"Is there anything else you remember?"
A man with dark blue hair said while eyeing me with sharp eyes. He was dressed in a black and white suit. His name was Kitamura Kenji, chief of the Surveillance Team of the Japanese Hunters Association. I glanced towards the door and observed a young woman with long blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She had dark blue trimmed glasses over her blue eyes and a black and white suit adorning her frame. The woman's name was Nakano Fumiko, another Hunters Association Surveillance Team member.
Nakano pushed her glasses up and eyed me with barely hidden suspicion. I felt frustration well up inside me and nodded at Kitamura's question. "Yes. That's all I remember."
"Hm. Let's take things from the top one more time." Kitamura said, flipping the small notebook in his hands to the first page. "You and your raid team entered the E-rank gate in Kashiwa, which you all explored and fought the magical beasts inside. But you all found a large room with a large pile of high-ranking essence stones. From there, the floor broke under you all, causing everyone to fall into a large room. Said room was surrounded by lava with several dragon statues lining the walls. Am I right so far?"
"Yes." I said through my teeth. Kitamura nodded and flipped onto the next page.
"At that point, you were all subjected to life and death trials by this 'God'. Resulting in the raid team composed of higher-ranked hunters than you being killed off by man-sized dragons. And somehow, you, an E-ranked hunter, were the only one that somehow survived. At that point, you lose consciousness and end up at Teganuma Lake. Which brings us back to the present." Kitamura said and snapped his notebook closed. He leaned forward and eyed me. "That's the entire story, right?"
I clenched my blanket tightly. Mori's gargled and panicked voice filled my ears. The phantom pain on my fingers from the sharp blade of the sword I used to slowly cut off his head pulsed. In my retelling of what happened, I couldn't bring myself to tell them about the third trial. The trail in which Sakura gave up her life to save mine. The trail where I killed Mori in cold blood.
"Yes... That's everything that happened." I said with a shaky exhale. Nakano scoffed and looked away from me.
"Very well. From what you told us, I'm led to believe you and your party encountered a possible double dungeon. A double dungeon that ended up taking the lives of several C and D ranked hunters while leaving an E rank with the mana reading of fifty-five alive." Kitamura said while standing up, his tone thick with uncertainty. He leaned down and grabbed the large briefcase that held the portable mana reader he had used earlier on me. "Personally, I would have preferred to have sent a scouting team into that gate to validate your story and to search for the remains of the fallen hunters. Unfortunately, the gate has closed."
"At this point, there's not much more we can do other than try and see if there were any other survivors that mysteriously ended up in different locations like you did." Kitamura began walking towards the now open door held open by Nakano. "Thank you for your cooperation, Hikigaya. If I have any more questions, I'll reach out to you."
Kitamura walked out of the room; his footsteps echoed out in the hall. Nakano remained to hold the door open; her blue eyes narrowed towards me. "We'll be watching you, Hikigaya. Be sure of that."
Nakano left the room and closed the door. I stared at it for several minutes and laid my face in my hands. The reality of everything that happened weighed heavily on me. I felt as if I was being crushed. It was hard to breathe. Why was I the one who survived? Why did people like Furutani and Sakura die while I, a weak E rank, lived? Why? Why? Why?! Why?!
A loud slam shocked me out of my inner turmoil. I looked up and saw Komachi standing in the doorway. Her chest was heaving, and she looked at me with wide eyes. She walked into the room, and her face shifted into profound relief. Tears began streaming out of her eyes as she dropped the bag she was carrying onto the floor.
"O-Onii-chan…" Komachi said weakly and walked next to me. Once beside me, she climbed onto my bed and wrapped her arms around me. "I-I'm so happy you're okay."
Komachi began to sob into my chest, her tears soaked into my shirt. Every now and then, her chest heaved as she cried silently. I wrapped my arms around her and gently rubbed the small of her back. "Please… please don't leave me alone."
It doesn't matter why I was the one that lived. All that matters is that I'm here for Komachi. That means I can't die. I have to get stronger.
I looked up and commanded the menu to appear. The black and red hud sprang to life. I stared at it intensely, and a new sense of resolve grew within me.
And this system will be the key to that. I will get stronger. Because in this world, only the strong survive!
x x x
Up ahead in the crossroads of a busy intersection, the traffic lights hanging above shifted red. This caused a black Cadillac Escalade to slow down and stop behind a red Prius. Inside the Escalade were two occupants. Said occupants were Kitamura and Nakano.
"I still think we should have brought him in. I know he didn't tell us the whole story." Nakano said while impatiently tapping the steering wheel with her well, manicured fingers. Kitamura watched the light turn green.
"You may be right, Nakano. But I doubt Hikigaya would have told us anymore." Kitamura said as they drove through the city. Nakano's eye twitched.
"And why's that? I'm sure we could get him to talk." Nakano said while turning on her turn signal. Carefully, she entered the main highway towards Tokyo.
"You're still young, Nakano. Which means you still haven't seen everything this line of work has to offer." Kitamura said while pulling out a document detailing Hikigaya Hachiman's career as a hunter. "Hikigaya had the eyes of someone that's been through Hell and back. I've seen hunters with such eyes on several occasions. Hunters who barely survive a dungeon raid by the skin of their teeth. No matter what you do or say to them, nothing will get them to speak about the things they've seen beyond the gates."
Nakano remained silent. Her face frowned as she digested her superior's words. "If that's true, then how did he survive? There were much stronger hunters in that hunting party that should have made it back. Why him?"
"Why him indeed... At first, I believed that Hikigaya had gone through a second awakening. The rare occurrence of a hunter gaining a significant boost in power. It could push an E rank like Hikigaya to the levels of S rank, perhaps even at the international level. That could have explained how he had survived. But when I tested his mana levels, nothing had changed from when he first was evaluated. "Kitamura said with a sigh. "That also showed me that he couldn't have committed foul play. Everyone was much stronger than him, so we can rule him out as the cause of their deaths. At this point, Hikigaya's survival is a mystery. So, we must continue to try to find other signs of more survivors or clues. After our investigation is over, we'll contact the families and deliver the news…"
Nakano nodded. She would drop the matter for now, but her instincts were telling her that there was more to this than meets the eye. Nakano would keep a close eye on Hikigaya Hachiman. That was a promise.
x x x
I looked around my apartment with a newfound sense of gratitude. Sure, it was small, and there was barely enough space for two people. But it was home. A home I didn't think I was going to see again. A soft meow brought my attention to the couch. Seeing Kamakura brought a large smile to my face.
"It looks like Kamakura is happy you're finally home." Komachi said as she closed the front door and locked it. The area around her eyes was puffy and slightly red. "I am, too."
I walked over to pet Kamakura, but when I got close enough to touch him, he jumped back with his ears pointed back. He was standing in a defensive pose with his tail straight up. His small, slitted eyes looked up at me with suspicion. "Kamakura? What's the matter?"
It seemed that at the sound of my voice, Kamakura's slitted eyes grew wide and round in recognition. He meowed loudly and climbed up my arm to settle on my shoulders. Once there, he sniffed my hair and laid his body down. I scratched his head and felt him purr. What was that about? It's as if he didn't recognize me or something.
"Go take a bath, Onii-chan. I'll get dinner started." Komachi said with a tired yet upbeat tone. I nodded and went into the small bathroom to do just that.
Once all my clothes were off, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was bare of any scars or injuries. Lifting a hand towards my chest, I felt smooth skin where a large stab wound once was. Thank you, Sakura. Once I was done with a shower, I took a quick soak in the bath and got dressed. Stepping into the main living area, I saw Komachi placing two plates of curry and rice on the dining table. Sitting down, we began to eat our meal after giving thanks.
"Onii-chan... I'm thinking I should drop out of school."
My chopsticks froze halfway toward my face. Causing the rice held between them to fall back on my plate. I looked up from my food and stared at Komachi with an unbelieving stare. "Why would you say that?"
"Because!" Komachi said loudly while slamming her hands onto the table; her eyes were wide and brimming with fresh tears. "Because you're working as a hunter to earn more money, right?! So if I get a job, you can quit being a hunter! You can get a job where you don't have to put your life in danger anymore! With us both making money, you-"
"Enough." I said with an even tone, silencing her. "You won't be dropping out of school. I forbid it. It's not your responsibility to worry about money. Your responsibility is to go to school and get good grades while living your high school life."
"B-but-"
"No buts, Komachi." I said while walking over and kneeling in front of her. I placed my hands on her shoulders and offered her a warm smile. "I'm going to make you a promise right here and now. If I ever wind up in the hospital again, I'll retire from being a hunter and find a normal job. How does that sound?"
Komachi looked at me with a hopeful expression. "Y-you promise?"
I meant what I said. I would retire from being a hunter should I end up in the hospital again. But that was something that would never happen. I refused to let it happen. With a mental command, I summoned the menu and looked at the daily quest screen.
[Daily Quests]
[The road to strength. | Train your body to handle the battles to come. | Reward: 3 Ability Points, +200 XP]
[Push-Ups: 0/100][Sit-Ups: 0/100]
[Squats: 0/100][Running: 0/10km]
I would use the system to grow stronger. The days when I used to be a weak E-rank hunter would be long behind me. I promised myself I would never fall prey to anything or anyone ever again. No matter what, I'd fight tooth and nail to become stronger. I'll get stronger if it's the last thing I do. I won't die and leave you in this cold world alone, Komachi.
"I promise."
x x x
I leaned on my knees while trying to catch my breath. Cold sweat clung to my chest and back. I wiped the droplets of sweat off my face with the back of my hand. Just barely made it in time. I lifted my back-up phone and looked at the time. It was eleven forty-five.
[Daily Quests]
[The road to strength. | Train your body to handle the battles to come. | Reward: 3 Ability Points, +200 XP]
[Push-Ups: 100/100][Sit-Ups: 100/100]
[Squats: 100/100][Running: 10/10km]
[Daily Quest Complete!]
[Notification: You have completed: Daily Quest: The Road to Strength. Rewards have been delivered!]
I sat down on the grass and looked up at the night sky. I watched as two hundred XP was added to my XP bar, causing it to increase slightly. Opening my status screen, I saw that I now had three available ability points. Hold on, let's test this out. I looked around the dark and lonely park and saw a wooden bench. Walking over to it, I placed my hands underneath and lifted it. Despite my tired body, I was able to lift it with some difficulty. Good, now I have a point of reference.
I let the bench down and opened the status menu again. With a mental command, I placed all three points into strength. Seeing the number rise to twenty, I turned back to the bench. With another heave, I lifted it higher than I did before. My strength did increase! This time, it was far easier to lift it than before. I placed the bench down and looked down at my hand with a grin.
I commanded the map to appear and clicked on the Real of Chaos tab. Seeing the world map, I couldn't help but feel curious about what was in this new world. I'm sure that I'll be able to grow stronger there. With my mind made up, I began making my way home to rest. Because tomorrow, I would be entering the Realm of Chaos.
x x x
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay? You just got out of the hospital, maybe I should-"
"I'm fine, Komachi." I said as Komachi and I walked down the stairs of our apartment complex. "You already missed a day as it is. Remember what Miura-san said? He said I had a clean bill of health. So don't worry about your dear Onii-chan. Go to school."
We reached the bottom of the stairs and headed to the bike rack in front of the complex. Komachi stood in front of my old bike and eyed me carefully. "Well, if you say so. Make sure you take it easy, okay?"
"You got it."
Komachi smiled and unlocked the bike. Before she grabbed the bike's handles, she turned to me and wrapped her arms around me tightly. I smiled and hugged her back. With our goodbyes said, I waved at her as she drove off to school. I watched her leave with my hands in my pockets until she was out of sight.
"Now then. Let's get to work." I said and began running towards the nearby park to do the daily quest.
x x x
Looking down, I made sure to check my gear once again. A pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt with black boots. Usually, I would have a backpack on me, but thanks to the system providing me with a seemingly unlimited inventory. There was no need for it. So I packed away several extra changes of clothes and provisions to last me all day. I checked my surroundings and saw that there was no one else around the area.
I was currently located in an isolated area in a park not too far off from my apartment. The park itself was large, with plenty of trees and shrubbery. I made sure to travel deep into it where I was sure no one would be. This was a precaution due to the fact that I had no idea what would happen once I clicked on the yes option to travel to the Swamp Lands in the Realm of Chaos.
"Maps." I said and watched a large map of Japan pop up. Ignoring it, I opened the Realm of Chaos map and tapped on the Swamp Lands location.
[Swamp Lands | Recommended Level: 1-10]
[Travel to this location?]
[Yes][No]
I held my finger over the yes option but hesitated. After taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I tapped the yes option. The map screen disappeared, and a yellow, spinning portal the size of a door sprang to life in front of me. I eyed it suspiciously and walked around it.
"It's like a normal gate portal. But somehow different? I think it should be safe to open this at the apartment." I said and stepped closer to the portal. "Okay. Let's do this."
I stepped through the portal and watched as streams of colors flashed around me. The experience was short-lived as I stepped onto the other side of the portal. I looked on in amazement as a vast green marshland stood before me. Large, thick trees spread throughout the wet swamp fields as mist hung low over the ground. I turned my head up and watched as birds I've never seen before flew overhead, the bright purple sky behind them as fluffy white clouds glided lazily across the sky.
A loud croak stole my attention as I watched a sizeable mutated frog jump to and from patches of grass. It was easily the size of a large dog. Further away, I saw three giant turtles the size of a small car walking through the swamp waters. A dragonfly-like insect whizzed by me and flew deeper into the forest.
"Wow. It is a whole different world!" I said in awe and took a step forward. My awe was short-lived as my boot sank into the swamp water. "My boot…"
I watched as the portal behind me vanished in a similar fashion it appeared. As it did, several new notifications appeared before me.
[Notification: You have entered the Swamp Lands.]
[Notification: Main Quest received: Defeat the King of the Swamp, Iron Shelled Giga-Gator | Reward: ?, +1500 XP]
[Notification: Side Quest received: Collect 4 fangs from the Green Swamp Viper | Reward: Crafting Recipe, +500 XP]
[Notification: Side Quest Received: Defeat 10 Horned Salamanders | Reward: 1 Ability Point, +350 XP]
"Three quests from the start?" I said while looking left and right. I held my hand out, and in a flash of red, my short sword appeared in my grasp. I waddled forward through wetlands and eyed my surroundings. Despite the magical and fantasy-like creatures around me, I knew better than to think that any of these creatures wouldn't have the ability to kill me.
As I walked, I was able to get a feel for the swamp. The frog and turtle-like creatures were neutral towards me, at least until I gave them a reason to. As I walked, several different pieces of the greenery and environment glowed. Showing off their importance. I assumed the glow was thanks to the system; it was helping me find key items. So, thanks to having unlimited storage, I began to collect everything I walked past.
My hoarding proved useful due to the discovery of combining two green herbs through the oddly familiar six-by-six crafting system to create a small HP potion that added ten points to my HP. This made me wonder what else I could craft. Questions for later.
"Found one." I said as I hid behind one of the thick trees. Off in the distance was a large, black and yellow salamander. It's about the size of an average alligator, in contrast to the salamanders on Earth. This one had three pairs of legs with sharp horns lining the length of its back. It was currently eating a large blue fish. The magical beast was completely unaware I was eyeing it.
[Horned Salamander]
The salamander had a yellow-colored title over its head. Using my extensive gaming experience, I came to the conclusion that the difficulty system was structured by colors. Seeing that the neutral beasts like the turtle and frogs had white titles, I would guess that they were around my level. Yellow most likely meant it was a more formidable opponent than I could handle, but not entirely out of my league.
Stepping around the tree, I gripped my sword and lowered myself. I summoned one of the rocks I'd been hoarding and threw it directly at the horned salamander's head. It croaked in pain while looking disoriented. Seeing my chance, I dashed towards it as fast as I could. However, due to the foot-deep swamp water, my full speed was hindered.
"Take this!" I yelled and swung my sword across the side of the horned salamander's neck. Causing blood to gush out. The salamander growled and turned to me. It then spun around and swiped its long tail at me. I tried to jump to avoid the attack, but at the last second, my boot remained stuck in the mud.
I grunted in pain as the tail impacted my stomach. Sending me rolling through the swamp water. I burst out of the water and watched as the salamander rushed me. Ignoring my drenched state, I rolled to the side and narrowly dodged the beast's snapping jaws. I used my free hand and punched the salamander's head. A loud crack echoed through the swamp, scaring away the nearby bug-type creatures.
Not one to waste an opportunity, I thrust forward with my blade toward the salamander's skull. Through the blade, I felt the beast's bone shatter. Seeing it trash around, I grabbed the top of its head with my free hand and pushed it down into the water. Using the leverage I created, I sank my sword deeper into it until the hilt of my blade stopped at the top of its head. It squirmed under me until its movements finally ceased.
[Notification: You have defeated: Horned Salamander]
[+150 XP]
[Side Quest: Defeat 10 Horned Salamanders | 1/10]
I calmed my quick breathing and pulled out my short sword from the beast's head. I turned to my XP bar and saw that it was extremely close to being full. Defeating another Horned Salamander should push me to finally level up. As I was about to stand up, I saw a new option hovering over the salamander's corpse.
[Carve corpse?]
[Yes][No]
I kneeled next to the salamander's body and chose the yes option. Immediately, the knowledge of how to perfectly extract all of the salamander's important body parts filled my brain. The sudden rush of knowledge was surreal and extraordinary. Without wasting more time, I lifted my short sword and began carving the salamander's corpse.
[Horned Salamanders tail x1 acquired]
[Horned Salamanders fangs x6 acquired]
[Horned Salamanders pelt x4 acquired]
Once done, I rose up and looked down at the mangled body of the magic beast and then at my sword. "It seems that the magic beasts of this world don't have essence stones inside them. That's disappointing. Regardless, I'm going to have to get a proper carving knife for this."
Using my short sword proved awkward. The cuts were jagged and unrefined, while the amount of body parts I could acquire successfully was little. I slid my sword into its sheath and opened the crafting menu. Seeing the six-by-six slots, I couldn't help but wonder if I could do anything with what I had now. I placed the salamander's tail, fangs, and pelts in different places. However, nothing ended up working. With a sigh, I removed the fangs and tail from the menu. Just as I was about to remove the pelts, I saw that the current placement of the items resulted in a new craftable item.
[Slimy-lander Boots | Rank: E | +5 Speed | Boots crafted from the pelts of the Horned Salamander. Increases movement speed in wet areas.]
[Would you like to craft?]
[Yes][No]
Clicking yes, I watched as the newly crafted boots disappeared. Switching over to the armor screen, I saw the Slimy-lander Boots sitting in a small inventory section below the equip area. "Equip Slimy-lander Boots."
In a flash, a pair of shiny black and yellow boots appeared over my feet. The soles were spiked, while the boots were held onto my feet by three leather-like straps. The insides felt dry, making these waterproof. I turned my head to the armor screen and saw the boots were also on the small chibi version of myself. My first piece of armor! This should make traversing the swamp easier now.
I felt my grin stretch my cheeks. Looking behind me, I saw a patch of grass sitting in the middle of the murky waters. It stood fifteen feet away from me. With much faster speeds than before, I dashed towards the patch of grass. I came to a stop without slipping and inspected the distance I crossed. "I've gotten a bit faster. I wonder what will happen if I have the complete armor set?"
I turned my head towards the sight of movement beyond several thick trees. I focused and saw another Horned Salamander making its way further into the swamp. Stepping back into the swamp waters, I made my way towards it.
"One down, nine to go."
x x x
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