"This?"
Fenric turned the soot‑stained bracelet over in his palm, genuinely surprised. He hadn’t expected Renée Chu’s keepsake to register as a special item after her fall.
Then again... maybe it’s not impossible.
The moment he’d slipped it back onto her skeletal wrist, it had flared with golden light. Ordinary junk didn’t glow like that.
Unexpected, yes. Unwelcome? Definitely not.
He stowed the bracelet in his personal warehouse. He’d appraise it properly once he was back in the Samsara Space.
Ten minutes later, his figure blurred—and vanished.
Ding!
Congratulations! Samsara player "Shura" has performed exceptionally in the Samsara Tower dungeon world "The Mountain Village Old Corpse."
Completion time: 6 hours.
Target Renée Chu eliminated.
Mission over‑fulfilled.
Final rating: SSS (Super‑God)!
The announcement didn’t just echo through one hall.
It detonated across all of Samsara Space—the Plaza, the Dungeon Hall, and every active dungeon instance. Every Samsara player that’s online heard it.
SSS.
Super‑God.
Again.
And the one who earned it?
Shura.
Shock rippled outward like a blast wave.
This was his third SSS rating. All three earned within ten days of entering Samsara.
Unprecedented. Unreal.
The Space exploded.
[???] He’s back. That guy.
[Floor Sweeper] Knees weak. The Shura fear returns.
[ClownFish] Every broadcast gives me a migraine.
[KnifeUnderPillow] Three. Super. Gods. In under two weeks. Who lets him do this?!
[AshTray] Bro’s not running dungeons. Bro’s running a full‑time humiliation service for the rest of us!
[RottenArmor] Wait—"Mountain Village Old Corpse"? Isn’t that Nightmare Tier? The ghost in there is cracked! He still killed her??
[MaggotSoup] Must’ve had some OP artifact.
[RuleBook] Artifact use is suppressed in that instance. System patch months ago.
[KillTax] Then he hacked—
[RuleBook] Shut up.
[BlackGate] I ran that dungeon once. Almost didn’t come back. 3 days. 7 hauntings. Lived only because I zip‑tied myself inside a room and starved till timeout. Came out with clinical depression. How the hell did Shura anti‑kill the ghost?!
[DampRope] Bro, you good now?
[KillSwitch] Didn’t One Leaf Knows Autumn put a bounty on Shura? At this rate Shura will kill him in a few runs~
[IronDice] Wouldn’t bet against it. Man stacks SSS like daily log‑ins.
[Barfly] News drop: a whole squad went into Old Corpse trying to camp Shura for the bounty. Not seeing any of ’em back on the Plaza feed...
[ThreeWounds] ...You serious?
[Barfly] Ask around. That rich idiot who calls himself "Great Demon King"? He organized it. You see him online?
[GraveWind] F**k. Shura really slaughter them?
[BleachedShell] Look, a talent like that doesn’t survive Samsara by being gentle. I declined when Great Demon King tried to rope me in yesterday. Best choice I ever made!
[StickToHim] Follow Shura and just buy his strat dumps—we all live longer.
[LunchBox] Shura boss, please carry me!!
The shock didn’t stop at chat.
Major factions took notice. Some saw opportunity. Others, threat.
If a man could walk into a Nightmare dungeon, kill the boss in six hours, and come out with Super‑God, what else could he do? And what could he teach? A single strat from him could raise a clan’s entry pass rate by orders of magnitude.
People started moving.
"The Mountain Village Old Corpse" was infamous among early‑stage Samsara players. The first Nightmare‑difficulty dungeon accessible on the lower stage, it had chewed up wave after wave of newbies. Nine out of ten challengers failed outright and never came out.
Those who survived?
Many cracked. The Samsara System healed flesh. It did not heal the mind.
Most newcomers avoided that dungeon now, choosing the far gentler ’Kung Fu Jungle’ instance when entering Second Stage.
Which made tonight’s announcement even more insane.
Not only had Shura cleared Nightmare difficulty quickly—he’d killed the ghost no one wanted to confront.
The implications sank in. Fast.
Entertainment City, private booth.
One Leaf Knows Autumn lounged with two hostesses—one pouring wine, one kneading his shoulders. Relaxed. Amused.
Then the system broadcast hit.
"!!"
He jolted upright. The color drained from his face.
For several seconds he said nothing.
Then his gaze hardened. He dismissed the girls, severed connection, and went offline.
Back in reality, One Leaf Knows Autumn strode down a polished corridor, stopped outside a heavy mahogany door, and knocked.
"Father, are you awake?"
A muffled voice from inside: "Third? What is it?"
"I... have a situation. I need guidance."
A pause. Then: "Help me up. Bring my coat."