[ Congratulations. You are ranked 1st overall. ]
BAM!
A notification window declaring the shattered scarecrow’s first place.
“…”
Silence lingered inside the training ground for quite some time.
“…Master.”
Seina asked, unable to take her eyes off the debris.
“How on earth did you do it?”
“Everything you saw is all there is. I just used magic.”
[ 1st place, Verd. ]
Anyway, it seems I managed to prevent a disaster where the Emperor’s name would be stuck in the lower ranks. Even if my job and appearance were lackluster, this should make for a decent spec.
Seina still looked like she couldn’t understand.
“How can a slacker have this much power? There shouldn’t be any bonuses for magic activation or elemental manipulation, so it should have decreased significantly…”
She inspected me closely.
“Did you perhaps obtain a hidden job?”
“A hidden job? What’s that?”
“It’s better to think of it as a privilege. It’s a job that’s so good it makes even higher jobs look pathetic. It comes with loads of bonuses for various activities.”
It was a plausible guess, but upon checking, it was the opposite.
[ Slacker ]
– You find activities bothersome.
– You have no enthusiasm for anything.
– All action power decreased by 40%.
I achieved first place despite being cursed in various ways. I had a hunch about the cause.
‘Constitution correction?’
The Black World arbitrarily modified my constitution, declaring it erroneous. Since it’s a virtual world, healing is possible.
Perhaps that had a significant impact.
At the same time, small possibilities began to sprout in my mind.
‘Then, if I can fix this constitution in reality….’
When the time comes to gradually obtain the Sun Elixir and finally break free from the shackles of terminal illness, wouldn’t Ezekiel be at an incredibly high realm?
It will surely be so.
It was a happy thought that just imagining it made me giddy.
The goal of obtaining the Sun Elixir grew even stronger.
Meanwhile, Seina still seemed quite shocked.
“Is it really a hidden job? Right?”
“Hmm…”
“I’ve spent years in the Black World, and it’s unbelievable that a master starting today would be stronger. It must be a hidden job, right?”
“…”
She even had a slight longing look on her face.
Is it her pride as a seasoned player in the Black World? The feeling of not wanting to be overtaken by a beginner like me, wishing to play the senior role at least here… That complicated emotion was clearly readable in her eyes.
Just as I was hesitating to answer.
Flap flap flap!
Several crows came flying towards us.
“Oh? It’s the operator.”
Seina’s eyes widened.
“Operator?”
“They probably want to check since the newbie suddenly took first place. Since this is a virtual world, sometimes there are distorted selves who misuse it.”
“What happens to those bad selves?”
“Of course, they get permanently banned.”
Caw! Caw!
A flock of crows surrounded me and began inspecting me, starting from my pupils to every nook and cranny.
“Master, perhaps…?”
“I didn’t misuse it.”
“Phew~ Did you really play such a mischievous prank just to beat your disciple?”
Seina looked relieved instead.
In this moment, she seemed less like an elder and more like an innocent girl, and I must admit it was rather cute.
However, unfortunately, I truly didn’t misuse it.
[ Checking…. ]
[ No abnormalities. ]
[ Unauthorized interference, misuse. None detected. ]
Flap flap flap!
The operational crows quickly disappeared after finishing their business.
“Uh…?”
Seina gazed blankly at the birds’ retreating figures.
“How could this be… I spent so much…”
“You’re a singer, so you might be weak.”
“But your job is slacker…”
“…”
She slumped her arms and head down, like a zombie that had just risen from the dead.
What words of comfort should I offer during this time of contemplation?
“…Master!”
Suddenly, she grabbed my hand tightly.
“You absolutely cannot abandon me! You must stay with me until I become a great ice mage!”
“Why so suddenly?”
“It’s not because it’s sudden. Achieving first place with no misuse means… your ice is so amazing that it can defy all the bad conditions!”
Seina’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Overcoming adversity is also the spirit of the Ice Ghost!”
“…”
“Stay with me! For life!”
“If it’s training, I’ll help you, but first, calm down.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Really? Really!”
“If you ask one more time, I might just abandon you.”
“Yikes…!”
Seina quickly shut her mouth and cleared her throat.
“Anyway, Master, since you’ve achieved 1st place, I don’t think I’ll get abruptly kicked out wherever I go. That’s really good news.”
“Right. So what’s next?”
“Well, there’s just the one thing you’ve been wanting to do.”
Seina winked, closing one eye.
“Let’s hurry and go gather information about the Magic Tower!”
When we arrived, we stood in front of a social club building.
Seina smiled brightly at me.
“Tada! We’re going to gather information from here.”
As she gestured, two huge gatekeepers approached. Perhaps they were regulars, as they immediately recognized Seina.
“Seina, here again today?”
“Yeah. I want to attend the secret meeting.”
“A secret meeting, huh… So you’re not alone today.”
The gatekeepers narrowed their eyes suspiciously.
“Seina, you know the rules well, right? You can’t attend a secret meeting with a plus one.”
“Of course I know! I’m not bringing someone else.”
“Then…”
Just as the gatekeepers were about to shove me away.
“I’m thinking of transferring my secret meeting admission ticket.”
“…Transfer?”
The gatekeepers’ eyes widened in surprise.
“You’re saying you want to transfer your secret meeting ticket?”
“You’re the first to suggest a transfer. Not many understand the privilege of being able to attend a secret meeting like you do.”
“Why are you rambling? Hurry and transfer it.”
But Seina’s attitude was adamant.
“Hmm, fine. Then let’s proceed right away.”
At last, the two guards turned their gazes toward me.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“Verd.”
“…”
A moment of silence.
“…”
The guards exchanged glances, then looked back and forth between me and Seina, an expression of shock and disbelief flooding their eyes.
“…What did you say your name was?”
“That was indeed the name you just heard.”
They couldn’t believe it and even sent me a friend request, and only after confirming it matched the Emperor’s respectful name did they click their tongues.
“Huh, it’s not a joke, it’s real.”
“It would be better if it was a joke. What on earth were you thinking using that name?”
Feeling an incredible sense of dread just from my name, the guards’ attitudes toward me dramatically shifted to one of high respect…
But of course, that didn’t last long.
“What’s your job?”
“Slacker.”
“Connection time, level.”
“Today is my first day, and I’m level 1.”
“…”
The guards’ demeanor changed drastically again.
This time it wasn’t fear, but rather utter disbelief at facing a vile self.
“Seina, what kind of trash did you bring?”
“That sounds like a vile self. Report him immediately…”
Fortunately, Seina quickly intervened.
“Please forgive him; he has a hidden job, so his history is a bit unique. Want to see the scarecrow damage ranking? My party’s in first place across the entire Black World.”
Simultaneously, Seina sent a telepathic message.
—Master, should I just say it’s a hidden job? Explaining every detail seems a bit tough.
The guards quickly took a look at the damage rankings.
1 second.
5 seconds.
10 seconds.
“…”
Their expressions changed rapidly before, as if all at once they reached a conclusion, they nodded.
“…It’s real. This guy is really 1st.”
“Just starting today and achieving the highest damage ranking immediately, what kind of hidden job did he get? Did he strike gold getting a great mage?”
Great mage.
Ezekiel suddenly mumbled that word.
It sounded good. It made me think that I definitely wanted to reach that someday. It wasn’t entirely impossible.
“What kind of handover do you want?”
“As detailed as possible, please.”
“Understood.”
The guard nodded.
“Look, you see the very top floor of the social club?”
He pointed at the 4th floor.
“Actually, there’s another floor above that. A place where only distinguished guests can enter, and that’s where the secret meetings are held.”
“What exactly is a secret meeting?”
The guard looked at Seina.
“What? You seriously don’t know anything?”
Seina just shrugged her shoulders, as if saying to ignore her and just do your job properly.
The guard hesitated but began to explain.
“I don’t know the exact details, but it’s a gathering attended only by highly ranked mages in reality. Rarely, valuable information flows naturally.”
“Is the information that valuable?”
“It’s only natural since only esteemed individuals gather. Moreover, there’s no surveillance from the Imperial Tower. It’s a place where you can talk about whatever without worry.”
“A place completely rejecting the Imperial Tower atmosphere.”
“Ha…”
Ezekiel observed the guard’s frown in disbelief as if asking how he could ask such an obvious question.
“Most of it is sensitive information. In other words, it’s information that would be a big problem to the Imperial Tower. Does it make sense that the Imperial Tower would accept that?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Ezekiel quietly nodded.
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the question. He simply wanted to reconfirm what kind of place it was before entering.
“Hey, you.”
The guard stopped Ezekiel from entering.
“Looks like you just randomly made a connection with Seina and stumbled upon a good job… so be careful. There are more distinguished guests here than you think.”
“Distinguished guests, distinguished guests.”
Well, I don’t think there’s anyone more valuable than me.
Ezekiel muttered as he climbed the stairs.
CREAK…
Ezekiel finally arrived at the 5th floor.
The inside was smaller than expected, with only a large round table as the centerpiece. There weren’t many people, just five in total.
“Hahaha!”
“So, what I’m saying is….”
Pat pat pat…
As I stepped in, the lively chatter instantly stopped. The gazes of everyone turned toward me in unison.
“…”
Observation, and caution in their eyes.
“…Wasn’t it Seina’s turn today?”
“I see a new face.”
The tone was filled with hostility.
Indeed, was this a highly closed gathering? An overwhelming atmosphere of rejecting new faces surrounded me.
“Who’s that?”
“I’ll check it out.”
One stepped forward. A magician with elf ears and antlers sprouting from her head.
She swiftly scanned me from head to toe.
“…A slacker job, and only level 1?”
Though her words were brief, the impact was immense. Instant uncertainty spread across the faces of the other members.
“Seina wouldn’t transfer her ticket to a guy like this, so how did he get in?”
Muttering in bewilderment, she suddenly widened her eyes in disbelief.
“Uh, uh…?”
With an expression of disbelief, she blinked repeatedly.
“Alias, alias…? Everyone, take a look at this…!”
The five members quickly huddled together, their faces filling with horror as they skimmed through the alias displayed by the horned magician, like paint spreading across a canvas.
“Is it even allowed to use such an alias?”
“…Of course it’s not.”
“Then who the hell is this guy?”
Moments later, the horned magician’s face turned even more threatening.
“Hey, slacker. You’d better speak honestly. What cowardly trick did you use to find this place?”
She even walked up boldly toward Ezekiel.
“Honestly, it’d be better for you. There are mages from the Imperial Tower here. They could easily gather your info and punish you… so what’s it gonna be?”
Ezekiel snorted inwardly.
‘Mages from the Imperial Tower, huh.’
Oh, perhaps it wasn’t a lie. After all, Ezekiel was currently standing in a secret meeting hall.
However, the horned magician’s behavior was infuriating.
Trying to scare newbies with a pretense of being from the Imperial Tower to dig up information? Isn’t that exactly what vile selves are like?
“Do you think I haven’t seen a vile self before? You only have one chance to speak honestly.”
“Imperial Tower, huh? I’m trembling from fear.”
No, my voice trembled not from fear but laughter.
Ezekiel raised both hands nonchalantly.
“I just gained this opportunity because I’m recognized for the damage ranking. Seina transferred it to me.”
“Damage ranking? What damage can a mere newbie with 1st day status….”
The horned magician’s words stalled.
Ezekiel’s rank boldly displayed first place.
“…Wha-what? 1st? How did that happen?”
The horned magician’s eyes doubled in size.
“What? Isn’t this some misuse? Why is this guy here!”
She glared at Ezekiel in disbelief.
“Hey, slacker! How did you do it?”
Ezekiel shrugged.
“I hit it thinking of your mom.”
In the virtual world, even if their external form is created, the mischievous nature doesn’t disappear.
Standing right here is Ezekiel.
Indeed, it was him.
“…And it broke very easily?”
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