Chapter 17: A Bountiful Harvest
Kaito felt a jolt of electricity surge through him, followed by a fleeting, tearing pain in his muscles. The sensation vanished as quickly as it came, disappearing before he could even pinpoint where it had been.
[Karma Reincarnator EX051]
Codename: Kaito Shirogane (Can be modified)
Equipped Milestone: Gourmand
Lineage: Human (Black-Iron Rank, Native Species)
Talent: Absolute Territory (Similarity 87%) (A-) - Power that surpasses human limits. (Note: The Nexus will gradually anchor a Reincarnator's innate talent based on their performance. Until fully anchored, it will be classified under the most similar known ability.)
Proficiencies: Martial Arts Aptitude Lv2; Street Fighting Lv3, Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv5, Footwork Lv4
[Four Foundational Attributes]
Strength: 13
Agility: 12
Constitution: 12
Spirit: 9
[Assets]
Singularities: 1 B-rank; 1 C-rank
Dimensional Points: 5750
Items: Misfortune's Knock (Blue); Dual Wielding Proficiency Scroll (Blue); Precious Gemstone (Special); Drop Card (Purple)
[Rank: Paper - Upper Tier] (Advancement conditions met. You may apply for an advancement challenge at the Nexus - Rank Management Office.)
A flood of information scrolled past, leaving Kaito feeling slightly overwhelmed. When he came to his senses, the star-filled darkness had vanished, and he found himself in a completely empty room. There was no furniture or decoration, only a brown floor and plain white walls and ceiling.
[This is the exclusive private space for ID# Ex051. You may decorate it according to your imagination.]
Kaito thought for a moment, and the room instantly transformed. Bright windows and the familiar layout of his dorm room replaced the empty space. This was likely one of the special abilities granted by the Infinite Space. Having read his fair share of "infinite flow" novels, Kaito accepted this reality-warping power without much surprise.
Only now did he have a moment to properly review his gains and process the details of his first mission.
The Reincarnator who used swordsmanship from the world of One Piece had given Kaito his first real understanding of what powerful Reincarnators were capable of. Flying through the sky, splitting mountains, destroying cities—it was a completely different path from Mercenary Tao's, but it was filled with the same terrifying destructive power of an individual overwhelming all opposition. Kaito's anticipation for what this [Infinite Dimensional Adventure] held grew even stronger.
He noted that although his trial completion was 100%, his final rating was only an A. He suspected that in the Nexus's judgment, his use of a clever trick to assassinate Tao was ultimately just that—a trick. To achieve an S-rank, he would have needed to gain Tao's trust from the very beginning and then follow the path of uniting with the plot characters to fight back against Squad #64323.
He frowned. By now, Kaito understood just how unique the difficulty of his trial had been. While he didn't know what a normal Reincarnator's mission was like, he was sure that any "PVP mission" involving an enemy faction of Reincarnators would not be easy. Furthermore, that terrifying swordsman who could cleave mountains with every swing was clearly no ordinary player. For a complete newcomer like himself, with no enhancements whatsoever, to be pitted against Reincarnators of that caliber… that was definitely not a normal difficulty curve.
Kaito's eyes fell on the special designation before his ID: [Karma Reincarnator].
Clearly, the card that Ryo had left for him was something very special.
He focused his thoughts on the [Karma Reincarnator] title, but the system only provided a vague hint.
[A Karma Reincarnator is a Reincarnator with a special sequence.]
It offered no explanation as to what that meant. Kaito made a mental note to investigate this later. Perhaps it was connected to the cause of Ryo's death.
For killing Mercenary Tao, besides a large number of Dimensional Points, he had also received a Purple Drop Card and a B-rank Singularity.
[Singularity: A special node of destiny, marking a significant change in a world's timeline that will lead it down a new branch. It is highly valuable and can be exchanged for rewards with the Goddess, or be freely traded.]
"In other words, by killing Tao, I've altered the original development of the world, causing the timeline to diverge…" Kaito mused. He mentally equated this "Singularity" currency with the "side-story plots" from classic infinite flow novels. As for the so-called "Goddess" and the [Rank Management Office], the notes indicated they were special facilities within this space.
Finally, Kaito took out the purple card.
[Drop Card - Mercenary Tao]
[Quality: Purple (Exceedingly Rare)]
[Description: This is an exceedingly rare drop card, containing the abilities and items of the world's number one assassin, Mercenary Tao.]
[Effect: Crush to open.]
Kaito took one last look at the sinister face on the card before crushing it.
A brilliant purple radiance flared to life in his hand, a spectacle completely unlike the time he had used the white card. Clearly, even in the Infinite Space, a purple-quality drop card was an extremely valuable item.
[You have opened an Exceedingly Rare Drop Card.]
[Extracting Drop…]
[You have obtained the item: Mercenary Tao's Pink Robe.]
"Huh…"
Kaito was slightly taken aback, but the purple glow in his hand hadn't faded yet. It continued to pulse.
[You have obtained the Ability Scroll: Dodon Ray (A+).]
After a few more flashes, the purple light finally dissipated into motes of stardust. Kaito looked at the two items in his hand, and a genuine smile finally broke across his face.
[Mercenary Tao's Pink Robe]
[Quality: Silver Story Equipment] (Note: Story Equipment is special gear formed from an excess of data, possessing performance similar to when worn by the original character. It comes in Silver and Gold quality.)
[Description: The exclusive attire of the number one assassin from the Dragon Ball world, Mercenary Tao. Exceptionally rare.]
[Defense: Low. Durability: Low.]
[Requirements: Martial Arts Aptitude; Strength, Agility, and Constitution stats no lower than 10.]
[Effect 1: Strength +2; Agility +2; Constitution +2]
[Effect 2: Martial Arts-related proficiencies +1]
[Effect 3: Killing Intent Sense - The wearer can perceive the killing intent of any being whose Spirit is no more than twice their own.]
To Kaito's surprise, the robe was incredibly powerful. Not only did it have three affixes, but each one was excellent. The stat boosts alone were double the final reward from his mission.
With a thought, the rather eccentric-looking pink robe appeared on his body. He moved his arms and legs. He wasn't sure if it was because of the stat increase, but far from feeling cumbersome, the robe felt perfectly natural, as if it enhanced his movements.
Next, he looked at the scroll.
[Ability Scroll: Dodon Ray (A+)]
[Quality: Purple (Exceedingly Rare)]
[Description: A special martial arts ability from the Dragon Ball world. It gathers a powerful concentration of ki at the user's fingertip, possessing astonishing destructive power.]
[Requirements: Martial Arts Aptitude > Lv4; Must be able to sense ki; Energy > 15.]