Chapter 59: The Soft-Hearted Old Toad
Su Xiao glanced at the current rankings. Although he still had the strength to push higher, his stamina no longer allowed it. Moreover, once he entered the top 50,000, the enemies he encountered began to pose real challenges.
Based on his estimates, Su Xiao could fight his way to around the 30,000 mark, which placed him at the upper-middle tier within the fifth rank.
Su Xiao wasn’t disappointed by this. He had only experienced one derivative world since advancing to the fifth rank. As he continued to acquire resources, his combat power would only grow stronger.
The "Strongest Warrior Tournament" mentioned in the arena piqued his curiosity, but participating required breaking into the top fifty.
Leaning back on the sofa, Su Xiao flexed his right arm. His injuries had already healed, and he chose to leave the Paradise Arena.
The sensation of teleportation faded, and Su Xiao found himself in his exclusive room. The changes in the arena made him realize that future clashes with contractors from other paradises would become more intense, and encounters within worlds would grow increasingly frequent.
According to Su Xiao’s speculation, the ranks below the fifth tier might be Reincarnation Paradise’s way of nurturing contractors. After the fifth rank, contractors would have enough self-preservation and combat ability in dangerous environments. At that point, they would come into contact with the Void, the Black Abyss, Primordial Worlds, and Battle Angels or Pioneers from other paradises.
After fighting over a dozen consecutive battles, Su Xiao was ravenously hungry. He left his exclusive room and headed straight for Xia’s restaurant.
...
Thunder rumbled within the dark clouds, and a torrential downpour fell. Iron boots stomped through the mud, mixing blood with rainwater.
Brand-new shields clashed, and the crisp sound of cold weapons striking echoed. A cannonball trailing a green tail streaked across the sky, eventually landing among a group of soldiers clad in wooden armor.
Boom!
A green aura expanded. The soldiers in wooden armor huddled together, and branches rapidly grew, enveloping them in a protective shell.
"Kill! Third Legion, charge!!"
A man riding a tall war beast and wearing a horned helmet roared. His skin was cyan, marked with star patterns.
"For the survival of our race, slaughter them all!!"
Roars and screams spread across the battlefield. A bare-chested youth with blood-red pupils stood amidst the carnage, surrounded by mutilated corpses.
At the edge of the battlefield, a pair of emerald-like eyes watched everything. She held a knight’s sword in her hand.
"It seems you’ve adapted to medium-intensity battlefields. You don’t need to participate directly—just ensure that contractors from both sides don’t leave the war zone. Anyone who crosses the line, kill without mercy."
A toad wearing a crown spoke. It was perched on a war beast, which trembled in fear, not daring to move.
"Is this... really the right thing to do?"
A girl in a deep green hood spoke. The battlefield before her reminded her of her own past.
"Right and wrong aren’t for you to judge. If you want to change certain things, you first need to ensure your own strength is sufficient. Altoria Pendragon, you are now... officially a Arbiter!"
The toad’s tone suddenly turned serious.
"From now on, your actions represent Reincarnation Paradise to some extent. Arbiters are in the second echelon. When you encounter problems you can’t solve, you can seek help from Hunters. They’re in the first echelon and will directly engage in warfare. You are the banner of Reincarnation Paradise; they are its sharp blade.
If you encounter very abnormal contractors, don’t try to approach them. Let the more professional Hunters handle it—they’re experts in this field. Anomalies are far more terrifying than you imagine. Some are Void beings, some come from unknown origins, and some can even travel between different paradises, possessing two or even a dozen marks. There’s nothing you can think of that doesn’t exist."
The toad raised its claw, and a φ-shaped mark appeared on the collarbone of the King with the Ahoge.
"This is your mark. Remember, when you encounter anomalies, no matter how heinous their actions, leave the cleanup to the Hunters. You are the banner."
"Banner..."
The King with the Ahoge looked at the toad in confusion.
"To put it bluntly, you’re relatively good-looking and have some potential, so you were chosen. A long time ago, Hunters also handled the work of Arbiters, but the result..."
The toad smiled knowingly, leaving room for the King with the Ahoge to imagine.
"In short, most of the time, you won’t need to fight. The rewards you get will be enough for you to grow stronger quickly. But don’t think being an Arbiter is safe. Once a contractor tries to leave the war zone, you might have to fight them. Oh, and after you receive the mark, your heroic spirit nature will disappear. You are now a true human existing in this world. Cherish it."
The toad yawned, and a spatial array appeared behind it.
"You... are leaving?"
The King with the Ahoge tightened her grip on her sword. Although the toad was often troublesome, forcing her to do things against her principles, without it, she would have died long ago in the Black Abyss. Besides, most of her current skills were taught by it or its friends.
"I won’t follow you forever. Survive on your own. Your fate lies in the sword in your hand."
Half of the toad’s body entered the spatial array.
"Thank you for your constant care."
The King with the Ahoge bowed to the toad. The toad paused, grinned widely, and turned its head.
"Remember, if you encounter anomalies like me, don’t try to fight them. Anomalies like me who have 'gone straight' are rare."
"..."
The King with the Ahoge’s expression gradually froze, her pupils rapidly contracting. The toad disappeared into the spatial array.
On the other side of the battlefield, the toad’s figure appeared out of thin air.
"Sigh, putting on a show is so tiring. The little darling has been trained well enough. Finally, I can rest for a while and go drink with those old demons."
The toad looked up at the sky.
"I’m really getting old, and my heart has softened. I raised a little darling for so long, and in the end, I couldn’t bear to throw her into the Black Prison. Gwahahaha."
A cannonball landed beside the toad.
Bang~
An empty bowl lightly thudded onto the dining table. Su Xiao leaned back in his seat, the comfort of a full meal making him drowsy.
Lighting a post-meal cigarette, Su Xiao picked up the notebook on the table and continued studying. Compared to his Instinct ability, the training method for Observation Haki was far too crude, but it still had some points worth referencing.
Given Su Xiao’s current level of Instinct, delving into Observation Haki wasn’t too difficult. He didn’t need to train it—just understand the ability and learn from its strengths. Observation Haki’s range indeed far exceeded his Instinct, but its perception sensitivity was much worse.
Rather than a training method, Observation Haki seemed more like a secondary development of one’s own perception.
"You’re actually reading..."
Xia had just walked out of the kitchen when she saw Su Xiao reading the notebook. In Xia’s impression, Su Xiao should be sitting there with a gloomy expression—that would suit his temperament better.
Xia had long noticed that Su Xiao was definitely not a contractor of the righteous faction. No, lately, he was starting to resemble a major villain boss.
Yet every time Su Xiao dined here, his actions didn’t match that image at all. He was either absorbed in a game or dozing off in his seat.
"I’m studying Observation Haki."
Su Xiao closed the notebook, ready to go back and sleep.
"Uh, I’m so envious. Can I borrow it? Paid, of course. I’m a bit short on funds lately, but I can pay in installments. Let me clarify upfront—I’m not offering nude photos."
Xia didn’t hide her curiosity and desire to obtain Observation Haki. Being pretentious would only annoy people.
"..."
Su Xiao tossed the notebook aside. He felt that Xia’s mention of a loan had a bit of a campus-loan vibe.
"No need for a loan."
Su Xiao took out a dozen sheets of A4 paper, photocopied the contents of the notebook, and then got up to leave the restaurant.
Xia held the dozen sheets of A4 paper. In her mind, Observation Haki was something very lofty, but looking at the neat printed text on the paper, she felt like she was reading a menu.
"Forgot to ask how many installments. If I pay a few tens of thousands of Paradise Coins each time, it might take dozens of installments? Hmm, let’s assume 500,000 Paradise Coins first, and I’ll make up the difference later."
Clearly, Xia didn’t intend to take the Observation Haki training method for free. That was her basic principle when dealing with friends.