A burst of white light erupted from the heap of ruins, and from within it, a figure slowly emerged.
Zero froze for a moment. Something like this showing up in the wreckage of Devimon's castle?
But after that initial moment of surprise, he immediately collected himself.
That silhouette wasn't a Digimon.
It was a human—an unmistakably elderly, frail-looking old man.
Even so, Zero recognized him instantly. If nothing unexpected had happened, this old man was the temporary stand‑in for Yggdrasil itself, the spokesperson of the Digital World's administrative host computer, and theoretically the direct overseer of the "Chosen Children" project.
The old man seemed to notice the connection stabilizing. He gave a soft cough.
"...In any case, let this old man introduce himself first. My name is Gennai. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Naturally, Zero knew who Gennai was.
But to Rina and Hajime, he was a complete stranger.
Especially Rina—her eyes lit up at once.
"Oh! Grandpa, you're a human? So there are other humans here?"
Hearing Rina's voice, the old man chuckled kindly.
"Strictly speaking, I can't really be considered fully human anymore… but that isn't important. First of all, congratulations on successfully defeating and eliminating Devimon of File Island. It was truly beyond this old man's expectations."
Zero thought, Of course it was.
The File Island devil was supposed to be the starter‑village boss for the Chosen Children—the newbie test fight that lets them get used to survival. Zero had long felt the difficulty curve of that beginner area was absolute nonsense.
Honestly, if not for the Holy Plan backing them and a whole lot of luck, those seven kids would've been wiped by Devimon on day one.
But precisely because the seven kids had managed to defeat the enemy that all of File Island's Digimon had been helpless against, Gennai—and the host computer behind him—became convinced that the Chosen Children project truly worked.
After that, Gennai, acting as their helper, provided the kids with considerable assistance and guidance—in short, he belonged to the "ally" category.
Zero knew defeating Devimon would definitely disrupt Gennai's and the management system's original schedule, but that didn't matter. They were, at the very least, the reasonable type.
Zero causing variables in the plan wasn't a deal‑breaker. He was helping the plan overall—Devimon was supposed to be defeated, and it hardly mattered who did the defeating.
…More importantly, the eight Chosen Children hadn't assembled yet.
Which meant the destined saviors hadn't been chosen.
The mission of the Chosen Children was to defeat the Dark Masters.
If Zero could accomplish that, then him replacing the Chosen Children wouldn't be much of an issue.
This was the advantage of holding meta‑knowledge. Zero could accurately grasp the boundaries of the world administrator: as long as he didn't go against the laws of nature, even if he stole some resources normally meant for the protagonists, the administrator wouldn't make a fuss.
And judging from everything so far, the administrator was just some overworked office‑worker type—not remotely as stubborn or harsh as "Tree Auntie." If anything, he folded like wet paper.
If things went perfectly, Rina might "substitute" for the original Adventure kids and defeat the Dark Masters—which would mean Zero could claim the protagonist resources for himself…
…Such as the crucial evolution keys and Crests.
With those, Ultimate level was practically guaranteed—Adventure canon even pre‑allocates two Mega slots.
With protagonist resources, securing at least two Mega‑level seats would be trivial. And in this era of the Digital World, obtaining two Mega slots meant…
No need to explain further.
Of course, resources that rich wouldn't come free. The cost of obtaining them would be to risk their lives fighting the Dark Masters—
And beyond them, the threat lurking behind the Firewall.
Naturally, it was a dangerous job with an excellent chance of death.
But also a very fair one.
Where there is gain, there must be cost.
The protagonist's privileges are never free.
Now that Gennai had appeared before the three of them, Rina and Hajime might not understand what that meant, but Zero already had a good guess.
Could it be that Gennai, acting as the "representative," was here to negotiate cooperation?
"Well then," Gennai said, "I will speak plainly. At this moment… the Digital World is facing an unprecedented crisis—an existence far more terrifying than the demon you just defeated."
There it is.
Zero knew the moment he heard it—his guess was dead on.
Gennai paused, then continued.
"This old man has been searching for heroes capable of opposing that terrifying entity. The fact that you were able to defeat Devimon of File Island truly astonished me."
He never said it explicitly, but the implication couldn't have been clearer.
Even straightforward Rina understood it instantly.
"So that means… Grandpa wants us to go defeat the villains threatening the Digital World?"
Gennai nodded… then shook his head.
"This old man certainly wishes for that. But—for this, I must gain your consent. And more importantly… your current strength is far from sufficient to face those terrible demons."
Zero didn't wait for Rina or Hajime. He spoke immediately.
"So in other words, Gennai‑san… you can provide us with the means to fight those demons?"
Of course—if you want someone to work, you pay them.
Heroes who save the world don't work for free. At minimum you get free license to raid houses and loot chests. This isn't an era where you can talk someone into risking their life with just pretty words.
Hearing Zero's question, Gennai was just about to answer—
Then something seemed to click in his mind. He stared at Zero, momentarily dazed.
"Oh? This is truly incredible…"
As Yggdrasil's representative, Gennai likely had permissions to view certain data. He must've noticed something unusual in Zero's data structure.
Zero didn't mind being found out as abnormal. He barely remembered anything from his human life anyway. If Gennai could dig up any of that lost information, Zero would've gladly thanked him.
But unfortunately, Gennai shook his head.
"There is indeed an inexplicable fragment of data within you… but it is shattered. Only a very small portion remains intact, and it is encrypted in an unusual manner. Ahem… accessing another's private data without permission is not a virtuous act in the digital world, so this old man will refrain from prying further."
"Is that so? So even you can't decipher the data inside me…"
Zero sounded casual.
He had already grown comfortable in a Digimon body. His human memories were mostly gone. Getting them back would be great—but if not, well, that was life.
"Well then, let us return to the previous topic…"
As for what Gennai could offer if Rina's group agreed to cooperate—
"In this old man's hands, there exists a power that can help you evolve even further. If you obtain this power, you will have the possibility of defeating those terrifying demons…"
Good.
That's exactly what I was waiting for.
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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