[Main Quest (First Stage): Ascension Passage]
Quest Description: The End Space has disguised the explorer, making them appear as a being made of high-concentration spirit particles to the inhabitants of this world. You are currently a drifter in the 80th District of North Rukongai. Find a way to join the Seireitei and open the Ascension Passage.
Time Limit: 3 natural days
Difficulty: Easy ~ Hard
Success Reward: 500 End Coins
Failure Penalty: Erasure
Joining the Seireitei... At first glance, this quest doesn't seem dangerous and doesn't appear too difficult, but the difficulty range marked on the menu caught Ren's attention.
In the Soul Society, the drifters of Rukongai are considered the lowest of the low, but it's not hard for those with talent to join the Seireitei.
After all, the Gotei 13 always needs new talent. Many excellent Shinigami in the original work came from Rukongai. After entering the Shin'ō Academy to study, they would go on to join official squads on graduation.
Although Ren didn't know his level of talent in this world, he believed it was stronger than most drifters. It shouldn't be hard to enter through normal means.
The problem was that he might not smoothly reach the 'admissions office.' The higher the district number in Rukongai, the more chaotic it is, being on the fringes of the Soul Society. Running all the way to the Seireitei without encountering unforeseen events was extremely rare.
At the moment, the EndSpace only informed him of his location but not the timeline he was in. Ren pondered for a while, realising that the information available was too little, and overthinking wouldn't help. It was better to first check his own state first.
After being thrown into the world by the End Space, some information entered his mind, allowing him to understand how to use the basic functions of the space.
'Menu'
Ren called up the menu in his mind and examined his situation.
[Explorer No. 404040404]
Level: lv.1
Reference: The average for a normal adult is 5 points in all attributes except Luck.
Note: The explorer's body is not fully digitized; the following data is for self-evaluation reference only.
Vital Source: 100%
Soul Source: 100%
Constitution: 15 points
Strength: 15 points
Agility: 15 points
Spirit: 20 points
Charm: 6 points
Luck: 1 point
Since it was his first time checking, there were annotations after each attribute.
Having played games, Ren understood that Vital Source represented his physical 'health bar,' and Soul Source represented 'mana bar,' in addition to being related to the soul. However, since he was a real being, these two attributes couldn't be fully digitized.
Constitution determined the upper limit of Vital Source, stamina, defensive resistance, and the speed of injury recovery.
Strength determined load capacity, attack power, and, together with Agility, affected sprint speed. Agility also influenced nerve reflex speed.
Spirit, according to the description, influenced control over skills, damage of some skills, perception, and resistance to abnormal statuses.
Charm affected the effectiveness of conversations with characters, the ability to summon creatures, and resistance to some abnormal statuses.
Luck was related to the randomness of item acquisition, crafting, and drops. It was challenging to improve.
Ren pondered over his 1 point of Luck, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Ah—"
While thinking, a scream came from afar, making Ren alert. He looked towards the corner of the street.
A figure in a Shinigami uniform flew through the air with blood spraying everywhere, crashing into a dilapidated wooden house.
The few ragged drifters on the street were also startled. Their frail bodies somehow found the strength to get up and run.
Seeing their reaction speed and escape posture, one could tell how chaotic this place usually was… It was heart-wrenching to see their skillfulness.
The unskilled ones had mostly 'reincarnated.'
Watching this scene, Ren frowned slightly because he just saw clearly that the person who was sent flying was likely a Shinigami. This wasn't a drifter skirmish.
Was it a Hollow? Or renegades in the Soul Society? He might soon figure out the timeline he was in.
At this moment, the drifters had already run past Ren, thinking he was frozen in fear, but no one stopped to alert him.
In a flash, two more blood-stained figures came running from around the corner. The leading Shinigami seemed to be shouting into some communication device.
"Attacked by renegades in the 80th District of North Rukongai, requesting support! Repeat, requesting support!"
The shouting Shinigami had already lost an arm, gripping his Asauchi with his remaining hand, his eyes filled with fear of death.
He and another squad member were fleeing for their lives, clearly no match for the renegades. Upon seeing Ren, he didn't change his path but ran directly toward him.
After analyzing the situation for a moment, Ren understood why the difficulty range of his main quest's first stage varied so much.
Clearly, if he hadn't stayed to examine his status and think, he might not have encountered this situation. With some luck, he might have made it to the safe zone to complete the task.
Even now, if he chose to escape, he might avoid the immediate danger.
But that wasn't what he wanted.
Suddenly, blood splashed across Ren's face as an airborne head spun, eyes still filled with terror. The Shinigami responsible for communication didn't make it past Ren; before he could reach him, his head was severed by a renegade behind him.
Another Shinigami was impaled through the chest by other renegades, dying with his eyes open.
Thud—
The headless Shinigami's Asauchi fell to the ground in front of Ren, stained with the blood of both enemies and its owner, trickling into the dry soil.
Clad in tattered burlap clothing, Ren stood watching the ten renegades inspect the bodies of the dead Shinigami.
Although called renegades, they were essentially former drifters of the Soul Society who were dissatisfied with the Seireitei's rule. Apart from a few organized groups, most were just a disorderly mob.
However, the Shinigami who had died in front of Ren were merely regular members of the Gotei 13, unable to even release their Shikai.
Based on the sounds of the recent fight, Ren could roughly gauge the strength of these renegades.
"What are you laughing at?"
A renegade with dishevelled hair barked at Ren.
"Are these just drifters? Dispose of them quickly. The pursuit team should be arriving soon."
The leader of the renegades glanced at Ren, the knife in his hand still dripping blood. The scar on his face made him look even more fierce.
Ren raised his hand to touch his face, "So, I was smiling, huh."
As he spoke, his body trembled, giving the renegade approaching him the false impression that he had lost his wits out of fear.
The renegade raised his knife and slashed at Ren. The other renegades paid no attention to this, continuing to search the dead Shinigami for any tracking devices.
The sound of the blade cutting through flesh echoed, but the one who fell was not the drifter, but the renegade tasked with handling him.
At this moment, Ren was holding the Asauchi he had picked up from the ground, swinging it to shed blood in a sinister arc on the ground.
His gaze swept over the shocked renegades, his body still trembling. He grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, "This place is pretty good, it's been a while since I felt this excited."
The leader of the renegades was shocked at the scene in front of him, but somehow pulled himself together and quickly made a decision, "All of you, attack! Kill him! Now!"
A spear thrust through the air, bringing a slight coolness to the hot atmosphere. Ren slightly tilted his head as the spear grazed by his hair.
In the next instant, under the perplexed gaze of the attacking renegade, the long sword slashed upward.
Flesh pierced, bones cut, souls severed!
In the blink of an eye, two renegades were slain. As Ren took a step forward, an invisible aura seemed to emanate, causing the surrounding renegades to involuntarily take a step back.
Amid the attention of many renegades, Ren looked up at the sky and the sun and took a deep breath to savour the taste of being alive.