Chương 68: A New Journey

It took us nearly three days to find another reincarnation spot. This was mostly because six hours into our journey, we ran into another, wealthier commercial district. It seemed that the commercial district wasn't just one 'zone' the way the residential and entertainment districts were. Instead, it seemed to be split into several sections, divided by wealth and the kinds of products sold.

The new zone seemed to be selling much more interesting products than the poorer commercial zone we had been exploring up until now. The first building we saw was selling custom-made bodies, which might have given us a huge leg up over the strange creatures of the Market. Unfortunately, ever since the Market had been destroyed, wealthy areas were also inhabited by stronger enemies. The moment we crossed the border from the poorer commercial zone to the wealthier one, the air around us started vibrating.

Sallia, Felix and I took one moment to process what was happening before we made a run for it. However, a wooden butterfly hidden on the side of a nearby building noticed us as we were fleeing, and started chasing after us. Unlike the wooden butterflies created by the strange tree root, this one didn't seem to have a range limitation, and it was determined to kill us after spotting us.

Luckily, we dodged whatever was causing the air to shake, and we also successfully fled from the wooden butterfly, although Felix nearly lost a leg after tripping on a ruined wooden beam and nearly failing to dodge an attack. Fortunately, Sallia managed to pull him away before he actually lost a limb. We managed to get rid of it after about an hour of running, but by the time we escaped the pursuit of the wooden butterfly, we were completely lost.

From there, we ended up aimlessly wandering around for several more hours. We avoided fights as best we could, dealt with single skeletons whenever we spotted them, and simply looked for a good place to reincarnate. Finally, we found another reincarnation spot. It was designed completely differently from the first one, and instead was decorated to resemble a space station, which was an aesthetic I hadn't seen used very often in the Market.

However, most importantly, it had a floating billboard above it that advertised it as a reincarnation spot.

"Dreamcorp's reincarnation point! Just pay 2, 000 Achievement to proceed to your next life! We guarantee that you'll end up in a world with a System of its own if you use our spot, and that the world's Tier will not exceed 10! Useful for newer Transmigrators, since worlds with Systems of their own can often allow you to exceed your original starting potential by several times if you are clever and resourceful!" I found the billboard pretty interesting for a few reasons.

First, if I recall correctly, the Luxcorp Reincarnation spot that we had used the first time had only cost five Achievement, while this one demanded 2, 000 Achievement. Which, honestly, seemed completely ridiculous. It was a crazy price to pay for access to a pool of reincarnation, and it was a full tenth of the Achievement Felix had earned during our past life.

If we factored in the fact that Transmigrators normally paid 20% of their earnings to whoever added them into the Market, along with whatever price one needed to pay for actually buying another life, and whatever taxes the Market itself had collected when it still functioned, the price tag seemed even more absurd. Most interesting, however, was the fact that the billboard guaranteed we wouldn't end up in a world above Tier 10, and would guarantee that we would end up in a world with a System of its own.

I had wondered for a while if 'targeted' reincarnation was possible. I had no idea if Transmigrators had any way to control what kind of world they landed in, and so far, the answer had seemed to be a resounding 'no.' However, this reincarnation point directly contradicted this idea. Although the price tag was completely ridiculous, it did confirm that there were ways to control where you ended up, or at least hinted that it was possible to control a lot more of where one ended up than I had previous expected.

After all, it was possible to manipulate what tier of world one reincarnated in and whether a System was present or not, it could also be possible to manipulate far more. In the future, if we found the right reincarnation spots, we might be able to get much more specific in what kind of worlds we ended up in, even if it might not be possible to do something as specific as reincarnating in one specific world over and over again.

Of course, I could see why regular inhabitants of the Market might not want to bother with using this kind of reincarnation spot; after all, if more controlled reincarnations had been as prohibitively expensive as this one, it was definitely a service for the wealthy. I also found the fact that other Systems outside of the Market existed to be fascinating.

I was 99% sure the System of the Market had been explicitly created in order to make life on the Market work as smoothly as possible, especially for the purposes of extracting wealth from its inhabitants. I couldn't help but wonder if Systems in other worlds were also intentionally created, or if they could exist as 'naturally occurring' Systems. For now I had no idea, although if we found some relevant records in the Market later I might be able to learn more.

For now, however, I put my thoughts about what kinds of worlds existed in the Multiverse aside and focused back on the reincarnation spot in front of us. It was appealing. After reading Sel'thub's thoughts about Tier 20 Worlds, I had zero interest in being born in one until we were much stronger. Tier 10 would still be pretty difficult, but it would at least be less overwhelming than a Tier 20 world.

And a System existing on whatever world we landed on would be helpful as well, if they let us overcome our mediocre starting Stats and advance upwards. In a sense, a world with a System of its own would be the 'fairest' starting point for us, since we wouldn't be limited by the fact that we were new Transmigrators who hadn't spent very much Achievement improving ourselves yet. However, this was also counterbalanced by the risk of trying to use this reincarnation spot.

If our assumptions about wealthier areas having stronger enemies was correct, this area could be crushingly powerful compared to us. I did remember that the skeletal mage guarding the first pool of reincarnation we had encountered had been 'away' when we had first encountered it, but there was no guarantee that it would be the same story in this spot.

"Do we risk it?" I asked.

"This place does have some pretty appealing points. And if it has any Achievement left laying around, it could also be a huge amount. But if we get into a fight with whatever guards this place, it's probably going to instantly kill us, and we have no idea what we might run into. Thoughts?" Felix looked at the compound, and then chuckled.

"I do find the idea of targeted reincarnation interesting, but the benefit of only being able to be reborn in worlds at or below Tier 10 probably doesn't help us much. If the giant sea monster from our previous, Tier 2 world is any indication, Even a Tier 4 world can probably squish us. So the range of worlds we can reincarnate into that will demolish us doesn't really change very much, honestly" Sallia also nodded.

"I have no idea what to expect from a world with a System of its own, as well. And the guardian here is probably way out of our league. I don't think this is worth gambling a life on." She turned to me.

"Miria, I know you like riskier paths with higher rewards and higher risks, but I just don't think this is worth trying yet. Maybe in a life or two, when we're a little sturdier and we can handle the threats of the Market better? But if we try right now, I just don't see us actually surviving the attempt, even if the rewards could be worth it." I shrugged, before I also nodded. I was kind of interested in trying it, but if my friends thought the reward wasn't worth the risk, I wouldn't drag them along.

"All right. Then let's go before the guard here kills us." As we were leaving, I saw a strange whirlpool of shadow slink its way into the building from somewhere nearby. My Madness keyword triggered for a brief moment, before we finished leaving the area. I wondered what the strange shadow had been, although I couldn't help but think it was probably a good thing I hadn't found out. It took another week before we found a more suitable reincarnation spot.

This one was nearly a duplicate of the first spot we had found. It even had a similar advertisement. The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Luxcorp's reincarnation point! Just pay ten Achievement to proceed to your next life! Also contains lower tier soul fragment cubes for those who forgot to buy a few Stats! Pay a few Achievement and save yourself some walking!" Unlike the Greek temple decorations our first luxcorp reincarnation spot had used, this one was decorated like a simple wooden mansion. It had a garden outside, which still looked rather nice and well tended, even if hundreds of years had passed since it was last tended to.

The doors were open and inviting.

"This looks like the right spot," said Sallia. I nodded.

"Ten Achievement per reincarnation isn't too expensive, so the threat range should be similar to what we encountered during our first trip to the pool of reincarnation. Whatever guards this place shouldn't be too strong, hopefully." I thought back to our first encounter with the skeleton Mage, right before our first reincarnation, before I frowned.

"Even the skeletal Mage we encountered the first time was pretty strong. I don't know if we could beat it in an upfront fight if we fought it again right now. Last time we mostly ran for our lives and got lucky."

"Good point," said Sallia, who was now also frowning.

"In fact, now that I think about it, we're incredibly lucky it wasn't around while we approached the pool of reincarnation the first time. If it hadn't been away, we would have died before we could get inside of the water, and would have lost a life.

In fact, that's probably one of the critical ways new Transmigrators these days get strangled before they can start getting more powerful; they lose a life or two trying to reincarnate for the first time, get lucky, come back with two or three lives remaining, can't buy lives, and then get whittled down over one or two more worlds before they permanently die. We should consider reincarnating to be one of the most dangerous parts of each trip to the Market, honestly."

"Could we use the fact that the first skeletal Mage was away for a while as a way to sneak by?" said Felix.

"If one of the skeletal Mages didn't guard its area 100% of the time, others might not guard their area all the time either. We might be able to exploit that." It was as good a guess as any, so the three of us took over a nearby building that had a view of this particular reincarnation pool's entrance. And then, we settled down to wait. After three days of observation, we determined a few things. First, this area was guarded by four skeletal Mages.

One Mage was always in the area, while the other three left once every day. Furthermore, each skeletal Mage commanded a small horde of skeletons and flesh giants. Every time the skeletal mages left, they returned within a few hours. And twice so far, they had returned with a new skeleton in their horde, making us think they were leaving to recruit each time. On a third occasion, one of the skeletal Mages even returned with a new Flesh giant.

However, luckily, the skeletal Mages were fairly consistent in their timing. Each time they left, they didn't return for a few hours, leaving only one skeletal mage to guard in the area. It was also the same skeletal mage each time, which ensured the remaining guard was the weakest one. It still commanded a small horde of monsters, but it didn't add new ones to its horde, so it only commanded one flesh giant and fourteen normal skeletons.

Which was still more than we could handle, but it was possible to get through it as long as we avoided an extended fight. Hopefully. The three of us eventually settled on a plan to exploit what we had observed. Sallia, who was currently the strongest out of the three of us, would first serve as a distraction, by charging the skeletal mage and killing whatever ranged lesser skeletons she could during her charge. Then, Felix and I would flee towards the pool of reincarnation, while Sallia caught up afterwards.

It wasn't the most complex plan, but there was beauty in simplicity. And more importantly, it had at least a reasonable chance of working. As far as we remembered, the flesh giants weren't very fast, and only two of the fourteen skeletal foot soldiers had bows. Meaning that as long as Sallia killed the two of them, Felix and I would only need to worry about magic attacks as we ran towards the portal. Letting Sallia fight on her own didn't sit well with me, but right now, she was the strongest of the three of us.

If anyone could pull this off without losing a life, it was her. So I put aside my pride and prayed that my friend wouldn't get hurt helping Felix and I escape to a pool of reincarnation. The next day, after the three skeletal mages left and we gave them some time to ensure they weren't nearby, we started our charge towards the pool of reincarnation. Sallia, without saying a word, simply charged towards the horde of skeletons.

Before they noticed her, she beheaded one of the two skeletal archers, ending its potential as a threat. The skeletal Mage finally noticed Sallia and glared at her, shrieking in hatred.

"Filthy transmigrator! I knew more of your kind would come eventually! You vermin always return!" It yelled, pointing at Sallia. From its extended finger, a lance made of fire appeared, before flying towards the spot where Sallia was standing. Sallia deftly slid underneath the gout of flames, before beheading the other archer. There was now only one ranged enemy left, and Sallia probably wouldn't be able to kill it.

After that, the remaining twelve skeletons and the flesh giant closed in on her, and I lost sight of Sallia. I felt a shiver of nerves as I hoped that Sallia wouldn't get hurt by the fight. But right now, I had to trust in her ability to survive. I gritted my teeth as Felix and I ran out of the building and charged past the fight.

"More of you!" shrieked the skeletal Mage. It had noticed us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an arc of acid fly towards me. I burned mana and ducked underneath the attack, before Felix and I finished running towards the building and ducked inside. Then, we ran into a problem. There were three passageways into the building, and there was no indication which one was the correct path.

"Which way?" I hissed, turning to Felix and hoping he somehow knew the correct path forward.

"I don't know! Left!" Said Felix. His guess was as good as mine, so the two of us charged left. We sprinted down the hallway, where we ran into… a room filled with cubes.

"Easy access Soul Fragments! Only a 5% markup for convenient placement!" claimed one of the signs.

"Tier 1 Soul fragments for only 52. 5 Achievement, Tier 2 Soul Fragments for only 84 Achievement, and Tier 3 Soul Fragments for only 136. 5 Achievement. You don't need to walk all the way back to a store if you want to finish loading up on Stats for your next life! If you don't have enough Achievement, take a loan from the Achievement bank located in the right corridor of the building!"

"Fuck!" I growled, looking at the rows of Soul Fragment Cubes. I would have welcomed seeing them earlier, but this was clearly the wrong room. Felix and I quickly turned around, sprinting back down the corridor… before nearly slamming into Sallia, chased by a pack of angry skeletons, a flesh giant, and a skeletal mage.

"Which way?" asked Sallia, looking at us. I pointed directly towards the middle corridor, and Sallia nodded. Then, a burst of fire tore its way into my stomach. I blinked in shock, preparing myself for incredible pain, as the lance of fire… was pulled into my dress, disappearing into whatever pocket dimension stored the lake inside. A moment later, I felt a scalding sensation on my stomach, as some amount of fire magic made its way onto my belly. However, it was just a minor burn.

My new dress was better at keeping me alive than I had expected.

"Filthy transmigrator! Always using cheap tricks!" shrieked the skeletal mage, before shooting a blast of acid towards my completely unprotected legs instead. I burned mana and rolled to my left, dodging it. While I was distracted, the flesh giant grabbed my arm. With a roar, I was suddenly jerked upwards as the massive creature lifted me like a ragdoll. Then, the world spun as I was slammed into the floor.

"Fuck off!" Screamed Sallia, before she swung the sword she had taken from a skeleton directly into the flesh giant's arm. It got stuck before it even cut halfway through the creature's arm. However, it did cause it to involuntarily loosen its grip. I tried to thank Sallia, but the only sound I could make was a strange gargling sound. Something was wrong with either my throat or my lungs.

"Die!" Screeched the skeleton, pointing towards Sallia and firing another gout of flames at her. Sallia, who was trying to help me up, got caught unprotected by the gout of flames. The right half of her body lit up like molten metal, and my heart leapt into my throat as I wondered if Sallia had just died. A moment later, Felix shot an arrow at the skeletal mage. It bounced off of the creature's skull, causing its head to snap back but failing to kill it.

However, even though this thing's skull was far sturdier than a regular skeleton's, hitting it with an arrow still caused it to lose control of its spell, and Sallia's unburned half twitched sporadically, letting us know she was still technically alive. Then, Felix grabbed the two of us and began quickly dragging us down the middle corridor, fleeing from the horde of skeletons and the flesh giant.

Once my head stopped spinning from being slammed into the ground, I managed to get back to my feet, before I grabbed Sallia, burned mana, and flung both of us through the doorway at the end of the corridor. Inside of the next room was a pool of glowing green water. I didn't hesitate before I leapt into the pool, and a moment later, Felix landed next to us with a splash while the skeletal mage in the distance.

Then, the world seemed to bend, and moments later we were back inside of the ocean of souls, heading towards our next lives.