After returning to his room, Gusion took out the Dreamless and replaced his original big bed.
Since returning from the Kengan world, he hadn't rested yet, so it was a good time to try out this.
In a relaxed state, it took less than five minutes for Gusion to fall into a deep sleep.
…
Twelve hours later, he reluctantly crawled out of bed.
"Ugh... I underestimated it; this bed is really worth the price."
Gusion felt he had to take back his earlier thoughts that people who spend a lot on beds must have a screw loose. Well... it's actually awesome.
Not to mention its comfort, just the recovery effect on soul source and life source made it an essential tool for both home and travel.
Considering that you usually don't enter and exit task worlds quickly, using Dreamless to sleep after battles provides excellent recovery, saving him a lot on consumables.
He had a return path to heal physical injuries, but using it consumes soul source. Moreover, while it can heal injuries, it doesn't restore life source.
Just like when he sparred with Captain Unohana before—even if the external wounds were healed, the loss in vital energy couldn't be replenished, and it would still show as a deficit in life source.
So, if this bed is used well, its long-term benefits are substantial.
That sailor-uniformed girl really isn't simple. To be able to make such a bed—and its quality is only rare grade—if she used higher-level materials, the effect would probably be even better.
After getting up and washing, Gusion felt refreshed. He was almost out of money, but there were still things to do in the space.
Previously, he heard there was an arena in the Endspace, where explorers could spar with those of the same tier. Since it was a simulation battle, even if you died in the arena, it wasn't real—making it a great place to gain combat experience.
And if you ranked high enough, the space would grant extra rewards.
Gusion felt his strength was decent, so he decided to visit the arena and aim for the top of the leaderboard.
Gusion gazed at the amphitheater before him, reminiscent of an ancient Roman colosseum. There was no one in the center of the arena, but numerous semi-transparent screens hovered in the air, showing explorers fighting each other. The stands were filled with many explorers watching the matches.
Of course, the space protected the explorers' privacy. Participants' faces were masked by the space, so to their opponents, they would appear with a pre-set virtual mask.
[Pioneer is currently Tier 1, Rank 140,402.]
Upon entering the arena, Gusion received a notification from Endspace.
The number of Tier 1 explorers didn't surprise Gusion. Based on his experience, Endspace probably selected humans from various worlds, so they didn't cause much of a splash in any single world.
Currently, there were about 140,000 Tier 1 explorers, with deaths and new arrivals kept in balance by the Endspace.
[Would you like to begin matchmaking for the Pioneer?]
Gusion chose "yes," and then selected a Hollow mask from Bleach as his face cover.
Once matched, he felt his body lighten, and in an instant, he found himself in a desert. His opponent stood before him, looking confused—probably their first time in the arena too.
Gusion stepped forward and struck; the other explorer was taken out before understanding what was happening.
[Congratulations, Pioneer, on your first victory in the arena! Please select your first-win reward.]
After being sent out of the arena, Gusion heard a notification from Endspace. He was pleasantly surprised—he hadn't expected a first-win bonus in the arena.
He checked the menu and saw three reward options:
A. 1000 Endspace Coins
B. Random Skill Scroll
C. Random Fine Item
[]
Kind of stingy, but that's to be expected. Every explorer gets a first-win reward, so it can't be too extravagant—it's more of an incentive.
After a brief consideration, Gusion passed on A and C; neither was valuable enough. The random skill might actually be useful, so he picked B.
[Randomly selecting a skill scroll for the Pioneer...]
[Selection complete... Skill Scroll obtained: "Scout"]
Gusion checked the scroll and found its function matched its name—it was a scouting skill. Using it, he could view the attributes of any target whose mental attribute was no more than three points higher than his own. The greater the difference, the less information he'd see.
He couldn't tell if he was lucky or not, but judging by this skill, the random scroll pool was probably filled with basic skills to help Tier 1 explorers survive.
From that perspective, the Scout skill was actually pretty good for him now; at least he could see more precise stats on enemies rather than relying solely on intuition.
After his first win, Gusion chose to keep going—he was here to reach the top, after all.
…
Ten minutes later...
[Pioneer has four consecutive wins, ranking has advanced to 112,103.]
Gusion sat in the waiting room, quietly pondering.
The matchmaking was very fast. He spent most of his time studying the fancy skills of the other explorers in the randomly generated battlefields.
But after a few rounds, he started to feel like it was a waste of time—mainly because the lower-ranked Tier 1 explorers were just too weak.
So, he sped up—after entering a match, he'd instantly take out the opponent and send them back to the waiting room.
…
Gusion fought in the arena for ten straight hours, racking up 260 consecutive wins, but was only just breaking into the top 1000.
He wasn't that mentally tired, but he was getting hungry, so he stopped to eat and planned to continue the next day.
As his rank rose, the quality of opponents increased. Now, he was matching against Level 10 explorers, all with nearly 30 points in their attributes—so they were fairly strong.
At this point, Gusion's win streak slowed down—not because he felt pressured, but because he wanted to see what kind of abilities the top Tier 1 explorers had. Gaining experience would help him in future task worlds.
…
Thus, Gusion spent six days straight in the arena. After chasing down and killing a female mage, he heard the sweet notification from Endspace as she looked at him like a monster.
[Pioneer has 968 consecutive wins, ranking advanced to 1]
[Pioneer has obtained the title: Unmatched—Tier 1]
[Unmatched—Tier 1: All attributes +1 (only effective for attributes below 50 points)]
[Note: This title will disappear if the Pioneer advances to a higher tier or loses their top spot in the arena.]
Of course, Gusion couldn't guard his title in the arena forever. But Endspace had a mirror function—if he wasn't present, it would generate a mirror image of his highest shown combat power to defend his title.
The "Unmatched" title was special—it worked even if not equipped, which made Gusion very satisfied.
…
A new top scorer in the Tier 1 arena caused a minor stir—many explorers noticed the sudden appearance of the name "Mazuko" and quietly made a note of it.
While considering how to reward himself with a big meal, Gusion received a message in his inbox—his mood improved even more after reading it.
It was a reminder from the sailor-uniformed girl, sent through their contract: the custom equipment he ordered was ready.