White Sheath and Immersion

She entered the dungeon once again.

Lu Xiu casually tossed the letter Emma had dropped on the ground into her backpack, then jumped out of the dungeon.

She began pushing through the dungeon's progression with practiced ease.

This time—

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Lu Xiu generally intended to follow her previous plan. She would use whatever Shinobi Prosthetics she needed, take whatever medicine she needed, and assassinate everything that could be assassinated.

She was going full Fourth Calamity.

With no taboos whatsoever.

Of course.

As for the ending route—

She would still take the Immortal Severance route. She could forget about the final Shura Route.

After all, when constructing the dungeon, teasing Miss Emma was one thing. There was no real price to pay for it anyway.

But when actually progressing through the dungeon, other than for full collection, what sane person would believe some shinobi code and kill Emma, the wolf-repelling woman who had been helping them all along?

Besides, the Shura Route was too short. It skipped too many bosses, so it was not very interesting.

Lu Xiu still intended to clear the normal "Immortal Severance" ending.

As her thoughts wandered—

Guided by subconscious instinct, Lu Xiu arrived before Yamauchi Shigenori, the game's first elite enemy.

"Come on... do you want to dance too?"

Looking at the old acquaintance before her, Lu Xiu fought while talking trash.

She did not know when she had picked up that bad habit.

Maybe her previous experience grinding away in cyberpunk factories had left too deep an impression, and having to clear the game three times had gotten a little boring.

So after letting herself go during her second clear, the tension in Lu Xiu's nerves had loosened as well. Every now and then, she would toss out a bit of trash talk.

She treated it as a way to lighten her mood.

However—

It was a mood-lifting measure for her, but it was a different matter for the monsters inside...

The martial purge had returned.

She bulldozed her way through everything.

And when she stood before Sword Saint One Mind once again—

Lu Xiu even started trying out an ugly strategy. She used the paper-doll dagger, consumed Divine Confetti, an attack sugar, a Red Lump, rice, and a persimmon in sequence, then chased after him and hacked away.

There was no skill involved.

Only shamelessness.

She even flicked her blade to taunt him.

When Sword Saint One Mind fell to his knees once more, Lu Xiu drew the Mortal Blade and cut him down, only to discover that he did not even have any lines left.

But Lu Xiu did not care much.

After all, this was her final clear. There would be no more rewards after this.

"Farewell."

Lu Xiu flicked the blood from her blade and said goodbye.

...The most heartfelt goodbye of them all.

Next came the same process. After feeding Dragon's Tears to the little femboy master, she used the Mortal Blade to kill him.

Dungeon cleared!

Lu Xiu still did not bother checking the evaluation, because the system had given her nothing but ellipses again.

Sixty seconds later—

She returned to the Construction Space and saw the dungeon-clear settlement screen.

[You have cleared the "Sekiro" dungeon!]

[Dungeon completion: 100% (Immortal Severance)]

[Overall clear rating: SSS]

[Experience gained: 360; Survival Points: 700]

[Items/equipment obtained: Nameless Blade, Emma's White Sheath]

[Special reward obtained: Strength +1]

[Special reward: Peril]

[Settlement complete.]

Phew...

Looking at the rewards, Lu Xiu let out a long breath.

She had finally rolled the other skill she wanted.

It was just a little unfortunate that the only Shinobi Prosthetic item she had rolled was a Loaded Umbrella...

Still, it did not matter. She had new things now.

Thinking that, Lu Xiu opened Peril.

[Special Skill: Peril]

[Rating: A]

[Type: Passive/Perception]

[Ability Description: The user passively detects all attacks within a ten-meter radius that have a clear charging windup. Before the attack is fully released, the user receives one distinct warning signal. The signal appears the moment the charging motion begins and lasts until the instant the attack is released.

The warning signal functions only at the perception level and provides no judgment bonus or movement correction. Grasping the Neutralize window and choosing how to Neutralize depend entirely on the user's own reaction speed and physical capabilities.]

[Detection Range: A ten-meter radius centered on the user.]

[Restriction: When more than three charging targets exist simultaneously within the detection range, the signals interfere with one another, reducing warning precision.]

[Cooldown: None]

[Cost: None]

[Note: Hesitation is defeat... Go cut him down already! He's started charging! If you're not attacking, are you waiting for New Year's?]

It was decent, she supposed. It was basically the same as the skill in the game.

After reading the skill description, Lu Xiu was honestly a little disappointed... though it was within expectations.

There was nothing to be done about it. Rewards were supposed to drop sharply after the third dungeon clear.

An A-rank skill was not bad.

...If players outside heard that thought, they would probably go mad with envy.

But Lu Xiu had never received poor rewards, so she really was somewhat disappointed this time.

Lu Xiu shook her head and moved on to the next reward.

[Item: Nameless Blade]

[Rating: S]

[Type: Blade]

[Attribute Bonuses: Agility +1, Constitution +1]

[Special Effects: Immortal Obsession: Empowered by obsession, the blade's hardness and toughness far exceed others of the same rank. Its edge will not curl even after years of use and requires no maintenance. When using any high-load cutting technique, this blade is immune to weapon-damage checks.

Lightning Infusion: The blade is forged from Ashina Adamantite. When a slash lands outdoors, the blade releases faint arcs of lightning, causing the target mild electric pain and numbness.

Falling Thunder: During outdoor combat, the lightning arcs released by each slash do not fully dissipate. Residual lightning energy flows back along the blade and accumulates. The fiercer the battle and the denser the slashes, the faster it accumulates. Once the accumulated energy reaches a critical point, it escapes upward and eventually forms a thundercloud overhead.

After the thundercloud takes shape, lightning is drawn continuously to the blade by Adamantite's lightning affinity. In this state, the user ignores lightning strikes. There is no need to build up charge through slashes, as heavenly lightning directly pours in for combat use. Violent arcs continuously envelop the blade, and every slash carries heavy lightning damage far exceeding the normal Lightning Infusion effect.

The thundercloud lasts for two minutes from the moment it forms. During that time, heavenly lightning remains continuously available. After the thundercloud dissipates, the blade's lightning affinity enters a natural recovery period of approximately five minutes. During this period, Lightning Infusion functions normally, but lightning energy cannot be accumulated and another thundercloud cannot be formed. Accumulation may resume only after the recovery period ends.

In a natural thunderstorm, existing lightning in the sky is actively drawn in by the Adamantite. There is no need to accumulate lightning energy through slashes, as heavenly lightning directly and continuously pours into the blade. So long as the storm does not end, Falling Thunder is inexhaustible.]

[Equipment Requirement: Exclusive to Lu Xiu (ID: 15******)]

[Note: Nameless—a nameless weapon condensed from the shared obsessions of many people.]

She had a weapon!

After reading the description, Lu Xiu immediately took the blade out.

It was an uchigatana, its blade long and its curve shallow and restrained. It was not as ostentatious as a long sword, favoring lightness and agility instead.

What was more unusual was the color of its blade. The surface carried a reddish tinge, as though blood had seeped into the iron and could never be washed clean.

The blade looked somewhat like the Mortal Blade.

Yet its overall shape somewhat resembled Kusabimaru.

This did not seem to be an item that had appeared in the game.

Holding the blade, Lu Xiu gave it a swing... It felt quite natural in her hand, and she nodded in satisfaction.

She had clearly deleted the Dragon Flash skill before sealing the dungeon.

Yet it had still appeared among the rewards in the end.

It seemed that when it came to rewards, the system did not rigidly follow the rules and generate only things from within the dungeon.

Instead, it generated things to a certain extent based on the dungeon's framework.

That was a good thing.

Finally, Lu Xiu held the blade horizontally across her palm and weighed it, then looked at the last reward.

[Special Item: Emma's White Sheath]

[Function: Once the Architect reaches level ten and unlocks the "Placement" function, this blade may be used for positioning.]

[Note: A white sheath is a blade without a guard, unfit for slaughter... Yet there are always times when even those who never draw a blade are forced to do so. For example, against inhuman Shura, or another kind of Shura.]

"..."

It was actually a pure utility item.

And why did both its function and note feel strange again...? Why did it feel as if the people inside the dungeon might actually be conscious?

She was not joking.

Lu Xiu truly had that thought again.

Whether it was the broken remnant of the Mortal Blade or this white sheath, both gave her that strange feeling.

"...Probably not, right?"

Thinking back to what she had done while constructing the [Sekiro] dungeon, Lu Xiu said that, yet she shrank her shoulders, looking somewhat guilty.

Early on, she had repeatedly killed Emma while constructing it. Later, while clearing it, she had relentlessly teased Genichiro and Sword Saint One Mind.

It seemed she had not done a single decent thing.

Combined with Sword Saint One Mind's behavior during the latter two clears, it really made her feel a little guilty.

...In the end, she simply did not understand this Placement function.

What exactly was it for?!

Right.

Hadn't her Architect level risen to level five? Hadn't an Immersion Function been unlocked?

Lu Xiu suddenly thought of something and looked toward her system panel.

She quickly found the Immersion Function for a level-five Architect—

[Architect Function: Immersion]

[Unlock Level: Level 5 Architect]

[Function One: The Architect may actively select a recorded character within a dungeon and activate Immersion. After activation, the Architect uses their own consciousness as the core and resonates with the target character by actively understanding the target's combat habits, move logic, and even the motives and obsessions behind their actions, gradually increasing compatibility.

The higher the Immersion compatibility, the more complete the combat methods that may be invoked. When compatibility reaches its peak, there is a chance to trigger the target character's [Limit-Breaking Technique]. Such techniques appear only briefly while in Immersion.

Compatibility is affected in real time by the Architect's emotional fluctuations, combat strategy, and physical state. If emotional resonance with the target character is severely lacking, or if the Architect makes judgments gravely contrary to the target character's instinctive soul—for example, a berserker-type character fleeing in cowardice—compatibility will collapse precipitously. If it drops below the threshold, Immersion is forcibly canceled. See the detailed rules for more information.]

[Function Two: After a dungeon goes online, the Architect may immerse themselves in and play a dungeon character against players.

Architect Benefits: After each battle, the system calculates character understanding based on peak compatibility. Character understanding does not directly convert into skills or attributes. Instead, it accumulates as stored progress under that character's name. The higher the stored value, the higher the initial compatibility when Immersion is initiated for that character next time, and the shorter the time required for Immersion. Once the stored value reaches its limit, there is a possibility of obtaining the character's permanent armament.

At the same time, if a character played through Architect Immersion defeats a player, there is a chance to obtain one random skill or attribute point from that player.

Player Side: Characters played by the Architect will be forcibly marked with prominent red [Architect Present] text above their heads. Players who defeat a character played by the Architect will, in addition to normal drops, definitely receive a random skill belonging to that character, gain the title [The Architect Knows Nothing About Dungeons], and receive greatly increased clear rewards. If the challenge fails, the dungeon is directly judged failed, and the player may randomly lose one skill or attribute point.

After players defeat a boss-type character in a dungeon, if the Architect's Immersion Function is available, they may pay a high amount of Survival Points to actively invite the Architect to immerse themselves and fight again. The Architect may decide whether to accept. If challenges of the same sequence or strength are rejected more than three times consecutively, that character's stored value will decrease by 30%. See the detailed rules for more information.]

[Cooldown: Immersing in a character is a high-load consciousness operation. After Builder Roleplay ends, the function enters a two-hour global cooldown.]

[Note: Do you even know how to make a dungeon? And you're making one?!]

"Huh?"

"...You can play it like that too?"