Chapter 3 – The First Challenge
The whispers had started.
"Did you hear about that boy…?"
"The one who exposed Tarlow's scams?"
"They say he's jobless… but he's dangerous."
I liked the sound of it. Reputation was a funny thing. People never respect the invisible hand, but they fear it once they notice.
Orion, update status on Mr. Tarlow.
"D-Rank villain relocated. Vengeance potential: moderate. Probability of public chaos: 23%."
Moderate chaos? Perfect. I preferred it that way. Let people feel threatened, but never truly endangered.
I walked into the marketplace, disguised in a plain hoodie, earbuds in. My mind wasn't on the crowd. It wasn't on the merchants.
It was on Tarlow's allies—small-time D → C-Rank cronies, trying to band together to figure out who humiliated them.
"Rocky…" whispered Orion, almost hesitant. "They're organizing… coordination detected. Multiple targets: you may encounter direct confrontation."
I laughed softly. Direct confrontation. I've been waiting for this.
They never realized one thing: their intellect is only measured in rank. Mine is infinite potential.
A group of three approached me. One was a brute, F-Rank muscle with a chip on his shoulder. The second, a D-Rank schemer with greed practically dripping off him. The third, the wild card—a C-Rank who probably read every "how to defeat F-Rank geniuses" manual in existence.
I sighed theatrically. "You guys look… confused. Hungry?"
They glared. Brute swung first. Predictable. Slow. Heavy. Easy. I ducked and let him stumble past, his own momentum doing the work.
Orion, run a probability analysis on next strike.
"Probability of success if using left flank: 4.3%. Probability if deceived: 98.7%."
I smiled. Humans loved to think in absolutes.
I whispered a command. Tiny drones, invisible, buzzed to life. They intercepted the schemer's pocket ledger and broadcasted his own corruption to a local billboard. Gasps rose from passersby.
The wild card tried something clever—throwing smoke bombs. Predictable. Orion calculated trajectory, wind patterns, and reaction times. I sidestepped, letting the smoke swirl harmlessly around me, leaving them coughing and frustrated.
"Impressive calculations," Orion said dryly. "But morally… questionable?"
I shrugged. "Questionable, maybe. Effective? Definitely."
By the time the market cleared, I was still standing. The three villains? Humiliated, exposed, and—most importantly—unable to locate me.
Orion, estimate social impact.
"Civic confidence in minor corrupt figures reduced by 34%. Fear of unseen agent: increasing. Public fascination: 76%."
Exactly what I wanted.
People would start talking about me, calling me "the jobless genius," "the prankster savior," or worse, depending on how dramatic they liked their news.
And that was just the beginning.
Because being F-Rank wasn't weakness. It was freedom. Freedom to experiment, to calculate, to orchestrate chaos perfectly.
And they had no idea who was really in charge.
Cliffhanger / Foreshadowing for Chapter 4
Mr. Tarlow begins plotting a long-term revenge scheme.
Citizens' fascination grows, starting urban legends about the mysterious "jobless boy".
Orion hints at ethical questioning, foreshadowing its growing autonomy and philosophical debates.
Rocky's tech usage grows bolder, preparing for planetary-scale interventions.