Shitennō Heaven—the first heaven among the Six Heavens of Desire Realm, where Satsuki currently resided.
From the system data she had just reviewed, Satsuki now understood her identity. From being an autonomous person to becoming a boss—this kind of experience was truly strange.
But she quickly composed herself and turned her gaze toward the screen before her. The projection was enormous and could change according to her will, making it very convenient to observe.
At this moment, in the very center of Shitennō Heaven, a large group of players with red IDs had gathered.
This projection device not only allowed her to observe the scene but also let her hear the voices of those present.
Unfortunately, there were simply too many players. Though they were distinctly divided into three teams, each spoke different languages, making it hard for Satsuki to understand them clearly.
These three groups seemed to be discussing something. Among them, one team clearly held the advantage, because behind their leader stood three figures cloaked in capes.
Just standing there, those three drew the gaze of nearly everyone present.
Eighty to ninety percent of all eyes were focused on those mysterious figures.
Just as Satsuki was about to enlarge the image for closer observation, the one in the lead—clad in a red cloak—spoke. To her surprise, she found she could understand his words, for it was standard Japanese.
"Since we've already agreed on the division of spoils, it's time for the three of us to act. After all, it's the first time we've ever had a chance like this."
Another figure in a blue cloak spoke with a clear and melodious female voice: "Exactly. This is the very first dungeon that requires us to take action. I don't know why the higher-ups approved it, but the opportunity is rare~ Besides, once we're done, there's a hefty bonus waiting. Why wouldn't we?"
From within the yellow cloak came the voice of a mature man: "My household expenses have risen lately. Just had a kid, so I need to earn as much as I can. Finally managing to secure this opportunity—I won't be letting it slip away."
"They seem to know each other well, and they must be quite popular among the players," Satsuki thought as she watched. "They should be the leaders of this dungeon raid. Let's see how they plan to proceed."
...
The three cloaked figures did not converse further with the others. After exchanging nods with the leaders of the other teams, each of their bodies began to glow with light.
"Tier 3 Magic—Flight?"
At the sight of this magical glow, the corresponding spell name automatically surfaced in Satsuki's mind.
"But I thought flight was forbidden in the Six Heavens of Desire dungeon. Am I mistaken?"
She watched the three rise into the air, but her peripheral vision confirmed that no one else had taken to the sky.
Did they possess special items? Or were they special classes?
Either way, these three were worth paying close attention to.
"Host, you need not worry. Not just with three players—even with three hundred or three thousand, it would be impossible at this stage to breach the first layer of the Six Heavens of Desire."
Satsuki did not respond. Her eyes remained on the three figures, but she also kept an ear out for the system.
At present, only it could gather information beyond her reach. Though unreliable, its words might still contain valuable details.
Having received tacit approval, the system unusually assumed the role of commentator within Satsuki's consciousness. Normally it never had such treatment, so now it was explaining with particular zeal.
"Host, don't underestimate this first layer, Shitennō Heaven. Although its difficulty is not as high as the later layers, it requires a special mechanism to clear. In this large map, there are four boss-level monsters positioned in the four directions. Only by defeating them in a specific order can the teleportation gate to the second heaven be opened. Otherwise, their HP will reset, even the defeated bosses will revive—directly entering a berserk state capable of wiping out entire parties. What's more, after a certain interval, these four bosses randomly teleport around. Because each boss has a completely different skill set, without four teams familiar with all their abilities and perfectly coordinated command, clearing the first stage is nearly impossible."
Then, Satsuki saw from the projection the three glowing figures, each radiating a different divine light, flying off in separate directions.
Not grouping together, but splitting their forces?
Switching the screen into three windows, Satsuki locked onto each of them to observe their strategies. What appeared next on the projection left her shocked.
In one of the views, the figure covered in red light maintained only a single magic—a shield-like spell—before charging fearlessly into the swarm of elite mobs pouring through the sky like insects.
"Reflect Shield?"
This spell was not particularly strong. It was a relatively low-tier caster's magic that reflected a portion of incoming damage back at attackers. It wasn't considered very practical, since casters typically had low HP, and the reflected damage was based only on a percentage of what they themselves endured. At most, players would invest a few points in it as a prerequisite skill.
"To dare rush straight into a mob with just that—this player must be insane."
But before the system could finish mocking, reality delivered a merciless slap across its "round face."
Thousands of elite mobs hurled themselves at the red figure. Yet the instant their attacks struck the Reflect Shield, without a sound, every last one disintegrated into dust.
"Eh?"
The sight left the system completely frozen, unable to process. And that was only one of them.
Satsuki turned her attention to the blue figure. Without casting spells or making any gestures, every elite mob that entered a radius of about five hundred meters around her instantly collapsed to the ground, their life force vanishing without warning.
Meanwhile, the golden figure radiated an incomprehensibly vast aura. Even Satsuki could not discern its structure. Under its illumination, all the energy and matter within the elite mobs began to riot. Their bodies ruptured layer by layer from within, shattering completely.
...
Under the power of these three, no—it couldn't even be called an attack—they simply moved forward, and the mobs that the system had claimed could contend with max-level players were annihilated instantly.
"This is impossible!"
For the first time, the system screamed inside Satsuki's mind. Clearly, the sight shook it to its core.
"These are players of this world?" As a mere consciousness observing, Satsuki's tone grew serious. "You said you chose the strongest boss template for me. Yet from what I see, those three look more like bosses than I do."
If the system had really transferred her into a dungeon already being farmed casually by players, her own safety would be in jeopardy.
The so-called Strongest System Across All Worlds now teetered on the edge of a crash, utterly unable to interpret what it was witnessing.
Frantically, it reviewed the boss data it had chosen for Satsuki.
"No, Host—I definitely selected the final boss template of the ultimate End-Tier dungeon."
In most online games, the strongest boss resides in the strongest dungeon, and the strongest dungeon also contains the most powerful mobs.
The mobs in the Sixth Heaven of Desire were supposed to be top-tier elites, at least ten levels stronger than the current players. By all logic, it should have been impossible to wipe them out so easily.
Based on its prior intel, the system had calculated that while a single Sixth Heaven elite mob might be manageable for a top player, two would already be a struggle. With three or more, without special tools or methods, any player would be doomed.
Yet the strength of these three figures had shattered all of the system's assumptions, rendering its data laughably useless.
Thus, in true fashion, the so-called Strongest System could only declare:
"Host, there is definitely something strange about this."
...
Satsuki let out a sigh. She shouldn't have sighed, but she did anyway.
"This useless system's answer was not unexpected. What's truly surprising is that just a moment ago, I actually thought it was somewhat reliable. Its greatest strength might just be in arranging the strongest possible opponents for me."
In the end, she could only rely on herself.
Satsuki once again focused her attention on the screen.
"Judging by those three's performance, so-called elite mobs can't even wear them down. The only hope lies in stronger bosses."
As she thought this, one of the images was suddenly covered by a massive shadow. Without effort, she could see it—a giant golden-winged divine bird flew across the horizon, heading straight for the red glowing humanoid figure. The icon of the Golden-Winged Garuda was green, which meant it was her ally and could be controlled.
Just by appearance alone, Satsuki could tell this bird was no ordinary being. Its golden feathers radiated countless divine visions, and on its head gleamed a wish-fulfilling jewel. Its speed was so fast that its body seemed to vanish into golden light. From that fleeting figure, Satsuki managed to read its data.
Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon—Garuda: Level 150
Rank: World-Class Boss
Below, there had been a long string of stats, but the Garuda's speed was too great. In an instant, it moved out of her readable range.
At the sight of this Garuda, the system finally felt it could contribute something useful.
"Host, this is one of your subordinates. In this world, the max player level is 100, but Garuda is level 150 and a World-Class Boss. Wiping out that enemy should be easy—"
The system hadn't even finished the word "easy" when the red glowing figure simply raised its hand.
"[Dragon Lightning]."
"Hah, using a Tier 5 spell against a level 150 World-Class Boss?" The system sounded smug. "Even super-tier magic wouldn't necessarily break its defenses, and he's attacking with Tier 5? That caster must be an idiot."
In the Dragon Lightning system of spells, it was a mid-tier lightning magic. It didn't stand out much among spells of its level, having only two traits—[Sure Hit] and [Paralysis].
The mighty Golden-Winged Garuda didn't even bother to dodge, already gathering a golden lightning breath in its beak.
That breath was comparable to a super-tier spell.
But then—the massive Garuda was struck by that tiny bolt of lightning, smaller than one of its feathers.
Satsuki clearly saw the Garuda's entire body convulse, electric snakes racing across its form. The paralysis effect instantly interrupted the lightning breath it had been about to unleash.
"This is impossible! World-Class Bosses are immune to all control effects!" The system blurted out, too late as usual.
But reality didn't bend to its words. The red figure quietly muttered another phrase, one that Satsuki heard distinctly.
"Grant [Instant Death Authority]."
Kyeeaaahhh!—
From the paralyzed Garuda came a shrill, agonized cry. Its enormous body twitched violently in the air, wings flapping twice in a death spasm, before spiraling down and crashing into the ground.
The impact shook all of the Sixth Heaven of Desire. Unlucky mobs beneath its bulk were instantly crushed to death.
But it didn't end there. From the Garuda's corpse erupted torrents of poison gas and miasma, flooding a quarter of Shitennō Heaven in moments. Even the Buddha-empowered ground corroded into pits several meters deep. Then, the Garuda's body ignited in a blue-green poisonous flame.
Only then did its death animation conclude, leaving behind the unending inferno that burned across half the sky.
As the Garuda perished, countless beams of light shot forth from its body. The meaning was clear: the loot would start at relic-level equipment, with chances of divine-class or even world-class items dropping if fortune favored them.
World-Class Bosses are called such because they have a tiny chance of dropping specific world-class items. These items are usually parts of the Boss's own body. Because of this, World-Class Bosses themselves benefit from world-class protection—each one is born with a "WORLD" buff. This grants them the ultimate safeguard of an entire world, making them immune even to the effects of world-class items.
"One strike… to instantly kill a level 150 World-Class Boss, Garuda?" If the system had a face, it would now be the perfect picture of shock. "Garuda had complete lightning resistance—how could this happen?!"
Witnessing this, even Satsuki realized something was very wrong. Against such opponents who completely disregarded basic rules, the normal her would have immediately chosen to strategically retreat using space-time ninjutsu. Though proud, she was not foolish. She knew well the concept of "strength is only relative" and would never stubbornly fight blindly. But now, she couldn't move at all.
She truly didn't know if having such a system was fortune or disaster.
The red figure, after instantly killing Garuda, acted as if it had done nothing of significance. It didn't even glance at the beams of loot, instead flying straight in another direction.
Elsewhere, the golden figure had also dealt with his encountered Boss—an eight-armed Asura King. Perhaps once extremely formidable, but in battle, it fared no better than Garuda. The moment its massive body entered the golden aura's range, it ruptured from the inside out. Even its [Immortal Vajra Body] trait couldn't last three seconds.
As for the blue figure—it was even more outrageous. Satsuki had yet to see her lift a finger. All the mobs, even Bosses, collapsed dead the instant she approached.
At one point, when she encountered a Boss, the random teleportation mechanic activated, dropping a second Boss beside her. Yet, even against two level 150 World-Class Bosses at once, she made no move. Both still fell instantly, lifeless before they could act.
The process was like theater. As soon as the blue figure arrived, the Bosses dropped dead. Satsuki couldn't even understand how she was doing it.
"System, can the Time-Space Medal be forcibly activated?"
"No, Host." The system now panicked as well. "The previous emergency trigger only activated because the internal program detected an unavoidable lethal crisis. Right now, I'm getting no such response. And even if it did trigger a warning, your Time-Space Medal has no energy left. It's impossible to teleport."
"What did you just say?" From its words, Satsuki sensed something important.
"Host, I said your Time-Space Medal has no energy and can't transmit you."
"No, the line before that." Satsuki repeated: "You said, 'The internal program only activates if it judges an unavoidable lethal crisis, but right now I'm getting no response.' In other words… what I'm facing now isn't considered an unavoidable lethal crisis?"
Could that be true? Or was it just wishful thinking?
She had no time to ponder. Something far more terrifying occurred. The moment the four first-layer Bosses were slain, a massive teleportation gate appeared at the center of the vast first-layer map.
Simultaneously, an identical gate appeared in the center of the Sixth Heaven of Desire.
Whether or not they had killed the bosses in the right order, the first layer's gate was directly linked to the sixth? Even Satsuki, with her limited understanding of the game's mechanics, knew something was terribly wrong.
But she had no time to dwell on such details. Even if the mobs in the Sixth Heaven were stronger than those of the first, against those three monstrous beings, there would be no hope of survival.
What now? Their strength was so far beyond her comprehension—how could she even fight?
Moments later, the three differently colored figures, each trailing a long tail of light, flew out from the teleportation gate.
Swish—Swish—Swish—
The instant they appeared, the three of them rushed straight toward Satsuki's direction. Though still far away, she could already feel the sensation of being locked onto by predators.
At that moment, an unfamiliar system alert suddenly sounded.
"Detected abnormal target. Detected massive anomalous data. Detected target permission irregularities. Detected abnormal attack methods."
"Countermeasure calculation in progress…"
"Countermeasure calculation in progress…"
"Countermeasure calculation in progress…"
"No viable countermeasure. Initiating forced teleportation of all other-layer Bosses. Granting all targets [Berserk State]. Cut them down!"
As the voice finished, several enormous teleportation gates materialized, instantly surrounding the three glowing figures on all sides.