Derek watched Maya as she stabilised the chaotic mana caused by her awakening, the air around her was filled with snowflakes and chilly winds.

Derek stood by watching, he wanted to see if there was anything he could learn from her awakening. He had no specific ability like the others, take for instance the Genesis Squad, Andrew was an energy user, Felix had a strengthening ability, and now Maya had an Ice affinity, he had yet to see one with double affinities. But according to the system, a double affinity or even a triple or quadruple affinity was not that rare in the universe.

However, since he had a system, he did not seem to be limited by an ability or affinity cap, for instance, he could say that he currently had three affinities: " Physical Body " thanks to Blood burst, and Battle Body, and he also had Wind and Lightning affinities due to Quicksteps and Tempest Fury.

After confirming that he could not make heads or tails of Maya's awakening, he turned his focus to the system screen, the sight of the accumulated System credits and resources instantly brightened up his mood.

At the end, the system was his greatest trump card, even though he did not like it, he had to admit that all that training and killing, and wounds had not been in vain.

He went to the Mission's page and saw that he had yet to claim the rewards of one completed mission.

This was the mission to recruit 5 subordinates with the Mana stones, which he had just completed this morning by giving the Genesis Squad mana stones.

Rewards: +10,000 Credits | +1 Random Skill: B rank SpatialTether | System Feature Unlock – Recruitment Tree.

" Recruitment tree? " Derek's eyes lit up, the name of this system feature was very suggestive, he could not wait to find out the details.

He claimed the rewards instantly.

[Mission Complete: Recruit 5 Subordinates with Mana Stones]+10,000 Credits+1 Random Skill Acquired: [Spatial Tether] (B-Rank)System Feature Unlocked: [Recruitment Tree]

The familiar wave of power surged through him as the new skill lodged itself into his consciousness, details unfolding in a neat mental package. He could now tether himself to his subordinate or any item that belonged to him with a spatial anchor. Pretty slick, right?...ahem, aside from being pretty cool, there was a lot of practical stuff he could do with the new ability.

But it was the Recruitment Tree that caught and held his attention like a shiny trap.

Once accessed, a stunning web of options spread out before him. Derek felt like a kid in a cyber candy store. The feature was robust: team growth, passives, synergy boosts, and resource allocation. It even allowed him to set group tactics and autonomous missions. But what rocked his expectations was the hidden feature tucked away in the corner like a buried secret:

[Dimensional Recruitment Portal – Unlocked]Recruit elite helpers from other dimensions. Cost: 1,000,000 Credits per recruitment.

"…Excuse me?" Derek blinked at the number.

" One. Million. Per. Recruit. "

[ You can have a 0.9 % discount due to your title,] the system chimed in, but Derek could barely hear it, the sound of one million per recruit resounding in his ears.

He stood there in silent protest, staring at the zeroes like they'd personally insulted him. One million credits? Am I summoning Thanos? "

Derek exhaled sharply through his nose. "I'm rich. But not stupid rich," he muttered, rubbing his temples. "I can't just go blowing a million credits per head like I'm running some luxury apocalypse cruise."

Still, his curiosity was doing push-ups in the back of his mind. He selected the [Dimensional Recruitment Portal] option, and a new interface appeared—an elegant wheel divided into shimmering slots, each pulsing with exotic silhouettes and arcane symbols. The system gave a brief breakdown:

[Dimensional Recruitment]

Pull potential allies from alternate realities. Candidates are filtered by compatibility, potential loyalty, and power.

Cost per Recruit: 1,000,000 Credits

Chance of SS Rank: 65%

The Loyalty of the summoned party will always be above 70.

Manual Targeting Available: YES

It was the cosmic equivalent of browsing a dating app, but instead of swiping left on narcissists with acoustic guitars, he was screening for dimension-hopping badasses.

"And at first, I thought the lottery was expensive…" Derek clicked over to the Lottery tab, expecting a soothing escape from the gut-punch of recruitment prices. The last 23 spins had given him Phantom Cloud, with his current number of credits against 20 credits per spin, spinning the lottery was the better choice. There was a system store, also, but the things there were seriously overpriced or inefficient.

He froze.

[System Lottery – Upgraded]

Each spin now costs: 500,000 Credits.

Manual Target Lock available: 70% chance of success on selected reward.

Guaranteed Bonus Item every 5 spins.

His mouth opened, then closed again. He looked at the price, then back at his current balance: 4,010,000 Credits.

"System," Derek said slowly, voice lined with disbelief, "when exactly did this happen?"

[ After your previous 23-spin spree, the system deemed you ready for the Advanced Tier. You're welcome. ]

Derek's eye twitched. "That's not how 'you're welcome' works."

Still, his fingers hovered over the spin option. With the ability to lock in a specific reward, that 70% chance was tantalising. Especially now, when he needed gear, not RNG garbage like the [Banana of Reflection] or that cursed [Tiny Hat of Confidence]. He remembered that one vividly. It still haunted his inventory like an uninvited gremlin.

But first things first. He returned to the Recruitment Tree. The possibilities were just too rich to ignore.

[Would you like to recruit now?]

Derek hesitated.

Spending 1 million on a recruit was dumb… unless he needed that recruit now.

"I'm not doing this unless I know who I'm getting," he muttered.

[ Initiating Manual Target Scan… Please input the desired skillset or role. ]

He thought for a moment, then typed: Mage. Combat-capable. High mobility. Loyal. Attractive (optional).

[ Scanning… Match Found. Probability: 87%. Proceed with recruitment? Cost: 1,000,000 Credits ]

A glowing silhouette appeared. A tall, robed figure with what looked like a crystalline staff and radiant energy crackling from their limbs. Gender was unclear. Mystery level? Maxed out.

Derek stared at it. "…Screw it."

He pressed [CONFIRM].

A pulse of blinding light exploded from the recruitment portal interface, and a tear in space split the air ten feet in front of him. Wind howled. Mana swirled. Snowflakes from Maya's awakening were sucked inward as something—or someone—stepped through.

A foot clad in reinforced boots hit the ground.

Then another.

And then, from the rift, emerged a woman. About Derek's age, with long, dark, silver hair braided down her back, shimmering eyes like molten quartz, and a staff that radiated dense, overwhelming power. She took one look at him and spoke:

"…So this is the universe that summoned me? You look disappointingly average."

Derek blinked. "Great. She talks like a cat."

[ New Recruit: Ylvana – Dimensional Combat Healer (Elite Rank) has joined your party. ]

[ Loyalty: 71]

[ Title Gained: Dimensional Pioneer ]

" Loyalty is supposed to be above 70, but seventy-one? That's loyalty with an asterisk...I thought I typed loyal, though. "

"…I regret nothing," Derek said, mostly to himself, and very much lying.

Derek stared at Ylvana as she scanned her surroundings like a tourist with a superiority complex. The silver-haired mage didn't just walk—she glided, like she'd read a thousand fantasy novels and decided to cosplay as everyone's favourite boss fight.

Ylvana's staff clinked softly as she flicked it in the air, and instantly, the snow around them stopped falling. The air turned dry, sterile, as if she had just told the weather to get its act together.

She glanced over her shoulder. "This realm has unstable ley lines. Crude mana distribution. Primitive infrastructure. And what's that smell?"

Derek sniffed. "That's… the apocalypse. Probably." He gestured to the still-breathing Broodmother chunks in the distance. "We're sort of between civilisations right now."

Ylvana didn't respond immediately. She tilted her head, her eyes distant as she seemingly accessed some part of herself. Dimensional recruits had certain… ways of understanding their abilities. Derek didn't know exactly how it worked, but he didn't need to. He had more than enough on his plate.

She finally turned her eyes back to him. "You summoned me. Which means I serve you now… for as long as the bond holds."

Derek raised a brow. "Bond?"

Ylvana nodded slowly. "Yes. Through the dimensional tether, our energies are partially linked. You fall, I fall. You rise, I rise. Symbiotic. A very, very limited marriage."

Derek rubbed his forehead. "Okay. Weird way to say co-workers, but fine."

Derek shook his head and pulled up the system screen for information.

Ylvana, meanwhile, was already halfway through floating over to Maya. The younger girl, still surrounded by frosty mana, opened her eyes slowly, only to flinch as she saw the silver-haired dimensional woman hovering near.

"Hello," Ylvana said calmly, tilting her head. "Ice affinity. Decent control. You'll improve if you don't melt first."

Maya blinked. "Um…"

Derek stepped between them before Ylvana started handing out unsolicited evaluations like some reality show judge. "She's still adjusting to her awakening. Don't scare her off."

Ylvana arched an eyebrow. "I assure you, Commander, I only traumatize with precision."

Derek ignored the headache that line gave him. He switched his attention to the [Spatial Tether] skill that had been quietly humming in his consciousness since its acquisition.

[Spatial Tether] – B Rank

Description: Allows the user to place spatial anchors on allies, items, or designated areas. The user can instantly teleport to any tethered point. Number of Active Tethers: 3 (Upgradeable)Cooldown: 10 seconds Current Anchors: None Bonus Effect: If tethered to an ally, receive a brief insight into their surroundings before teleportation (0.5s precog ping).

"Huh," Derek smirked. "Guess I just became my own emergency exit."

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