Apocalypse Frenzy's clearance condition:Find and enter the safe house!
However, Kanzaki Ren had deliberately placed the safe house two thousand meters away from the starting area. The adventurers had yet to move beyond a five-hundred-meter radius, making a successful clear today highly unlikely.
Even so, the adventurers were still having the time of their lives.
Exploring a brand-new world was inherently filled with novelty and excitement. New supplies, weapons, and items were constantly being discovered, and the steady sense of progress and surprise was intoxicating.
Moreover, because some zombies spawned randomly, every run carried unpredictable variables. Each session was filled with tension and variation, preventing boredom from ever setting in.
The adventurers were having an absolute blast.
"My stamina's gone!""Lord Ren, this dungeon is way too well made!""The realism is insane. The immersion is off the charts. I haven't had this much fun in ages!""Honestly, I've never experienced a dungeon this intense and enjoyable. It feels like I truly crossed into another world and became a survivor in the apocalypse!""Lord, you're a damn genius!""If Apocalypse Frenzy doesn't blow up, I, Pig King, will run naked around Blackrock Town ten times!""Lord Kanzaki Ren, how did you even do this? Why is your dungeon so fun?!""…"
Seeing the adventurers this hooked, Kanzaki Ren felt a deep sense of pride.
Still—
this was only the beginning.
These country bumpkins clearly had no idea what real refinement looked like.
He said calmly, "Beginner Mode is nothing more than a tutorial stage. It showcases less than one-tenth of the dungeon's true content. If you want to experience the real charm of this world, you'll need to work much harder."
"What?!""No way!""You're bluffing!""This dungeon is already incredible, and you're telling me this is just the tutorial?""Impossible. Absolutely impossible!""…"
Kanzaki Ren had successfully ignited their curiosity.
They couldn't even imagine Apocalypse Frenzy becoming more fun than this.
Today hadn't just been exhilarating—it had also produced a considerable amount of resources. The drops were mostly cola, lemon soda, beer, candy, chocolate, instant noodles, and other food, drinks, and basic supplies.
Individually, these items weren't worth much.
But they were more than enough to satisfy adventurers.
And in Blackrock Town, they were unquestionably hot commodities.
Sleeping in the Wind called out, "I'm buying dungeon resources! Five Soul Sand per item, minimum!"
Moonlit Snowfall followed up, "I'm buying cola and chocolate. Ten Soul Sand per bottle. Anyone selling, hurry up!"
"…"
Soul Sand was the fragmentary currency refined from Soul Crystals.
Each Soul Crystal could be broken down into one hundred Soul Sand, making it the most basic currency among adventurers.
In Blackrock Town, a normal family of three spent around 800–1000 Soul Sand per month on living expenses.
Moonlit Snowfall was offering ten Soul Sand per bottle of cola, and each cola reward from Apocalypse Frenzy came as a crate of six bottles.
That meant sixty Soul Sand per drop.
That kind of return—
was irresistible.
Yet another reason to keep challenging the dungeon.
It was fun and profitable, enough to draw in adventurers from poorer backgrounds like moths to a flame.
Most of the adventurers who had exhausted their stamina were reluctant to leave Miracle City.
"It still doesn't feel like enough!""My hands itch like crazy. I really want to keep hacking zombies!""Even watching someone else play would be fine, but none of us can enter anymore. What do we do?""Call people!""Great idea!""…"
Not long after—
more adventurers arrived at Miracle Dungeon.
They were all close friends, relatives, and sworn brothers of the first group.
"Hammer, Pig, why are you calling me so urgently? Don't you know your dad's already queued for a dungeon?"A young man with the codename "Lone Wolf" appeared in Miracle City.
Pig King grinned. "Second Dog, forget those life-wasting trash dungeons. Blackrock Town's newest and most fun dungeon is right here at Miracle City!"
Lone Wolf was skeptical. "Seriously?"
Ishida Tetsuya chimed in, "I won't say it's the best dungeon in town, but it's absolutely different and won't disappoint. Try it. Pig and I will guide you."
Pig King could barely contain himself. "Hurry up and enter! I want to see zombies getting slaughtered. I want to see blood everywhere!"
Even if he couldn't play himself, watching someone else massacre zombies was still plenty enjoyable.
Nekomi Momo, Moonlit Snowfall, Lonely Swordsman, Sleeping in the Wind, and others also began calling people. One after another, around thirty more adventurers arrived.
Kanzaki Ren hadn't expected—
a second wave of growth today.
The new adventurers were immediately captivated by the novel, exciting, and intense zombie world. The first group gathered around the dungeon crystals with them, watching anxiously, constantly commenting and giving directions.
Whenever someone pulled off a slick maneuver or discovered something new, the spectators erupted into cheers.
The dungeon hall was lively.
Overflowing with joy.
The atmosphere was perfect.
[Adventurer "White Fawn" generated 1 point of Mental Power!][Adventurer "White Fawn" has died. Mental Power +1. Soul Crystal +1!][Adventurer "Braised Pig Trotter" has died. Mental Power +1. Soul Crystal +1!][Adventurer "Lone Wolf" has died. Mental Power +1. Soul Crystal +1!][…]
Kanzaki Ren had anticipated solid income—
but not this much.
Even a well-run dungeon operating steadily for two months might not achieve numbers like these.
Miracle City had been open for just two days.
The adventurers' progress steadily advanced. Some had already explored up to a thousand meters, discovering even more weapons along the way, pushing their excitement even higher.
"Whoa!""That's insane!""The assault rifle's firepower is crazy!""With this gun, even a horde of zombies can be taken down!""This is unreal. The sniper rifle's accuracy and range are absurd. How did the lord even create weapon materials like this?!""How many weapons are still hidden in this dungeon? They're way too satisfying to use!""…"
Suddenly, Kanzaki Ren received a special notification.
[Adventurer "Lone Wolf" has obtained a "Zombie Essence" from Apocalypse Frenzy. Mental Power -1!]
"Oh? An essence already? That was faster than expected."
Whether for Dungeon Lords or adventurers,
Essences were extremely valuable resources.
Lords could use essences to create mercenaries, cultivate armies, or summon combat units.
Adventurers could absorb essences to strengthen their foundation.
They were also the only resource used for advancement and ranking up.
In theory, every monster could drop an essence, but each type could only be absorbed once per adventurer.
Whenever an essence dropped, the lord would lose Mental Power. The higher the quality and rarity, the greater the loss.
That was why—
essence drops, especially in large quantities, were usually bad news for a dungeon and its lord.
But Kanzaki Ren was different.
His dungeon generated Mental Power in abundance. This level of loss was negligible. The more essences that dropped, the more he could eventually recycle, providing materials to build armies and expand his territory.
The adventurers burst into excited shouts.
"Whoa!""An essence dropped!""Someone got an essence!""What kind? Show us!""…"
The lucky one was Lone Wolf.
He immediately displayed the essence information publicly.
[Zombie Essence]Common Essence. Can be directly absorbed and refined, or submitted to the dungeon for fusion and recycling.
"Jealous!""That's insane!""The drop rate here feels several times higher than other dungeons!""Even if it's only a common essence, it's a completely new type. That alone will attract a lot of attention from major factions!""…"
Each adventurer could only absorb a given essence once.
Since this was Lone Wolf's first Zombie Essence, there was no chance he'd recycle it.
But that didn't matter.
As long as Apocalypse Frenzy continued to attract adventurers, future essence drops would inevitably end up being recycled by the dungeon.
After recycling, Kanzaki Ren could use them to build troops or sell them through territory trade in exchange for Soul Crystals, blueprints, or other critical resources.
Time was up.
The dungeon closed.
The adventurers left Miracle City reluctantly, one by one.
Kanzaki Ren began tallying the results.
Today, a total of 59 adventurers had challenged the dungeon.
Total Mental Power gained: 449 pointsTotal Soul Crystals gained: 276
A dungeon with a Soul Crystal-to-Mental Power ratio above 3:1 was considered decent.
A ratio above 2:1 was considered top-tier.
Apocalypse Frenzy had exceeded 1:1.
There was nothing like it in all of Blackrock Town.
If nothing unexpected happened, tomorrow someone would clear the tutorial stage.
With abundant Mental Power and sufficient early accumulation, it was time to build real stages—introduce more special zombies—and show them what true danger and excitement really meant.