Chapter 96

Yuki knew, of course, that he couldn't take sides at this moment. Just as Mai Sakurajima- senpai opened her mouth, he quickly shoveled food into her mouth, stuffing it full so that she couldn't say a word.

That slippery fellow.

Mai Sakurajima shut her mouth, staring blankly at the two eating quickly. It was truly ironic that the Reincarnation Game had actually brought her friends.

Having been in the entertainment industry since childhood, she was no ordinary person. The aura that came with fame made people afraid to approach her, and she had seen enough of the vanity and had no interest in interacting with others.

The Reincarnation Game bound her to these two people, and since they weren't heartless, it was only natural that they became friends.

As she was thinking, Yuki suddenly scooped a large lump of rice from her bowl with a spoon.

What are you doing!?

"Since you don't have an appetite, I'll eat it for you." Yuki grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, followed by a gurgling sound.

He slept for most of the day, Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima spent the same time researching. No wonder they were hungry.

"Give it back to me!"

"You've got my saliva on your feet, are you sure you want to eat it? Be gentle, don't step on my foot."

"Mai Sakurajima- senpai, let me share some with you."

"I want to eat my own food."

"Even if you don't care about Yuki's drool, you should still tug at your skirt; your underwear is about to show."

Dinner was quite lively; thankfully, no one was in the next room, otherwise, one might have thought these college students were having some kind of sex party.

In the end, it was Hayasaka Ai who served Mai Sakurajima the rice, and by the time night had completely fallen, not a single grain of rice was left.

Listening to the sound of water rinsing the plate, Yuki held his coffee cup and squinted his eyes contentedly. This was also brought by Hayasaka Ai. The famous Shuchiin coffee exuded a rich aroma, but what was even more impressive was the brewing technique.

"Professional! The water temperature is just right, and it even preserves the aroma of the coffee."

"You have a discerning eye; I accept your praise." Hayasaka Ai crossed her legs, slightly lifted her skirt, and curtsied. "When it comes to taking care of people, no one does it better than me."

I get it, you have a weird owner, right?

Yuki thought of Kaguya Shinomiya, but didn't mention it; it was a hidden secret, even though it wouldn't be difficult to investigate.

"Keep your voice down, the senior is peeking this way."

"This is my area of expertise, and she already praised me this afternoon."

I slept so soundly, I didn't even smell such a strong fragrance.

Yuki scratched his face, feeling like he hadn't slept this soundly in years, and thinking back, it was that sense of security he felt.

With the two of them around, there's nothing to worry about.

Mai Sakurajima finished washing the dishes and slowly walked over, wiping her hands on her apron. Then, as if she hadn't heard anything, she changed the subject.

"While you were lying there like a dead pig this afternoon, we found the Tyrant's post and copied it all down. Take a look for yourself."

Oh?

Yuki was somewhat surprised, because he had been searching for it for the past few days, but the forum posts were updating too quickly, and he hadn't found it yet.

Less than 10% of those posts are credible; most are just stories or personal accounts. There are also quite a few guides, but without verification, they are less reliable than stories.

"He worked with us quite well, so the content should be credible."

Yuki opened his notebook, propped his chin up, and read intently. The two girls remained quiet, only occasionally adding a little coffee to his cup.

The Tyrant's hint was simple: it mentioned his companions at the Demon Hospital. Based on previous information, the instance was unique—wasn't that himself?

"Clever, they didn't even mention the fake names, focusing mainly on bloodline skills?"

The Tyrant had no reason to mislead himself; Yuki skimmed through the text and roughly understood what he was trying to say.

Bloodline skills are superior to ordinary skills, possessing growth potential that deviates from the game's formula. They are very rare, but not necessarily powerful. I saw a player use one in the last dungeon.

'Just as I guessed, there's a gap between the foundation and the formula.'

Reinforcement Magecraft is the most representative example. From beginner to master, and from master to proficiency, each upgrade brings changes in power and usage, but these changes are fixed.

Just like a math problem, 1+1 always equals two. Different players will have the same effect, the only difference being the timing and usage.

Ultimately, skills are bestowed by the Reincarnation Game and don't level up automatically like martial arts or gun mastery, because players lack a foundation and don't have the prerequisite of 'magic'.

"But bloodline skills are different; they are the foundation, and then I build the house on top of that according to my ideas."

"So you managed to unleash sword energy?" Hayasaka Ai heard this and felt a hint of envy.

"Don't use such a martial arts explanation. To put it bluntly, it's a kind of energy manipulation. If I were using a gun, I would probably wrap energy around the bullet to increase its penetration."

"It's indeed Taiyi from my Light-Covering Prayer Rite," Mai Sakurajima in, pondering. "The effect of reducing cooldown time is fixed; not a second more, not a second less."

"To put it bluntly, ordinary skills are just about applying formulas; the game has already filled in the answers for you. There's not much difference in the effects of using them, but there's a fundamental difference."

"What's the difference?"

"Whether this formula can be used depends entirely on a single decision in the game." Yuki tapped the table lightly and raised his notebook. "Do you remember what I needed to upgrade my Bloodline skills?"

"That Philosopher's Stone." How could Hayasaka Ai forget it? If she hadn't prepared in advance, she would have died at the hands of Curly long ago.

However, she paused slightly as she realized that Bloodline Object had a particular characteristic.

"It seems you've figured it out. The Philosopher's Stone was forged by Curly, breaking free from the rules of the game and according to his own will. This is essentially an evolution, which is why it's so precious."

The two nodded in unison. All the equipment and skills they knew so far were drawn from the game, except for this one, which players obtained through dungeon souls. Even though the knowledge they acquired still originated from the game, there was still a layer between them.

"No." Hayasaka Ai suddenly raised her head while thinking, staring at Yuki with a strange look in her eyes.

"Your bloodline skill was obtained from the game!"

Chapter 8 Squad Enhancement

Yuki had no need to hide it from the two of them; he had already explained the origin of the 'Demon Possession' long ago.

That was the first achievement he gained by taking the initiative, just like under the Crimson Moon. He didn't think much of it at first, just taking it as luck.

After all, Demon Possession doesn't seem very powerful. The only advantage is that those eyes are very suitable for dungeons. Aside from that, it only provides some weak defense, and the side effects are quite unpleasant.

However, the Tyrant's description and Curly's behavior are thought-provoking.

It should be noted that Curly-haired player invested all his skill points into alchemy, making him an extremely specialized player. Only after reaching the Master level did he have the foundation to complete the Philosopher's Stone.

They racked their brains, even at the cost of making enemies of all players, to turn knowledge into reality.

Judging from the description of the Bloodline Object, this thing is also a kind of bloodline skill, essentially an evolution of alchemy, which is why it's so rare.

Yuki isn't stupid; when you connect many coincidences, they cease to be coincidences. For example, Hayasaka Ai's upgraded Fool Mask solves a real-world problem.

"I don't believe in luck." Yuki looked directly at Hayasaka Ai, then slowly shook his head. "But I don't have the answer either. It involves a deeper secret. I just suddenly realized that the absurd difficulty under the Crimson Moon makes some sense."

That nightmare resurfaced in Mai Sakurajima and Hayasaka Ai's minds. Without comparison, there is no harm. Compared to Crimson Moon, the Demon Hospital, although difficult, was much more normal, at least with less of a life-or-death element.

Do you believe there's an invisible hand manipulating things from behind the scenes?

"I don't know, but I posted about it on the forum and got a lot of ridicule." Yuki rubbed his face, deciding to skip the question. "Let's leave it at that for now. Random guesses will only make things worse. Let's see Tyrant mentioned about the second thing."

"Will there be a change after one's strength reaches a certain level?" Mai Sakurajima had already read about it, but she didn't quite understand what it meant.

"Yes, it's like entering a new phase. This should be related to the locked sections of the forum and the information that has been erased." Yuki took a sip of coffee and casually clicked on a record post.

This is a player's diary, but the later paragraphs are all pixelated and cannot be seen at all—no, they can't see them.

"Isn't it interesting? Actually, I've been wondering about this for a long time. A simple game is meaningless. Even if gods want to watch mortals struggle for survival for their own amusement, it's just too inefficient."

"With the power He has demonstrated, He could easily turn the earth into a breeding ground and create even more abstract forms of entertainment if He so desired."

Yuki muttered to himself, and Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima could only exchange bewildered glances, as this exceeded the limits of their understanding.

Or rather, most people involved don't need to think about these issues; no matter how thoroughly they think about them, they won't receive pity or lessen the difficulty.

But Yuki was different from them; she had experienced even more wondrous things before she came into contact with the Reincarnation Game.

"Time travelers should view everything from a higher dimension, transcending life and humanity, as if looking down upon this azure star."

Based on the recently verified intelligence, the ability to simultaneously launch countless unique copies is an unimaginable level of power. If one truly wants to have fun, one could simply invade the world.

For example, if you leave behind countless aliens, it's more brutal and more fun; why bother setting up dungeons?

Furthermore, the Reincarnation Game strongly encourages players to kill each other, and the dungeon style is bloody and bizarre, as if challenging the Limit of players' courage, combat power and intelligence.

"I think the Reincarnation Game is selecting players," Yuki instinctively to himself.

"Um?"

"Hayasaka, don't you think this is like one of those inhumane training camps that use high attrition rates to select the most elite soldiers?"

The blonde girl, who had some experience with this kind of thing, nodded subconsciously. "It's somewhat similar. You mean there will be a dramatic change after level five?"

Level 5 is a popular term used on the forums; players level up by completing each dungeon.

"Very likely, at least that makes sense." Yuki stood up excitedly and paced back and forth on the old floor, but then realized something was amiss.

If He truly intends to select players, what is His purpose?

And they shouldn't be targeting me. Even if they don't provide convenience for a genius like me, they shouldn't at least suppress me.

Unable to understand, utterly unable to understand, Mai Sakurajima glanced at Hayasaka Ai, then stepped forward and placed her hand on the man's shoulder.

"Don't overthink it. After a few more dungeons, we'll know what the Reincarnation Game is trying to do."

This is a consolation; if you're caught up in the situation and want to know the whole story, you'll just have to wait for the permissions to be unlocked.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be five instances. I have a feeling, at least for me." Yuki exhaled a breath of stale air, noticing the slight change in the expressions of the two, but did not elaborate.

He saw no need to trouble others with his feelings, so he simply smiled.

"Don't overthink it. Take things one step at a time. I've already anticipated some problems and made arrangements. Once we've settled things now, Hiyori will also see some gains."

"You're really going to go see her?"

"We have to find it; that Advanced Nurturing High School is very important." Yuki didn't explain, returned to the coffee table, and picked up the coffee he had just poured.

The most important thing right now is to add the points. This time, his gains far exceed those of the two of them. Holding so many enhancement and specialization points in his hands is never a peaceful thing.

Enhancement Points: 5

Specialization points: 2

That's a huge sum of money, they've really made a killing.

Yuki couldn't help but laugh every time she saw the end of the player panel, and when she looked at Mai Sakurajima and Hayasaka Ai's player panels, her smile became even more pronounced.

Although the gains were not as great as before, there was still a significant improvement, and most importantly, I developed my own unique style.

Hayasaka Ai is a burst-type ADC, Mai Sakurajima's support capabilities are beginning to take shape.

"I'm the main combat force, so I plan to allocate my specialization points to physical strength, and then divide my enhancement points in two for different uses," Yuki explained his strategy.

He planned to spend one enhancement point to forge the Nameless Longsword to its final stage; he was growing increasingly fond of this skill, which had no side effects.

Of the remaining four, I'll use two to upgrade the Reinforcement Magecraft to 'Excellent' level, which will fulfill my long-cherished wish. Then I'll use one to upgrade the Vital Point Vitality Shift to 'Proficient' level. Finally, I'll keep one enhancement point for future reference.

"So you're specializing in close combat and emphasizing explosive power?" Hayasaka Ai understood immediately.

It takes 2 enhancement points to go from proficient to excellent, and 4 to go from excellent to master. Let's just split them up and add them to one category.

Demon Possession, Vitality Shift, Reinforcement Magecraft, coupled with Nameless Longsword forged three times without side effects and excellent weapon mastery, would be a formidable opponent if he got close.

"Hmm, the higher the level, the greater the consumption. One memory space for the characteristic is enough. The key is physical strength." Yuki adding points, Yuuki felt as if his body was expanding, capable of punching through a floor.

As he spoke, he couldn't help but throw a punch forward.

Boom!

The sound waves exploded; this power had surpassed human Limit and could only appear in martial arts movies.

Only through personal experience can one truly understand the definition of 'extraordinary'—a power that transcends human Limit. Sharing Lele is better than Lele to oneself, so let's make the panel public:

Player: Yuki (Simplified)

Physical Strength: Human (Extraordinary)

Storage space: 1 square meter

Ego Trait: Unknowner's Mystic Code (LV.2), one memory slot

Equipment: Chainsaw Sword +1 (Chaos Grade), Longsword +3 (Chaos Grade), Quiet Dew +1 (Chaos Grade)