The sheer volume of tactical data Piximon had just dumped on us was enough to make my head spin, but my mind was already categorizing the variables. Ability Gems, elemental attack multipliers, status abnormalities, stats, and Species Skills. If we mastered this system, we could mathematically guarantee our survival. If we ignored it, Etemon would crush us.
Kaldur stepped forward, his posture respectful but commanding. "Thank you again for the information, Piximon. But might we trouble you to tell us the Species Skills for all our partners' Ultimate-level forms? The names of their species are MagnaAngemon, MegaKabuterimon, and WereGarurumon in case you weren't aware. If you can, we'd like the Species Skill info for the others as well if you know it."
Kaldur glanced back at us, silently confirming his logic. He agreed with what Piximon had said earlier about trying to buy gems that match a specific Species Skill to maximize output. If we could get the exact data for the partners who hadn't reached Ultimate yet, we could at least have a shopping list ready in advance, prioritizing our limited funds.
Piximon puffed out his tiny pink chest, completely self-confident in his abilities. "Oh, I can give you this information, no problem! After all, I've memorized most of the Species Skills out there. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to give any passable recommendations on what to buy."
For a moment, he looked incredibly proud of his encyclopedic knowledge. But a second after, a heavy frown appeared on his face, his wings slowing their frantic buzzing. "But I'm afraid I can only really give you information about your partners that have already achieved Ultimate-level."
Our group exchanged confused looks. What he was saying now didn't match the boastful, confident tone he had used barely a second ago.
Conner crossed his arms, his brow furrowing. "What? Why? You just said you know most of the Species Skills out there. Or was that just bragging?" Conner's tone carried a sharp edge, clearly thinking Piximon was either lying or playing games with us. And Conner had zero patience for lying and games.
Piximon frantically waved his tiny hands, his spear bobbing in the air. "No, no, it's not that, sir! I should have guessed you wouldn't know this, with you not being here that long. But when a Digimon goes through the Digivolution process, it is completely random. No one can tell what form you'll take."
I blinked, the tactical map in my head suddenly shattering. *Random?*
"Yes!" Piximon insisted. "It will always be the form you are most mentally compatible with at that exact moment. So your partners could take any one of over a hundred different forms, you see! You can't plan for all of them. Or worse, they might turn into a Digimon I've never even met before. So it's probably better if you just waited until they've evolved to build a proper gem layout for them, and just get something temporary to hold them over with for now."
A stunned silence settled over the velvet-lined room. Over a hundred possible forms? We had all just assumed that their next forms were predetermined, a linear progression coded into their data. But no, with over a hundred possible evolutionary branches heavily dependent on mental states and environmental factors, we had to agree with Piximon. It was better to just give Gatomon, Gomamon, Palmon, and Biyomon temporary gem layouts than to waste hours theorizing thousands of possible combinations that might not even work. If they turned into a Digimon Piximon knew nothing about, all that planning would be absolutely useless.
Kaldur sighed, adjusting his stance. "Yes, you are right. Just give us the information you have for our available Ultimates, please."
Piximon quickly nodded, eager to be helpful again, and began pulling the data from his vast memory. "Okay, let's see. If I remember correctly for your Ultimates... for WereGarurumon, his Species Skill is Close-Quarters Combat. It raises his physical attack and physical defense by forty-five percent, and increases the damage dealt by his counterattacks by one hundred and twenty percent!"
Wally let out a low whistle, giving Gabumon an impressed look. A one hundred and twenty percent boost to counters was devastating.
"Next, for MegaKabuterimon, it is Defense Stance, which increases his physical defense by forty percent," Piximon said, pausing to grimace sympathetically. "Honestly, compared to most Ultimate-level Digimon, it is a very poor Species Skill. It only gives a small bonus to one stat. But that's what Ability Gems are for!"
I frowned, my chest tightening slightly. A flat forty percent to defense, and nothing else? No elemental multipliers, no status immunities, no unique combat modifiers. Compared to WereGarurumon's massive counter-strike potential or MetalGreymon's one hundred percent increase to fire damage, MegaKabuterimon's ability was far too basic. I looked down at Tentomon, who shuffled his legs nervously, looking a bit embarrassed by his future self's lackluster skill.
I placed a hand on his carapace, giving him a reassuring smile. I let the disappointment go. Like Piximon had said, that was the entire point of the Ability Gems. I would just have to buy Tentomon the two best stat-boosting gems I can to make up for his Species Skill not pulling its weight. A high-tier special attack gem would balance him out perfectly if I can afford that layout mind you.
"And finally," Piximon continued, pointing toward Patamon with something that looked a lot like deep reverence at being in his presence but tried to be professional enough not act like it while working. Actually now that I thought about it he looked at Gatomon the same way when we first met maybe cause their holy type Digimon he'll ask what that's about later. "MagnaAngemon. His Species Skill is Marshall. It raises damage dealt by Light-attribute attacks by one hundred percent, increases his Dark resistance by fifty percent, and makes him completely immune to the Confusion abnormality!"
Conner nodded, clearly satisfied. An immunity to Confusion meant Etemon couldn't turn our strongest healer and damage dealer against us, and the massive light-damage multiplier meant MagnaAngemon would continue to absolutely shred though corrupted Digimon. All in all, we were more than impressed by the raw power our partners Ultimate forms brought to the table.
"Okay, as for the others, I'll give you their Champion-level info now," Piximon said, moving down the line of our partners. "Birdramon... her skill is Flame Wing. It raises damage dealt by Fire attacks by forty percent. Pretty decent if average for a Champion's Species Skill, really."
Biyomon ruffled her feathers, perfectly content with being average as long as it helped Wally and the others.
"Next is Togemon," Piximon said, his eyes widening a fraction. "Hers is Spiny Body. It randomly returns a certain amount of damage back onto the opponent when hit by physical-type attacks... with no known upper limit! A true bane for Digimon who specialize in physical attack styles."
I froze. Kaldur's eyes widened, and we shared a heavy, painful look. Damage reflection with no known upper limit? If a massive physical threat hit Togemon, if they were unlucky and the damage returned was doubled or more they would practically destroy themselves. It was an incredibly powerful, top-tier defensive ability.
And it was basically going to be non-existent.
Once we hit the Server Continent, the Dark Network's dampening field would trap Palmon in her Rookie form. We wouldn't be able to use Togemon's Spiny Body against Etemon's forces at all. It was a crushing tactical loss. Otherwise, as long as we got her the right Ability Gem layout, she wouldn't have been any less useful than our Ultimate-level partners.
"And finally, Ikkakumon," Piximon finished. "His is Arctic Resistance. It increases his water resistance by fifty percent and gives a seventy percent chance of ignoring the Frozen abnormality. So that's the Species Skills for all of your partners at the moment, until the rest reach Ultimate!"
Piximon hovered silently, waiting to see if there were any more questions for him. The team was happy enough with our friends' Champion forms, especially Togemon's, despite the bitter reality of the Dark Network holding her back. We now had a concrete understanding of our strengths and weaknesses. We could begin browsing the crystal displays and spending our dungeon coins efficiently after one or two more questions.
Wally leaned back against one of the velvet-lined display cases, crossing his arms behind his head with a casual grin.
"Man, the more I hear, the more I start to feel like we're playing the world's most dangerous RPG game in history," Wally said jokingly, his voice echoing through the quiet store. "If we ever get to talk with this Amir guy, I have to ask him what he was thinking, or what kind of games he played to give him the idea for all this. Because it really looks like he went out of his way to make this world as game-like as possible."
Wally pushed off the glass, waving a hand flippantly. "If he ever decides to update this place, I have a few ideas about areas he can definitely improve on."
The silence that followed wasn't just heavy. It was out right suffocating.
Every single Digimon in the room froze. The Gorimon near the entrance stopped their browsing. Piximon's spear dropped slightly. Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentomon, Agumon—all of our partners—slowly turned to look at Wally. And they glared. It wasn't a look of mild annoyance like usual when Wally said something a little inappropriate. It was a look of absolute, deeply offended horror.
I squeezed my eyes shut and dragged my hand down my face. Beside me, Conner let out a long, exhausted groan, burying his face in his hands. Kaldur simply closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, the physical embodiment of a complete facepalm.
Wally immediately backed up, his hands raised in surrender as he realized the sheer magnitude of the mistake he had just made once the glares came his way. He had put his foot in his mouth again, failing to realize just how disrespectful what he had just said truly was. He had casually talked as if he were Lord Amir's equal. He had insinuated there was something wrong with the Creator's thought process, and to top it all off, he had the sheer arrogance to suggest that he could do a better job or offer advice in building their world.
"I—uh, I just meant... mathematically speaking!" Wally stammered, sweating as Gabumon and the others continued to stare daggers at him. "Just, you know, quality of life updates!"
The Digimon did not blink.
I sighed looks like asking the rest of our questions is a no go, stepping between Wally and the angry locals. "We're going to start buying gems now. Piximon, how much for a special attack booster?"
We needed to get our gear and get out of here before the villagers decided to sacrifice Wally to appease their god. It didn't help that Patamon and Gatomon the holy Digimon held back solely by Conner looked ready to lead the charge in said endeavor.
***
High above the digital sky, resting comfortably upon my throne, I watched the holographic projection of the general store with intense amusement.
I leaned my cheek against my fist, a soft chuckle vibrating in my chest. The sheer, unadulterated audacity of Wally West. He was standing in a dimension forged by my divine energy, breathing air I coded, preparing to fight monsters I designed, and he wanted to submit a patch-notes request because he thought my game design was a little too derivative.
A translucent blue screen shimmered into existence beside my throne, the Dungeon God System formally logging the interaction.
Notice: Flagrant disrespect detected toward the Divine Creator by Diver 'Wally West'. Penalty protocols available. Options include: temporary localized gravity increase, immediate hostile encounter spawn, or stat reduction curse.
I waved a hand, dismissing the prompt. "No need, System. Let him run his mouth. It builds character."
If I truly possessed the fragile ego of the Old Gods, I might have struck him with lightning on the spot. But I remembered what it was like to be an arrogant young man relying on humor to deflect from terrifying situations. Wally used jokes as a shield. He felt wildly out of his depth, facing a world where his super-speed was frequently rendered useless against massive, monstrosities. Complaining about the mechanics was his coping mechanism.
Besides, I didn't need to punish him directly. Tomorrow, they were boarding Whalemon. And soon after, they would step onto the scorched sands of the Server Continent.
Once they crossed the boundary of Etemon's domain, the Dark Network's dampening frequency would hit them like a physical blow. The De-digivolution grid would rip their Champion forms away. Palmon would be locked in Rookie form, entirely unable to use that phenomenal Spiny Body ability they had just spent ten minutes admiring. Gomamon and Biyomon would suffer the same fate. They would be forced to rely entirely on the limited Ability Gems they were currently purchasing and Gatomon who was naturally at the Champion-level as they couldn't waste their Ultimate forms time limit recklessly.
And Etemon was not going to give them time to figure out new gem loadouts if this one doesn't work.
I raised my right hand, pulling up the Server Continent's administrative parameters. I swiped past the desert terrain metrics and opened the spawn table for Etemon's vanguard forces. I highlighted a squad of corrupted Tyranomon and positioned them around but not directly along the coastal drop-off zone. Just to ensure they didn't get comfortable, I adjusted the climate controls, pushing the midday heat to a blistering, exhausting extreme.
"You think my game design needs improvement, little speedster?" I murmured, a dry smile curving my lips. "Let's see how much you enjoy the difficulty curve on the new continent."
The group in the general store quickly finished their painfully awkward transaction with Kaldur having to get Wally's Gems for him when Piximon almost jacked up the price on him. Dick had after thinking about it he purchased a medium grade special attack gem for Tentomon at the cost of only getting one other Gem, offsetting the weak Defense Stance of his Ultimate form exactly as I knew he would. He and the others also bought a few status-immunity gems for the front-line fighters, terrified of the abnormality effects they were a little sad to see the store didn't have one to prevent Sealed but they quickly found out that one was a high-grade Gem so well out of their price range.
They were smart. They were learning the rules of the world, adapting to the strict, uncompromising mechanics I had laid out for them. They were acting like true Dungeon Divers.
I leaned back against the cool marble, closing the screens with a thought. The tutorial phase on File Island was officially over. Tomorrow, the true test of their survival would begin. If they thought Devimon was a nightmare, Etemon's brutal, suffocating control over the desert would break them down to their absolute core.
And I would be watching every second of it.