Yami's eyebrows twitched slightly at her shameless words. His gaze slid toward Ella, who quickly turned her head away with a flushed face, pretending she knew nothing. He sighed softly.
"Let's go. I have something important to discuss with you… and—" Yami paused, his eyes shifting toward the plump woman standing before him. His lips curved faintly. "We have all the time in the world. There's no need to rush… I'll give you my blessing soon enough."
Shion's cheeks reddened, and she gave a small, shy nod.
In the Throne Room
Yami sat casually upon the throne, summoning a light curtain to survey the state of Bone City. At the same time, he listened to reports being delivered one by one.
So far, nothing dramatic had changed.
Most of the citizens were diligently digging at the magic stone mines, but their efficiency was neither high nor fast.
Although it looked like ordinary mining, in truth, what they were doing was the materialization of the world's original magic stone essence. Mining was just the external ritual—a concrete act that extracted the concept itself.
This was not the same as real mining. Only those with true strength could draw out more of the world's power.
Unfortunately, the people here were all ordinary. What they dug up looked like large chunks of ore, but in reality, these were bloated products mixed with impurities. After purification, only a fraction of pure magic stone remained.
Currently, even with 10,000 people working hard, the total stones mined in a single day wasn't much. With practice and greater skill, output would surely improve.
Still, Yami hoped someone could rise above the rest, step into the role of adventurer under the dungeon's rules, and bring true benefit back to the city.
[Ding! You have obtained the E-level monster meme [Strange Power]!]
"???"
Yami blinked, startled by the sudden pop-up notification. He immediately checked the source.
It turned out Alice had just used the Dungeon Roulette for the first time. And against all odds, she'd actually pulled a meme. An E-level one, true, but still—an incredible stroke of luck.
E-class might not sound impressive, but memes could grow. With more spins of the roulette in the future, opportunities for growth would only multiply.
Others had been even luckier. Several had drawn D-class physical or speed enhancements on their first attempts.
[Ding! You have obtained the C-level monster meme [Netherworld Fire Apostle]!]
"!!!"
Yami stiffened. This time it was Akame—who spun the roulette.
Akame, Mine, and Kurome had all used their chances as well. Mine and Kurome had each received the standard guarantee: [Physical Strengthening]. Nothing extraordinary.
But Akame had three spins available at her current level. The first was also a guaranteed [Strengthening]… yet on the second, she pulled something beyond expectation.
[Meme]: Netherworld Fire Apostle
[Level]: C-class
[Abilities]:
Nether Fire: Wield ghostly flames that burn without touching the spirit.
Netherworld Mantra: Etch mantras across the body, entering a Netherworld state.
Yami exhaled, lips twitching. He didn't plan to use Netherworld Fire Apostle yet. After all, more than ten thousand magic stones wouldn't even be enough to fuel its appetite.
But that E-class meme—[Strange Power]—was different. It was exactly what he needed. The final missing piece for completing the first-floor dungeon's monster set.
[Meme]: Strange Power
[Level]: E-class
[Ability]:
Strange Power: A sudden, explosive burst of superhuman strength.
The abilities were simple, clear, and easy to understand.
The original embryo of all beasts would've been the most suitable… but that belonged to the second dungeon layer. Yami wasn't about to waste magic stones hatching monsters beyond the first floor.
Among the undead embryos, only the zombie line made sense.
It came down to two choices: Zombie Primitive or the Strange Power meme.
[Ding! 10 magic stones are required to hatch this meme!]
"Ten stones? That's worth it," Yami muttered. "Alright then—start with one thousand people."
[Ding! Monster successfully hatched! You obtained the [Weird Zombie] template!]
[Monster]: Weird Zombie
[Rank]: First Level
[Title]: Ordinary
[Race]: Undead
[Memes]:
F-rank: Infection (Lv.1)
E-rank: Strange Power (Lv.1)
Perfect. All he had to do now was wait for these "strange power zombies" to grow into third-level terrors.
The second virtual world had hit society far harder than the first.
"This is probably the current situation," Yami murmured. "Society's finally starting to unravel."
Mizuki's call confirmed it. She forwarded him the latest data:
In just three days since the second virtual world ended, 29,000 people had died in bizarre, sudden accidents.
Worse, people had started manifesting superpowers in the real world.
Naturally, this immediately drew the attention of the Alliance's upper brass. Mizuki herself had been questioned.
Of course, she couldn't expose the virtual world. She only fed them the safest crumbs of information. Even so, the Alliance moved fast—setting up a Superpower Administration Bureau to recruit gifted individuals worldwide.
The moment that news spread, "superpowers" exploded across headlines and social media.
Yami skimmed it all, but his attention stayed elsewhere.
"I've already looked into your situation, Mizuki," Yami said. "With your ability, you'll definitely be invited into this new Bureau."
"Fufu, that's inevitable." Mizuki smirked with pride. "But honestly, we've just been wearing the tiger's skin."
Her tone turned sly. "We reported that these powers weren't obtained with your help. And just like that, the hype died down."
"Yami-kun, you're not angry about that, are you~?"
"..."
He froze in silence.
Why did those words sound suspiciously like: 'Giegie~ If I do this, your wife won't get mad, right~?'
The déjà vu was unbearable.
Mizuki mistook his silence for anger.
"Ding-dong!"
Yami's phone buzzed.
A private message.
When he opened it, his eyes widened—Mizuki had actually sent a half-revealing selfie.
Then her voice chimed through again, soft but smug:
"Yami-kun, I'm sorry. I used your name to smooth things over with the higher-ups."
Yami smiled bitterly. How could he be bothered about such a trivial thing?
"It's fine, I'm not angry. But… I wouldn't mind getting more photos."
Mizuki's voice dropped to a purr.
"Oh? Do you want a close-up down there? I'm quite confident in my pink color and shape, you know."
"Please," Yami said with a completely serious face. "Send more."
"Haha, no problem~"
The problem was… Mizuki didn't sound like she was joking at all.
If she really dared to send it, Yami might just consider marrying this bold woman on the spot.
"By the way," Mizuki added, "Chisato and the others actually want to surrender completely to you, Yami-kun. It would save us a lot of trouble. If you plan on setting up any organization, please invite us as soon as possible."
"Organization…" Yami tapped his chin. He hadn't thought about it clearly before.
But society was becoming more chaotic by the day. Handling everything alone was exhausting. It would indeed be easier with reliable subordinates, like Ella or Xinya.
"I'll think about it," he answered.
"Okay, then it's settled."
After hanging up, Mizuki lowered her gaze, staring at her pale, bare body. Her cheeks flushed crimson.
She realized she'd just done something outrageous… and promised something even more outrageous.
"To shoot, or not to shoot…?"
After a long moment of hesitation, she sat on the bed, spreading her long, white legs. With trembling hands, she raised her phone, preparing to take a shot of her panty-clad…
"Mizuki, what are you doing? Why have you locked yourself up all day?"
Creak.
The door swung open.
"Eh?!"
Mizuki froze, phone still in hand.
Chisato stood in the doorway, eyes widening. The two of them stared at each other for several long seconds.
"…Sorry. Wrong timing."
Bam!
Chisato closed the door instantly.
And then—her voice rang down the hallway:
"Everyone! Do you know what I just saw Mizuki doing?! She was actually taking pictures of her ***—!"
"Whaaaaat?!" Mizuki's scream tore out of her throat.
If you take even one second too long in a moment like this… people explode, and society collapses!
The ultimate shame!!!
"Ding-dong!"
Her phone buzzed again.
It was Yami.
Yami Tsukishiro: After thinking about it, you'd better not take pictures. The network isn't safe. If you really want me to see, just let me appreciate it in person. Come to me anytime.
"!!!"
Mizuki buried her red face in her pillow, kicking her legs like mad.
She seriously felt like she had no reason left to live in this world.
The true...ultimate shame!!!
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