<Nocturnal Harmonia>

[Bloodedge]

Apparently, Miko's reference had been floating around in her head since she discovered the first filled condom. There would definitely be another dropped in their shared storage soon enough, but they'd first have to go about filling it. That would be easy enough. Nothing short of a calamitous event would get in their way once they started ─ at least until they reached a reasonable stopping point. Well, there would at least be cause for brief distraction. While the Players were having at each other, Satoru decided to 'teleport' everyone into Makima's office. The strange sensation was becoming more normal for Yugi, but the sudden shift was still annoying. "Godfuckingdamnit I'm not done!" he complained. As per usual in moments like this, he delivered his aggression straight to Miko's ass with a mighty slap.

Satoru's second delivery of the day was complete. However, it was not done without some questions and some complaints. He didn't care. Of course Maki was still naked and feeling worse; she wasn't used to instantaneous movement. "Oh shit you're naked!" Satoru yelled as if surprised by the girl's nudity. Before anything else, Aki had a grievance of his own to offer. He should have been left with two cigarettes in that pack of his, but fate said otherwise. With all the hullabaloo, the pack had been crushed at some point. Both remaining cigarettes were broken just above the filter ─ completely useless to him now. "Can't have too much relaxation in a day, huh? Last smokes dead," he complained. Yet another thing Satoru didn't care about. As for Makima's question... "Brokeys gotta step aside when the real paper-chasers start showing out." That was the only explanation he offered. The way Satoru spoke, it would make sense to someone with what they called chronic brainrot... or cause for madness like what Satoru himself dealt with.

[Apollymi]

By the end of this day, there would be two snack packs in their shared storage, but first, Miko had to finish the job that Maki had so kindly started. Now that they had gotten back to it, they were having quite the good time, Miko was bouncing, riding and having a rather good, until of course the entirety of the group found themselves within Makima's office. Miko was aware of the moment but unbothered by it, unlike the rest of the group at large. Still, as she moved her hips, Yugi made his complaint and took out that aggression directly on Miko's body, with a slap to her ass that resonated with her on a spiritual level. The sound was quite loud and she couldn't hold in the reaction to it. "THAAAANK YOOOOU♫~" Miko sang in response to that rough treatment. And in that moment, Maki gasped and Makima looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Did she just, thank him for spanking her?" she asked almost rhetorically. It was simply unbelievable to hear in the same moment.

After that moment of strangeness Maki's nudity was addressed as was the apparent breaking of Aki's smokes. These were all things Miko thought could be taken care of but she also knew it was likely that Yugi definitely wanted to finish what they were working on. "Woops♪!~" Miko chirped as well, seeming to have come out of a moment of extreme good feeling to realize she was in a room occupied by other people. Oh well, she wasn't going to stop moving and as such Makima kept her eyes on the pair. "Spent a lot of time without your blind fold or sunglasses?" Makima asked of Gojo after covering a laugh but noting the 'brain rot' he was spewing. She wasn't even entirely sure what that one meant. "I wonder if I should worry that you've already gone so far in your deviance that you aren't stopping when caught?" Makima said with a pure amount of curiosity. "Can't stop now♪!~" Miko chirped as her hips kept moving with near reckless abandon. That throbbing in her loins was still building up and she knew that Yugi was doing the same.

[Bloodedge]

More craziness was happening right around them, and Aki didn't have a single cigarette to deal with strangeness like... a girl thanking someone for a spanking beyond what one should consider sexually gratifying. It didn't seem there was a smoker in this room either; no one had a cigarette to offer. Wonderful, he thought while righting himself as best he could. This was going to be one hell of a debriefing. "Sounds like it~" Satoru said about the offered thanks. Once more, he seemed entirely unbothered.

One more thing Satoru couldn't be concerned about was the time he'd spent with his eyes uncovered today. Doing so wasn't always a problem, but... his eyes took in more information than a human should be able to handle. It was only natural that a bit of insanity come with the package. "Spent a lot of time watching my precious students stack bands on bands on bands on bands!" he replied. That alone was probably all the answer Makima needed. As for their lack of concern for interruption, or more specifically their continuation despite now being the center of attention, Miko covered the raw fact that they couldn't stop now. Yugi would agree for multiple reasons as he continued slamming up into Miko's womb... but aloud, he offered the specifics. "What she said. Questing!" he detailed in the most succinct way possible. "Almost there!" he added. Meanwhile, Satoru had maneuvered around to the nude Maki. He leaned in as if inspecting either her nudity, or her lack of functionality after that movement. Hayashi was also in a bad way, but his method of dealing with it was lying flat on the floor to let the world stop spinning. "Hmm."

[Apollymi]

Aki didn't have a cigarette and no one had any patience. Miko knew he'd been looking forward to thta smoke, so she'd make sure he had one. Of course, there was a playful few words, still, Gojo confirmed for Makima that the girl had indeed offered thanks for a spanking. "I just never know what she's going to say... it's a mild point of interest," Makima said which was tantamount to a compliment.

Meanwhile, Gojo's insanity was being discussed as the group seemed to be getting settled in. Makima found herself once again, hearing the words of Gojo and not understanding at all what he meant. "Most of the words in that sentence don't make sense to me," Makima said, she was far too old for that kind of craziness. Moreover apparently the kids of the hour were occupied with coitus and when asked about it claimed they couldn't stop. Yugi gave a bit more detail claiming they were questing. "Questing? You have a quest for this?" Makima said with a casual wave of her arms. "Hai♪!~" Miko chirped as they were approaching a greater and greater moment. "Well, if it's actually a quest, go ahead and wrap it up," Makima stated while looking at the pair, her eyes only shifting to watch as Gojo stared at the still out of commission Zen'in girl. Maki for her part in this she was sitting with her head between her legs and her body still quaking internally. "Something interesting about her?" she wondered casually while Miko and Yugi continued. His statement that he was close, made her happy, "ME TOO♪!~" Miko said, giving her body more force as if she fully intended to wear herself completely out. Each push was making her loins quake with a consistent rhythm. She was so close that she was sighing.

[Bloodedge]

Makima couldn't make sense of Satoru's latest clause. How strange. He figured mentioning how much the Players were 'stacking bands' would make perfect sense. It was such a well-known concept, after all... or at least it seemed like one. "What? I'm saying they're a couple of breadwinners with enough rizz to make me join the gang instead of me mogging on them like all the brokeys," he explained, a finger in the air for emphasis... as if that point would make more sense, not less. With that, Satoru had his focus on Maki. When asked if there was something interesting about the girl, he tilted his head and scanned her entire body again. "Trench-body got her paper up," he said simply. Without further ado, Satoru would cause the girl to levitate quickly ─ after which he'd fling her toward the evaluation device. "She's going all... BOOM, CRACKLE POW! Kinda like Little Thumper, but not the deadly way."

Meanwhile, Yugi was roughly bucking his hips, delivering into Miko's body a thickness and length three others in the room had no ability to fathom. After only a cursory glance or two, Aki determined that Miko taking something like that was all the reason she needed to handle him with such ease. Miko's womb would soon be receiving more than just penetration and battering. He slapped her ass again at an upward angle ─ a final push for her sake as that condom was inflated by a rush of excessive seed. "Let's fucking goooo!" he chanted, thrusting throughout the expulsion without a care in the world.

[Apollymi]

Makima was old enough that slang wasn't exactly on her list of skills. She was picking up a bit, but mostly by the grace of the younger people in her life. Still, it took a few more context clues and another outrageous sentence from Gojo for her to get the basics. "Sou ka, bread like money. Money translating to Mana... that's quite a complicated leap, but I'm onboard," Makima said giving it a bit of extra thought. Ah but that wasn't the only commentary that Gojo had, though he did prove he was quite a bit more fond of the two teens than he was to most people by virtue of such a ridiculous sentence. He called Maki 'Trench-body' and claimed she'd increased her paper. Makima would assume this mean the girl's mana was going up and turned her vision from the two teens still rather actively copulating to Maki who was still just sitting as if her body felt wrong, was soon flung towards Makima's personal evaluation machine. She had enough remaining reaction speed to throw her hands up against it, but that didn't stop her, "I really hate you," Maki muttered on wobbly legs as the reading for her power showed. "Sou ka, I thought she looked a bit different. That seems like an increase of a sizable amount as well..." Makima stated, a little tug at the corner of her mouth indicating way more interest in that growth than she could put into words in front of this new group.

Meanwhile, Yugi's bucking hips and Miko's constant movements were getting both of them to the ends of their ropes. Still it was a bit harder for Miko to reach the same level of active orgasm without the spill she normally looked forward to wouldn't be happening. Instead it was traded for abuse of a higher order. Her ass moved forward and that balloon inflated within her and her body clenched with all the denied power of earlier. "EEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH♪!~" power radiated from the girl's mouth as her body tingled and then calmed. "Whew, that was a good one♪!~" she chirped happily. Oh but now that she was thinking about it, there was something to do. "There is so much power in that voice," Makima said observationally. "Hai, it's always like that... at least nothing broke this time, Shop." Miko muttered as she took several deep breaths. She opened the menu and found for just a few measly gold a pack of cigarettes which she purchased for Aki. "Aki-nii, head's up," she said tossing him a sleek black pack of cigarettes.

[Bloodedge]

After several months, Makima was finally starting to understand Satoru's references. There was a certain app she could have viewed to understand everything he said in moments like this, but... the world might burn if Shido Makima ever used such a thing. Such was the belief of many. Whatever the case, he was flinging Maki toward the machine for an impromptu reevaluation. Her hands went out with no issue, starting the evaluation process immediately ─ albeit accidentally on her part. "What's that number? D? C? Somebody's cup size?" he questioned, completely disregarding Maki's alleged hatred. Whatever it was, Makima called it a sizable increase, and Satoru would agree. She was far less 'broke' than she'd been over an hour before.

At the same time, the Players were finishing what they believed would be the first round. One satisfying experience for both parties did the trick to complete that earlier quest, awarding both Players +5 Endurance for no real cost outside their normal daily activities. What was more, the quest clear piled atop their three conquests of the morning and resulted in... [LEVEL UP!] Finally, they'd reached level 40! Ah, but there was much more to it than a single level. They would now be reaching what the System considered a reasonable threshold ─ something the Hunters of this world would view as the start of A-rank as well. While Miko was throwing Aki a pack of cigarettes she'd gotten from who-knows-where, Yugi was already looking at another System screen.

〔SYSTEM NOTICE — JOB-CHANGE QUEST OFFERED〕

Job-Change Quest: "Path of the Shadow"

Status Update Detected.

The System has determined your current growth trajectory is sufficient.
A new path lies open before you.

Quest Offered:
Path of the Shadow

Description:
Embrace the darkness within.
Become the vessel that commands shadows, or perish in the attempt.

Objectives:

• Survive the Trial of Shadows (0/1)
• Defeat the Boss (0/1)
• Claim the Shadow Throne (0/1)

Reward (on completion):

• Job Change
• Skills necessary for new Job
• Access to exclusive features

Rejection Penalty:

• Permanent stat loss (-5 all stats)
• "Shadow Rejection" debuff: -30% all stats for 72 hours
• Quest lockout for 30 days

Failure Penalty:

• Death

Accept Job-Change Quest?
[ACCEPT] / [DENY]

*Denial will lock the offer for 30 days.*

*The System does not repeat itself lightly.*

"... Job-Change Quest? At level 40? That's fucking weird!" he complained without hesitation. "And what the fuck do you mean 30-day lockout for saying no?" he added to the growing list of grievances. "This is dumb!" he finalized. While that tirade was beginning, Aki was lighting the first new cigarette of a new pack. He decided not to question where Miko got that pack from, but he couldn't ignore the amount of craziness now being openly spoken. "I'm guessing nobody else has a clue either..."

[Apollymi]

Makima finally put forth the necessary brainpower to figure out exactly what Gojo was getting at by his odd references. She figured it was time to start doing so, if only because he newest pets were so young she figured she was bound to hear more pressing things. Still, there was no real way of getting Makima onto one of those accursed new apps, she would make someone else doom scroll and explain it to her long before she picked up such a habit herself. Meanwhile, Maki's claim of hatred was merely ignored, while Makima actually looked at the evaluation screen. "She is currently reading A. I'm not changing her ID but it is good to see that kind of power increase," Makima mused, she seemed to be holding it back, the sheer childish excitement that she was feeling knowing these children were capable of increasing the powers of others.

At the same time, a now relaxed Miko was hearing one of her favorite phrases post their combined satisfaction. "Wooah♪~" she chirped happily stretching and feeling that appliled extra 'Endurance' she rubbed her hands along her hips. After tossing that pack of cigarettes. What came next though was entirely different and something that also required most of Miko's attention. While Yugi read that System Notification, Miko was listening to it. And both of them would have nothing immediately good to say about it. "Fuck the 30 day lockout... What the hell is a 72-hour debuff? What kind of stupid ultimatum is that?!" Miko griped as well. "Ah, but maybe it's like the big quest that opens up the end game? Aside from the restrictive window of acceptance, it's pretty fucking exciting!~" Miko said as she heard more of the information.

At the same time, Makima was realizing something that Maki would only confirm. "They keep saying they'll explain but... we get more questions before answers," Maki managed pushing off the Evaluation Machine, her legs wobbling like a newborn deer. "Oh? They haven't explained everything yet? That's an interesting choice," Makima said finding it mature for them not to share the information so freely but also thinking it odd to not use it as a pull on perspective targets. "Case by case basis. Omen-kun you should dress, Maki-nee at least. You can definitely lose Intimacy for casual bad interaction parts. I lost 10 percent punching Hashimoto earlier," Miko confirmed her own negative dealings with the System's nonsense. Still, she'd only just started making moves to extricate herself from the lad's lap, making sure that condom stayed in place on him.

[Bloodedge]

The number Satoru was looking at, according to Makima, was high enough to denote an A-rank Hunter. He didn't have a single clue what the numbers meant, but he did notice the number decreasing as Maki's hands were held against the machine. "A trench-body with a bag? That's rare!" he said. Yugi also took note of that descending rating, adding it to his list of thoughts regarding Maki's unusual mana situation. More important than that, however, was the quest they were being given at such a strange level. "That's the dumb thing! Penalty for failure? Fine. Death for failure, penalties on penalties for rejecting it? It's basically saying do the quest or fuck off!" he griped.

Either way, Yugi couldn't say the job-change quest was a bad idea. He didn't like the manipulative tactics used to indirectly 'advise' their cooperation, but there were few quests he could imagine himself rejecting anyway. "Definitely late midgame, early endgame shit. Though it's also the kind of thing to be prepared for. Shop," he said. Yugi intended to acquire a few stacks of various potions before taking something like that, but there was also the Maki situation. He didn't have need of Miko's advice as she removed himself. In fact, he would have said as much if he didn't have something more pressing to say. "What the fuck is a Hashimoto?" he questioned. As if the answer didn't matter, he quickly scanned the shop, keeping an eye on Maki between each item checked. What he decided on for her was the System's equivalent to a lace undergarment set, black in color. Interestingly enough, it wasn't a thong he selected... though it wasn't a full-coverage piece either. Instead of spanks, he purchased a thin pair of black pantyhose. Outer layers would consist of a new pencil skirt and something much closer to a sports bra than an actual shirt, both navy in color. Yugi purchased that full set of items, but... he didn't equip them to her. Instead, what he threw on her was a hot pink thong, a blue pleated miniskirt to let her thighs truly shine, and a teal camisole barely capable of keeping her breasts contained. No bra was necessary, he decided. "There we go. I just really needed to see that... but the rest..." he paused, pointing at Maki's back where she'd find a simple backpack materializing as well. Within that, he'd stored the first set of clothing purchased ─ as well as the spanks he'd promised to replace. "Now... looks like I've got a lot of new potions to purchase. Sensei needs a stack of each too."

[Apollymi]

'A trench-body with a bag'. Those were the words Gojo Satoru used to describe Maki as she rolled her eyes at him once more. It would seem Makima found something about that statement funny, "They are a bit anomalous to begin with, there is always something new to find out about them," Makima mused. Still, if someone who was showing basically no mana before now had A-rank mana to show for it, the children were way more useful long term than they'd ever know. they'd need protection initially just to keep someone from coming to steal them away. All the while, that same pair were busy discussing, "Yeah, the context on that part makes it sound like failure would be equivalent to a failed experiment," Miko uttered having the voice in her head truly did help her fully pull apart the context of the verbiage. "Definitely a do what I say kind of ordeal though..."Miko decided as well.

Still the idea of a job change wasn't something either of the Players would turn down regardless of how they felt about the tactics used to get them into the quest itself. Miko was already in the shop as she'd purchased those cigarettes for Aki. "You two have a mandatory quest?" Makima seemed to understand that part of it, though the idea of changing jobs, 30-day lock outs and 72 hour debuffs was still a bit foreign to try and understand. Still there was the outburst of Yugi's to deal with, with Miko would while she picked out her own new outfit to wear. "Hashimoto is the redhaired guy, Mo..." Miko stopped speaking for a second as if she was reprogramming herself. "Makima-sama had me test Black Flash out on," there, Miko didn't slip up and call the dommy mommy, Mommy to her face. Miko only gave the reminder to dress the other girl because contrary to the lad's on words he was just as likely to end up distracted as she was, though admittedly for different reasons, including but not limited to... bitching about Brainface. All the while, Maki was soon dressed, not in a way that she would have dressed herself for obvious reasons, but not in a way that she disagreed with. Soon enough there was a backpack added to her back with a different set of clothes. "A weapon out of nowhere, clothes out of nowhere. I just met the protag from the reverse isekai. You know what... I'm not even going to ask this time. Thanks..." she muttered while pushing her glasses up on her nose. Makima noted that reaction and shook her head. It was always tomboys that had the oddest reactions. All the while, Miko was balancing her stats and now separated from Yugi, removing that condom, tying it off and dropping it in their shared Inventory with the other one.

[Bloodedge]

"Guess so. Gotta have water with your dirt," Satoru said with no further explanation. Maki was proving to be an interesting case, which made a bit more sense of her equally-unusual brother. The only missing explanation was how their mana actually worked. As he'd been loosely observing the goings-on, Yugi thought to finally share his findings. "Valve mechanics. She probably would have properly registered as a B-rank before today if she punched that machine instead of just touching it. I'd recommend taking that into account for future weird cases," he explained briefly while purchasing numerous potions. There were quite a few options now, so he selected three stacks of everything, sending one to Takemi Tae's Inventory window. "Potions sent, two more stacks to split. Still nothing that'll upgrade my weapon, but that crossbow I took should make up the difference. Got a new level on some skills too," he rambled aimlessly during Miko's effort to strip away that condom.

Makima wondered if they had a mandatory quest. How could that question truly be answered? "Err... basically? It's not mandatory, but it's mandatory. You should get what I mean," he said to the woman who clearly gave such 'optional' objectives on a daily basis. "We survive a trial, beat a boss and take a throne to get what should be a massive upgrade... or we die. That's pretty much the deal," he explained. Moving on, the one called Hashimoto was apparently the man Miko tested Black Flash on. "Oohhh, the not-dead dead guy. Mommy's orders," he stated. That was roughly all Yugi had to say. His gear was put back in order by a quick unequip and reequip, but then... there was a line from Maki about reverse-isekai protagonists. "Nail on the head. For a brief explanation, you also became a reverse-isekai deuteragonist earlier today. It's why I can give you stuff. One more milestone and you'll start seeing the things we see. Well... apart from the loot; you already see that. Anyway! Accept," he said, readying himself for the coming quest. For the second time since the System offered Miko and himself System access, Yugi saw something strange: the need for both Players to accept a quest. Once he realized that was the case here, the gears started turning in his mind again. "Oh... shi─"

[Apollymi]

Apparently, there had to be water with mud. Makima had to assume this was a reference to building a trench, which she'd let that one stew, Yugi had something to say. He had an understanding of Maki's formerly unreadable mana and her currently higher reading as well. "A valve, huh? That's interesting to know. I'll test it out on a few others as well, might as well witness the oddities myself with certain targets," Makima stated. "Good boy♪~" she praised the lad, if his eyes got any better, she might allow Gojo an early retirement. Assuming of course the white haired man wanted such a thing. As Yugi spoke though his next bits, Miko also re-equipped a different outfit. Going back to that white mini-skirt and purple sleeveless top and the purple zip-up hoodie, at the end she was wearing dark tights and a pair of little booties with her hair down and tossed free with that new little curl up in the air. She gave a little spin and bounced on her toes, seemingly happy with her attire of choice. "Hai hai, I don't have an upgrade yet either, but my Veil and Healing Pulse have gotten a bit better. Though I don't need the upgrade just yet..." Miko said as she reorganized her Inventory and made sure her armor and equipment was sorted. "Speaking of my needs, I do want my share of the Essence Stones, you've seen why, but you can split the rest of what I'd be paid for that raid between those three," Miko asserted. "Oh, Go-sei, did you want a pair of sunglasses?" she figured there was a chance he'd say no, but she would replace what was broken because of her regardless.

Moving on from that point, the pair had a mandatory quest, it wasn't actually mandatory but the penalty for not doing it, was so high it might as well be. Yugi was quite right to assume that the woman made many a request that was actually an order with steep consequences for non-compliance. "I do understand that. You're definitely being manipulated, but I can see why you'd still take the risk. Obviously I'd prefer you not die doing such a thing," Makima pointed out. It would be quite bad to have her newest acquisitions change her life so drastically only to die in a single day. "Hai hai," Miko chirped at the idea that it was Makima's orders that got that outcome. "Still a whole 10 percent for taking an order I wouldn't have said no to regardless is a bit steep is all I am saying..." Miko had her own minor gripes, but she didn't think them totally pressing given what they were headed out to do. What was more Yugi had some interesting news to share with Maki as he confirmed her ideations about the way this worked. "Sou ka, well I guess that makes more sense than it doesn't. Not like I can back out now or anything. I guess we'll see what else happens later," Maki said, she was still using a wall to support her shaky legs, but if context was anything to go by, she would eventually recover enough to stand on her own. Meanwhile, Miko was reading through that notification one more time while making herself a bit more certain and finding that same oddity that she had when they'd first become the Players, they had to agree. "Accept~" she said as Yugi started to swear she turned to him... "Wha-"

[Bloodedge]

Good boy, said Makima, adding another refreshing stack to Yugi's active buffs. One of the things he'd done when opening the System was switch to her title, knowing it would be worthwhile during downtime when meeting the woman. He also took the time to allocate some additional stat points, not wanting to go into a new major quest without them. "And that's what I do things for. If I didn't mention, praise from you gives me buffs," he admitted to Makima. Satoru nodded along, seeing the effects in live action. When Miko mentioned splitting her earnings from the raid between the other three, Yugi chimed in. "Split mine 40/30/30. Extra pay for me learning new combat moves," he said, pointing to Maki.

Only a few moments later, both Players were accepting their most important quest yet. Yugi realized all too late what was likely to happen when they both accepted. What happened? Well, the five Hunters who were brought by Satoru to Makima's office was suddenly reduced to three. The Players would find themselves in the middle of a long, candlelit grand hall ─ so long that darkness was all one could see at the farthest visible point. "─it. GODDAMNIT!" Yugi swore.

〔SYSTEM NOTICE — JOB-CHANGE QUEST INITIATED〕

Job-Change Quest: "Path of the Shadow"
Status: Initiated

You have entered the Trial Dungeon.
The path to glory begins now.

Dungeon Rules:

• Cannot leave the Dungeon until cleared (unless using a Hearthstone or Penalty Quest is activated)
• Cannot access Player Shop
• Survive for 4 hours (0/4:00:00)
• Cannot use potions
• Status Healing does not happen when/if Players level up
• Players are allowed to summon Concubines into the quest dungeon
  - Only one Concubine may be summoned per Player at a time
  - Concubines will last 20 minutes when summoned

Accumulation Rules:
Points are earned through the following:

• Time survived: 1 point per minute (max 240 points from time)
• Enemies defeated: Points vary by enemy rank and strength
• Special conditions: Bonus points for defeating strong enemies, surviving critical moments, or completing hidden objectives

Total Points Required for Success: [Hidden – Revealed upon completion or failure]

Failure Condition:
Death before 4 hours elapses = Quest failure

Success Condition:
Survive 4 hours = Proceed to final trial phase

System Remark:
The shadows are watching.
Prove you are worthy to command them.
Or become one of them.

Upon reading the latest screen, Yugi wanted to scoff. He couldn't. What built within him was instead pure, unadulterated fury. Having to survive was fine. Being able to summon Concubines was lovely. Not healing from gained levels was to be expected eventually. However, he had one massive gripe with the System after the time he'd just spent in its shop. "What. The fuck. Do you mean I 'can't use potions'? How do you do a thing with a boss and say no potions? I just bought like a hundred fucking potions Brainface! Take the brain off your face, put it in your head where it belongs, and use it to think of game design that doesn't SUCK FUCKING DICK!"

[Apollymi]

Praise was something Makima offered freely when it was earned. She wasn't so stoic and unappreciative to not acknowledge new information and the work or brainpower to get to it. Of course, she was soon going to be finding out that for at least one person it had a few more effects. He claimed he was 'buffed' by praise, and Gojo gave a nod to confirm it. "Oh? Is that right... I have often heard that people enjoy being praised by me, but a direct connection to power is very different. And you little one?" she asked of Miko who looked up a bit sheepish. "None of mine currently work directly like that," Miko explained of her own current listing. "Don't like it stop you from praising me if I do something good though, I still like hearing it♪~" the girl added cheekily. In Makima's mind, one was directly buff, one experienced life in the usual way but both enjoyed their praise. That was fine, she could work with that, given how well-behaved they were. In fact, they were proving more by the second how good they were to others, giving up their pay for the Dungeon to the other living participants, with Yugi going a step further and denoting a specific split as Maki had been personally helpful to him in a more legitimate way. "That's... nice of you both. I am sure I don't need to explain to you how you may need regular money at some point," Makima offered the pair while still making the notes necessary for the math on the division of payment. Miko nodded her agreement. After all, if actual cash or money was needed for something she needed only visit with someone she was already going to see to get access to her spare bankcard.

Too bad there wasn't time for other things. By the time both Players accepted their quest they'd simply, disappeared in the exact moment of it. Cut off mid-sentence even, "Did they just disappear?" Makima wondered, perhaps Gojo could see them or they hadn't gone off very far, unlikely as it was... since both teens didn't seem to know what was going to happen until it did.

Speaking of things that were going to happen, Miko was now listening to yet another System notice. This one explaining the Nature of their Job-Change Quest and all its associated parts. They were standing in a dark hall, flickering candle light. By the time Yugi was done bitching about the set up which was quite honestly terrible, Miko had her own angry insights to add. "Yeah, and also what the fuck is with the random TP? You can't just snatch people out of space time? What if we'd still been in that SUV above the city, we'd be falling from the sky when we got back, Brainface. Also don't talk so fucking ominously in my head, I didn't sign-up for scary movie night!" Miko also griped. Still ther was something coming and a few good features to come.

[Bloodedge]

And so, the two most enigmatic individuals of the meeting were gone. Aki couldn't even call himself surprised anymore. Alas, he'd been meaning to comment on the exquisite quality and smoothness of cigarette Miko offered him... but he'd gotten too caught up taking one drag after another, and now had no chance to mention it. Oh well. The pair were gone, and Makima was immediately questioning the disappearance. Satoru looked where they'd been and shrugged. He looked to Maki, whose mana should have been moving just slightly in Yugi's direction. There was movement... but it stopped abruptly just outside her body. "Poof~" was all he could say as observation. Not a single trace of the pair existed from his point of view.

All the while, the Players themselves were openly complaining to their administrator for bad gaming practices and the like. "Yeah, nobody wants to be spawned in the middle of the fucking sky! How about we get some fucking checkpoints at least?!" Yugi added to Miko's existing gripe. A remark from the System about commanding shadows or becoming one of them was notably ominous, but they weren't going to have much time to consider that. Yugi's Sharingan activated to see a bit farther down that hall. There were too many mana sources to tell one from the next up ahead... and they were just beginning to march down the hall. "Alright... stereotypical survival quest. Throw way too many fucking enemies at you and tell you to make it out. We could maybe cheese it... but I'm not settling for 240 points when we could get 500, or even a thousand!" he announced. Sword in hand, he was prepared to take whatever onslaught came. They weren't close enough to be seen even by Yugi yet, but perhaps one like Miko could hear the echo of clanking armor in the distance, echoing down the corridor. "All I see is a thick ass cloud of mana with a bunch of sources. You hear anything?"