Samsara Space — Entertainment City.
Inside a large private room in a teahouse, more than a dozen Samsara players had gathered.
At a glance, most of them were clearly Cindralockers.
Judging from their seating arrangement and the underlying tension, it was obvious—they weren't from a single group, but rather two factions cautiously observing each other.
Careful inspection revealed that many of them were renowned experts within the Samsara Space.
"Adam hasn't arrived yet?" asked a towering man over two meters tall.
Upon hearing this, a bald man sitting across from him sneered.
"You think someone like you is worthy of meeting our god?"
The tall man's expression darkened. "Arrogant bastard. Is this the attitude you bring to a potential alliance?"
Disdain flickered in the bald man's eyes, but he adjusted his posture and replied with mock sincerity, "We are absolutely serious about cooperation."
"Funny. I'm not seeing any sincerity," the large man retorted.
"Regardless, you don't want to see Shura rise, do you? He's already received his fourth 'SSS' rating tonight."
The bald man leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.
"According to our intel, he just cleared the Third Stage of the Sacred Tower… with at least a B-rank combat evaluation. He was able to fight Fujitora head-on in the One Piece world."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the room fell silent. Shock spread across the faces of those present.
Going toe-to-toe with Fujitora?
Even among these elites, few could boast the same.
After a long pause, the muscular man muttered, "Still… Shura's momentum can't be stopped now. In dungeons of the same level, he has no equal."
"That's true," the bald man agreed, "but we'll have another chance soon."
"Oh?" The strong man narrowed his eyes. "Let's hear it."
"The annual 'super-large dungeon' for PUBG World Battle is coming up in Samsara Space. When that happens, our two regions can join forces—
—and take Shura down together."
By the time he finished, the bald man's expression had turned cold and grim.
The large man's eyes lit up at the idea, but he voiced a concern.
"That woman—Aurora Morwyn—what if she intervenes?"
"Relax," the bald man said confidently. "Mr. Adam will personally take care of her."
Meanwhile…
Aurora had just ended a video call with an intelligence agent.
Her brows were furrowed.
According to the latest report, Samsara players from the Cindralock Dominion and the Land of Dawn Jewels were in close communication.
Not only those two countries, but even players from the Willowland country and the Anklebrook had become involved.
It didn't take a genius to guess—they were plotting something.
"Shura… you've risen too fast," she murmured. "You've become a thorn in too many sides."
The intelligence agent had mentioned that these factions wanted Shura to join their organization in exchange for protection and resources.
Aurora, however, didn't bother to pass the message along.
She already knew Shura's stance—he wouldn't play that game.
And she didn't want to be the one to bring it up anyway.
With her current status, whether she cooperated or not wouldn't change much.
Opening her messages, she saw that Shura still hadn't responded, so she left a brief note for him.
She had many questions—especially now.
Shura had somehow influenced the One Piece dungeon world… and even she had felt it!
As far as she knew, the missions for each batch of Samsara players in large-scale dungeons were locked within isolated timelines.
No player should be able to interfere with another batch's scenario.
Every time a new group entered, the dungeon would reset back to the starting point.
What happened today?
It was unprecedented.
Inside Fenric's Personal Warehouse
Fenric was reviewing his rewards from the latest dungeon run.
Samsara Points: 40,000
Strength Attribute +30 (automatically added)
Personal Dungeon Card x1 (stored in personal warehouse)
Golden Treasure Chest x1 (stored in personal warehouse)
Only 40,000 points this time—less than the 50,000 he earned in The Mountain Village Old Corpse.
And yet, this mission felt far more dangerous!
"This damned system… how the hell does it calculate difficulty anyway?"
Fenric complained inwardly.
He quickly began spending his points to enhance his potential.
However, just after exchanging dozens of potential attributes, a sudden system message popped up:
"Dear Samsara player Shura. You've accumulated over 500 potential exchanges, exceeding the novice threshold. From now on, each potential point costs 500 Samsara Points."
"Damn it!" Fenric swore. "They raised the price!?"
He had hoped to supercharge his stats again this time.
Now, it was clear—he wouldn't be leveling up nearly as much.
Still, there was no choice. Power was everything.
By the end of it, Fenric had redeemed just 76 attribute points, keeping 5,000 points in reserve.
After distributing his potential, he turned to the rest of his loot.
Strength +30 — already added, no need to touch it.
Personal Dungeon Card — always a great item. He loved these!
Personal dungeons were rare, and his last one had yielded huge gains with very little danger.
Now came the main prize:
The Golden Treasure Chest
According to online guides, chests from the Third Stage of the One Piece dungeon contained loot from the One Piece universe.
Most likely reward? A Devil Fruit!
Rumor had it that the top-ranked player, Adam, had drawn a Superhuman Devil Fruit from just a bronze chest.
And here Fenric was… with a gold chest—two grades higher!
(Treasure Chest Tiers: Black Iron < Bronze < Silver < Gold)
He wasn't asking for much—just give him a Goro Goro no Mi or a Gura Gura no Mi!
Was that too much to ask!?
Grinning in anticipation, Fenric slowly opened the treasure chest.
A brilliant golden light burst out.
No Devil Fruit.
Only a scroll lay quietly inside.
"Thw Hell!? Where's the damn Quake-Quake Fruit I ordered!?"
Fenric almost exploded with frustration, face turning blue from rage.
But the moment he picked up the scroll…
All his anger vanished.
A stunned smile crept across his face—
Because what he held in his hands might just be better than a Devil Fruit!