Chapter 2: The Naked Lord of Sayfrid
The walk back from the Awakening Platform felt like an endless march through a swamp.
With every step Ran took, the whispers of the crowd seemed to get louder. Parents pointed at him from the stands, shaking their heads. Students snickered behind their hands. The giant holographic screen above was still flashing his results in glowing letters: Basic Orb. Zero Affinity.
"Did you see his face?" a boy in the front row laughed. "He looked like he was going to cry. A grey rock! What a waste of oxygen."
Ran kept his eyes locked straight ahead. He didn't blink. He didn't frown. He forced his face into a perfect, emotionless mask. On the inside, his heart was beating like a drum solo, and his mind was racing with excitement about the 'System' he had just secured. But he knew he couldn't smile. If he suddenly looked happy after getting the worst result in school history, people would think he had completely lost his mind.
Leo and Ken hurried to catch up with him, walking on either side like silent bodyguards.
Once they were far enough away from the stadium crowd, Leo finally broke the silence. He bumped his shoulder against Ran's.
"Hey. Don't listen to those rich jerks," Leo said, trying to force a cheerful grin. "A Basic Orb is... well, it's unique! Nobody else got one! That has to mean something, right?"
"Statistically speaking, it means he has no natural combat path," Ken said, pushing his glasses up his nose.
Leo smacked the back of Ken's head. "Dude! Not helping!"
"Ow! I'm just being realistic!" Ken rubbed his head. "But listen, Ran. Even with a Normal-tier soul, you can still level up. You just have to work a little harder. We can all join the City Guard together. You can handle the paperwork and the radio, and Leo and I will do the fighting. We'll split the pay evenly."
Ran looked at his two best friends. They were genuinely worried about him. They were willing to share their future salaries just to make sure he didn't end up on the streets.
"Thanks, guys," Ran said, letting out a real, tired sigh. "But you don't have to share your money with me. I'll figure something out. At least I didn't get a soup spoon, right?"
Leo burst out laughing, looking incredibly relieved that Ran was making a joke. "Exactly! Timmy is going to be fighting monsters with a giant spoon! You are already doing better than him!"
They reached the main intersection of the city, where the nice paved roads ended and the dirt roads began. This was where they had to say goodbye. Leo lived in the east district, Ken in the south, and Ran had to walk to the western slums.
"We'll come check on you tomorrow," Ken said, giving Ran a firm pat on the back. "Get some rest."
"Don't do anything stupid!" Leo added, waving as he walked away. "We're a team, remember?"
Ran waved back until they were out of sight. Then, he turned and followed his parents and sister down the dusty road toward home.
Glory City's western sector was not a place people chose to live. It was the place you ended up when you had nowhere else to go. The houses were just grey, square concrete blocks stacked next to each other. They looked like giant, ugly shipping containers. The air always smelled like rust and boiled cabbage.
Ran's family lived in Block 7, Unit 14.
The walk through the neighborhood was terribly quiet. A few neighbors sitting on their porches saw Ran's white uniform and immediately looked away. News of a disaster traveled fast in the slums. They already knew he had failed.
Randolf unlocked the front door, and the family stepped inside the cramped apartment. The space was so small that the kitchen, dining room, and living room were all the exact same room.
On the tiny stove, a large pot of meat stew was bubbling. Aurora had spent their last few silver coins on real meat this morning, hoping to celebrate Ran's success. Now, the delicious smell just made the room feel incredibly sad.
For a long minute, nobody moved. The silence was heavier than a brick wall.
"Ran, honey..." Aurora finally spoke. Her voice was shaking. She walked over and gently brushed some dust off his shoulder. "It doesn't matter what that screen said. We are just happy you are healthy. You are our son, and that is all that matters."
It was a kind lie. Ran knew it, and she knew it. But it was the only comfort a mother could offer.
Ran looked past her to his father. Randolf was sitting at the wobbly kitchen table, his large hands buried deep in his hair. He wasn't crying, but his eyes were staring blankly at the scratches in the wood. He was probably doing the math in his head, realizing that without a strong soul, they would never be able to pay back the money they had borrowed for Ran's tutoring.
Mia was standing in the corner. She had rolled up her sparkly banner and was holding it tightly against her chest, sniffing quietly.
"I'm just tired," Ran said softly, keeping his head down so they wouldn't see the excitement brewing in his eyes. "I need to lie down for a bit."
He didn't wait for an answer. He walked into the tiny bedroom he shared with Mia and locked the door behind him with a sharp click.
He fell face-first onto his thin mattress and stayed perfectly still. He waited for a full minute, listening to his mother softly crying in the kitchen.
Finally, Ran rolled over and stared at the cracked ceiling. His heart started to pound. He was finally alone. Safe from prying eyes.
"System?" he whispered into the empty room.
Nothing happened.
"Hey. Come on. I saw you. Answer me!" Ran hissed, suddenly feeling a spike of panic. Had he imagined the whole thing? Was his brain just making up a fake cheat code because he was so desperate?
He closed his eyes and tried to remember exactly what the blue screen had said at the stadium.
Link Established to Private Pocket Dimension: Sayfrid.
"Sayfrid," Ran whispered. The name felt heavy on his tongue. Back on Earth, he had ruled that game. He knew every map, every resource, and every monster's weakness.
He took a deep breath, focusing his mind. "Enter Sayfrid."
The world didn't fade away gently. It was snatched away like a tablecloth being yanked out from under a dinner set. The smell of cabbage and the low hum of the apartment walls vanished instantly.
The first thing to hit him was the smell—sharp, clean, salty ocean air.
Then came the heat of a bright sun on his skin, followed by the sound of gentle waves crashing against the shore.
Ran opened his eyes.
He was standing on a beach of pure, sugar-white sand. The ocean stretched out in front of him, the water a stunning mix of pale green and deep blue. Behind him was a dense, incredibly vibrant jungle.
"It's real," Ran laughed, falling to his knees and digging his hands into the gritty sand. "It's actually real!"
Then, a cool ocean breeze blew past him, and he suddenly felt very, very chilly.
Ran looked down.
He was completely, one-hundred-percent naked.
"Oh, come on!" Ran groaned, quickly covering himself with his hands. "The universe gives me a magical cheat code, but it takes away my pants?! What kind of logic is that?"
He shivered, his teeth starting to chatter. In the video game version of Sayfrid, players always spawned onto the beach with absolutely no items. It seemed this Private World followed the exact same hardcore rules.
As if waiting for him to notice, a transparent blue screen popped into the air right in front of his face.
[Welcome to the Private World: Sayfrid]
[You have been designated as a Lord of this domain.]
[Quest Initialized: Survival Basics]
[Objective: Craft a Basic Workbench]
Ran smiled. This UI design was a perfect copy of his old game. He swiped his hand to the right, a muscle-memory gesture he had done a million times on his computer mouse.
Instantly, the System Store opened.
He expected to see lists of wood, stone, and basic tools. But instead, a massive, flashing red warning box covered the screen.
[NOTICE: Survival Guide 'Basic System Manual Lvl 100' is highly recommended for all new Lords.]
[Price: 100 Credits.]
[You currently have 0 Credits. A Loan is available.]
[WARNING: Death in the Private World results in PERMANENT DEATH in the physical world. There are no respawns.]
Ran stopped smiling. He read the warning twice.
Permanent death. This wasn't a game he could just restart if a wild boar killed him. If he died on this beautiful beach, he died in his bedroom back in Glory City.
To any other person in the universe, clicking "Accept Loan" and buying the survival guide would be the smartest thing to do. It was a lifeline.
But Ran wasn't just anyone. He was a veteran.
Taking a loan meant paying interest, and Ran hated debt almost as much as he hated rich bullies like Victor. Why would he go into debt to buy a map of an island he had already memorized in his past life? He knew which berries were poisonous. He knew how to build a shelter. He didn't need a tutorial.
"I lived in this game," Ran said confidently to the empty beach. "I don't need your manual."
He reached out and tapped the "Reject" button.
The exact second his finger touched the screen, the blue interface froze. A loud, grinding noise echoed in the air, like gears locking together. Then, the blue screen literally shattered like glass.
Golden light poured out from the cracks, shoving the normal blue system away. A brand new, glowing golden screen appeared.
[UNIQUE SYSTEM TRIGGERED!]
[Your Golden Finger has arrived.]
[Action Detected: Rejecting the Essential Survival Guide.]
[Judgment: Extremely Unique. No other Lord in the universe has rejected this safety net.]
[Risk Level: Fatal. Confidence Level: Absolute.]
[Reward Granted: 'Complete Beginner Knowledge Book (Lvl 1–1000)']
Ran's jaw dropped. "A Unique System?"
He quickly read the description. Because he was a transmigrator, he possessed a "Golden Finger"—a hidden system that rewarded him for doing things that normal people in this world would never do. By acting unpredictable and completely confident, he triggered massive rewards.
"So, my 'trash' gray orb gave me this Private World, but my transmigrator status gives me a cheat system inside the cheat world!" Ran burst into loud, wild laughter. "Am I finally lucky?!"
He didn't waste a second. He tapped the glowing golden book icon and commanded, "Consume."
A pillar of warm, white light slammed down from the sky, completely covering him.
Information flooded directly into his brain. He didn't just learn about the island; he learned the secrets of the entire universe.
He learned that there were millions of planets divided into tiers: Beginner Worlds, Advanced Worlds, and Sage Worlds.
He learned that the system had randomly chosen one billion people across these galaxies to become "Lords" and given them Private Worlds to rule.
And most importantly, he learned the main rule: He had a one-year protection period. For twelve months, a magical barrier would keep outside players from invading his island. After that year, the barrier would fall, and the real war for survival would begin.
The light faded, leaving Ran standing on the beach with glowing eyes and a clear mind.
He clenched his fists, feeling the warm sun on his bare shoulders. He had one year to turn this island into a fortress, and he knew exactly how to do it.
But he wasn't going to do it alone.
"I've got work to do," Ran said. "Time to go get my family."
With a thought, the beach vanished, and Ran was thrown back into his bedroom in Glory City.