Three days after the Shibuya incident
Takami stepped out of the gym, the early morning sun casting a golden glow over the quiet streets. His breath came out in steady puffs of vapor, his body sore in all the right places. It was a reminder of his progress.
By the time he reached home, he was already pulling off his hoodie, heading straight for a shower. The hot water hit his skin, easing the tension in his muscles. As the steam filled the bathroom, he let his mind drift.
After drying off, he sat on his bed and opened the System Interface, his sharp amber eyes scanning his stats. Strength? Up. Agility? Up. Durability? Better than ever, "Everything else looks great, except this,"
⟨Spirit Resonance: E⟩
His brows furrowed. This thing again. He tapped on it, expecting an explanation, but the system offered none.
"Tch." His fingers drummed against his thigh. "Strength, agility, stamina, I get all that. But Spirit Resonance? Why hasn't it gone up?"
He had taken multiple Limit Break Quests, pushed himself beyond his limits, yet this stat remained unchanged.
"Guess I'll figure it out later."
Pushing the thought aside, he summoned Velis. In a blink, the black cat materialized before him, its piercing blue and yellow eyes locking onto his.
Takami leaned forward. "I wonder if the system just gave me a pet or if you're something else entirely. You must be tired of staying locked in. Do you even eat?"
The cat stared at him, tail flicking once, unimpressed.
Takami exhaled. "Yeah, figured you'd ignore me. Whatever. I'll get you something when I'm back."
With that, he dismissed Velis and grabbed his jacket, heading to Yuri's.
Jimin was already there when Takami arrived, sipping his usual black coffee with that smug, lazy grin.
"You're late," he said, not even bothering to look up.
"You got here too early," Takami shot back, sliding into the seat opposite him.
Yuri emerged from the back, tying her long hair into a loose ponytail. "Hey there, dummies." She leaned against the table, fingers tapping lightly. "So, about that Shibuya mission..."
Takami nodded, even though he already knew everything from watching the live stream. He let her talk anyway.
She went over the details, mentioning the strange symbols that appeared before the gate opened.
"We should probably look into those symbols," Takami mused. "They didn't just appear for nothing."
Jimin smirked. "Look at you, actually taking an interest in details. You really have changed."
Takami scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Yuri grinned. "You used to be all about the fight and never give up spirit. Now you're thinking ahead. Kinda scary, actually." She stretched, then added, "Not like it matters anyway. The JSS Board took everything to analyze, so it's out of our hands."
Takami rolled his eyes but smirked slightly. The conversation shifted to lighter topics, and soon, they decided to enjoy the rest of the day hanging out.
That evening, Takami sat on his bed, flipping through the Mission Search menu. He needed more than just stat boosts. He wanted to level up his Grant and other skills.
His eyes landed on the kill count tracker at the top.
⟨46/50 Kills⟩
He hadn't even been noticing it all this while. Was there a reward at 50?
Pushing the thought aside, he tapped Search.
⟨4 High-Class Spirits Detected.⟩
[Accept Mission?]
⟨Yes⟩ | ⟨No⟩
Takami's lips curled into a smirk. "Do I call this luck or coincidence?" He accepted the mission, and moments later, he arrived at the location.
An abandoned lot, silent, isolated from the city's usual noise, swallowed by the night.
In the middle of the lot, four shadow-type spirits stood in a circle, black void-like energy swirling at their feet. It pulsed, expanding little by little.
Takami narrowed his eyes. "Wait... so this is how they create Dorms? Interesting."
Before he could strike, something caught his eye.
The System Update had given him access to enemy ranks, and now he could see them.
Three were D-Rank.
One was C-Rank.
It must've devoured more spirit slayers than the others.
Takami materialized his dagger, Claw, the familiar weight settling in his grip. He let out a slow, measured breath.
The spirits noticed him instantly.
The three D-Ranks lunged forward, shrieking.
Takami moved.
The first spirit swung a clawed arm, but he was already gone, sliding past it like a shadow. His dagger slashed upward, clean cut, head split in two.
The second came from behind. He spun, slamming his heel into its face. As it staggered, he jumped and stomped it's head into a wall.
The third spirit dropped from above.
Takami noticed. Predictable.
He sidestepped at the last second and drove his blade upward, straight through its skull. The spirit screeched before vanishing.
The second spirit recovered and attacked again, his instincts told him to bend down as it's claw went right above him, he then used the opportunity to drive claw into its chest while backing it. The spirit then disintegrated. "My instincts sure have improved thanks to the limit break quests."
Three down.
Only the C-Rank remained.
Takami exhaled, catching his breath. Why isn't it attacking yet?
Lifting his hand, he activated Astral Forge. The remnants of the spirits he just killed swirled together, forming into something new. A sword.
⟨Shadow Blade | Class: C | Attack +40⟩
A grin tugged at his lips, this one increased his attack power. Finally. A weapon that matched his class. Despite being a slayer class fighter the system's upgrades were pushing him towards an assassin-like fighting style, and he didn't mind.
Before he could finish, the C-Rank spirit lunged.
Takami barely noticed, raising Claw to block
CRACK.
Claw shattered.
His eyes widened. "Tch. Guess that answers my question."
He flipped backward, landing smoothly. The spirit growled, its red eyes burning with malice.
It was stronger.
Faster.
More intelligent.
But still, not enough. He realized that the spirits he fought at the dorm collapse were definitely D-ranks too and even the ones at Okutama.
The spirit attacked again, wild swings, trying to overwhelm him with speed. Takami dodged, effortlessly slipping through every attack. It was faster than a D-Rank, sure, but not enough to land a hit. He jumped onto a car trying to figure out how this difference in rank would affect other classes of spirits, would each class be ranked straight from E to S or Elite or was it going to progress with the class.
It screamed in frustration, lunging with reckless aggression. Not allowing Takami to finish thinking, it tried grabbing his leg, but then he vanished
Takami appeared behind it. "I'm trying to think."
Then as it turned, in a blur, he struck a clean punch to the face.
The spirit stumbled, stunned.
Before it could recover, Takami was already in front of it, his glowing amber eyes locked onto its soulless gaze.
He placed the Shadow Blade at its throat.
The spirit... froze.
Takami frowned. "What... you're just giving up?"
No response at first, then it tried raising it's hand to remove the sword.
A short beat of silence passed.
Then without hesitation, he slashed its head off.
⟨Extraction Complete.⟩
⟨Stats Increased:
°Agility +10
°Perception +12
°Spirit Resonance +20⟩
His brows furrowed. Spirit Resonance finally increased and quite big... so it had something to do with this fight?
His grip on the Shadow Blade tightened. Why had that spirit hesitated?
He lifted his hand to Astral Forge. A C-Rank spirit should give him a strong weapon he guessed.
⟨Astral Forge Failed…⟩
⟨Player Level Too Low.⟩
"Huh?" He tried again.
⟨Astral Forge Failed…⟩
⟨Player Level Too Low.⟩
Takami clicked his tongue and checked his current level. His level had jumped from 15 to 18, but still wasn't enough
"Tch. You could at least tell me things I can and cannot do,"
Just as he turned to leave.
He saw someone hiding behind a tree, "I can see you, come out"
The person bolted, and without thinking Takami chased after him but unfortunately lost sight of the person eventually.
He stopped. "He's definitely a spirit slayer, the way he dodged obstacles effortlessly and maintained that speed." Takami sighed and cleaned sweat off his face.
Then he felt it.
That presence. The one that always appeared when he fought.
He turned slowly, scanning the darkness.
No one.
Yet, it was there. Watching.
Watching From Above
Nyx stood at a rooftop, hidden in the shadows.
Her gaze followed Takami as he cautiously walked away.
No matter how much she suppressed her Grant.
No matter how much distance she kept.
He always noticed. And that started to annoy her. "You…"
She sighed, shaking her head before vanishing into the night.
Takami walked through the dimly lit streets, his instincts suddenly flaring as a man in a black coat and hat stepped into his path.
He didn't hesitate. His new weapon Shadow Blade materialized in his grip, its dark glow reflecting in the night. His stance shifted instantly, ready to strike.
The man freaked out.
"AYY, AYY! WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" He frantically waved his hands, taking a step back.
Takami's sharp gaze didn't falter.
The man sighed, removing his hat. "Takami, right?"
Takami didn't lower his weapon. "Who's asking?"
The man raised a brow. "Seriously? You don't remember me?"
Silence.
The man groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Like two months ago, you stole my mission."
Takami blinked. "...Huh?"
The man crossed his arms. "I even gave you my pay… Ring a bell?"
Takami squinted. Then, after a moment of intense thinking…
"…Ohhh. Right. My bad."
Yeah, he still had no idea who this guy was. But dragging this out wasn't worth the trouble.
The man stood there, speechless.
"…Anyway, the name's Kanen Iguru," Kanen cleared his throat, composing himself. "I know it's 11 PM already, but how about a drink?"
Takami sighed and walked away. "I'll pass."
Kanen scratched his head. "How about tomorrow? 1 PM?"
Takami stopped for a second. "What do you even wanna talk about that bad?"
Kanen smirked. "I'd rather not say here."
Takami simply kept walking.
Kanen cupped his hands around his mouth. "The coffee shop by where we first met!"
Takami was already gone.
Kanen let out a long sigh. "I hope he heard me." Then, he put a hand on his chin, his expression shifting into something more serious. Something about that guy didn't feel right.
"Was that… really the same Takami I met back then?" he muttered. "Or is this guy just messing with me? But how exactly would someone that weak all of a sudden look so… different. Maybe a really tough gym instructor or something."
He exhaled, looking up at the night sky, thoughts running in his head. Takami Ryusei. Rank-3 Low Grant Level user. No special or natural talents. Poor weapon mastery…
None of that explained the presence of the man who just passed him.
Until.
Rustle.
Kanen froze.
His entire body locked up.
The bushes beside him shook again.
"…Eh?"
Yes. He was a scaredy cat.
He heard it again, something moving…!
Then, a frog jumped out.
Kanen yelped. "Pheew. Oh, it's just a frog." He clutched his chest, calming his breathing.
Then a trash can fell over.
Kanen stiffened.
His eyes darted around. His fear was already spiraling.
"Mom always told me to stop watching horror movies," he thought, his brain scrambling for rationality. "But I didn't listen,"
Suddenly, his mom's voice echoed in his head.
"BOY, STOP WATCHING THOSE STUPID MOVIES! YOU'LL JUST SCARE YOURSELF TO DEATH!"
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD, MOM!!" Kanen said before heading away. "I really hate walking alone at night,"
Meanwhile, Takami finally reached his home street.
He paused. His eyes shifted to the side.
"…Come out."
Velis materialized on his shoulder.
It licked his cheek.
Takami winced. "DO NOT… do that."
Velis only purred.
Sighing, Takami stopped by the mall before heading in. Got some cat food and then went back home.
As soon as he pushed the house door open, he was greeted by the glow of the TV still on.
Tomoe and Yosuke were still awake.
Takami narrowed his eyes. "And why are you two still up?"
Yosuke barely glanced over. "We got Friday off. School's fixing something."
"That still doesn't change the fact that it's WAY past your bedtime."
Tomoe ran up to him with a hug. "You brought a cat home?"
Takami sighed. "Well, yes, I just…wait." He froze.
Tomoe and Yosuke were staring at Velis.
"…You can see it?"
Yosuke tilted his head. "Are we not supposed to?"
"…Uh. No, you can."
But that was weird.
Tomoe raised her hands. "Come here, kitty!"
Velis jumped down from Takami's shoulder, rubbing against her legs, purring.
Tomoe giggled. "Aww! It likes me, Does it have a name?"
Takami opened his mouth "Uh well not—"
"I'll name it Furr!" she cut him off
Velis looked up at Tomoe with a deadpan expression and then looked at Takami.
Takami's entire expression went blank.
"…On second thought," he said flatly, "It does have a name. Velis."
Tomoe pouted. "That doesn't sound sweet." Then, she giggled again. "But it's okay, I guess."
Takami exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Alright, enough of this. Bed. Both of you. Now."
"But we don't have school tomorrow!" Tomoe whined.
"No school doesn't mean 'act like sleep is optional.'"
Yosuke grumbled, shutting off the TV. "Alright, alright. Good night, y'all." He dragged himself to his room.
"And no playing games, you hear me?" Takami added
Yosuke gave a thumbs up, then shut the door.
Takami turned to escort Tomoe to hers.
"Good night, Velis. Good night, big brother."
"…Yeah. Good night."
He turned off her lights as she lay down, then locked the door behind him.
Takami stretched, exhaling. "Mom must be asleep. I better not disturb her. Seems she was too tired to chase them to bed."
He headed to his room, setting Velis's cat food down in a small bowl.
Velis instantly started eating it.
Takami smirked. "Not so elegant now, huh?"
Velis ignored him.
Shaking his head, he took off his jacket, showered, and finally collapsed onto his bed.
He stared at the ceiling, thoughts swirling for a brief moment…
He opened the system interface and checked mission search, his eyes immediately going to the kill tracker.
⟨50/50 kills - completed.⟩
But this time around, it was blinking, so he tapped it and a new section appeared. Asking him,
⟨Special missions upgrade.⟩
⟨Upgrade.⟩ | ⟨Leave.⟩
He then tapped upgrade, which displayed a message.
⟨NOTE: This upgrade can only be available once. Choosing [Leave] will delete upgrade and system mission search continues, while choosing [Upgrade] will change the mission search missions to 'Player eligible only' missions. Option chosen cannot be reversed.⟩
⟨Go ahead with upgrade.⟩ | ⟨Back.⟩
It took him a moment before choosing the go ahead option
⟨Upgrading… (This may take a while)⟩
He dismissed the system interface, yawning, "Man whatever this is, I'll just find out tomorrow," then his eyes shut.
And just like that,
Takami dozed off.