Hikaru had spent his first few days in this world doing what he did best—finding opportunities, making connections, and staying ahead of the game.
Most of his classmates were still struggling to adjust, taking safe beginner quests, trying to train their abilities like good little heroes.
Hikaru?
He had already pulled off a successful con, won his first pile of real money, and gained the attention of both adventurers and criminals alike.
Not bad for someone the kingdom had discarded.
But if he wanted to go further, he needed to test his ability against something real.
That chance came sooner than expected.
The job started simply enough.
Hikaru had been loitering around the guild, listening in on conversations when he overheard two adventurers arguing over a beast sighting outside the city.
"It's not a damn wolf, I'm telling you. I saw it—it was wrong."
"You drank too much again, didn't you?"
Hikaru tuned out the rest.
Rumors were always more interesting than official quests.
By the time evening rolled around, he had pieced together the story: something was lurking near the outskirts of the eastern forest, attacking lone travelers. The guild had no official bounty on it yet, meaning no one had to deal with it.
Which also meant—
No competition.
Perfect.
That night, Hikaru slipped away from the main road, following a barely visible path toward the forest.
Most adventurers wouldn't bother tracking a non-bounty creature. But Hikaru wasn't most adventurers.
This was an investment.
If he could handle this on his own, it'd do two things:
It would prove he wasn't just another rookie. It would give him real experience testing his ability in a dangerous scenario.
He adjusted his glasses, stepping carefully over the uneven ground, eyes scanning the darkness.
The wind rustled the leaves. The night was quiet.
Too quiet.
Something's here.
He flicked a card between his fingers, waiting.
Then—
A shadow lunged from the underbrush.
Hikaru barely dodged as a low, snarling creature shot past him, its shape flickering unnaturally under the moonlight.
It skidded to a stop, slowly turning to face him.
It looked like a wolf… but wrong.
Its fur was too dark, shifting like living ink. Its eyes glowed with a sickly yellow hue, and its body twitched as if reality itself wasn't sure where it was supposed to be.
Hikaru felt a chill crawl down his spine.
That wasn't a normal monster.
The creature let out a guttural, warped snarl.
Then it attacked.
Hikaru twisted away, barely avoiding the monster's claws.
It was fast—faster than he expected.
He flicked his wrist.
[Skill Activated: ♠4 – Phantom's Edge]
A fake blade shimmered into existence, slashing at the creature. It flinched—just for a second—but its body distorted, phasing through the illusion before snapping back into place.
Hikaru clicked his tongue. It saw through it?
The wolf-thing lunged again.
Hikaru threw a card.
[Skill Activated: ♠8 – Specter's Hand]
The card disappeared—then reappeared mid-air, redirecting the monster's charge. The creature snarled as it missed its mark, skidding past him.
Hikaru grinned. That worked.
The trick wasn't to attack it.
The trick was to make it attack the wrong thing.
He tossed another card, shifting its movement just enough to throw the beast off again.
The creature circled him, growing more frustrated. It lunged once more—
Hikaru flicked his wrist.
[Skill Activated: ♦6 – Lucky Streak]
His next three actions were boosted.
He sidestepped perfectly, avoiding its claws by inches.
He threw a card at just the right angle, making it stumble.
And as it recovered—he reached for his deck.
[Skill Activated: ♠10 – Phantom Shuffle]
The wolf's head snapped toward him—
Only to see him standing somewhere else.
An illusion.
By the time it realized the mistake—Hikaru had already flipped back to safety.
The beast's body twitched violently, its form flickering, becoming less stable.
Then—
It collapsed.
The sickly yellow glow in its eyes faded. Its fur lost its shifting darkness.
And then—
It was just a normal wolf.
Hikaru caught his breath, adjusting his glasses.
"Well," he muttered, "that was weird."
The next morning, Hikaru strolled back into the Adventurer's Guild.
Elara, the guild handler, raised an eyebrow as he approached the counter. "What do you want, rookie?"
Hikaru reached into his pocket and pulled out a single blackened wolf fang.
He placed it on the counter.
"I found something interesting in the woods last night," he said casually. "Figured someone here might want to take a look."
A hush spread through the nearby adventurers.
One of them—an older man with a scar over his left eye—slowly stood.
"…That's a Corrupted Beast."
Elara's expression darkened. "You ran into one of those?"
Hikaru shrugged. "Didn't plan to. But it was planning to run into me."
The scarred adventurer folded his arms. "If Corruption Beasts are appearing this close to the city, that's bad news."
Another guild member nodded. "They're usually only found near deep dungeons. If one was just wandering out there—"
Elara clicked her tongue. "We'll have to investigate." She gave Hikaru a sharp look. "You should've reported this earlier, rookie."
Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Why? I handled it."
Someone snorted. "You? Handled a Corruption Beast? Alone?"
Hikaru smirked. "You can always go check the body."
The scarred adventurer stared at him for a long moment.
Then he chuckled.
"Well," he said, "guess the kid's not completely useless."
Elara sighed. "Fine. You're getting a reward, but don't expect a big one. You should have brought backup."
She tossed him a small pouch of coins. Hikaru caught it easily.
"Pleasure doing business," he said with a grin.
As he turned to leave, he caught whispers spreading.
"Bronze-ranked hero took down a Corruption Beast?"
"No way. Not alone."
"Maybe he got lucky."
"I dunno, man. He doesn't look like he was lying."
Hikaru hid his grin as he stepped away.
Because just like that—
His second trick in this world was complete.
And the rumors had already started working in his favor.