In Tokyo, the dungeon master

"I succeeded."

It took Gu Meng an entire night to complete the Hundred Ghost Banner before dawn.

"I'm out of practice. It's been a long time since I've properly refined such low-level magical equipment. Although it's still a vague-level extraordinary item, with enough soul, it still has the potential to be upgraded to the distant-level or even the engraved-level through further refinement. If we were to convert it to the immortal path, it would be at least a top-tier magical artifact among top-tier magical artifacts."

Gu Meng did not consider the fairy wand that he casually gave to Wan Hua as normal equipment; it was just a toy that he casually stuffed into her body.

If this kind of tiny water gun with its "biubiubiu" sound can be considered Gu Meng's work, then his level of sophistication is really too low.

As the sun rose, the Holy Lord Gu Meng slowly opened his eyes.

Those once jet-black eyes now glowed with a faint crimson, a wicked smile curved his lips, and wisps of dark power swirled around his fingertips as he rubbed his throbbing temples.

If it were any other high-level spellcaster, they would have blown their own head off if they dared to do this, but Gu Meng has been one with the power of extreme darkness for many years, so this level is nothing.

That night, he gathered intelligence from various countries in parallel worlds, summoned evil gods at the docks, used his clones to suppress the Guiyi Cult, deciphered local ancient texts, reversed the deduction of power, crafted equipment, communicated with the remaining aura of ancient Egyptian evil gods, granted Zorc the ability to communicate with the true evil god, edited a simulation of the next instance, arranged the spirit world to deceive Wanhua Jinghua and the others, replicated the simulated spirit world aura of the three Egyptian Gods, and suppressed the backlash...

From midnight to dawn, it was non-stop work, and this series of events was quite mentally taxing.

Human beings ultimately have their limits.

Gu Meng's intense performance throughout the night, even though he was a workaholic, with his boundless energy from Infinite Dungeon Fighter Online, Tower of Trials and Dungeon Conqueror, made him somewhat mentally exhausted.

But the fervor to accomplish great things and enhance strength masked all the weariness.

Gu Meng was too eager to level up quickly. Reaching the fourth rank in one step was already outrageous, but Gu Meng even wanted to reach the tenth rank...

Want to eat fart.

He didn't know when the stars would return to their places. Without reaching the tenth level or at least having the strength to burn everything with the Book of Ancestors to escape, he truly dared not rest.

Even if the end of the world were to come at any moment, and everything was destined to be useless, Gu Meng still wanted to fight for that sliver of hope.

However, the result of stargazing tonight is that the end of the world will eventually come, but at least it won't be next week.

There was another clone chatting with Jingzhi, who got up very early. Seventy-year-old Deng was past the age of telling dirty jokes, so he could only talk to Gu Mengjian about how Americans saw Japan as a bunch of people who just took money, robbed it, shot it in the face, and went home.

Then they talked about that idiot Tsuchimikado Miki, and said that Chinese people are too gentle, which is causing Japanese people to become more and more arrogant.

Gu Meng discovered that Jingzhi wasn't entirely useless. Although he wasn't a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) or a two-dimensional character, he was quite interesting when he was in power. His quirky metaphors about the Japanese were also a way to relieve stress, haha.

"That's it, let's give it a try... The human world has become corrupt again, let this decaying city remind humanity of the fear of being dominated by the giants."

Gu Meng raised his right hand, palm up, and blackish-purple magic power surged from his palm, condensing into a twisted incantation in the air. The incantation flickered with an eerie light, urging a small banner to spin, which then emitted a chilling sense of oppression.

After all, it was made by a grandmaster. Even though the magic power consumed in its creation was relatively small, it still had all the additional functions. Moreover, it could be made to any size. Many extraordinary Western items do not have this ability, but Gu Meng still liked it quite a bit. It gave him a feeling of cultivating immortality.

If someone else were to use this equipment, it would be quite difficult to use. The lengthy chanting and necessary rituals would be hard to skip. Only by following the steps meticulously could one activate this forbidden power. However, Gu Meng's clone did not need to do so, as he could cast spells without incantations.

Its greatest use is to unleash the secret technique 【Darkness Derivation: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons】. At the time of the Oma Twilight, when resentment is at its peak, it can be activated with even greater power by relying on the resonance between one's own magical power and the resentment of the city.

Tokyo is undoubtedly a great place, with its immense pressure and deep-seated resentment; perhaps only the prototype of Gotham City would be more intense.

However, we also need to consider the adaptability of Tokyo Ghost Stories and the transformation of local fantasy. Overall, this is still the best place to activate the effect, just like the local Servants in the Type-Moon Holy Grail War have a popularity bonus.

"With my power as the catalyst, with resentment as the medium, in the name of the evil god, I will awaken a hundred demons, traverse this city, and sow fear..."

The real incantation would certainly not be this short. Gu Meng only symbolically recited a few words, and the hundred ghosts would awaken from the banners, the shadows of the city, the remnants of the demon's nest, and the resentment in people's hearts.

When the banner flutters, people's hearts are also moved, and even all things in the universe are in motion.

The dark purple magic spread outwards like a tide, as if nothing had happened, yet everything was subtly changing.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Before dawn, the night still lingered, and inky shadows enveloped the entire city of Tokyo.

The city remained brightly lit, with early risers hurrying along, and convenience stores on the street glowing with warm yellow lights. Occasionally, a car would drive by, breaking the silence of the late night...

Some people are sound asleep, completely unaware of the impending fear;

Some people got up early to make a living, completely unaware of the strange atmosphere that was subtly changing in the air;

There are also people with naturally high spirituality who keenly sensed that something was wrong, their brows furrowed, and they vigilantly observed everything around them.

Those with the best spiritual insight, including Ryuzaki Ryusei, a young man with a punk hairstyle who liked to play cards, and even Tsuchimikado Miki at the official residence, all saw a surge of demonic energy coming from the direction of Adachi Ward.

The most sinister core remains the old hospital location, and the police's actions and response were exceptionally swift, as they had been watching this place closely and were always terrified.

Having noticed the unusual fluctuations in the dark mist inside, they had already heightened their vigilance and were able to respond immediately.

"Urgent Notice! Urgent Notice! A secondary gas explosion has occurred in the area ahead. Please evacuate immediately and do not approach! Repeat, this is not a drill! Please evacuate immediately and do not approach!"

Upon discovering that the black fog inside the hospital was spreading outwards, the police, while fleeing, remembered to use a loudspeaker to urge an evacuation.

"What's going on? Blocking the roads so early in the morning, don't you guys have anything better to do?"

Commuters who left early were stopped, and those who were already in a hurry could no longer suppress their frustration.

"Exactly! Are you hiding something?!"

"Let us through quickly! If we delay any longer, I'll be late!"

They discussed the matter animatedly, their emotions growing increasingly agitated. Coupled with the sudden road closures and travel disruptions, their pent-up frustrations erupted instantly.

Most of them are ordinary people who have never been exposed to supernatural forces and have long forgotten the history of the burning of Tokyo, so they naturally cannot empathize with the police's fear.

The key point is that the officials didn't tell them it was a paranormal event, only that it was a gas explosion. How could a gas explosion blow up the whole of Tokyo? Really? I don't believe it.

Of course, even if you tell them that a paranormal event has occurred, I estimate that many people will risk their lives to go in and start a live stream. There are always some people who won't turn back until they hit a brick wall. They really think that Tokyo University is easy to bully and can keep jumping around.

"Back off! You all need to back off! It's really dangerous inside!"

Even the police couldn't persuade this damned devil with kind words.

They crouched there to keep watch, and the longer they crouched, the more terrified they became, staring into the abyss while being stared back into it.

They were all in poor mental condition and on the verge of collapse.

For low-level extraordinary beings, even dungeons one level higher will be extremely difficult to clear. For ordinary beings at level zero, dungeons of any level are all high-pressure dungeons.

They were already doing their job by offering a few words of advice, but when they realized they couldn't stop them, many officers with average stress tolerance dispersed on their own, ignoring the orders to stay put.

Those people upstairs are idiots. All the professional teams have run away, leaving us to just hold on!

When the sanity value is about to be depleted, it cannot understand human speech.

Some highly spiritual people were impacted; some instinctively distanced themselves, while others reacted the opposite, wanting to get closer.

Humans see the unknown as a source of fear, yet they also find it difficult to control their curiosity—two sides of the same coin.

……