Garion immediately turned toward the voice.

A few seconds later, several figures rapidly pushed through the crowded street toward him.

Rovak was leading the group while Slifera and Elisa followed behind him.

The moment they finally reached him, Rovak immediately pointed aggressively at Garion. "How the hell are you here already?!"

Slifera looked equally shocked. "We literally spent the last thirty minutes trying to figure out where the machine threw you!"

Elisa looked calmer than the other two, but even she seemed visibly relieved.

Garion scratched his cheek lightly. "Well..."

Honestly, even he did not fully know how to explain the situation properly.

"I got dragged into some upper management registration process thing."

Rovak’s mouth twitched. "Some upper management thing?"

Slifera pointed at him dramatically. "Dude, you got launched through the building like a missile!"

Garion snorted slightly. "Yeah, I noticed."

Atlas floated beside him.

[Honestly, your screaming was the funniest part.]

I was not screaming.

[You absolutely were.]

Before Garion could continue talking... the group suddenly froze.

Garion blinked slightly after noticing their expressions. "...What?"

Rovak stared past Garion silently.

Slifera immediately straightened his posture slightly.

Even Elisa’s expression became noticeably more serious.

Garion frowned before glancing backward slightly.

Alira calmly stood beside him while several holographic screens floated silently behind her.

Garion looked back at the others again. "What happened?"

The three exchanged quick looks.

Then before any of them could answer... Alira suddenly spoke calmly. "Please excuse me."

Garion blinked.

Alira placed one hand over her chest politely. "It seems my presence here would only disturb your conversation."

Garion stared at her for a second before slowly nodding. "I see..."

Then he waved casually. "If that’s the case, feel free to leave."

Alira nodded lightly. "Understood."

Before leaving, she glanced briefly toward Rovak and the others.

The three immediately straightened slightly again, almost instinctively.

Then Alira calmly turned around and disappeared back into the endless crowds of the Trade District.

The moment she fully left, the group collectively released their breaths.

Garion stared blankly. "...The hell was that?"

Rovak immediately looked at him like he was insane. "Do you even know who that was?!"

Garion shrugged casually. "My guide?"

Slifera grabbed his forehead dramatically. "Your guide..."

Elisa sighed softly. "She’s from the upper administrative division."

Garion blinked. "...Yeah, she told me that."

Rovak pointed aggressively toward the direction Alira left. "People from that division rarely interact directly with normal cultivators!"

Slifera narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Garion now. "What exactly happened after you got taken away?"

Garion scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well..."

Rovak crossed his arms aggressively. "Well what?"

Garion sighed lightly. "I got dragged into some priority registration process."

Slifera immediately pointed at him. "We already know that part."

Garion snorted slightly. "Right."

Then he casually continued. "I met the Terminal manager."

Silence.

The group froze completely. "...What?"

Garion blinked. "The manager."

Rovak’s mouth slowly opened.

Slifera looked completely stunned again.

Even Elisa visibly paused for a second.

Garion frowned slightly. "What’s with those reactions?"

Rovak pointed at him dramatically. "You met the manager of the entire Cosmic Terminal?!"

Garion shrugged. "Apparently."

Atlas floated beside him.

[You really don’t understand how ridiculous your situation is.]

Garion ignored him immediately.

Slifera grabbed his forehead. "Dude... the upper manager personally handled your registration?"

Garion nodded casually. "Yeah."

Rovak looked genuinely speechless now. "That’s insane."

Garion scratched his cheek lightly. "I mean... he seemed pretty reasonable honestly."

The three stared at him blankly.

Elisa sighed softly. "You say things like that too casually."

Garion shrugged again.

Then Slifera suddenly narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Wait. What kind of Cosmic ID did you get?"

Garion blinked once. "Oh right."

He reached into his pocket before casually pulling out the glowing silver card. "I currently got this."

The moment the Silver ID appeared... The group immediately looked relieved.

"Oh... Silver."

Rovak exhaled slightly. "That makes more sense."

Garion looked confused. "Huh?"

Then he casually added the next sentence. "Apparently I qualified for a Gold ID first though."

Silence.

Complete silence.

The three slowly turned toward him again. "...What?"

Garion blinked slightly. "The manager said I qualified for Gold ID standards."

Rovak looked like his soul almost left his body.

Slifera stared at Garion in absolute disbelief.

Even Elisa’s calm expression visibly cracked slightly this time. "The hell do you mean GOLD?!"

Several nearby people immediately turned toward the sudden shouting.

Garion immediately pointed downward. "Lower your voice!"

Rovak grabbed his own head dramatically. "YOU LOWER YOUR EXISTENCE!"

Atlas instantly burst out laughing beside Garion.

[HAHAHAHA!]

Garion ignored him while sighing.

Slifera looked completely confused now. "How the hell can a newly awakened cultivator qualify for a Gold ID?!"

Garion pointed at himself casually. "A1 apparently helps."

Rovak stared blankly for several seconds. Then he rubbed his face slowly. "No... You don’t understand."

He pointed toward Garion seriously now. "Normally, newly awakened cultivators from low-tier worlds receive White IDs."

Slifera nodded immediately. "Even talented people from decent civilizations usually start with Bronze IDs."

Elisa crossed her arms calmly. "And people like us..."

She pointed between the three of them. "...A2-level geniuses with proper backgrounds and affiliations... usually receive Silver IDs."

Garion blinked slightly. "I see..."

Then all three pointed directly at him at the same time. "But YOU..."

Rovak continued immediately. "How the hell did you qualify for Gold?"

Garion scratched his cheek awkwardly. "The manager said it was because of my age, realm, race, and threat evaluation."

The group immediately became quiet again.

Slifera slowly looked upward blankly. "Yeah no... when you put it together like that, it sounds horrifying."

Garion snorted slightly. "Thanks?"

Elisa looked toward the Silver ID in his hand again. "So why did you only receive Silver?"

Garion shrugged casually. "Apparently my background is too empty."

He waved the card lightly. "No clan, no faction, no territory, no history."

Rovak nodded slowly. "That actually makes sense."

Slifera sighed deeply. "Still..."

He pointed at Garion again. "Just the fact you qualified for Gold is already absurd enough."

Elisa nodded lightly. "Most cultivators spend centuries trying to gain upper-management recognition."

Garion blinked. "...Seriously?"

Rovak laughed dryly. "You literally arrived in cosmic civilization today and already got personally evaluated by a Terminal manager."

Slifera crossed his arms. "Your future is basically guaranteed to become smooth at this point."

Garion laughed lightly. "Hahaha..."

Honestly, hearing it like that still felt kind of surreal.

Just a short time ago, he was still training under the sea trying not to die from gravity pressure.

Now?

He somehow had attention from some great upper management and a planet of his own.

The universe really escalated things ridiculously fast.

Atlas floated beside him smugly.

[And somehow you’re adapting to it terrifyingly well.]

Of course I am.