Jasper Cole rode in the center carriage of the convoy.
Across from him sat a little girl—no, not just any girl. The same "young lady" he'd just saved.
After a bit of talking, Jasper finally pieced together who she was.
She was the treasured daughter of the Lin family of Windcloud City.
Windcloud City had five great noble houses: Lin, Wu, Yao, Zhuang, and Zhang. The Lin house sat at the top. The Zhang house came next, followed by Yao, Wu, and Zhuang. Lin and Zhang were sworn enemies. Lin and Yao stood together, while Zhang aligned with Wu and Zhuang. The alliances shifted, the grudges didn't, and the city never really stopped simmering.
Which meant this ambush on the road… probably hadn't been "bad luck" at all.
Jasper learned the rest quickly. Earlier, assassins had lured Steward Xu and the real elite guards away. Then the undead hit the convoy.
Wild zombies didn't usually attack caravans for no reason. Caravans meant power. Caravans meant people who could cut monsters down like wheat.
So if the undead had attacked anyway…
Someone had set the table.
The girl beside Jasper practically vibrated with excitement, grabbing his sleeve and firing questions like arrows.
"You're so strong! How do you know runes? Are you a runecrafter? And that sword thing you did—was that your own work? Are you an artificer too? Your willpower has to be super high, right? What's your name? Which unit are you from? Do you want to switch jobs? The pay is really good, way better than the army—really, really, really! Come on, come on!"
She didn't even stop to breathe.
Jasper felt his brain start to buzz.
So that was the real point—recruitment.
A "career change," wrapped in cute eyes and endless chatter.
He answered with patience anyway, dodging most of the important questions. He had too many secrets. The system was one of them, and it was a secret he hadn't even told Garrick Forge.
It wasn't that Jasper didn't trust Garrick. He just didn't trust this world.
If there was any way to read memories, any way to peel a secret out of someone's head… Jasper wouldn't just die. He'd drag Garrick down with him.
Meanwhile, in the carriage running alongside theirs, Steward Xu sat in silence.
Bronze Tier, Rank 7. Willpower at mid C-tier.
And he'd tried to probe Jasper.
Jasper felt it the moment it happened—a thread of willpower sliding in, cautious and controlled. But the instant it touched Jasper, it snapped like it hit a blade.
Steward Xu withdrew immediately.
That kind of failure only meant two things.
Either Jasper's willpower was higher than his…
Or Jasper carried a treasure that blocked mental scanning.
Steward Xu leaned toward the second explanation. A young soldier with willpower beyond mid C-tier sounded impossible.
And yet… Jasper didn't look like someone carrying a priceless artifact, either.
The convoy rolled under the walls of Windcloud City before long.
Jasper dismounted, intending to return to the Military Headquarters.
To his surprise, Officer Wang himself was there to receive the Lin family's young lady.
Steward Xu stepped down from his carriage, blinking. "Well, would you look at that. Isn't this Officer Wang?"
Officer Wang laughed. "The Lin family's young lady is here. How could I not come? Please—this way."
He ushered them inside, then fell back and caught Jasper by the arm.
"You," Officer Wang said, grinning. "You're that new recruit from before, aren't you? Not bad. Saving the Lin family's young lady… that's a real deed. I heard she's looking for a guard. And you just happened to be the one standing there when it mattered. You've got a real shot."
"So… about my mission," Jasper said carefully, then summarized the bandit operation and what happened afterward.
Officer Wang's face tightened as he listened.
Then his eyes went wide.
"Wait—what? You killed a Bronze Tier, Rank 4 bandit leader, then on the way back you saved the Lin family's young lady and killed a Bronze Tier, Rank 5 Enchanted Ironclad Zombie… and you only took light injuries?"
Jasper shrugged. "Aside from that, I lost my Mysterium Iron needles. And my short sword. The army should compensate me… or the Lin family will."
Officer Wang gave him a look like Jasper had just asked whether water was wet.
"Compensate you? Kid, the Lin house guards carry standard weapons on the same tier as that sword you lost. And a personal guard for their young lady? A Bronze Tier, Rank 7 weapon wouldn't even be shocking."
Jasper stared.
Officer Wang lowered his voice. "The Lin family head is an Arcane Tier, Rank 4 expert. That's the top of the top in Windcloud City. Even the Zhang family head—second place—only sits at Arcane Tier, Rank 2. That's why the Lin house rules the city. Their wealth matches their strength, and their equipment shows it."
Arcane Tier, Rank 4…
No wonder Steward Xu stood at Bronze Tier, Rank 7 like it was normal. He probably wasn't far from an Arcane breakthrough himself.
Officer Wang clapped Jasper once on the shoulder and headed inside. "Go back to the barracks. Someone's waiting for you."
Jasper walked, thinking.
So I'm really leaving the army already.
A few months in uniform, and now he was being pulled out to serve a noble house.
But one thing kept scraping at his thoughts.
If the Lin house is packed with experts… why take me? I'm only Bronze Tier, Rank 3.
He didn't get his answer until he reached the barracks.
A guard in refined iron armor stopped him at the entrance.
"You're the soldier who saved the young lady," the guard said. "Jasper Cole, correct? Your Soldier ID has been revoked. Effective immediately, you are a guard of the Lin house."
Just like that.
No ceremony. No discussion.
The guard continued, almost polite. "Don't worry. The Lin house doesn't mistreat talent."
Then he turned and motioned Jasper to follow.
Jasper stroked his chin as he walked behind him. That was fast. Too fast.
Steward Xu, then. He'd noticed something. Even if he couldn't read Jasper's willpower clearly, he'd felt the resistance—felt the sharpness behind it.
The more I show, the more they'll want to use me.
That was fine.
As long as his origins stayed clean. As long as no one found the system.
The Lin estate was… obscene.
The roads were paved with quartz blocks. Glowstone lit the paths like captured daylight.
Quartz and glowstone only came from the Nether.
Jasper hadn't been there. He didn't want to imagine what lived in that place, but he knew it wasn't gentle. And if the Lin house could afford to line their roads with Nether materials…
Then someone in this family had walked the Nether and returned.
The Lin house wasn't just rich.
It was dangerous.
The guard led Jasper to a large, old-fashioned wooden building and gestured at the door.
Jasper stepped inside.
A wave of warm, fragrant scent hit him immediately.
Skyfragrance wood.
Mutated dark oak—rare, prized, said to soothe the mind and extend life. And this entire building… was made from it.
Jasper paused despite himself.
Inside, the furnishings were neat and measured. An elderly man sat on a meditation cushion.
Jasper's eyes narrowed.
That cushion wasn't ordinary fabric.
It was woven from Skyfragrance plumes—another rare material with similar effects, only harder to acquire.
The old man watched Jasper with a gentle smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Then he spoke, slow and calm.
"I want you to become Lin Li's shadow guard."
The words carried pressure—an authority that pressed down on Jasper's chest like a hand.
Even with willpower at high C-tier, Jasper felt his throat tighten.
He swallowed, forcing his voice steady.
"A… shadow guard?"