The first thing Takeshi noticed about the Undercroft was the smell.
Not the rot or decay he'd expected, but something worse—ozone mixed with industrial cleaning solution and the metallic tang of old blood. It was the smell of a subway station that had been abandoned mid-shift, where the janitors had stopped mopping and the maintenance crews had stopped caring and everything had just... festered.
The escalator deposited them onto what used to be a platform. Now it was a nightmare rendered in bioluminescent green. Fungi the size of traffic cones sprouted from cracks in the tile. The electronic departure boards still flickered with phantom schedules, announcing trains that would never arrive. And everywhere, that sickly light cast everything in the color of infected tissue.
Takeshi's status window updated:
[DUNGEON LEVEL 1: PLATFORM OF ETERNAL COMMUTE]
Enemy Density: High
Recommended Strategy: Stealth and tactical elimination
Warning: Noise attracts additional spawns
"Stay tight," Kenji whispered, his sword already drawn. The equipment case hung from his belt in a reinforced harness that the Black Company had provided. "Wraiths hunt in packs. If we get swarmed—"
Something moved in the darkness ahead.
Takeshi saw them a moment before his status window registered the threat—translucent figures in business suits, their faces blurred like old photographs, their eyes glowing with the same sickly green as the fungi. They drifted across the platform in a grotesque parody of the morning rush hour, briefcases clutched in spectral hands.
[COMMUTER WRAITH - LEVEL 3]
Type: Spectral
Abilities: Phasing, Wraith Touch (debuff), Exhaustion Aura
Weakness: Physical attacks reduced by 50%, vulnerable to disruption effects
Threat Assessment: Moderate (High in groups)
Twelve of them. No—Takeshi's passive Monopoly awareness kicked in, and he felt something shift. The number wasn't right. It should be twelve, but as they drifted closer to his position, several of the wraiths simply... faded. Not dying, just ceasing to exist in his immediate vicinity.
Seven remained.
"Contact," Kenji breathed. "Seven hostiles, thirty meters. They haven't spotted us yet."
Seven. Takeshi's mind raced. His passive awareness had shown twelve spawns initially. But as they entered what he instinctively recognized as his operational range—maybe twenty meters in radius—five had disappeared. Not fled. Not hidden. Just... removed from the equation.
His Monopoly skill was suppressing enemy spawns.
"Yamada," Yuna whispered. "Your briefcase is glowing."
He looked down. The standard-issue Black Company briefcase pulsed with faint blue light, synchronized with his heartbeat. His status window flickered:
[MONOPOLY (PASSIVE) ACTIVATED]
Effect: Territorial Suppression (Rank 1)
Current Range: 20 meters
Enemy Spawn Reduction: 40% within controlled territory
Note: Effect strengthens with capital accumulation and market dominance
Kenji's eyes widened as he read the notification. "You're suppressing spawns? Just by being here?"
"Apparently." Takeshi adjusted his grip on both cases. "I didn't know it could do that."
"The Black Company did," Hideo muttered. "That's why they're watching you so closely. A skill that reduces enemy numbers in dungeons? That's worth more than gold."
The seven remaining wraiths drifted closer, their movements synchronized like a school of fish. Takeshi could see the exhaustion aura radiating from them—a visible distortion in the air that would sap stamina on contact.
"We can't avoid them," Kenji said. "The monitoring station installation point is past their patrol route. We have to fight."
"Then we fight smart." Takeshi set down his equipment case carefully, making sure it was stable. His briefcase stayed in his left hand—the glow had intensified, and he had a feeling he'd need it. "Yuna, Hideo, can you support from range?"
"I've got Expense Report and Meeting Scheduler," Yuna confirmed. "Both are analysis and disruption abilities. I can identify weak points and create tactical openings."
"Bureaucrat class gives me Form Processing," Hideo said. "It's a debuff that slows enemy actions by forcing them through administrative procedures. Sounds stupid, works great on anything with even rudimentary intelligence."
"Good." Takeshi looked at Kenji. "You're our primary damage dealer. I'll draw aggro and use my briefcase to disrupt their formation. Yuna identifies targets, Hideo locks them down, you finish them. Sound good?"
Kenji's expression was carefully neutral. "You're Level 2 volunteering to tank Level 3 spectral enemies. That's either brave or suicidal."
"It's efficient." Takeshi started forward, briefcase held like a shield. "And efficiency is what the Black Company values."
The wraiths noticed them.
The change was immediate and terrifying. Seven pairs of glowing eyes locked onto Takeshi's position. The spectral figures shifted from aimless drift to predatory focus, their movements becoming coordinated and purposeful. The exhaustion aura intensified, washing over him like a wave of fatigue.
[DEBUFF APPLIED: EXHAUSTION AURA]
All stats reduced by 15%
Stamina regeneration reduced by 50%
Duration: Until source is eliminated
Takeshi felt the weight of the debuff settle over him like a wet blanket. His limbs grew heavier. His breathing became labored. It was like pulling an all-nighter except weaponized and aimed directly at his survival.
Good thing he'd had practice.
"Meeting Scheduler," he said, activating his skill.
The world slowed. Not time itself, but his perception of it—the same hyper-focused state he'd entered during the tutorial when fighting Nakamura-san. His status window highlighted the wraiths' movement patterns, showing predicted trajectories and optimal engagement windows.
The first wraith lunged, its spectral hand reaching for his face.
Takeshi swung his briefcase.
The impact shouldn't have worked—physical attacks reduced by 50% against spectral enemies. But his briefcase wasn't just physical. It was a manifestation of his Corporate Drone class, and it carried the weight of corporate authority behind every strike.
The wraith recoiled, its form disrupting like static on a television screen.
"Weak point identified!" Yuna called out. "Center mass, where the tie knot would be. That's their anchor to physical space!"
Kenji didn't need to be told twice. He closed the distance in three steps and drove his sword through the disrupted wraith's chest, right where Yuna had indicated. The spectral figure shrieked—a sound like grinding metal and dying electronics—before dissolving into motes of light.
[COMMUTER WRAITH DEFEATED]
Experience gained: 45 (shared)
Loot: Spectral Residue x1
Six left.
The remaining wraiths adapted instantly, spreading out to flank from multiple angles. Their pack tactics were disturbingly coordinated—three from the front, two from the left, one circling to attack from behind.
"Form Processing!" Hideo's skill manifested as a bureaucratic nightmare—spectral paperwork that materialized around two of the wraiths, forcing them to slow down and process administrative requirements before they could continue their attack. The absurdity of watching ghosts fill out forms would have been funny if they weren't trying to kill him.
Takeshi focused on the three frontal attackers, using his briefcase to parry and disrupt while Kenji picked off the ones that Yuna identified and Hideo locked down. It was messy, chaotic, and nothing like the tactical precision he'd imagined. But it worked.
Four wraiths down. Three left. Two left.
The final wraith broke formation and fled, phasing through a wall and disappearing into the depths of the station.
[COMBAT COMPLETE]
Team Experience Gained
Takeshi Yamada: Level 2 → Level 3
New Skill Point Available
Takeshi's status window exploded with notifications, but he ignored them. His stamina bar had dropped to 34/100. The exhaustion debuff was gone, but the weight of the equipment case and the adrenaline crash were hitting him hard.
"Everyone alive?" Kenji asked, breathing hard.
"Alive," Yuna confirmed. "Though that was closer than I'd like."
"We're lucky Yamada's skill thinned their numbers," Hideo said, studying Takeshi with renewed suspicion. "Twelve wraiths would have overwhelmed us."
Kenji nodded slowly. "The Black Company knew. They sent us in here knowing your Monopoly skill would suppress spawns. This wasn't just an evaluation—it was a field test."
Takeshi retrieved his equipment case, his hands shaking slightly from the adrenaline. "Then let's make sure we pass. First monitoring station is two hundred meters ahead. Let's move before more spawns generate."
They moved through the Undercroft's twisted corridors, encountering scattered resistance—more wraiths, a pack of what the System called Salaryman Revenants (Level 4, significantly more aggressive), and one deeply unsettling encounter with a vending machine that had become a mimic and tried to eat Hideo.
Each encounter revealed more about how Takeshi's Monopoly skill functioned. The 40% spawn reduction created a bubble of relative safety around him, forcing enemies to either avoid his territory or attack in reduced numbers. It wasn't combat power—not directly—but it was force multiplication. Every fight they entered with fewer enemies was a fight they were more likely to survive.
The first monitoring station installation went smoothly. The designated location was a junction between three tunnels, providing optimal surveillance coverage. Hideo handled the actual installation—his Bureaucrat class apparently included technical proficiency with corporate equipment—while the others maintained a defensive perimeter.
[OBJECTIVE COMPLETE: MONITORING STATION ALPHA INSTALLED]
Black Company Territorial Claim Progress: 33%
Team Performance: Above Average
Two more stations to go.
They descended to Level 2, where the corruption intensified. The walls pulsed with organic growth. The air grew thick with spores that triggered coughing fits. And the enemies evolved—Corporate Ghouls with abilities that drained MP instead of HP, forcing Takeshi to ration his skill usage.
The second station installation was contested.
Four Salaryman Revenants guarded the location, their presence clearly not coincidental. The Black Company had either predicted this or the dungeon had adapted to their objectives. Either way, it meant a fight.
"I've got an idea," Takeshi said, studying the revenants through his Meeting Scheduler interface. "But it's going to sound insane."
"We're fighting zombie salarymen in a corrupted subway station," Yuna said. "Insane is relative."
Takeshi pulled up his newly unlocked skill options. The level-up had given him access to something new—something that made his Monopoly skill's active component finally make sense.
[TERRITORY CLAIM - ACTIVE ABILITY UNLOCKED]
Cost: 50 MP
Effect: Establish a Corporate Zone within a 15-meter radius. Within this zone:
- Enemy abilities are suppressed by 30%
- Ally coordination bonuses increased by 20%
- Corporate contracts can be enforced
Duration: 5 minutes
Cooldown: 30 minutes
"I can create a zone that suppresses enemy abilities," he said. "But it costs half my MP and I can only do it once every thirty minutes. If this works, we clear the revenants easily. If it doesn't, I'm useless for the next major fight."
Kenji looked at the four revenants, then at Takeshi. "Your call. You're the one with the experimental skill."
Takeshi activated Territory Claim.
The effect was immediate and dramatic. Blue light erupted from his briefcase, spreading outward in a perfect circle that encompassed the junction and the four revenants. The corrupted walls flickered, their organic pulsing disrupted. The spore-filled air cleared slightly. And the revenants—
They staggered, their aggressive posture faltering. The red glow in their eyes dimmed. Their clawed hands lowered slightly, as if they'd forgotten why they were fighting.
[CORPORATE ZONE ESTABLISHED]
Enemy Status: Abilities Suppressed
Warning: Zone is fragile. Excessive damage may destabilize the effect.
"Now!" Takeshi shouted.
Kenji moved like lightning, his sword cutting through the first revenant before it could recover. Yuna and Hideo focused on the second, their combined debuffs and analysis turning it into an easy target. The third and fourth tried to flee the zone but found themselves unable to cross the blue boundary—Takeshi's corporate authority had literally trapped them in his territory.
The fight lasted ninety seconds.
[COMBAT COMPLETE]
Salaryman Revenant x4 Defeated
Experience Gained
Monitoring Station Beta Installed
Black Company Territorial Claim Progress: 66%
Team Performance: Exceptional
Matsumoto's voice crackled through their communication devices—a feature Takeshi hadn't realized they had. "Team Alpha-7, your performance is being noted. Yamada-san, your Territory Claim ability is... impressive. Upper management is very interested."
Takeshi felt a chill that had nothing to do with the Undercroft's temperature. "Understood."
"One more station to install. The final location is on Level 3, in the Station Master's domain. Be advised—this will not be uncontested."
The communication cut off.
Hideo looked at Takeshi. "Upper management is very interested. That's not good, is it?"
"That's never good," Takeshi confirmed. "But we're committed now. Let's finish this."
They descended to Level 3.
The Station Master's domain was everything Takeshi had feared and worse. The platform had been transformed into a throne room of corrupted infrastructure. Subway cars fused together into walls. Tracks twisted into spirals. And at the center, seated on a throne made of turnstiles and ticket gates, was the boss itself.
[STATION MASTER - LEVEL 6]
Type: Corrupted Infrastructure
Abilities: Domain Control, Summon Commuters, Announcement Barrage, Final Departure
Weakness: Requires domain stability to maintain full power
Threat Assessment: EXTREME
The Station Master was grotesque—a fusion of conductor and subway car, with multiple arms ending in various weapons and a face that was half-human, half-destination display. It noticed them immediately.
"ATTENTION PASSENGERS," it announced in a voice like grinding metal. "THIS TRAIN TERMINATES HERE. ALL PERSONNEL MUST DISEMBARK. PERMANENTLY."
Twenty Commuter Wraiths materialized around it.
"Shit," Kenji breathed. "We can't fight that many plus the boss."
Takeshi's MP bar showed 45/100—he'd regenerated some during their descent, but not enough for another Territory Claim. His stamina was at 67/100. His equipment case felt like it weighed a thousand kilograms.
But his Monopoly skill was screaming at him.
The passive awareness showed him something the others couldn't see—the Station Master's domain was a territorial claim. It had established control over this space through sheer presence and corruption. But territorial claims could be contested. They could be overridden.
They could be seized.
"I need to get to the center," Takeshi said. "To where the boss is sitting. If I can establish my Corporate Zone right on top of its domain—"
"You'll sever its control," Yuna finished, her eyes widening. "Your Monopoly skill doesn't just suppress enemies. It contests territorial authority."
"That's insane," Hideo said. "You're Level 3. It's Level 6. Your zone will shatter the moment it fights back."
"Maybe." Takeshi looked at his teammates. "But if it works, even for a minute, you can install the final monitoring station and we can kill this thing. If it doesn't work, I die and you retreat. Either way, the mission gets completed."
Kenji's expression was complicated—respect mixed with calculation. "You're really willing to die for a corporate objective?"
"I'm willing to bet that the Black Company's monitoring equipment is tougher than it looks," Takeshi said. "And that my Territory Claim is stronger than any of us realize. Because if it's not—if this skill really is just a weak support ability—then the Black Company wouldn't be watching me this closely."
He started forward, briefcase in one hand and equipment case in the other.
"FOR THE RECORD," Hideo called after him, "THIS IS THE STUPIDEST PLAN I'VE EVER HEARD."
"NOTED," Takeshi shouted back.
The Commuter Wraiths rushed him in a wave. Twenty spectral salarymen, all Level 3, all hungry for his death. His passive suppression reduced them to twelve—still overwhelming odds. His stamina bar plummeted as he ran, the equipment case bouncing against his leg.
Fifty meters to the throne.
Forty meters.
The wraiths were closing in, their exhaustion aura stacking into a crushing weight that made every step feel like climbing a mountain.
Thirty meters.
His MP bar hit the threshold for Territory Claim. He activated it.
Blue light exploded outward.
The Corporate Zone slammed into the Station Master's domain like a corporate takeover crashing through a mom-and-pop shop. For a moment—one perfect, crystalline moment—Takeshi felt the resistance. The boss's territorial control pushed back against his claim, two competing authorities trying to occupy the same space.
Then something gave way.
[TERRITORY CLAIM: SUCCESSFUL]
Station Master's Domain: CONTESTED
Enemy Abilities: Suppressed by 50%
Warning: Domain conflict detected. Zone stability: 73% and falling
The Station Master screamed, its mechanical voice distorting into static. The twenty wraiths flickered and faded—not destroyed, but unable to manifest while Takeshi's corporate authority contested the space. The corrupted infrastructure pulsed, fighting against the blue light.
"NOW!" Takeshi roared.
His team moved.
Kenji charged the boss, his sword finding gaps in its mechanical armor. Yuna and Hideo sprinted for the installation point, the final monitoring station clutched between them. The Station Master tried to summon more minions, tried to activate its Announcement Barrage, tried to do anything—
But it couldn't.
Takeshi's Corporate Zone had severed its connection to the dungeon's authority. For these five minutes, this space belonged to the Black Company. And the Black Company's rules superseded everything else.
The fight was brutal and desperate. The Station Master was still Level 6, still dangerous even with its abilities suppressed. It nearly killed Kenji twice. It shattered Takeshi's briefcase with a wild swing, sending him sprawling. His zone stability dropped to 45%, then 30%, flickering like a failing light bulb.
But it held.
Long enough for Hideo to install the final monitoring station.
Long enough for the Black Company's territorial claim to reach 100%.
Long enough for Kenji to drive his sword through the Station Master's core.
[STATION MASTER DEFEATED]
DUNGEON LEVEL 3: CLEARED
MISSION COMPLETE: ALL OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED
TEAM ALPHA-7 EVALUATION: EXCEPTIONAL
Takeshi collapsed, his MP at zero, his stamina at 8/100, his entire body screaming in protest. Around him, the Corporate Zone flickered and died, its duration exhausted.
But they'd won.
His communication device crackled to life. Matsumoto's voice, but different—excited, almost breathless.
"Team Alpha-7, return to the surface immediately. Yamada-san, you have... you have multiple contract offers waiting. Executive level. This is unprecedented."
Takeshi tried to sit up and failed. "What?"
"Your Territory Claim ability was observed by upper management. They've escalated your case to the CEO. Yamada-san, you're about to become very valuable. And very complicated."
Through his fading consciousness, Takeshi heard more notifications:
[INCOMING CONTRACT OFFER: DIVISION DIRECTOR TANAKA]
Value: 750,000 Credits + Senior Associate Rank
[INCOMING CONTRACT OFFER: VP OPERATIONS SATO]
Value: 1,000,000 Credits + Executive Track Consideration
[INCOMING CONTRACT OFFER: MATSUMOTO REIKO]
Value: 750,000 Credits + Management Track Partnership
[INCOMING CONTRACT OFFER: CEO (BLACK COMPANY JAPAN)]
Value: 5,000,000 Credits + Vice President Position + Full Monopoly Development Rights
Yuna knelt beside him, her expression somewhere between awe and horror. "Takeshi, they're bidding on you. The executives are in a bidding war for your contract."
"Of course they are," Takeshi mumbled, consciousness fading. "I can contest territorial claims. In a world where territory is everything, I'm worth more than gold."
The last thing he saw before passing out was his status window updating:
[TAKESHI YAMADA - LEVEL 4]
Class: Corporate Drone (Unique)
Unique Skill: Monopoly (ACTIVE)
Corporate Value: CRITICAL ASSET
Warning: You are now subject to executive acquisition protocols. Contract negotiations will commence upon return to surface.
He'd survived the dungeon.
He'd completed the mission.
He'd proven his worth to the Black Company.
And in doing so, he'd just made himself the most valuable—and most vulnerable—employee in the entire organization.
The bidding war had only just begun.