The Soul Society — Laboratory Training Grounds.
After capturing the Bounts hiding in the Naruki District, Nanatsuki returned to the Soul Society.
The graduation assessments for Azashiro Sōya and Tōsen Kaname had also been completed.
[Disciple Azashiro Sōya has completed the graduation assessment with an "Excellent" rating. Reward settlement in progress]
[Received 30,000 points of General Ability EXP]
[Random Skill Proficiency Level +1]
[Disciple Tōsen Kaname has completed the graduation assessment with an "Excellent" rating. Reward settlement in progress]
[Received 30,000 points of General Ability EXP]
[Random Skill Proficiency Level +1]
The skill proficiency bonus was added to "Licht Regen", raising its level from Beginner to Mastery.
"Licht Regen" is a Quincy ability.
In recent days, Nanatsuki had obtained Quincy literature from Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Among them were Quincy training notes, from which Nanatsuki learned Licht Regen.
The function of Licht Regen is to rapidly fire a large number of Reishi arrows in a short time. Each arrow lacks the sheer power of a Heilig Pfeil, but compensates with sheer volume and area coverage.
With the rewards from his two disciples' graduation tasks, Nanatsuki could continue advancing his Quincy capabilities.
There was also 30,000 General EXP left unallocated from the last Live Blade Tournament. Now, he had 90,000 EXP available in total.
Nanatsuki allocated 75,000 of it to Reishi Control. The Quincy power deep within his soul surged rapidly.
[Reishi Control Lv.75 (0/10,000)]
It had risen from level 50 to level 75.
After the upgrade, Nanatsuki felt his perception of the world shift.
His ability to control ambient Reishi had vastly improved.
The remaining EXP could push Reishi Control up one more level, but he had another test to run, so he held onto it for now.
"To think... the Reishi around me feels like an extension of my soul..."
Threads of blue Reishi formed and flowed through his palm.
Controlling external Reishi required no effort at all.
"The strength of a Quincy is heavily tied to the density of Reishi in the environment... and their physical stamina..."
In a heavy-Reishi environment like the Soul Society, while it wasn't quite infinite mana, by alternating between Quincy and Shinigami abilities, he could essentially eliminate the risk of running dry.
"According to the system's metrics, Level 76 Reishi Control should be comparable to a seated Shinigami's core stats."
Blue threads spiraled around his right hand and solidified into a Reishi arrow.
The Heilig Pfeil was the Quincy's signature technique—perfect for testing the strength of Reishi Control.
A silver ring on his left middle finger lit up with blue light, which then expanded into a spirit bow.
Technically, Heilig Pfeil didn't require a bow to fire, but a high-quality spiritual weapon could greatly boost its power and speed.
The bow Yoruichi had given Nanatsuki was from the Shihōin family's treasury—not a common tool.
As he nocked the Heilig Pfeil onto the bowstring, a tempest burst from the bow and entwined itself around the arrow.
The violent air tore through space before him, forming a brief vacuum.
He let the string go.
The Heilig Pfeil vanished instantly from the bow.
A streak of blue light tore across the training field.
The arrow arrived before sound could follow, striking the Sekkiseki target without a whisper.
Its velocity had surpassed the speed of sound.
In the next moment, the Sekkiseki target exploded.
Sekkiseki might block Reishi and Reiatsu, but it couldn't negate the sheer kinetic force generated by such speed.
"With the bow's boost, this might be even stronger than Hadō from an upper-seated officer."
The Heilig Pfeil he just fired had used only external Reishi—no Reiatsu of his own.
"Condensing a Heilig Pfeil with my own Reiatsu is easy enough. But firing Hadō using only external Reishi? That's another story."
Nanatsuki wanted to test whether he could cast Kidō purely through external Reishi control.
It wouldn't be easy—Kidō techniques were tailored to the Shinigami's spiritual body, relying on their internal Reiatsu.
To bypass the spiritual body and use external Reishi, he would have to alter the core logic of the spells.
But Nanatsuki had already mastered enough Kidō theory to attempt such modifications.
Still, there were many Kidō spells—it would be a monumental task.
"Kidō modification has high priority. If I can use Reishi Control to cast Kidō... I won't attract unwanted attention, and I'll reduce my own Reiatsu consumption in battle."
Nanatsuki decided to prioritize this research.
For now, he didn't want anyone to know he possessed Quincy powers.
If he masked them with Kidō, he could still enhance his combat power without revealing the truth.
A few days later – Technology Development Bureau
Nanatsuki arrived early at the lab.
Mayuri had said the restoration of Heilig Rüstung was complete.
In order to secure the research rights to the Soul Hunter with water-affinity abilities, Mayuri had worked tirelessly on repairing Heilig Rüstung.
As Nanatsuki entered the lab, he saw Mayuri injecting himself with a vial of blue liquid.
It was one of his new stimulants, designed to refresh the body and restore energy. Still in clinical testing, not yet approved for public use.
"You didn't have to push yourself so hard..."
Nanatsuki felt that if someone saw this, rumors would spread that Captain Katori was exploiting his subordinates.
"I developed Compound #007 so I wouldn't have to waste time resting."
Mayuri's face, coated in pale gray makeup, gave no hint of exhaustion.
"Still, you need rest. I can't afford to lose a talent like you."
Nanatsuki couldn't help but worry that someday he might hear that Mayuri had died of overwork in the lab.
"Thank you for your concern, Captain." Mayuri grinned. "But all my spiritual metrics are within normal range."
Mayuri was even colder in judgment than Urahara Kisuke.
As long as the spiritual metrics were within acceptable parameters, he believed there was no problem.
That mindset subtly pressured the rest of the tech bureau.
Aside from Akon, no assistant ever lasted long in Mayuri's lab.
Urahara was far more personable with his colleagues.
"Please don't let people start rumors about me being a slave-driver..."
Nanatsuki sighed. He'd tried persuading Mayuri a few times, to no avail.
The Nemuri Project might be the only thing that could restore the humanity Mayuri had lost.
Perhaps only lifeforms he personally created could reawaken that buried sense of self.
"Heilig Rüstung was harder to fix than expected. It's not a standard-issue Quincy tool—there's little documentation available. But..." Mayuri grinned oddly. "Naturally, that didn't stop me."
He walked over to a cluttered table, shifted aside stacks of papers, and pulled out a silver chain from beneath them.
"After restoration, its Reishi control function is even stronger. I ran tests yesterday on a Reishi-deficient soul from Rukongai—the results were shocking!" Mayuri marveled. "That soul had no talent whatsoever, yet the tool let him perform at a level comparable to a 20th-class Shinigami!"
"Quincy Reishi tech is no joke," Nanatsuki said, wrapping the silver chain around his right arm.
In an instant, the ambient Reishi became noticeably more active—just like the feeling when Reishi Control had leveled up.
His status interface changed:
[Basic Abilities (Quincy): Reishi Control Lv.75 (+5), Blut Vene Lv.50, Blut Arterie Lv.10, Hiryūkyaku Lv.10]
Reishi Control had jumped five levels—to Lv.80!
Lv.80 marked another qualitative leap.
At this point, Nanatsuki could exhibit power rivaling that of a Shinigami lieutenant, just using Reishi Control.
He then assigned his leftover EXP from before into the skill:
[Reishi Control Lv.76 (5,000/10,000)]
His status panel updated again:
[Basic Abilities (Quincy): Reishi Control Lv.76 (+5), Blut Vene Lv.50, Blut Arterie Lv.10, Hiryūkyaku Lv.10]
Equipment like Heilig Rüstung didn't affect the EXP needed to level up—it simply provided additional stat bonuses.
Nanatsuki had previously noticed that when Mayuri wore Heilig Rüstung, the effect was far weaker than when he wore it himself.
He guessed this was because Heilig Rüstung's bonus scaled with the wearer's Reishi Control level.
If Mayuri had a base stat screen, his Reishi Control would probably read 0—making Heilig Rüstung's bonus a mere +5.
For Nanatsuki, it was +5 added to Lv.76.
As with Reiatsu stats, each level of Reishi Control had increasing weight. The gap in performance was enormous.
"There must be a cap on the bonus eventually... but I haven't hit it yet."
Heilig Rüstung might be rare, but it wasn't limitless. At some point, its benefits would plateau.
"It's been restored perfectly. Looks brand new."
Nanatsuki nodded in satisfaction—there wasn't a single flaw visible.
"That's because it is brand new," Mayuri said matter-of-factly. "I melted the old one down and remade it."
He continued, "I consulted a ton of data and grasped the principles. The internal Reishi circuits amplify the material's affinity with Reishi.
The previous one had damaged circuits, so its performance had dropped significantly.
I rebuilt the inner circuits, restoring its full capabilities."
"You really did make a new one..." Nanatsuki raised an eyebrow.
That Mayuri had mastered such a foreign craft so quickly was impressive.
"Can this process be mass-produced?" Nanatsuki asked, curious.
Heilig Rüstung gave a major boost to Quincy—if the Wandenreich equipped all their soldiers with it, it would be disastrous for the Shinigami.
"Impossible," Mayuri shook his head. "Aside from the complexity of the Reishi tech, the materials are far too rare. The Quincy can't mass-produce this kind of tool."
"So only a few elite Quincy will get access to Heilig Rüstung," Nanatsuki nodded.
The enhancement it gave to mid-level Quincy was significant, but if it couldn't be widely distributed, the lower tiers of the Shinigami forces wouldn't feel much impact.
"Heilig Rüstung is fully restored now. That Bount in the public lab? Leave it to me!" Mayuri's eyes gleamed with excitement. "I've been waiting for this!"
"I ran into Akon on the way here. He'll be delivering it soon." Nanatsuki naturally didn't go back on his word.
After leaving Mayuri's lab, Nanatsuki headed over to Urahara Kisuke's.
It was on the same floor.
Originally, Mayuri's lab had been one floor beneath Urahara's.
But Mayuri had felt that symbolized being "stepped on," so he moved it up.
If the floor above Urahara's hadn't been fully occupied by public labs, Mayuri would've moved there too.
There was always this strange rivalry between him and Urahara.
When Nanatsuki arrived, Urahara was still asleep.
"Ah... Captain, you're here." Urahara sat up from a bench. "You could've told me in advance… The place is a bit of a mess."
"Just dropping by," Nanatsuki said, glancing at the chaotic desk and deciding not to pick anything up. "Any progress on the Bount research?"
Lately, he'd been too busy studying the Quincy training notes from Mayuri to keep up with that.
"We've tested its abilities thoroughly..." Urahara began shuffling through documents, scratching his head. "Where did I put those files... I swear they were right here..."
After digging around for a while, he finally found the Soul Hunter ability test report on another desk.
"We've run detailed analysis on its 'Puppet' ability. Honestly, the resemblance to a Shinigami's Zanpakutō is uncanny." Urahara sounded impressed. "Aside from soul absorption, the 'Puppet' is practically a Zanpakutō—a power born from the soul itself, granting the user unique abilities."
"But their puppets have more autonomy," Urahara continued, handing over the notes. "Our tests showed they can act independently. You were too strong—its leader barely got a chance to show his power before being defeated."
"I have a theory..." Urahara stroked his chin. "By analyzing their powers, we might be able to forcibly manifest a Zanpakutō."
"It's well-known that Shinigami unlock Bankai by manifesting their Zanpakutō and earning its approval, learning its true name."
He added, "But manifesting the blade usually takes a long time—months or even years of meditation and inner training.
If we could force the manifestation externally... it would drastically shorten the path."
"Bankai Training Doll..." Nanatsuki remembered a reward he'd once received.