Night in Stone City had two faces. One face was illuminated by crystal lamps from the High Rank Quarters, where commanders and sorcerers feasted. The other face was the humid darkness underground, where the exiled and Low-Rank Gigantes sought income and sought to forget their fate.
Located deep beneath the Factory Quarters, accessed through a long-dried sewage drain - a route known only to Custodians - was the Junk Arena.
Grande arrived at the rusty iron door, the smell of sweat, dried blood, and cheap grog stinging his nostrils. As a Custodian, he passed through this door to clean up battle remnants, but tonight, he was here as a combatant.
He wore his worn Custodian uniform, covering his muscular physique, and carried a shabby bag containing the only 'weapon' permitted by the Rank F System: a modified wooden broom renamed the 'Rank F Broom'.
The gatekeeper, a large-bodied Gigantes with a Rank D as a Warehouse Transporter, looked him up and down.
"A Custodian? You're here to sweep now? We just started," he roared, bursting into laughter.
"I came to fight," Grande said, his voice calm but thick with controlled determination.
The Transporter's laughter abruptly stopped. "A Custodian? You know the rules. No Mana, no Rank C weapons. You'll be crushed before you can sweep the floor."
Grande placed ten silver coins on the counter, the entry fee. "I only brought my equipment. And my Rank. I am not violating the System's rules."
The Transporter took the money hesitantly, looking at the broom slung across Grande's back. "Alright, Mad Man. You'll fight Thron, Rank E, a Wagon Hauler. He's strong, but stupid. Your turn is fourth."
The Junk Arena was a circular stone pit lit by flickering torches, packed with Rank D and E spectators hungry for violence. They gambled and screamed, seeking release from their System-controlled lives.
That feeling, that smell, those screams... they awakened something in Grande that had long been buried under disappointment. He couldn't lift Fate Breaker, but he could swing this Rank F Broom.
When the name Thron was announced, a broad-shouldered Gigantes with arms like tree trunks entered the arena. Thron carried a thick iron slab that served as a blunt bludgeon - a permitted Rank E weapon.
"Are you trying to joke with me, Custodian?!" Thron growled, stomping his large feet on the ground.
Grande stepped into the arena, knelt, and placed the Rank F Broom before him as a gesture of respect. It was the salute of an ancient warrior, not a Custodian.
The fight began.
Thron charged forward, his bludgeon swung in a ferocious arc aimed at smashing Grande's head. The blow was full of pure Rank E physical strength.
Grande did not use Mana. He couldn't.
He activated what he called the 'Residue Scrape Technique'. It was a combination of speed, balance, and body movement he had practiced in secret. Instead of blocking with strength, Grande evaded at the last second, letting the heavy blow miss his ear by mere centimetres.
Thron, surprised that the Custodian was so fast, lost his balance for a moment.
The opening!
Grande reacted with lightning speed. With a seamless movement, he used the Rank F Broom like a short-range weapon. He didn't strike; he thrust with the tip of the wooden handle.
Target: Knee joint, ribs, and throat.
CRUNCH!
The end of the wood, although blunt, hit the side of Thron's knee hard. It wasn't heavy damage, but it was painful.
Thron screamed, but instead of anger, he was confused. "Why are you poking! A Custodian should be hitting, not poking!"
The Fate Rank System, though strict, had a key flaw: It failed to classify the unexpected.
The crowd started shouting. They expected blood, not the nimble movements of a Custodian.
Thron became more aggressive. He attacked in a frenzy, trying to crush Grande.
Grande leaped back, evading, and then activated the 'Rotating Sweep Strike'. He spun his broom in front of him with incredible speed. It looked like he was 'cleaning' the space in front of him.
When Thron's bludgeon arrived, it caught in the whirlwind of spinning straw and wood. The energy of the impact was illegally absorbed (because it was 'cleaning'), and the bludgeon slipped, missing its target.
CLACK!
In the same motion, Grande reversed the broom and struck Thron's jaw. A blow unchanneled by Mana, but powered by perfect physical momentum, precisely on a weak point.
Thron stumbled backward, his eyes watering. He was shocked that a Rank F Custodian could fight him, a Rank E trained for heavy hauling.
Grande didn't stop. He knew he couldn't give Thron time to use his basic Rank E Mana. He had to end the fight quickly, using a move that looked like a "Custodian skill."
Grande used the 'Waste Hauling Technique': He pretended to scoop up waste (which was Thron) and used the Rank F Broom to sweep Thron's feet.
The panicked Thron tried to brace against the seemingly harmless attack. His feet became tangled.
THUD!
Thron collapsed to the ground, his bludgeon flying free.
Grande leaped onto Thron's chest. He didn't strike violently. Instead, he held the Rank F Broom against Thron's neck - not as a stab, but as a symbol.
"Is this area clean?" Grande asked, his voice calm again.
Thron, short of breath, shook his head. "No... Not clean."
"Then I need to continue cleaning," Grande stated.
The audience fell silent, then erupted in cheers.
Defeated! A weaponized Rank E beaten by a Rank F Custodian armed only with wood.
Lekir, who was watching from the corner, was speechless. He had never seen a Rank F fight like this. Grande didn't break the rules. He just used the rules against themselves.
Grande won the fight and a small pot of silver. The money wasn't important. What mattered was confirmation:
* The Rank F Broom could be an effective weapon.
* Knowledge of the System is the real power.
As he left the Junk Arena, he realized he was no longer just Grande. He was the Phantom Custodian - the mysterious fighter who only appeared at night and defeated opponents with the most humiliating of equipment.
This victory strengthened his resolve. He wasn't just seeking physical strength; he was seeking a flaw in the matrix of fate that controlled the Gigantes world.
He returned to the Custodian Quarters, cleaning the small traces of blood from his uniform (ironically, his real Custodian duty) and returning to the ancient scrolls beneath the floorboard.
[Exception: Role Skills. I must solidify these Custodian skills into something the System cannot restrict.]
He found another interesting piece of information in the scrolls about Echo Energy. This energy was the residual Mana left behind by High-Rank Gigantes in places they frequented.
> "Rank F Custodians, due to their duties, constantly handle High-Rank remnants. These remnants (magical residue, old equipment, or bio-luminescence waste) contain Echo Energy. If this Echo Energy is absorbed in large quantities by a Rank F, it can cause Temporary Statistical Enhancement."
>
Grande's eyes gleamed. If he couldn't use his own Mana, he could borrow residual Mana from the High Ranks.
His duty tomorrow? Cleaning the Rank A Commander Training Quarters. The place where Rank As liberally discarded their mana residue.
He would become the most meticulous custodian in all of gigantes