"The old man finally showed up!"
Instead of panicking, Shirasawa Yukari looked energized.
White Fawn: "Yukari, you're not scared at all?"
Yukari replied righteously, "Why should I be afraid? I didn't do anything wrong!"
Nekomi Momo looked confused. "Everyone knows how scary the old headmaster's temper is. You terminated the contract with the Skycloud City he valued the most just to contract Miracle City…"
"Skycloud City? Hah!"
Yukari snorted in disdain. "I didn't stay away from home because I was afraid of the old man. I was deliberately trying to lure him here to Miracle City!"
"Yukari, don't tell me you're planning to…"
"It's time for Grandpa to come out of retirement."
Pig King: "Bring the old headmaster back? That's impossible, right? He's been retired for ten years!"
Everyone was stunned.
Who was Hakutsuru Sennin?
The most legendary adventurer Blackstone Town had ever produced.
He had once surpassed Tier 4, and over the past decade had researched thousands of secret realms. Even in retirement, he remained the nightmare of countless dungeon lords.
A master of both theory and combat.
If someone like him personally guided young adventurers through Miracle City…
The benefits were almost unimaginable.
No matter how difficult future secret realms became, adventurers would have the confidence and foundation to overcome them.
"Nothing is impossible," Yukari said calmly.
She wasn't doing this for profit.
She just wanted her grandfather to truly recover and step out of the shadow of the past.
When a dungeon faced destruction, adventurers usually had time to react and cut losses.
In most cases, they would abandon the dungeon immediately to minimize damage.
But Hakutsuru Sennin hadn't done that.
He had fought until the very last moment for the territory he contracted.
Though he never spoke of the details, Yukari knew that compared to losing decades of cultivation, the destruction of that dungeon itself had struck him ten times harder.
That was why he had lost heart and chosen retirement.
But ten years had passed.
It was time to move on.
His health had been worsening in recent years.
If he didn't rebuild his life soul soon, it might truly be too late.
Another reason Hakutsuru Sennin refused to return was simple: no dungeon had ever impressed him again.
Until Miracle City appeared out of nowhere.
Yukari felt the timing was perfect.
A few minutes later—
Hakutsuru Sennin arrived in a rage.
His face was filled with anger and disappointment.
The moment he saw Yukari, Nekomi Momo, and the others—
"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!" he roared. "How much do you understand about dungeons? About the Chaotic World?!"
His beard bristled as he scolded them. "You're all coming back with me immediately! I will not allow you to gamble with your futures!"
The old headmaster's presence was overwhelming.
Other adventurers didn't even dare breathe too loudly.
Yukari wasn't intimidated in the slightest. She immediately activated her adventurer soul, releasing her Tier-1 life soul aura. A faint Witch Zombie projection appeared behind her.
"I've already contracted Miracle City. It's too late to say anything now!"
"You—are you trying to kill your grandfather with anger?!"
Hakutsuru Sennin had heard rumors, but without seeing it with his own eyes, he had clung to hope.
Yukari had never been reckless or foolish. How could she abandon half her cultivation and her carefully planned path for a city she had only stayed in for a few days?
And now—
The last shred of hope died.
"No matter what," the old man growled, "you're coming back with me!"
"Nope. Not going."
"If I leave now, I won't be able to get back in. I'm planning to challenge the second stage of Apocalypse Frenzy. I heard it has monsters even stronger than Tanks and Witches!"
"You dare disobey me?!"
"As long as I haven't exhausted my stamina, there's no way I'm leaving!"
The argument was on the verge of exploding.
"This adventurer, please do not cause a disturbance!"
Hearing reports of trouble, Nancy Lia rushed over.
As the lord's personally appointed "network administrator," she believed it was her duty to maintain order in Miracle City.
This was the dungeon she believed in. She absolutely would not allow anyone to disrupt its development.
Nancy Lia warned sternly, "The lord has the right to expel or refuse entry to any adventurer. If you continue causing trouble, I will report this to Lord Kanzaki immediately!"
The surrounding adventurers froze.
The freckled dwarf girl usually seemed shy and gentle. Why did she suddenly look like an overprotective hen guarding her nest?
"It's a misunderstanding!"
"Just a misunderstanding!"
Nekomi Momo and White Fawn hurriedly explained the situation to Nancy Lia.
More people arrived upon hearing the commotion.
At the front were Kaze Nemuri and Solitary Blade.
Kaze Nemuri spoke up, "Old Headmaster, please look carefully. Yukari is contracted to a five-star Essence Soul now."
"You?"
Hakutsuru Sennin recognized him immediately.
Frowning, he asked, "Don't tell me you also…"
"That's right," Kaze Nemuri said calmly. "I also contracted Miracle City. To do so early, I even abandoned my four-star Skycloud City soul and temporarily used a two-star gray soul."
Madness.
Pure madness!
Five-star souls were rare, yes—but abandoning Skycloud City just for one wasn't enough reason!
One or two good Essence Souls could never decide a dungeon's future!
Kaze Nemuri continued, "Old Headmaster, look again at Miracle City. It reached this level in less than a week. Do you really still think this is an ordinary dungeon?"
Only now did Hakutsuru Sennin look around.
Warehouses.City walls.Mercenary Houses.Soldier Houses.Essence Soul Altars.Monster Camps.An Adventurer Inn.
Just building these facilities alone would consume enormous resources.
For an ordinary rookie lord, even two or three months wouldn't be enough to establish something this complete.
Hakutsuru Sennin's expression softened slightly. "Is this city backed by a major faction?"
"Of course not!" Yukari replied immediately. "This is all Lord Kanzaki's own achievement!"
"And don't forget us adventurers!" Nekomi Momo added proudly.
Indeed.
Even with faction support, at most one could bring Soul Crystals and blueprints.
Many of these buildings required Mental Energy, a resource that could only be produced internally and could not be obtained from outside.
Solitary Blade added, "Lord Kanzaki has not only completed infrastructure, but has also expanded multiple times in just a few days. Miracle City now possesses three territorial divine stones."
Three divine stones?
That meant at least three outposts had been conquered!
A newborn dungeon—where did it get the souls and resources to build armies? Not to mention that refining divine stones consumed massive amounts of Mental Energy.
Something about this city was undeniably abnormal.
"Ultimately," Hakutsuru Sennin said slowly, "a dungeon's worth is decided by the quality of its secret realms."
Yukari finally revealed her true intention. "Grandpa, since you're already here, why not test it yourself? With your experience, you'll know immediately whether the secret realm is good or bad."
"…Fine."
Seeing was believing.
"I'll test it myself today," Hakutsuru Sennin snorted. "But let me make this clear first. If Miracle City's secret realm fails to satisfy me, all of you are coming back with me—and you're never coming here again!"
"We won't disappoint you!"
"I'm confident!"
The group arrived at the entrance of the Secret Realm Hall.
They noticed a new building had appeared.
"Huh?"
"Isn't that a Secret Realm Shop?!"
Nekomi Momo exclaimed happily, "Wow! Miracle City really made it big. They even have a shop now!"
"Aya!"
"Is the shop open?"
"Can we buy things?"
Nancy Lia immediately introduced it. "Honored adventurers, this shop provides retail services. Unranked items are priced at 1–5 Contribution Points per unit, or may be exchanged at a ratio of 1:10 using Soul Sand."
What?
That's robbery!
Hakutsuru Sennin couldn't understand it.
How could unranked items be sold at such outrageous prices?!
Even the cheapest cost 10 Soul Sand!
Clearly, this shop wasn't trying to earn Soul Sand at all—it was a tool to recover Contribution Points!
Other adventurers, however, were delighted.
"Hahaha, this is actually pretty fair. You can even pay with Soul Sand!"
"Aya!"
"Give me a box of ice cream first!"
"A crate of cola!"
"I want cigarettes!"
"I'll grab some spicy strips. Eating snacks while watching people dive into the dungeon sounds amazing!"
"..."
The adventurers spent freely.
Ten or twenty Soul Sand wasn't cheap, but most didn't even blink. No one used Contribution Points—those were far more valuable.
Hakutsuru Sennin was completely stunned.
Yukari seized the moment. "Miracle City also has a kind of liquor called Maotai. Grandpa, you'd definitely like it."
"No need," he replied coldly. "I'm not in the mood. I'm here to challenge Miracle City's dungeon."
He walked straight into the hall.
A student immediately yielded a spot.
Without hesitation, Hakutsuru Sennin entered a Secret Realm Crystal and initiated a challenge to Apocalypse Frenzy.
Today—
He would see for himself.
What kind of power this secret realm had.
And why it had captivated these young adventurers so completely.