We had been walking toward the edge of the city for two hours. My new boots were comfortable, but my legs were starting to feel like lead. I let out a long, dramatic sigh. "How much farther, Kuro?"
Thwack!
The cat sitting on my shoulder punched a paw into the side of my head. "Did you already forget how to respect your betters?
Call me Lord Kuro, and stop yapping. We are nearly at the destination."
"I feel like I'm going to die of exhaustion before I ever level up," I muttered, rubbing my head.
"If walking kills you, the Gray Fringe would have turned you into a ghost in five seconds anyway," Kuro purred.
We finally came to a halt. In front of us stood a massive, rusted gate built into walls that looked like they belonged to an ancient, decaying fortress. This wasn't the clean, glowing marble of the upper city or the neon smog of the Lower Districts. This place looked like it had been forgotten by time itself.
"This is the Gray Fringe?" I asked, looking at the jagged metal spikes atop the walls.
"Yes, human. This is the place where the laws of the Archons are... flexible. And it's where you'll find your first teammate."
A guard with skin like cracked stone stepped forward, holding a spear that hummed with red energy. "Purpose?" he barked.
Lord Kuro stood tall on my shoulder, his tail twitching with authority. "I am a Prince of the Underworld, and I have come for business. Open the gate before I turn your internal organs into jelly beans."
The guard stared at the cat for a long moment. To my surprise, his eyes widened in recognition. He didn't argue. He signaled the others, and the heavy, rusted gate groaned open.
Inside, the Gray Fringe was a chaotic explosion of sound and color. It was a massive marketplace for "weird" things. I saw merchants selling jars of captured screams, weapons that looked like they were made of frozen lightning, and cloaked figures trading information in the shadows.
"So," I said, scanning the crowd. "Where am I going to find a legendary warrior to join my team? Is he over there with the giant axe?"
Kuro used his paw to shove my head to the left, pointing toward a small, dingy stall near the back. "There. There is your teammate."
I squinted. "Where? I don't see anyone."
"In the box, you idiot!"
I looked closer. Sitting inside a small, iron-barred cage was... a blob. It was a blue-green, neon-colored jelly. It had two large, watery eyes that looked incredibly bored, and it was currently jiggling slowly as it watched a fly buzz past the cage.
"A jelly?" I asked, deadpan. "My first great teammate is a pile of slime?"
Thwack! Another paw to the head.
"That is a being of the Ooze-Kin, you moron!" Kuro hissed. "And you have to win him. He is actually quite important—significantly more important than you are right now."
I looked back at the neon blob. It looked back at me and let out a small, wet bloop sound.
"Great," I sighed. "I'm a 'Trash' human, my mentor is a cat, and my first recruit is a dessert topping. The Archons must be shaking in their boots."
We pushed through the crowd until we were standing right in front of the bidding platform. A massive, toad-like merchant with three gold rings on each of his six fingers was shouting at the crowd.
"Look at the color! Look at the glow! This Ooze-Kin is a rare delicacy! Perfect for a banquet, or melted down into a high-grade energy potion! Who starts the bidding at five hundred Credits?"
The neon jelly in the cage let out a pathetic, wet whimper sound. Its big eyes turned toward me, looking like two sad puddles. My heart actually stung. "They're going to eat him?" I whispered to Kuro. "Kuro, we have to get him. You're a Prince! Throw some of that royal Underworld money at them and let's get out of here."
Kuro looked away, suddenly very interested in cleaning his shoulder fur. "Yes, well... about that. My assets are currently... frozen. By which I mean I have exactly zero Credits."
"What?! You're a Prince!"
"A Prince in exile, human! Use your brain! If you want the blob, you have to use your wits. Or your sarcasm. Whichever is sharper."
I looked at the bidders. There was a guy who looked like a walking rock and a woman with snakes for hair. I didn't have a single cent, but I did have a "Trash" status and a lot of experience being a bullshitter in high school. I noticed an extinguished fire pit nearby and quickly reached down, smearing my fingers with a layer of cold, black ash.
"Wait!" I shouted, stepping forward.
The snake-haired woman hissed at me.
"Who is this Null? Get lost, Trash."
I didn't flinch. I pointed a finger at the neon jelly. "You don't want to buy that thing. I'm a professional Bio-Hazard Specialist from the Grey Realm. Notice the slight purple tint near the edges? That's not quality—that's Void-Rot. It's highly contagious."
The crowd took a collective step back.
"He's lying!" the Merchant yelled. "Look at his status! He's a Null!"
"I'm a Null because I handled one of these without protection!" I lied, holding up my ash-covered hand. "See this? One touch, and your 'Winner' status becomes 'Trash' faster than you can blink. You want to buy a one-way ticket to the scrap heap? Go ahead. Bid."
The snake-woman tucked her purse away.
"I'm not risking my rank for a snack."
In ten seconds, the crowd cleared out. The Merchant looked at the jiggling jelly, then at me, terrified. "Take it! Take the cursed thing and get it away from my stall!"
I picked up the keys and unlocked the cage.
The neon jelly immediately flopped out, sticking to my boot like a loyal, glowing puppy.
"Bloop!" it said happily.
Lord Kuro purred loudly. "Disgusting. Truly dishonest. Absolutely brilliant. You might just survive this world after all, Fuen."
I looked down at the jelly. "Welcome to the team, little guy. And your name... mmm... we need a name. What about Juro?"
Lord Kuro hissed. "Not with my name!"
The jelly let out a long, jiggly sigh.
"Okay," I laughed. "What about Pod?"
The jelly jiggled in pure happiness, glowing brighter for a second.
"Yes, so now your name is Pod. Welcome to the team, Pod."