Chapter 81: Special Equipment, Bio-Implant
[Your Constitution has increased. Current: 14]
Kaito Shirogane had spent nearly 6,000 Dimensional Points, successfully raising his Constitution by another point. By the time he returned to his dorm room, he was in a rare state of complete exhaustion. But after feeling like he had plateaued at a normal gym, the [Training Hall] had allowed him to once again feel the sensation of truly growing stronger. He felt that with unlimited resources, the true potential of the human body far exceeded anyone's imagination.
Ring, ring…
His phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was the detective, Inspector Sato. Since he was a Reincarnator, his call meant something. Kaito, ever sharp, knew that the fact Sato was calling instead of visiting in person meant he was likely no longer a primary suspect.
"Hello, Inspector Sato?"
Sato sat in his office, finally feeling a sense of relief. Just moments ago, he had received confirmation that the last high-risk target, [Loli-Goddess], had also left Umikaze City for Hakone. His city was finally quiet again. That black card appearing in Hakone had been a perfectly timed miracle.
As for Kaito Shirogane, he had heard from Mizuki that Kaito had also gone to Hakone for the marathon and had even placed in the top 100. Sato didn't suspect him. The combat site in Hakone had been horrific, and all signs pointed to the death of a powerful Reincarnator with a [Lineage] ability. Kaito had only been under observation for a little over a week. Sato didn't believe it was possible, even if he was a new Reincarnator, to reach that level so quickly, especially while supposedly never leaving campus.
"I heard you went to the competition," Sato said. "A pretty good result?"
Kaito automatically filtered out the meaningless small talk. "Yeah. It was fine."
Sato thought for a moment. "We've gotten some new leads on Ryo's case. Our observation on you will probably end in a few more weeks. I'll have to ask you to bear with it a little longer."
Kaito feigned ignorance. He knew that the planted, useless card could only divert attention for so long. Once this observation period was over, he would have to find a new place to live. Perhaps, as a third-year student, finding an "off-site internship" would be a good excuse.
"If you run into any strange people or situations, remember to contact me or Mizuki immediately," Sato added. "Umikaze isn't very peaceful right now."
Kaito agreed to everything.
After Sato hung up, Kaito stared at the bird flying outside his window and suddenly realized something. Logically, Sato no longer suspected him, which meant that in Sato's eyes, Kaito was just a normal person. But according to the rules of the Nexus, if a Reincarnator died in the real world and became a Crimson Drop Card, their very existence and all personal information would be erased from the world. Normal people's cognition would be altered; they would have no memory of that person.
So why was Sato, a Reincarnator, still talking about the "dead" Ryo to him, a "normal person"?
There was only one answer. In Sato's reality, normal people did still remember Ryo. This meant the memory-wipe rule hadn't activated.
Tsk. There's a serious problem here…
Kaito drummed his fingers on his arm. After a while, he went downstairs to eat, went to the gym across the street to train, and attended his afternoon classes, occasionally rejecting a few clueless "fan-girl" underclassmen.
His campus routine, for days on end, was dull and tedious. He had been used to it before, but after experiencing the Infinite Space, he found it increasingly unbearable. As he watched the other students walk by, his breathing unconsciously lengthened. In his heightened perception, the physical structures of the normal people around him became clear: frail bodies, porous bones. He knew that with a single light punch, he could rupture their internal organs. If he was precise enough, he could probably even fake a fatal heart attack.
Walking through the campus, his thoughts began to drift. When a human begins to transcend the shackles of humanity, it becomes harder and harder to identify with others. Over time, empathy weakens, then vanishes, until one becomes a complete and total anomaly. Fortunately, Kaito had endured this his entire life. He was used to hibernating.
He returned to his dorm and resumed his iron sand training, having had Katsu deliver another barrel to his room so he could train at all hours. He plunged his hands into the coarse sand, which instantly turned his skin red, but he ignored the pain and struck it, again and again. The training for the [Kaiwan Style] was very similar to the ascetic training for [Hamon]. This self-harm-like regimen simultaneously increased his limb conditioning and his Hamon proficiency. He could clearly feel his [Hamon] still leveling up rapidly. The healing speed on his hands was much faster than before. Even if he hadn't reached Lv5 yet, he was confident he was close.
[Notice: ID# Ex051, you will be deployed on a new mission in 1 hour. Please ensure your surrounding environment is secure beforehand.]
Finally. Kaito had been waiting for the notification. He locked his door, closed his windows, and issued the command.
[Return to Private Space]
Kaito always saved his last hour of Dwell Time for final preparations before a mission. Thanks to the Demon Slayer world, he had stocked up on consumables, and he had gotten two new firearms from Vincent. His conventional gear was more than sufficient.
[Your item, Head of Douma, has received 132 offers.]
Kaito returned to his stall and saw a dense list of offers. Filtering out the worthless bids of Dimensional Points and consumables, only three remained that he considered valuable.
[OFFER: 1 C-rank Singularity, 4000 DP. - From: FG99952141 (Intestine Hunter)]
[OFFER: 1 C-rank Physical-type or Sword-type Ability. - From: XS54154822 (Sakurai)]
[OFFER: Information on the fusion trait in exchange for this head. - From: LT44344564 (Conspiracy)]
Three offers: an ability, currency, and information. Kaito tried responding to [Conspiracy] but the user was offline. Of the three, the information was by far the most valuable to him. Douma's head had some good options, but nothing Kaito felt he absolutely needed. He also wasn't lacking for C-rank abilities or Singularities. His DP had dropped to below 2000 after his visit to the Training Hall, but his Singularities were abundant: 1 B-rank and 3 C-rank, which was a significant amount of purchasing power.
As for abilities, what he really needed were explosive, burst-damage skills or special utility powers to round out his build. He wasn't in desperate need of another basic combat skill.
After leaving a message for [Conspiracy], Kaito left his stall and began to quickly scan the bazaar to see if anything else suited him. The Nexus was a place of hedonism and despair. The pressure on Reincarnators was unimaginable. As a result, most players sold off any good items they couldn't immediately use. No one hoarded resources for a "future" that might never come. Because of this, every day, the Stall District was buzzing over some new rare item.
Last time, it was [Kyo Kusanagi's Glove]. This time, another crowd was gathered around a different stall.
Kaito pushed his way through and saw a single eyeball, displayed in a special glass container.
[Bio-Implant: Sharingan]
[Quality: Purple (Exceedingly Rare)]
[Description: An eyeball of the Uchiha Clan from the world of Naruto and its derivatives. Possesses excellent transplant adaptability and powerful abilities.]
[Requirements: Constitution > 15, Spirit > 15]
[Effect: Hidden]
The stall owner was a Reincarnator wrapped entirely in a gray cloak. He stood there, shooing away the crowd of broke onlookers. "Get lost if all you have is Dimensional Points! This isn't something you can afford. I'm only accepting trades for Purple-quality items, abilities, or a B-rank Singularity or higher."
"This is a rush sale! I deploy to my next mission in 3 hours! First satisfactory offer gets it, no delays!"
Clearly, this Reincarnator was desperate to liquidate his assets, which gave many people an opportunity. Some players specialized in this, exploiting information and time gaps to turn a profit.
Kaito glanced at the eye and turned to leave. The [Sharingan] was undeniably powerful, but for someone without a massive pool of chakra (Energy), it was just a debilitating drain. The genius Kakashi in the original story could barely handle a single three-tomoe Sharingan. For Kaito right now, the item was a flashy, impractical trap.
Taking advantage of the crowd being distracted by the Sharingan, Kaito quickly scanned the now-empty nearby stalls.
"Tsk. So there are some rational people left~" a voice drawled. "Those idiots are all staring at the shiny rare item, but they don't even know they can't handle it. Watch. I bet you half of those gawkers won't be alive to show up here in seven days."
A Reincarnator smoking a cigar was leaning against his stall, striking up a conversation with Kaito. Then he got a good look at Kaito's face.
"What the fuck is that horrible thing?!"
Kaito had gotten used to this reaction to his artistic masterpiece. He ignored the insult and looked at the man's wares.
[Bio-Implant: Spirit-Gathering Finger]
[Quality: Blue (Rare)]
[Description: The severed index finger of a powerful psychic, it possesses a special effect.]
[Requirement: Spirit > 10]
[Effect 1: When equipped, the user's Spirit is eroded. (Spirit -2)]
[Effect 2: Gain additional affinity for spirit particles. Energy attribute growth speed slightly increased.]
[Effect 3: Overdraw your spirit to fire one Lv4 [Spirit Gun].]
"How much for this?" Kaito asked.
The item was a human index finger. Like the Sharingan, it was classified as a [Bio-Implant]. This type of special equipment wasn't "worn," but was directly implanted or fused with the Reincarnator's body, replacing a part of them. In the Infinite Space, it was an extremely rare category of equipment, second only to the legendary [God-Forged Armaments] that most Reincarnators had only ever heard of.
The cigar-smoking man took a long drag to calm his nerves. His tone was no longer friendly. "Don't even ask unless you have a B-rank Singularity."
"One C-rank Singularity," Kaito offered. He was playing by the rules: he had a B-rank Singularity, so he was "allowed to ask." But he had no intention of paying that much, so he offered a C-rank.
The stall owner didn't appreciate Kaito's logic. He frowned and waved him away, not wanting to talk.
Kaito, however, wanted this item. It would add a new dimension to his attacks, and he was interested in any item that could raise his [Energy] attribute. He was still holding the A-rank [Dodon Ray] scroll, which he couldn't learn yet. Once he could, his combat power would leap to another level. This item, which would also allow him to attack spiritual beings without relying on Hamon, was a perfect fit.
"A B-rank Singularity is the asking price for the Sharingan. You really think this is worth the same as that?" Kaito said. He knew this vendor had been cursing the crowd around the Sharingan stall, likely because its owner was his competition. A purple-quality Sharingan was clearly more valuable than this blue item with a negative stat debuff.
"Two C-rank Singularities! Non-negotiable!" the vendor snapped, annoyed.
But Kaito continued to press. Singularities were too precious to waste. "One C-rank Singularity, two D-rank Singularities, and 1000 Dimensional Points."
[You have obtained the item: Spirit-Gathering Finger.]
Kaito took the finger. It had been hollowed out, leaving only a thin layer of skin. He slipped it over his own index finger, and it immediately fused with his hand. He could already feel it—a tingling sensation, as if countless tiny organisms were trying to drill into his fingertip.
There wasn't much else of use. The closest thing was another scroll from the Kengan world.
[Release (B-): Forcibly removes the brain's limitations on the body, unleashing 100% of one's physical power.]
This B-rank ability had a low price, but it required the [Kure Clan] lineage. For anyone else, the side effects were massive. Besides, in Kaito's opinion, this [Release] was extremely similar to Stage One of the [Gene Lock]. Since his own talent was already anchored as being similar to Stage Two, he had no need for it.
He took his remaining resources and headed for the [Goddess's Sanctum] for a final upgrade before his next mission.