Wei continued strolling through the marketplace until he noticed a towering building piercing the sky.
"Hey sir, what's that skyscraper over there?"
Wei asked a passerby.
"Oh, that? That's the Haj Mahal Palace. That's where our city boss resides."
"City boss? So, is he like a strong warrior?"
Wei asked curiously.
"The previous one? No. But the new city boss—yes."
"New city boss? So you're saying the last one just got replaced?"
"Yeah, just a few days ago."
"Thanks for the info, man."
Wei said with a grin as he walked toward the palace.
"Maybe the city boss and I could do a little warm-up fight."
When Wei arrived at the front gate of the Haj Mahal, the two guards immediately looked up to check the screen hovering above his head. Their eyes widened in surprise when they saw Wei's level.
Wei stood calmly in front of them. The two guards began to look nervous.
"Hi! Where can I find the city boss?"
Wei asked with a friendly smile.
The guards, visibly shaken, replied,
"H-He's on the top floor of the building!"
"Thanks!" Wei said cheerfully as he stepped through the sliding door, ready for whatever came next.
Inside the elevator, Wei pressed the button for the 51st floor—the highest level. He waited patiently as the elevator steadily ascended, floor by floor, until it finally reached the top. With a soft chime, the doors slid open, revealing a quiet hallway leading to a traditional Japanese-style sliding door.
Curious, Wei stepped out of the elevator, his eyes narrowing slightly as he approached the entrance.
Wei pushed open the sliding door and stepped into a room built in traditional Japanese style—tatami mats on the floor, wooden beams, and minimal decor. At the far end of the room was another sliding door, identical to the first.
Curious and slightly cautious, Wei walked across the room and opened the second door—only to find another room exactly the same as the last.
Wei grew even more curious—and impatient. Eager to see what lay ahead, he hurried to the next sliding door and shoved it open. But again, it was the same room.
Irritated, he stormed across and flung open the next door.
"Am I under a spell?" Wei muttered, frustration rising in his voice.
"If this is your little trick, you damn city boss, then let me tell you now—it's not going to work on me!"
He bolted forward, throwing open yet another door—only to be greeted by the same scene again.
Wei kept running, breath quickening, pushing through door after door… but each one led to the exact same room, as if he were trapped in an endless loop.
Finally losing his patience, Wei came to a halt. His sword materialized in his right hand with a flash of light.
"I've had enough of this!"
With a furious shout, he swung his blade twice through the air. Two spinning arcs of white liquid energy burst from the sword, slicing forward like twin crescents.
The swirling blades slammed into the sliding door ahead. Upon impact, the door shimmered—its surface rippling like water—before the illusion shattered. The distorted room dissolved. The enchantment had been broken—revealing what looked like the same room, but with one key difference.
At the far end, a fox-like samurai sat calmly on a tatami mat, dressed in a flowing gray kimono. His fur was sleek, his expression unreadable. Resting on either side of him were two elegant elven women, silent and composed, their eyes watching Wei closely.
A glowing window screen flashed in front of Wei:
********************************
Level: 75
Name: Kitsune
Race: Human
Warrior type: Blader
*******************************
"What the hell? Human?" Wei muttered, frowning. "How does a fox become a human?"
"I asked the goddess to make me look like this," the fox said in a calm, low tone, a sly grin on his face.
Wei smirked, clearly unimpressed. The mention of the goddess only deepened his suspicion.
"I don't know if that's true… but I'm sure of one thing—you'll be asking that goddess of yours for a new face once I'm done with you."
"You want to fight right away?" the fox asked, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't you even a little glad to see another human here? We could work together, you know."
"Work with you? For what?" Wei snapped. "I don't care about anything else. I just want to go back to the human world. Unless you can help me with that, you're standing in my way. And if you're working with the goddess to stop me…"
Wei's eyes narrowed, his hand resting on his sword.
"…Then I'll have to cut you down."
He grinned darkly.
"If the goddess could drag a human from Earth into Birigan, then all I need is to rob her for a teleportation scroll."
Wei drew his sword with a sharp metallic ring.
"Draw your blade, fox. I'm itching to level up!"
The two elven women quickly stood up and rushed toward the sliding door, leaving the room without a word.
"I'm not threatened by a mere human who thinks he can defeat the goddess," the fox said calmly, his voice sharp with disdain.
Wei smirked. "We'll see about that."
A glowing white pearl materialized in Wei's palm. Without hesitation, he threw it to the ground. The pearl shattered with a splash of white liquid that quickly morphed into four snarling white wolves.
With a roar, Wei and the wolves charged at the fox. The wolves leapt first, fangs bared, while Wei aimed a deadly swing of his blade toward the fox's neck.
But before either the wolves' fangs or Wei's blade could reach him, the fox swiftly drew his katana. In a blink, he swung it with graceful precision. As he moved, multiple afterimages split from his form, each one slashing through the wolves in synchronized motion.
The room echoed with the sharp clash of steel and growls of pain.
The wolves collapsed to the floor, their bodies dissolving back into pools of white liquid. Wei nearly dropped to his knees, panting heavily. He glanced down at his chest and saw a deep gash—blood oozing from the wound. A red notification blinked on the screen above him:
-2100 HP damage.
Fury flared in his eyes. "Tch... damn it," he growled.
Behind him, the fox stood calmly, katana lowered, not a scratch on him.
Wei gritted his teeth and spun around, slashing his blade in a wide arc. As he did, his sword transformed into a long, glowing white liquid blade. The white liquid on the floor stirred in response, rising up and morphing into multiple sharp, floating blades.
"Take this!" Wei roared.
The elongated liquid blade in his hand slashed forward, while the floating blades surged toward the fox like a violent tide. The fox's eyes widened as he was struck—sliced by both Wei's glowing sword and the airborne liquid blades from the ground.
The fox staggered backward, blood seeping from thin cuts across his arms and chest. His gray kimono was slashed open in several places, revealing bruised skin beneath.
He wiped the corner of his mouth where blood had trickled. "Impressive…" he muttered, his voice calm despite the injuries. "No wonder the goddess is wary of you."
Wei pointed his glowing blade at the fox. "Still standing? Then I guess it's not over yet."
The floor around them trembled slightly. A sudden gust of wind surged through the room—unnatural and cold. The fox narrowed his eyes.
"You've awakened the building's enchantments. We don't have much time left before reinforcements arrive," he said, straightening up. "So let me show you why I was chosen to lead this city."
The fox's body shimmered, and a fiery aura erupted around him. His katana began to glow with a violet flame, and the screen above his head updated:
Kitsune - [Blader] Level 75 ➤ [Spirit Ascended Form] Level 81
Wei's eyes widened. "What?! You're hiding your real level?"
Kitsune smirked. "The goddess gave me more than a new face, Wei. She gave me power meant for war."
"Hahahahaha! I just slashed the hell out of you, and you call that power meant for war? Even boosting yourself to level 81 doesn't make you better than me. The goddess must have been laughing when she created you—hahahahaha!" Wei burst into laughter.
Without warning, Kitsune dashed forward, his form blurring into afterimages. Wei quickly dropped another white pearl onto the ground.
Clang!
Kitsune's blade came down in a flaming arc, but Wei caught it with both hands on his sword. The clash erupted in a shower of sparks, the shockwave making the entire room tremble.
Suddenly, Kitsune's eyes widened—there was another figure forming beside him. It was Wei's clone. In an instant, the clone delivered a sharp kick to Kitsune's left rib, launching him into the air before he crashed and rolled across the floor.
"I think your reinforcements should be here by now," Wei taunted, grinning. "Or maybe they'll just find your corpse instead—hahahaha!"
While Kitsune lay on the floor, still unable to get up, three glowing teleportation circles flared to life on the ground beside him.
"Hmmm… speaking of those assholes, looks like the reinforcements have arrived."