[Main Quest (Stage One): Ascension Channel]
Objective:
Terminal Space has applied a disguise to the Explorer. To the natives of this world, the Explorer appears as a lifeform composed of high-density reishi. You are currently a vagrant of North Rukongai, District 80. Find a way to join Seireitei and open the ascension channel.
Time Limit: 3 natural days
Difficulty: Easy ~ Hard
Success Reward: 500 Terminal Coins
Failure Penalty: Erasure
Join Seireitei…
At first glance, the mission didn't seem particularly dangerous, nor did it look difficult. Still, the wide difficulty range marked on the interface made Kurosaki Rei pause.
In the Soul Society, vagrants of Rukongai were the lowest of the low. But for those with talent, entering Seireitei wasn't hard at all.
After all, the Gotei Thirteen constantly needed fresh blood. In the original story, many outstanding Shinigami came from Rukongai, entering the Shin'ō Academy before joining the squads.
Kurosaki Rei didn't know what level his talent would rank at in this world, but he was confident he surpassed most vagrants. Entering through normal channels shouldn't be an issue.
The real problem was whether he could even make it to the "recruitment office."
The higher the district number in Rukongai, the more chaotic it was. District 80 lay at the very edge of the Soul Society. Running all the way to Seireitei from here—accidents along the way were practically guaranteed.
Terminal Space had only told him his location, not the current point in the timeline. After some thought, Kurosaki Rei decided that with so little information, overthinking was pointless. He should first check his own status.
Ever since being dropped into this world, additional information had appeared in his mind, teaching him the basic functions of Terminal Space.
Kurosaki Rei summoned the menu mentally and examined himself.
[Explorer No. 404040404]
[Level: lv.1]
[Reference: Except for Luck, the average adult has 5 points in each attribute]
[Note: The Explorer's body is not fully datafied. The following values are for self-assessment only]
[Vital Source: 100%]
[Soul Source: 100%]
[Constitution: 15]
[Strength: 15]
[Agility: 15]
[Spirit: 20]
[Charisma: 6]
[Luck: 1]
Since this was his first time viewing the panel, detailed notes followed each attribute.
Vital Source represented his physical "HP," while Soul Source was his "MP," also tied to his soul. Because he was a real living being, neither could be fully datafied.
Constitution determined maximum Vital Source, stamina, defensive resistance, and recovery speed.
Strength governed carrying capacity and attack power, and together with Agility affected sprinting speed. Agility also influenced neural reaction speed.
Spirit, according to the description, affected mastery over techniques and skills, damage of certain abilities, perception, and resistance to mental or abnormal control.
Charisma influenced dialogue outcomes, summoned creatures, and resistance to certain abnormal effects.
As for Luck—it affected randomness such as loot, crafting, and drops, and was extremely hard to increase.
Kurosaki Rei stared at his single point of Luck, sinking into thought. He had no idea whether this was considered low… or catastrophically low.
"Aaah—!"
A sudden scream rang out from the distance.
Kurosaki Rei instantly became alert and looked toward the corner of the street.
A figure clad in a Shinigami robe flew through the air, blood spraying everywhere, before crashing into a dilapidated wooden house.
The few ragged vagrants on the street were startled. Their frail bodies somehow found explosive strength as they scrambled up and fled without hesitation.
Judging by their speed and practiced movements, this kind of chaos clearly wasn't new to them—so familiar it was heartbreaking.
The ones who weren't familiar with it were probably already "reincarnated."
Kurosaki Rei frowned slightly. He had seen clearly—the person who was sent flying was very likely a Shinigami.
This wasn't a simple vagrant brawl.
A Hollow? Or rebels within the Soul Society?
He might soon learn what point in the timeline he was in.
Just then, several vagrants ran past Kurosaki Rei. Seeing him standing still, they probably thought he was frozen in fear. No one bothered to warn him.
Almost immediately, two more bloodied figures rushed out from the corner. The one in front—a Shinigami—seemed to be shouting into some kind of communication device.
"We're under rebel attack in North Rukongai, District 80! Requesting support! Repeat, requesting support!"
One of his arms was gone. With the remaining hand, he clutched his Asauchi, terror of death written plainly in his eyes.
He and another squad member were fleeing for their lives—clearly no match for the so-called rebels behind them.
When he saw Kurosaki Rei, he didn't change direction at all, charging straight toward him.
After a brief assessment of the situation, Kurosaki Rei finally understood why the difficulty of the first stage fluctuated so wildly.
If he hadn't stayed put to check his status and think things through—if he'd just left immediately—he likely wouldn't have run into this at all. With decent luck, he might have reached a safe area and completed the mission without incident.
Even now, if he chose to flee, he might still avoid the danger.
But that wasn't what he wanted.
Blood splashed across Kurosaki Rei's face.
A severed head spun through the air, eyes still filled with terror. The Shinigami responsible for communication never managed to brush past Kurosaki Rei. Before he could reach out, his head was already severed by the rebel behind him.
The other Shinigami was pierced clean through the chest by a different rebel, dying with eyes wide open.
Clang—
The headless Shinigami's Asauchi fell to the ground, embedding itself upright before Kurosaki Rei. Blood from both enemy and owner flowed down the blade, seeping into the parched earth.
Dressed in tattered coarse cloth, Kurosaki Rei stood there, facing the ten rebels who were now inspecting the Shinigami corpses.
Calling them "rebels" was generous. They were simply former vagrants dissatisfied with Seireitei's rule. Aside from a few organized factions, most were nothing more than a rabble.
And the Gotei Thirteen members who died before Kurosaki Rei's eyes were merely ordinary Shinigami—incapable of even releasing Shikai.
From the brief exchange earlier, Kurosaki Rei could roughly gauge the rebels' strength.
"Why are you smiling?"
A disheveled rebel barked at him.
"A vagrant from around here?" another said coldly. "Deal with him. The pursuit team should be arriving soon."
The leader glanced at Kurosaki Rei, the blade in his hand still dripping blood. The scar on his face only added to his ferocity.
Kurosaki Rei raised a hand and touched his own face.
"So… I was smiling."
As he spoke, his body trembled slightly, making the rebel closest to him assume the vagrant had gone mad with fear.
That rebel raised his sword and slashed toward Kurosaki Rei.
The others paid no attention, continuing to search the fallen Shinigami for anything that could track them.
The sound of flesh being cut rang out—
But the one who fell wasn't the vagrant.
Kurosaki Rei now held the Asauchi that had been planted in the ground moments ago. With a flick of his wrist, he shook the blood from the blade, scattering it in a strange, beautiful arc across the dirt.
His gaze swept over the stunned rebels. His body was still trembling as he bared a mouthful of stark white teeth.
"This place is really nice," he said softly. "It's been a long time since I felt this excited."
The leader's eyes flickered with uncertainty, but he quickly made his call.
"All of you—attack! Kill him!"
A spear tore through the air, slicing a chill through the scorching heat.
Kurosaki Rei merely tilted his head slightly, the spear shaft brushing past his hair.
In the next instant, to the attacker's utter confusion, Kurosaki Rei's blade rose from below in a clean arc.
Flesh split. Bone severed. Soul cut.
In the blink of an eye, two rebels lay dead.
As Kurosaki Rei stepped forward, an invisible pressure seemed to spread from him, forcing the surrounding rebels to retreat half a step unconsciously.
Under their stunned gazes, Kurosaki Rei lifted his head, staring up at the sky and the blazing sun. He took a deep breath, savoring the sensation of being alive.