Togiri sat at the breakfast table, the familiar scent of eggs and toast filling the room.
Sunlight poured through the windows, bathing the kitchen in a warm, golden glow.
His mother, Julia, moved gracefully between the stove and the table, her every action smooth and practiced.
His father, Arthur, sat at the head of the table, engrossed in his newspaper, the morning light catching the gray in his thinning hair.
Lilia, his three-year-old sister, giggled from her high chair, her chubby hands clutching a piece of toast as she kicked her legs in delight.
Despite the peaceful scene, Togiri's heart weighed heavy. He hadn't told them yet, but today was different. He was leaving.
"Mom, Dad," he began, his voice steady but soft, setting his fork down. His words drew their immediate attention.
Julia's eyes filled with warmth but concern flickered beneath her calm demeanor. Arthur lowered his newspaper, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"I need to tell you something," Togiri continued, pushing the words out. "I'm leaving today. I'll be gone for two months."
Julia's face fell, her warm smile freezing into a mask of worry. "Two months?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Where are you going, Togiri?"
Arthur's brow furrowed. "What's this about, son?"
Togiri hesitated, glancing at Lilia, who was blissfully unaware, still lost in her own world of giggles and toast.
Turning back to his parents, he took a deep breath. "I'm hosting a tournament. It's to help the Phantom Society grow, but... I'm also doing it to find traces of Kastriot."
At the mention of Kastriot's name, Julia's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears.
The name was like a wound being reopened, one that had never fully healed. Kastriot, her eldest son, had disappeared ten years ago, and the pain of that loss had lingered in their family like a ghost.
Arthur sighed deeply, rubbing his temples. "Kastriot… you're still searching for him," he muttered, his voice thick with the emotion they had buried for so long.
"I have to," Togiri replied firmly. "This tournament will bring the strongest fighters from around the world. Maybe one of them knows something about him."
Julia's hand trembled as she clutched the edge of the table, her eyes wide with fear. "And what about us, Togiri?" she whispered. "What happens if someone comes for us while you're gone?"
"The Phantom Society will protect you," Togiri said, his voice steady. "I've made arrangements. For the next two months, you'll be safe. But after the tournament, I'll need you to leave the city for a while."
Arthur leaned back in his chair, his face a mixture of concern and resignation. "And what about you? What happens to you, son?"
Togiri forced a smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll be fine, Dad. I've trained for this. I'm ready."
Lilia, oblivious to the weight of the conversation, reached out with sticky fingers. "Togi," she giggled, her bright eyes filled with joy.
Togiri's heart ached as he ruffled her hair, trying to hide the pain behind his smile. "I'll miss you all," he said softly, his voice barely audible. "But I'll come back. Stronger."
Julia couldn't hold back any longer. She reached across the table and grabbed Togiri's hand in hers, her grip trembling.
"Please, Togiri," she whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Stay safe. We don't want to lose you too."
Arthur, his voice rough with emotion, added quietly, "You're doing what you think is right, son. Just… be careful. There's no turning back once you're out there."
Togiri swallowed hard, nodding. "I know."
As breakfast drew to a close, the weight of his departure settled over them like a dark cloud.
He stood, hugging his mother tightly, feeling her hold him just a moment longer than usual. Then, he embraced his father, a silent exchange of understanding passing between them.
Finally, he kissed Lilia on the forehead, her laughter bubbling up as she tried to grab at his hair.
"I love you all," he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.
And with that, he turned and walked toward the door, his mind already racing with thoughts of Kastriot, the tournament, and the dangers that lay ahead.
As he stepped outside, the sun hit his face, filling him with a renewed sense of determination.
He was ready—ready to face whatever came next. For his family, for the Phantom Society, for Kastriot... and for himself.
He would return stronger.
-----
July 15, 1999
Two days had passed since Togiri left Momo City.
Before his departure, he visited a few stores to stock up on provisions for the journey, knowing he might spend days outside of urban areas.
His first stop was at the Phantom Society's headquarters, where he gave his subordinates detailed instructions and handed out pills to enhance their strength.
Now, aboard a blimp gliding over a distant village, a young boy sat by the window, gazing at the scenery below.
The boy had striking blond hair, blue eyes, and freckles dotting his face—he was remarkably handsome.
This boy was none other than Togiri. He had purchased a Disguise Pill from his system's Shop for ten thousand Shop Points.
The pill altered his appearance for one week, but it couldn't change his bone structure to make him taller or gender, just his face and voice.
His new look featured different hair and eye colors, freckles, and details that made him appear far more attractive than his usual, average face.
Inwardly, Togiri was elated. 'In just a few hours, I've already earned 300,000 Existence Points. Once the whole world sees the video, I could gain even a few billion EP', he thought, though his outward demeanor remained stoic.
He opened his system panel and glanced at the left corner of the plain white and black window.
Existence Points (EP): 389,920
Shop Points (SP): 0
Reviewer Points (RP): 0
Togiri watched as his Existence Points increased by thousands every second. Excited, he navigated to his system overview:
1. Status
2. Shop
3. Inventory
4. Skills
5. Training Simulator
6. Crafting Tab
7. Karma [Locked]
8. Nen Affinity
'Seven, increase my inventory slots by 100,000 Existence Points.'
Seven, the AI companion of Togiri's system, responded with a tone of concern.
@Master, 100,000 Existence Points will be converted to 100 inventory slots. Are you sure you want to spend that many points on your inventory?@
Togiri smiled as he continued to observe his rapidly increasing EP. "Yes."
A familiar bell rang in his mind. Ding! [Congratulations on gaining 100 additional inventory slots. A new function is available. The host can now toggle between normal time flow and a slowed time flow of 100 times inside the inventory.]
Togiri's eyes widened in surprise. I guess I don't need to store cans or pills in jade bottles anymore.
He smirked at the thought. 'But unlike those protagonists in novels, I have to spend huge amounts of Existence Points just to unlock or upgrade system functions.'
Now with 110 inventory slots, Togiri noted that items of the same type could be stacked 99 times within a single slot.
He continued, 'Next is Nen. Seven, increase the time limit of my Phantom Warriors by 100,000 Existence Points.'
Seven, slightly annoyed, sighed.
@Fine...@
Togiri examined his stats:
Nen Ability:
Phantom Pages (Entry-Level)
Phantom Book (Entry-Level)
Max Pages: 10 white / 1 light blue
Phantom Warrior: 1.84 / 2.2 (STR, AGI, VIT)
Time Limit: 22 min. 6 sec. / 18 min. 28 sec.
'The time limit quadrupled!' Togiri grinned. 'Now my Phantom Warriors can handle tasks like hunting animals.'
His spree didn't stop there. He opened his Nen Affinity tab and tilted his head. 'I could increase my moveable Nen Affinity, but 20% is enough for now.'
'Seven, how much does it cost to increase my Enhancement affinity from 60% to 80%?'
@Sixty million points.@ Seven answered immediately.
Togiri was taken aback by the figure. 'It only cost 3 million points to increase my Emission affinity from 40% to 60%.' Togiri thought, still processing the massive leap in cost.
But he quickly dismissed the idea. 'There's no point in wasting that much. Emission is the least useful category for me.'
As a Conjurer, Togiri's abilities centered around his Phantom Book and Phantom Pages.
His Transmutation skill allowed him to convert his Nen into special paper—stronger and more durable than regular paper.
He used Manipulation to command the Phantom Warriors he conjured by writing instructions with his own blood on the pages.
Enhancement was vital for boosting the durability of his book and his fighting strength, but Emission was almost pointless for him.
He could barely enhance his Phantom Warriors' strength, and the boost was only effective within close range, making it impractical.
'If I have to stay near them, it defeats the whole purpose of having an army fight for me.'
He continued analyzing his Nen categories. 'I can't directly strengthen my book or Phantom Pages or improve my mastery of Nen categories. But I can level up my Nen techniques and extend the warriors' time limits.'
Togiri opened his skill window:
Skills:
Nen (entry-level)
Mastery:
Ten 43%, Ren 29%, Ken 26%, Zetsu 36%
Gyo 20%, In 11%, En 19%, Shu 27%,
Ryu 21%, Ko 13%, Hatsu 14%
Nen Ability:
Phantom Pages (Entry-Level)
Phantom Book (Entry-Level)
Max Pages: 10 white / 1 light blue
Phantom Warrior: 2.39 / 2.86 (STR, AGI, VIT)
Time Limit: 22 min. 6 sec. / 18 min. 28 sec.
'Since I've never had enough EP before, I couldn't test this', Togiri thought, pulling a water bottle from his inventory when no one was looking.
He gave Seven a command. "Increase my Hatsu by 3% in three seconds."
Togiri poured Aura from his hand into the water bottle, watching as something began to form inside the liquid.
After half a minute, he stopped. He opened his system panel and his jaw dropped
Skills:
Nen (entry-level)
Mastery:
Ten 43%, Ren 29%, Ken 26%, Zetsu 36%
Gyo 20%, In 11%, En 19%, Shu 27%,
Ryu 21%, Ko 13%, Hatsu 17%
Nen Ability:
Phantom Pages (Entry-Level)
Phantom Book (Entry-Level)
Max Pages: 10 white / 1 light blue
Phantom Warrior: 2.39 / 2.86 (STR, AGI, VIT)
Time Limit: 52 min. / 43 min.
Togiri's eyes widened in disbelief. The Phantom Warriors' strength increased by 30%, and their time limit shot up by half an hour!
He quickly realized the significance of what he'd just done. 'What are Existence Points really?'
He wondered, as his heart raced. 'They're powerful enough to heal broken bones in an instant, convert to Shop Points, and seem to be the foundation of the entire system.'
Suddenly, Togiri facepalmed, feeling foolish. 'Why did I waste 100,000 Existence Points earlier just to increase the Phantom Warriors' time limit by 15 minutes when I could have spent the same amount to increase both their strength and time limit by a much greater margin?'
He glanced back at the upper left corner of his system window, where his remaining points were displayed:
Existence Points (EP): 12,104
Shop Points (SP): 0
Reviewer Points (RP): 0
His heart sank at the sight of his dwindling points, but his anxiety was quickly replaced by relief as, within minutes, his Existence Points had already risen by over 10,000.
Togiri closed his system window and resumed looking out the window of the blimp.
'In an hour, it's time to exterminate some more rats', he thought grimly.
Seven, who had been silently listening, scoffed sarcastically. @Traveling between cities, staying in five-star hotels, and enjoying gourmet meals sounds so horrible.@
Seven's voice became even more bitter.
@Why don't you spend ten million points to turn me into a dog or a sword? I want to eat, smell, and feel the cold wind and sunlight.@ Despite his now older voice, Seven still acted like a child, throwing a tantrum.
Togiri chuckled. 'One day, my slave, one day you'll taste freedom.' Seven, not missing a beat, retorted, @Bald-headed bastard.@
Togiri frowned. 'Hey! I'm only twenty-five. Your mother is bald!'
Seven shot back, @You created me. You are my mother. So, you just insulted yourself—bweh.@
Togiri's face twisted in disgust. A vein throbbed on his freckled face. 'Don't make me come in there and beat you', he growled.
Seven went silent for a moment, but then, with a gleeful voice, he chirped: @I'm sorry, Mom. Hehehe.@
---
Elsewhere, in a small, dilapidated cottage deep in the woods, a middle-aged man with an unkempt beard and dirty clothes sat by a radio.
His wild, beast-like eyes sparkled with greed as he listened.
"One hundred billion for winning a tournament? I'm going to be rich!" he yelled, his laugh echoing in the tiny, self-built cabin. "They'll all regret looking down on me!"
---
In another part of the world, a group of gangsters sat around a poker table in a smoke-filled room.
Cigarette smoke hung heavy in the air. Suddenly, a bald-headed man with a prosthetic metal hand slammed the table.
"One hundred billion Jenny?!" he roared. His lips curled into a vicious smile.
"Get the boys together. We're going on a hunt!"
---
Somewhere else, a beautiful young woman sprinted through a narrow alley, twisting her body like an athlete as she dodged a hail of bullets.
"You'll never catch me!" a man shouted, throwing his pistol aside as he ran.
The woman grinned. "I was first in sprinting at the academy," she whispered, effortlessly closing the distance.
Within seconds, she caught up to the fleeing criminal and pinned him to the ground. He howled in pain.
"This is police brutality! I'll sue you!" he shouted. She ignored him, hauling him back to her patrol car.
As she secured the man in the backseat, a loud voice from a nearby television caught her attention.
A young boy with brown hair was speaking provocatively on the screen.
"If you win this tournament, the Shura no Kōrin then I will give you 100 billion Jenny, but let's be honest." Togiri scoffed.
"A weakling like you would stand no chance against strong martial artists. Tsk tsk"
Togiri shrugged his shoulders in the video.
"Even if you advanced to the final round, you could never stand a chance against me. I am just the strongest there is.
You are all too old and weak to defeat a young boy in the prime of his life. Seems like no one is strong enough to take 100 billion Jenny from me.
What should I do with all this money? Buy a yacht? Give it to charity or should I just burn it?
What? Are you angry? Hit me! Hit me! Come on do it! Oh, right. This is just a screen and you are too scared to come see me in real life at the tournament. Coward! Baldy! Mommas boy! Frail little girl!" said Togiri in a provoking way.
This was a promotional stategy to anger people and spread his fame even more.
The young police officer scoffed and turned around as she kept hearing the boy delivering over dozens of insults.
"Big words for a little boy, let this big sister show you how strong a police officer is" she smiled as she drove away.
-----
Somewhere else in the world in a dark room.
A black figure was sitting on a chair, looking at a computer screen on the table before him.
A live video was playing of a boy with blond hair sitting in a blimp watching out the window.
The black figure spoke in a deep an eerie tone.
"Oh, Haru. The Phantom Society? Hah, do you think your little band of misfits that you cobbled together, can protect your beloveds?
They are nothing more than pawns—clueless tools. I've crushed real organisations, armies, empires and yet to except me to take this ragtag crew seriously?"
The man spoke in a familiar and nostalgic tone, but his eyes were bloodshot.
He stared at the computer screen and a wide crazed smiled spread across his face.
"Father!" Yelled a young boy as he entered the dark room.
The boy walked towards the man and his face was illuminated by the computer screen.
"Are still wasting your time observing him? Tsk! At the Shura no Kōrin he planned in two months, I will kill him and officially resume the position of heir and regain my lost honor"
The mysterious man used the mouse and a video of Togiri announcing the Shura no Kōrin appeared.
While Togiri spoke and provoked the viewers above his finger, words constructed by Nen appeared.
The real Shura no Kōrin was sheduled a week later than the fake tournament for non Nen awakened humans.
The 17th September was the day where the real Shura no Kōrin was scheduled.
The man and the boy looked at the video. In the video Togiri introduced himself and revealed the price of 100 billion jenny, but his Nen told a different story.
The price of winning the tournament was the Phantom Society that included dozens of assassins that mastered Nen and were ready to kill at command.
The boy scoffed in annoyance as he said "So you made your own Clan, Haru? Hah! Crippling you and sparing your life made you ballsy enough to stand with your head held high!"
The boy beside the man scoffed. Hearing this the old man beside him revealed a slight smile.
"Everytime I see his face, I forget that you were twin-" Bang — The computer was punched.
The boy destroyed the computer with one punch. In the dark room a few sparks flew from the computer revealing the boys face.
"I don't have an older brother this weak" said the boy in a chilling tone.
The man stood up from his chair and grabbed the boy on his shoulder, slightly crushing it.
"Hiro, dont underestimate Haru. The blood coursing through him is still Tenshiko blood."
-----
----
-----
Meanings of the new names.
Haru, [the name of the boy before Togiri possesed his body] (春) – Meaning "spring," it symbolizes renewal, new beginnings, and growth.
Shura no Kōrin (修羅の降臨) translates to "The Advent of Shura" or "Descent of the Asura."
Shura (修羅) refers to beings in Buddhist cosmology associated with endless conflict, often portrayed as demigods or warriors of chaos and bloodshed.
Kōrin (降臨) means "advent" or "descent," referring to the arrival or manifestation of something powerful or divine.
Together, Shura no Kōrin evokes an image of a powerful and chaotic force descending upon the world, often associated with battle and destruction, fitting for a Togiri's image of himself after the tournament.
Hiro, [Togiri's younger twin brother] (広) – Meaning "broad" or "wide," often associated with generosity or expansiveness. It can also mean "prosperous."
4. Tenshiko (天志子) – A compound name:
Ten (天) – Meaning "heaven" or "sky."
Shi (志) – Meaning "will" or "intention."
Ko (子) – Meaning "child."
Together, Tenshiko would mean "child of heavenly will" or "child of divine purpose."
----
Author note:
It may seem I'm rushing the Story, but Togiri is just doing the same things.
Killing, training, making future plans and spending time with his family.
Unlike most novels Togiri doesn't have a big bad villain or something that threatens his life to grow stronger in a short amount of time.
To grasp the opportunity to farm Shop Points by fighting against Chimera Ants, he takes a big danger that brings forth bigger danger than he could ever have imagined.
Instead of a big bad villain or some exitence pressuring him, Togiri's actions force him to take on more and more risks to gain strength.
This aspect is similiar to Fang Yuan who starts of in his village, but litte decisions forced him to increase the risks he took along the way which made him take bigger risk to gain strength quickly.
Like running on a burning rope over a cliff were every moment the fire could catch up to you.
But unlike Fang Yuan, Togiri has lowe higher intelligence, slightly above the average. He has no massive amount of experience, and doesn't have perfect controll over his emotions.
Togiri was just a loser forced upon this hellish path similiar to Fang Yuan but Fang Yuan chose it willingly in his second life.
But both want to achieve their respected goals.
Btw I am a Reverend Insanity fan, but I can't and don't think anyone can hold the candle to the author of RI.
I am not trying to write a RI copy or make a Fang Yuan copy. I am trying to create an original Togiri.