<Nocturnal Harmonia>

Igris stood at the precipice of his final moment. The combined Black Flashes struck true—two dark explosions of energy slamming into the shattered breastplate from opposite sides. The crimson plating exploded outward in a shower of shards and ichor, the runes flickering one last time before extinguishing entirely. The force lifted him off his feet, driving him back against the obsidian throne with a thunderous crash that cracked the stone beneath. His helm tilted forward, the crimson mane falling across his face like a shroud. He did not rise again. The single remaining eye dimmed slowly, the glow fading to nothing. The gauntleted hands fell limp at his sides, the greatsword still embedded in the far wall, untouched. The Blood-Red Commander knelt there, slumped against the throne he had guarded for centuries, armor broken, ichor pooling beneath him in a widening stain.

Silence fell over the chamber.
The knight's chest rose once, twice—then stilled.
Igris did not move.
The Guardian of the Shadow Throne had fallen.
The trial was over.

[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL UP!]

Six times, the Players leveled. The throne's guardian, the honorable knight, had been sitting on that throne for ages. Now, it seemed he'd sit there forever... or until the Players had to actually claim said throne per the job-change quest's requirements. Sadly, Yugi didn't feel refreshed at all after gaining six levels. What a waste. "Haah. Haah. Goddamnit. Somebody should give me so much head after this. Call SumMom... or Ashikaga Himeko... or fuck it, call Mai Valentine for all I care!" he groaned. Yugi had both hands on his knees, supporting his weight against his own legs. The 30 total points he'd gained would be distributed posthaste to prepare for something he could now see in the System readout. 4:00:00:00 was now visible. They'd already been here for half an hour, but the timer was only just appearing after the Blood-Red Commander's death. Luckily, he also saw something else: a separate cooldown for Concubine summoning. "Shit. Trial's about to start. I don't think it's worth gambling. What do you say I call in some healing first?" he asked of Miko. At the same time, he was picking up a Rune Stone spawned directly into the Players' Inventory from the fallen commander. Seeing its name and making some mental connections, Yugi decided to crush the stone immediately. "Oh fuck yeah!"

〔SYSTEM NOTICE — SKILL UNLOCKED〕

Skill Acquired: Ruler's Hand (LV.1)

Description:
You can control objects without touching them.

Effect:

• Telekinetic manipulation of small to medium objects within line of sight
• No mana required
• Strength and range limited by Perception

System Remark:
The power of the Ruler awakens.
Command the world with will alone.
Use it wisely, vessels.

But then, there was another notification. . .

〔SYSTEM NOTICE — SKILL UPGRADE〕

Skill: Ruler's Hand (LV.1)
Upgrade Detected.

Thread Bind rune memory has been integrated.
Skill resonance complete.
Evolution triggered.

Skill Upgraded: Ruler's Hand (LV.2)

Description:
You can control objects without touching them.

Effect:

• Telekinetic manipulation of small to medium objects within line of sight
• No mana required
• Strength and range increased (medium to larger objects now possible)
• Improved precision and multi-object control (up to 3 objects simultaneously)

System Remark:
The memory of binding threads has strengthened the Ruler's grasp.
Command more.
The shadows yield to your will.

It took so long but the last moments of Blood-Red Commander Igris were finally upon them. They'd hit him with everything they had, it was messy and unorthodox but they'd actually made it all the way through. Miko couldn't take her eyes off the Knight in his last moments. In truth he deserved a great deal of respect and she would have personally enjoying having a man like that on her side, rather than having to end him. Oh well... there was nothing they could do but receive the levels at the end. "Ugh, 6 levels and no refresh might be the worst showing of being a dick ever!" Miko complained. Still, she immediately opened her status screen and threw stats into place. Never again would she be caught without a fully leveled kit as it popped. As usual, Yugi had gone onto a tirade about wanting so much oral pleasure after his day. He named three very famous individuals, two of whom Miko had on a different list of her own that last one though, would have her flippant reply. "We all know that annoying voiced pillow princess doesn't give head!" Miko said only to pause. "Where did I learn that term? Was it F-list?" she muttered softly, still believing in her own words.

Beyond that point she could now see it, that timer had popped so it was indeed Brainface's plan to have them fight the boss, and then deal with all the minions afterwards. "Healer first for the restore is best. I do still have bit of Mana Drained energy stored up, I could give it to you or digest it myself and take the first turn..." Miko offered either as a option knowing they could be trusted to handle some smaller waves. Upon checking her own cooldowns she saw that Megiddo was up again. "I got AoE up alright, the cool down for Megiddo starts at cast!~" Miko explained. Still there was something else, a skill rune was used and she started hearing information about it, only to immediatley hear it be upgraded by their use of Thread Bind. "SUGEI! I"M GONNA BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING AWESOME!~" Miko asserted immediately. Just as she was about to explain though... a phone call was being issued.

One Shidou Makima had been waiting, none too patiently for the last three hours. She'd been looking at her System phone and wondered if a call could work with the pair had disappeared from her very office. Three hours in, she figured if nothing else, she could try this method of contact and check on her newest pets.

Yugi was heaving. The fight against Igris had taken everything he had, and then some. Yugi found himself in dire need of fellating from someone, perhaps even multiple women, from a long list of individuals he'd never met. According to Miko though, one particular person he'd mentioned surely didn't partake in such activities. Yugi scoffed dismissively. "Of course she doesn't. I looked into the leaks of her OnlyFans, and she doesn't even go full nude. Doesn't mean I couldn't get the head," Yugi retorted confidently. As for where Miko learned that term, he didn't have a clue. F-List, surprisingly enough, wasn't something he bothered with. With only a shrug as response to that question, Yugi went back to stat allocation ─ just to hear Miko agree that summoning Tae first would be optimal. She also offered the mana taken from Igris in the final rough moments of that fight, in case he wanted to take on combat first. "I'll take it. Your full mana recovery is more valuable. Pass me your swords, drop Megiddo, and get to 100% before we switch," he suggested.

Yugi's stats were established, and Ruler's Hand would do much more than replace his sacrificed Thread Bind ability. He was preparing to select Takemi Tae as a summon, but just as he was pressing the button in the System interface... his phone rang. "Good boy~" it said. Yugi didn't reach for his phone; he instead decided to answer that call within the System. "So... how long did you actually sit there wondering if it was too early to call? Is this an 'either they answer, or they died' thing? Because the truth might be both," he said the moment a connection was made. At the same time, he'd still be pressing that button to summon Tae.