"Bite!"
[Matsumoto Rangiku's fate has changed due to your actions, and she gains 65 points of fate.]
[Kotetsu Isane's fate has changed due to your actions, gaining 57 points of fate.]
[It has been detected that the host's cumulative destiny value has reached 1000 points, triggering a system upgrade.]
[System upgrade completed, the destiny mission area has been unlocked.]
[Host, please continue to work hard to change the fate of more people and unlock more system functions.]
A series of system notifications briefly blurred Arata's vision. The fate change of Rangiku and Isane was within his expectations, but what followed was quite a surprise.
Arata suddenly realized that his system could actually be upgraded.
Before this, there had been no progress at all, probably because the total fate value hadn't yet reached one thousand.
However, if the first upgrade required 1000, how much would the next one need?
[When the host's cumulative destiny value reaches 5000 points, the system will undergo a second upgrade.]
The system seemed to be able to read Arata's thoughts and responded very thoughtfully.
Arata shook his head. 5000 fate points was no small amount.
It had taken him an entire month to gather the first 1000. Now that the threshold was raised to 5000, the time and effort needed to reach that goal increased severalfold.
With that in mind, Arata decided not to worry too much about the system upgrade. After all, he was a Shinigami; the one thing he wasn't lacking was a long life.
There were still at least fifty years before the start of the main story. Even if he only gathered 100 fate points per year, he would meet the upgrade condition by then.
Moreover, the system had now unlocked the destiny mission area. He was sure the system wouldn't introduce a feature that had no purpose; very likely the answer lay right there.
Arata thought and opened the missions section. At the top of the panel, in the very center, hung a golden task card.
[Destined Mission: Hyorinmaru's Fate]
[Type: Main Line]
[Mission Target: Hitsugaya Toushirou, Kusanagi Sojirou]
[Quest Requirements: Change the fate of both boys being recognized by Hyorinmaru]
[Completion time limit: one year]
[Mission Reward: 2500 Destiny Points]
Whoa, Hyorinmaru!
The warm glow of the golden numbers struck Arata's heart hard. Just by completing one main mission, he could earn 2500 destiny points, incomparably more than what he'd accumulated so far by toiling over the Kendo club.
Arata recalled the story behind this mission. The plot came from a Bleach movie.
Hitsugaya Toushirou and Kusanagi Sojirou were good friends in the Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy. By a twist of fate, both of them were acknowledged by Hyorinmaru, the most powerful ice-type Zanpakutō in history.
This was supposed to be a beautiful story, but the news reached Central 46, and that group of narrow-minded old men, of course, strongly opposed it.
"Soul Society does not allow two identical Zanpakutō! That violates the rules!"
In the end, they decided that Hyorinmaru would belong to Toushirou, who had greater potential. Toushirou, in order to protect his friend, even intended to give up Hyorinmaru, but was coldly rejected by Central 46.
As a result, Kusanagi Sojirou was forced into a life-or-death duel against his own friend. He chose power over friendship, was defeated, and later secretly executed.
Fortunately, Kusanagi Sojirou, after being bathed in the light of the Royal Seal, was reborn in Hueco Mundo, seized the Royal Seal, and tried to lead Toushirou in a rebellion against Seireitei.
Unfortunately, hatred consumed him. In the end, he shattered the Royal Seal himself, transformed into a massive purple ice dragon, fought against the Shinigami who arrived and was eventually killed by Toushirou.
A terribly melodramatic story, but perfectly aligned with the rotten system of Soul Society.
While watching that movie, Arata genuinely believed that Aizen had slaughtered Central 46 too late and too little. They should have all been killed earlier, and he should've taken absolute control himself.
Without Central 46, Soul Society would very likely be a better place than it is now.
Later, through the events of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc, we find out that the idea of "two identical Zanpakutō" is actually a false dilemma.
All Zanpakutō have always been forged by Nimaiya Ōetsu of the Zero Division, and their names were given by Hyōsube Ichibei. You can't say the monk got drunk one day and mistakenly named the same sword "Hyorinmaru" twice.
So, something was clearly suspicious from the beginning.
However, Hinamori Momo had only entered the Spiritual Arts Academy this year, and Shiro would enroll at the earliest next year, pushed by her. This mission couldn't be started right away.
The fact that the mission had a time limit still made him a little anxious. If something happened during that period, and he couldn't leave Seireitei, it would become a serious problem.
[Host, please rest assured that all tasks will start counting after you confirm your acceptance.]
The system offered another thoughtful reminder, and Arata's eyes immediately lit up at that information.
Not bad. This quest system was quite humane. He could breathe easy.
Besides the golden main mission of Hyorinmaru, a list of side missions marked in blue light also lit up in the panel.
Arata glanced through and saw that most of them were daily task types.
[The Drinking Hero of the 11th Division] required him to personally get Madarame Ikkaku drunk at the table, in front of all members of the 11th Division, to make him stop excessive drinking. Reward: 200 destiny points.
[The Path to the Spread of Tea Art] asked him to found the Shinigami Tea Art Association in Soul Society, recruit members, and help them learn various knowledge about the tea ceremony. Reward: 300 destiny points.
In addition, there was a whole array of missions related to Gotei 13 and noble families. What he managed to see seemed like things he couldn't complete at the moment.
He decided to study all that more thoroughly once the teacher training course ended.
Arata returned to reality. His mental exchange with the system felt long, but in real time, only a few moments had passed.
"Ms. Rangiku, Ms. Isane, actually, up to this point, you two have already almost mastered the tea preparation skill. Further progress depends only on practice."
"As for these two tea sets, since it seems you're fated with them, I'd like to gift them to you. Think of it as a small token of appreciation from me." Arata smiled gently and pulled two neatly packed boxes from the cabinet.
"This… absolutely not! It's way too expensive!" Isane immediately shook her head like a rattle.
Last time, the tea and snacks, that could still pass somehow. She didn't know the exact price, but she believed it was within reasonable bounds.
But a purple clay set worth 50 million kan… in her eyes, that was by no means a "small token of appreciation." Even if she sold herself, she wouldn't raise that much.
Even Rangiku, with all her shamelessness, didn't dare accept this. "It's not that we don't want it, but this is really too much."
Arata scratched his chin, slightly confused by their firm refusal.
Then he remembered: the system had just given him a mission to found a tea association. Why not use this opportunity to lay the foundation already?
He briefly explained to them his plan to establish the Shinigami Tea Art Association in Soul Society, to launch an official tea circle in Seireitei, recruit interested people, and teach them the basics of tea art.
The two of them would help promote the idea among the Shinigami and take on roles as instructors in the association.
The tea sets would then serve as a kind of compensation for their effort and payment for the extra job.
He himself didn't have the time to constantly teach others tea preparation in person. Tonight was an exception. It would be best if Rangiku and Isane took over that role.
And the mission didn't state anywhere that he personally had to teach every lesson.
"If that's the case, then I can accept." Isane nodded.
"Fine with me too. One more job, one less job, doesn't make much of a difference." Rangiku also quickly agreed, this time with a completely clear conscience.
———
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