Empoy had hoped for a quiet morning.
He did not get one.
As soon as he stepped outside his shack, the village square was in chaos.
"EMPOY! HELP!" yelled the guild receptionist, flailing her arms.
"What now?" he groaned.
From the northern hills, a massive pack of forest beasts—wolf-like creatures, bigger than the last one—was charging toward the village. Some had horns, others glowed faintly red. They were clearly… angry.
The villagers panicked. Mothers grabbed children. Farmers grabbed pitchforks. Nobody grabbed Empoy—they all knew the low-rank adventurer was their only hope.
Guild Panic
Inside the guild, staff were screaming into comms.
"Lowest rank! Prepare immediately!""But he's just an extra!""WHO ELSE CAN WE SEND?!"
Empoy strolled in casually. "Morning. Everything fine?"
"FINE?!" the receptionist shrieked. "EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE—uh, figuratively. Monsters are coming!"
Empoy sighed. "Oh… that's fine. Small creatures, right?"
She blinked. "Small? EMP0Y—THEY'RE HUGE!"
Accidental OP in Action
Empoy approached the hill calmly. He carried nothing but his small satchel of tinkered devices, wires, and scraps. He muttered to himself:
Let's keep this quiet… nothing flashy…
He set a few hidden mana-thread traps along the path. Connected one to a small coil device he had been experimenting with. Tested a spark.
The beasts ran into the traps. One screeched, another tripped, the third yelped as electricity arced faintly through the ground.
The villagers' jaws dropped. They were witnessing Empoy's devices at work.
He didn't notice. He tripped over a root and accidentally kicked a device, which sent a controlled arc across several traps. The beasts yelped, tangled in invisible threads, and collapsed, dazed but unharmed.
Empoy dusted off his hands. "Done. No problem."
The villagers whispered among themselves: "How… how did he do that?"
Officially, they would never tell him. Secretly, he was becoming a legend.
Guild Misunderstanding
Back at the guild, the staff were losing their minds.
"HE USED DEVICES?!" one yelled."Why wasn't he ranked higher?!" another demanded."I thought he was useless!"
Empoy walked in calmly. "Morning. Monsters gone."
The receptionist glared. "Explain yourself."
Empoy shrugged. "Accidents. Luck. Tripping over roots. You know, normal stuff."
The staff exchanged frantic glances. None dared argue.
Meanwhile, one junior adventurer muttered under their breath:
"Officially lowest rank… unofficially invincible…"
Empoy overheard faintly. He smiled. "Exactly. Keep it a secret."
Evening Reflection
That night, Empoy sat in his shack, checking each device carefully.
Quiet life… slowly falling apart.But at least no one suspects how dangerous these little toys can be.
Lightning flickered faintly in his hands as he adjusted a wire.
One day, maybe I'll see what I can really do… quietly, of course.
Outside, the villagers whispered:
"Did you see him? He's… amazing.""But he doesn't want praise. That's… scary.""We should hire more extras like him."
Empoy yawned and leaned back, unaware that the quiet little Bran Village was now heavily dependent on its officially useless adventurer.