The Guild Master had shoved Sai Ji out of his office with the urgency of a man disposing of a live firework, thrusting the Unranked black card into his hand.
"Go. Pick a quest. Something harmless.
Something that won't trigger regional deity alarms or force me to file another catastrophic incident report," he barked, wiping sweat and fear from his brow.
Sai Ji muttered under his breath, "I'm level one. How much trouble could I possibly get into?"
Fen and Lura exchanged a look of deep, veteran concern.
Statistically speaking? Sal Vera's soft, choked laugh echoed in his mind. Given your history? All of it.
He ignored her. Mostly.
The guild's quest board was chaos incarnate.
Wooden notices jostled on brass pins.
Magical inks shimmered and occasionally fizzled into sparks.
"Herb-gathering left?"
"Sewer rats! Who took them?"
"Move over, slime hunt for novice certification!"
Sai Ji pushed forward, eyes scanning for pure boredom.
Gather 5 Moonbuds — Difficulty: Easy
Escort Elderly Merchant Tobo — Difficulty: Trivial
Cull Young Wolves in Gloomy Forest — Difficulty: Easy
Clean Slime Accumulation in Guild Back Alley — Difficulty: Pathetic; Reward: 5 Silver
He reached for the slime-cleaning notice.
Another hand slammed down beside his.
The scar-faced elite warrior leader glared at him.
"We said we wouldn't fight you. We didn't say we wouldn't outbid you," she hissed.
Her fury faltered as she took in his moonlit-handsome disguise. Slowly, defeat replaced rage.
"…Fine. The slimes are yours," she muttered.
Sai Ji plucked the quest.
It glowed as it registered to his black card.
[QUEST ACCEPTED: GUILD BACK ALLEY SLIME CLEANUP]
Objective: Remove excess gelatinous organisms.
Reward: 5 Silver.
Note: Do not agitate the slimes.
Relief washed over him. Finally, something simple.
"Master," Fen whispered gravely, "we should make a battle plan."
"It's slimes," Sai Ji said.
"Exactly," Lura nodded. "We must account for… unpredictable jiggle physics."
He groaned.
The alley they traveled to was narrow, trash-strewn, and shadowed.
Slimes of every pastel hue wobbled aimlessly.
A faint bioluminescent glow bathed the walls.
Sai Ji cracked his knuckles.
"Okay. Let's get this over with. I'll just… gently shoo them toward the grate—"
Every slime froze.
Their ocular organs swiveled toward him. Then:
PLOP. PLOP-PLOP-PLOP.
Dozens flattened in terror.
Some rolled in dizzy circles; one blue slime tried to become two-dimensional in a crack.
Oh my~ Sal Vera's delighted laughter chimed. Even simple life remembers the chain of being. They know their Sovereign.
"No! DO NOT PROSTRATE YOURSELVES!" Sai Ji shouted. Pink slime squeaked and tried to burrow under a cabbage.
Fen observed solemnly, voice reverent: "They acknowledge your supremacy, my liege."
Sai Ji roared. "I AM TRYING TO COMPLETE A MUNDANE QUEST!"
He stepped forward. Instantly, the alley cleared. Rainbow-hued chaos scattered across the streets.
DING. Notification.
[QUEST UPDATED: SLIME CLEANUP]
Slimes Removed: 47/5
STATUS: OVERWHELMING SUCCESS
Reward: 5 Silver
Bonus: +1 Guild Reputation (Slimes Fear You)
New Title: Slime Sovereign
Effect: Non-hostile slimes flee from you; hostile slimes have 5% chance to surrender.
"…Why?" Sai Ji deadpanned.
"Historic, Master," Fen said.
"I. HATE. THIS. TITLE," Sai Ji groaned.
As he left, a young noblewoman blocked his path.
Pale blue silks, ornate armor, and eyes sharp enough to pierce steel.
"Are you… a hidden prince of the Northern Moon Dynasty?" she asked.
Sai Ji froze. "…The what?"
Her eyes flared. "It's you! Concealed majesty!"
"I… am NOT!"
Undeterred, she grabbed his wrist.
"I am Lady Aeliana Nightblossom. I pledge to form a provisional party with Lord… Moonborn?"
"I'M SAI!"
"You shattered the Guild Classification Crystal."
"System error!"
"You carry an Unranked black card."
"Clerical mistake!"
"You cleared fifty slimes in ten seconds!"
"THEY RAN AWAY!"
One knight dropped to a knee. "Our blades are yours!"
Sai Ji groaned. "CAN ONE PERSON BE LEFT ALONE?!"
Fen: "Your version of normal, Master."
Lura: "Quite subdued."
Sal Vera: Your fate, my King. A lodestone for chaos.
Sai Ji: "Nope. Dungeon, here I come."
Aeliana intercepted him again at the Combat Proficiency corridor.
"Your true abilities are masked. I vow to uncover them!"
"I want to be left alone!"
"Nonsense! Talent must be evaluated!"
Inside, training dummies awaited. Sai Ji shook his head.
"No. Nothing good happens when I hit something."
Aeliana insisted. "Just a light tap."
He tapped.
BOOM.
The dummy exploded into ultra-fine oak dust, coating ten feet of hall.
Aeliana stood frozen. Her knights too. Fen and Lura whispered dry warnings.
"I told you," Sai Ji muttered.
Aeliana's eyes gleamed. "You're a hidden weapon. A sleeper asset!"
"I'm cleaning slimes for silver!"
"You're cursed!"
"You're a mortal vessel for a wrathful god!"
Fen and Lura: "Warmer."
"I WANT TO BE NORMAL!"
Aeliana clasped his dusty hands. "You're mine. My party. My miracle!"
Guild Master bellowed from the corridor entrance: "LEAVE THE WALKING NATURAL DISASTER ALONE!"
Aeliana: "He's LEVEL ONE! A MIRACLE! DESTROYS DUMMIES!"
Sai Ji exhaled. A single tear of frustration cut through the dust on his cheek.
Sal Vera: You are a system error. And the bug. Let's hope you don't destroy this land.
Sai Ji wiped the dust from his hands, muttering, "I… just wanted to clean some slimes."
Fen and Lura exchanged looks. Lura whispered, "He… really is a walking catastrophe."
Before Sai Ji could respond, the black card in his hand vibrated violently. Crimson script unfolded across the surface:
[SYSTEM ALERT: UNRANKED ENTITY DETECTED – ANOMALY LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC]
[ADDITIONAL WARNING: HIGH-POTENTIAL COLLATERAL DAMAGE]
[RECOMMENDATION: RESTRICT EXPOSURE; ASSIGN OBSERVATION PROTOCOLS]
Sai Ji stared at it. "…Observation protocols? You mean… people are going to watch me? Carefully?"
Sal Vera's voice purred in his mind, amused. They've already noticed, my King. That little slip with the slimes? A legend in motion.
The elite party reappeared in the corridor, whispering to each other like terrified chess players. Their fingers twitched near their weapons, but none dared step forward.
Aeliana's smile didn't waver. "You're… unstoppable, aren't you?"
Sai Ji groaned. "I JUST WANT TO BE NORMAL—"
BOOM.
A tremor rattled the ceiling. Sparks danced across the training hall. The floorboards creaked under a pressure only Sai Ji could unconsciously radiate.
Fen grabbed his arm. "Master… your aura!"
"…Nope," Sai Ji muttered. "Definitely nope."
From the far end of the guild hall, a magical console flared red. A digital voice rang out:
[GLOBAL SYSTEM NOTICE: UNRANKED SOVEREIGN PRESENCE – LOCALIZED FORCE DETECTED]
[RECOMMENDATION: ALL QUESTS AND NPC INTERACTIONS ADJUST TO AVOID LETHAL INCIDENTS]
Sai Ji blinked. "…Wait. What?"
Sal Vera laughed softly. Congratulations, my King. You're now officially a walking, talking, catastrophic system anomaly. And the guild… has no idea how to handle you.
The elite party's leader faltered. "…We were told he's Level One…"
"…He is," one knight whispered, "but that… that isn't… natural."
Sai Ji pinched his nose in exasperation. "Can I go clean slimes now without causing… whatever that was?"
Fen sighed. "Probably not, Master. But at least the slimes are afraid of you now."
Lura nodded solemnly. "…And the guild is terrified."
Sai Ji groaned, throwing up his hands. "This is going to be a long week."
Sal Vera's whisper drifted like a silver shadow through his mind. Relax, my Sovereign. Let the world adjust. It will take time… and a little chaos. A lot of chaos.
He looked down at the glittering black card in his hand. The symbol pulsed faintly, almost like a heartbeat. The universe had noticed him. Aetheria had registered his presence. And the consequences were only beginning.
This is only the beginning…
DING.
[QUEST UPDATE: SOVEREIGN PRESENCE CONFIRMED – CHAOS MULTIPLIER ACTIVE]
[REWARD: UNKNOWN; RISK: UNDEFINED]
Sai Ji groaned again, muttering, "…I need a vacation."
And somewhere deep in the guild archives, a digital record shivered like it had just sensed a predator awakening.