"Here he comes! The boss—Shura is here!"
"Finally, hope has arrived! This wave, we're all following Shura!"
"As long as we hug his thigh, if Master Shura eats meat, we can at least drink the soup!"
"Don't celebrate too soon—I heard there are foreign forces trying to snipe Shura in this dungeon!"
"For real?!"
"Damn it, why say that now? Don't let the city gate fire burn us pond fish!"
"I'm out! When gods clash, mortals should get out of the way!"
"I'm not leaving. I believe in Shura. If he dared to show up knowing people are gunning for him, that means he's fully confident."
"Yeah! Shura's the real deal—never failed a dungeon, always goes super god mode, and always walks away with an SSS rank! If anyone's reliable, it's him!"
"Snipe the Shura boss? Ha! I hope they don't get counter-killed instead!"
At that moment, at least a hundred Samsara players had gathered in the preparation room, with more still arriving.
As soon as Fenric appeared, the place erupted in chatter.
Suddenly, a Samsara stepped forward and declared, "Great God Shura, I'm Monkey! I just reached a comprehensive Level B. If our tasks don't conflict, I'm willing to follow your lead. Let's teach those foreigners a lesson!"
His words had just landed when his companion chimed in, "Me too, Lord Shura! I'm Liuer. As long as our objectives align, I'll follow your command without question!"
Their enthusiasm sparked a wave of similar declarations.
"And me!"
"Count me in! Let's give those outsiders a hard slap!"
"I'm in!"
"Great God Shura, as long as it means fighting off the foreigners, I'll follow your every word!"
In the end, the majority of Samsaras present openly expressed their willingness to follow Shura's orders.
The unified display of loyalty fired up the entire crowd.
Energy surged. Morale soared.
And Fenric?
He laughed.
A full, pleased laugh.
He raised his voice and said confidently, "Alright then! Let's deal with the foreigners—together!"
If their missions didn't clash, teaming up to crush outsiders only made sense.
After Shura gave his blessing, the energy in the preparation room reached a fever pitch.
Then came the system announcement:
"Attention all Samsaras: Teleportation to the mission world will begin in 10 minutes."
More and more Samsaras continued to gather.
By now, at least 200 had assembled.
The chatter never stopped—except around Fenric, who had closed his eyes to rest. Out of respect, no one dared disturb him.
Ten minutes passed in a flash.
"Teleportation countdown starting: 10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1!"
When the countdown ended, red light enveloped everyone in the room, and they vanished from sight.
"Matching opponents..."
"Match successful. Your competitors this round: Zone E and Zone H."
"Assigning factions..."
"Faction assigned: Cao Wei."
"Warning: This is a counter-dungeon world. Special items, skills, fighting techniques, and abilities are prohibited."
Inside the red light, each Samsara received this notification.
Fenric's eyes narrowed.
Zone H?
Wasn't that the Thousand Lanterns Island Nation?
How very coincidental.
A new interface floated before him—a virtual figure of an ordinary soldier appeared.
"Samsara player 'Shura', this is your default appearance in this world. Please customize it if desired."
Fenric made a few adjustments—not to make himself look overly awe-inspiring, but just enough to have clean features and an honest face, something that would inspire trust.
"Age defaulted to 20. Please enter your alias for this world."
He thought for a moment.
Then, reversing his nickname "Shura," he typed: Arush.
"Alias confirmed. All Samsaras will be fluent in this world's language automatically."
The red glow vanished.
When Fenric's vision returned, he found himself inside a military tent.
Through the tent's entrance, he saw an open training ground. A massive banner fluttered proudly in the wind, bearing a single bold character: "Cao."
"So this is Cao Ying?"
Fenric smiled with satisfaction. Being assigned to Cao Cao's army was a stroke of luck.
Everyone knew—during the Three Kingdoms era, Cao Cao was the strongest warlord.
Sure, Liu Bei had his famed Five Tiger Generals, adored by future generations.
But what use was fan service in the middle of a mission?
Fenric wasn't here to chase legends—he was here to clear objectives.
Looking around, he took in the crude interior. Straw mats served as beds. A few soldiers lay about, resting.
Beside each man lay a redwood spear—including one next to Fenric.
Pikemen, huh?
Fenric narrowed his eyes and tried activating his telekinesis.
Nothing.
The spear didn't budge.
"Just as I thought—Telekinesis powers are sealed."
He tried activating Armament Haki.
Still nothing.
But...
Fenric clenched his fists.
He could still feel the Power coursing through him.
He smiled confidently.
As long as he had power—and plot awareness—he'd still dominate.
"System Alert: Main Mission Initiated (Code: Arush)"
Main Mission 1: Earn Reputation Points
Objective: Earn at least 1000 reputation points in 15 days
Current Progress: 0/1000
Failure: Obliteration
Note: Higher rep = better final score
Main Mission 2: Win the Team Battle
Objective: Lead your faction to victory within 15 days
Failure: Lose half the rewards from Mission 1