Astral Dominion, Citadel of Dawns, First Order Barracks.
Amidst the rhythmic clash of training weapons and the shouts of disciplined warriors, Arin Solara yawned, stretched, and slowly sat up from his mat. The early light shimmered through the crystalline walls of the barracks, scattering soft prismatic glows across the room.
He casually slipped into his dark-blue Order uniform, tugged the loose sleeves into place, and opened the shimmering panel only he could see — his daily task screen.
As expected, a new mission had appeared.
[Daily Resonance Task: Visit an Old Friend]
[Description: The astral winds are favorable today. A perfect excuse to drag a friend out for drinks.]
[Reward: +2 Random Attribute Points]
Simple task. Simple rewards.
Exactly what Arin expected from his system — laid-back, stress-free, tailor-made for a professional slacker.
In his previous life, Arin had been nothing more than an exhausted office drone.
Twenty-six years ago, he died at his desk and woke up in an alley of the Outer Rings, the slums of the Astral Dominion — the realm of souls, warriors, and countless hidden dangers.
Having seen enough anime back on Earth, he had instantly recognized the "spiritual-warrior-society" setup.
In the Astral Dominion:
souls with weak resonance drifted like dust
souls with strong resonance trained to become Astra Wardens
the strongest lived for centuries, protected cities, led armies
and the rulers… well, they were closer to small gods than people
But even being strong didn't guarantee safety.
This world had a bloody history. Several centuries ago, the Dominion had nearly collapsed under the invasion of Abyssal Echoes — corrupted spirits born from broken memories and emotional trauma. Entire Orders fell. Cities crumbled. Even legendary warriors perished.
If not for the miraculous rise of a hero back then, the Dominion would have been erased.
In a world where cosmic disasters were practically seasonal events, one needed power simply to avoid dying a stupid death.
Luckily, Arin had reincarnated with two gifts:
1. A naturally high astral resonance
2. A task system straight out of a wish-fulfillment novel
His system wasn't chatty. Just a silent panel that issued:
Daily Tasks → attribute gains
Special Tasks → abilities and items
(from any world, any genre, any randomness)
Long ago, as a kid in the slums, he completed a special task and received the Shadow Doppel Technique, something suspiciously similar to Naruto's clone jutsu — but adapted to spiritual energy.
That alone was an outrageous cheat.
With system assistance, Arin easily entered the Astra Academium, graduated top of his class, and joined the First Astral Order — the most prestigious of the Ten Orders that protected the Dominion.
Since then, twenty years had passed in a blur of minimal effort and maximum reward.
The public believed he was a talented but lazy genius.
The truth?
He was much lazier than they thought — and much, much stronger.
He opened his status panel.
Name: Arin Solara
Position: 7th Star Officer, First Astral Order
Astral Resonance: Tier III (Commander-Class)
Spirit Arm: Shunkyō — Eclipsed Rift (True Ability Hidden)
Sword Arts: Vice-Commander Level
Unarmed Combat: Senior Officer Level
Aether Arts: Commander Level
Aether Step: Vice-Commander Level
Abilities:
• Shadow Doppel Technique (Ascendant Rank, Mastered)
• Cryo-Aether Armor: White Mantle (Legend Rank, Mastered)
• Solar Breathing Method (Elite Rank, Proficient)
Items:
• Veil-Bending Spectacles (Elite Artifact)
• Fivefold Thunder Charm (Arcane Talisman)
• Gloves of Eclipsed Touch (Minor Artifact)
His Spirit Arm, Shunkyō, awakened three years into his training.
Publicly, he claimed it was an ice-type Spirit Arm that simply froze the surroundings — nothing special.
In reality?
Shunkyō manipulated spatial rifts.
A terrifying ability.
Too terrifying.
The Astral Dominion was filled with ancient monsters who had lived through multiple eras.
If they sensed his blade's true nature, Arin knew they would dissect him in the name of "research."
So he disguised its ability under the pretense of being an exotic cryo-type.
"White Season," he called it — harmless, elegant, understated.
Still, even holding back, his talent was undeniable.
When he arrived at the First Order, several officers challenged him immediately.
Arin, determined to do the bare minimum, fought lazily.
Even so, his challengers collapsed before he had to break a sweat.
Thus, he was promoted to 7th Star Officer, a respectable mid-tier leadership post — especially in the First Order, where officers were monsters.
He couldn't care less about rising higher.
In his past life, work culture had already broken him.
In this one, he refused to suffer again.
Overtime?
Not even with a divine decree.
Why bother when he could get stronger while drinking with Commander Kaelis?
With a sigh of contentment, Arin strolled out of the barracks.
His relaxed gait contrasted sharply with the intense training all around him.
Officers glanced his way and shook their heads.
They all knew Arin was a genius.
And geniuses had privileges.
To them, he was the dream —
born in the slums yet outranking nobles, progressing faster than prodigies, casually befriending high-ranking commanders.
But what they didn't know was far more astonishing.
Deep within Shunkyō's Inner Rift Space, four of Arin's Shadow Doppels relentlessly trained in sword arts, aether control, and resonance manipulation.
The technique was absurd.
When a Doppel collapsed, its experience flowed straight back into him.
With four clones working nonstop, Arin essentially had four extra bodies grinding power for him.
What took others centuries…
he had achieved in twenty years.
His secret?
Clones.
Grinding.
And an unshakable dedication to living the ultimate slacker life.