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Being a tech-serf sucks, but being powerless and broke sucks even more.

Trapped by crushing debt in the ancients-powered city of Alnda, Alaric barely scrapes by on five-credit repairs and monster scavenging. Gaining his freedom feels more impossible by the day, until he discovers a forbidden alien AI.

Crimson Death isn’t just a program, it is self-aware and pissed that it lost the war against humanity. He offers Alaric a simple deal: power in exchange for partnership. The catch? Put him out in the sun to recharge his battery.

First order of business? A history lesson and a whole new understanding of the monsters haunting his world, and the lies it is built on. The second? Teaching him how to grow monster cores into mech frames and build them.

Alongside CD, Alaric isn't just surviving, no, he is thriving. And the women around him are taking notice. So are those who want to use him.

Elli, the brilliant engineer best friend, finally gets the man she's been waiting for. Seo Rin, a capable scavenger with black market connections, finds his new confidence irresistible. Dame Yesabel, a fierce knight tired of noble games, sees something worth fighting for.

With alien tech enhancing his abilities and beautiful women at his side, Alaric sets his sights higher than just buying his freedom. The guilds that exploited him, the nobles who looked down on him, the system that kept him chained, they are all about to discover what happens when the underdog gains real power.

Forget five-credit repairs, Alaric's about to carve out an empire of his own, one dangerous mission and passionate encounter at a time.