Reincarnation Paradise

Creak~

The door was pushed open, and a burly, grey-skinned humanoid entered the room. The humanoid was about three meters tall, bald, with thick lips. It wore tattered burlap clothes, and its thick fingers and rough, sandpaper-like skin were notable.

"Gahroo, gahroo," the humanoid muttered in an incomprehensible language, its steps heavy. Long-term barefoot walking had left thick calluses on its soles.

"Gahroo, clean up," ordered the wolf butler, nodding towards the humanoid named Gahroo, who then approached and carried away the body of the gloomy man. Blood soaked into Gahroo's burlap clothes, but the creature seemed indifferent.

From Su Xiao's perspective, as Gahroo bent down, he noticed two flat stubs on Gahroo's head, indicating that the creature once had horns that had been sawed off. Based on known information, this humanoid named Gahroo was likely the demon slave, the original master of the demon castle.

Gahroo carried the gloomy man's body out of the room, leaving a trail of blood behind. Throughout this process, aside from constantly muttering "Gahroo, Gahroo," Gahroo's expression remained unchanged, his eyes a dull grey.

The first game round ended, and the smell of blood lingered in the room. The gloomy man wasn't weak, but his luck was terrible. He neither got an empty chamber nor had extremely high-level defensive skills.

The detective girl wiped the filth off her face, frowning at the strong smell of blood. Despite her unpleasant expression, she didn't gag, as she was a third-tier contractor, and such sights were part of the job.

Not just the detective girl, all the participants, including the National Football Team brothers, were third-tier contractors. The trio had advanced quickly and had encounters that matched their rank.

"Congratulations to all of you for successfully passing the first round of the game. For the next three days, you are free to move around the first floor of the demon castle," announced the wolf butler, picking up the Fate Dominator and cleaning it with a white cloth.

Su Xiao and Bubot headed out of the room, intending to explore the demon castle. According to the world introduction, there were 147 side quests here.

Stepping out, Su Xiao found that the demon castle's style resembled an ancient European castle. The first floor spanned an area of about a thousand square meters, forming a long, rectangular shape. There were dozens of stone pillars inside, and the ground was paved with stone slabs.

The room he had been in was on the eastern side of the space. Hundreds of meters away, on the western side, was a blocked-off stone staircase leading upward. The northern and southern sides had many rooms, possibly dozens, with closed wooden doors.

Magic lamps hung on the castle's walls, casting flickering light. The grey-black walls gave the place an ancient feel, though well-ventilated, preventing it from being damp and cold.

Completing the first round of the game granted them freedom to explore the first floor of the demon castle, likely as a form of reward. As for what those rewards were, Su Xiao needed to find out for himself.

He approached the nearest wooden door, inspecting it. The door had a small inscription:

"Candy is a great hard currency. Do not attempt to open this door, you will regret it."

Puzzled by the message, Su Xiao stood before the door, pondering. In the middle of the door, there was a fist-sized hole, peering into which revealed only darkness.

After some hesitation, Su Xiao knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock...

The room remained silent for several minutes. Just as Su Xiao was about to move to another door, a voice came from inside.

"Who is it~?"

The voice was clear and sounded like a young girl's. As Su Xiao considered how to converse with her, an eye peeked through the hole in the door.

The eye was a light green, clear and bright.

"Big brother, can you give me some candy?"

The eye withdrew, and a somewhat dirty little hand reached out.

"Sure," Su Xiao replied, looking at Bubot. He didn't carry candy, but Bubot took out some fruit and milk candies. Su Xiao placed them in the little hand, which quickly retracted. R

Chewing sounds followed, and the hand reached out again a few seconds later. Su Xiao continued to give candies, repeating the process dozens of times until Bubot ran out.

Burp~

A contented burp came from inside the room.

"Big brother, thank you. You're a good person," the girl said, and the room fell silent again. Su Xiao stood there, feeling the urge to break down the door.

Knock, knock, knock...

Su Xiao knocked again, but the room remained quiet.

"That's it? After eating ten pounds of candy...?" Su Xiao had expected the conversation and candy to trigger a side quest, but it seemed not. The girl was complete, and all Su Xiao got was a "Big brother, you're a good person."

His high charisma score of 8 played a "crucial" role in this interaction. Having Bubot handle it wouldn't work either; without direct interaction, Bubot couldn't communicate effectively.

Su Xiao narrowed his eyes, contemplating whether to break down the door and drag the girl out to reorganise her thoughts. After some thought, he decided to wait and observe instead.

About half an hour later, the man with the gold-rimmed glasses approached the door. He seemed frustrated, likely having been turned away multiple times. One needed both charisma and compatibility to obtain side quests from the characters inside the rooms. High charisma alone wasn't enough.

Knock, knock, knock...

He knocked on the door, handed over some candies and chatted with the girl inside, eliciting cheerful laughter.

Ten minutes later, the door opened a crack, and an envelope was handed out. The man left with a pleased expression.

Su Xiao exchanged a look with Bubot. Could they let this slide? Of course not! Bubot was so angry its nose was askew. Those were its candies!

The two marched back to the door with determination. Su Xiao was ready to use force if necessary.

"Candy is a great hard currency. Do not attempt to open this door, you will regret it."

The message warned against entering, but it was likely a bluff. The door had opened earlier from the inside, and if something dangerous lurked within, the man's expression would have shown it.

Besides, the wolf butler had said they were free to explore the first floor. This "freedom" was worth contemplating.

Su Xiao knocked loudly on the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Big... big brother, you're a good person. Thank you for the candy," came the timid voice from inside, recognising the different knock.

"Those candies... tasted good, didn't they?" Su Xiao wasn't one to stay silent after a loss. He had a new approach in mind.

Since charisma and compatibility failed him, he'd resort to intimidation. He could compensate for his lack of charisma by relying on his other attributes.