Shin'ya's inner voice was still aggressively screaming about the sheer audacity of the fantasy IRS and the absolute lack of respect for his sleep schedule when he finally turned around to face his assistant.
"Hey, Sera, looks like the main plot is—"
The words died in his throat.
Seraphina was entirely frozen. Her signature energetic posture was gone, her hands trembling so violently that the clothing paperwork, (yeah the Tailor have paperwork for clothes)she held slipped from her fingers, scattering across the stone pavement. Her face was completely, utterly drained of color, her eyes wide with a deep, primal terror that Shin'ya had never seen in her before.
Shin'ya's deadpan mask didn't break, but his mental gears instantly slammed the brakes on his comedy routine. Wait. Her face has gone completely pale. This isn't a standard cliché gag. This is 'the world is about to end' serious.
"Sera," Shin'ya said, his voice dropping its light tone, turning sharp and cold. "What are the Calamity Gateways?"
"They... they are anomalies that defy the laws of reality, Sir Arata," Sera whispered, her voice cracking as the panicked murmurs of the surrounding crowd grew louder. "They appear completely at random. Sometimes centuries pass without a single one... sometimes only hours. But the lowest-grade species inside a Calamity Gate... are all S-Rank."
Shin'ya's eyes narrowed beneath his cowl. The lowest are S-Rank? You've got to be kidding me.
"And that's not the worst of it," Sera stammered, looking up at the glowing crimson board. "Each gateway acts as a hive. They traditionally house three to four Disaster-grade beasts—monsters on the exact same cataclysmic scale as the Grave-Weaver Titan you just fought. And at the heart of every gate resides a Calamity-grade entity. The ratio is always one-to-one. Seven gates... means seven Calamities are about to descend on the continent."
Shin'ya's inner gamer instantly did the math, and for the first time, a cold sweat broke out down his spine. The last Calamity Gate occurred ten years ago, and it nearly wiped out an entire nation. Now seven are shifting at once? This isn't just a dungeon raid. This is a literal server-wipe event.
"We need to see Gideon. Now," Shin'ya commanded.
They sprinted back to the Guild headquarters, but the main streets were already becoming a chaotic bottleneck. High-level adventurers were sprinting toward the grand assembly hall where the Imperial vanguard was being mobilized.
As Shin'ya and Sera rushed past the High-Commercial District, the brass doors of the Aurelius Enchanted Atelier suddenly burst open. The elven shopkeeper, frantically clutching a bundle of dark fabric, ran out into the street, spotting Shin'ya's generic gray tunic instantly.
"Honored Lord! Honored Lord, wait!" the elf gasped, sweating profusely as he caught up to them. "The Imperial summon... I saw it on the broadcast! Your custom attire—it is only half-ready! The mid-calf trench coat still requires hours of enchanting and structural stitching!"
"I don't have hours," Shin'ya said flatly, snatching the bundle from the elf's hands. "Give me what's finished."
Shin'ya ducked into a nearby secluded alleyway, tearing off his old, dusty gray tunic and stepping into his new gear.
When he stepped back out into the amber glow of the street lamps, Sera's breath completely hitched. Her jaw practically hit the cobblestones.
Without the long, imposing trench coat, the outfit hit a completely different, effortless level of aesthetic perfection. The form-fitting, high-collared midnight shirt made of Abyssal Silk clung perfectly to his lean frame, emphasizing a sharp, surprisingly athletic, and model-like silhouette that had been completely hidden under his old, baggy clothes. The sleek, dark trousers tapered flawlessly into the high-top, silver-buckled leather combat boots. With his pitch-black hair slightly messy and his piercing, unbothered deadpan eyes fully visible without the heavy cowl shadowing his face, he looked shockingly, breathtakingly handsome. It was the literal definition of effortless, cold-hearted anime protagonist coolness.
"S-Sir Arata..." Sera stammered, her cheeks flushing a sudden, bright crimson despite the apocalyptic dread in the air. "You look... incredible."
"It's lightweight. It'll do," Shin'ya said smoothly, adjusting the hilt of the Ketsugai at his hip. "Let's move."
The Oakhaven Grand Assembly Hall was a colosseum-like chamber of white marble, usually reserved for continental summits. Today, it was packed to the brim with the city's absolute elite—hardened A-rank veterans in towering plate armor, elite battle-mages wielding glowing staves, and a handful of visiting S-rank anomalies sent by the crown. The atmosphere was thick with suffocating tension, heavy mana signatures fluctuating wildly in the air as panicked arguments echoed off the high ceilings.
The heavy oak doors of the hall creaked open.
Shin'ya stepped inside, hands casually resting near his pockets, his posture completely relaxed despite the impending doom. The sudden entry of a fourteen-year-old boy immediately drew eyes. But as the crowd took in his sharp, midnight-black tailored fit, his unbothered deadpan gaze, and the eerie, ambient shadows that actively warped around his boots, a sudden, heavy hush began to ripple through the room.
"Who is that kid...?" an A-rank vanguard captain whispered, his hand tightening on his broadsword.
"Is that the one? The prodigy with the absolute monstrous Shadow Affinity? The one who put the Titan back to sleep in under an hour?" a high-tier sorceress muttered, her eyes locked onto Shin'ya's sharp, handsome face.
"Look at the way the shadows cling to him... his control over his affinity is so terrifyingly refined you can't even sense the baseline of his mana core. He looks completely unbothered. Like he's already fought a hundred wars."
Shin'ya ignored the whispers, walking straight toward the grand stone podium where Guild Master Gideon Vance and a golden-armored Imperial Representative were standing over a massive, glowing tactical map of the continent.
"Ah, you finally made it, kid," Gideon grunted, his face grim as he pointed a scarred finger at the map. Seven bright, swirling crimson vortexes were pulsing across the layout, their coordinates locked. "The Imperial scouts just confirmed the deployment vectors. The rifts are stabilizing faster than we anticipated. The vanguard is heading out immediately."
The Imperial Representative stepped forward, his voice booming across the silent hall. "Listen up, elite of Oakhaven! The coordinates are set. We are marching directly into the first breach zone. Prepare yourselves—the Calamity is officially here."
Shin'ya stared flatly at the pulsing red marks on the map, his inner voice letting out one final, dark sigh.
Seven gates of S-ranks and Disaster-grades. He mentally gripped the hilt of the Ketsugai, a cold, dangerous smirk cutting through his deadpan expression. Alright, you cosmic developers. If you're gonna force me into an endgame raid early... let's see how much XP your bosses are worth.