Chapter 7: first Raid.
The next two weeks passed quickly.
During that time, several things happened.
First of all, Takuya returned to school.
Surprisingly, the only person who seemed genuinely shocked by his disappearance was Jinah.
Since he had attended class for only a single day before vanishing, most of the students simply assumed he had fallen ill. After all, during his introduction he had nearly collapsed and asked to be taken to the bathroom, so his absence didn’t seem particularly strange.
Apparently, the teachers had never mentioned that he had disappeared.
They had only told the class that he was sick.
Whether that was to avoid spreading rumors or simply to keep everyone from worrying, Takuya couldn’t say.
Either way...
He appreciated it.
When he finally told Jinah the truth—that he had Awakened—the girl’s eyes widened in disbelief.
She immediately pulled him away from the rest of the class to speak in private.
Rather than congratulating him...
She began telling him story after story about her brother.
How he always came home bruised.
How he was constantly covered in cuts and purple bruises.
How every raid left him looking worse than before.
There wasn’t a single heroic tale among them.
Just painful reminders of how dangerous being a Hunter truly was.
Takuya listened quietly.
He understood exactly why she was worried.
Still...
He explained that he wasn’t planning to do anything reckless.
His first raid would be a low-rank Gate.
Something small.
Something meant to test his abilities and let him gain experience fighting weaker monsters.
When Jinah asked him to reconsider...
He simply smiled and shook his head.
"No."
Seeing that he had already made up his mind, she didn’t try to convince him any further, she didn’t know him enough to try to meddle.
Instead...
Things took a turn Takuya never could have predicted.
A few days later, during the weekend...
Takuya found himself standing face to face with a young man who looked about his age.
He wasn’t particularly tall.
His build was rather thin, almost frail.
At first glance, he looked more like an exhausted college student than a Hunter.
But to Takuya...
He looked completely different.
Holy crap...
The fucking Shadow Monarch.
Well...
Not yet.
For now, he was simply Sung Jinwoo.
The weakest D-Rank Hunter.
The one the world mockingly called...
Humanity’s Weakest Weapon.
Takuya hadn’t expected this at all.
His original plan had simply been to sign up for a random D-Rank raid sometime during the week.
Instead...
He had somehow ended up on the same raid as the future protagonist of this world.
"...Well."
"That’s one unexpected turn of events."
"Haha... sorry about this."
"Jinah insisted that I meet you," Jinwoo said with an awkward laugh.
Apparently, his sister had told him everything.
He looked... incredibly uncomfortable.
It was such a stark contrast to the imposing Shadow Monarch Takuya remembered from the future that it almost felt surreal.
"Don’t worry," Takuya replied with a smile. "Honestly, it’s reassuring to have someone with experience."
The moment those words left his mouth, Jinwoo’s expression became even more awkward.
"..."
Takuya immediately realized why.
Right... I fucked up a little
This was Sung Jinwoo before the Double Dungeon.
The weakest D-Rank Hunter.
Someone who barely survived ordinary Gates.
From Jinwoo’s perspective, being called "experienced" probably felt more embarrassing than flattering.
Well... this is awkward.
Takuya resisted the urge to sigh.
At least he had confirmed one thing.
Jinah had absolutely no idea just how weak her brother actually was.
She knew he always came home injured, but she still believed he was simply an unlucky Hunter.
She didn’t know he was considered the weakest Hunter in Korea.
"Well..."
Takuya broke the silence.
"Shall we get going?"
Jinwoo nodded gratefully.
"Yeah."
The two of them began walking toward the meeting point.
Most of the trip passed in silence.
Occasionally one of them would make some light conversation, but neither was particularly talkative, making the atmosphere a little stiff.
Earlier that week, Ikki had offered to buy Takuya proper Hunter equipment.
He had refused.
First, it was ridiculously expensive.
Second...
His abilities literally came with armor.
And if his evolution kept progressing, he suspected that armor would only become better over time.
There was no point wasting money now.
Of course...
He hadn’t told his uncle that part.
About halfway to the meeting point, something caught Takuya’s eye.
"...Takoyaki?"
A small restaurant stood on the corner of the street.
Ironically, it was a traditional Japanese shop right in the middle of Seoul.
Without hesitation, Takuya changed direction.
"C’mon."
He waved for Jinwoo to follow.
The other boy blinked in confusion but quietly did so.
Seeing him like this still felt strange.
This shy, awkward teenager...
Was supposed to become the terrifying Shadow Monarch one day.
Then again...
Dying once probably changed a person quite a bit.
"Weren’t we supposed to head to the raid?" Jinwoo asked, sounding puzzled.
"We are."
Takuya looked at the time.
"We’ve still got over an hour."
"No point getting there too early."
Before Jinwoo could object, Takuya had already ordered enough takoyaki for both of them.
The restaurant itself was surprisingly cozy.
It reminded him of the traditional shops from the original Takuya’s memories of Japan.
At the same time...
It also reminded him of those restaurants back in Miami that tried really hard to look authentically Japanese.
The resemblance was... questionable.
Once the food was ready, Takuya handed one of the trays to Jinwoo.
"Here."
"Thanks..."
They continued walking while eating.
Little by little, the atmosphere became more relaxed.
This time, Takuya deliberately took the initiative.
He told Jinwoo how he had first met Jinah.
How he had accidentally frightened the entire class on his first day.
Even...
How he’d suffered an anxiety attack after arriving.
For some reason, that story seemed to put Jinwoo at ease.
The more Takuya talked about embarrassing moments, the more naturally Jinwoo began joining the conversation.
Watching the change made Takuya think.
...Was Jinwoo always this shy?
Or...
Did becoming the Shadow Monarch gradually change his personality as well?
Honestly...
He couldn’t remember.
He had read Solo Leveling years ago.
There was no way he could remember every little detail.
As they continued talking, Takuya asked Jinwoo about his Awakening.
"I awakened with some kind of mana reinforcement," Jinwoo explained. "But... it’s really weak."
He gave a bitter smile.
"Other than letting me actually hurt monsters, it doesn’t make much of a difference compared to an ordinary person."
Takuya nodded silently.
He already knew that, but hearing Jinwoo say it himself made it feel much more real.
Then, Jinwoo suddenly stopped walking.
"There is something I want to ask you."
His expression became unusually serious.
"Please don’t tell Jinah."
"No matter how much you see me struggling..."
"If she finds out how dangerous this job really is for me, she’ll do everything she can to make me quit."
He lowered his gaze.
"...But even as the weakest Hunter, I still earn more than I could at an ordinary job."
There it was.
Necessity.
That was the reason he kept risking his life.
Not because he enjoyed it.
Not because he believed he would suddenly become stronger.
But because his family depended on him.
If Takuya had to be honest...
He found this version of Jinwoo even more admirable than the one who became the Shadow Monarch.
This Jinwoo knew his limits.
He knew he wasn’t talented.
He knew things probably wouldn’t change.
Yet he still entered Gates over and over again for the sake of his family.
If that wasn’t admirable...
Takuya didn’t know what was.
"I understand."
"I won’t say a word."
He smiled before taking another bite of his takoyaki.
"And I’ll keep an eye on you during the raid."
"I’m more of a frontline fighter myself."
Jinwoo smiled awkwardly.
"...Thanks."
Takuya looked down at the food in his hand.
"...This is definitely not authentic takoyaki."
He laughed quietly.
It wasn’t even close.
But...
It was delicious.
He made a mental note to come back to that restaurant another day.
---
By the time they reached the meeting point, several Hunters had already gathered.
The entrance to the alley had been blocked by two men dressed in black.
Security.
Jinwoo immediately took out his Hunter License.
Takuya did the same.
After confirming their identities, the guards stepped aside and allowed them through.
Inside the alley, around a dozen Hunters were already waiting.
The moment Jinwoo appeared, one of them immediately walked toward him.
She was a young woman with shoulder-length orange hair.
"Jinwoo."
She sighed.
"You actually came..."
Her tone sounded annoyed, but the concern on her face completely betrayed her.
She was genuinely worried about him.
Since she was still a few meters away, Takuya leaned slightly toward Jinwoo.
"...Girlfriend?"
Jinwoo nearly choked.
"N-No!"
He hurriedly shook his head.
"She’s just..."
"...a friend."
"A female friend."
"Oh..."
Takuya nodded dramatically.
"I see."
"She seems nice."
"What’s her role?"
Jinwoo answered almost immediately.
"She’s a healer."
"B-Rank."
Takuya blinked.
"...B-Rank?"
"Seriously?"
"Then this raid should be pretty easy."
Jinwoo’s expression immediately turned serious.
"Don’t get overconfident."
"I’ve seen plenty of Hunters get badly hurt because they underestimated a Gate."
The sudden change in his demeanor caught Takuya off guard.
For just a moment...
The shy teenager disappeared, replaced by someone who had survived countless near-death experiences.
Takuya nodded.
"...I’ll remember that."
By then, the orange-haired woman had reached them.
She smiled politely before turning to Takuya.
"Hello."
"I’m Lee Joohee."
"Takuya Kanbara."
"It’s a pleasure to meet you."
Joohee laughed softly and waved her hand.
"You don’t have to be so formal."
Takuya blinked in confusion.
He had simply introduced himself normally.
Still...
He just smiled and let it go.
After that brief introduction, the group gathered to assign everyone’s roles.
Like any standard raid party, each Hunter had a designated position.
The tank would lead from the front.
The healer would remain in the back.
There was a swordsman responsible for supporting the frontline.
Takuya would act as a close-combat fighter, registered as a Monk-Warrior.
Finally, Jinwoo was placed in the center of the formation, where he would be relatively protected.
That last decision had been made almost entirely because of Joohee’s insistence.
Some members of the party were understandably hesitant about bringing both Jinwoo and Takuya.
Jinwoo, because everyone knew about his reputation as the weakest D-Rank Hunter.
Takuya, because despite being a C-Rank, he was still only sixteen years old and had absolutely no field experience.
Fortunately, after he briefly explained how his abilities worked, most of their concerns faded.
At least on paper...
A C-Rank was still a C-Rank.
With the party organized, it was finally time to enter the Gate.
Takuya took a slow breath.
Even if this was considered a low-level raid, he had no intention of entering his very first dungeon unprepared.
Without hesitation, he activated his Partial Transformation.
Crimson Data spiraled around his body.
His brown hair lengthened and turned a vivid shade of red.
A small flame-colored tail appeared behind him.
Moments later, metallic armor formed over his shoulders, forearms, and waist, recreating Flamon’s most distinctive features.
Several Hunters stared at him in surprise.
"...That’s a pretty cool transformation."
One of them couldn’t help but say it out loud.
Even among C-Rank abilities, it was certainly one of the more impressive-looking transformations.
Takuya simply smiled awkwardly.
"It looks cooler than it actually is."
That earned a few quiet laughs from the group, easing the tension.
Once everyone had finished their preparations, the raid leader stepped forward.
"Let’s move."
One by one, the Hunters crossed the shimmering blue portal.
Takuya followed closely behind.
The moment he stepped through the Gate...