Main Quest (Phase 1): Advancement Path
Mission Details: The Endspace has camouflaged you. To the residents of this world, you appear to be a lifeform composed of high-density spirit particles; you are currently a vagrant in North Rukongai District 80. Find a way to join the Seireitei and open an advancement path.
Time Limit: 3 days
Difficulty: Easy ~ Hard
Success Reward: 500 Endspace Coins
Failure Penalty: Erasure
Joining the Seireitei… At first glance, this mission didn't seem dangerous, nor particularly difficult, but the range of difficulty noted on the menu made Gusion take notice.
In the Soul Society, vagrants from Rukongai were of the lowest status, but for those with talent, joining Seireitei wasn't that hard.
After all, the Gotei 13 always needed fresh recruits. Many excellent Shinigami in the original work came from Rukongai and joined the Gotei 13 after studying at Shin'ō Academy.
Gusion didn't know how his talent compared in this world, but it should be above most vagrants. Entering through the normal route shouldn't be too hard.
The problem was, that he might not be able to make it safely to the enrollment office. The higher the district number in Rukongai, the more chaotic it was. Being on the outskirts of Soul Society, anything could happen on the way to Seireitei.
Currently, Endspace had only told him his location, not what point in the timeline he was in. Gusion pondered a bit and decided there wasn't much use in overthinking it with so little info. He should first check his status.
Once inserted into the world by Endspace, some info had been implanted in his mind, letting him know how to use the basic functions.
Gusion summoned the menu in his mind to assess himself:
[]
[Explorer #404040404]
[Level: Lv.1]
[Note: For all attributes except Luck, 5 points is the average for a normal adult.]
[Reminder: Explorer's body is not fully digitized; the following stats are for self-assessment only.]
Vital Source: 100%
Soul Source: 100%
Constitution: 15
Strength: 15
Agility: 15
Spirit: 20
Charisma: 6
Luck: 1
[]
Since it was his first time checking, each stat had a note.
Gusion was familiar with games. Simply put, Vital Source was his "HP," Soul Source his "MP," and both related to his soul, though these numbers couldn't be made fully digital since he was a real-life being.
Constitution determined his max HP, stamina, defense, resistance, and recovery speed.
Strength determined carrying capacity, attack, and, together with Agility, affected speed; Agility also influenced reflexes.
Spirit seemed to affect skill mastery, some skill damage, perception, and resistance to control effects.
Charisma affected social interactions, summoning abilities, and some resistance to control effects.
Luck was marked as relevant to item drops, crafting, and other randomness, but was hard to raise.
Gusion stared at his 1 point of Luck, wondering if that was low or high.
"Ah—!"
While deep in thought, a scream rang out in the distance, putting Gusion on guard as he looked toward the corner of the street.
He saw a figure in a Shinigami uniform flying through the air, trailing blood, and crashing into a decrepit wooden house.
The vagrants on the street were startled, their skinny bodies suddenly bursting with energy as they scrambled to run away.
From their practiced escape, Gusion could tell how chaotic this place was… Only the skilled survived. The unskilled had probably already reincarnated.
Gusion frowned. The one who'd been sent flying was most likely a Shinigami—this wasn't a gang fight between vagrants.
Was it a Hollow? Or Soul Society rebels? Maybe he'd soon figure out the current timeline.
A few vagrants ran past Gusion, thinking he was frozen in fear, but none bothered to warn him.
Suddenly, two more blood-soaked figures ran out from around the corner. The lead Shinigami was calling on a communicator:
"Under attack by rebel forces in North Rukongai District 80! Requesting support! I repeat, requesting support!"
The Shinigami had lost an arm, clutching his Asauchi tightly with the other, fear of death in his eyes.
He and the other squad member were fleeing for their lives, clearly no match for the rebels. Seeing Gusion, the Shinigami didn't change course, running straight toward him.
Gusion quickly analyzed the situation and understood why the mission's difficulty range was so wide.
If he'd just left instead of checking his stats, he'd likely have missed this event. With luck, he could've just made it to safety and completed the mission.
Even now, if he chose to run, he might avoid the immediate danger.
But that wasn't what he wanted.
Blood sprayed across Gusion's face. The spinning, airborne head of the Shinigami still showed terror in its eyes. The communicator Shinigami hadn't made it past Gusion—before he could reach out, a rebel behind him had lopped off his head.
The other Shinigami was run through the chest by another rebel, dying with eyes wide open.
Ding—!
The headless Shinigami's Asauchi dropped to the ground at Gusion's feet, still stained with the blood of both enemies and owner, pooling into the cracked earth.
Gusion, dressed in ragged hemp clothes, stood and watched as ten rebels inspected the Shinigamis' corpses.
So-called rebels were just former Rukongai vagrants dissatisfied with Seireitei's rule. Aside from a few organized groups, most were just mobs.
The squad members who'd died were just ordinary Gotei 13 soldiers, unable to even release Shikai.
From the previous sounds of battle, Gusion could roughly gauge the rebels' strength.
"What are you smiling at?" a wild-haired rebel barked at Gusion.
"Just a vagrant, huh? Take care of him—the pursuit squad will be here soon," the scar-faced leader said, blood dripping from his sword.
Gusion touched his face. "So I was smiling, huh?"
As he spoke, his body trembled, making the approaching rebel think this vagrant was paralyzed with terror.
The rebel raised his sword and slashed at Gusion. None of the others paid attention, busy checking the Shinigami corpses for anything that could give away their trail.
The sound of a blade slicing through flesh rang out—but the one who fell wasn't the vagrant, but the rebel himself.
Gusion now held the Asauchi that had just been stuck in the ground, shaking blood from the blade in a strange arc across the dirt.
He looked at the stunned rebels, still trembling, grinning to reveal a mouthful of white teeth. "This place is great. It's been a while since I felt this alive."
The rebel leader hesitated but quickly made a decision. "All together—kill him!"
A spear whistled through the air, bringing a chill to the sweltering heat. Gusion merely tilted his head, letting the spear graze his hair.
In the next instant, as the rebel's eyes widened in disbelief, Gusion's blade slashed upward.
Flesh, bone, soul—cut clean through!
In a flash, two more rebels were slain. As Gusion stepped forward, an invisible aura spread out, making the surrounding rebels unconsciously step back.
Under the gaze of the rebels, Gusion looked up at the sky and sun, taking a deep breath, savoring the feeling of being alive.