Reincarnation Paradise

After ten hours, a slightly fatigued Su Xiao walked out of the trial field. During these ten hours, he had been "killed" many times by Mihawk. Mihawk's teaching method was straightforward and brutal—letting Su Xiao experience the strikes firsthand.

Though the process was harsh, Su Xiao benefited greatly. He realized that there was still a significant gap between his swordsmanship and Mihawk's. This gap wasn't just in the level of swordsmanship but in the tier of swordsmanship abilities.

This led Su Xiao to contemplate. There had to be a higher level above Sword Master. His previous swordsmanship tier was at the specialization level, and during one of the rewards, his swordsmanship was elevated to the master level.

Returning to his private room, Su Xiao entered the alchemy lab, formerly a study. He took out a soul crystal and spent 500 points to split it.

A soul crystal can be split into soul shards, with one soul crystal yielding about 8 to 10 soul shards. However, soul shards cannot be combined to form a soul crystal, regardless of how many are used. The reason for this is unknown.

Su Xiao prepared to create an Apollo. Carrying an Apollo could turn the tide in critical moments, providing the ability to go down with the enemy if needed.

Paradise Coins were quickly consumed, leaving only 54,800 for making Potion No. 1.

A fireball floated between Su Xiao's hands. Creating Apollo in Reincarnation Paradise was safe; even if Apollo exploded during production, the loss would be limited to Paradise Coins and soul crystals.

As Su Xiao worked on Apollo, the door was pushed open. Bubuwang entered, carrying a paper bag—it had brought takeout for Su Xiao.

Seeing the fireball in Su Xiao's hands triggered bad memories for Bubuwang: the Twilight Palace, the Golden Throne, the King's skeleton, peeing under the throne, getting electrocuted—experiences too painful to forget.

Bubuwang felt a chill in its crotch, tucked its tail between its legs, let out a yelp, and ran under the bed, legs trembling.

"..." Su Xiao was speechless. It was just an Apollo, yet Bubuwang was terrified.

Ten minutes later, Apollo was complete. Su Xiao stored the finished Apollo in his inventory and, after checking his remaining mana, began mass-producing Potion No. 1.

He was about to enter the Devil's Castle game, so having extra recovery items wouldn't hurt. Previously, he had to leave the Index world due to insufficient recovery items. Otherwise, he could have stayed and explored the world outside Academy City.

Outside Academy City, the Index world was a modern magical society with many side quests to explore.

An hour later, after making eight bottles of Potion No. 1, Su Xiao's mana was down to 53 points.

Leaving the alchemy lab, Su Xiao sat cross-legged on the bed, meditating to recover mana.

In meditation, Su Xiao felt at peace, seemingly merging with his surroundings. This made him wonder if meditating in nature would yield better results. Ɍ

After his daily meditation, Su Xiao checked his mana recovery. It wasn't enough to make two more bottles of Potion No. 1. With time to spare, he thought about visiting the Honor Store in his private room.

The Honor Store was exclusive to hunters, located within Su Xiao's private room. After clearing violators, he could obtain different levels of Honor Medals. He hadn't used the last Golden Honor Medal, and now he had three in total.

The Honor Store's inventory refreshed each time Su Xiao returned to Reincarnation Paradise. Sometimes it had very few items, sometimes many, but 90% of the items were premium. This was one of the few perks for hunters, as their dangerous work for Reincarnation Paradise had to come with some benefits.

Approaching the Honor Store, Su Xiao noted the area was pristine—Bubuwang didn't dare mess with it. After being harshly disciplined once for messing with it, Bubuwang now avoided it entirely.

Rules for the Honor Store:

Items can only be exchanged for Honor Medals.

Items are locked and cannot be traded with other contractors.

Hunters are prohibited from mentioning the Honor Store's existence to anyone, under penalty of execution by Reincarnation Paradise.

Items are limited.

Exchanges are final.

...

Honor Vitality Potion

Effect: Restores 100% HP and MP within 2 seconds, rapidly heals internal injuries, fractures, and minor brain damage.

Note: Does not heal severed limbs, only closes wounds.

Price: One Golden Honor Medal.

...

Mother of the Dead Sea's Protection

Effect: Increases HP regeneration by 30 per minute while in the Sea of the Dead.

Price: One Golden Honor Medal.

...

Starry Crystal Rock

Effect: Core material for Void Warship engines, resistant to extreme temperatures and corrosion, maintaining shape within 0.012 microns for 900 years.

Price: Two Golden Honor Medals.

...

Training Aid Device

Effect: Provides a cellular-level restoration, removing potential threats like tracking devices and skills.

Price: Two Golden Honor Medals.

...

The Honor Store had many excellent items, though some weren't suitable for Su Xiao.

The Training Aid Device caught Su Xiao's eye. He had undergone cellular-level restoration once before, a rare opportunity that could heal internal injuries and clear potential threats.

Su Xiao exchanged three Golden Honor Medals for the Training Aid Device and the Honor Vitality Potion.

A silver injection gun appeared in Su Xiao's hand, containing a light green liquid. As he stored the injection gun, water droplets formed around him.

The droplets enveloped Su Xiao, washing over him like a refreshing stream, healing the hidden injuries from high-intensity battles. A black dot emerged from his fingertip.

The black dot, almost undetectable, was drawn into the water droplets and extracted from Su Xiao's body. Immersed in the soothing sensation, Su Xiao suddenly felt a sharp pain and opened his eyes.

The droplets vanished. Su Xiao felt significantly lighter. He hadn't noticed the black dot before, but it had been removed without destruction.

With some mana restored, Su Xiao continued making Potion No. 1, ending up with ten bottles. If this supply ran out, it meant he was in a situation beyond survival.

With 31 hours left before the Devil's Castle game, Su Xiao chose not to visit the arena but to relax in Reincarnation Paradise.

...

At Xia's restaurant, Su Xiao and Bubuwang were feasting. Xia, looking listless, lay slumped on the table, her face "sorrowful."

Training with Bubuwang had improved Xia's combat skills significantly. In a recent derivative world, she discovered that previously formidable contractors weren't as tough as she thought. Their attributes were higher, but their combat experience lacked, earning her a B+ rating for the first time.

Feeling confident, Xia had suggested sparring with Su Xiao when he came to eat. She claimed it was to gauge their skill gap but was actually brimming with overconfidence.

Xia was smart, knowing that getting schooled by Su Xiao was safer than learning the hard way in a derivative world. There, mistakes meant death.

After a "long" two-second fight, Xia was left questioning her life. From start to finish, she was dazed. Now, lying weakly on the table, she pondered how she even got knocked down—blacked out with a huge lump on her forehead.

"Hey—"

Noticing Xia's gaze, Su Xiao stopped chewing.

"What?"

"Nothing, just... how did I lose?"

"You rushed in, got hit on the head."

"That's it?"

"I instinctively kicked your side too."

"Oh, no wonder my kidney hurts. You kicked me."

As they chatted, Su Xiao suddenly put down his food, receiving a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise.

"Time to go."

Su Xiao and Bubuwang stood and headed out. Minutes later, Xia's desperate wail echoed through the restaurant, "He didn't pay again! Beaten and ate for free..."

Su Xiao was about to return to his private room, having received a prompt for the Devil's Castle game.