Chapter 69: King Mizuki, Do You Still Need Subordinates?
Mizuki leaned back, his mind sifting through the vast reservoir of Digimon lore he had retained from his past life. digivolution was not just a matter of willpower or screaming loudly enough. To unlock a specific evolutionary path, a Digimon needed more than just the world's permission—they needed to meet strict, underlying numerical thresholds.
In gaming terms, it was a hard stat check. If a Digimon's core attributes had not grown to meet the required baseline, the digivolution sequence would simply reject them. It was a universal safety net, a biological level cap designed to prevent catastrophic errors.
Yet, this specific Digital World was terrifyingly flawed. Here, a failed digivolution did not just mean a temporary setback—it meant total data deletion. Complete erasure. Mizuki's eyes narrowed as he considered the culprit. He strongly suspected that Homeostasis had deliberately stripped away that fundamental safety restriction.
Without the system locking them out, desperate or ambitious Digimon who lacked the necessary data density would recklessly force an digivolution. The result? Massive internal data conflicts, fatal system bugs, a complete crash, and finally—oblivion.
'Achieving digital balance by letting the weak delete themselves? Homeostasis, you absolute bastard...'
He coughed softly into his fist, clearing the dark thought away. Anyway, back to the problem at hand.
Mizuki's workaround was elegantly simple: manually inject the lacking data to ensure the target Digimon's three core attributes met the threshold before they triggered the digivolution sequence. As for the source of that raw data? The environmental factory code he had carefully analyzed and copied back on File Island was the perfect fuel.
"Little Bei, I am going to need your help with this," Mizuki murmured, his fingers dancing as he prepared to manipulate the digital weave.
"I know, Mizu~!" the little Nyarmon chirped, her data-rewrite abilities humming to life in sync with his Digi-Soul.
With Nyarmon acting as his biological coprocessor, Mizuki projected his senses into the internal data structure of the Gazimon standing before him.
He did not know the exact numerical distribution required for a Gazimon's natural digivolution, but he did not need to. By using Nyarmon's incredibly dense, Ancient Species data structure as a stabilizing reference, Mizuki could carefully guide this Gazimon down a specific, alternate evolutionary branch.
"Hmm... careful now," Mizuki whispered, beads of sweat forming on his brow. The margin for error was razor-thin.
"Do not push too much data at once..." Nyarmon advised softly, her small body glowing with concentration.
"Slowly... just a trickle... stabilize the core..." Mizuki muttered, his hands glowing with a faint, steady light. "And... lock it in! Done!"
Empowered by the factory code and Nyarmon's flawless computational support, Mizuki successfully flooded the Gazimon's core with the exact data required.
Instantly, the Gazimon's body erupted in a blinding, pure-white pillar of light. The sheer kinetic force of the glow whipped the surrounding grass into a frenzy. The prelude to digivolution had begun!
"I am... I am actually going to Evolve!" the Gazimon cried out, her eyes flying open as she stared at her own glowing hands. The raw, intoxicating rush of new data surged through her veins, and a wide, euphoric grin stretched across her face.
The brilliant light swallowed her entirely, shifting and expanding as her wireframe data was violently rewritten. When the blinding radiance finally shattered into a shower of digital sparkles, the hunched, gray-furred Gazimon was gone. In her place stood a sleek, bipedal black feline with piercing eyes and striped gloves.
Gazimon digivolution—!
BlackGatomon!
"Whoa... Big Brother Gazimon... turned into Big Sister BlackGatomon?!"
The two remaining Gazimon trotted up to their newly evolved comrade. They circled the sleek feline, their large eyes wide with a mix of awe and utter confusion, murmuring to each other as they scrutinized her new form.
Smack! Smack!
Without missing a beat, BlackGatomon raised her clawed gloves and ruthlessly chopped both of them on the top of their heads.
"Idiots!" she hissed, her tail lashing. "Do you have a death wish? 'Big Sister Leader' is not a title I am allowed to use!"
She immediately pointed a trembling, respectful claw toward the small Nyarmon resting comfortably in Mizuki's arms.
Nyarmon blinked. [?]
"The real Big Sister Leader is right over there—" BlackGatomon declared with absolute reverence.
"I am not, I say!" Nyarmon shrieked, her face flushing a deep, embarrassed red.
"Guh—!"
Before BlackGatomon could utter another word of praise, Nyarmon launched herself from Mizuki's arms. Spinning like a furry buzzsaw, she unleashed a brutal [Fox Tail] attack, whipping the newly evolved Champion-level Digimon squarely in the jaw with terrifying kinetic force.
BlackGatomon did not even get the chance to thank Mizuki for her digivolution. She was launched into the stratosphere like a furry cannonball.
"Abba~ Sayonara~~~!" BlackGatomon's voice faded into a distant twinkle in the sky.
"I told you not to call me Big Sister Leader, you idiot!" Nyarmon yelled at the sky, her tail puffing up angrily. "Explode and scatter!!!"
Having successfully launched her subordinate over the horizon, Nyarmon huffed, bounced back into Mizuki's arms, and buried her face into his chest. She wriggled her small, squishy body against him, looking for all the world like a bashful little girl embarrassed by unwanted teasing.
Mizuki patted her gently, his lips twitching with dry amusement. She was adorable, sure—but this particular little girl packed enough raw physical power to casually bat a Champion-level Digimon into orbit.
The two remaining Gazimon stared blankly at the empty sky. "..."
Mizuki stared blankly at the empty sky. "..."
Tearing his gaze away from the spot where BlackGatomon had vanished, Mizuki cleared his throat, snapping the two stunned Gazimon out of their stupor.
"Right then. Who is next?"
The two Gazimon froze. Their ears perked up, their eyes widening to comical proportions. "Wait... we can Evolve too?!" they gasped in unison, practically vibrating with shock and excitement.
"Of course," Mizuki replied, offering a lazy, easygoing shrug. "I am not one to play favorites. And that goes for the rest of you, too." He gestured toward the trembling crowd of In-Training Digimon huddled nearby. "The Pagumon are getting the same treatment."
The horde of Pagumon gasped collectively. [!!!]
They had agreed to work under him, after all. Mizuki was not the type of boss to demand loyalty without offering substantial benefits in return. He considered it a generous sign-on bonus.
With a faint, almost mischievous smile, Mizuki extended his glowing hand. Dozens of expectant, starry-eyed Gazimon and Pagumon leaned in, holding their breath.
If one listened closely, they could almost hear the agonizing wails of the data-rewriting process—ahem, no, the joyous cheers of digivolution echoing across the plains.
Having successfully mapped the process with the first Gazimon, Mizuki's subsequent assisted digivolutions were fast, precise, and ruthlessly efficient.
He started with the In-Training group. Under his careful data manipulation, the thirty-plus Pagumon were engulfed in a sea of white light. Following their most stable, direct evolutionary path, they uniformly evolved into a small army of Gazimon.
However, the Digital World's web-like evolutionary structure proved to be delightfully unpredictable.
When Mizuki turned his attention to the two original Gazimon, he deliberately injected them with the exact same data sequence he had used to create BlackGatomon. Yet, the resulting reaction was entirely different.
Two massive pillars of light erupted.
Gazimon digivolution—!
Gazimon digivolution—!
When the light shattered, two massive, intimidating hounds with sleek, dark armor and spiked collars stood in their place.
Dobermon!
Mizuki stared at the two imposing big dogs panting happily in front of him, their tails wagging despite their fearsome appearances. He sighed internally, though a faint smile touched his lips. He should not have been surprised. While BlackGatomon was a rare mutation, Dobermon was a Gazimon's truest, most natural direct path for Champion-level digivolution.
"Thank you!" the Dobermon barked, bowing their massive heads. "All hail the Great and Benevolent King Mizuki-mon!"
"I told you, drop the '-mon'. Just call me Mizuki..." Mizuki rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. But seeing the sheer, unadulterated joy radiating from the newly evolved pack, he waved a dismissive hand. "Forget it. Call me whatever you want."
His easygoing demeanor suddenly shifted. The temperature in the clearing seemed to drop a few degrees as Mizuki's eyes hardened.
"However," he warned, his voice cutting through their celebrations like a blade. "Do not start celebrating just yet."
The pack instantly froze, standing at rigid attention.
"You may have evolved, but you still owe a massive debt. You will fulfill your promise and accept whatever punishment the Koromon village deems fit for your past harassment. If I catch a single one of you slacking off, cutting corners, or causing trouble..." Mizuki's smile returned, but it did not reach his eyes. "...do not blame me when I personally rip the data right out of your cores and revert you back into helpless little blobs."
Terrified by the absolute certainty in his threat, the thirty-plus newly evolved Gazimon and the two Dobermon nodded frantically, their voices overlapping in a panicked chorus.
"Absolutely! We swear!"
"How could we ever go back on our word to the King?!"
"Exactly! We are proud Gazimon now, not those naughty, mischievous Pagumon!"
One of the Gazimon blinked, scratching its head. "Wait... are Gazimon not generally known for being way worse than Pagumon?"
Smack!
Another Gazimon tackled him to the dirt. "Damn it! Is that something you say out loud right now?!"
"You absolute blockhead, are you trying to get us all deleted?!"
Watching the chaotic, bickering pack police themselves, Mizuki nodded in light satisfaction. They were rough around the edges, but they would fall in line.
Just as he was about to issue their first orders, he felt a gentle, hesitant tug on his sleeve.
Mizuki turned his head, a hint of confusion crossing his features.
Standing beside him was the Agumon village chief, flanked by a large group of Koromon from the settlement they had just saved. Instead of looking intimidated by the newly evolved dark Digimon, the pink blobs and the small dinosaur were staring up at Mizuki.
Their large, round eyes were practically shimmering with overwhelming expectation.
The Agumon chief fidgeted, clearing his throat nervously before speaking up.
"Um... King Mizuki-mon, sir?" The chief pointed a clawed finger at the powerful Dobermon. "Are you... are you still accepting applications for subordinates?"
Mizuki blinked. [?]
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