Solo Leveling: Digispirit.

20.4 GB of data in total.

That was how much Takuya had gathered since the moment he first stepped into the Digital World, added to the data he had already possessed beforehand. Now, less than 10 GB separated him from the amount required for his next Evolution.

At least when it came to the data requirement.

What he would have to do after unlocking the Evolution was another matter, although that part wasn’t exactly a mystery. It was obvious. If Agnimon’s Evolution had come with a trial that had nearly killed him, then...

"I wonder how difficult the test for Vritramon is going to be," Takuya muttered.

For now, however, there was no point thinking about it. After finally allowing himself to relax following the fight against two Perfect-level Digimon, the pain he had been ignoring began to catch up with him. Slowly, the aches spread through his chest, arms, legs... pretty much everywhere.

Everything hurt.

Apparently, Pumpkinmon and BlackTailmon weren’t doing much better. The two Digimon sat among the remains of the shattered dunes, resting while the sun slowly began to sink toward the horizon. After a few minutes of silence, Takuya finally turned toward BlackTailmon.

"Sorry for dragging you into all of this," he said. "Even after you wanted to kill us, you still ended up helping us. At least you got your reward, didn’t you?"

"Yes. I absorbed a lot of data," BlackTailmon replied, looking down at her paws. Despite having one eye closed from the wounds she had received earlier, she wore a satisfied smile. "What’s more, I’m pretty close to my next Evolution."

"I have a proposal," Takuya said.

"A proposal?" BlackTailmon asked, glancing at him.

"Yeah. It’s actually pretty simple. You’ve been wandering around this island for a while, haven’t you?"

"Yeah. I’ve been wandering around for years now. I used to be a Plotmon. I wanted to evolve into Tailmon, but..." BlackTailmon looked away for a moment. "Considering how tricky I’ve been, I ended up becoming a BlackTailmon instead." She looked back at him. "But you still haven’t told me what your proposal is."

"You see, we want to make this island a safer place. Let me explain from the beginning. There was an invasion in the town at the center of the island. Yeah, I think that’s the right word for it. Four Perfect-level Digimon, along with a lot of Bakemon, entered the island. They enslaved the entire town and forced them to manufacture metal body parts so they could eventually evolve into Mugendramon."

BlackTailmon immediately jumped to his feet.

"Are you telling me there’s a Mugendramon on the loose?!"

Her eyes widened as she looked around.

They had barely survived fighting two Perfect-level Digimon. A Mega was an entirely different matter. If there really was a Mugendramon somewhere on this island, BlackTailmon had absolutely no intention of sticking around to find out.

"No, no. We stopped them before they could complete the plan. They all died. We had help from a LoaderLeomon, and the parts were eventually used to evolve a Greymon into MetalGreymon. Now they’re recruiting the remaining Perfect-level Digimon on the island to create a unified defense force in case something like that happens again. If they invaded once, there’s always the possibility of another invasion."

BlackTailmon slowly relaxed again, but he crossed the arms.

"You still haven’t told me the proposal."

"It’s simple. Tell me where the Digimon that don’t care about the island’s safety are. The ones that don’t care about other Digimon either. The ones that kill indiscriminately."

BlackTailmon stared at him for a moment before a grin appeared on her face.

"Ohhh. So you want to kill them. That way you can evolve, strengthen your group, and make the island safer at the same time, right?"

"Yep. Pretty much. So, what do you think? In exchange..." Takuya gestured toward the battlefield behind them. "You already saw what happened. You gathered a lot of data today. If you help us, I think you can reach the Perfect stage much faster."

BlackTailmon couldn’t deny that.

This fight had provided her with more data than any battle she had experienced before. If she could repeat something like this a few more times, she was certain she could reach her next Evolution far sooner than she would have on her own.

"So, you mean this as a partnership? Or do you want me to become part of this group of Perfects you’re putting together?" asked blacktailmon.

"I have to be honest with you. I had zero intention of becoming part of the group you’re forming," BlackTailmon added before Takuya could answer. "Sorry."

"No, no. I just want your help with the fights and with locating the Digimon causing problems."

"If that’s the case, I can help. However, this is going to take a long time. Months, even. It’s an island, and finding every Adult-level Digimon that’s causing problems is going to take a while. There are even some Perfects around."

"That’s not a problem."

Takuya thought about it.

He still didn’t know exactly what the Guild would do once they realized he was missing. How long would it take them to notice? Two weeks? Or would they realize it the very next day?

Either way, he didn’t exactly have an easy way back.

Entering another Gate could mean a possible third Awakening.

There was no way around that.

Eventually, that outcome was probably inevitable once he reached the Perfect stage. He had no intention of hiding his power forever, but a third Awakening—or even the suspicion of one before he reached his next Evolution—could create serious problems.

For now, his best option was to remain in the Digital World until he was close enough to his next Evolution. If he disappeared for one to three weeks in the real world, it probably wouldn’t be an issue. If he could gather enough data during that time, or eliminate all the hostile Digimon on the island, he could return with a much stronger position and a considerable amount of data already accumulated.

After that, a few raids should be enough to finally reach the next Evolution.

"So, in that case, where should we go?" Takuya asked BlackTailmon.

"There are still a couple of pretty nasty Digimon around here. There’s a group of Raremon in the northern part of the beach. There are about nine of them, and they’re nasty. They attack pretty much anything that comes close, from Rookie Digimon to Adults." BlackTailmon pointed toward the north. "Those are the ones still living around this beach, at least in the northern area. As for the south..." She hesitated. "I don’t go there."

"Why? A Perfect?"

"Yes. And not just a normal one like the ones you fought here."

"Not a normal one?" Takuya repeated.

That was a rather bold statement.

A stronger Perfect?

That could be a problem. Maybe they would need LoaderLeomon and MetalGreymon’s help.

"He’s strong, but that’s not the worst part. He’s nasty. He never plays fair. That’s why even the three you fought here never messed with him. He always has something up his sleeve."

"Which Digimon is it?" Takuya asked, leaning forward slightly.

"MarineDevimon." BlackTailmon’s expression became noticeably more serious.

"The two Perfects here were territorial and hungry for data, but one of the worst things about MarineDevimon is that he enjoys making other Digimon suffer. He doesn’t just kill them and absorb their data after a fight. Some Digimon have managed to escape, but they said he prolonged their suffering, torturing them for weeks. That’s why I don’t go there."

"A Devimon variant at the Perfect stage," Takuya muttered, leaning back again. "That’s troublesome. We’ll leave him for later and evaluate him once we’ve dealt with the others."

He looked toward the beach.

"And why is this place so full of hostile Digimon?"

"Ah, that’s simple. Most of the Digimon that came here can swim. They’re aquatic variants, so I guess this place is comfortable for them."

"I guess that makes sense." Takuya nodded before thinking for a moment.

"Okay. Let’s go north, then. Are there any other areas on the island we should visit?" asked Takuya.

"Yes. A lot, actually. There are the lagoons in the south. There’s a Digimon dominating each one of them. And there’s the lake on the other side of the island. Another Perfect lives there. An Orochimon."

BlackTailmon continued explaining.

"There’s more. In the forest near the Trailmon station, another Perfect-level Digimon roams around. A Jyureimon or Cherrymon. He’s a nasty giant tree that uses his roots to pierce through other Digimon’s bodies and absorb their data. There are no other Digimon living there anymore. Just him. They say that once a Digimon enters that forest, they have to fight their way through the entire place."

"Wow. There are a lot of hostile Digimon around here." muttered Takuya

"Mmm? Yeah. The only truly safe places are the cities and the central forest. Everywhere else is a mess." replied blacktailmon.

That was both good and bad.

For one thing, Takuya finally understood why the four Perfects had chosen to attack the central city in the first place. It was the safest and most valuable location on the island, and with Pumpkinmon protecting it, it was the easiest target. and after they had chosen to gang up on the Digimon most capable of standing against them: LoaderLeomon.

"Anything else?" Takuya asked.

"Yes. Near Orochimon, there’s something that looks like a lake, but it isn’t actually one. It’s connected to a river, and there’s another Perfect-level Digimon there. A Scorpiomon."

BlackTailmon paused, then raised one paw, extending a finger as she tapped her mouth thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I believe that’s all of them. At least all the ones that kill pretty much anything they see."

"I see. Most of them are in the south anyway," Takuya muttered.

He slowly pushed himself to his feet.

"Yeah. To put it simply, the good ones are in the north and the bad ones are in the south," BlackTailmon said.

"Then let’s go. I think we all need to rest, but not here. Halloween, let’s go."

At that moment, Pumpkinmon, who had been lying on the sand making angel shapes with his body, immediately stood up and followed Takuya as he began walking toward the forest—the same forest he had first emerged from when he arrived on the island.

BlackTailmon followed them as well.

After all, they could make her next Evolution possible.

And there was no reason not to follow them.

Perhaps this was the beginning of one more ally.

Or, at the very least, one more future friend for the group.