall, it's similar to the Demon's Heart—an extremely precious material. Players face difficulties leveling up after reaching Epic rank because they have to fight each other at the same level.
Previously, this was difficult; participating in faction wars would result in being wanted by the Judge, making it a losing proposition. The main way to obtain them was through dungeons.
Killing story characters won't drop materials unless you raise your reputation to an extremely high level, making others deliberately spare your kills. But that's impossible; epic-level players can turn the tide at any time, so who would dare to show mercy? Not to mention, there are different factions in the dungeon, involving different stances, which makes dealing with them extremely troublesome. It's like Yuki completely subcontracted everything to Mebius, and they didn't participate in the player infighting at all.
"But the Borderlands is different; that's where the infighting really takes place. Right now, there's no need to worry about being wanted."
Yuki took out the grayish-white spine, which had been dropped by Guratius. The two items were placed together, causing Frieren inside the cave to scrutinize them repeatedly, finally understanding why this man had gone on such a killing spree.
She hugged her knees, didn't ask any questions the whole way, remained calm and collected, and observed silently that Yuki wasn't crazy; every killing had a clear purpose.
"I've only ever seen epic-level player material in books. Players are practically like monsters; they're walking treasure chests."
The elf tilted its head, never expecting that it would witness the most brutal and top-tier setting of the Reincarnation Game so soon after ascending. Killing was for the purpose of seizing resources, and soul materials could be used to craft Chaos Item or as upgrade materials. However, this person had seized the highest level of resources.
She watched as the bloody brain and spine disappeared in Yuki's hands, without noticing any changes, and finally couldn't help but speak:
"What... did you do with these two things?"
"Curious?" Yuki turned his head. This Frieren wasn't much different from what he remembered; she still looked devoid of emotion.
Despite being prisoners, they showed no fear, either spacing out or sleeping.
"Yes, it concerns the setting of soul materials. I haven't learned much about it. I've obtained some before, but I found they weren't very valuable, so I used them as a source of magic power."
Like shotguns, some items can be powered by soul materials.
"Epic-level players have different soul materials; they can be used to upgrade items to level 7, but it requires matching keywords. For example, the brain of a lava dragon has a high probability of upgrading a level 6 fire-type equipment to level 7."
"But you don't have the forging tools."
"This is another use; certain special skills also require this thing to upgrade," Yuki explained. He had just used these two materials to unlock the highest level and the most familiar of the Six Gods' Authority: Sea God's Blessing.
Are special skills more powerful than Chaos Grade skills? How do they compare to bloodline skills?
"Generally speaking, that's how it is. The acquisition method is more difficult, requiring special dungeons or special opponents." Yuki stroked his chin, suddenly realizing something was wrong.
Wait, how did this turn into a science lesson?
Wait a minute, this Frieren is a prisoner; she should be trembling and awaiting her Judgment of Fate.
Seeing Frieren's pure and inquisitive eyes, Yuki suddenly realized the true value of the saying "natural talent overcomes cunning." Frieren wasn't nervous at all, or rather, she cleverly deflated her nervousness.
Never mind, she's Frieren's master, I don't need to scare her.
Yuki waved his hand, not wanting to receive a disdainful look from the Mushroom. Once the oppressive aura disappeared, it would be troublesome to recreate it, and a powerful person full of malice wouldn't act as an encyclopedia.
He simply sat cross-legged next to Frieren, watching her silently move away, and then chuckled to himself.
"You don't hate me?"
"Why hate? You spared my life, and I didn't even know those people. I fulfilled my duty as a soldier." Frieren's voice was flat, her head tilted, her long, narrow ears trembling slightly.
"I'm curious, knowing your secret and still alive, it seems Frieren is doing quite well."
The elf was extremely intelligent; this was clearly the legendary 'Taiyi'. On one hand, they were amazed by his audacity in returning so openly, and on the other hand, they breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that their foolish disciple would be used and silenced.
"Well, Frieren is my friend. You survived because of her, and so did 'Sage of the Tower' Fumerra. Of course, she deliberately sought her death, so you can't blame me." Yuki never intended to put Fumerra on the kill list.
"That doesn't sound rational."
"It's a bit of composure, I suppose. There are plenty of epic-level players; one more won't make a difference."
Frieren blinked repeatedly. How could an epic-level player she couldn't reach be slaughtered like a pig or a dog? But after witnessing the Lava Dragon's death, she couldn't say that the person was bragging.
Spatial Severance, space was reassembled, and the epic dragon died.
"What do you want from me? I've thought about it for a couple of days, and it seems I'm not of any use to you."
"Oh, you don't want to ask me to meet with Frieren?"
"I don't want to. She's reached a level I can't reach. It's not only irresponsible of me, but it will also cause trouble for Frieren." Frieren paused for a moment before adding softly, "If possible, let her know she's safe. Living in the Reincarnation Game is a hundred times harder than traveling with me."
This is the kind of thing a woman thousands of years old would say. Frieren has lived for too long and seen too many eras, but no era is as cruel as the Reincarnation Game.
The best way to deal with dangers that you can't solve is to avoid them altogether; otherwise, even a speck of dust could crush you to pieces.
"Don't worry, you'll have a chance to meet. It's rare and a blessing to have someone you know in this godforsaken place." The helmet concealed Yuki's smile. He had a place to return to, and someone was waiting for him. He gently patted his knee and sat down solemnly.
"I won't stay in the Aether Particles for long, but the objective needs to be achieved. Go back and give Fumerra a message."
"Tell her not to attack you first?"
"No, it's about preparing her for heavy losses, but at the same time, she also needs to cooperate with me." Yuki's contradictory words startled Frieren, who then nodded slightly.
I understand what you mean.