Next, Yami decided to fuse his endlessly reusable Hard Armor meme into a zombie prototype.
[Ding! Hatching the base embryo will consume 100 magic stones.]
"…Huh? That's a hundred times more than before."
Just adding a single D-rank meme had multiplied the cost.
[Ding! Base embryo hatched successfully. You have obtained the 'Heavy Armored Zombie' template!]
[Monster]: Heavy Armored Zombie
[Rank]: Level 1
[Title]: Ordinary
[Race]: Undead
[Memes]:
F-rank: Infection (Lv.1)
D-rank: Hard Armor (Lv.1)
"Roar!"
The difference was immediate. Unlike the thin, ragged corpse from before, this zombie was bulky, its body encased in jagged bone plating. It looked slow but impossibly tough.
The armor wasn't like Ella's, which could shift and adapt. This was solid, fixed plating — like an exoskeleton grown out of rotting flesh.
That, Yami noted, was probably the difference between creatures born from ordinary embryos and those created from the Infinite Embryo.
"…A walking human shield."
With the hatching process down, he moved to the next step — upgrading its memes, just like he'd done for himself and Ella.
Only… there was no option.
"It really is special," he muttered. "Ordinary embryo monsters can't level up memes the same way. Must be some other method."
No point dwelling on it now.
Instead, he threw himself into mass production.
Ten minutes later, and 6,000 magic stones lighter, Yami stood before a small army of undead soldiers — a mix of standard zombies and their heavier, armored counterparts.
1,000 zombies.
1,000 mummies.
1,000 skeleton soldiers.
And for each type, ten heavily armored versions — the heavy-armored zombies, heavy-armored mummies, and heavy-armored skeletons.
Yami stationed them throughout the Bone Cemetery, leaving only the City of Bones clear for future adventurers.
The command was simple: roam anywhere you like, but never step inside the city.
Any adventurer who entered this dungeon would be placed in the first-floor area instantly.
"The dungeon's ready… now for the fun part."
He turned his attention to the three Otherworld Summons he had left.
The summoning circle lit up in the heart of the City of Bones.
Pillars of light flared and figures began to take form in the central square.
"Don't try to catch me!"
A woman in a skintight black leather outfit dropped to the ground mid-sprint, as if she'd been running for her life.
Her sharp eyes darted around before her expression faltered.
"…Where the hell am I?"
"Viper? Why are you here?"
A second woman appeared beside her... short orange hair, eyes filled with confusion.
"Jade Chan"
Viper's eyes went wide. Moments ago, she'd been fleeing the police after lifting a piece of jewelry.
Now she was standing in a towering, unfamiliar city. And Jade Chan was here too.
"Blood Demon Art?"
Two more figures appeared... women dressed in strange, old-fashioned clothes, each carrying a blade.
The older, purple-haired one scanned the silent streets with sharp vigilance, her voice low and cautious.
The architecture, the emptiness, the cold stone… none of it matched her world.
Only the modern canned drink in the hand of her pink-haired companion felt remotely familiar and even that looked out of place here.
"I don't know if it's Blood Demon Art," the pink-haired girl said, glancing down at herself,
"but, Shinobu… look at my clothes!"
Shinobu turned, blinking at what she saw.
The rips and tears in the girl's outfit were gone mended perfectly, without a stitch out of place.
That wasn't normal.
"…Yeah. If this isn't some demon's trick, I don't know what is."
"Saeko-senpai, what's happening? Are we… being attacked by the dead?"
The voice came from a chestnut-haired girl whose locks curled wildly like a coiled spring.
Her school uniform was torn and stained with blood, though she carried herself with a grim steadiness rather than panic.
In her hands was a makeshift weapon... a broom handle bound to a kitchen knife with strips of cloth.
"I don't know," replied the tall, black-purple-haired girl beside her. Saeko Busujima's calm gaze never left the two strange women in patterned robes, both armed and standing tensely.
Shinobu, one of the sword-wielders, clearly noticed. The thin, needle-like blade in her hand angled toward Saeko, her brows knitting.
"…Who are you?"
Far above, drifting on a shadowy platform in the clouds, Yami Tsukishiro watched his summons with wide-eyed amusement.
"…Oh, I know those faces."
Jackie Chan Adventures.
Highschool of the Dead.
Demon Slayer.
"My god… is this what they mean by 'otherworldly summons'?"
Viper. Jade Chan.
Busujima Saeko. Miyamoto Rei.
Shinobu Kocho. Mitsuri Kanroji.
This was getting fun.
"I wonder… will I get Sung Jin-ah one day too?" he muttered with a grin.
His gaze finally settled on Rei Miyamoto and the system window for her popped up automatically.
[Name]: Rei Miyamoto
[Rank]: Level 0
[Title]: None
[Race]: Human
[Magic Stones]: 0
[Memes]: None
[Body Measurements]: …
The readout didn't stop there. Alongside the basics, it listed personal history, life events, and even intimate details better left unspoken.
Yami's eye twitched. He quickly shut the feed.
"Yeah, I don't need that much info. Basic stats are enough."
Even so, in that fleeting glance, he'd caught a few details that made his eyebrows rise.
Miyamoto Rei's emotional history read as zero?
Yami frowned. Didn't she have a boyfriend in her story?
"Either this world's Rei is different from the one I know… or she's not Rei at all."
It was impossible to judge the authenticity of an entire world from one stat window and now wasn't the time to overthink it.
"…Guess it's about time I made my entrance."
If he was going to meet his summoned guests, it couldn't be a plain walk-in. A proper first impression needed style.
A plan took shape in his mind.
Above the city, the air shifted.
Thunder cracked and rolled like galloping hooves.
"What now…?" someone muttered below.
The wind howled, tugging at hair and clothing as the temperature seemed to drop.
The gathered women braced themselves, eyes narrowing against the sudden gale.
Then the light dimmed.
Black shadows poured across the sky, swallowing the sun.
From the darkness, an immense throne emerged — carved in jagged patterns, wreathed in faint purple lines that pulsed like veins.
Upon it sat a figure draped in a black cloak, a crown of shifting shadow resting upon his head. His presence was cold, regal, and unshakably dominant.
When his voice rolled out, it carried to every corner of the city.
[Welcome… to the Multiverse Dungeon.]
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