Chapter 111: Enhancing Again
Kaito Shirogane looked at the item that could anchor onto and track another Reincarnator, but he didn't feel that [The Chosen] were all that powerful. He just found them to be an incredibly convenient group.
He was reminded of the Reincarnator who called himself [The Professor] in the Demon Slayer world. He had been weak, but he had possessed special channels for acquiring information. And his "Special Trial"… Kaito now realized that his own presence in that mission, as a "strong teammate," had probably lowered the difficulty of that trial by a huge margin. His own trial, in contrast, had required him to gain the trust of Mercenary Tao and fight a squad that the Nexus had deemed capable of killing Tao.
Tsk.
"How much for this?" Kaito's tone was like that of an old woman picking through leftover vegetables at the market. It made Glaze, the vendor, wince. He prided himself on [The Chosen] being a cut above all other Reincarnators. He was about to lose his temper, but he heard the [Black Butler] cough twice.
Glaze and Black Butler were, in a sense, friends. They had cooperated several times. He knew the broker was an extremely steady person. That cough was clearly a warning.
[Message from TT65562877 (Black Butler): Don't provoke Mercenary Tao. This man is a beast.]
Glaze looked at the notification. Black Butler was right next to him, but was still using a private message to communicate... Is this guy really that terrifying?
Glaze swallowed his disdain, put on a professional face, and began to reassess Kaito. "A low-priority [Directional Anchor (Blue)] is one D-rank Singularity and 5,000 Dimensional Points. A mid-priority [Directional Anchor (Purple)] is two C-rank Singularities and 8,000 Dimensional Points. That's the friendship price, on Black Butler's account."
He wasn't lying. It was a low price; he usually tacked on a bit more. Most other members of the collective sold the blue-quality anchors for two D-rank Singularities at a minimum.
Kaito nodded, then looked at the [Black Butler].
The man in the monocle sighed. He knew his nervous reaction had tipped Kaito off, and now this aggressive man was pressing his advantage. "The low-priority one should be sufficient," he advised. "That Reincarnator is only [Mortal]-tier. His star-rating won't be high enough to block it."
Kaito accepted the advice. He broke down one of his remaining B-rank Singularities, then broke down one of the resulting C-rank Singularities, and completed the transaction.
[You have obtained Item: Directional Anchor (Blue).]
Kaito continued to browse Glaze's stall. In addition to the tracking items, he also had items for use on plot characters.
[Crude Slave Shackles]
[Quality: Blue]
[Description: A special item created by the Alchemist 'Glaze', possessing a powerful ability.]
[Effect 1: This item can be used on any derivative world plot character. Capture success rate is determined by the target's power level. If successful, the target is captured. If it fails, the item is destroyed.]
[Effect 2: Upon successful capture, the target will be passively bound to the Reincarnator by a slave contract.] (Note: Per Nexus rules, if a Reincarnator wishes to bring a creature out of a derivative world, they must pay a separate fee for the target's abilities, knowledge, lineage, etc.)
[Effect 3: This item cannot be removed, but it can be broken.]
…
[Scapegoat Doll]
[Quality: Purple]
[Description: A special item created by the Alchemist 'Glaze', possessing a powerful ability.]
[Effect 1: Crushing this item will immediately negate a Nexus penalty, at the cost of 30% of all carried items, Singularities, and Dimensional Points.]
[Effect 2: This effect has a HIGH priority.]
These were the two items Kaito had only ever heard of. Now they were right in front of him. Seeing Kaito's gaze, Glaze began his sales pitch, his tone now respectful. He was treating Kaito as a major client; the [Black Butler]'s attitude had made that much clear.
"How about it? A pair of Slave Shackles? While the abilities and lineages of plot characters are expensive, the Nexus doesn't seem to place any value on... flesh. As long as you capture a sufficiently beautiful character, you can make your money back in no time in the Nexus."
Kaito knew there was a thriving flesh trade in the Nexus. The private spaces made it a convenient way for many Reincarnators to vent their desires. Reincarnators were a group of "mercenaries" living under extreme, constant pressure, and their desires were much stronger than those of ordinary people. Both men and women, under the stress of life and death, were often influenced by the biological instinct to procreate, to pass on their genes. As such, of all the items made by [The Chosen], the [Slave Shackles] were the consistent bestseller. Any team with even a little capital would buy a few. Capturing a beautiful or unique character in a mission world and bringing them back was like having a small, personal money tree. There was always someone willing to pay generously to indulge that instinct or simply relieve stress.
Kaito just glanced at the items and looked away. "I'm not that well-off yet."
He was currently holding a one-time-use S-rank evaluation. He felt that he could spend any amount of Singularities and DP and it still wouldn't be enough. He also had the [Secret Trove: Cursed Blood Origin], a rare item that could turn him into an ultimate lifeform. He really had no interest in capturing slaves to make a quick buck. In fact… Kaito realized he had never once felt that "procreation instinct" himself. Even in the Demon Slayer world, when facing a sword slash that could cleave a mountain, his heart had pounded with excitement, not the despair of his impending death.
Kaito placed the [Directional Anchor] and the [Record Pointer] together. The anchor immediately activated, and the needle on the pointer spun wildly before settling into a state of constant, small rotations.
Glaze saw this and explained, "That state means your target is not currently in a mission world. As they get closer to a deployment, the pointer will lock onto a fixed direction, and the Nexus will detect an anomaly in your mission cycle and prepare to deploy you as well."
Kaito listened, deducing that these items were all manifestations of how [The Chosen] could interfere with and mislead the Nexus's core functions. The [Record Pointer] and [Directional Anchor] manipulated deployment. The [Slave Shackles] manipulated itemization and capture. The [Scapegoat Doll] manipulated the penalty system.
It seemed this "special group" truly did have an advantage that ordinary Reincarnators couldn't match. Kaito looked at the surrounding stalls. There were six or seven of them here, all belonging to [The Chosen]. This [Destiny] collective was far more influential than he had imagined. This was his first contact with a faction of this level.
"Interesting…"
He turned and left. Glaze was confused, but [Black Butler] just shook his head, signaling him not to worry about it, and then hurried to catch up with Kaito.
"Mercenary Tao. If you have the resources, you should really consider upgrading your Reincarnator star-rating." He was offering the advice freely. It was a smart move. He knew he had already exposed his knowledge of Kaito's low star-rating, and that Kaito would have figured it out sooner or later. It was better to offer the information himself and build a little goodwill.
Kaito looked at the overly-cunning broker, and his estimation of him dropped slightly. People who were too clever, who were always scheming, rarely achieved true greatness.
"Because the star-rating affects the priority of certain judgments?" Kaito asked.
[Black Butler] nodded, confirming in his own mind that Kaito was, indeed, a quick thinker. He elaborated, "Many abilities and items that Reincarnators use to interfere with each other are affected by it. And the star-rating is the only path to becoming a [Titled Reincarnator]. If you want to become one of the true powerhouses, it's impossible without a [Title]."
[Black Butler] was sharp. He sensed the subtle shift in Kaito's attitude, so he said his piece and promptly left.
Kaito, meanwhile, thought for a moment, then turned and headed back to the Goddess's Sanctum. Whether it was the [Card] war that was coming, or the Reincarnators who would be hunting him in the real world, he had no reason to hoard his resources. He would keep one B-rank Singularity in reserve—his failsafe, to use the [Cursed Blood Origin] to turn himself into a demon if he was ever in a truly no-win situation. The rest could be spent.
Now was the time to get stronger.
"Yo. My lucky Reincarnator. You're back." The Goddess descended, her robes fluttering.
Kaito was in no mood for pleasantries. "I want to upgrade an ability."
[Upgrade Ability: Divine Finger Technique (A+) from Lv1 to Lv2 requires 1 C-rank Singularity. Pay?]
The cost to upgrade the Dodon Ray was far steeper than for Hamon or Devil Lance. It required C-rank Singularities right from Lv1. But in the Nexus, expensive meant powerful.
[You have lost 1 C-rank Singularity.]
The Goddess's ruby eyes flashed. Kaito instantly felt a powerful ki surge through his body and focus at his fingertip.
[With the Goddess's blessing, Divine Finger Technique Lv1 has been upgraded. Current: Lv2]
[Energy attribute +1. Current: ?]
[Divine Finger Technique (A+) Lv2: Gathers an extremely strong ki at the fingertip, then fires it, causing a piercing, explosive attack with devastating damage and penetration. Power is directly correlated with ki strength and is greatly amplified.]
At Lv2, the Dodon Ray had gained a "penetration" descriptor. He could feel that the ki he gathered was now far more condensed. It wouldn't just explode on impact, but would pierce his target first, causing much greater damage.
He now had 1 B-rank, 1 C-rank, and 2 D-rank Singularities left. He was saving the B-rank. After a moment's thought, he decided to spend the C-rank.
[You have lost 1 C-rank Singularity.]
[Your Reincarnator Star-rating has increased. Current: 1-Star Reincarnator.]
[You will now receive an additional 2 hours of Dwell Time after each mission. This time can be accumulated.]
[Your Reincarnator Priority has increased.]
Kaito then used 1 D-rank Singularity to recharge his [Secret Rite - Strike of Inari]. The curse mark had been in an unusable state after being eroded by the Underworld in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, but after his bloodline [Refinement], it seemed to have returned to normal.
Now, he just had to wait for his new enemies to appear. Whether it was the survivors of [9527] who held the new card, or that self-proclaimed king in Myanmar, Grinder.
Kaito craved the slaughter.
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Guys We cross the 400 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 500 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
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Every 5 new reviews = 2 extra chapters
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter