🧙I'm Nothing but a Mortal: Kicked Out For Being Too OP

When Being a "Genius" Gets You Fired

We all know the "Chosen One" trope. The farm boy who becomes a galactic hero. The overlooked apprentice who saves the kingdom. The "trash" of the clan who suddenly awakens a divine power. The journey from zero to hero is the bread and butter of fantasy storytelling.

But what happens when the script is flipped?

What if the hero starts at 100? What if he's not the underdog, but so overwhelmingly powerful, so cosmically, inconveniently gifted, that he breaks the entire system? What if you're so good at your "job" (in this case, immortal cultivation) that your own boss (your mentor) has to trick you into quitting, just so he can save face?

This is the brilliant, hilarious, and utterly subversive premise of Dramabox's new 80-episode Fantasy epic, I'm Nothing but a Mortal. It’s a story that asks a simple question: What’s a 30,000-year-old immortal mentor to do when his 20-year-old apprentice is already stronger than him?

The answer: Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girlboss... him into the mortal realm.

The "Problem Child" of the Jade Sect

Meet Ian Colt. He is not your typical protagonist. He’s not struggling. He’s thriving. A little too much.

The series opens with Ian casually using all of his mentor's priceless, hoarded treasures... to refine a "Niner Pill," a mythical elixir that can bring the dead back to life. And he's not even using a proper furnace; he's just whipping it up in a pot like he's making instant noodles. His mentor, Sean Judd, is having a conniption, screaming about wasted treasures and impending disaster.

And then... Ian succeeds. The pill is perfect. Sean is shook.

We quickly learn this is a pattern. In just twenty years of cultivation, Ian has reached the "Dael Holy Realm." His mentor, Sean, has been cultivating for thirty thousand years and is still a step behind. Ian is the living, breathing definition of "prodigy," a cultivation genius who learns everything instantly. He’s not just good; he’s a bug in the system.

When Ian then eats the priceless Niner Pill—not to save a life, but just 'cause he felt like it, to "improve" so he wouldn't "embarrass" his mentor—Sean Judd finally snaps. This "brat" is a menace. Not only is he better than his master, but he's also about to use up every last treasure in the Jade Sect refining a "Golden Pill."

Sean has to get him out. But how do you fire an employee who is, by every metric, the best you've ever had?

The Ultimate Act of Gaslighting

This is where I'm Nothing but a Mortal becomes a comedic masterpiece. Sean Judd, a revered and powerful immortal, resorts to the most pathetic, human-level gaslighting imaginable.

He can't tell Ian the truth ("You're too strong, you make me look bad, and you're using all my expensive stuff"). So, he invents the most ludicrous lie in cultivation history: "Ian... your qualifications are too low."

He sits Ian down for a "performance review" and asks the-stronger-than-him apprentice to hit him with a full-power punch. Ian, desperate to stay, obliges. He winds up and clocks his master square in the chest.

Sean, a man who has defeated countless demons and rivals, is hit with the force of a comet. We see his internal monologue screaming in agony. But on the outside? He doesn't even flinch. He channels his inner Miranda Priestly, looks at Ian with manufactured disappointment, and says, "See? Too slow. You're not suited for the Immortal Realm. You should go... to the mortal realm. For, uh, experience."

It is, without a doubt, the funniest "kicked out of the hero's party" trope I have ever seen. And the lie just gets better.

"Your journey in the mortal realm has ended," Sean says, pulling things out of thin air. "I've been searching... and I found your destined partner! Yes! Take these engagement letters. You must find a woman with a 'body of extremely dark energy.' If you cultivate with her, you will overcome your... low qualifications... and gain immortality. Yes. That's the ticket."

His internal monologue? "Brat, hurry up, just leave! I have nothing left to teach you! If you stay, you're going to cultivate all the way to the Sky Realm and I'll have to build you a new office!"

Ian, bless his innocent heart, buys it. He tearfully accepts his "failure" and his new quest, promising his master he'll return once he's "worthy."

The second Ian leaves, Sean Judd coughs up a massive amount of blood. The punch wrecked him. He’s so terrified of Ian finding out he was tricked that he immediately calls in favors from other sects (the Favia Sect and Love Seal) to go "deal with" his apprentice. This isn't just a mentor; it's a petty, terrified boss covering his tracks.

"I'm Nothing but a Mortal" (Spoiler: He's Not)

And so, our hero, a god-tier cultivator who thinks he's an intern, descends to the mortal realm. This is where the Dramabox series hits its stride, transforming from a "cultivation comedy" into a full-blown "overpowered (OP) protagonist" power fantasy.

The moment he arrives, the jade pendant he's worn for twenty years (a gift from his mortal family) begins to glow, guiding him. He is a god walking among men, and he has no idea.

Meanwhile, in a nearby hospital, we meet our "damsel in distress"—or rather, "dad in distress." Jim Cole, a wealthy patriarch, has a steel rebar running straight through his skull. It's a gruesome, unsurvivable injury. The city's "top doctors" are useless. They can't remove the rebar. They say he needs a mythical "Protection Pill" from the immortal realm, but he'll be dead in an hour. They tell his daughter, Sue Cole, to prepare his funeral.

As Jim is fading, he clutches an emerald pendant and gives his daughter one last quest: "You must find your brother... I didn't mean to lose him 20 years ago... You are my adopted daughter... You have to find Ian."

Yes. That Ian.

Just as all hope is lost, Ian Colt, guided by his own pendant, walks into the ER. He looks at the man with a steel bar in his head, listens to the "expert" doctors bickering about "Drak Incense," and scoffs.

"You're all wrong," he says, with the unearned confidence of someone who just is right. "You have to pull the rebar out. Now."

This is the moment the series' title, I'm Nothing but a Mortal, becomes beautifully ironic. He is the only person in the room who can save this man, and he's just getting started.

The Verdict: Your New Fantasy Addiction Has Arrived

I'm Nothing but a Mortal is a perfect Dramabox binge. It understands the "short-form" assignment: hook them with a hilarious, high-concept premise, and then give them the satisfying, fast-paced "OP protagonist" payoff they crave.

The show is a brilliant deconstruction of the cultivation genre. Our hero's "golden finger" (his OP status) is so powerful it's a liability. The "grand master" is a petty, gaslighting boss. And the "mortal realm" isn't a demotion; it's the place where our hero, who thought he was a "failure," will finally discover who he truly is—a savior, a long-lost son, and, to the woman with the "body of extremely dark energy," a destined partner.

The stage is set for an epic journey. Can Ian save Jim? When will the father-son reunion happen? How will Sue Cole react when she finds out this "arrogant" young man is her long-lost brother? And what will happen when Ian, after "conquering" the mortal realm, returns to the immortal realm to find his terrified master?

This is a Fantasy series that delivers on all fronts: comedy, action, mystery, and a whole lot of wish-fulfillment.

Stop what you are doing. Watch I'm Nothing but a Mortal right now, exclusively on Dramabox.