The smell of monster bile never really leaves your pores. It's a thick, metallic stench—like rusted pennies dipped in vinegar.
Kai dipped his mop into the grey sudsy water and pushed. Scrub. Rinse. Repeat. Above him, the grand lobby of the Seoul Hunter's Association hummed with the sound of money. High definition mana screens flickered with the latest raid stats.
[GUILD AUREUS CLEARS RANK A DUNGEON: ZERO CASUALTIES] [CURRENT MANA DENSITY: 104% – STABLE]
A group of Rank B Hunters strutted past, their enchanted carbon fiber armor clinking with every step. They didn't look at Kai. Why would they? In a world governed by the Great Design, Kai was a Level 0 Janitor class. He was the background noise of the apocalypse.
"Hey, Trash Tier! Watch the boots!"
A heavy, gold trimmed greave slammed down inches from Kai's bucket. The splash sent a spray of dirty water onto the polished ceramic of the Hunter's footwear.
Kai didn't flinch. He didn't even stop the rhythm of his mop. He just stared at the boot. Specifically, he stared at the flickering red glow emanating from the seam of the metal.
"I'm talking to you, Zero," the Hunter hissed. He was a Vanguard—Level 42, judging by the bulk of his shoulders and the arrogance in his sneer. "You just tainted Epic grade gear with mop water. Do you have any idea how many years of your pathetic salary it would take to repair the mana conduit you just dampened?"
Kai finally looked up. His eyes weren't filled with the usual terror. They were tired.
"Three thousand Credits," Kai said, his voice raspy from disuse.
The Vanguard blinked. "What?"
"The repair cost. But the water isn't the problem." Kai pointed a wet finger at the Hunter's ankle. "The mana flow in your left greave is oscillating at 400Hz. It should be 60. The enchantment is bruised. One more heavy step and the plate is going to shatter. The water just showed the leak."
The Hunter's face turned a mottled purple. "You're a Janitor. You don't tell a Vanguard his gear is broken. You stay in the dirt where you belong."
He raised a gauntleted hand, mana shimmering around his fist. A physical assault from a Level 42 would turn Kai into a red smear on the marble he'd just cleaned.
But then, it happened.
The world didn't turn blue like a standard System notification. Instead, Kai's vision glitched.
The air tore open in a jagged, crimson zigzag. The Hunter's stats, his gear, and even the air he breathed suddenly looked like lines of falling, broken code.
[ERROR DETECTED: UNSTABLE MANA CONDUIT (EPIC GRADE)] [WOULD YOU LIKE TO RUN A CORRECTION?]
What? Kai thought, his heart hammering against his ribs.
[NOTICE: AS A LEVEL 0 JANITOR, YOU HAVE THE UNIQUE RIGHT TO DISPOSE OF SYSTEM TRASH.] [SKILL ACTIVATED: ERROR CORRECTION (RANK: ???)]
The Hunter lunged, his fist trailing a wake of golden light. "Die, you little—"
Kai didn't think. He reached out and grabbed the red tear hanging in the air next to the Hunter's boot. He didn't pull; he pinched it.
Snap.
The sound was like a guitar string breaking.
The Vanguard's golden armor didn't just fail; it inverted. The mana stored within the greaves suddenly surged backward, seeking a path of least resistance. With a deafening CRACK, the Epic grade metal disintegrated into fine, grey dust.
The Hunter's momentum vanished. He tumbled forward, his left leg suddenly weightless, and face planted directly into Kai's bucket of dirty mop water.
Splash.
The lobby went silent. The ticker tape above continued to roll, oblivious to the fact that a Level 0 had just deleted ten thousand dollars worth of gear with a flick of his wrist.
Kai stared at his hand. A small, hovering window—red and flickering like a dying neon sign—floated over his palm.
[ERROR CORRECTED.] [LOOT ACQUIRED: 1x REFRACTED MANA CRYSTAL (PURIFIED)] [EXP GAINED: 0. (NOTE: JANITORS DO NOT LEVEL UP. THEY CLEAN.)]
Kai looked down at the Vanguard, who was currently coughing up soapy water and staring at his bare, sock covered foot in horror.
"I told you," Kai whispered, a slow, dangerous smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "The enchantment was bruised."
He picked up his mop. He had a lot more cleaning to do. And for the first time in his life, he realized the entire world was absolutely filthy with errors.