Enjin drives past some destroyed cities and reaches a fortified tunnel carved through a massive rock wall. Once they emerge on the other side, everyone steps out of the car, and Enjin welcomes Rudo to the headquarters of the Cleaners.

Rudo, still mentally recovering from Rio casually messing with his hair, starts walking toward the building when a couple of flies decide to orbit him like he’s the center of their tiny universe.

Inside, a tanned receptionist—who gives off “strict mom but secretly chill” vibes—is calmly reading a Playboy magazine. Enjin introduces her as Semu, explaining that she checks out everyone who joins. Before he can reveal her ability, she casually flicks her fork at Rudo, skewering both flies in one shot like it’s no big deal.

Rudo is left dumbfounded, but Semu politely welcomes him, saying Enjin told her everything about him—though she insists she needs to personally assess his potential. She adjusts her glasses, which Enjin explains are her vital instruments, enhancing her vision to reveal what a person is really made of.

This is all news to Rudo, but before he can fully process it, Semu activates her ability and peers into his potential. What she sees shocks her enough that she instantly shuts it down. When Enjin presses her for details, she admits that Rudo is already athletic, doesn’t need physical training, and has a decent bond with his vital instrument, though he still needs practice using it.

But when Enjin senses she’s hiding something and keeps staring at her, Semu breaks the tension by casually saying, “Oh yeah, he’s also got poop on the back of his neck.” Rudo nearly dies of embarrassment while Enjin laughs his head off, before dragging him away to meet the boss.

On the way, Enjin explains that there are about 100 Cleaners in total—combatants, guards, and support members—but they’re usually scattered around on missions, so the headquarters often feels empty. He suggests Rudo meet a few, but when he opens the living room door and sees a whole bunch of Cleaners already inside, he immediately closes it again, deciding introductions can wait.

Finally, they arrive at the boss’s room. Before going in, Enjin warns Rudo not to blurt out, “How do I get back to the Sphere?” right away. He explains that information has a price—Rudo should first promise to work as a Cleaner. He also adds a final warning: never ask about the boss’s vital instrument, because no one knows what it is—or what terrifying power it holds.

Rudo gets curious about the boss, but when he barges into the room, it’s as empty as his patience. Just then, Seu strolls in and explains that the boss is out on a mission and won’t return for a few days. Rudo looks confused, but Enjin acts like it’s completely normal and tells him to just wait.

That doesn’t sit well with Rudo, who demands to know what he’s supposed to do in the meantime. Right on cue, Rio pops up, grinning, and tells him to tag along with her. She reminds him that he can’t become a Cleaner until the boss gives him the thumbs-up, so the best he can do is trail her as a trainee. Works perfectly for her too—after all, she wants to know what makes this newbie tick.

Rudo’s brain promptly shuts down, because let’s be honest—he’s never had a girl invite him anywhere that didn’t involve insults or flying fists. Flustered, he just follows her quietly.

They end up in the strategy room, where Semu explains the next mission: a small town near a polluted zone needs help, because trash beasts have been showing up like uninvited relatives. Curious, Rudo asks about these zones, only to learn that Enjin never even explained the basics. (Great mentor, huh?)

Semu clarifies: the world is split into safe zones that humans can live in, and polluted zones filled with poisonous air and trash beasts. The area where Rudo crash-landed? A no man’s land—basically the “welcome to instant death” starter pack. She then hands him a mask, warning that without it, he’d be choking on toxic gases in less than fifteen minutes.

Later, Rudo joins Rio and her team on the mission. She insists he stick close to her if he wants to learn anything. He agrees… but his mind wanders, wondering how much poison he already inhaled back in no man’s land. His gaze shifts to the massive garbage dump, and instead of disgust, he lights up. To him, this isn’t junk—it’s a goldmine where he can salvage and tinker without anyone yelling at him.

Catching up to Rio, he asks who the other people are. She explains they’re supporters—no flashy combat powers, but insanely useful in missions. One of them offers Rudo a handshake, which he nervously accepts… only to have his hand nearly crushed. Rio laughs and explains the guy has freakish grip strength—strong enough to crack open a trash beast’s shell like a walnut. Rudo is already questioning how long he can survive surrounded by these psychos.

Before he can recover, a supporter warns that trash beasts are incoming. Determined to learn, Rudo decides to watch carefully. Soon, a herd of small, goat-like trash beasts shambles out of the creepy trash forest. Rudo panics, asking Rio how they’re supposed to deal with so many. She just shrugs and tells him to relax—they’re weak, slow, and can’t even get past the fence. Sure enough, the beasts slam into the wooden barricade and fail miserably.

But the celebration doesn’t last long. A second wave arrives—bigger, meaner, and actually dangerous. They slam against the fence, cracking it apart. Rudo panics again, but Rio coolly explains that these are just slightly stronger than the last ones, making them perfect practice dummies for a newbie like him.

Rio casually says they should just finish up the cleaning job and then head back to base for a party to welcome Rudo to the surface. Rudo, of course, can’t believe how laid-back she is when she’s literally risking her life every day fighting these mutant trash monsters. But Rio tells him straight: if he wants to survive on the ground, he needs a positive outlook. Basically—think happy thoughts or get eaten alive.

That’s when Rudo suddenly realizes… hey, Enjin was the same way too. Chill, reckless, smiling in the face of death. And maybe, just maybe, that’s what he’s been missing. He decides to try being “zen” about things as well—right as a gigantic trash beast smashes through the barricade. Even Rio, the queen of chill, panics for a second.

Rudo turns to her, expecting reassurance, but she just grins and says this monster is “stylish.” Stylish? Bro, it’s a walking junkyard nightmare. She adds that it’s not the best material for training newbies… but who cares, because it looks like fun. She whips out her oversized scissors—her vital instrument—and Rudo just stands there slack-jawed.

Rio hurls her scissors into the air, they grow to massive size, and she catches them with her leg. Yes, her leg. Then she launches herself at the horde, slicing them apart with kick combos sharp enough to julienne fries. Rudo can’t even process what’s happening until the support guy explains her weapon’s name: The Ripper. Unlike others, Rio wields it with her feet. (Some people tap dance. She foot-scissors monsters. To each their own.)

While Rudo is having his mind blown, the handshake supporter warns him to watch his surroundings. Too late— a level-two trash beast lunges. But the burly supporter casually grabs it with his bare hands, crushes its head like an empty soda can, and tosses it to Rio, who slices it in two without blinking. Then she cheerfully calls for more monsters to be thrown her way, and the supporters literally yeet massive beasts at her like they’re beach balls. By the time Rudo finally processes this insane battlefield, Rio has already mowed down the small fry, leaving only the big boss.

The team scatters to disable other threats, but one “downed” trash beast plays possum and trips a supporter. It leaps at him, and the poor guy can’t dodge in time. Cue Rudo, who dives in heroically. He declares he’ll prove his worth and slams his iron pipe down—only to see it transform into a spiked barricade. Even he’s confused. Turns out he’s been using his powers instinctively and now has no idea what he’s doing. The beast presses down on him, and he’s about to be flattened—when Rio swoops in and slices it apart. She praises him for trusting his instincts and trying to save others.

The shaken supporter thanks her and asks if she beat the giant one. Rio says she chopped it in half—but weirdly, it’s still moving. She swears she hit the core but shrugs it off and decides to mince the beast into pieces until it can’t move. The supporters note this new mutation—apparently, some trash beasts are immune to vital instruments—and rush off to warn nearby towns.

Meanwhile, Rio charges at the giant, leaving Rudo awkwardly standing like the kid left out of PE dodgeball. She leaps, lands on the monster’s face, vaults to its head, and starts snipping off the pipes sticking out. Basically giving it a forced haircut. But then she notices something glowing beneath her feet—the hidden core! Before she can stab it, the monster thrashes violently, flinging her off. The beast reattaches its pipes like a junky Lego set and then begins slamming its jaw into the ground. Somehow Rio hangs on, but this time it turns its rage on Rudo and the supporters. He just freezes, eyes wide, as the rain of metal pipes comes crashing toward him.

But luckily, Rudo doesn’t take a direct hit. Instead, the ground beneath him gets obliterated by the attacks, and as he tumbles down, he starts questioning his life choices—like, “Am I really built for revenge, or should I just take up pottery instead?” He thinks he can’t avenge Reto or deal with the bastards in the Sphere at this rate, and darkness begins to consume him.

Just then, the ever-reliable Supporter swoops in, rescuing him not only from falling into the pit but also from drowning in his own despair. He hoists Rudo over his shoulder, giving him a pep talk: if you’ve got a goal, don’t freeze up—run toward it before life decides to kick you in the teeth. He points out how the Supporters, even without flashy powers, still keep pushing through.

Meanwhile, Rudo notices Rio going full Gordon Ramsay on the monster—slicing and dicing it with renewed determination. Judging by the creature’s screams, she’s definitely found its weak spot. She leaps sky-high, then slams down with surgical precision, stabbing its head with her giant scissor and tearing out its core. With that finishing move, the monster crumbles into ash like an overcooked marshmallow.

The Supporter rushes to her, wide-eyed, asking how she pulled it off. Rio casually replies she stabbed something other than the core—and it croaked. Turns out, she’s holding a cardboard cutter of all things, claiming it was powering the trash beast. The poor Supporter is flabbergasted, because that cutter isn’t just stationery—it’s actually a Vital Instrument. And it makes zero sense for a trash beast to have one tucked inside like a party favor.

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit room, the Bandit Leader—the one who tried to sell off Rudo—suddenly wakes up. Confused, he asks himself where he is, when a mysterious man lounging on a sofa asks him the location of the “kid from the Sphere” he’d been mumbling about in his sleep.

Back at the Cleaner Headquarters, Rio throws a little welcome party for Rudo. Soon after, Zanka arrives—still groggy from what was probably the world’s longest nap—and asks what the fuss is about. Rio explains it’s a welcome party for Rudo, though the poor guy sits sulking in a corner like someone stole his last dumpling.

Zanka, ever blunt, asks why that cheeky brat looks so gloomy. Rio explains that ever since his Vital Instrument bailed on him mid-fight, he’s been in a funk. Zanka shrugs—tough luck—but quickly perks up when Rio mentions fighting a strange trash beast. She tells him it didn’t have the usual core. Instead, its core was a Vital Instrument itself. She admits it’s above her pay grade, so she just dropped the problem in someone else’s lap and went back to partying.

Meanwhile, Rudo is still sulking when the leader of the Support Team, Gris, shows up. He introduces himself and praises Rudo for his efforts yesterday. But Rudo, ever the self-critic, insists he accomplished nothing. Gris reminds him he protected another supporter from a trash beast, but Rudo grumbles that he couldn’t use his power properly afterward and had to be rescued by Gris and Rio. He laments that even back in the Sphere, he’d lose control, forcing Reto to cover for him. To him, he’s just a total failure.

But then Gris throws him off by simply saying thank you. He explains that most rookie cleaners treat supporters like powerless nobodies. But Rudo was different—he actually valued them. Gris then talks about the guy whom Rudo saved: he joined the cleaners to become a combatant, but since he doesn’t have a Vital Instrument yet, he’s working as a supporter while cherishing an ordinary object, hoping it’ll awaken into his weapon someday.

Finally, Gris tells Rudo not to obsess over being the strongest or living up to everyone else’s expectations.

Gris asks Rudo what it is that he’s always wanted, even before life went downhill in the Sphere. Rudo goes silent, thinking hard, and Gris tells him that if he can remember the thing that first lit the fire inside his soul, he’ll find his way forward. Then, like a wholesome big brother, Gris pats his head and tells him to believe in himself. Rudo is about to tear up… but of course, that’s when Enjin shows up and ruins the emotional moment by leaning on him like an annoying cat.

Enjin casually asks why Rudo isn’t eating anything, and before he can even answer, Rio and Zanka arrive too. Everyone insists that Rudo join the party because he’s the star of the night—and also because, let’s face it, the food is vanishing faster than free Wi-Fi at a mall. Rudo is touched by how much everyone cares, so he goes along with them.

As they dig into the food, one guy suddenly whips out some music and paint cans. He starts spraying the wall mid-meal, like Banksy with zero timing skills. Enjin nudges Rudo to watch the artist, Gobb, carefully, since this guy lives by one rule: “I do what I want.” Unsurprisingly, everyone else yells at Gobb to wait until they finish eating, but yeah… he doesn’t care.

Meanwhile, on the ground floor, Mommy Simeu sits at her desk, looking smug because she knows a call is coming. The phone rings right on cue, and she picks it up like she’s been practicing for a psychic hotline. She summons Zanka and a team of supporters to handle the request. But then Zena pipes up, asking why Rudo is hanging around with the group when he hasn’t even been officially admitted as a Cleaner. Simeu explains that the request directly involves Rudo.

Turns out, a merchant was attacked by a Trash Beast while crossing a polluted zone. The merchant escaped alive, but his precious cargo was stolen. Now he wants them to defeat the beast and retrieve it. And here’s the kicker: the cargo is a living Spherite. Everyone is shocked, and Simeu points out how rare it is to see two Spherites on the surface at once. Clearly, something fishy is going on, and she wants Rudo to take a look himself.

Gris warns Rudo to keep his emotions in check before making a decision. Rudo knows he still can’t fully control his power, which could make him a burden to the team, but he still insists on going—because this other Spherite might hold the key to him returning to the surface. Zanka doesn’t like it, but Simeu knows how to push his buttons. She casually mentions that this mission was originally for Enjin, but he’s busy, and he trusts Zanka to take over. That’s all it takes to awaken the ultimate Enjin fanboy mode in Zanka, who immediately agrees and proudly leads the group through the polluted zone.

Along the way, Rudo asks Gris why he doesn’t carry a weapon. Gris shrugs and says he has a knife, but he trusts his hands more. One supporter blurts out that Gris actually has a talisman he treasures, which makes him blush like a guy whose internet history just got exposed. Embarrassed, Gris eventually shows the talisman to Rudo, brushing it off as nothing special, but admits it gives him something to hold onto.

Then they notice a creepy figure behind them. Turns out, it’s the merchant who hired them—someone with a definitely suspicious vibe (and equally suspicious pronouns). Rudo immediately bombards her with questions about the Spherite. She explains that she found an unconscious Spherite while transporting her luggage and decided to carry them away. That’s when the Trash Beast attacked and kidnapped the Spherite.

Rudo asks if she plans to sell the Spherite, but she denies it, saying she’s just curious about them. Zena, though, isn’t buying a word of it, pointing out that Trash Beasts are notorious for attacking humans on sight—not politely kidnapping people like some kind of monster Uber.

Rudo senses something fishy about the whole situation, but decides he’ll deal with it when the time comes. The merchant leads the group to a building where the Trash Beast supposedly ran after kidnapping the Spherite. Zena warns everyone to stay sharp—the beast could strike from any direction.

But when they step inside, the building is completely empty… except for a lone figure at the far end. The merchant claims it’s the Spherite and starts pushing Rudo (and the others) closer. Once Rudo gets near enough, he realizes it’s not a person at all, but a doll dressed like a Spherite. Before he can react, the merchant leaps back, urging them to hurry. The floor beneath Rudo’s feet suddenly turns to mud, and the whole group plunges down to the lower level.

Confused, they ask what just happened. The merchant laughs creepily, pointing at Rudo and declaring he is the Spherite—before melting into a puddle of mud. Just then, two voices echo through the darkness, calling out for the “Spherite Giver.” A pair of glowing purple lights emerge, sparking with electricity. Zanka immediately understands: these are the Raiders—bandits who target Cleaners. And unlike ordinary thugs, these Raiders are Givers, making them deadly opponents.

Gris orders the supporters to find an escape route while he and Folo protect Rudo. He tells Zanka to handle the two Raiders on his own. Reluctant but with no choice, Zanka takes the fight. Rudo, itching to help, claims he can take on “a couple of bandits,” but Gris warns him never to underestimate Raiders, especially when they don’t yet know their abilities.

On the other side, Zena taunts the Raiders, saying he expected them to come after Rudo, but not this quickly. He guesses they’re planning to sell him off, since a living Spherite could fetch enough money to retire in luxury. But the Raiders laugh, saying they’re not after cash—they’re after knowledge. They want to know about the Sphere, especially how Rudo managed to cross the barrier without dying. Even Zena perks up at that, but decides to focus on wiping them out first.

The female Raider smirks, warning that he’ll still have to deal with her mud dolls. Zanka, ever cocky, scoffs that he can beat weaklings like this with his eyes closed. He activates his staff, smashing mud dolls left and right. But the male Raider uses them as cover, slipping in and out to strike. One sneak attack slams Zanka into a pillar before the guy vanishes back into the crowd of puppets.

The female Raider mocks him, saying Cleaners are used to fighting beasts, not humans. She declares this will be his “final round of hide-and-seek.” Outnumbered and battered, Zanka tries to rush her, but slips on a mud puddle she had laid in advance. She gloats that he’s the only real fighter among them, and once he falls, the rest will be defenseless.

But Zanka isn’t done yet. He shouts back that if she wants to talk so much, she should start a podcast. Then he breaks down their abilities: at first, he thought she was controlling the dolls with her shovel while the guy handled the offense. But watching closely, he realizes the male Raider’s vital instrument is actually his snowshoes, which let him move easily across unstable mud terrain. Together, the two make a perfect team—a “match made in heaven,” as Zanka taunts them. This rattles the female Raider, who angrily tells him to shut up. Naturally, he doesn’t.

Zanka slams his staff into the ground, releasing a sonic wave through the battlefield. By reading the vibrations as they ripple through the mud dolls, he pinpoints the real Raider’s location. He blitzes forward, smashing the male Raider with one decisive strike, then taking out the female Raider in the same motion. With her out cold, all the mud dolls collapse instantly. Zanka, battered but smirking, calls them “a couple of noobs.”

But the victory is short-lived. From the shadows, the Raiders’ leader suddenly appears behind him, promising a real fight if he’s looking for stronger opponents.

And that’s where this episode leaves us.