The next day.
In front of the Senkaimon leading back to the Living World.
Ukitake called Ichigo aside separately and handed him a wooden tag.
This wasn't the so-called Substitute Shinigami Badge.
It was… the 13th Division's Lieutenant armband!
"Ha!?" Looking at the Lieutenant armband in his hand, Ichigo was stunned. "Captain Ukitake, is this really for me?"
"Correct!" Ukitake said with a smile:
"After the Soul Society's all-night research (brawl), it has been decided to specially recruit Kurosaki Ichigo for the position of 13th Division's Lieutenant."
"Considering your human identity, this position is granted first. The specific start date can be set ten, or even twenty years later. But that's all irrelevant… we are willing to wait."
"Before that, Ichigo, just carry out the inherent duties of the 13th Division, exterminating Hollows in Karakura Town!"
"Of course, all the benefits and privileges that come with being a Lieutenant will be fully provided!"
"So, Ichigo, do you accept?"
"Of course!" Ichigo nodded.
Something that's just a title, with actual duties to be fulfilled much later, why wouldn't he accept?
Moreover, the 13th Division is specifically assigned to Living World's spiritual affairs. Ichigo being the Lieutenant means he can mobilize all Shinigami in the Living World.
Even if it might not be of much use, having authority you don't use is completely different from having no authority at all, right?
Looking curiously at the 13th Division's Lieutenant's armband in his hand, Ichigo also felt a sense of novelty.
The highest rank Players could choose as an initial identity was Lieutenant. He hadn't expected that as a level-one rookie, he would reach the pinnacle of all initial identities so quickly!
'Indeed, Kurosaki Ichigo's body had limitless potential.'
"Then welcome aboard, Ichigo!"
"Though the division's welcome party will probably have to wait until your next visit."
Ukitake extended his hand to Ichigo.
"Of course, Captain Ukitake!" Ichigo shook his hand. The two smiled at each other.
Carrying the brand new 13th Division's Lieutenant's armband, Ichigo and the group returned to the living world.
Similar to the original work, Kisuke came to pick them up and apologized for Rukia's matter.
Ichigo didn't punch Kisuke like the original Ichigo did. After all, regarding the precious thing, he had already 'stolen' a taste of the first time.
After just getting a batch of Kido books from Kisuke, Ichigo and the others returned to their respective homes.
Briefly discussing Soul Society matters with Isshin, Ichigo went back to his room, ready to sleep.
But then, a new development arrived.
A game announcement echoed in everyone's minds!
[Ding! As players have currently reached a certain level of strength, to facilitate player growth, the game will undergo a major version update.]
[Simultaneously, the first game event enters countdown. Players who meet the strength requirement (Ordinary Shinigami-level) please return to the Soul Society, etc.]
[Because hiding players' initial identities has instead created a 'dark forest' effect, contradicting the game's original intent, the rules are now changed.]
[Ding! The player ranking list is fully updated. Player identities are no longer hidden. Simultaneously, killing between players is prohibited! Please play harmoniously!]
'Huh?'
The game's sudden announcement was like a depth charge, blasting away Ichigo's sleepiness.
'Game event, what does that mean? And... prohibiting player killings?' Ichigo was a bit confused.
To be honest, the previous game was more like a panel than a game.
It allowed Players to grow, gave Players missions, but didn't have typical game tasks.
Including the development of the Bleach's storyline, the game let it proceed naturally without any interference.
But this major version update told players that the game was about to fully exert its power and interfere with the process!
'So, the game's power has increased...' Ichigo pondered.
'Speaking of which, major version update, and the first game event.'
'Event... could it be that one?'
Ichigo recalled a filler arc from the original Bleach Anime!
One about a race that hunted living human souls!
'Bount, huh...'
Unusual light gleamed in Ichigo's eyes.
At the same time, when the game said a major update was imminent, it meant just that.
Suddenly, all players' interfaces changed again!
[Player Points Ranking List]
[1st: Ling Fan (13th Division's Lieutenant Kurosaki Ichigo), 380,000, Captain-level]
[2nd: Luo Mei (11th Division's 5th Seat), 80,000, Lieutenant-level]
[3rd: Wang Zongchao (Hueco Mundo's miscellaneous Hollow), 70,000, High-level Seat Officer]
[4th: Chu An (Hueco Mundo's Expeditionary Force), 67,000, High-level Seat Officer]
[5th: Xin Na (Shin'o Academy's 6th-year student), 65,000, Mid-level Seat Officer]
[6th: Jing Bing (Shin'o Academy's 6th-year student), 63,000, Mid-level Seat Officer]
[7th: Rau Dolu (13th Division's Shinigami stationed in the Living World)...]
[8th: Cau Ley (13th Division's Shinigami stationed in the Living World)...]
[9th: Fei Kuan (Onmitsukido investigator)...]
[10th: Kuang Zhan (11th Division;s member)...]
The player interface changed.
The player points ranking list, which from the start could only show names, now suddenly revealed everyone's identity!
From now on, Ichigo could see the identities of all 5,000 remaining players out of the initial 6,000.
Only then did Ichigo realize there were some formidable people among the players.
Especially those two Shin'o Academy girls, who relied purely on study to improve their strength, yet reached mid-level Seat Officer standards in less than three months. That was actually quite impressive.
However, scrolling through the player list, Ichigo continued looking down.
Player ratings ranged from him, the towering Captain-level, to Lieutenant-level Sister Mei, then down to High-level Seat Officer, Mid-level Seat Officer, Low-level Seat Officer, Elite Division Member, Ordinary Division Member...
Using Ordinary Squad Member as the baseline, Ichigo scrolled down.
He discovered that among the nearly 5,000 remaining, only about 1,000 had reached Ordinary Division Member strength, with many relying on their initial identity to meet the standard!
Why was Ichigo so concerned about Ordinary Division Member?
Because, simultaneously with the game update, Ichigo was informed that only players with strength equivalent to an Ordinary Division Member could participate in the upcoming event.
So after calculating the number of players who could participate, Ichigo was puzzled again.
Based on his memory, the scale of the upcoming Bount Arc shouldn't be enough to support so many players, especially ordinary players.
So he wondered if the game intervened and modified the storyline.
'Wait, modification?'
Once this idea popped into Ichigo's head, it began to linger.
'If modification was possible, why wasn't it done from the beginning, instead of letting people choose identities and then fend for themselves?'
Yes, fend for themselves.
Ichigo wasn't wrong.
Even with initial identities, only a few had powerful ones. Most initial identities were somewhat useful but not completely reliable.
The missing one-sixth of players, and the remaining four thousand who hadn't reached division member strength, were like that.
If so, it meant the game couldn't modify the Bleach World in the early stages.
Then why could the game now operate and modify the Bleach World?
It had grown!
This wasn't strange. This type of game was similar to the Main God Space model, perhaps the principles overlapped.
The earlier game was very lacking, but after the players' efforts, the game had gradually grown stronger.
This was also likely why it now forcefully prohibited player killings.
And since it had grown, naturally it needed to continue giving back to players, aiding their growth.
That was the purpose of the upcoming event!
"Hmm, that's probably it!" Thinking this, Ichigo murmured and nodded.
After sorting out the game's purpose, he also began considering what kind of event this would be and what he could gain from it.
Then, Ichigo actually grasped a blind spot.
Although Bleach was an Anime he watched a long time ago, and he only remembered major plot points, his memory of the Bount Arc was vague, but...