"A group of people forced into another world to commit petty crimes, only to find there aren't enough chickens left, so they're forced to kill each other?"
Hearing Jean Stardust's response, Shiraori smiled slightly and said, "Reincarnation Spaces that act like blood-sucking mosquitoes do exist, but they never grow large. After all, there are far more efficient ways to obtain resources or talent. A typical Reincarnation Space is a world in itself, and the so-called 'various worlds' within it are just fragment spaces or sub-worlds created by the main world."
"Uh, then what is the point of it all?"
"That's unclear. Although some speculate it's for the sake of 'possibilities,' the creators' thoughts are bizarre, and it's possible they don't even have a purpose."
"No purpose? That's really arbitrary."
"Of course, it depends on the person. Some are the type where greater ability leads to greater power and greater responsibility, eventually finding themselves swimming in an ocean of work all day. Others are the type where greater ability leads to more slacking off, doing things purely based on whim, yet they always manage to cover their tracks, eventually being regarded as a menace over time. Anyway, I've digressed."
Jean Stardust felt that Shiraori was alluding to someone, but they obediently waited for what was next.
"Back to the Reincarnation Space. The space we are in now isn't one of the two types mentioned earlier. It's a large-scale co-constructed world project, mostly a public platform created to imitate the'Stereoscopic Cross-World Cluster: Little Garden' that collapsed previously. Even the name is copied from that famous Reincarnation Space. Its purpose is the activation of information."
"Activation of information?" There were too many points of concern, leaving Jean Stardust somewhat confused.
"Just like how works of mine exist in your world, worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges communicate with each other through information. But this creates a problem. For example, the Zanpakutō Ryūjin Jakka—everyone knows it's the strongest fire-type Zanpakutō, but how does it work? How does it manifest flames? And what exactly is a Bankai? No one knows. Or take One Piece, for example: Geppo is said to be stepping on air to fly. Does that mean you could fly just by stepping on your left foot with your right?"
"That's true." Jean Stardust had actually thought about this before. In a manga, how things are drawn is up to the author's whim, but in a real world, it's completely different.
"Although they usually appear in the form of various works, these worlds are real, so the theories behind them exist as well. While things like Zanpakutō or Rokushiki themselves might not be that attractive, their underlying principles have immense value. This world was born to analyze these principles, establishing a virtual world modeled after the Reincarnation Space to calculate the logic behind these abilities and items. You could say this world itself is a giant computer, and those Reincarnators are the test subjects."
"Ah, this… so they really are just tools."
"This place doesn't use people until they die like a Reincarnation Space, and besides, they can just be brought back if they die anyway," Shiraori said with a natural expression, speaking what seemed like outrageous words.
"So they don't cover work-related injuries, but they do cover resurrections."
"The place I'm taking you next is where this world's value is realized: the Central Database. By relying on the vast amount of data accumulated over long years, it recommends martial arts, magic, meditation techniques, job systems, and so on that are suitable for you. However, since it's a public platform, there is a fee."
"That's natural, but may I ask roughly how much it costs?" Jean Stardust had no idea whether the 150,000 points they had was a lot or a little.
"Although prices vary by project, the points you have are definitely enough. Originally, 'D' didn't expect you to earn this much and was prepared to lend you points, albeit at a '9 out, 13 back' interest rate."
"That's loan sharking."
"According to her, people always need a little motivation."
"So she was waiting for me here…" Jean Stardust had always found it strange that 'D' hadn't given them any specific requirements, but even a debt-based path was far better than being given a system right away and then being worked to the bone by it through constant punishments.
At this moment, the flying car finally meandered to its destination. It didn't land below the giant white tower, but instead flew directly inside and stopped in an indoor garage.
The interior decoration here was completely different from the previous Black Tower. Although the decor was minimalist everywhere, it had a unified artistic design. The colors were also very fresh and bright, with white as the main tone, paired with various light colors. Just walking through it made one feel pleasant.
Walking into a room again, the scene inside shocked Jean Stardust, because this room was actually exactly the same as the previous one!
A pure white room, a giant orb of light—if Jean Stardust's feeling was correct, even the size was identical.
'Why is the decor standardized? That orb of light isn't just a lamp, is it?'
"It is indeed a lamp." Seeing through Jean Stardust's internal complaint, Shiraori replied.
"?"
Shiraori smiled, waved her hand, and the entire orb of light suddenly dimmed, causing the whole room to darken as well.
Only then did Jean Stardust see clearly that there was actually a white hole beneath the orb of light, which had been impossible to see before because it was illuminated by the light.
"Most people walk into it while the orb is glowing," Shiraori explained. "The end result is that the person just vanishes into the light."
"Isn't this thing a pitfall trap? The person who designed it must not be quite right in the head."
"You're right." Shiraori nodded seriously.
Looking at her, Jean Stardust could roughly guess who had designed this device.
Next, they saw Shiraori pull out a panel from who knows where, asking for Jean Stardust's thoughts while making various settings.
Regarding the most important specific items, after some discussion, it was finally decided to have three: 1. Weapon utilization methods, 2. Energy property enhancement, 3. Additional optional traits.
Actually, there were many other options, such as unarmed combat techniques, various types of magic, and so on. But as the saying goes, one shouldn't bite off more than one can chew; mastering a few things first was more important.
After everything was completed, she guided Jean Stardust to jump into the hole in the ground.
After entering, Jean Stardust discovered that there was no gravity in this space. After moving for a while due to inertia, they came to a stop because of air resistance.
Once Jean Stardust had steadied themselves, suddenly, a large amount of colorful light, like scanning rays, swept across their body.
The whole process lasted about ten seconds or so. After the scanning rays ended, a mechanical system voice rang out:
"Commencing the first item. Please freely recall memories of holding a sword."
-------------------------------
Hope you enjoy this fanfiction if you do and would like to read the next 50 chapters in advance, pls do check out my Patreon:
patreon.com/MariaLight
Also don't forget to give me a Power Stone if you do like this fiction. Your support really motivates me to continue doing my best in translating, Thanks!!