Chapter 411: Najenda's Hunting Journey
"So this is… the Reincarnation Game?!"
No wonder that rural boy from the countryside reacted the way he did after becoming a player.
A string of game-related messages flashed through Najenda's mind.
"Incredible… even if this is an illusion, the touch, smell, sound, sight… I can't find a single flaw."
Najenda scanned her surroundings.
A gloomy cave filled with wandering corpse thieves and zombies—
very similar to the hunting zone Tatsumi had entered earlier, yet subtly different.
The air was dry and scorching, massive pools of bubbling lava churned nearby,
casting red light across the cavern walls.
"Lava Pit?"
Reading the game prompt, Najenda frowned slightly and muttered,
"An environment filled with underground magma… even a slight misstep and I'll be burned to ash. This really is a dangerous game."
She leapt across broken ground.
Pebbles tumbled into the lava below, splashing up bursts of heat.
A corpse thief clawed its way from the rocky floor and lunged at her with a twisted face.
Bang!
Najenda swung her right arm, and her steel fist slammed into the monster's rotting face.
Her right arm and right eye were the price she paid when she defected from the Empire—
injuries suffered during a failed mission to take down Esdeath.
Two Imperial Arm users had died that day, frozen like statues in the blink of an eye.
The difference in power was overwhelming.
Najenda might inspire the Revolutionary Army and Night Raid,
but as someone who had witnessed Esdeath's terrifying strength firsthand,
she knew better than anyone:
if the revolution wanted to overthrow the capital, Esdeath was the wall they couldn't overcome.
"If everything the mysterious merchant says is true…"
As someone from the weaker side, Najenda understood all too well:
if the Reincarnation Game was real, her only choice was to cooperate.
There was no room to question the merchant's motives.
A white treasure chest dropped nearby.
Najenda pressed forward.
Two corpse thieves blocked her way, perched atop a rock bridge spanning a crack filled with magma.
"I should've borrowed Mine's Pumpkin Cannon, or at least requisitioned an Imperial Arm from HQ."
She flexed her right arm.
Though powerful in short bursts, the mechanical arm relied on gears and hinges that required cooldown time.
It couldn't be used continuously and was heavy to wield.
Watching from the other world, Fang Yi shook his head with a faint smile.
"If Najenda had an Imperial Arm here, the corrupted monsters would scale up in strength too. The difficulty wouldn't change."
Still, as expected of a former Empire general—
Even without an Imperial Arm,
Najenda killed 27 corpse thieves, 15 decayed zombies, and two elite monsters—Flaming Hera units—
before being slain by a lava elemental that erupted from the magma.
"Mr. Fang Yi, are these treasure chests free to open?"
Back in the Imperial Arms world,
Najenda couldn't wait to open the chests she'd earned. She spread them out around her.
Fang Yi nodded, smiling. "Treasure chests are rewards for players who hunt corrupted monsters. They're yours to handle freely."
Hearing that,
Najenda nodded slightly, pulled off her black blazer, and tossed it aside.
The Lava Pit had been unbearably hot,
and the fire elemental that killed her had left her with the sensation of being burned alive.
Even after resurrection, her nerve endings still carried the heat.
"Najenda, wait—stop!"
Lubbock's face turned red.
He flailed his arms, as if trying to use telekinesis to drape her coat back over her.
Najenda was now only wearing a black strapless top around her neck like a ribbon,
leaving most of her snowy white skin exposed.
Though he usually acted like a flirt,
Lubbock had deep feelings for Najenda.
And with Brand, Tatsumi, and the lecherous merchant all present—
this was almost too much to bear.
"Lubbock?"
Najenda turned to look at him, confused.
Lubbock immediately turned around and covered his nose, waving to say he was fine.
"Well then… let's begin."
Najenda took a deep breath,
lifted the lid of a white treasure chest, and picked up the glowing orb inside.
Pop.
The orb shattered,
revealing a thumb-sized chunk of black metal in her palm.
"Steel Shard. A low-grade metal from the Arad Continent."
Reading the item description, Najenda frowned in disappointment.
She had fought tooth and nail to kill those corpse thieves,
only to get… junk?
She knew from experience that a corpse thief—mutated by plague and buried deep in a tomb—was far stronger than some Danger Beasts.
Watching nearby, Fang Yi remained calm and smiled politely.
"To become a good player, the most important thing is understanding the world's power scale."
"This piece of steel may be cheap in its original world,
but here in the Imperial Arms world, it's something else entirely…"
[Arad Continent] was a high-tier map combining magic, technology, gunplay, and qi cultivation—
a Tier 2 world on the verge of reaching Tier 3.
Even random fruit from its forests could restore health if brought to the Imperial Arms world.
Najenda blinked in surprise, then turned to the green-haired youth.
"Lubbock, use your Imperial Arm [Cross Tail] on this piece of metal."
"Is this really necessary?"
Had anyone else asked, Lubbock would've stood his ground.
Cross Tail's threads were made from the super-resilient fur of a Danger Beast.
Cutting a steel shard would be like using Akame's Murasame to skewer fish.
But since Najenda asked, he obeyed—albeit reluctantly.
"Najenda, I'll leave it on the ground. I don't want to accidentally hurt you."
He didn't even raise his arm—just flicked a finger.
A silver thread shot out.
Clang.
The thread smacked into the steel shard, launching it into the air.
Nearby floor tiles cracked from the impact—
but the shard landed unharmed.
Lubbock blinked. "I told you, regular metal can't—"
Then he saw everyone staring at the shard.
He looked down—
and saw it was intact.
Frowning, he wove several threads into a needle and jabbed it at the shard.
Clink.
Sparks flew where the steel met the thread.
It only left a shallow dent.
Seeing the probing stares, Lubbock quickly clarified,
"Najenda, I'm not slacking!
These thread-needles can pierce concrete walls.
And yet, this metal... didn't even scratch!"
"Here—try piercing it yourself."
Najenda removed her mechanical arm and tossed it on the floor,
revealing the gruesome scars and severed stump left by Esdeath.
"Najenda…"
"Do it."
She held her breath.
There was no embarrassment in her eyes—only expectation.
Bam!
One silver thread effortlessly punched a thumb-sized hole through the mechanical arm.
"This arm was made with the strongest metal available in the Empire and the Revolutionary Army—short of what's used in Imperial Arms."
Najenda's breathing grew uneven.
Steel shards were common.
Not even as rare as the deerskin boots Tatsumi got earlier.
But she remembered what the merchant had said—
this was the lowest-grade metal from a white chest.
That meant even stronger metals were hidden in higher-tier chests.
The process of acquiring them was dangerous—
but players revived daily.
If they could outfit the entire Revolutionary Army with weapons made from steel just below Imperial Arm quality…
the war would turn in their favor.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1