The soldiers and superpowered individuals pursuing Su Xiao retreated. Su Xiao walked towards the edge of Academy City, leaving two trails of bloody footprints.
Using his fingers, Su Xiao extracted a bullet from his shoulder. With his body's defense, the bullet hadn't penetrated deeply.
Su Xiao had just fought a fierce battle with Accelerator and now faced an onslaught from Academy City's forces. Although his Reflective Shield could easily block bullets, a large enough quantity would still pose a threat, especially considering the advanced weaponry developed in Academy City.
Tossing aside the bloodstained and slightly deformed bullet, Su Xiao walked straight to the checkpoint at the city's edge.
To Aleister, Su Xiao was a plague that needed to be removed immediately, ensuring he no longer lingered in Academy City.
This left Su Xiain in a bit of trouble. Who knew if he might return to the Index world in the future? Though unlikely, it wasn't impossible.
If he returned and had a main storyline task, he and Aleister might end up in a life-or-death struggle. Burning down District 2 created nearly irreconcilable enmity.
With his current strength, Su Xiao wasn't ready to challenge Aleister, and he knew it. Therefore, he wouldn't provoke Aleister but wouldn't surrender if attacked.
With his mana down to 153 points and health at 19%, with no recovery items left, it was best to leave the Index world quickly.
Fighting his way out of Academy City yielded unexpected gains, such as killing many Hound Squad members, which allowed his Soul Devourer to reach its limit. He also killed a few dark division Level 3 superpowered individuals, gaining a small amount of world resources.
Su Xiao and the limping Bubuwang passed through the checkpoints on the city's outskirts. Bubuwang had been shot in the rear, making it very angry.
They moved unimpeded. Until Aleister confirmed there were no incendiary bombs in District 7, he wouldn't turn against Su Xiao again. If confirmed, a massive pursuit force would hunt Su Xiao down.
Leaving the city's range, Su Xiao reached a seaside town near Academy City, where he immediately completed his advancement task.
[Prompt: The hunter has completed the Tier 3 advancement task. Returning to Reincarnation Paradise.]
Su Xiao felt drowsy due to massive blood loss while feeling the teleportation. Su Xiao was transported out of the Index world as the light flickered.
[Teleportation complete. The hunter has returned to his exclusive room.]
[The exclusive room is an absolute safe zone. No one can enter without the hunter's permission.]
[The hunter has returned to Reincarnation Paradise. Settling derivative world rewards.]
Derivative World: A Certain Magical Index
Difficulty: Lv.15～??? (Tier 3 semi-open world)
World Source Obtained: 31.54
Tasks Completed: 2 (Advancement Task ×1, Hunting Task ×1)
Comprehensive Rating: B+ (Note: Ratings range from E- to S+. The comprehensive rating is calculated based on the total world source obtained and the number of tasks completed.)
Starting a collection of world sources…
World source collection complete. Calculating rewards.
Rewards: 11 attribute points, 16000 Paradise Coins.
Settlement complete. Rewards have been automatically stored in the hunter's brand.
...
Seeing the B+ rating didn't surprise Su Xiao. Another prompt appeared just as he was about to check his acquired items.
[Prompt: The hunter has completed the Tier 3 advancement task.]
[The hunter has successfully advanced to Tier 3.]
[The hunter's difficulty of future derivative worlds will be Tier 3.]
[The Arena has been upgraded. The hunter will now compete with Tier 3 contractors.]
[No Arena King title detected. Arena ranking reset.]
...
Su Xiao checked his profile and indeed found changes in his tier status.
Level: LV.20 (Tier 3). Each 10 levels represents a tier. Level increases do not grant attribute bonuses but correspond to the hunter's permissions, world difficulty, and task difficulty in Reincarnation Paradise.
After successfully advancing to Tier 3, the overall advancement process was relatively smooth.
Su Xiao's advancement speed was much faster than most contractors, mainly due to his consistently high comprehensive ratings, accelerating his progression.
Of course, high comprehensive ratings also meant greater rewards, outweighing the drawbacks.
Su Xiao immediately thought of healing his injuries and then sleeping. A small red dot appeared in his vision as he prepared to activate the recovery function. Upon closer inspection, it was a tiny red envelope.
[Your name has been written on the game list of the Devil's Castle.]
[Come, complete this game of life and death, and you will become an undisputed strongman.]
[Despair, anger, suspicion... No one can be trusted in the Devil's Castle game except Alice.]
[However, Alice is the most likely to kill you. She is the queen of the Devil's Castle, and her power is almost divine there.]
[Do not attempt to appease Alice. Only a fair game will make her smile. Remember, you must make Alice smile. If she is angry or sad, hehehehe...]
[Prompt: The hunter is scheduled to participate in the Devil's Castle game in 56 hours and 28 minutes.]
[Prompt: Completing the game will earn the hunter the Proof of the Strong.]
[Prompt: The hunter's progress in breaking through the 80 attribute barrier is as follows.]
Reach Tier 3 (completed)
Complete a world conflict (completed)
Break through personal limits (completed)
Obtain the Proof of the Strong (not completed)
...
Seeing this series of prompts, Su Xiao understood. Before entering the Index world, he had used the [Alice's Invitation]. Completing the Devil's Castle game would grant him the Proof of the Strong.
The Proof of the Strong was crucial, distinguishing the strong from the weak. With it, one could soar to great heights; without it, one would be stuck using the 'O-type Energy Body Protein Injector,' which required 9 attribute points to enhance one point, severely slowing growth.
With sufficient time, Su Xiao spent 1700 Paradise Coins to heal his injuries, then collapsed onto his bed, falling into a deep sleep without even removing his clothes.
Before dealing with anything else, he needed his mind to recover.
After an unknown amount of sleep, Su Xiao woke up groggily, used the restroom, and returned to bed, continuing his rest.
When Su Xiao finally woke up, his mind was much more precise, and the grogginess from blood loss was gone. A cold shower made him feel even more refreshed.
The rewards from the derivative world were few. Su Xiao hesitated for a moment before taking out a golden treasure chest.
Waiting for the cooldown of Fate Redemption to end was unwise. Before the Devil's Castle game, Su Xiao needed to maximize his strength. The game tested his qualifications as a strongman and was bound to be challenging. Better to open the chest now than to bring it to his grave.
Without the luck of an "Emperor," Su Xiao felt nervous opening a golden chest for the first time. Bubuwang, seeing this, closed its eyes in despair.