The first thing Victor Kaine noticed was the taste of blood.
Not his own—at least, he didn't think so. It was in the air. Coppery. Fresh. Mixed with torch smoke and something else. Something organic and wrong.
He opened his eyes.
Stone ceiling. Ancient. The carvings etched into it were deliberate—spirals and angular runes that meant nothing to him but screamed intentionality.
This was not a cave. This was architecture. Someone had built this place, maintained it, kept the torches lit in iron sconces that showed no rust despite what must have been centuries of use.
And beside him, close enough to touch, a corpse in golden armor.
The body was fresh. Steam still rose faintly from the wound—a spike trap, Victor realized, noting the retracted mechanism in the floor tiles. The trap had reset itself. Efficient design. Whoever built this dungeon understood recurring operating costs.
The dead man was young. Early twenties at most. His face frozen in an expression of pure surprise—the look of someone who had been absolutely certain of victory right up until the moment a spike trap punched through his ribs.
Victor's mind, always running calculations, assessed the body automatically.
Armor: custom-fitted, gold-inlaid, ceremonial in design. Sword: still clutched in one hand, faintly glowing. Clear signs of poor operational due diligence. Whoever this was, he walked into a death trap wearing equipment worth more than most corporate settlements.
Someone clearly overpaid for that.
Victor tried to sit up. His body responded—stiff, cold, but functional. No injuries that he could detect. He checked his pulse.
His heart was beating. The last time he'd felt it, he was dying on a corporate carpet.
The memory crashed through him like a quarterly loss report: The video conference. The board members' faces. His chest tightening. The fall. And then—
"PROCESSING..."*
A voice in geometric darkness. Being weighed. Being measured.
"Candidate 8940. Efficiency: 97th percentile. Empathy: 3rd percentile."*
"Recommendation: DEPLOYMENT."*
Victor shook his head. Focus. Analyze later. Survive now.
A blue light flickered at the edge of his vision. Then text appeared—clean, clinical, hovering in the air like a shareholder presentation.
[ARMI - APEX RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERFACE]
Welcome, Restructurer #8940.
Previous operator: Marcus Valorheart (TERMINATED)
Status: ASSET TRANSFER COMPLETE
Warning: Zero capital. Insolvency imminent.
Victor read the message twice. Then a third time.
He didn't panic. Panic was an inefficient use of glucose.
Instead, he attempted to interact with the interface. A thought was enough—the system responded to intent.
Explain "Restructurer."
[ARMI QUERY RESPONSE]
Restructurers are agents deployed by the Galactic Audit Consortium to optimize underperforming planetary assets.
Your predecessor, Marcus Valorheart (Class: Chosen Hero), failed to complete his optimization mandate.
His account has been liquidated. You have inherited his operational territory.
What are my current resources?
[ARMI - ASSET SUMMARY]
Gold: 0 GP
Mana: 0 MP (Note: Gold and Mana are interchangeable)
Equipment: None (Previous operator's items are SOULBOUND - cannot be transferred)
Skills: Processing...
[NEW SKILL UNLOCKED]
Performance Review (Passive)
Cost: 0 GP
Effect: Analyze target's statistics, weaknesses, and market value.
Note: Complimentary skill for new Restructurers. The Consortium invests in its assets.
Victor looked at the corpse. Marcus Valorheart. Chosen Hero. Terminated.
Performance Review: Marcus Valorheart.
The skill activated instantly. Data flooded his vision:
[PERFORMANCE REVIEW - Marcus Valorheart]
Level: 15
Class: Chosen Hero
Status: DECEASED (Account Closed)
Cause of Termination: Overconfidence (Critical Failure)
Equipment: Soulbound (cannot be liquidated)
Remaining Value:
Soul Data: Archived (inaccessible)Reputation: Partially transferablePhysical Remains: Salvageable (minimal value)
Assessment: WRITE-OFF. Minimal recovery potential.
Victor's gaze drifted to the hero's backpack, lying beside the body. Not soulbound. Not locked. Standard leather construction, though the quality was excellent—hand-stitched, waterproofed, with brass buckles that showed the kind of craftsmanship that cost money on any world.
He crawled over and opened it. His fingers were steady.
Good. Motor control intact. Cognitive function acceptable. Physical plant is operational.
The contents were organized with military precision—Marcus had been prepared, if nothing else. Five health potions in padded slots, their liquid glowing faintly red. Travel rations wrapped in oiled cloth: dried meat, hard bread, something that might have been fruit once.
A map marked Tutorial Dungeon - EASY with a helpful arrow pointing to YOU ARE HERE and a dotted line leading to DIVINE BLESSING.
And a letter. Sealed with golden wax bearing the symbol of a radiant sun.
Victor broke the seal and read:
Chosen One, the gods have selected YOU to save Terra-Insolvia from the Demon King. Proceed through the Trial Dungeon to receive your divine blessing. The path is easy. You cannot fail.
With eternal faith,
—The Temple of Eternal Light
Victor folded the letter and placed it back.
He believed this. He walked into a dungeon, assumed it was easy, and died to the first trap he didn't inspect.
This world operates on narrative logic. I do not.
He ran the calculation: Five potions at 50 GP each if sold. That was 250 GP of liquid assets. Not enough for anything complex, but enough to—
A sound interrupted his analysis.
Chittering. High-pitched, layered—multiple voices overlapping in a language that was not human. Movement echoed through the stone corridors. Scraping metal. Bare feet slapping against rock. Coming closer.
Victor froze. Not from fear—fear was an unproductive neurochemical response. He froze because movement draws attention, and attention was a resource he could not afford to spend.
[ARMI - PROXIMITY ALERT]
Hostile entities detected.
Type: Goblin (Basic)
Count: 12-15 units
Individual Threat Level: LOW
Collective Threat Assessment: MODERATE
Current Combat Capability: ZERO
Recommendation: Avoid engagement.
Victor processed the numbers. Twelve to fifteen units. Basic threat class. But moderate collective assessment meant pack tactics, coordination, the kind of instinctive teamwork that came from hunting together. These were not individuals. They were a mobile workforce.
Victor looked around. The chamber had one exit. The sounds were coming from that direction.
No weapons. The hero's sword was Soulbound—when Victor touched the hilt, the blade shocked him and a notification appeared: UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS - THEFT PREVENTION ACTIVE.
No magic. Zero gold reserves meant zero mana.
No combat training. His last physical confrontation had been a particularly aggressive merger negotiation in Osaka, and that had stayed verbal.
Twelve to fifteen hostiles, incoming.
The goblins burst through the doorway.
They were smaller than he expected—knee-high, with mottled green skin and yellow eyes that glowed in the torchlight. Their weapons were crude: sharpened bones, rusted knives, one held what appeared to be a cooking pot lid as a shield.
They saw Victor standing over the hero's corpse. They saw the golden armor, the glowing sword.
They smelled opportunity.
The largest goblin—large being relative, perhaps waist-high—chittered something to the others. A language, Victor realized. Primitive, but structured.
[ARMI LANGUAGE ANALYSIS]
Goblin (Common Dialect): Partial translation available
Phrase detected: "Kill-take-eat the weak-thing"
Negotiation success probability: 4%
Four percent.
Victor had closed worse deals.
The pack began to spread out, flanking positions. Standard predator behavior. They'd done this before.
Victor straightened his tie. He was still wearing his Earth suit—rumpled, stained, but intact. Force of habit.
And then he spoke.
"Before you attack, I have a counter-offer."
The lead goblin hesitated. Its head tilted.
This wasn't how prey behaved.
[ARMI NOTIFICATION]
Negotiation attempt initiated.
Success probability: Calculating...
Adjusting for [Performance Review] skill passive...
Adjusting for situational advantage (corpse = demonstrated power)...
Updated probability: 7%
Still terrible. But climbing.
"The one in golden armor killed many of your kind, didn't he?" Victor continued, his voice calm, measured—the tone he used in boardrooms when a hostile takeover was about to turn ugly.
"Heroes always do. They come into your territory, murder your population, take your resources. And when they're done, they call themselves righteous."
The goblins hadn't attacked. They were listening.
Victor pointed at Marcus's corpse.
"He's dead now. I killed him."
A lie. But the goblins didn't know that. They only knew that a strange creature stood over the hero's body, unafraid, speaking with authority.
[ARMI]
Bluff Assessment: Partially successful
Goblin pack believes you are dangerous. Fear response increasing.
"I am not a hero," Victor said. "I don't kill for free. I don't fight for glory. I am something much more dangerous."
He let the silence hang.
"I am a manager."
The lead goblin's yellow eyes narrowed. It didn't understand the word—but it understood the tone. The confidence. The complete absence of fear.
"You have two options," Victor continued. "Attack me now, and die like he did—" he gestured at Marcus—"or work for me. Employment. Regular meals. Protection from heroes. In exchange, you follow my directives."
[ARMI]
Negotiation probability: Updating...
12%... 18%... 23%...
The goblins were wavering. Victor could see the calculation happening behind those yellow eyes—the primitive math of survival.
Risk versus reward. Cost versus benefit.
They understand. Not in words. But they understand.
The lead goblin stepped forward. It held a jagged knife, trembling slightly.
It spoke—guttural, broken, but clear:
"What... is... pay?"
[ARMI]
Negotiation threshold reached.
Contract template: AVAILABLE
Note: First employee acquisition in progress.
Victor allowed himself a small, cold smile.
"Let's discuss terms."
End of Chapter 1
[ARMI - SESSION SUMMARY]
Balance: 0 GP
Employees: Negotiation in progress
Assets: 5 Health Potions, Hero's Letter (intelligence value: low)
Threats: Pending
Status: OPERATIONAL