Chapter 83: Hometown
"Cough, back to business. There isn't much I can teach you, but it's not too little either. You use a blade, while I use a greatsword. Although the theories are similar, there are practical differences."
Aero tossed the palm-wide greatsword in his hand. The thing was heavy, something Su Xiao had just experienced firsthand.
What Aero said was true. While the theories behind the greatsword and the blade were similar, the techniques differed.
"I can teach you how to survive on the battlefield, as well as some kicking techniques. When using a blade or sword as a weapon, mastering some proper kicking techniques is beneficial. Let's sit down and talk."
Su Xiao and Aero sat cross-legged on the ground. Aero began explaining his experiences surviving on large battlefields, along with techniques for kicking.
"The key on the battlefield isn't killing enemies, it's survival. The one who lives is the victor. Don't think that with your current strength, you can cut a swath through the battlefield. If you're surrounded by enemies of similar strength, surviving will be very difficult. First, remember this: ignore enemies that are far away from you. Use your perception to observe your surroundings. Whoever gets close, kill them. Don't actively seek out opponents on the battlefield; let them come to you. Those so-called 'heroes' are always the first to die..."
Aero recounted his lifelong experience of killing enemies on the battlefield in detail. Su Xiao listened very carefully, because he might one day participate in a large-scale campaign. This was Reincarnation Paradise; nothing was impossible.
"When things get critical, consider playing dead. In the later stages of a war, most people will be bloodthirsty. They won't bother with the corpses on the ground; they'll only focus on the living people who are moving..."
Aero explained to Su Xiao how to survive on the battlefield, then taught him some kicking techniques.
Time passed quickly. After more than fifty minutes, Aero's expression began to change.
"What's wrong? Are you afraid?"
Su Xiao looked at him.
"Me? Afraid?"
Aero let out a cold laugh. But soon, the cold laugh gradually froze on his face.
"It seems... I am indeed afraid. There is no afterlife at all. Just utter silence. The soul slowly disperses, slowly fades away, slowly fades away..."
Aero sighed. He hadn't lived enough yet. He was going to marry the most beautiful woman and be canonized as an Honorary Great Warrior.
A few minutes later, Aero's projection disappeared. In truth, he had never been resurrected from the start; he was merely recreated as a projection.
Although Su Xiao hadn't learned any blade techniques from him, he had gained knowledge of how to survive on the battlefield, which was immensely beneficial.
Glancing at his remaining Paradise Coins, Su Xiao pondered for a moment, then summoned another projection.
[You have chosen to summon a High-Level Projection. Designating summon...]
[Summon successful. Beginning summoning of Dracule Mihawk.]
This time, Su Xiao summoned Hawkeye. He had some questions about blade techniques to ask him.
Light converged, and Hawkeye's figure became increasingly clear. He was about two meters tall, wearing a long black trench coat and a black top hat adorned with white fur.
Hawkeye slowly opened his eyes. They were deep yellow pupils, no different from an eagle's eyes.
"We meet again."
Hawkeye spoke. Because Su Xiao had summoned him once before, this projection retained the memories from the previous summoning.
"There are some things I want to ask you..."
...
Two hours later, Su Xiao left the Trial Grounds, walking thoughtfully.
"I see... So my current strength is roughly at this level..."
After sparring with Hawkeye, Su Xiao had gained an understanding of his approximate strength.
Leaving the Trial Grounds, Su Xiao arrived at the Trade Market. The stall he usually used was already occupied, so he found a vacant one nearby. He planned to manufacture some Alchemy Bombs for sale.
Intermediate Alchemy Bomb: Manufacturing each requires 30 Mana Points, Black Powder, Inferior Energy Circuit, Matri Metal, Aqua Regia, and Explosive Frog Skin.
Su Xiao had a total of 2133 Mana Points. If he used all of it to manufacture Intermediate Alchemy Bombs, he could make 71 in total.
Sitting behind the stall, light flickered in Su Xiao's hand as he began manufacturing the Alchemy Bombs. The cost of each Intermediate Alchemy Bomb was 30 Mana Points + 100 Paradise Coins (used to substitute for materials).
Mana Points could be recovered naturally, a renewable resource, so the actual cost of each Intermediate Alchemy Bomb was only 100 Paradise Coins.
Given the power and characteristics of the Intermediate Alchemy Bomb, selling each for 300 Paradise Coins was feasible. After deducting costs, if he successfully sold all 71 Intermediate Alchemy Bombs, Su Xiao would profit 14,200 Paradise Coins.
Although he could profit 14,200 Paradise Coins each time his Mana Points fully recovered, Su Xiao only occasionally sold Alchemy Bombs.
The reason was simple: once his Mana Points were depleted, he couldn't go to the Arena. The opponents in the Arena weren't puppets. Fighting without Mana Points would make maintaining his Arena ranking a miracle; climbing the ranks would be impossible.
If it weren't for the mental fatigue from being 'killed' by Hawkeye a few times, Su Xiao would have chosen to go to the Arena instead of selling Intermediate Alchemy Bombs.
After manufacturing 71 Alchemy Bombs, Su Xiao priced them at 300 Paradise Coins each and left the stall.
Su Xiao's life in Reincarnation Paradise was very routine. When he had plenty of stamina, he went to the Arena to climb the rankings. Once he broke into the top ten, he could earn Attribute Points. Moreover, every rank improvement within the top ten would grant additional Attribute Points. If he climbed from tenth place to first, the total Attribute Points earned would be an astonishing amount.
...
Beep, beep, beep.
Inside a rest pod in the Arena, Su Xiao turned off the timer in his hand. His allowed stay time in Reincarnation Paradise was about to reach its limit.
Over the past few days, Su Xiao had pushed his Arena ranking from 490th (Second Rank) to 105th (Second Rank). He had experienced several hard-fought battles but hadn't lost a single one yet, achieving a winning streak of 186 matches.
He turned off the matchmaking function. After his ranking rose to 105th, the speed of finding opponents noticeably slowed down. Su Xiao spent most of his time waiting for matches inside the rest pod.
[Hunter's stay time in Reincarnation Paradise has reached its limit.]
[Returning to the Real World. Please remember the regulations of Reincarnation Paradise.]
[Under no circumstances may any information about Reincarnation Paradise be disclosed in the Real World. Violations will result in a warning. If the warning is ineffective, summary execution will be carried out.]
...
[Teleportation beginning. Destination: Real World.]
Su Xiao rubbed the back of his head. He was getting somewhat used to Reincarnation Paradise's teleportation 'strike'. The 'strike' returning to the Real World was just a drizzle compared to the 'strike' he endured every time he entered a Derived World.
He was currently in a small town near the K2 mountain range. After successfully free-climbing K2 earlier, he had come to this town to stay temporarily.
"Where to next?"
Su Xiao took out a map. When he saw the name of a certain city on the map, his eyes narrowed.
"It's time to go back and take a look. I'm not a wanted criminal anymore."
With Bubu Wang following him, Su Xiao left the hotel. He was heading back to his hometown, a third-tier city that wasn't particularly prosperous.
If Su Xiao was currently a roaming dragon crossing rivers and seas, then returning to his hometown made him a 'local tyrant' as well. Even before entering Reincarnation Paradise, he was a local tyrant around that area, just without any underlings.
Think about it: a guy with no attachments, exceptional skills, and the guts to kill—who would dare to provoke him? The lawless thugs Su Xiao had killed and buried were not a small number.
And that was Su Xiao before entering Reincarnation Paradise. With his current four attributes at 60 points (base stats) and numerous passive skills, as long as he didn't provoke the state apparatus, dominating a third-tier city would be no problem.
However, Su Xiao had no interest in dominating a region. He was just bored from wandering and wanted to go back.