Chapter 5: rockie/child
His uncle was going to kill him.
And school...
He couldn’t even imagine what would happen when he finally returned.
Two months.
That was how long it had taken him to gather enough Data to unlock the Rookie stage.
Two whole months.
And he had only just reached the requirement.
The Digital World had been... an experience.
Over those two months, he had survived by eating the strangest things imaginable.
Fruits that tasted like grilled meat.
A phone that, once bitten into, turned out to have the texture of sponge cake.
A banana that somehow contained an apple inside.
"...Yep."
"The Digital World."
At this point, he had stopped questioning it.
Currently, Takuya sat beneath a large tree, letting out a tired sigh as he opened his D-SCAN interface.
During those two months, he had fought nearly every Baby and Rookie Digimon he could find.
Adult-level Digimon, however...
He never dared approach them.
The difference in strength was simply too great.
There was a fine line between being brave and being suicidal.
"Now that I think about it..."
He looked up at the digital sky.
"At this rate, Jinwoo is going to have his second Awakening before I even reach the Adult stage."
That was a depressing thought.
Still...
If his theory was correct, then reaching Rookie should increase his strength considerably.
Not only that, but every evolution so far had allowed him to keep the abilities from the previous stages.
Smoke.
Fireball.
Neither had disappeared.
If that pattern continued, each evolution would simply expand his arsenal instead of replacing it.
At least...
That was one advantage.
Leaning back against the tree, Takuya let out another long sigh before focusing on the floating panel in front of him.
D-SCAN
Host: Takuya Kanbara
Primary Spirit: Fire
Data: 40 Mb
Evolution avaible.
Baby I – Mokumon (Transformation Unavailable — Incompatible Host Body)
Baby II – DemiMeramon (avaible) (Transformation Unavailable — Incompatible Host Body)
Abilities Unlocked
Smoke
Next Evolution
Rookie
-Flamon (avaible)
-Candmon (avaible)
-Ghostmon (avaible)
-Vorvomon (avaible)
Requirement: 40 MB of Data
"I don’t know what the criteria is," Takuya muttered. "But I have four options... and I already know which one I’m choosing."
As he looked at the selection menu, each evolution was represented by a simple silhouette.
A candle.
A ghost.
Some kind of dragon.
And finally...
A small humanoid figure engulfed in flames.
Flamon.
It immediately caught his attention.
"You’re the one who evolves into Agnimon."
If he remembered correctly, Flamon wasn’t an ordinary Rookie.
At the very least, he should have been stronger than the average Child-level Digimon or even average adult.
"...Well."
"I wanted to become Agnimon from the beginning."
"So, Flamon it is."
Without another thought, he selected the evolution.
"I’ll evolve immediately."
The moment he confirmed his choice, all of the Data stored within his body burst outward, surrounding him in a brilliant crimson glow.
At the same time, another message appeared before his eyes.
Threshold reached...
The interface immediately updated.
D-SCAN
Host Takuya Kanbara
Primary Spirit Fire
Elemental sync: 10%
Data 0 Bytes Evolution
• Baby I – Mokumon
(Transformation Unavailable — Incompatible Host Body)
• Baby II – DemiMeramon (Transformation Unavailable — Incompatible Host Body)
• Rookie / Child – Flamon (Hybrid special/high rockie) (Partial Transformation — Incompatible Host Body)
Abilities Unlocked
• Smoke • Noble hearth • baby salamander • Fire tail • Flame toss
Side Evolutions Available Rookie
• Candmon (Insufficient Data)
• Ghostmon (Insufficient Data)
• Vorvomon (Insufficient Data)
Requirement: 100 MB of Data
Next Evolution (Locked) Adult / Champion • ???? • ???? • ???? Requirement: 500 MB of Data
"...Partial Transformation?"
Takuya frowned.
That was new.
Every previous evolution had been marked as Transformation Unavailable because his human body wasn’t compatible.
Flamon, however...
Was different.
His eyes lingered on those two words.
Partial Transformation.
"So... I can actually use it?"
A grin slowly spread across his face.
For the first time since arriving in this insane crossover...
He was finally about to gain some real combat power.
He focused on the newly unlocked transformation.
Almost immediately, he felt something strange.
The first thing he noticed was above his head.
His hair.
It rapidly grew longer, turning a vivid crimson while giving off a gentle warmth.
"...Huh?"
Then he felt something behind him.
A tail.
Metallic armor formed over his shoulders, forearms, and waist, fitting perfectly around his body as though it had always belonged there.
He looked down at himself.
He hadn’t become Flamon completely.
Instead, he had manifested Flamon’s defining traits—his fiery hair, tail, and armor.
He looked like an armored warrior rather than a Digimon.
"...So this is what a Partial Transformation means."
Almost immediately, new information instinctively appeared in his mind.
His abilities had changed.
Fireball was gone.
In its place...
Fire Toss.
Yet somehow, he instinctively knew that it wasn’t a different technique.
It was simply Fireball’s stronger version.
Takuya canceled the transformation.
The armor vanished.
His hair returned to normal.
Even so, he stretched out a hand.
"Fire Toss."
A blazing sphere shot out from his palm.
This time, it wasn’t the size of a tennis ball.
It was closer to a volleyball, he did the same with his mouth and worked.
"...Definitely an upgrade."
Next, he tested another ability.
"Noble Heart."
His fist became enveloped in flames as he threw a straight punch.
The attack activated perfectly.
"Not bad."
Finally...
"Baby Salamander."
He punched twice into the air.
A pair of flame-shaped projectiles burst forward, each roughly the size of a volleyball.
"So that’s the Baby attack..."
Then he transformed once more.
Immediately, he noticed another difference.
His body felt...
Lighter.
Smoother.
His movements flowed naturally, requiring less effort than before.
He also felt noticeably stronger and faster.
The increase wasn’t overwhelming, but it was obvious.
It reminded him of removing heavy training weights after wearing them for hours.
Everything suddenly felt more responsive.
Even controlling the flames required far less concentration.
"...So it’s more complicated than I thought."
Takuya crossed his arms while organizing his thoughts.
"The evolution itself is permanent."
"For all intents and purposes, I’m always in the Flamon stage now."
"But..."
"The transformation lets me draw out the full potential of that evolution."
That actually made a surprising amount of sense.
"I guess it’s time to head back to the real world..."
He paused.
"...But first."
"One last test."
Activating the transformation again, Takuya dashed through the forest.
His speed increased dramatically.
Within minutes, he spotted another Rookie Digimon.
A Plotmon.
Without slowing down, he charged straight toward it.
"Noble Heart!"
His right fist ignited.
The flaming punch landed squarely against Plotmon before it even had time to react.
The Rookie instantly dissolved into Data.
"...One hit."
Takuya blinked.
He hadn’t expected such a huge difference.
Over the next hour, he hunted several more Rookie Digimon.
The result was always the same.
One strike.
One kill.
The gap between Baby II and Rookie was much larger than he had imagined.
"...I’m definitely a high-level Rookie now."
Part of him wanted to stay.
To keep farming Data.
To become even stronger before returning.
But...
He had already disappeared for two months.
Staying any longer would only create even more problems in the real world.
With a reluctant sigh, he opened the interface once more.
"...Let’s go back."
The moment the words left his mouth...the world shifted.
Suddenly, he was back in the apartment.
Takuya instinctively looked around.
Everything was exactly as he had left it.
The lights were on.
The television sat quietly in the corner.
Nothing suggested that anything extraordinary had happened.
"...I’m back."
Then he noticed something in his hand.
The D-SCAN.
It was black with crimson-red details, fitting comfortably in his palm.
"I thought it merged with my body..."
Apparently not.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, another idea surfaced naturally.
Disappear.
The Digivice instantly vanished from his hand.
Takuya blinked.
A second later, he thought about it again.
Appear.
The D-SCAN immediately materialized in his palm once more.
"So that’s how it works..."
It wasn’t physically fused with him.
Instead, it was completely linked to him, allowing him to summon or dismiss it whenever he wished.
Before he could examine it any further...
A familiar voice exploded from behind him.
"Takuya! Where the hell have you been?!"
Takuya immediately turned around.
Standing there was his uncle.
Ikki Kanbara.
Now that his memories had mostly returned, Takuya realized he actually resembled his mother far more than him.
Well...
That made sense.
They were siblings.
"...Sorry."
"It wasn’t on purpose."
Takuya lowered his head slightly before meeting his uncle’s eyes.
"...I think I Awakened."
There was no point in lying.
As strange as the truth sounded, it was also the only explanation he could give.
People disappearing during an Awakening wasn’t unheard of.
Some Awakenings produced bizarre phenomena.
This one...
Just happened to involve another world.
"You... you Awakened?"
Ikki’s expression changed for only a second before he shook his head.
"That’s not the important part!"
"You disappeared for an entire week!"
"I was going out of my mind worrying about you!"
Before Takuya could respond, his uncle pulled him into a tight hug.
For a brief moment...
Takuya simply froze.
Not because of the hug.
But because of what Ikki had said.
A week?
"...A week?"
That wasn’t possible.
He had spent two entire months inside the Digital World.
Then...
Understanding dawned on him.
"...Time dilation."
Of course.
It made perfect sense.
The Digital World.
Almost every version of Digimon shared the same concept.
Time flowed differently there.
For him...
Two months had passed.
For the real world...
Only a single week.
"...I see."
That realization completely changed everything.
He could stay in the Digital World for extended periods without disappearing from reality for nearly as long.
That meant...
He could have remained there.
Collected far more Data.
Maybe even reached Agnimon before returning.
The thought alone made him regret leaving so soon.
Agnimon wasn’t just another Champion-level Digimon.
As a Human Spirit Hybrid, his combat power far exceeded that of an average Adult-level Digimon. Against weaker Perfects, he could probably even hold his own, he wasn’t so sure, digimon power levels weren’t consistent but it should be.
After all...
He carried a fragment of the power of the Legendary Warrior of Fire, AncientGreymon.
However...
Now wasn’t the time to think about that.
Perhaps it was because he carried the memories of two lives.
After all, affection and love came from shared memories, from the time people spent together.
Now that he possessed the original Takuya’s memories, it would have been a lie to say he didn’t care about the man standing in front of him.
He did.
He genuinely cared about him.
Takuya smiled softly.
"I’m back, Uncle."
"...I’m sorry for making you worry."
Ikki let out a long sigh before patting him on the shoulder.
"It’s okay, kid."
"You’re here now."
His expression quickly turned serious.
"Can I check you over? Do you have any injuries? Any wounds?"
Takuya shook his head with a reassuring smile.
"I’m perfectly fine."
"In fact..."
"I’ve never felt better."
He laughed lightly.
"I actually feel pretty strong."
This time, his smile was genuine.
It wasn’t an exaggeration, either.
Compared to an ordinary person, his body was absurdly stronger.
"I suppose that’s a good sign."
Ikki nodded, though the concern on his face remained.
"I guess we’ll have to get you evaluated."
He hesitated for a moment before asking the question that had clearly been bothering him.
"...You’re not planning to become a Hunter, are you?"
His voice was careful.
Almost pleading.
Unfortunately, the law allowed minors to register as Hunters if they Awakened. Even if a guardian opposed it, there wasn’t much they could legally do.
Ikki could threaten to kick Takuya out of the house.
He could forbid it.
But he knew those approaches would only damage their relationship and might even push the boy toward becoming a Hunter out of stubbornness.
More than anything...
He simply didn’t want his nephew walking into such a dangerous profession.
Takuya rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well..."
"I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious."
He paused before continuing.
"But even if I register..."
"I don’t think I’d become a Hunter unless I Awakened as a C-Rank or higher."
He shrugged.
"Otherwise, my chances of surviving would be practically zero."
It wasn’t exactly the answer Ikki had hoped to hear.
Still...
The boy was thinking rationally.
That alone eased some of his worries.
As for the evaluation...
There was no avoiding it.
Every newly Awakened individual was required to undergo one.
"We’ll go tomorrow," Ikki said with a nod.
"Sorry, kid..."
He forced a faint smile.
"But I honestly hope you’re only a D-Rank."
From his perspective...
That would be the safest outcome imaginable.