[Server Channel]
Mysterious Merchant: "In light of players breaching the outer perimeter of the Ruins Castle, classified intel will now be disclosed."
Information about the Ghost General, along with details of guaranteed purple-grade equipment drops, appeared in the pinned announcement section of the channel.
In an instant
With that pinned message, the entire player base exploded with excitement.
Previously, due to the high cost of attacking the Ruins Castle, losing tons of health and mana potions, players had grown disheartened. Most were on the verge of giving up.
But with this announcement, that gloom was completely wiped away.
Rather than being afraid of the Ghost General's terrifying power, players felt their blood boiling with excitement.
"I was honestly worried that we'd burn through hundreds of reward points on health potions, only to get nothing in return… but it turns out he guarantees a purple drop?!"
"Level 10 purple equipment goes for 20,000 reward points in the shop!"
"Whether we live like beggars or kings… it all depends on whether we can take down the Ghost General!"
At this point, all players could be roughly divided into three groups:
~Elite Ninjas from the Five Great Nations - born with superior talent and honed battle instincts, they made up the top tier of players.
~The Nobility Teams - a chaotic mix of hired samurai and rogue ninjas, funded by wealthy nobles who relied on cash to form squads that could almost rival elite ninjas.
~The Commoners and Merchants - lacking both talent and money, they made up the majority of the playerbase, numbering around three to four hundred.
And regardless of group, everyone was now eyeing the Ghost General as prey.
The most driven were the bottom-rung civilian players, desperate to use this one opportunity to flip the script and surpass both nobles and ninjas.
The white-haired loli was dumbfounded, feeling like the world had gone insane.
"Facing such a powerful Ghost General… shouldn't they be terrified and running away?"
She simply couldn't understand the players' mindset.
In the corrupted world she once knew, even the most steadfast heroes would run or cower before unbeatable enemies, despite having the power to revive or manipulate time.
"What's going on here…?"
"It's desire," Fang Yi said with a smile.
He pointed at the screen full of excited players and explained:
"The lowest-class civilians toil to reclaim wasteland, barely surviving on husks and scraps, while most of their food gets stolen by nobles."
"Ninjas live with blades at their throats, risking everything for tiny rewards. Despite pouring their hearts into training, they're crushed by the genius heirs of elite clans."
"But now, the Reincarnation Game has given them a chance to change everything."
"When you're starving, you dream of just one bowl of gruel."
"Once you're fed, you want nice clothes and a bigger home."
"Once you have a luxurious estate, you want maids and servants."
"And once you see ninjas capable of splitting mountains, you start craving power."
Fang Yi smiled serenely.
"Even the strongest-willed hero may despair before a Demon King. But desire? That can't be bound by anything, it only keeps growing."
"Compared to desire, even world-devouring corruption seems trivial."
The Ruins Castle thundered with the sound of battle.
The Ghost General could burn soul energy to endlessly spawn ghost soldiers.
But players could also revive, though it cost reward points. And since killing ghost soldiers earned reward points back, a vicious but self-sustaining cycle formed.
"I'm Mabui. Lord Raikage has issued direct orders: The Ghost General must be slain. We cannot let any other village beat us to it."
"He's allocated five hundred million in funding for this operation."
The tall and curvy Samui accepted a trade request from strategist Mabui, receiving 1,000 reward points.
She opened the game shop and finally exchanged for a weapon she had long coveted:
[Swiftblade] - a level 5 blue-grade weapon, granting +5 Agility and a Swift buff that increases movement speed by 10.
Samui, a blonde beauty with short shoulder-length hair and narrow, seductive eyes, grasped the blade and felt her body respond.
With a light step
In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind Omoi, her short blade resting on his neck.
Omoi was so stunned he couldn't even react. If Samui had attacked for real, he'd already be respawning in town.
"Incredible!"
Omoi gulped. That kind of speed was nearly on par with Samui's real-world strength.
She was a Jonin, a skilled swordswoman with dazzling sword techniques. Before entering the Reincarnation Game, Omoi never stood a chance against her.
The Reincarnation Game, its terrifying pace of growth was simply addictive.
"I got a blue skill drop!"
At the northern section of the Ruins Castle, Chōjūrō's face flushed with excitement.
A Ghost Squad Leader's body dissolved, revealing a blue-glowing drop.
With trembling hands, he picked it up and examined the item:
Skill Scroll - [Silverfall Slash]
A powerful downward thrust while jumping, creating a Shockwave.
Restricted to [Melee] professions.
"It's a sword technique!?"
Chōjūrō was breathing hard.
After the power structure in Kirigakure was reshuffled, he'd shown incredible talent and had been chosen by Mei Terumi as the successor to the Twin Swords: Hiramekarei.
So while training in ninjutsu, he'd also been studying swordsmanship intensely.
But once inside the Reincarnation Game…
He realized the notes left by the famed past generations of sword-nin were essentially garbage, fit only to be thrown down a drain.
Just brute strength and chakra boosts, mindless swinging.
His current class was Wandering Swordsman, a result of spending 1,500 reward points to respec three times before landing a melee swordsmanship profession.
His starting skill, [Dark Slash], combined physical power, slashing force, and energy into one devastating sword technique, his true path forward.
After learning the new skill, Chōjūrō dashed into a group of ghost soldiers and leapt high into the air.
BOOM!
He came crashing down like a human missile.
His twin green-quality blades surged with energy and exploded the moment they struck the ground.
A shockwave burst out from the center, launching nearby ghost soldiers into the air, their spectral energy wavering.
The wave was like a blade itself, shredding the ghosts apart.
"Such a powerful technique," Mei Terumi praised softly.
Chōjūrō scratched his head, a little shy from the compliment, and said worriedly:
"Mizukage-sama… the Reincarnation Game is a money-eating monster. It's not just the gear, skills cost money too, and upgrading them needs more reward points. That mysterious merchant… is basically a money-devouring demon."