Solo Leveling: Digispirit.

A translucent screen floated before him.

It looked similar to the game-like Systems from countless fanfics—or even the one Sung Jinwoo possessed.

However...

This one was different.

Its interface was much simpler, almost entirely digital, with lines of code constantly flowing beneath the text.

D-Scan... Connecting...

D-Scan... Connecting...

D-Scan... Online.

D-SCAN

Host: Takuya Kanbara

Age: 16

Unlocked Digispirit: None

Data: 0 Bytes

Please select a Digitama to begin.

Digitama of Water

Digitama of Wind

Digitama of Wood

Digitama of Darkness

Digitama of Light

Digitama of Fire

Digitama of Thunder

Digitama of Steel

Digitama of Earth

Digitama of Ice

Takuya silently looked over the list before giving a small nod.

"Yeah... this is definitely based on Frontier."

So, he had to choose his path.

"I still don’t know exactly how this system works. Digimon are supposed to have countless evolutionary possibilities..." he muttered. "But I guess this starts with the Ten Legendary Warriors."

His first eliminations were immediate.

"Water and Wind are out."

He had absolutely no intention of becoming a woman.

"No, thank you."

They were powerful Spirits, sure, but that alone wasn’t enough to convince him.

That left eight options.

"Wood, Steel, and Earth are out too."

The reason was much simpler.

He knew almost nothing about their later evolutionary lines, especially their fused forms and further.

Besides...

"I’ll be honest..."

"Their designs are kind of ugly."

Those were gone as well.

"That leaves Light, Fire, Ice, Thunder, and Darkness."

He crossed his arms while thinking.

"I don’t know enough about the later forms of Ice or Thunder either, so I won’t gamble on those."

Only three remained.

Light.

Fire.

Darkness.

"Darkness has one very big problem..."

He let out a sigh.

"One of its evolutions is KaiserLeomon."

Just saying the name made him uncomfortable.

"That’s basically a walking death flag."

Yes, it was nothing more than a superstition.

Even so...

He wasn’t eager to test it.

"So..."

"Fire or Light."

Those two stood above the others for another reason.

They were the only Spirits whose final forms he knew for certain.

KaiserGreymon.

MagnaGarurumon.

Technically, both required the combined power of multiple Legendary Spirits.

There was no guarantee this System would even allow him to reach them.

For all he knew, he might never unlock those evolutions.

Still...

If there was even a chance...

Those two paths offered the greatest potential.

Takuya remained silent for several seconds before smiling to himself.

"...I guess there’s only one answer."

He slowly reached toward the floating menu.

"If I’m Takuya..."

"...Then I might as well be Takuya until the very end."

Without another moment of hesitation...

He selected the Fire Digitama.

The instant his finger touched the option, the screen reacted.

The list vanished.

New text immediately appeared.

Selection confirmed.

Fire Digitama selected.

Integrating data...

Modifying host body...

The moment the last line appeared...

Pain consumed Takuya.

"AAAGH!!"

His entire body felt as though it were melting from the inside out.

It wasn’t ordinary pain.

It was as if every muscle, every bone, every cell was being torn apart and rebuilt at the same time.

He could have sworn he saw streams of code crawling beneath his skin, flickering through his flesh like glowing veins.

"I-IT HURTS!"

His scream echoed throughout the chamber.

His body convulsed violently against the stone floor, unable to control itself. The agony became so overwhelming that his vision went black.

For a brief moment...

He lost consciousness.

Only to wake up again because of the pain.

Again.

And again.

Every time his mind escaped, the unbearable agony dragged him back.

Time completely lost its meaning.

Minutes.

Hours.

He couldn’t tell anymore.

Eventually...

The pain began to fade.

His breathing was ragged, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably.

This time, he didn’t imagine it.

Countless lines of glowing code floated through the air, surrounding him before gradually sinking back into his body.

Then the screen reappeared.

Body partial modification complete.

Primary Fire Line established.

Opening new D-SCAN interface...

D-SCAN

Host Takuya Kanbara

Primary Spirit: Fire

Data: 0 Bytes

Evolution Baby I Mokumon (Transformation Unavailable — Incompatible Host Body)

Abilities Unlocked • Smoke

Next Evolution: Locked (Requirement 10 KB of Data)

Takuya stared silently at the floating interface, still breathing heavily.

"...What?"

He read it again.

And then a third time.

"Mokumon?"

Of all the possibilities...

Takuya stared at the screen for several long seconds.

"...Seriously?"

He had expected the Spirit of Fire.

Agnimon.

Not...

Mokumon.

That could only mean one thing.

"...I have to evolve one stage at a time before I can reach agnimon?"

It wasn’t the answer he had hoped for.

His eyes shifted toward the only listed ability.

"Smoke..."

Well, it made sense.

Baby Digimon weren’t exactly known for having devastating attacks.

He focused on the skill, imagining smoke pouring from his hand.

Almost immediately, a thick gray cloud began flowing out from the palm of his right hand.

"Huh..."

It spread surprisingly quickly, forming something like a smoke curtain.

After a few minutes, the entire chamber was filled with smoke.

Curiously enough...

He could breathe just fine.

"So that’s it..."

He looked at his hand.

"I don’t feel any stronger either."

Just then, something appeared in the corner of his vision.

A small notification.

When he focused on it, another window expanded.

Would you like to begin the tutorial?

Yes / No

"...Of course."

Without hesitating, he selected Yes.

A countdown immediately appeared.

3...

2...

1...

A loud rumble echoed through the chamber.

The stone wall in front of the altar slowly rose, revealing a passage beyond.

"I guess that’s my cue."

There wasn’t much else he could do.

Takuya cautiously walked forward.

For now, the only ability at his disposal was Smoke.

It wasn’t even an offensive skill.

He would have to be careful.

As the tunnel came to an end, sunlight spilled into view.

Beyond it stretched a grassy field.

Waiting there...

Were four Digimon.

Two pink Koromon.

And two Caprimon.

The moment Takuya stepped out of the tunnel, all four turned toward him.

Their expressions immediately became hostile.

Without a second’s hesitation...

They attacked.

"Bubbles!"

Several Bubble Blows flew straight toward him.

Thinking they couldn’t possibly hurt, Takuya instinctively raised an arm to block them.

"...Ow!"

The bubbles stung far more than he expected.

He quickly jumped sideways to avoid the rest.

Looking down, he noticed the skin on his forearm had turned bright red where the bubbles had struck.

"So they actually hurt..."

Before he could recover, the two Caprimon charged.

The horns on their helmets began glowing before releasing strange shockwave-like blasts.

Takuya had never seen that attack before.

He wasn’t interested in finding out what it did, either.

He dodged immediately.

The instant he regained his footing, he activated Smoke.

Gray clouds rapidly spread from both of his hands, quickly obscuring the battlefield.

"If you’re trying to kill me..."

"...Then I don’t have a reason to hold back."

After all...

Digimon were creatures that fought to survive.

Using the smoke as cover, Takuya circled around them until he reached the nearest Caprimon.

Before it could react, he grabbed one of its horns.

The Baby Digimon was incredibly light.

He lifted it into the air...

And swung it directly into one of the Koromon.

Thud.

Both Digimon cried out in pain.

"...Sorry."

Takuya genuinely felt a little guilty.

They looked more like oversized babies than monsters.

Unfortunately...

The moment they saw him, they had tried to kill him.

There wasn’t much room for mercy.

Still holding the struggling Caprimon, he continued using it like an improvised club, taking advantage of the smoke to keep the others disoriented.

After several more impacts...

The Caprimon suddenly dissolved into countless particles of light.

Data.

The glowing fragments rushed toward Takuya before disappearing into his body.

A notification immediately appeared.

Data: 20 Bytes

"Only twenty..."

Takuya sighed.

"So even reaching Baby II is going to take forever."

He didn’t stop.

Taking advantage of the smoke screen, he fought the remaining three Baby Digimon one after another.

The battle wasn’t difficult.

Just slow.

Eventually, the last Koromon also dissolved into data.

Another notification appeared.

Data: 80 Bytes

Before he had time to celebrate, a new message appeared.

Tutorial Complete.

To return to the Real World, reach the Baby II stage.

"...Seriously?"

Takuya’s shoulders slumped.

His motivation immediately dropped.

If Baby Digimon only gave twenty Bytes each...

Then he still had a very, very long way to go.

"...I’d better get moving."

With a tired sigh, he continued walking across the grassy field.

Every so often, another Baby Digimon appeared in the distance.

He fought them one by one, always trying to take advantage of the element of surprise. There was no reason to drag the battles out. They were only Baby Digimon, and although they could still hurt him, they weren’t particularly difficult to defeat.

Little by little, his Data count steadily increased.

Eventually, however...

He noticed something different.

Far in the distance, just beyond what looked like the Baby Digimon territory, a small white creature with floppy ears and a golden collar calmly walked through the forest.

"...Plotmon."

Takuya immediately recognized it.

A Rookie, a pacific one.

Even if it was only a pacific Rookie-level Digimon, he had no intention of underestimating it.

From that stage onward, Digimon became genuinely dangerous.

He slowed his pace and carefully followed it into the trees.

Fortunately, the forest provided plenty of cover.

As he closed the distance, Plotmon suddenly stopped.

Its ears twitched.

It slowly looked from side to side.

"...It sensed something."

Takuya froze without making the slightest sound.

After a few tense seconds, Plotmon seemed to decide there was no danger and resumed walking.

Takuya silently let out the breath he had been holding.

He continued following it.

Patiently.

Carefully.

Never getting too close.

Nearly an hour passed before the opportunity finally presented itself.

Plotmon wandered beneath a large tree before lying down to rest.

"...Now."

Without hesitation, Takuya burst from the bushes.

He wrapped one arm tightly around Plotmon’s neck from behind, locking it into a chokehold before it could react.

The Rookie immediately struggled.

It kicked.

Scratched.

Twisted its body.

It even tried to attack, but Takuya refused to loosen his grip.

The two rolled across the forest floor, wrestling violently through the dirt and fallen leaves.

"Come on..."

"Just... stay down!"

Seconds felt like minutes.

And then, a crack sound came out plotmon neck.

Then, without warning...

Plotmon’s body dissolved into countless particles of light.

The Data flowed directly into Takuya.

He remained kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily as a familiar notification appeared before his eyes.

D-SCAN

Host: Takuya Kanbara

Primary Spirit: Fire

Data: 16 KB

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 (Locked)

-???

-???

-???

Requirement: 40 MB of Data

Finally.

At least one thing had gone in his favor.

From the looks of it, DemiMeramon became available the moment he reached the Baby II stage. There were no additional requirements beyond the necessary amount of Data.

More importantly...

The Rookie stage wasn’t fixed.

There was more than one available evolution.

"...So I’m not locked into Agnimon’s evolutionary line."

That was the biggest surprise so far.

He had assumed choosing the Fire Digitama would force him down the Legendary Warrior’s path from beginning to end.

Apparently, that wasn’t the case.

He had options.

Multiple ones.

"I hope this mechanic continues into the higher stages," Takuya muttered with a small smile. "That could actually be really useful."

Without wasting any more time, he focused on the newly unlocked evolution.

DemiMeramon.

The moment he selected it, the Data stored within his body burst outward.

Countless glowing particles surrounded him, orbiting him like a miniature galaxy before slowly flowing back into his body.

Unlike the painful reconstruction from before, this process was surprisingly gentle.

Warm.

Comforting, even.

A few seconds later, the light faded.

The interface refreshed.

His abilities section had changed.

Abilities Unlocked

Smoke

Fireball

A new ability.

Finally...

Something actually related to fire.

Takuya couldn’t help but smile.

At least now he had something that could be considered an actual attack.

Just as he finished reading the updated interface, another window appeared before him.

From this point onward, you may return to the Real World at any time.

However, to re-enter the Digital World, certain conditions must first be met.

Would you like to return?

Yes / No

Takuya stared at the two options in silence.

He thought about it for a while before shaking his head.

"...No."

At least, not yet.

If he could return whenever he wanted, then there was no reason to rush back.

Right now, he was still far too weak.

His Smoke ability was useful for ambushes, and Fireball finally gave him a way to fight from a distance, but neither would make much of a difference against stronger Digimon—or even against Hunters in the real world.

His best option was obvious.

Stay here.

Keep gathering Data.

At the very least, he wanted to reach the Rookie stage before returning.

If his Digimon evolution translated into Awakener ranks the way he suspected...

Then becoming a Rookie should be enough to place him somewhere around D-Rank, perhaps even C-Rank.

That alone would completely change his chances of surviving in the Solo Leveling world.

"...Yeah."

"There isn’t really another choice."

Without another thought, Takuya selected No.