Time: April 17, 2032. 09:30.
Location: "New Tokyo" Tower. Boss Room and Outside the Tower.
While Ryu was extracting teeth from the dead bear, Kenji approached the shining blue obelisk in the center of the room—the "Dungeon Completion and Records" stone.
This stone's purpose was simple: register the group that cleared the dungeon, give them points, and display the results on the giant screens outside. Usually, the group leader (Ryu) was supposed to do this.
Laylo came to her brother's side.
"Big brother, aren't we leaving? Ryu has finished collecting everything. He's about to go out and give interviews to the press."
Kenji placed his hand on the Record Stone. A sly and cold smile appeared on his lips.
"No rush, Laylo. Our 'Hero' Ryu needs glory, right? Fine, let him have it. But I promised Uncle Sato. Today I need to send 'Hello' to my old friends and enemies."
"What are you going to do?" Laylo asked worriedly.
Kenji closed his eyes. His consciousness with 80 years of experience began a "hacking" attack on the stone's internal system.
This system was based on game code. And Kenji was the "Father" of these codes.
Brain: [Accessing system...]
System: [Error! You are not the Leader. Access denied.]
Kenji: [Activating Admin Rights. Code: 00-Eternity-Alpha.]
The stone suddenly began glowing not red, but purple (Legendary color).
Ryu and his team saw this and froze.
"Hey! F-rank! What are you doing?! Don't touch the stone, you'll break it!" Ryu shouted, running over.
Kenji didn't even look at him. He simply raised his finger and Ryu hit an invisible wall in the air and stopped.
"Stay quiet, kid," Kenji said without turning around. "Adults are talking."
Kenji changed the "MVP" (Most Valuable Player) and "Group Name" fields in the system window.
He wrote not with a keyboard, but directly with his mana.
[Group Name:] ~~Dragon Warriors~~ -> Solo
[MVP Player:] ~~Ryu~~ -> SHADOW
[Boss Kill Time:] 00:00:00.1 (One moment)
"Done," Kenji said, pulling his hand back. "Let's go, Laylo. Now there'll be a festival outside."
Outside the Tower: Central Tokyo
The square in front of the Tower was packed with people. On huge LED screens, the results of groups that had just cleared the dungeon were being displayed.
Journalists, Guild scouts, and ordinary spectators were waiting for Ryu to come out (because a Mutant signal had been triggered).
Suddenly...
The Giant Screen at the top of the Tower went black.
Then terrifying, blood-red letters appeared on it. A siren (warning sound) made the entire city tremble.
[NEW RECORD!]
[DUNGEON: NEW TOKYO (1ST FLOOR)]
[CURRENT RECORD: 45 minutes (Old)]
[NEW RESULT:]
[TIME: 15 MINUTES]
[BOSS BATTLE TIME: 0.1 SECONDS]
The crowd let out an "Oh!"
"0.1 seconds?!" someone shouted. "Is this an error? How can you kill a boss in 0.1 seconds?"
Then a name appeared on the screen.
This name wasn't just letters. It was a legend that instilled fear and hope in the heart of every old player.
[MVP: S H A D O W]
Silence.
The entire square plunged into deathly silence.
Even car horns seemed to have stopped.
In the crowd, a person in a hoodie (a former player, now a fugitive "Thief" class) looked at the screen and dropped his coffee.
"Shadow..?" his lips trembled. "He... has he returned?"
In another corner, special government agents began shouting into their radios:
"Code Red! Code Red! 'Shadow' identifier appeared in the system! Check this immediately! Is this hacking or is he alive?!"
At that very moment, the Tower gate opened.
Ryu, the Tank, and the Mage came out. They emerged with proud expressions, raising their hands.
Ryu hadn't seen the screen yet.
"Yes! It's me! I killed the Mutant!" he shouted at the cameras.
Journalists swarmed him, but the questions were different:
"Mr. Ryu! Is 'Shadow' in your group?"
"Are you with Shadow?"
"Who delivered the 0.1 second strike? Was it Shadow?"
Ryu was confused.
"What? Shadow? What Shadow? I killed it! Me!"
But no one listened to him. Everyone was mesmerized by the writing on the screen and the legendary name.
At the back of the crowd, unnoticed, Kenji and Laylo quietly hailed a taxi.
Kenji looked at the screen with a satisfied smile.
"Well," he said. "The mail has been delivered. Now the 'Dead' will begin to awaken."
Government Building. Special Division.
In a dark room, the Director (a cold-eyed man in his 60s) sitting in front of monitors slammed his fist on the table.
The inscription "SHADOW" glowed on the screen.
"He's alive," the Director said through his teeth. "His body wasn't found during 'Bloody Week.' So he hadn't logged out of the game at that time."
He turned to his assistant.
"Mobilize all 'Assassin' groups. Interrogate Ryu's group. We need to know who Shadow is, what he looks like. Find him and eliminate him on the spot. No mistakes this time."
Abandoned Metro Station. "Night Owls" Secret Bar.
Former players fleeing from the government, outcasts from society, gathered here.
The bartender—former S-rank "Black Dagger" (Assassin)—was wiping a glass.
News was playing on the TV: "...A record was set at New Tokyo Tower under the alias SHADOW..."
Everyone sitting at the bar stood up.
"Shadow?" said one wounded warrior. "Our King?"
"He didn't abandon us!" said another with tears in his eyes. "He's returned!"
The bartender shattered the glass (unable to control the strength in his hand). A predatory smile appeared on his face.
"So the war begins," he said. "Boys, oil your weapons. The Captain has returned."
Kenji's Plan
Riding in the taxi, Laylo looked at her brother.
"Big brother, you just turned all of Japan upside down. The government is looking for you. Won't Ryu sell you out? Say 'there was an F-rank kid'?"
Kenji laughed.
"Ryu? He's a fool. He's now so blinded by glory, there's a high chance he'll lie and say 'Yes, I'm Shadow!' He'll make himself a target. And that gives us time."
Kenji took out his phone. An encrypted message came to his phone. It was from Sato ("White Tiger" leader):
"Message received, my friend. The city is exploding. Be careful. The government has sent 'Cleaners.'"
Kenji wrote back:
"Let them come. I'm waiting for them."
He looked at Laylo.
"Laylo, tonight we're going to the 'Night Owls.' I need to gather my army. But before that... I'll teach you some Real Magic. I saw in the Tower, your mana is awakening."
Laylo was amazed.
"Me? I'm a mage?"
"No," Kenji said seriously. "You're more powerful than that. You're a 'Spirit Medium.' You can control not mana, but spirits. And I'll teach you how to do it."