Clang!
His soul was unbelievably tough!
Even after that strike, it refused to be shaken out!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Kanzaki Rei gripped the dagger and stabbed down in rapid succession, relentlessly driving it in again and again—until finally, the man's soul flickered faintly outside his body!
Without hesitation, Kanzaki Rei reached out and seized it!
Bang!
But at the very instant he attempted to extract the soul—
The moment it fell into his grasp, Kanzaki Rei realized something was wrong.
This soul… wasn't real.
It was merely a phantom.
And as soon as it landed in his hand—
The man's body shattered into fragments!
Immediately after, the illusory soul in his palm also dispersed into nothingness.
"…Tch."
So it really couldn't be taken?
The opponent had been forcibly pulled here from the start—nothing more than a projection.
Thinking about it now, it was likely just a temporary manifestation.
Kanzaki Rei slowly descended to the ground.
His gaze swept across the surrounding array diagrams.
What a shame… all of these were one-time-use arrays.
But that was precisely why they could be deployed instantly at Level 3—otherwise, such low-level control would have been impossible.
"…So there are actually people like this in this world."
"…Staying humble really is the right choice."
Step by step, Kanzaki Rei walked toward the center of the hall.
At this point, the entire structure had already collapsed into ruin.
The pillars had all been shattered.
The ground was riddled with craters, fractures, and devastation beyond recognition.
Not a single intact section remained.
At the very center—
A mark floated quietly in midair.
As Kanzaki Rei approached it, he felt a resonance stir within the talent rune inside his body.
It felt… strangely similar.
Standing before it—
A faint, white-haired, red-eyed phantom appeared once more beside the mark.
Slash!
A sword cut toward Kanzaki Rei!
But—
Kanzaki Rei didn't feel even the slightest sense of danger.
Swish—
The blade passed straight through his body, as though he weren't even there.
"Just a phantom now, huh."
Clearly, the opponent could no longer pose any threat.
"Stop!"
Kanzaki Rei ignored him completely.
He reached out—
And touched the Reincarnation Mark.
Buzz—
A gentle warmth flowed into his body.
In that instant, Kanzaki Rei felt it—
He had gained the ability to reincarnate.
If he were to die in this life…
He could be reborn into the next.
And more importantly—
He would retain the memories of this life.
That alone made reincarnation priceless.
For mages, the essence of power lay in understanding.
For warriors, the essence of mastery lay in insight.
Every class ultimately derived its strength from personal comprehension.
And as long as that understanding was remembered—
It was equivalent to mastery.
Magic wouldn't need to be relearned.
Combat techniques wouldn't need to be retrained.
To remember… was to already be proficient.
However—
If possible, it was still better not to die.
Each death meant starting over.
A new life, a new set of talents, a new foundation.
There was no guarantee the next life would begin as favorably.
What if the next life only granted a Common-tier talent?
That would be unbearable.
Reincarnation itself could also be seized—
Only those who had once held the qualification could take it.
At this moment, as Kanzaki Rei obtained the Reincarnation Mark—
The white-haired, red-eyed youth vanished completely.
The only thing left behind was the memory of his deathly pale expression before disappearing.
Reincarnation had been his path.
And Kanzaki Rei had severed it.
"…That's one hell of a blood feud."
Still—
Kanzaki Rei did not regret it.
This was a legacy he had earned through his own strength.
There was no reason to hand it over just because the other side said a few words.
And besides—
The ability to reincarnate was undeniably tempting.
Even if he were to die in the future…
He now had a fallback.
Equivalent to having countless extra lives.
From the very beginning, Kanzaki Rei's top priority had always been survival.
Not taking this would go against that principle.
Swish—
A faint light flickered.
A list appeared before his eyes.
[Reincarnation Record]
Kermo — 1st Life, 2nd Life, 3rd LifeYumelia — 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4thMahababa — 1st, 2ndLeshahak — 0thYumekura — 1st through 11thZetsu — 1st, 2nd…Seiichi — 1st through 8thKanzaki Rei — 0th
"So that guy's name was Seiichi."
So now he finally knew.
Moonsea, huh…
He wondered how far away that was.
Looking at the list—
So many had once obtained the Reincarnation Mark.
Yet not a single one had achieved eternal dominance across infinite lives.
The furthest anyone had gone… was eleven lives.
And even then—
They had likely been defeated.
Even Zetsu, who defeated them, only made it two lives before falling to someone else.
"…Unpredictable."
Even with reincarnation—
One couldn't afford to act recklessly.
Besides the list—
Three books appeared beside Kanzaki Rei:
"Reincarnation — Volume I, II, III."
Flipping through them—
He discovered a ritual that could preserve fragments of power after reincarnation.
But—
He couldn't understand it yet.
It required profound knowledge of Reincarnation Studies.
And at present—
He barely grasped even the basics.
Kanzaki Rei memorized every name on the list.
Then recorded them using flame-script paper—
Sealing the records within his most private storage space.
The battle ended.
The hall gradually became illusory.
Corpses reappeared throughout the surroundings.
The space shifted—
Returning once more to the battlefield of reincarnation.
Bodies littered the ground again.
Kanzaki Rei looked around at the familiar scene—
But now, his perspective had changed.
Reincarnation…
How many geniuses had died fighting for it?
His figure emerged from nonexistence.
The six individuals were still gathered by the city wall.
The barrier hadn't lifted.
They couldn't leave.
Nor did they dare move—
Afraid of triggering another deadly restriction.
So they could only huddle together and wait.
Fortunately—
They hadn't waited long.
Kanzaki Rei had only been gone for about twenty minutes before reappearing.
But now—
His eyes were cold.
Battle intent surged from his body.
Killing intent lingered in the air.
The six of them stiffened instantly, not daring to move.
"You're all still here."
Kanzaki Rei walked toward them calmly.
The Sword Saint's eyelid twitched.
Of course we're still here… you think we want to be?
The restriction wasn't gone—how were they supposed to leave?
"Y-Yeah…"
The one who answered wasn't the Sword Saint or Shumi—
But a slightly burly, somewhat simple-looking warrior.
Kanzaki Rei glanced at him.
During the earlier battle, these people had hesitated—
Wanting to act, yet not daring to.
In the end, they had only watched.
But—
He couldn't really blame them.
Even he himself hadn't joined the fight initially.
When the black coffins rose—
His first instinct had also been to reach safety.
Kanzaki Rei glanced at the city wall.
With his return, the trial had fully ended.
The inheritance was complete.
The barrier enveloping the city began to fade.
The restrictions dissipated.
"I have a few questions."
…
Afterward, Kanzaki Rei asked about Moonsea.
He learned it lay east of the Secret Sea.
Between them stretched a vast, turbid ocean.
As for distance—
No one knew.
They barely even understood the Secret Sea itself.
How many continents it contained—
What regions were famous—
What unique features existed—
They knew nothing.
But from what they described—
Travel between sea regions was nearly impossible without special means.
Only rare circumstances allowed contact between them.
For example—
The Battle Arena.
A place connecting different seas.
No wonder it was considered a wonder.
It truly was unique.
Kanzaki Rei then asked about Seiichi.
The Sword Saint knew a bit.
Seiichi was one of three early awakeners in Moonsea this cycle.
But most of his information was sealed.
Even top-ranked individuals in Moonsea knew little.
After all—
Every year had three early awakeners.
Unless something major happened, no one paid much attention.
"Shumi."
"Meow!"
Shumi looked at Kanzaki Rei with a complicated expression.
"W-What is it, meow?!"
"I didn't harm you back then, meow!"
Her tone trembled with panic.
She didn't want to be eaten!
Even if the strong devoured the weak—
It was still better not to be devoured!
"I-I can return those life-saving items!"
She hastily took out the scrolls and ring Kanzaki Rei had given her.
Untouched.
Kanzaki Rei sighed softly.
Are catfolk always this timid?
"No need."
"You helped me when I first arrived."
He casually tossed her a storage ring.
"Inside are materials from Tier 5 Catastrophe-class monsters. Consider it your reward."
He was generous.
But to him—
This was nothing.
Catastrophe-class monsters were enormous.
The materials he gave were merely scraps.
And with the Source of Calamity—
Farming them had become much easier.
As for the others—
Kanzaki Rei glanced at them.
He had already saved their lives.
Their information about Moonsea repaid that debt.
There was no further connection.
No reason to give more.
Though—
That Sword Saint…
He paused briefly.
He had seen quite a few Sword Saints today.
A strange profession—
Both powerful… and oddly common.
"I have nothing else to ask."
"You're free to leave."
Kanzaki Rei turned—
And went back to scavenging the corpses.
The others exchanged glances—
Before finally departing.
Time passed.
Kanzaki Rei thoroughly searched the battlefield.
Nothing particularly remarkable remained.
Then again—
Those who died here weren't even true geniuses.
What valuable items could they have had?
Still—
He did find ancient techniques.
Fragments of lost knowledge.
Though damaged—
He could restore them.
He also found treasure maps.
Ancient legends spoke of Yakatekt scattering treasures across the world—
Leaving maps for future generations.
Though the legend had faded—
Kanzaki Rei kept the maps.
Using information tracing—
He restored them.
And recorded everything.
If he ever passed those locations—
He could investigate.
As the inheritance ended—
The mist thickened again.
…
Suddenly—
The fog grew so dense that nothing could be seen.
Space and time twisted.
The battlefield faded away.
At last—
His feet touched solid ground again.
The distortion stabilized.
The fog gradually thinned.
Kanzaki Rei now stood in a barren land.
Sparse trees dotted the area.
"…What just happened?"
He frowned.
He couldn't remember anything.
Yet—
He could feel the Reincarnation Mark inside him.
After a moment—
He checked his storage.
And froze.
Hundreds of storage bags—
All filled to the brim.
"…What?"
Did I celebrate New Year or something?
He checked his most private storage.
Inside—
Two sealed boxes.
Filled with thousands of sheets of flame-script paper.
All blank.
"…What did I even go through?"
He began reading.
Half an hour later—
He understood everything.
"…So I forgot it all completely."
"Even records can't be preserved."
"…Which means those who met me probably forgot too."
"…Good."
Though—
It felt strange.
Without memory—
It was as if he had just exited a dungeon…
And suddenly gained everything.
No sense of reality.
He had thought the Month of Forgetting was harmless.
Just a little forgetfulness.
Now—
He realized its impact was massive.
Every month's influence…
Could not be underestimated.
He took out his pocket watch.
Midnight.
He had entered around 2 PM.
"…Time to head back to Kronoya."
He destroyed nearby dungeons.
Removed all his restrictions.
Then returned.
Though it was night—
The mist in Kronoya was lighter.
Perhaps only January 1st was that intense.
After confirming no threats—
He returned to his residence.
A maid approached—
Helping him change.
Fatigue washed over him.
Perhaps—
He really had gone through a brutal battle.
He fell asleep.
In his dream—
He saw everything turning into a single element.
All matter—
Assimilating.
He rose into the void.
Then beyond.
Something watched him.
Above—
An endless void.
Below—
Planet-like elements orbiting.
Then—
Everything aligned.
And in the material world—
He saw it.
A single particle.
An element that was all elements.
Kanzaki Rei jolted awake.
Morning sunlight streamed in.
…
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
He knocked loudly on Ize's palace door—
Then pushed it open.
Ize stood there, expression twitching.
"Ize, I have an idea."
"…Let's hear it."
Kanzaki Rei explained his dream.
And his thoughts.
After listening—
Ize spoke:
"So you believe all elements in the material world are projections from a higher dimension."
"…Interesting."
"You've reached that level faster than expected."
"In that case… I can tell you more."
"Oh—right."
"I don't remember if I told you yesterday."
"Yesterday was January 1st of a leap year."
"If you entered a dungeon…"
"You might've gone to the Land of Forgetting."
"I meant to find you yesterday afternoon…"
"…but couldn't."
Kanzaki Rei's lips twitched slightly.
Ize… your timing is impeccable.