Failed Product Mercenary Tao

In this generation of Infinite Dimensional Space, if one were to ask what kind of Reincarnators lived the most comfortably, there was no doubt that it was those who were "unrestrained by any taboo."

They freely altered mission worlds, freely deployed all manner of items, abilities, and even memes into those worlds, transforming world after world beyond recognition;

They freely slaughtered Plot Characters, exploiting flaws in their personalities and their informational disadvantages to kill powerful, kind plot powerhouses through every despicable means imaginable;

They freely hunted and besieged other Reincarnators, pursuing Scarlet Drop Cards and using them to amass resources at astonishing speed…

These Reincarnators, whose actions would be seen as those of "villains" and "evil people" under any universal human values, had seized the greatest benefits in this generation’s Infinite Space.

There were no hidden faction-alignment bonuses in the Space. So long as one did not recklessly hunt plot protagonists who had yet to grow, one would rarely be targeted by the so-called World Will’s Restraining Force.

Thus, the vast majority of Reincarnators in Infinite Dimensional Space had become this sort of utterly unrestrained person.

But humans always produced a few exceptions.

Even in an Infinite Dimensional Space like this, there remained a group of Reincarnators who sang the praises of dreams and justice, pursuing the radiance of morality and humanity.

These people supported one another through painful, despairing battles, holding fast to their principles and bottom lines. They tenaciously survived and grew, eventually becoming misfits utterly out of place among Reincarnators.

They were called—"Idealists."

What was even stranger was that among these Reincarnators, who seemed to be playing against the meta, someone had reached the pinnacle of Infinite Dimensional Space and created a gathering for them called… Azure Sky.

Among the four regions of Infinite Dimensional Space—east, west, south, and north—fewer than ten top-tier gatherings could recruit Reincarnators and operate across all four regions.

That was because conducting activities across regions required Reincarnators to expend immense resources, a "special budget" only top-tier gatherings could afford.

And among these top-tier gatherings, three stood faintly above all the rest.

A super gathering that spanned all four regions, recruited high-potential Reincarnators from every region, and completely governed nearly every rank through three major clusters—the Throne of Illusion and Reality;

The Space’s most unusual group, which monopolized the production and sales rights of practical items such as Slave Shackles, Directional Anchors, and Scapegoat Strawmen, and was also its wealthiest and most mysterious gathering—Destiny;

And the last was Azure Sky, the final glory of the Idealists in the Space: absolute outliers among Reincarnators, a super-elite gathering that had created countless miracles.

Moreover, it was rumored that the leaders of these three great gatherings all possessed strength at the level of Supreme Experts or even higher. Previously, when the East District’s Supreme Experts, Great Sun of Finality and Life of Silence, clashed and caused the mass deaths of mid- and high-level Reincarnators, these three had stepped forward to mediate.

They had forced Great Sun of Finality to ultimately admit defeat and withdraw his sphere of influence from the Space.

Seeing Azure Sky’s members appear together in the public space so rarely immediately caused a tremendous stir. Their scale and presence were utterly incomparable to newly risen Reincarnators like Mercenary Tao.

The members of Knights & Knights tacitly moved aside as well. Even Reiwa Knight · Jiaqi lowered his head in greeting to the person at the front.

Bai Cangshu stood beside the stall, meeting the gaze of one of the Space’s very top Reincarnators.

The other man was bent slightly at the waist, his black sunglasses tilted downward to reveal a pair of black eyes.

Black Butler’s scalp tingled. He had no idea when Mercenary Tao had provoked Reincarnators of this caliber again.

Forget this suspected leader of Azure Sky, whose codename was known to few; even those following behind him were already "freaks" whom most Title-level Reincarnators and gatherings were unwilling to offend.

God’s Dream Blade – Senka, the woman standing at the pinnacle of Swordplay System Reincarnators, wore a gray-black long dress. Her chestnut hair was tied in a ponytail, and one hand rested on the demon blade rumored to ignore all barriers, spells, and magical defenses. Standing at the very edge of the group, her gaze drifted without focus.

Beside Senka stood a woman whose entire body was wrapped in black armor. The only reason one could tell she was a woman was the armor’s obvious feminine features. In Black Butler’s database, this Black Armored Knight was most likely the owner of the special title Primordial Black. The only thing he knew was that, in Secondary Worlds, she had challenged a certain Supreme Expert three times for unknown reasons and retreated unharmed each time.

At the center stood a man with short silver-white hair and a white suit. This Avatar was roughly 1.7 meters tall, thin, and wore silver-rimmed glasses. His appearance revealed nothing distinctive, but Black Butler knew very well that this man was likely among the strongest Reincarnators beneath the Supreme Experts.

The pinnacle of spellcasting Reincarnators, the Godhood Painter · Adam, who recorded and wielded multiple authorities.

Of the three people standing on the other side of that mysterious man, Black Butler recognized only Spirit Thirteenth Month · Loman, a gentle-looking woman dressed in white robes.

The other two were absent from Black Butler’s records.

Bai Cangshu’s gaze passed over each of Azure Sky’s Reincarnators, but he did not respond. He noticed that the gentle woman in white robes looked the most eager, so he deliberately looked at her and said,

"Roland? He’s my beloved friend, close enough that we shared one body to fight the Black King Society together. How could I possibly take his things~?"

Hearing Mercenary Tao’s flippant tone, Loman’s chest rose and fell. She did not believe that kind Roland would be friends with someone like Mercenary Tao. Rather, Mercenary Tao’s way of doing things was likely exactly the sort Roland hated most.

Lawless and unchecked, without the slightest reverence for life.

The Professor sighed. Mercenary Tao’s personality was vile, and he seemed to be provoking them. But before Loman could speak, Cao Qi, standing in front of everyone, burst into laughter.

"Ha ha ha… Roland was actually forced to share a body with you? I really want to see that guy’s expression…"

Cao Qi knew full well that Roland had been too pure, too idealistic, and had ultimately been schemed against by the Abyss God, influenced by the power of Causality Law, and finally died.

For someone as pure as a blank sheet of paper to share a body with a heartless beast like Mercenary Tao—somehow, this arrangement struck him as both absurd and comforting.

Perhaps, in his heart, he felt that if Roland had been corrupted by someone like Mercenary Tao earlier, he might have lived a little longer.

Cao Qi’s laughter shook the air, making every Reincarnator in the Slum Area change expression slightly. They clutched their chests, feeling their hearts tremble along with it.

This sort of ability, capable of affecting others within the Space, was truly strange and unfathomable.

Bai Cangshu also unconsciously activated the talent of Limit Break Spiral, but within the Space, he could not receive any further information and had no way to discern the nature of this ability.

Cao Qi looked at Mercenary Tao. The other man made no attempt to conceal the desire and curiosity for power in his eyes. Even when facing this group of powerful people who had come to "settle a score," he showed no emotional fluctuations whatsoever.

This was a beast through and through, a… failed product.

"Mercenary Tao, let’s make a deal. We need a dragon species to complete a special mission."