[I am happy to see your growth.]
The voice echoed through the City of Bones.
Everyone froze mid-step.
That tone… not the cold, mechanical chime of the system this was the Dungeon Master himself.
They straightened instinctively, listening closely.
Miyamoto Rei's reaction, however, was different from Shinobu Kocho and the others.
Hearing Yami Tsukishiro's words, a warmth stirred in her chest. She didn't smile, didn't say a word… but her heartbeat quickened ever so slightly.
[Given the shortcomings of the dungeon, I will make changes.]
[Modifications: A fixed supply point will now appear in the dungeon for rest and replenishment. Locations are for you to discover. Resurrection points will be changed to the room you were last in.]
Yami had already decided, supply points would appear on the third, sixth, and ninth floors.
Enough to keep adventurers alive and moving.
Changing the resurrection point from the public square to their own rooms also meant one thing: privacy.
[Everyone, keep up the good work!]
The voice faded, leaving an uneasy silence.
"…Do you get the feeling he's… watching us?" Viper asked, her eyes narrowing.
It was hard to deny the problem they'd just run into had been solved immediately.
That kind of timing didn't happen without someone keeping an eye on them.
"…If he's watching us, does that mean he'd also watch us in the bath?" Jade asked with perfect seriousness, completely derailing the mood.
"Eh?! Then that means he's seen me?!"
Kanroji Mitsuri nearly dropped her weapon, her face heating. "If you peek at my body, you must like me… so maybe you'd marry me?"
Her thoughts had gone so far off-track that even Yami, who actually was monitoring them, almost choked.
Ahem. "I am a gentleman," he muttered to himself.
He wasn't some shameless old Hokage peeping through a crystal ball.
"Ah… this kind of thing shouldn't be possible. The one who created this dungeon can't be human no matter how much he looks like one."
Shinobu Kocho spoke calmly, as if stating a simple fact. She had never once believed Yami Tsukishiro was an ordinary human.
After all, even demons could wear a human face.
"..."
Miyamoto Rei stayed silent.
Her mind wandered back to the moment she'd seen his face up close right before she passed out.
He had carried her to her room… pulled the quilt over her… and left without a word.
Whether he was human or not didn't matter.
She only knew one thing: she was bound to him.
A slave to her master's will.
Whether that loyalty came from the dungeon's binding rules or from somewhere in her own heart… she could no longer tell where one ended and the other began.
"Anyway, that's it for today. Get some rest, everyone," Shinobu said, breaking the silence.
The group quietly dispersed, returning to their quarters.
The cooperation is solid. Their growth rate isn't bad either.
Yami skimmed through their progress.
No surprises each of them had used the 10-magic-stone dungeon roulette right away, gaining a meme and advancing to Level 1.
Unfortunately, none of them had gotten anything special.
Shinobu and the others had all rolled the guaranteed D-rank physical enhancement useful, but boring.
Still, the magic stone income wasn't bad. Their runs had brought in another 2,000 for him, though the "world analysis" meter stubbornly refused to move.
That, he knew, was the truly important one.
And waiting around wouldn't change a thing.
"Oh well… sorry, my dear little slaves," he murmured, smirking.
"Time to add a bit more spice to your lives."
He didn't particularly want to make things harder for them, but at this point, he didn't have much choice.
With a thought, he opened up the fifth floor's configuration menu.
The first four floors had been left to random spawns mostly Level 1 zombies, with the occasional Level 2 lurking.
But the fifth floor… would be different.
He would shape it himself, turning it into a proper wall they'd have to climb.
First, three Level 2 Armed Zombies.
Then, six Level 2 Heavy Armored Zombies.
All of them set to respawn on a timer.
A nasty hurdle for any party.
…Though, considering someone out there had the Ox Talisman, maybe it was time to sprinkle in a certain Ella's strength to balance the scales.
"Ah—right. Ella's still in my world."
The thought hit Yami Tsukishiro out of nowhere.
…Can I just summon her into the dungeon like this?
No harm in testing.
With barely a flicker of focus, he found her presence warm and familiar and pulled.
A heartbeat later, she dropped neatly into his lap on the bed in the Palace of Creation.
The sudden movement made her stir. She rubbed her eyes like a sleepy kitten.
"Mm… Master? What's wrong…?"
Yami's brows drew together. He immediately noticed she was still wearing the same soft pajamas he'd bought her, ones she'd worn to bed just yesterday.
"Ella… do you remember what happened?"
"Well…"
She gave her cheeks a quick pat, trying to wake up enough to think.
After a moment of effort, she tilted her head and replied, "I remember Master teaching me how to take a bath… and how to use a phone. Then I fell asleep."
"..."
Something didn't add up.
He had spent an entire day and night inside the virtual world… yet in the real one, no time at all seemed to have passed?
That was… something worth confirming.
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