Chapter 6: A King's Domain
[King's Way Points: 19800, 19700, 19600]
[Spiritual Pressure: 100, 200, 300]
As his Spiritual Pressure continuously increased, Gilgamesh noticed changes in his body.
Although these changes were subtle, Gilgamesh could still feel his body constantly growing stronger.
This meant that Gilgamesh did not need to allocate extra points to attributes like Strength or Agility; he only needed to increase his Spiritual Pressure.
Because as Spiritual Pressure increased, these physical attributes would also enhance accordingly.
Gilgamesh could understand this.
His current state was that of a soul, and Spiritual Pressure was essentially the density of the soul.
The higher the Spiritual Pressure, the greater the soul's density, and naturally, the stronger the soul's power.
In addition, Gilgamesh also discovered that the ratio of King's Way Points to Spiritual Pressure was 1:1, meaning 1 King's Way Point could increase Spiritual Pressure by 1 point.
After increasing his Spiritual Pressure to 10,000, Gilgamesh stopped and did not continue adding points.
Through the previous Spiritual Pressure allocation, Gilgamesh had not yet discovered an upper limit for Spiritual Pressure or any change in the allocation ratio.
Gilgamesh remembered that in the setting of 'Shinigami,' Spiritual Pressure had a Level classification, seemingly ranging from one to over twenty levels, with level one being the highest.
Taking the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 as an example, the Spiritual Pressure of ordinary members was around level twenty, while that of seated officers was usually between level eighteen and level six.
The Spiritual Pressure of a Lieutenant was between level five and level four.
As for a Captain, their Spiritual Pressure was at least level three or higher.
Gilgamesh did not know what level of Spiritual Pressure his current 10,000 Spiritual Pressure corresponded to.
Opening his attribute panel again, Gilgamesh checked it.
[Name: Gilgamesh
Character Template: Gilgamesh (Childhood)
Class: Archer
Spiritual Pressure: 10,000
Spiritual Power: 0
King's Way Points: 9900.]
This time, Gilgamesh noticed that his attribute panel had an additional attribute.
That was Spiritual Power.
Gilgamesh remembered that in the worldview of 'Shinigami,' the world was composed of spirit particles, and human souls were no exception.
Spiritual Power was essentially the ability to manipulate spirit particles.
Shinigami could manipulate their own spirit particles.
Quincy, on the other hand, could manipulate spirit particles from the outside world.
For Shinigami, the stronger the Spiritual Pressure, the greater the soul's density, and the more spirit particles the soul could contain.
This also meant that the more spirit particles one could manipulate, i.e., the more Spiritual Power one had, the stronger one's natural strength would be.
However, Gilgamesh's Spiritual Power was 0, meaning he had no spirit particles within his body.
It seemed that he had transmigrated as a soul, which was why his soul was not composed of spirit particles like those in the 'Shinigami' world.
Pondering this, Gilgamesh couldn't help but marvel at the power of the King's Way System.
It had forcibly granted him the Spiritual Pressure attribute even though he had no spirit particles himself.
It was also because of the Spiritual Pressure attribute that Gilgamesh's body could contain spirit particles, thus possessing the Spiritual Power attribute.
After his contemplation, Gilgamesh calmed his mind and carefully sensed his surroundings.
Immediately, Gilgamesh perceived the free-floating spirit particles in the atmosphere.
Frowning slightly, Gilgamesh found that the free-floating spirit particles in the atmosphere were extremely scarce.
After gaining the Spiritual Pressure attribute, these spirit particles would enter his body through breathing and be absorbed and stored by his body, but because they were too scarce, Gilgamesh's Spiritual Power was still 0.
He didn't think too much about it, because Abarai Renji and Rukia had already arrived in front of him.
At this moment, Abarai Renji and Rukia had already acknowledged Gilgamesh's status as a king, and coupled with the strength Gilgamesh displayed, they unconsciously became more reserved when facing him.
Their mouths mumbled, as if they wanted to say something, but in the end, they didn't speak.
Seeing this, Gilgamesh's tone and expression remained unchanged; he said as usual, "Do not because of this King..."
At this point, Gilgamesh suddenly changed his words, "Hmm, do not let my identity create any distance. You have already received my approval. In my heart, you are both my subjects and my friends."
Hearing this, Abarai Renji and Rukia both sighed in relief, and smiles reappeared on their faces.
Abarai Renji then spoke, "Let's go. Let me, your gold-medal guide who has been deeply rooted in Hōkō for over a decade, show you around this place properly."
As he spoke, Abarai Renji seemed to remember something and continued, "Oh, Hōkō is very big, so you should be mentally prepared in advance and not collapse halfway."
Before Gilgamesh could respond, Rukia spoke up for Gilgamesh, saying, "Gilgamesh's power is comparable to heroes in human epics."
"If you're going to worry, you should worry about yourself first, lest you collapse instead."
Upon hearing this, Abarai Renji's eyes widened as he glared at Rukia, looking indignant.
And Rukia, not to be outdone, glared back.
This was their usual way of interacting, and they had long grown accustomed to it.
But Gilgamesh, who rarely witnessed such a scene, found it very amusing and couldn't help but let out a joyful laugh.
Abarai Renji and Rukia looked over, puzzled.
Although they didn't know why Gilgamesh was laughing, they seemed to be infected by his laughter and all started laughing together.
A moment later, Abarai Renji and Rukia officially began showing Gilgamesh around Hōkō.
"The place we were just in was the outskirts of Hōkō, very remote. Further on, it approaches the Seventy-Ninth District of South Rukongai, where the living conditions are even worse and more chaotic than Hōkō."
"I heard there are many terrifying 'Hundred-Man Killers' and even 'Thousand-Man Killers' there. You can see corpses everywhere on the roadside; it's very scary. You must not go near there."
"Rukia and I wouldn't have come here if we hadn't heard there was precious water resources."
"But we must have been tricked. That news was likely spread by those five people just now; they wanted to attract people here to kill and rob them..."
Gilgamesh listened to Abarai Renji's words, a thoughtful expression on his face.
If he remembered correctly, Rukongai had 4 divisions: East, West, North, and South, each further subdivided into 80 districts, totaling 320 districts.
Among them, District 1 in each division had the best public order, the most ideal living environment, and the most abundant food.
However, District 80 was barren, plagued by famine, and the souls there would kill each other to determine who had the right to survive.
Similarly, as the district number increased, the public order and living conditions in each district would decline, becoming increasingly harsh.
Furthermore, most souls did not require solid food; they could survive by absorbing spirit particles from the atmosphere and drinking water.
Because souls without Spiritual Power, meaning those unable to manipulate their own spirit particles, would not feel hunger, most areas of Rukongai had no edible food.
Souls like Abarai Renji and Rukia, who possessed relatively high Spiritual Power, would still be unable to sustain themselves even by absorbing spirit particles from the atmosphere daily, and would suffer from exhaustion due to excessive hunger; in more severe cases, they could even die.
And from District 78 onwards in each division, water resources were severely lacking. Water became one of the targets for theft and robbery, and some even sold drinking water as goods for profit.
This was also why Abarai Renji and Rukia risked coming here.
In stark contrast to Rukongai was the Seireitei.
Hence, some once said that Rukongai was the evidence of the Soul Society's sins, a living hell.
However, for Gilgamesh, this was an opportunity.
Gilgamesh needed subjects and King's Way Points, and the more chaotic a place, the better Gilgamesh could utilize it.
At this moment, a thought arose in Gilgamesh's mind.
Since the Gotei 13 only protected the Seireitei and did not manage Rukongai, why not manage it himself?
He could completely establish a kingdom belonging to Rukongai, making all the souls of Rukongai his subjects, providing him with King's Way Points.
And the suffering they endured would be borne by the King!
End of Chapter