(Second Update) (Continued)

Tsukikawa Shu had already poured cold water over them. They couldn't run the instance, and when they went out looking for wild monsters, they came back empty-handed. Anyone would be furious. Yet after returning, they still had to listen to this guy lecture them about "collective interests" and "collective honor."

They were a loose group to begin with, brought together by money and power. Naturally, they only cared about their own interests.

But just as they were about to blow up, they saw Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku standing behind Nita Goichi. They could only swallow their anger and endure the fat man's endless rambling.

Naturally, Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku were not among the people Nita Goichi was lecturing.

As far as the president of the Elite Committee was concerned, he had fully considered the collective interest. His two bodyguards were their finest combat power. Shouldn't they be going out on their own initiative to find and acquire more resources? How could they be criticized for that?

On the contrary, they ought to be rewarded!

It was just that the entire committee currently had no public resources to use as rewards.

Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku sat behind Nita Goichi, watching the group of people whose veins bulged with rage but who dared not lash out.

After all, they weren't the ones being lectured. Instead, they could enjoy the show.

Waiting around here with nothing to do for Tsukikawa Shu to finish the instance was far too boring.

"This little fatty is pretty entertaining."

Kyuutake Itsuki grinned at Miyamoto Daichoku beside him while picking at his teeth with a blade of grass he had picked up.

Sugar Daddies this easy to fool were hard to come by. Not only did he pay readily, but they even got to enjoy a show today.

They had to protect a sugar daddy like this. It would be a huge loss if he got slaughtered too soon.

After scolding everyone, Nita Goichi checked his watch, then looked at the stone gate of the instance, growing anxious again.

"Why haven't they come out yet?"

If another two hours passed, half the day would be wasted outright.

At that moment, another team was approaching.

There were four boys and one girl among them, all wearing dark blue school uniforms.

At the front was a boy who looked very quiet and refined. That was one of the reasons he could pass himself off as an ordinary student in front of others.

"This Tsukikawa Shu is pretty good-looking. He's much more handsome than Mikado."

Karisawa Erika wore a gray baseball cap and had a wide grin on her face. "I can't help imagining some really spicy scenes."

Karisawa Erika was a fujoshi, and the rest of the team had long grown used to her acting like this.

"When you meet him later, don't act like that."

The boy at the front sighed, utterly helpless at Karisawa Erika's fujoshi expression, which looked like she was about to start drooling.

The four people beside him, along with himself, were the five core members of DOLLARS in the Inner World.

DOLLARS's leader, Ryūgamine Mikado, had already reached level 20. The other four were between levels 17 and 18, barely meeting the requirements to run an instance.

"Also, I object to your insult," Ryūgamine Mikado added.

"Oh, come on. You should at least acknowledge reality." Karisawa Erika still wore that same grin.

"You just ignored his forum post about 'Widely Recruiting Virtuous Wives,' didn't you? Maybe he's already surrounded by beautiful women. The things you're imagining might never get the chance to happen."

Another core member, Mondenta Kyohei, reminded her calmly. He wore a black bandana, kept both hands in his pockets, and left his school uniform open, giving him a rather unruly air.

"I know... Hehe."

Karisawa Erika rested both hands behind her head and continued fantasizing, practically drooling.

Ryūgamine Mikado had come to this instance today for two reasons.

The first was naturally to run the instance and gather resources.

The second was to meet Tsukikawa Shu. After all, both sides currently aimed to establish a stable order in the Inner World, so there was room for cooperation.

However, when they arrived at the Goblin Instance, they discovered that people were already waiting there.

One group consisted of Shuchiin Academy students in school uniforms, while the other was a group of high-level players.

These were the first meeting between two fairly powerful factions in the Inner World: the Elite Committee and DOLLARS.

"..."

"..."

The two sides occupied half the space each, standing outside the instance and staring at one another. Though it was their first meeting, both sides immediately understood the other's intentions.

Ryūgamine Mikado raised his head to check the sky. The sunlight had gradually softened, and the temperature was slowly dropping. It was already nearing afternoon.

Less than half a day remained before the day ended and the instance attempts reset.

As for the Goblin Instance, it was currently displaying that another team was challenging it. That was obviously Tsukikawa Shu's team.

"You're here to run the instance too?"

Kyuutake Itsuki, carrying a massive cleaver, stepped forward. His huge body, bronze skin, and muscles made him look extremely intimidating.

"Yeah."

Ryūgamine Mikado merely gave a calm reply and nodded. He still looked like a gentle model student, utterly different from Kyuutake Itsuki's massive tattooed frame.

"First come, first served. You came later, so stay put!" Kyuutake Itsuki said bluntly.

"Hey, you only got here a few hours earlier than us!" Karisawa Erika put her hands on her hips, clearly displeased.

"There's no first come, first served rule in the Inner World." Mondenta Kyohei crossed his arms and stared into the other man's eyes.

The profits from this instance were enormous. If they really let the other side go first, they would have almost no time left before the instance attempts reset.

Ryūgamine Mikado had been observing the other side from the beginning.

Although they currently had eight people, most of them were injured, as though they had gone through a battle. Meanwhile, DOLLARS's five core members were not weak either. They were all uninjured and in high spirits. If a conflict truly broke out, it was hard to say who would win.

There were now three teams wanting to run this instance.

Tsukikawa Shu would definitely finish his run. No one dared object to that given his strength. But once he used up his attempts, there would not be enough time left for DOLLARS and the Elite Committee to divide between themselves.

"I think we shouldn't start a conflict."

Ryūgamine Mikado spoke up. "We can distribute the time fairly, like the order of the old world. Everyone can coexist peacefully."

"If there isn't enough time, we can take turns running the instance."

"Maintaining order? Taking turns running the instance?"

Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku exchanged glances and considered it.

"Fine. We'll run it first today. You have to wait until we've used up our attempts," Miyamoto Daichoku said.

"Fine." Ryūgamine Mikado nodded as well.

Upon hearing that, Kyuutake Itsuki and Miyamoto Daichoku exchanged another glance and smiled. Both could see the mockery in the other's eyes.

Who would talk about order in the Inner World?

Was this some naive high schooler still stuck in his chuunibyou phase, foolishly believing that others would follow the same rotten order as him even after arriving in the Inner World?

In any case, they would run the instance first today. After everyone gained a few levels, they might get Skill Cards and Rare Grade equipment if they were lucky. By tomorrow, they could establish a certain advantage and force the other side to back down.

"Hey, Mikado, are you really going to give in that easily?"

The blond boy beside Ryūgamine Mikado, who had wrapped himself tightly in outerwear because he was afraid of the cold, asked in surprise.

His name was Kida Masaomi, Ryūgamine Mikado's friend.

"One team will definitely lack enough time to run the instance today. But our goal is to establish a New Order, so we should lead by example."

Ryūgamine Mikado spoke earnestly. "At the same time, we should give others some trust."

"So you think it's fine to suffer a little loss?" Kida Masaomi spread his hands.

Ryūgamine Mikado did not answer, tacitly admitting it.

Kida Masaomi sighed.

"Fine. Since you're the only remaining founder of DOLLARS, we'll listen to you for now."

Although he felt Ryūgamine Mikado's decision was inappropriate, Ryūgamine Mikado had always held the highest prestige within DOLLARS.

Even in the outer world, every DOLLARS member respected him deeply and was even willing to carry out his orders at any cost.

That was Ryūgamine Mikado's personal prestige alone. When the Inner World opened, that prestige had followed him into it, and everyone looked to him for leadership.

Time passed second by second.

Naturally, Tsukikawa Shu had no idea what was happening outside the instance.

He only watched as purple light flickered from the cracks spreading across the Goblin statue before him.

"Oh-ho, another purple piece of equipment dropped."

The three of them had spent nearly six hours finally clearing this level 40 instance and using all 40 attempts.

Level 40 monsters were nothing much to Tsukikawa Shu. Most of the time had been spent on map traversal and waiting for the monsters to reset and respawn.

I should look for some higher-level map traversal skills in the future, Tsukikawa Shu thought.

The Goblin statue cracked apart inch by inch. Then, a katana wrapped in golden lightning floated before the three of them.

[You obtained Weapon * Epic: Raikiri]

[Legend has it that this weapon can cut through lightning]

"You're ridiculously lucky, kid," Hiratsuka Shizuka said.

"Yeah. I just don't know how much my lifespan has been shortened." Tsukikawa Shu shrugged.

He was quite helpless too. He had only gotten used to using his katana for a few days, and now he had to switch to a new weapon again.

Sometimes being too lucky was not a good thing.

Yesterday it was his darling, but today it had become an unwanted burden.

Tsukikawa Shu stored his Rare Grade katana, Muramasa, in the System Backpack. It was directly retired and became one of his storage weapons.

Now all three of them had switched to Epic Grade weapons, and Rare Grade weapons had become a thing of the past.

After finishing all 40 instance attempts, the three of them left the Goblin Instance.

The black vortex of the instance, glowing purple, finally stirred.

"They're out! They're out!"

Nita Goichi was even more excited than everyone else and hurriedly climbed up from the ground.

As it grew later, many people could no longer endure the cold. They had already gone to gather branches, start a fire, and cook dinner along the way.

Tsukikawa Shu and the other two walked out through the instance's stone gate, drawing everyone's attention.

"That guy changed weapons again..."

The left pupil of the player who possessed the Insight Eye item turned green as he activated the item's skill.

He checked Tsukikawa Shu's status again, but a moment later, he said in shock, "I can't detect his weapon at all!"

"My item is Rare Grade, but I can't see through it at all! The quality of his weapon is higher than my Insight Eye."

That player had previously examined Hiratsuka Shizuka's and Goto Hitori's weapons, but he had similarly been unable to see through them. Low-grade items simply could not inspect the information of high-grade items.

This time, even Tsukikawa Shu's weapon could not be seen. That confirmed that its quality surpassed his own and was at least Epic Grade!

"Damn it, he went into an instance and got an Epic Grade weapon..."

Kyuutake Itsuki stared straight at the katana in Tsukikawa Shu's hand, his heart filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

In an instant, the cleaver he had obtained only after painstakingly wiping out a monster nest and opening a valuable treasure chest no longer seemed appealing.