In the training grounds, countless arrows rained down from all directions.
At the center stood a bare-chested figure. As iron arrows struck his body, they burst out with the sound of metal colliding, bouncing away before falling uselessly to the ground.
The floor was littered with crooked arrows, yet the figure in the center remained unmoving.
His muscles were sculpted like a masterpiece carved by an ancient Greek artist—perfect lines, flawless proportions. A gray-black metallic sheen covered his skin, making him look like a statue forged from steel.
When the final volley of arrows stopped, the "statue" moved.
As he shifted, the gray-black luster rapidly receded, revealing his natural skin tone beneath.
"Haa—"
Kurosaki Rei let out a long breath, expelling a mouthful of turbid air.
Today's Armament Haki training was complete.
Today marked the twenty-fifth day since he had arrived in the Terminal Space.
During this time, aside from relentless training in the arena, he spent his rest periods binge-watching anime.
He had gone through nearly all the works related to low-tier derivative worlds that Explorers might be assigned to, and couldn't help but marvel at how prosperous entertainment culture had been in the old era.
Meanwhile, his attributes and skills had steadily improved.
Armament Haki had been trained up to Level 4 purely through his own efforts.His physical attributes had all increased by +1.His Spirit attribute had increased by +2.
One thing that surprised Kurosaki Rei was that the Spiritual Pressure training method he learned in the Shinigami world still worked outside of it. He discovered that the Terminal Space itself also contained spiritual particles.
In Kurosaki Rei's view, "spiritual particles" were merely a naming convention. This kind of ambient energy existed in many worlds—
in cultivation worlds it was called spiritual qi,
in the Naruto world it might be called natural energy.
If generalized, he believed that such energies most directly strengthened the Spirit attribute, thereby increasing the upper limit of Soul Source. In other words, Spirit was fundamentally tied to the strength of one's soul.
[Detection: Origin Seed has appeared. According to Terminal Regulations, a Pioneer will be prioritized for deployment to the target world for assimilation. Pioneer, please prepare!]
Kurosaki Rei had just finished showering when the prompt rang out. He froze for a moment—then broke into a grin of pure delight.
He'd been idle in the Terminal Space for over half a month already.
Prison Demon was starving.
He hadn't expected work to come knocking this soon—and it sounded like a special case at that.
Interesting. Very interesting.
His Luck stat really was ridiculously high, wasn't it?
[With Pioneer 008's authority, you may learn the target world 24 hours in advance.]
[Target World (Derivative): Kengan Ashura]
The follow-up notification only heightened Kurosaki Rei's excitement.
He had always loved fighting manga. Among them, Baki and Kengan Ashura were his favorites. He never imagined he'd one day enter that world himself and personally clash with those monsters.
But once the excitement faded, doubt crept in.
Based on his understanding of Kengan Ashura, while it featured many absurdly strong muscle freaks, in terms of raw "stats," Kurosaki Rei felt he currently surpassed them.
From what he knew of the Terminal Space, it wouldn't send him to a world he could simply steamroll.
So the problem had to lie with the Origin Seed.
"Terminal, what exactly is an Origin Seed?"
[Checking permissions… Pioneer authority confirmed. Retrieving accessible information.]
[There exist nine unique Spiritual Seeds across the myriad worlds. The Origin Seed is one of them.]
[A Seed will randomly descend upon a world, and during its stay, it will exert certain influences on that world.]
[Upon assimilating a Seed, the assimilator will obtain a unique ability.]
The Terminal Space's explanation was brief—no further details followed. Clearly, Kurosaki Rei's authority still wasn't high enough.
Even so, those few lines were enough for his straightforward mind to grasp the importance of the Origin Seed.
A unique thing.
Something extremely powerful.
"Terminal, what ability does the Origin Seed grant?"
[Insufficient authority. Details will be available after assimilation of the Origin Seed.]
Kurosaki Rei felt an itch of anticipation he couldn't scratch. He was already desperate to enter the Kengan world and hunt down that so-called Origin Seed.
"Terminal, upgrade my Armament Haki by one level."
Since he was heading into a new world anyway, there was no point hoarding resources. He spent the Small Inheritance Crystal and Terminal Coins without hesitation.
As a side note, although he had trained Armament Haki to Level 4 himself, upgrading from Level 4 → 5 still only required one Small Inheritance Crystal—the only difference was that the cost in Terminal Coins increased from 400 to 500.
At this point, Kurosaki Rei had very little money left.
Mainly because a few days ago, curiosity got the better of him and he tried one of the Terminal Space's paid training facilities—burning 500 Terminal Coins in the process.
[Time assessment sufficient. Beginning reinforcement for Pioneer…]
Several hours later, the enhancement process ended.
Kurosaki Rei checked his equipment once more, then sat cross-legged on the bed and closed his eyes, regulating his breath.
In the Terminal Space, every mission world was a brand-new adventure—and a brand-new crisis.
Only by entering each world at peak condition could he handle unexpected dangers.
[Teleportation commencing…]
Accompanied by the familiar prompt, Kurosaki Rei felt himself plunge once more into that hazy white tunnel. Everything blurred, save for the Terminal Space's voice echoing in his ears.
[World positioning…]
[Position confirmed. Target derivative world: Kengan Ashura]
[Number of Explorers deployed to this mutated world: 19]
[This mutated world has granted Pioneer free acquisition of the local common language.]
[A reasonable initial identity has been arranged.]
[This mutated world has opened World Public Channel access.]
[Deployment commencing…]
[Deployment successful. Please review world details and your mission.]
A violent sense of weightlessness hit him—and then Kurosaki Rei landed.
He tried to get up to inspect his surroundings, only to realize his body was tightly wrapped in a straitjacket, with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Pitch black darkness surrounded him. He couldn't see his own fingers.
This environment.
This state.
He knew it far too well.
Damn it, Terminal—this is the identity you gave me!?
This is what you call premium treatment!?
Kurosaki Rei's urge to curse almost overflowed, but he forced himself to calm down.
Fine. Prison was prison.
At least a little black room was relatively safe—for now.
[Mission World: Kengan Ashura (Mutating)]
[World Type: Special Derivative]
[World Difficulty: Lv.3 ~ Lv.7+]
[WARNING: Due to the influence of a 'Seed,' this world is undergoing continuous mutation. World difficulty will keep increasing over time!]
World Introduction:
Money and profit. Power and desire.
Bloodthirsty violence. Lethal competition.
The fighting world is in turmoil.
The Kengan Association seethes with undercurrents.
Countless powerhouses rise, seeking to bloom upon that stage of death.
A mysterious Seed has descended upon this world.
The limiters binding fighters are gradually being unlocked.
Kengan Matches:
"Kengan Matches" are underground bare-knuckle death fights arranged by corporations and merchants wagering enormous利益. Fighters are hired to battle on their behalf.
Originally devised in the mid-Edo period as a way to resolve commercial disputes, the system has been passed down into the modern era.
[Current World Exploration: 0%]
[Current Location: Shōkubi Prison (High-Security Facility for Death Row Inmates)]
[Current Identity: Shōkubi Prison Death Row Inmate]
When Kurosaki Rei saw the words "Death Row Inmate," his mood instantly soured.
Scrolling further, he found that his identity in this world shared his real name—Kurosaki Rei.
According to the Terminal Space's setup:
He was an illegal immigrant who had smuggled himself into Japan from a small country.
After landing, he clashed with the smuggling syndicate—and killed twenty-eight people bare-handed.
After trial, he had already survived four executions by hanging.
Unable to kill him, the authorities transferred him to Shōkubi Prison instead.
Kurosaki Rei fell silent.
"…So that's how it is."
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