Leo sat on the floor of the grey, silent room for what felt like an eternity, staring at the flashing button on his smartphone. [I HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS]. It was a blatant lie. He hadn't read anything beyond the first few ridiculous clauses about "accidental haunting." But he knew, with a cold, heavy certainty, that he had no choice. Ignoring this wouldn't make it go away. It would just make him an illegal fugitive in the eyes of an entire dimension, and he suspected their jurisdiction was a bit broader than his city's.
He was a delivery guy. His job was to follow the rules, no matter how stupid they were. With a trembling finger, he tapped the button.
The screen flashed. The legal document was replaced by a series of rapid-fire notifications, with the cheerful, corporate tone of someone who has just locked in a new customer.
AGREEMENT ACCEPTED! Welcome to the Underworld Provisional Visa Program!
Your status has been updated to: Resident-in-Training (Probationary).
You have been assigned a Soul Identification Number (SIN): 777-M-LEO-NA.
REMINDER: Your first Animus Tax payment of 15% on all Karma Point earnings is due at the end of the lunar cycle. Failure to pay will result in compound interest and the seizure of ethereal assets.
A new tab appeared in his 'Portal Express' interface: a digital wallet, which now showed his Karma Points balance and, next to it, a bright red section marked "Animus Tax Due." There was already a number there, calculated from his recent earnings.
Leo's stomach churned. He wasn't just working to survive anymore; now he was working to pay taxes to a sleepy bureaucrat from hell. The need to earn more Karma Points suddenly became much more pressing.
He opened the app's store, this time with a serious purpose. He had 2,500 KP from his last two jobs, minus the amount he already owed in taxes. He needed to invest in himself to increase his efficiency and, more importantly, his chances of not dying.
He scrolled through the list. There were tempting items like [Minor Luck Charm] and [Messenger's Speed Boots], but his encounter with Kael and Yuki's warning about attracting attention made him think about defense and information. He found the item he had seen before.
[Fire-Resistant Courier Suit (Tier 1)] - 500 KP: A standard-issue courier suit, woven with salamander fibers and treated with a light protective blessing. It won't make you immune to dragon fire, but it will give you a few precious seconds to not turn to ash. Reduces heat damage by 25%. Appearance: a normal, slightly darker courier uniform.
Five hundred points was a significant investment, but it seemed like an insurance policy worth having. He bought it. The points left his account with a digital sound of falling coins.
His smartphone buzzed, and a simple cardboard box materialized on the hotel room floor with a soft pop. Inside, neatly folded, was his new uniform. It looked and smelled like a normal uniform, but when he touched it, he felt a faint warmth, as if it had been sitting near a fireplace.
He continued scrolling through the store. Most of the Tier 2 and higher items were locked, requiring a higher "Courier Rating." But one item caught his eye.
[Basic Aura Scanner] - 1,200 KP: A small device that attaches to your smartphone. Allows for a rudimentary reading of the energy signature of nearby entities. Can distinguish between Mortal, Ethereal, Infernal, and Celestial. Does not identify individuals, only their 'category.' Range: 50 meters.
This could be useful. It might have warned him about Kael or the figure in the library. It was expensive, almost his entire remaining balance after taxes, but information was power. He bought it. Another box appeared. The scanner was a small, metallic disc that snapped magnetically onto the back of his smartphone. A new function appeared in his app: a rudimentary radar screen.
Feeling a little more prepared and significantly poorer, Leo left the safe hotel room and returned to his office. The radar was empty. He was alone. For now.
He had just changed into his new uniform when his smartphone chimed with the sound of a new order. This time, the alert wasn't hot pink or menacing purple. It was a calming green, featuring the design of a leaf.
NEW ORDER - BETA TIER
Client: The Guardian of the Ancient Grove
Item: 1x Smartphone Power Bank (100% Charged)
Address: Heart of the Whispering Woods, Beneath the Elder Oak
Delivery Instructions: "Silence is sacred. Approach with respect. Do not step on the blue flowers."
Payment: 700 Karma Points + [Seed of the Elder Oak]
Leo looked at the order. It seemed... peaceful. Perhaps too peaceful. After dragons and gods, a grove guardian sounded almost like a vacation. He activated his new aura scanner and aimed it at the order notification. A small green dot appeared on his radar, labeled "Ethereal - Low-Tier." It was his first reading. The creature wasn't infernal or celestial, and its energy was faint. A good sign.
But he knew that in this new job, nothing was as simple as it seemed. He grabbed a fully charged power bank from his desk, feeling the slightly warm fabric of his new uniform, and opened the storage room door.
The smell of damp earth and decaying leaves hit him instantly. Instead of his storage room, he saw a narrow path winding through a dense, ancient forest. Sunlight filtered through a thick canopy of leaves, creating patterns of light and shadow on the ground. The air was cool and filled with the sound of birds and the whisper of wind in the trees. And everywhere, on the forest floor, small tufts of glowing blue flowers pulsed with a soft light.