After hearing the broadcast...
Most of the Samsaras were only slightly stunned before returning to their own affairs, not taking it too seriously.
After all, it was perfectly normal for the Shura 'God' to receive a godlike rating.
However, many Samsaras were still quite surprised.
Those who knew about the One-Punch Man instance were especially shocked.
Anyone familiar with the three missions in the One-Punch Man world knew they were extremely difficult—almost impossible to complete...
The first two missions were manageable. They were not too difficult to complete, but the resulting evaluation was rarely very high.
The third mission, however, was a completely different matter...
The third mission required defeating the strongest Hero through sheer force!
In everyone's eyes, the strongest character in One-Punch Man was the universally acknowledged hero—Blast!
Not only was he the strongest, but he was also extremely mysterious. Almost no one knew his whereabouts.
To complete the third mission under normal circumstances, one needed the strength to defeat Blast, knowledge of his whereabouts, and the ability to find him...
Almost no one could accomplish even one of those things!
Generally speaking, most Samsaras who reached the 18th Stage of the Samsara Tower possessed high B-rank strength, while those with greater talent might barely reach A-rank!
With that level of strength, they would struggle even against the other S-Class heroes in the One-Punch Man world, let alone Blast.
Moreover,
Finding Blast was nearly impossible.
Even the upper management of the Hero Association did not know where Blast was, so how could anyone else possibly find him?
(Aside from Fenric and the readers, no one knew that the strongest character in One-Punch Man was not Blast, but Saitama!)
...
"Holy crap! Shura exceeded expectations and completed all three missions? Did he kill the strongest monster, become the number one S-Class hero, and even defeat Blast?"
"Wow! That's unbelievable! How did he even do it?"
"The first two missions are still manageable. As long as you're strong enough, you have a chance of completing them. Shura's strength goes without saying... But the third mission—where did Shura even find Blast?!"
"God Shura is simply too powerful. Even a mission like this couldn't stop him?"
"Sigh! When I cleared the One-Punch Man instance, I only received an overall C-rank evaluation. Compared to Shura, I'm nothing but trash!"
"Are you stupid? Of all the people you could compare yourself to, you chose Shura? Aren't you just asking to be humiliated?"
"I'm really curious about how Shura completed those three missions. Who was the strongest monster? How did he become the number one S-Class hero? And where exactly is Blast? I'm about to enter the One-Punch Man world myself. I wish Shura would share his strategy guide!"
"Keep dreaming..."
The high-level Samsaras in Zone C discussed the matter animatedly.
The same discussions were taking place in the other zones as well.
A Samsara player who had just emerged from the 18th Stage of the Samsara Tower was immediately dragged into a bar by his friends to discuss it.
"Hey, Brad! First of all, congratulations on clearing the 18th Stage's One-Punch Man dungeon. How did it go? What evaluation did you receive?"
Hearing this, the Samsara player named Brad shrugged and said, "What evaluation could I have received? Just a B-rank."
The companion beside him replied, "B-rank? That's already pretty good. No one usually receives a high evaluation in the One-Punch Man instance. Even Adam only managed an A-rank."
"That was before. Don't forget the announcement just now. That damned Shura received another godlike rating!" someone else said.
"What? A godlike rating?!" Brad exclaimed in shock. "Seriously? Did that guy actually find Blast?"
The person beside him said, "Of course it's true. Almost everyone heard the broadcast... By the way, Brad, weren't you in the same group as Shura? Can you tell us how he did it?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know much either," Brad said slowly. "However, something strange did happen. Almost immediately after we entered the instance—even before the trial officially began—Shura had already become the number one S-Class hero!"
"What?! How is that even possible? Did Shura cheat?"
"Who could possibly cheat inside the Samsara Tower? I suspect Shura may have traveled into the past. That's the only explanation."
"That actually makes sense..."
"I see... That was the perfect plan!"
"But I still can't understand how he managed to find Blast and defeat him..."
"Forget it. Stop thinking about it. You're giving me a headache."
"What worries me now is that the PUBG World Battle instance is about to begin. With that damned Shura around, Zone C will definitely take first place this time!"
"Damn it! I almost forgot about that until you mentioned it..."
"It's all Adam's fault! He actually lost to Shura. He has completely disgraced us!"
...
...
With a flash of white light,
Fenric appeared in the Samsara Tower.
At the same time, the system's reward notification sounded:
"Dear Samsara Player 'Shura,' you have completed the mission. You have received the following rewards!"
"Samsara Points: 68,000!"
"Spirit Attribute +40."
"Multiplayer Instance Card x1. (Stored in your personal warehouse.)"
"Golden Treasure Chest x1. (Stored in your personal warehouse.)"
"...?"
Upon hearing the system notification, Fenric's expression shifted.
Fenric was not surprised to receive a godlike rating for this instance.
Orochi and Boros had both died at his hands. He had also become the number one S-Class hero and defeated Saitama, although the method he used was not exactly honorable!
If even that did not earn him a godlike rating, Fenric would have nothing to say.
This was already the absolute limit of what he could accomplish!
Even if he could do it all over again, he could not perform any better...
Moreover,
This time, the instance reward actually included a "Multiplayer Instance Card"?
This was the first time Fenric had ever obtained such an item.
Driven by curiosity, Fenric immediately entered his personal warehouse.
Seeing Fenric appear in the warehouse, Skynet asked, "Brother, have we returned to your world?"
Fenric nodded. "Yes."
"I see another card and a treasure chest on the shelf..." Skynet suddenly asked, "Brother, will I ever see Saitama and Genos again?"
Clearly, Skynet had realized what had happened.
"Of course!" Fenric replied without hesitation.
Skynet smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother."
Fenric was taken aback. "What are you thanking me for?"
"Thank you for giving me a new life..."
Skynet chuckled, then said, "I won't bother you anymore, Brother. Hurry up and open the chest!"
Fenric glanced at Skynet with a strange expression, feeling that she was acting somewhat peculiar today...
However, Fenric did not think too much about it and began examining the rewards from this run.
This time, he had received four rewards: Samsara Points, attribute points, a Multiplayer Instance Card, and a Golden Treasure Chest.
The Samsara Point reward was 3,000 higher than last time, obviously because the instance had been more difficult.
As for the points, he could deal with them later.
Right now, Fenric was far more curious about the "Multiplayer Instance Card."
Fenric walked up to the shelf and picked up the Multiplayer Instance Card.
The system immediately sent him a notification...
"Multiplayer Instance Card: As the name suggests, this card allows multiple players to enter an instance together! It is recommended that you invite your friends to participate. (Maximum: 10 players.) The rewards are generous and will not be divided among the participants!"
"Note: Specific information about the instance will be provided after the card is activated!"
After receiving the notification, Fenric was somewhat stunned.
That was it?
More information would only be revealed after the card was activated?
Fenric frowned, unable to determine whether the card was good or bad...
However, since the system had stated that the rewards were generous, it probably was not a bad thing!
"The maximum is ten players..."
Fenric had only four friends in total. Including himself, that made five people altogether.
"Forget it for now. Let's open the chest first!"
Fenric took out the Golden Treasure Chest.
Fenric was truly looking forward to opening it.
After opening so many treasure chests, Fenric had already discerned the pattern behind their rewards.
Generally, there was an eighty-percent chance that an item obtained from a treasure chest would be related to the world of the instance.
For example, the Golden Treasure Chest Fenric obtained from the X-Men: Days of Future Past instance had contained "Self-Healing," while the Silver Treasure Chest he obtained from the Kung Fu Hustle instance had contained "Lion's Roar!"
Therefore, Fenric was especially eager to see what was inside the Golden Treasure Chest before him.
After all, this one had come from the One-Punch Man universe!
If he could obtain Saitama's unique power, it would be an incredible reward...
Filled with anticipation and excitement, Fenric opened the Golden Treasure Chest...
A flash of golden light erupted.
"Congratulations! You have received a 'Saitama Trial Card!'"
"Saitama Trial Card: Upon use, your Strength, Agility, and Physique will temporarily increase by 99,999 for 30 minutes!"
Note: This is a single-use consumable and can only be used once.
"Note: This item can be recycled. The system will recycle it for 97,000 Samsara Points."
"..."
Upon hearing the system notification, Fenric stared blankly at the Saitama Trial Card in his hand, unsure what to think...
Before opening the chest, he had thought it would be amazing if he could obtain Saitama's power. He would have hit the jackpot.
After opening the chest, he was shocked to discover that he had actually obtained Saitama's power.
Unfortunately!
It could only be used once...
This was absolutely outrageous!
If the system had not offered to recycle it—and for a fairly decent price—Fenric might have spat blood in frustration!
...
After carefully thinking it over, Fenric ultimately decided not to exchange the Saitama Trial Card for Samsara Points.
He had to admit!
Saitama was unbelievably powerful!
The trial card based on him actually granted such an enormous attribute boost...
If Fenric possessed those attributes permanently, he would be utterly unstoppable!
Even as a trial card, it could still be extremely useful.
For example, if Fenric encountered an enemy he could not defeat in a future instance, possessing this card would be like having an additional lifesaving trump card—one that could even turn the entire battle around!
Therefore, Fenric decided to keep the Saitama Trial Card for emergencies.
In any case, he was not particularly short on Samsara Points right now.
"Brother, the person on this card looks like Saitama, doesn't he?"
At some point, Skynet had appeared behind Fenric and was curiously examining the trial card in his hand.
Fenric nodded. "This card is very important, so don't touch it."
"I know!" Skynet wrinkled her nose and said, "How could I dare touch anything here without your permission?"
Hearing this, Fenric glanced at Skynet.
He felt that this girl was displaying more and more human emotions. She was practically indistinguishable from a real human.
After thinking for a moment, Fenric asked, "Skynet, would you like to change your name?"
Hearing this, Skynet's eyes lit up.
"Brother, you'll let me change my name?"
"Of course!" Fenric said. "Actually, I've wanted to ask you about this for a long time."
Skynet immediately brightened. "That's wonderful! I don't like the name Skynet, but I was afraid you might be unhappy, Brother..."
Fenric looked at her deeply and said with a smile, "Since you're my sister, you can naturally choose your own name."
Fenric then asked, "So, have you decided what you'd like to call yourself?"
After thinking seriously for a while, Skynet said, "Not yet... I need to go back and look up some information."
"All right. Let's go back!"
Fenric then returned directly to the real world and brought Skynet out.
By then,
It was already past four in the morning.
Fenric said to Skynet, "Take your time thinking about it. I'm going to sleep."
Skynet wished him goodnight, and her consciousness immediately entered the network to search for a suitable name...
...
The next day.
At the military base.
(Note:Although two lengthy dungeon arcs have passed, the real-world timeline resumes immediately after the battle against Adam and Uvall.)
Yuhan woke up early.
After washing up, she went to Fenric's room, only to discover that he was gone.
On the table was a note Fenric had left behind.
"Something came up, so I had to return home early..."
After reading the note, Yuhan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, her cousin, Aurora Morwyn, had also begun working early and was listening to a report from her subordinate.
"Commander, last night, Mr. Shura... Mr. Shura received two more godlike ratings."
Upon hearing this, Aurora smiled and said, "That guy... He's still working so hard!"
It was obvious that Aurora was in an excellent mood.
During last night's battle, Shura had severely injured Adam, ruthlessly crushing the Cindralock Dominion's arrogance while greatly increasing the prestige of Jadeveil!
As his comrade-in-arms, how could Aurora not be pleased?
Furthermore, Adam's severe injuries meant that he would not dare challenge the Samsara Tower again for the time being, buying the Samsaras of Jadeveil a considerable amount of time.
Otherwise, if Adam obtained access to the 33rd Stage first, it would become a nightmare for every Samsara player of Jadeveil Nation!