Chapter 68: Return (Fourth Update, Monthly Ticket Bonus)
At a small river dozens of kilometers outside the imperial capital.
Su Xiao held a coordinate locator in his hand, spatial fluctuations appearing nearby as the device emitted a signal of a certain frequency.
[Spatial coordinates being located... 10%... 30%... 70%... 100%, location complete.]
[Hunter has completed 'Main Mission 2: Coordinate Location', can return at any time. Remaining stay time in the derivative world: ten minutes.]
[Coordinate locator has been retrieved. This location will become the entry point for other contractors entering this derivative world.]
...
Su Xiao suddenly understood. He had been helping Reincarnation Paradise precisely calibrate teleportation coordinates. Other contractors entering the Akame ga Kill world wouldn't end up teleported to some godforsaken place like the far north like he had.
Actually, Su Xiao wasn't the unluckiest. One contractor had been teleported to the easternmost edge of the continent. That poor guy would need about twenty days just to travel, and still hadn't reached the capital by now.
Reincarnation Paradise could definitely teleport contractors precisely to a specific location within a derivative world, but doing so cost a lot of resources.
That's why Reincarnation Paradise had Su Xiao locate a coordinate. The mission description had hinted that the coordinate locator was a precious item, so the Paradise chose someone more trustworthy.
Compared to ordinary contractors, Reincarnation Paradise trusted Su Xiao, the Hunter, a bit more.
Su Xiao wasn't clear about Reincarnation Paradise's attitude. His original goal in the Paradise was to grow stronger. Now that his strength was close to being able to take revenge, he chose to bide his time for safety's sake.
Moreover, Su Xiao had recently realized that compared to living an ordinary life in the real world, taking risks in Reincarnation Paradise was a good choice.
Here, he could fight various powerful enemies, master formidable abilities, and use his strength to control his destiny instead of drifting with the current.
Rather than being ordinary, Su Xiao wanted to live an exciting life.
The return mission was complete. Su Xiao prepared to go back to Reincarnation Paradise.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The ground began to tremble for some reason. Bubuteni stood in front of Su Xiao, fur bristling on its back.
"This is..."
Su Xiao looked into the distance. A bull-headed monster dozens of meters tall was charging at high speed.
"This thing... runs fast."
Su Xiao immediately chose to return. That bull-headed giant was definitely not to be trifled with.
But just as Su Xiao withdrew his gaze, he vaguely saw something on the bull-headed giant's forehead. He focused and saw a small head, staring at him with hatred.
"The little emperor? So this is... the monster Locke mentioned?"
Su Xiao hesitated. He was certainly no match for the bull-headed giant, but if the little emperor was inside it, that was different. The forehead was a vital point.
Su Xiao pulled out a detonator. He had kept the little emperor close all along—of course he had left a contingency.
The bull-headed giant was fast. Within seconds, it was about two hundred meters away.
He pressed the detonator. A loud explosion echoed in the distance, and the bull-headed giant crashed to the ground.
Su Xiao had placed an egg-sized micro bomb on the little emperor. It was hard to detect, a white item certified by Reincarnation Paradise.
The explosion sounded, but no kill notification appeared. Instead, a somewhat strange prompt showed up.
[You have destroyed the core of the 'Bull-Headed Lord' (1/5)]
[The Bull-Headed Lord is the strongest creature in this derivative world. You may choose one of the following options as a reward.]
Option 1: 21,000 Paradise Coins.
Option 2: Soul Crystal (Medium)
Option 3: Bull-Headed Lord Arm Guards (Purple)
Bull-Headed Lord Arm Guards
Origin: Akame ga Kill
Quality: Purple
Type: Arm Guards
Durability: 72/72
Equipment Requirement: Strength 23, Agility 17.
Equipment Effect: Bull-Headed Lord's Wrath (Active), activates this skill, +15 Strength for 10 seconds.
Tip: Bull-Headed Lord's Wrath (Active) cooldown is 10 natural days.
Tip: Activating Bull-Headed Lord's Wrath (Active) consumes 30% of health.
Rating: 138 (Note: Purple equipment rating ranges from 71 to 150.)
Description: Turn blood into power, crush everything.
Price: 37,000 Paradise Coins.
...
Soul Crystal (Medium) was tempting, but the [Bull-Headed Lord Arm Guards] was impossible to look away from.
What did +15 Strength mean? Su Xiao's current Strength attribute was 24 points. Adding 10 would bring it to a staggering 39 points. Even though it only lasted ten seconds, in a critical moment of battle, ten seconds meant life or death.
Imagine Su Xiao fighting an enemy, and at the crucial moment, his Strength attribute suddenly became 39 points. How terrifying would his slash be then?
Su Xiao chose the [Bull-Headed Lord Arm Guards]. At the same time, spatial fluctuations appeared around him—he had already chosen to return to Reincarnation Paradise.
The Bull-Headed Lord in the distance got up, its blood-red bull eyes fixed on him.
Su Xiao's head was struck from behind, but his mind remained calm, even thinking about how to strengthen various abilities.
Roar!!
An enraged bellow echoed in his ears. The Bull-Headed Lord charged to Su Xiao's front, its fist like an iron club smashing down. The ground shattered like a broken plate, but Su Xiao was already gone.
"This despicable human! Dare to damage my core!"
Sound waves spread outward. This terrifying creature was helpless against the power of space.
If Su Xiao had seen this, he would have sighed—pulling off a stunt and running away was damn thrilling.
[Teleportation complete. Hunter has returned to exclusive room.]
[Hunter has returned to Reincarnation Paradise. Beginning settlement of derivative world rewards.]
Derivative World: Akame ga Kill.
Difficulty: LV.8 (Extremely Difficult)
World Source Obtained: 27.2
Tasks Completed: 2. (Main Mission 1, 2.)
Comprehensive Evaluation: A. (Note: Evaluation ranges from E- to S+. Comprehensive evaluation is calculated based on total World Source obtained and number of tasks completed.)
Beginning World Source collection...
World Source collection complete. Beginning reward tally.
Rewards Obtained: 13 Attribute Points (includes attribute points obtained in derivative world), 10,000 Paradise Coins.
Comprehensive Evaluation: A. Hunter Level +2, upgraded to Lv.9. (Level increases based on comprehensive evaluation.)
Hunter Level has reached Lv.9. Storage space increased to nine cubic meters.
Settlement complete. Rewards have been automatically deposited into Hunter's Mark.
...
[Detected that item 'Realm Severing Thread' carried by Hunter has not been certified by Reincarnation Paradise. Judging... This is an Imperial Armament material, value only 1/15 of a finished Imperial Armament. Can be certified by spending Paradise Coins. Will you spend 5,000 Paradise Coins to certify?]
Su Xiao was startled, then immediately chose to have Reincarnation Paradise certify the Realm Severing Thread.
He hadn't obtained much World Source in the Akame ga Kill world this time, but the main mission rewards included many attribute points.
Dozens of people competing for one key—generous rewards weren't surprising.
Sitting on the bed in his exclusive space, Su Xiao checked the attribute points and Paradise Coins in his mark. He had 13 attribute points and 31,057 Paradise Coins.
This derivative world had been quite fruitful. Su Xiao had obtained many good items and equipment.
[Secret Silver Holy Ring (Purple)], [Bull-Headed Lord Arm Guards (Purple)], [Ice Domain Prince Token (Blue)]—three pieces of equipment he had gained in the Akame ga Kill world, two of which suited him well. Besides these, there were Soul Crystals and more.
Su Xiao didn't want to do anything now. He just wanted to sleep. He hadn't rested since infiltrating the imperial palace in the Akame ga Kill world.
Bubuteni jumped onto the bed, the bed legs creaking. It was curious about Su Xiao's exclusive space, especially this bed.
"If you're hungry, there's food in the fridge. If you're thirsty, go to the faucet over there... not the toilet! Don't drink water there! Take your head out! No damaging furniture, or you'll be locked up for three days..."
After giving Bubuteni the 'basics,' Su Xiao collapsed and fell asleep. Soon, steady breathing filled the exclusive space. He hadn't even taken off his clothes before falling into a deep sleep, showing how exhausted he was.
Bubuteni tilted its head, looking at Su Xiao, then at the bed. It wanted to gnaw on it but was afraid of being confined.
After sleeping a full seventeen hours, Su Xiao woke up groggily. He was woken by a full bladder; otherwise, he could have slept longer.
After a satisfying trip to the bathroom, Su Xiao took a cold shower to clear his head.
He checked the furniture. No damage, though a large dumbbell had been chewed on, the iron plate covered in bite marks.
Su Xiao looked at Bubuteni. Bubuteni was staring at that dumbbell—it had apparently fought with it earlier.
Dressed neatly, Su Xiao left the exclusive space with Bubuteni, heading straight for the Attribute Enhancement Hall. This was his personal habit—enhance attributes first.
Su Xiao had visited this place several times and knew his way around. After paying 100 Paradise Coins, he gained access to an Attribute Enhancement Pod, with Bubuteni guarding the door.
[Welcome to the Attribute Enhancement Pod. Your unarmored attributes are as follows.]
Strength: 24
Agility: 24
Stamina: 12
Intelligence: 24
Charm: 3
[Hunter can freely allocate attribute points: 13 points]
[Ding, detected that Hunter's main attributes are Strength, Agility, and Intelligence. Please prioritize enhancing these three attributes.]
That 3-point Charm attribute was an eyesore, but Su Xiao didn't plan to waste precious attribute points on charm.
Rather than friendly interactions with plot characters, he was more accustomed to putting a blade to their necks. That was faster and got a much more 'sincere' and 'enthusiastic' response.
And putting a blade to a plot character's neck required Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence—four attributes to support it.
With 13 attribute points to freely allocate, an odd number couldn't be evenly divided. Su Xiao's final allocation was: Strength +5, Agility +4, Intelligence +4.
[Attribute allocation complete. Enhancement beginning. Enhancement will be accompanied by severe pain. Do you wish to use the anesthesia function? This function is free.]
"Don't activate."
The Attribute Enhancement Pod began operating. Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the floor, looking like an old monk in meditation. The muscles in his face twitched constantly, and his skin flushed red.
No matter how many times he went through this, he could never get used to the excruciating pain of enhancement. The pain intensified.
The human body's starting point was low, but it had unlimited potential. Enhancing attributes was about unlocking that potential. To quickly achieve results that would normally take years or even decades, one had to endure terrible pain.
When the Attribute Enhancement Pod stopped, Su Xiao's clothes were soaked with sweat.
Feeling the surging power within him, Su Xiao smiled. The feeling of getting stronger was always so wonderful.
His attributes were now:
Strength: 29
Agility: 28
Stamina: 12
Intelligence: 28
Charm: 3
...
Su Xiao left the Attribute Enhancement Hall. He planned to head to the Trade Market to sell equipment—he urgently needed Paradise Coins.
Dragon-Slaying Flash's blade value had reached 86%. After consuming one more blue-quality blade-type weapon, it could be upgraded to purple quality.
This would be the last blue weapon Dragon-Slaying Flash devoured. Su Xiao planned to buy a blue weapon with suitable additional attributes at a high price.
Once Dragon-Slaying Flash reached purple quality, it could only devour purple-quality blade-type weapons. Purple weapons were far too expensive and very rare. Su Xiao had to seize this last chance to devour a blue weapon.