Early morning. Fenric had just finished washing up when the front door clicked open.
A scruffy-looking middle‑aged man stepped in, plastic takeaway bags in hand. His clothes smelled faintly of machine oil and night shift.
"Oh? Awake on your own today? That’s progress~" he laughed. "Breakfast’s on the table. Eat, then get to school."
"Okay, got it," Fenric said.
He watched the man a moment longer.
This was his current father—Father Eric. Only in his early forties, but years of rotating shifts and hard labor had aged him past that. According to inherited memory, Fenric’s mother vanished mysteriously not long after giving birth; she was never found. Father Fenric had raised him alone—feeding him, changing him, dragging him through childhood one worn‑out paycheck at a time.
A respectable man, Fenric thought quietly.
Noticing the stare, Father Fenric rubbed his cheek. "What? I got something on my face?"
"No... nothing. I’m heading out—running late." Fenric grabbed the breakfast and hurried off.
—--
The classroom was already buzzing when he arrived. The moment he stepped through the door he heard it:
"Amane-chan! Someone in Samsara got an SSS Super‑God rating last night—is that real?"
"Yeah, real. I was online when the system broadcast hit."
"Holy—! Whoever that is, they’re insane!"
"I heard the nickname ’Shura.’ Total monster!"
"I know the handle. I want the real identity. If I knew who he was I’d kneel and beg to join his carry squad!"
"I saw his avatar—full mask, assassin build. He definitely doesn’t want to be recognized. You can swap faces in Samsara, but not gender. So we at least know he’s male."
"SSS! First ever! And in Infernal Affairs,
"Check the samsara Forum—someone’s offering §30 million for Shura’s dungeon guide!"
"Rich people are built different... If I had that cash I’d buy too!"
The chatter rolled across the room like surf.
Outwardly calm, Fenric felt a cold flutter in his chest. If anyone figures out I’m Shura... only trouble will follow. Good thing the body’s previous owner had enough sense never to share his Samsara identity at school. Otherwise last night’s run would have painted a target on his back.
He slipped into his seat and pulled out his phone.
No surprise—the net was drowning in "Shura." If this world used hot search rankings, the name would be sitting at #1 with flames.
He opened the Samsara Forum—the largest official community site since Samsara Space appeared; every major topic, build, rant, and rumor about dungeon worlds ended up there.
A top‑ranked thread sat pinned with tens of thousands of replies:
"§30 Million for Shura’s Infernal Affairs Strategy (Serious Buyer)!"
Body text:
I’m offering 30M jade coins for first‑hand clearance intel from Shura’s SSS run in Infernal Affairs.
If Shura is willing to sell, contact me in Samsara. ID: NineFrontiers.
Replies scrolled fast:
"F**k, local tyrant bids 30M like pocket change!"
"Money really does solve everything."
"No joke—if I had 30M I’d buy too. SSS Safe Zone rewards are insane, even halved on replay."
"OP leads the 127 bidders so far."
"Lending the thread—Brother Shura, I’m top-tier beauty. If you’re not short on cash, sell to me—I’ll sell myself..."
"Pics or it didn’t happen!"
Fenric’s brows drew together.
Thirty million? Higher than his deal with Arke. Looked like he’d sold it cheap. Or... was that bait? Anonymous posts, big numbers—it could be a trap, a data‑harvest, or a scammer fishing for contact details.
He closed the thread. Doesn’t matter. Better a sure twenty million from a known buyer than chasing mystery gold.