Chapter 444 - 443: An Unexpected Result!

Late at night.

Yuhan, fresh from Samsara Space, hurried straight into Vivienne Song’s room.

"Sis, wake up, quick!"

Vivienne rubbed her eyes and sat up, still drowsy. "Yuhan? What’s wrong?"

She had gone to bed early, with important matters awaiting her tomorrow.

"Sis! Shura’s comprehensive strength broke through to S-rank!" Yuhan beamed, as though she herself had achieved it.

"Oh?"

Vivienne raised an eyebrow. Though she had always expected this day, its sudden arrival still caught her off guard.

"Shura really is someone born for Samsara Space..." she murmured with a sigh.

"With his talent, reaching S-rank isn’t surprising at all."

But then Vivienne gave Yuhan a pointed look. "Wait. Didn’t you go to bed earlier? Why did you sneak back into Samsara Space?"

Yuhan froze, tongue-tied. She couldn’t exactly admit that she had set an alarm for four in the morning, just to check Shura’s dungeon results.

She quickly changed the subject. "Forget that, Sis! There’s more—Shura didn’t just reach S-rank. He surpassed you and took third place on the global list!"

"He’s incredible!"

Her face glowed with joy.

Vivienne was stunned again.

The rankings weren’t a perfect measure of battle strength, but they were a solid benchmark. And the fact was undeniable—Shura now stood above her.

Surprise flickered through her heart, but so did a touch of disappointment. She had been pushing herself, eager to close the gap with Adam... yet before she could, Shura had overtaken her.

Watching her sister’s radiant expression, Vivienne’s brows furrowed.

"You little brat... Shura surpasses me and you look this happy?"

Yuhan flinched, realizing too late her mistake. She had celebrated without considering her sister’s feelings.

"Sis, wait, I can explain—"

"Explain, huh?" Vivienne’s gaze turned sharp as she grabbed Yuhan. "You haven’t even cleared two proper dungeons, and you’re already turning your elbows outward? Tonight, I’ll teach you some gratitude, you ungrateful brat!"

"Sis, I was wrong! Don’t spank me!" Yuhan yelped, begging for mercy.

The room burst into chaos.

Moments later, Vivienne finally huffed, "Enough. Go to sleep before you end up with dark circles. Or do you want to look like a panda when you go on a date with that Shura boy?"

Blushing, Yuhan quickly offered, "Sis, I’ll stay here tonight. I’ll give you a massage!"

"Hmph, don’t try your tricks on me. ...Ah, but yes, a little harder on the left shoulder. That’s better."

—---

Meanwhile, past four in the morning, Fenric left his personal warehouse and made his way toward the Global Master Rankings.

He knew he had reached S-rank, but he wasn’t sure exactly where he stood.

From a distance, he saw crowds of Samsaras buzzing with discussion beneath the great monument.

Fenric didn’t dare approach, worried about being swarmed, so he observed from afar.

"Third place, huh..."

The result surprised him—but not because he had surpassed Aurora Morwyn.

The boost from Poseidon’s Trident was already considerable, and Fenric now stood at S-rank. If he also equipped the Ring of Poseidon, which offered the same level of enhancement, it wouldn’t be surprising if he surpassed Aurora Morwyn.

What did surprise him, however, was that even with the Sea God Ring’s power, he still couldn’t surpass Adam.

"It seems Adam is stronger than I imagined... The people on this list truly can’t be underestimated," Fenric thought, his expression tightening in vigilance.

At that moment, the system prompt suddenly rang in his ears:

"You have a new communication request. ’Male God’ invites you to a video call. Please respond promptly."

Fenric felt his temples throb.

The so-called "Male God" was none other than the chubby Jitto. This guy not only crafted a face that made him look like a pampered pretty boy but even gave himself such a ridiculous nickname. For someone who didn’t know better, they might really think he was some heartthrob.

With a resigned sigh, Fenric chose to accept the call.

"Ric, congratulations! You’re officially the top boss now!" Jitto’s round face filled the screen, his grin splitting ear to ear.

Fenric chuckled lightly. "It’s so late—why aren’t you asleep yet?"

Jitto leaned closer. "Didn’t I say I’d be challenging the second floor of the Samsara Tower in a few days? I wanted to ask around if my friend had good strategies."

"Oh?" Fenric raised a brow. He remembered there were two dungeons on the second floor of the Samsara Tower.

The simpler one: Kung Fu Jungle.

The nightmare option: The Mountain Village Old Corpse.

"Fatty, which dungeon are you aiming for?" Fenric asked curiously. Facing the eerie beauty of The Mountain Village Old Corpse without the Heart of the Brave was courting death.

"Of course Kung Fu Jungle! You think everyone’s like you, daring to solo a nightmare dungeon and even earning a Super God evaluation?" Jitto huffed.

Fenric only gave a faint smile. "I haven’t cleared Kung Fu Jungle myself, so I can’t offer much advice."

As he said this, an idea struck him.

Sitting unused in his personal warehouse was the Lion Roar Technique. He had never decided who to give it to. Fenric didn’t have many true friends, and most of the people close to him were women.

Aurora wouldn’t touch such a crude skill.

And as for Belle—just imagining that delicate, bright-eyed girl bellowing like a wild beast made Fenric shudder. He refused to let her learn something so ungraceful.

Since the Lion Roar was collecting dust and taking up space, why not toss it to Jitto?

"By the way, Fatty," Fenric said casually, "since you’re going for Kung Fu Jungle, I happen to have a martial arts secret technique. It might be useful for you. Want it?"

"F*ck!!" Jitto’s eyes bulged. "Brother, you’re my real brother! What’s the skill?"

"It’s a sound-based technique—Lion Roar."

Jitto blinked, stunned. Then his memory kicked in. "Wait... isn’t that the special skill of the Landlady from the Kung Fu Hustle dungeon!?"

"That’s right," Fenric confirmed.

Jitto nearly bounced with excitement. He had never seen the Landlady himself, but he had read countless forum posts praising her terrifying power. Lion Roar was infamous as one of her trump cards.

"Ric, you’re the best!" Jitto whooped, then paused, his grin turning sly. "Just so happens, I also got something good from my last dungeon run. I was planning to sell it for Samsara points to boost my stats... but since you’re being so generous, I can’t let you suffer. If you don’t mind, I’ll give it to you!"

"Oh? And what might that be?" Fenric asked, amused. He didn’t expect much—Jitto’s rank was too low for anything extraordinary.

"Purification," Jitto announced proudly. "It instantly removes all negative effects and restores you to peak state. But there’s a restriction—only once per day."

Fenric’s eyes narrowed as a spark of light flashed across them.

This is the Purification skill from the game Honok of King, but the Samsara system must have optimized it. Who would’ve thought Jitto could get something like this?

Indeed, at Jitto’s level, the skill wasn’t especially impactful. But for Fenric—didn’t this perfectly patch the weakness of his Indestructible Demon Body’s post-activation debuff?

Fenric’s decision was immediate. "Not bad. I can use this skill, Fatty. Then I won’t be polite."

Jitto grinned. "We’re brothers. You saved my life last time. Now you’re even thinking of me when you get something good. Of course I’ll give back! No need for politeness. Let’s meet at the trading center."

"Alright!" Fenric laughed. An unexpected gain from what was meant as a casual gift—Purification was far more valuable than the Lion Roar ever could be.

A short while later, Fenric met Jitto at the trading center. The two completed the exchange under the system’s notarization.

Jitto beamed as he obtained the Lion Roar, clearly delighted. Fenric, meanwhile, was inwardly thrilled to have secured Purification.

"By the way," Fenric suddenly remembered, "I still have a special item I don’t need—Black Blade: Shusui. Since you gave me Purification, I might as well pass this to you too."

He summoned the black blade, its dark sheen catching the light.

"Fatty, this blade is invincible. Want it?"

Jitto’s eyes widened, but he quickly waved his hands. "No, no! I just gave you Purification, I can’t give you anything else in return."

Fenric frowned. "Don’t be stupid. I’m giving it for free. I thought you could use it. I never expected anything in return."

"Ric... righteous!!" Jitto’s voice shook with emotion as he gave Fenric a thumbs-up. Then he grinned ear to ear. "Of course I’ll take it!"

Fenric’s tone grew serious. "You should, but listen. I seized this blade from another Samsara. The original owner is dead, but his allies remain. If they find out you’re wielding it, you could be in trouble. So, use it carefully—and discreetly."

Jitto froze, then his face paled. "Wait... don’t tell me you mean One Leaf Knows Autumn?"

"Exactly." Fenric nodded.

"F*ck..." Jitto muttered, sweat forming at his brow. One Leaf Knows Autumn was not someone he could afford to provoke.

But then he hesitated. "Ric, you’re ranked third in the world now. Would he really dare hold a grudge over this?"

Fenric shook his head. "He won’t trouble me. But you? That’s different."

"Then why don’t you just finish him off? With your strength, killing him would be a matter of minutes," Jitto pressed.

Fenric sighed. "Because he has a backing—he serves under Aurora Morwyn. Out of respect for her, I can’t move against him openly. Besides, he was smart enough to bow his head to me early on. I’ll give Aurora that much face. But..." Fenric’s voice grew colder. "If he ever stumbles into my hands by accident, I won’t let him walk away."

Jitto exhaled slowly, finally understanding. Then he clenched his teeth. "Alright. I’ll be careful. I won’t use it casually—only if things get truly dangerous."

Fenric smiled, patting Jitto’s shoulder. Under the system’s notarization, the Black Blade Shusui changed hands.

Since the original owner was dead, the weapon was no longer bound by the usual three-year restriction. Fenric himself already wielded a far superior weapon—the Empyrean Divine Sword. [1]

The black blade was little more than clutter to him now. He was already considering passing the Empyrean Divine Sword to Belle later, once he eventually upgraded again. She was well-suited to swordsmanship.

Stretching his arms, Fenric said, "It’s late. Fatty, I’m logging off to get some sleep."

"Alright! I’ll log off too. Ric, let’s hang out when we have time!"

"Good." Fenric gave a final nod.