Selecting Itō Hidetaka

Lin Ye had the Firmament go straight to Itō Hidetaka's name.

[No. 380000 Itō Hidetaka; race: Great He people; level: Level 2; Dungeon Works: "Battle of the Imperial Sea," "Shogunate's Revenge," "Kill the Ninja," "Nobunaga's Ambition"]

Lin Ye didn't know anyone else, but he did have some history with Itō Hidetaka.

After all, he had been the first to clear the man's dungeon.

Back in the Battle of the Imperial Sea dungeon, plenty of people in the bullet comments had been singing the praises of Itō Hidetaka's genius.

Some had even said he would be the man to change the history of dungeons on Azure Star!

Looking at Itō Hidetaka's profile now, Lin Ye could see that there was indeed something different about him. A global ranking of 380,000 was nowhere near the ranks of the experts.

His Level 2 rating wasn't particularly impressive on this top-ranking leaderboard.

Strangely, though, the number of works Itō Hidetaka had put him among the most prolific Dungeon Designers.

He could even be said to rank first among them all!

Even top overlords at LV4 generally had only one or two dungeons to their names.

More works should have meant more ways to earn points, so normally he should have had plenty of points and a high level, yet Itō Hidetaka's level wasn't all that high.

That meant he had created those dungeons within a short period of time.

In other people's eyes, that might have been a sign of a dungeon genius.

But Lin Ye didn't see it that way.

Clearly, Itō Hidetaka had backing behind him. He was even the product of an organization's combined efforts!

Lin Ye had seen far too many people like him in his previous life. They seemed capable, but in reality, they were all products of the capital behind them.

A so-called genius like that naturally had to be dragged into the dungeon.

Whether he was a mule or a horse, they'd have to take him out for a trot to find out.

Afterward, Lin Ye picked a whole bunch of Great He people from among the Level 0 and LV1 challengers.

They were one big family, after all, and a family had to be kept together.

Wherever he had a say, Lin Ye would make sure as many of these Shorties as possible came over to suffer.

[The Dungeon Designer's challenger selection is complete. The Firmament will now make its random selections...]

Lin Ye then saw all sorts of names being drawn by the Firmament onto the challenger list. The entire process took just one second.

[The required number of dungeon participants has been reached. The dungeon will open shortly...]

[The livestream for the dungeon Raging Waves has also opened. Respected Designer, you may enter and watch at any time.]

His first dungeon was about to officially open. Although he had the whole plan mapped out in his mind, Lin Ye couldn't help feeling a little excited.

He went straight into his dungeon's livestream, ready to watch the poor souls suffer.

Meanwhile, the news that the dungeon Raging Waves had passed the Firmament's review and was about to officially open was broadcast Above the Dome.

In a top-tier mansion in a Great He Clan settlement.

Surrounded by several young women, Itō Hidetaka was enjoying a leisurely afternoon tea.

He had just taken a sip of cappuccino,

when a notification from the Firmament suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Respected Dungeon Designer Itō Hidetaka, you have been selected by the designer of the Purgatory-level dungeon "Earth Online: The Five Constants—Raging Waves" to enter the dungeon. You will be sent to the dungeon world in two minutes!]

[Please prepare the techniques and weapons you wish to bring into the dungeon!]

[The countdown has begun. 119...]

[118...]

[117...]

[116...]

"What?!"

The sudden dungeon summons caught Itō Hidetaka off guard.

But what surprised him even more was that the dungeon he was about to be transported to was Raging Waves.

"Raging Waves? Isn't that Lin Ye's dungeon?"

"A dungeon like that actually passed the review?! And it's..."

"It's Purgatory-level!!!"

Itō Hidetaka simply couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes.

It was far too bizarre.

A little nobody who had just advanced to LV1, with no backing and no skills to speak of—how could he possibly have created a dungeon for ten thousand people?

And a Purgatory-level one at that?

This was the first time Itō Hidetaka had ever seen a dungeon of this level.

"Impossible! That's absolutely impossible!"

"The Firmament must have made a mistake! There must have been an error in the review!"

In his panic, Itō Hidetaka spilled his coffee all over the floor, staining his smart suit as well.

"No... I need to calm down."

"It's only entering a dungeon. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Itō Hidetaka took several deep breaths, calming himself down first.

After a brief spell of nervousness, Itō Hidetaka slowly regained some of his composure.

He was a Level 2 challenger with a fairly ample supply of points. Even if he failed the challenge, he wouldn't be directly wiped out.

He also had the techniques and weapons from his four dungeons, giving him a far better chance of clearing the dungeon than an ordinary person.

"Hmph, you selected me to enter your dungeon? Lin Ye, this will be your biggest mistake."

Itō Hidetaka brought all his weapons with him. This time, he would enter the dungeon fully equipped.

"A ten-thousand-person dungeon, Purgatory-level? Let's see just how capable you are!"

Itō Hidetaka clenched his fists tightly.

Regardless of how difficult Lin Ye's dungeon was, selecting him to enter it like this was an act of contempt.

Whenever Dungeon Designers in this world selected challengers for their dungeons, they chose from among Level 0 and LV1 challengers.

Because nobody wanted their dungeon to be cleared!

They chose Level 0 because challengers at that level were blank slates, and harvesting points from those good-for-nothings was a safer bet.

They chose LV1 because people at that level were generally newly promoted designers. Wiping them out directly was the same as eliminating a potential future rival.

Nobody would be stupid enough to deliberately choose a Level 2 person to enter their dungeon.

Because Level 2 challengers all had permission to bring weapons from their own dungeons into other people's dungeons!

There was nothing anyone could do about the Firmament's random selections, but anyone who deliberately chose someone like that to enter their dungeon had a hole in their head.

"Lin Ye! You'll pay for your arrogance and conceit."

The more Itō Hidetaka thought about it, the angrier he became, and killing intent toward Lin Ye had already taken root in his heart.

"I'll lead those ten thousand people to clear your dungeon and wipe you out!"

Since it was a ten-thousand-person dungeon, the more people he could lead to clear it, the more points Lin Ye would lose.

Lin Ye had only just advanced to LV1 and had a limited number of points, so Itō Hidetaka had every chance of reducing his points straight to zero.

At that thought, Itō Hidetaka stopped panicking. He sat quietly in his chair and picked up his coffee cup again.

Then he waited for the dungeon countdown to end.