The dummy shattered with a notification declaring 1st place.
"…"
A long silence filled the training ground.
"…Master."
Seina asked, unable to take her eyes off the wreckage.
"How did you do that?"
"What you saw is all there is. I just used magic."
[ 1st place, Verd. ]
At least the disaster of having the Emperor's name buried in the lower ranks
was avoided. Even if the job and appearance were lacking, this should make
for a decent spec.
Seina still sounded confused.
"You have a job as an idler, yet you have this much power? Without any
bonuses to spellcasting or elemental manipulation, your power should be
significantly reduced…"
She scrutinized me from head to toe.
"Could it be that you have a hidden job?"
"Hidden job? What's that?"
"Think of it as a special privilege. It's a job that's so good that even top-tier
jobs can't compare. It comes with all sorts of bonuses."
It was a reasonable guess, but upon inspection, it was quite the opposite.
[ Idler ]
─You find activities bothersome.
─You lack motivation in all matters.
─All actions have their power reduced by 40%.
Rather, I had achieved 1st place despite being under various curses. I had a
hunch about what might have caused it.
'The constitution correction?'
The Black World had determined my constitution to be faulty and then
arbitrarily corrected it. Since this was a virtual world, such a fix was
possible.
That must have had a significant impact.
At the same time, small possibilities began to take root in my mind.
'Then, if I could fix this constitution in reality… '
When the time would come that I'd finally obtained enough Sun Water to
break free from my terminal condition, I would have reached an
unfathomable level of power.
Surely, that's how it would be.
Just imagining it filled me with happiness.
My resolve to obtain the Sun Water grew even stronger.
Meanwhile, Seina still seemed deeply shocked.
"It's definitely a hidden job, right? Isn't it?"
"Hmm…"
"I've been in the Black World for years, but if you, Master, are stronger
after just starting today, it doesn't make sense. It must be a hidden job.
Right?"
"…"
There was even a hint of desperation on her face.
Was this the pride of a veteran in the Black World?
She clearly didn't want to be overtaken by someone who had just started,
wanting to maintain her status as the senior here… Those complex
emotions were evident in her eyes.
As I hesitated to answer, at that moment…
Flap, flap, flap, flap!
Several crows flew towards us.
"Huh? It's the admins."
Seina's eyes widened.
"Admins?"
"A new persona suddenly taking 1st place must have caught their attention.
Since this is a virtual world, there are sometimes personas that distort and
exploit the system."
"What happens to those bad personas?"
"They're permanently banned, of course."
Caw! Caw!
Six or so crows surrounded me, inspecting me from my pupils down to
every corner.
"Master, could it be…?"
"I didn't exploit anything."
"Phew~ To think you'd pull such a prank, were you that determined to beat
your disciple?"
Seina actually seemed relieved.
At times like this, she wasn't a Blue Tower elder but an unmistakable young
girl. It was actually quite cute.
Unfortunately, I really hadn't exploited anything.
[ Scanning…]
[ No anomalies detected. ]
[ Unauthorized interference, exploitation. None detected. ]
Flap, flap, flap!
The admin crows quickly disappeared after finishing their task.
"Huh…?"
Seina stared blankly at the birds' retreating figures.
"How could this happen…? After everything I've put into this…"
"You said your job is a singer, so it's possible you're weaker."
"But your job is an idler, Master…"
"…"
She slumped her arms and head down, like a ghoul that had just risen from
the dead.
As I pondered how to comfort her…
"Master!"
She suddenly grabbed my hand.
"You must never abandon me! You have to stay with me until I become a
great ice magician!"
"Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"
"It's not sudden! Achieving 1st place without any exploits… That means
your ice magic is powerful enough to overcome all those bad conditions,
doesn't it?"
Seina's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Overcoming adversity is also the spirit of the Snow Ghost!"
"…"
"Stay with me! Forever!"
"I'll help with your training, so calm down first."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Really? Really!"
"If you ask again, I might just abandon you."
"Eep…!"
Seina quickly shut her mouth and cleared her throat.
"Anyway, Master, now that you've secured 1st place, I don't think you'll be
kicked out suddenly from any place you visit. That's really good news."
"True. So what do we do next?"
"Well, now we just have to do what you wanted so much."
Seina winked with one eye closed.
"Shall we go? Let's gather information between the towers!"
We arrived in front of a social club building.
Seina looked at me with a bright smile.
"Ta-da, we're going to gather information here from now on."
As she gestured, two towering gatekeepers approached us. It seemed they
recognized Seina, likely due to her frequent visits.
"Seina, here again today?"
"That's right. I want to attend the secret gathering."
"A secret gathering… You're not alone today, I see."
The gatekeeper narrowed his eyes.
"Seina, you know the rules well, don't you? You can't attend a secret
gathering with a companion."
"Do you think I wouldn't know that? This isn't a joint attendance."
"Then…"
The gatekeepers were about to push me away.
"I intend to transfer my secret gathering entry ticket."
"…Transfer?"
The gatekeepers' eyes widened in unison.
"Transfer? The secret gathering entry ticket?"
"You're the first to suggest a transfer. Few people understand what a
significant privilege it is to have access to the secret gathering like you do."
"Why so much talking? Just make the transfer already."
But Seina's attitude was resolute.
"Hmm, alright. Let's proceed right away."
The two gatekeepers finally turned their gaze toward me.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Verd."
"…"
There was a moment of silence.
"…"
The two guards exchanged glances, then looked back and forth between
Seina and me. Their eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief.
"…What did you say your name was?"
"The name you just heard is correct."
They seemed unable to believe it and even sent me a friend request,
verifying the three characters matching the Emperor's name before finally
shaking their heads in disbelief.
"Ha, it's not a joke, it's real."
"A joke would've been a hundred times better. What were you thinking,
using that name?"
Just the name alone seemed to strike fear into them, and their attitude
towards me shifted dramatically, becoming extremely cautious and polite…
However, that didn't last long.
"What's your job?"
"Idler."
"Days connected, level?"
"Today's the first day, and level 1."
"…"
The gatekeepers' attitudes changed once again.
This time, it wasn't fear; their expressions showed exasperation as if they
were dealing with a notorious troublemaker.
"Seina, what kind of troublemaker did you bring here?"
"This seems like a rogue persona. We should report him immediately…"
Fortunately, Seina quickly intervened.
"Please understand, he has a hidden job, so his record is a bit unusual.
Check the damage ranking for the dummy. My companion is ranked 1st
across the entire Black World."
At the same time, Seina transmitted a message.
─Master, I'll just say it's a hidden job, okay? It's too complicated to explain
everything right now.
The guards quickly checked the damage ranking.
One second.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
"…"
Their expressions shifted gradually, and then they nodded as if everything
made sense.
"It's true. This guy is really 1st place."
"To start today and immediately achieve 1st place in damage, just what kind
of amazing hidden job did he get? Did he land a Grand Magician or
something?"
Grand Magician.
Jaekiel quietly repeated that word to himself.
It had a nice ring to it. It was a title he definitely wanted to reach someday.
It didn't seem entirely impossible.
"How detailed should the handover be?"
"As detailed as possible, please."
"Understood."
The gatekeeper nodded.
"See the very top floor of the social club?"
He pointed to the fourth floor.
"Actually, there's another floor above the fourth. It's a space only VIPs can
enter, and that's where the secret gatherings are held."
"What exactly is a secret gathering?"
The gatekeeper looked at Seina.
"What, does he really not know anything?"
Seina just shrugged as if telling him to focus on his job and not worry about
it.
The gatekeeper, looking a bit reluctant, spoke again.
"I don't know their exact identities, but it's a gathering for extremely highranking magicians in the real world. Incredibly valuable information is
exchanged there."
"Is the information exchanged really that valuable?"
"Of course, since it's only attended by distinguished people. And there's no
surveillance from the Imperial Tower, so they can talk about anything
without fear of being watched."
"So the atmosphere is completely against the Imperial Tower."
"Ha…"
The gatekeeper furrowed his brow at Jaekiel's comment, as if wondering
why he was asking something so obvious.
"Most of it is sensitive information. In other words, it's the kind of
information the Imperial Tower would want to get its hands on. It wouldn't
make sense to welcome them, would it?"
"Well, I suppose that's true."
Jaekiel quietly nodded.
He didn't ask because he didn't know; he just wanted to confirm what kind
of place it was before entering.
"Hey, you."
The gatekeeper stopped Jaekiel as he tried to go in.
"It seems like you just happened to have connections with Seina and got
lucky with a good job… But be careful. There are more VIPs here than you
might think."
"VIPs, huh."
Well, I doubt there's anyone more distinguished than me.
Jaekiel muttered to himself as he ascended the stairs.
Creeeaaak.
Jaekiel finally arrived on the fifth floor.
The interior was smaller than expected, with only a massive round table.
There weren't many people; only five were visible.
"Hahaha!"
"So, as I was saying…"
Step. Step.
There had been busy chatter, but it stopped the moment Jaekiel's footsteps
were heard. The people who had been talking all turned their heads toward
him.
"…"
Observing and cautious gazes.
"…Wasn't it Seina's turn to come today?"
"That's a face I haven't seen before."
Their tone was full of hostility.
It was indeed an extremely exclusive gathering, with an atmosphere heavily
against newcomers.
"Who is that?"
"I'll check it out."
Someone stepped forward. It was a magician with elf-like ears and antlers
sprouting from her head.
She quickly scanned me from head to toe.
"…Your job is Idler, and your level is only 1?"
It was a brief statement, but it had a big impact. Immediately, doubt spread
across the other people's faces.
"There's no way Seina would've transferred her ticket to someone like this
loser, so how did he get in?"
Muttering to herself, she suddenly widened her eyes.
"Huh, what…?"
She blinked several times as if she couldn't believe it.
"His pseudonym, his pseudonym is…? Everyone, look at this…!"
The five people quickly gathered around and examined the pseudonym
displayed on the status window by the antlered magician. Their faces turned
to shock, like ink spreading on paper.
"Can you even use a pseudonym like this?"
"…Of course not."
"Then what is this guy?"
A moment later, the antlered magician's expression turned twice as
menacing.
"Hey, loser. Tell the truth. What kind of sneaky trick did you use to find this
place?"
She even started to stride toward Jaekiel.
"It'd be better if you just told the truth. There's an Imperial Tower magician
here, too. We could dig into your identity and punish you… So, what'll it
be?"
Jaekiel scoffed inwardly.
'As if there's an Imperial Tower magician here.'
Ah, although it might not be a lie. After all, Jaekiel was now standing in the
secret gathering hall.
However, the antlered magician's behavior was nothing short of infuriating.
Pretending to be from the Imperial Tower to intimidate newcomers and
extract their personal information—this is what you'd call a rogue persona.
"Do you think this is the first time I've seen a rogue persona like you? This
is your only chance to come clean."
"Imperial Tower, huh? I'm so scared my voice is shaking."
His voice was shaking.
Not because he was scared, but because it was amusing.
Jaekiel calmly raised both hands.
"I got the opportunity because I ranked in the damage list. Seina transferred
her ticket to me."
"Damage ranking? What kind of damage could a 1-day-old account…?"
But the antlered magician couldn't finish her sentence.
Jaekiel's ranking, clearly showing 1st place, silenced her.
"…Wh-What? 1st place? How in the world?"
The antlered magician's eyes grew twice as large.
"Is this a hack? How is this even possible with this guy?!"
She shot Jaekiel a look of disbelief.
"Hey, loser! I'm asking how you did it!"
Jaekiel simply shrugged his shoulders.
"I just imagined it was your mother and hit it."
Just because he was in a virtual world with a virtual appearance didn't mean
his mischievous personality had disappeared.
The one standing here was Jaekiel.
It was him, after all.
"…It shattered quite easily, though."