[Hidden Quest: One of Orochi's Eight Hakkesshu, Goenitz, has dispatched Mature and Vice, posing as secretaries, to keep Rugal under covert surveillance.]
[Mature, endowed with Riot of the Blood, possesses Beast Power, granting her extraordinary speed.]
[Vice wields the Power of Death, which shows itself as overwhelming arm strength. In essence, this is a fundamental form of Orochi power that every Hakkesshu member holds, but only those who master it to perfection are acknowledged as inheritors of the Power of Death.]
[System: Please note! The legacy of Riot of the Blood does not pass from parent to child; it appears cyclically.]
[System: If the player completes this quest, they must spend Dimensional Coins to obtain Orochi Power.]
[System: After accepting, the player will be tasked with watching one of the two Hakkesshu members at random.]
Without a moment's hesitation, Xiang Nan chose the hidden quest.
Even someone only vaguely familiar with the King of Fighters universe knows how valuable Riot of the Blood is. Under normal circumstances, people like him could never hope to obtain Orochi Power…
…but the System breaks that rule.
As Orban once said, the Reincarnation Dimension won't let players buy strength outright with Dimensional Coins; instead it provides a path to earn it.
Once the quest unlocked, a tiny moving red dot appeared on Xiang Nan's quest panel—it marked Vice, bearer of the Power of Death.
In KOF '94, Mature and Vice appear as Rugal's secretaries but do not enter the tournament. Frankly, Xiang Nan doesn't remember them well; what impressed him more were Orochi's Four Heavenly Kings led by Goenitz, the other three being Yashiro, Shermie, and Chris, each mastering an elemental power: wind, earth, lightning, and fire.
He also recalls Iori Yagami and Leona, who likewise carry Riot of the Blood.
"Power of Death… does that really mean death itself?" Xiang Nan frowned. Super-human arm strength doesn't intuitively sound like "death"—why link the two?
Current world: King of Fighters Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NoveI[F]ire.net
Progress: Story start (no player has reached Extinction Level 10 yet)
Total players: 702 (tourist privileges – basic data accessible)
Highest-level player: ??? (tourist view restricted)
Total combat power: Human ???, Non-human ???
World rank: All-time best 37th, current 83rd
Highest individual combat value: ???
Players who have cleared this world: 11
Number of Extinction Games: 32, 901
Since becoming a "tourist," Xiang Nan has been able to see much more. The KOF world has restarted fewer times than Hunter × Hunter, implying better multiverse survival. Players here gain basic powers more easily and level faster. Eleven clearances far exceed Hunter × Hunter's two. Yet even at its peak KOF only reached 37th place, while Hunter × Hunter, led by Mai, once climbed to 16th—proof of how impressive that feat was.
Logically, the KOF world—without including the Dark Continent—should outmuscle Hunter × Hunter. Xiang Nan heard enemy players say there were 800-plus participants; now only 702 remain, showing heavy casualties among high-level players.
"Whatever happens, I can't waste my Dimensional Coins—I have to secure Orochi Power before the deadline," Xiang Nan resolved.
A few days later he slipped back into South Town. The military still blocks streets and patrols, but civilians may now go out and many shops have reopened. Security is under direct military control; any would-be troublemaker must think twice. Armed troops, APCs, jets overhead, even tanks on street corners are common sights.
Xiang Nan checks into a hotel, using cash scavenged from corpses. Directly opposite stands South Town's grandest building—the headquarters of Howard Group, Geese Howard's business empire.
System scans show Vice—supposedly far away—inside that tower. If Vice is here, Rugal must be meeting Geese. Those two already cooperate, and South Town's upheaval surely caught Rugal's eye; he is, after all, a lunatic who turns powerful foes into statues. The intruders may already be on his radar.
"If Vice is constantly shadowed by other story characters, hitting her will be tough. I'll have to wait till she's alone," Xiang Nan mused, stroking his chin. "I doubt I'm the only intruder who unlocked this quest…"
A TV behind him runs a news bulletin. Faces and photos flash across the screen: suspects killed since the military arrived—actually players from other worlds. Many failed to lift battlefield restrictions in time; others were caught in later sweeps.
The report details the earlier catastrophe in South Town: seven impacted zones—seven battlefields. Xiang Nan is sure three factions completed the basic mission: the Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan group, his own Hunter × Hunter team, and Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls.
Whether the other four factions were wiped out, escaped, or started hidden quests is unknown. The casualty list is clearly incomplete.
"Now the problem is figuring out how to make a move on Vice…" Xiang Nan muttered.
It will be hard. Vice and Mature rarely leave Rugal's side, and Xiang Nan's time is limited. Even with System clues, the quest remains challenging—truly a test for any player.
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