Some would call Caius a freeloader. Others, an opportunist. And perhaps both were true. But in a world where power belonged to those lucky enough to stumble into it, was it really a crime to want to live comfortably with as little effort as possible? Nothing was free, and survival meant playing the game wisely. He had principles, too. For instance, he would never kill someone just to steal from them - though if they happened to die, well, their belongings were fair game.

  Caius adjusted his glasses and straightened his tie, glancing around the bustling Guilds Hall. The marble floors gleamed under the artificial lighting, reflecting the ceaseless motion of transcended agents, hopeful recruits, and the occasional guild enforcer. The air hummed with hurried conversations, boots clacking against the stone, and the faint scratching of quills as clerks logged new transcendent registry.

  A thin, almost frail-looking young man stood near the registry booth, clutching a paper badge with a single bronze star pinned to his lapel. Caius had seen his type before - the ones who had expected their newfound abilities to usher them into prestige, only to realize they were stuck at the bottom of the food chain. Easy prey.

  Caius approached with a measured, confident stride. His expression was warm, his body language open but precise, the picture of a professional.

  “Are you a newly transcended, sir?” His voice carried a restrained enthusiasm - genuine enough to be believable, detached enough to be respectable.

  The young man blinked, clearly startled. “Huh? Oh… y-yes.”

  Caius kept his smile, though inwardly he noted the hesitation. Most transcended exuded arrogance, even when they were barely above commoners in power. This one, however, seemed uncertain, overwhelmed by his new status.

  “Congratulations, sir,” Caius continued smoothly, withdrawing a sleek business card and offering it with a polite nod. “I’m Julius Monroe, an independent transcendent agent. May I ask your name?”

  The young man hesitated before accepting the card. “Mason. Mason Reyes.” His initial excitement flickered, shifting to a look of confusion.

  Caius recognized it instantly. Mason had been hoping for a guild recruiter. With the rapid influx of newly transcended, there was no official hiring system yet, so guilds relied on third-party agents to scout for them. Unfortunately for Mason, Caius wasn’t one of them.

  “Yes, Mr. Reyes,” Caius continued without missing a beat. “I’m with the Transcendent Task Board. We operate differently from the guilds. Rather than exclusive contracts, we facilitate task-based partnerships. It’s designed to help new transcended gain experience and rewards without restrictive obligations.”

  Mason’s brows knitted together. “Is that… even legal? The Guilds Hall told us we had to either sign with them or join a guild.”

  “Completely legal,” Caius assured him, adjusting his glasses with a slight tilt of his head. “Think of it like taking a taxi or buying from a food stall. No upfront fees, no personal information required. You complete a task, you get paid. Simple as that.”

  Mason still looked uncertain. The desperation in his eyes warred with his caution - he needed work, but he wasn’t naive. He knew a scam when he saw one.

  Caius delivered the final push with calculated ease. “Oh, and we pay in items.”

  That got a reaction.

  Mason stiffened, his breath hitching. “Items? You mean…”

  “Yes, transcendent items.” Caius smiled, watching the young man’s disbelief. “We help new transcended get on their feet. That includes providing the right resources.”

  Mason swallowed hard. The offer was too good to be true, but he couldn’t ignore it. His fingers clenched around the badge on his chest. “How… how does it work?”

  “You select a task suited to your rank and ability. We sign a simple contract outlining the reward. You complete the task, and we handle the settlement. Straightforward, transparent.” Caius leaned in slightly, lowering his voice just enough to make it feel like a privileged discussion. “We do start with an assessment task. Something easy. No portals, one day’s work. Interested?”

  Mason hesitated, doubt still gnawing at him. He knew he might end up working for free. But he was already slipping through the cracks - no guilds had approached him. What did he have to lose?

  “…What would I have to do?”

  Caius hid his smirk. The fish was on the hook.

  “Well, that depends. What’s your ability?”

  Mason looked away, suddenly self-conscious. “Uh… I run fast.”

  Caius was careful not to react. No disappointment, no amusement, just the same professional interest. “I see. Then I believe you’d be perfect as a scout. How about a delivery task?”

  Mason blinked, visibly thrown. “Delivery?”

  “Yes,” Caius nodded. “We want to assess your speed and endurance. You’ll partner with a local restaurant and deliver their orders for the day. You keep the delivery fees, and at the end of the day, we settle according to your performance. If you’re satisfied with the item reward, we trade. If not, you walk away with your earnings. No risks.”

  Mason hesitated, chewing on his lip. It sounded legitimate - too legitimate. But desperation had a way of making decisions for people.

  Mason's confusion only deepened upon hearing the task. Who would use a transcended for deliveries? What was there to gain from it?

  "I understand your concerns," Caius said smoothly. "We really just want to assess your ability. The delivery fees don’t mean much to the Task Board. In fact, they serve as my commission. And you’ll be holding them until settlement, so if you’re unhappy with the payment, just keep the fees."

  It was a simple deal. At worst, Mason would lose a day of work. And who would go through all this effort just to steal delivery fees? No matter how unlikely it was that this was a genuine opportunity, the mere chance of receiving an item was worth it. Not a single one was being sold for less than one hundred credits in the Guilds Hall.

  "Okay. I’ll do it." Mason exhaled, finally letting go of his apprehension.

  Caius repressed a smirk and quickly led him to a vacant table. The agreed terms were handwritten on a plain sheet of paper - too informal for Mason’s liking, though not as strange as being paid with an item for a delivery job. However, what nearly sent him into a catatonic state was the specified reward: a stamina potion.

  Despite its name, the so-called stamina potion wasn’t strictly a transcendent item - an umbrella term for useful materials retrieved from portals - but rather a processed product derived from them. By extracting and refining specific transcendent components, alchemists had managed to create a concoction that reduced muscle fatigue and boosted endurance. Such an achievement was made possible by transcendents with appraisal and concoction-related abilities. The name itself had been chosen under the enthusiastic insistence of geeks.

  Due to the current scarcity of resources and skyrocketing demand, even the lowest-grade stamina potion was expensive. With that in mind, Mason was entirely on board with such a reward.

  Once both parties signed the contract, they set out to find a restaurant in need of a deliveryman. Fortunately, they didn’t have to search for long - most places were hiring. Ever since Doomsday, as people called it, the economy had been in turmoil. Many survivors were either attempting to become transcendents, too sick to work, afraid to leave their homes, or seeking opportunities that catered specifically to transcendents.

  In an instant, the world had changed. Portals appeared everywhere, and monsters laid waste to civilization. Humanity’s only hope of survival came in the form of abilities - powers granted to those who dared enter the portals. But salvation had not come swiftly. It was only after losing seventy percent of the population that humanity regained some semblance of control.

  After agreeing to meet for settlement at 11 PM, Caius left Mason to his deliveries and made his way to a bustling bar, ordering a meal. An hour later, however, the man who exited was no longer the sleek, light-haired individual with sharp features and freckles. Instead, he now sported deep auburn hair, cropped short. His entire appearance had shifted. He was no longer Julius Monroe - he was Caius Alden.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Disguises were second nature to Caius. Even before Doomsday, he had been pretending to be someone else - an older, more reliable persona that allowed him to operate in legally questionable circles. He saw no reason to abandon the habit now, especially since his A-rank ability, Contract, needed to remain hidden.

  Unlocking a high-tier ability was one thing, but having it be so perfectly suited to his former occupation was a stroke of luck he wasn’t about to waste. At level one, the restrictions were severe, but even in its weakest state, Contract was formidable. In essence, all he had to do was write a contract with clear and fair terms, and the reward would manifest upon completion. It was like buying something using someone else’s money.

  Of course, there were limitations. He could only contract with other transcendents, and the rewards had to be item-based. Additionally, fairness was enforced - if a contract was deemed exploitative, he would pay the price in lost levels and physical damage. Fortunately, he had a trick to ensure fairness: wording the reward as "equivalent value in X item." This way, the contract would always generate a fair amount or quality of the agreed-upon item.

  The moment he realized he had access to a gold mine and a free workforce, he became even more determined to keep his ability a secret. He never visited the Guilds Hall to obtain a badge, nor did he reveal his abilities to anyone. In essence, he could contract transcendents for any job, and his ability would foot the bill. Sadly, he couldn’t contract himself or manipulate the rewards - otherwise, his ability would surpass even the S-rank ones.

  Further restrictions included being able to contract only one transcendent at a time and a contract duration limit of one day. Hopefully, these limitations would ease as he leveled up. Another noteworthy feature of his ability was hinted at by a restriction - he could absorb up to two percent of the contracted individual’s experience. In theory, he could level up simply by contracting others and leeching off their work. It was a path to power with minimal effort.

  However, this particular feature was also the most dangerous. If anyone discovered that he could, by ability or item, absorb another’s experience, he would be hunted down. He had to be careful - one mistake, and it would be game over.

  One thing he eagerly anticipated was the restoration of the internet. The widespread destruction had taken down communication networks, with radio being the only functional medium on a public level. Governments had already started discussing limited regional networks, though speculation suggested they would be prohibitively expensive. The post-Doomsday world had become localized - everything now revolved around self-contained city hubs due to the ever-present threat of monster attacks beyond the hastily erected walls.

  As night fell, it was time to settle the contract. Donning his Julius Monroe persona once more, Caius made his way to the restaurant, checking Mason’s completed deliveries. The owner was more than pleased with his performance, even comparing him to a cyclist in efficiency. Given that bicycles were now considered a luxury- fuel being as valuable as gold - this was high praise indeed.

  Considering the stops, Mason was probably doing something close to 20 mph, which was far from any records, but impressive when used as a day-long average. He was, after all, just level one. How fast would he be at higher levels? Although he wasn’t very useful currently, he had potential as a long-term investment.

  Furthermore, Caius couldn’t ask for much since he wasn’t associated with any guilds or had any real credibility.

  “All right, let me confirm once again - would you like to settle for the stamina potion or keep the 1160 dollars?” Caius asked, keeping his tone professional, making sure no hint of ridicule slipped through. Any rational person would choose the potion, but it was part of the terms, so he had to be thorough.

  Mason swallowed hard, eyes locked on the red liquid inside the transparent glass bottle Caius held. It certainly looked like the potions described by other transcendents at the Hall, but how could he be sure?

  “Would you like to take a sip and confirm its authenticity?” Caius prompted, unfazed by the hesitation.

  It was common knowledge that transcendents could precisely sense what people called STATS. Just as they instinctively knew their level, their ability, and its rank, they could quantify things like Health, Mana, and Stamina. Some described the STATS as an intuitive feeling, while others rationalized them as numerical values - either as percentages or absolute numbers.

  Even though taking a sip without reason was a waste, Mason couldn't bring himself to risk the money without proof. With a forced smile, he accepted the vial. Slowly, he raised it to his lips and took a cautious sip. The liquid burned slightly but wasn’t unpleasant. Then, his eyes lit up.

  “It… works! My stamina increased… Are you really giving me this?” Mason asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

  After confirming the potion’s effects, he felt a stab of guilt for doubting the agent. But a lingering fear remained - was there a catch?

  “Of course. We already agreed on it. Just cover the delivery fees, and our transaction will be complete.”

  “Thank you! Thank you so much, Mr. Monroe! I promise to pay you back when I…” Mason’s voice trembled with gratitude, his eyes glistening. To him, this wasn’t just a potion - it was an opportunity.

  “No need, no need. Let’s just strive to sign more contracts and complete more tasks in the future. That would be thanks enough.” With these humble words, Caius wove another thread into his growing web.

  “Yes, yes! I’d love to take on more tasks! What can I…?” Mason trailed off, suddenly realizing he might be walking into something dangerous.

  Before his doubts could take root, Caius smoothly intervened.

  “There’s no need to worry. The beginner tasks are safe, and the rewards are good. Like I said before, we like to offer a helping hand to those who are just starting out.” Caius projected a guiding, reassuring presence.

  Mason hesitated but then nodded, reassured.

  “How about helping us form partnerships with other new transcendents?” Caius suggested, pretending to consult his notes.

  “I’m not sure I could…” Mason started, only to be interrupted.

  “It’s not difficult. Just find others in a similar situation and share your experience. If they’re interested, we can meet in a public place - say, a bar - and discuss further. For each transcendent that comes, you’ll receive a potion as a reward.”

  “Wouldn’t that be… too much?” Mason was wary; the task seemed too easy for the reward.

  “Not at all. As you may have noticed, the Transcendent Task Board doesn’t have a solid reputation yet. It’s more important for us to establish partnerships and trust. If you improve, we improve. Even if you later join a guild, you can still take tasks from us. It’s a win-win.” Caius deliberately revealed a bit more of his strategy, shifting from an overly generous benefactor to a pragmatic investor with foresight.

  “…Okay. I agree!” Mason finally let go of his reservations, eager to take on the task.

  Since it was already late, they decided to meet in the morning to finalize the contract. Both left satisfied with the arrangement.

  The next morning, they reconvened, and Caius presented the prepared contract. This time, it was longer, with more defined terms, including penalties. The most severe clause annulled the contract if Mason discussed its details or the task with unrelated parties. Mason didn’t dwell on it, assuming the Task Board simply wanted to avoid attention until they had more partners.

  He read through it cautiously but found nothing unreasonable, so he signed and quickly set out to recruit others.

  Caius took a slow sip of his coffee, savoring the moment. His business had officially begun. Now, all he had to do was sit back and ensure he didn’t attract the wrong kind of attention.