"Humph. It's good that you know your place."
Lin Feng's voice dripped with smug satisfaction as he surveyed the crowd, his cold eyes gleaming with the particular arrogance of someone who had never been told "no" a single day in his existence.
The jade beauties clinging to his arms gazed up at him with worshipful adoration, their bodies pressed against his like they were physically incapable of existing without that contact.
He let the silence stretch, savoring the way every person in that space held their breath, waiting for his next word.
Then, with the casual disdain of an emperor tossing coins to beggars, he continued.
"Here's the information you peasants don't deserve but are receiving anyway. There are elves in this dungeon—real elves. The kind from legends, from myths, from every fantasy you've ever jerked off to in your sad little lives. Long ears. Eternal beauty. Lifespans that make yours look like a mayfly's afternoon."
He paused, letting that sink in. "You can change your race from whatever worthless human stock you currently are to one of them."
A ripple of barely contained excitement ran through the crowd.
Lin Feng's lip curled.
"Here's what you do. Choose the Holfort Kingdom as your faction. Simple enough. Then—and this is the important part—change your race to elf. It's free. No cost. No hidden fees. You just... do it. And suddenly you're no longer a short-lived, ugly, insignificant human. You're an elf. Long life. Eternal beauty. Noble status. All yours for the low, low price of being willing to change."
He waved his hand in a dismissive flick, as if shooing away insects.
"Now if you'll excuse me, peasants. This young master has far more important things to attend to than standing here explaining basic survival to livestock."
With that, he turned, the jade beauties flowing with him like water, and departed.
The crowd parted before him as if physically pushed, no one daring to stand in his path or meet his gaze.
The moment he was gone, the space erupted.
"DID YOU HEAR THAT?! ELVES! REAL ELVES!"
"We can become ELVES! Do you know what that means? Immortality! Beauty! Nobility!"
"Holfort Kingdom! I'm choosing Holfort Kingdom! Who's with me?!"
"This is insane! We just got here and already we're being handed the keys to paradise!"
The excitement was deafening, infectious, absolute. Boys who had been trembling with fear moments ago were now practically vibrating with greed and anticipation.
Girls who had been sneering at the boys were now exchanging eager glances, already calculating how to leverage this opportunity.
No one questioned it.
No one wondered why a young master of Lin Feng's caliber would generously hand out life-changing information to random strangers for free.
No one considered that there might be a catch, a trap, a hidden cost that wasn't visible on the surface.
No one.
Except Aqua.
He stood apart from the chaos, arms loosely crossed, his expression utterly unreadable.
Around him, people were already discussing race changes, already planning their new elven lives, already thanking whatever gods they believed in for this miraculous opportunity.
Aqua said nothing.
Then a voice cut through his observation.
"Aqua."
Akane. She had appeared beside him without him noticing, which was unusual. Her eyes were fixed on him, sharp and searching.
"Please don't change into an elf," she said quietly, her voice low enough that only he could hear. "It's very suspicious."
Aqua glanced at her, one eyebrow rising slightly.
Then he shrugged, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Well, I know."
He wasn't surprised.
In canon, Akane had always been the most perceptive character in the show—the one who noticed details others missed, who sensed danger before it manifested, who saw through lies and manipulation with an almost supernatural clarity.
If she had suddenly become dumb just to make the protagonist look smarter, Aqua would have started seriously questioning whether his life had degraded into one of those poorly translated MTL novels written by Chinese authors who didn't understand basic character consistency.
Since she had proven herself sharp, he decided to engage.
"Since you mentioned it," he said, keeping his voice casual, "why do you think so? What's your reasoning?"
Akane's brow furrowed slightly, her eyes still fixed on the celebrating crowd.
When she spoke, her voice was measured, analytical—the voice of someone who had actually paid attention to the lore instead of just the shiny rewards.
"Holfort Kingdom," she began slowly, "doesn't sound like an elf nation. It sounds like a human kingdom. The name alone—'Holfort'—that's human nomenclature. Medieval European fantasy human. Not elven."
She paused, organizing her thoughts.
"Elves, from everything I've read in books and dungeon lore, are known as a proud and noble race. They rarely submit to other races. Most of the time, they build their own nations, their own organizations, their own societies. They keep to themselves because they view humans as... lesser. Short-lived. Impulsive. Beneath them."
Her eyes narrowed.
"If they aren't independent, then they're usually part of a hero's party—as trusted companions, not subjects. Or they're enslaved. Or they're subjugated. There's no in-between. Elves don't just... integrate into human kingdoms as citizens. That's not how they work."
She turned to face him fully, her expression serious.
"I think that Young Master Lin is spreading malicious information. I think he's setting a trap, and everyone is too busy drooling over eternal beauty to see it."
Aqua's smirk widened. He raised his hands and clapped softly—a slow, deliberate applause meant only for her.
"Great observation, Akane. Truly." His voice was warm with genuine approval. "You've nailed it completely."
He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. "Basically, every single Awakener and non-Awakener who chooses the elf race in Holfort Kingdom is going to be utterly, irrevocably doomed. They're walking into a slaughterhouse wearing party hats, and they don't even realize the knives are already swinging."
Akane's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't interrupt.
Aqua considered his next words carefully.
The celebrating crowd was still loud, still oblivious, but he wasn't taking any chances. He pulled up his interface and sent Akane a private message—encrypted, untraceable, visible only to her.
Aquamarine Hoshino: Can I trust you, Akane?
Akane Kurokawa: Is there something you can't say verbally, Aqua?
Aquamarine Hoshino: Yeah. It's about that elf land Lin Feng just condemned half this population to. I need your help with something. Something important. That Chinese guy—Lin Feng, or whatever he wants to call himself—he doesn't know everything. He thinks he's being clever, sending people to Holfort as elves, watching them walk into slavery while patting himself on the back. But there's something beneath that land. Something useful. Something he doesn't know about. And if he knew, he never would have shared that information—even maliciously—because it's worth more than his entire little game.
Akane Kurokawa: Then you can trust me, Aqua. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you.
Aquamarine Hoshino: There's a hidden laboratory beneath Holfort Kingdom. Buried and sealed. Waiting for someone smart enough to find it. When you choose Holfort as your faction—and you will choose it, because that's where you need to be—don't change your race. Stay human. No matter what anyone else does, no matter how tempting the offer seems, you remain human.
He could almost see her nodding on the other end, absorbing every word.
Aquamarine Hoshino: Inside that laboratory, there's an artificial intelligence. Ancient technology. Something left over from whatever civilization existed before this dungeon became what it is. The AI and its systems will recognize you as 'old human'—as one of their creators, their masters, and their makers. They will help you and serve you. They will give you access to things no one else in this entire trial floor will ever touch.
He paused again, letting the implication sink in.
[Private Message — Aquamarine Hoshino → Akane Kurokawa]:
"But here's the kicker. The moment someone changes their race to elf... they stop being 'old human' in the AI's eyes. They become something else. Something lesser. Something the systems were never designed to serve. I don't know exactly what happens to elves who find that laboratory. Maybe nothing. Maybe the AI just ignores them. But maybe—just maybe—they find themselves surrounded by tools that could change their entire existence, technology that could elevate them beyond anything they ever dreamed... and they can't use any of it. They can't even touch it. Because to the machines, they're no longer the masters. They're just... visitors. Trespassers. Inferiors."
Akane Kurokawa: Understood, Aqua-kun. I'll do my best to obtain the AI for you. I'll find that laboratory, I'll make contact, and I'll secure whatever technology or information you need. The moment I have it—the moment I'm certain—I'll contact you through private message. You'll know before anyone else.
Aquamarine Hoshino: Good. I'll pick you up later, Akane. Thank you.
Akane Kurokawa: There's no need for thanks between us, Aqua-kun. You saved me before. You saw me when no one else did. You gave me something to believe in when I had nothing left. My life is yours. Remember?
Aquamarine Hoshino: …Okay.
Of course he knew.
He could see it in her eyes—in the way she looked at him, in the way she always placed his interests above everything else.
In his memory, the debt was clear: she owed everything to Aqua.
Her life had been on the verge of destruction, shattered beyond repair, and it was Aqua who pulled her back. Aqua who saved her from a fate worse than death.
Words may lie.
But eyes never will.
He didn't trust humans.
Never had. Never would.
Humans were fickle creatures—swaying with the wind, breaking promises when convenient, abandoning you the moment the cost outweighed the benefit.
He'd learned that lesson long ago, carved into his bones by betrayal after betrayal.
But a cult?
A cult was different.
Their world revolved around you. They didn't see you as a fellow human—flawed, equal, disposable. They saw you as God.
And gods don't get betrayed. Gods get worshipped. Gods get devotion that transcends reason, loyalty that doesn't calculate the odds, faith that doesn't waver when the sky falls.
That's why he trusted her with this task.
A human can abandon you at will. A human can wake up one morning and decide you're no longer worth the risk. A human can look at the cost and walk away.
A cultist stays.
Always.
That was the difference. That was the foundation. That was why Akane Kurokawa was the only person in this entire fucking tower he could entrust with the keys to his empire.
Aqua kept walking.
The dungeon awaited.
[Link Start]
And with that, his body was pulled away—ripped from reality and hurled somewhere else entirely as the game began.
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