Solo Leveling: Digispirit.

A-rank Gates were rare.

Very rare.

Another week passed, and during that time Takuya had mostly been clearing C-rank Gates on his own or accompanying teams into B-rank Gates.

The result was obvious.

The only Gates that let him accumulate data in gigabytes at a meaningful rate were A-rank ones.

Sure, every time he finished one, he came out bruised and battered, but they were worth it.

So far, he had only participated in two more A-rank raids.

D-SCAN

Host: Takuya Kanbara

Hunter Rank:

B Rank (Human Form)

A- Rank (Agnimon Form)

Primary Spirit: Fire

Elemental Synchronization:

Fire: 100%

Gaia: 1%

Stored Data: 10, 7 GB

Evolution Line

Baby I — Mokumon

Transformation Unavailable — Incompatible Host Body

Baby II — DemiMeramon

Transformation Unavailable — Incompatible Host Body

Rookie / Child — Flamon

Special Hybrid (High Rookie)

Partial Transformation Available — Incompatible Host Body

Adult/Champion — Agnimon

Special Hybrid (Especial Adult / Low Perfect)

Transformation Available

Unlocked Abilities

Smoke

Noble Heart

Burning Salamander

Salamander Break

Fire Darts

Crimson Knuckle

Burning Slicer

Unknown (Locked)

(A/N: The remaining named techniques are essentially physical attacks, so I won’t list every single one.)

Reset Evolution Line

Requirement: 3 GB of Data

Side Evolutions Available (Adult / Champion) (open for details)

FlareLizamon - 13GB

Strikedramon (Insufficient Data)

Meramon - 14.2GB

Next Evolution (Perfect)

????

????

????

Requirement: 30 GB of Data

Inventory

81 / 120 Slots Used

Takuya looked at the screen projected by the D-Scan.

He could unlock a side evolution now.

However, after looking through the available options, he dismissed them almost immediately.

Meramon and FlareLizamon.

Neither of them was a match for Agnimon.

There was simply no point in unlocking forms that were weaker than the one he already possessed.

The best option was to wait.

The problem was that waiting also meant relying on luck.

There simply weren’t enough A-rank Gates, and B-rank Gates didn’t provide nearly enough data.

"I still have around four months left... maybe less until Jinwoo’s reawakening. That’s assuming my calculations are right."

It was only a rough estimate.

After all, Jinah had said Jinwoo had already been a Hunter for three years by the time Takuya arrived—or rather, remembered this world.

That meant he had, at most, twelve months.

Realistically...

Probably less.

"I should go for a walk."

Today was his day off, so there was nothing he needed to do.

Besides, he had skipped school yesterday after clearing a B-rank Gate with Strike Team B.

The raid had been led by Chae, although she hadn’t intervened much. She had mostly observed from the sidelines, seemingly evaluating how well the team functioned without relying on her.

So today...

He was free.

His uncle was working.

His classmates were at school (jin-ah.)

Jinwoo in a raid.

"Do I really have that few friends?"

Well...

Not that it bothered him.

Then he remembered something.

There was a cosplay event today in downtown Seoul.

"Maybe I should check it out."

"...Or maybe watch a movie."

Then again, there was no reason to decide now.

Everything in downtown Seoul was close together.

He could simply go there first and see what interested him.

This time, Takuya decided to take public transportation.

There was only one reason.

He didn’t want to rush.

There was no need.

He sat by the window of the bus and quietly watched the city pass by.

To him, there was something almost hypnotic about seeing Seoul at such a slow pace.

It was a complete contrast to the constant rush of being a Hunter.

Now that he thought about it, he remembered the first time he had moved at full speed after becoming an A-rank Hunter—when he rushed across the school chasing the Numemon.

Maybe this was why Hunters drove almost everywhere unless it was an emergency.

There was no point in moving at superhuman speed all the time.

Eventually, he reached downtown Seoul.

The cosplay event was much bigger than he had expected.

The entire street had been transformed into a small festival.

Food stalls lined both sides of the road.

People walked around carrying snacks.

Others posed for photos in elaborate costumes.

There was someone dressed as a character from One Piece.

So that franchise existed in this world.

Nearby, a Pokémon cosplayer was enthusiastically arguing with someone dressed as a character from Palworld.

It was strangely entertaining.

Apparently, both franchises existed here too.

There were cosplayers from Yu-Gi-Oh!, Metal Slug, God of War, and even someone dressed as Jason Voorhees.

A Godzilla costume towered over part of the crowd.

Takuya wandered through the festival, genuinely appreciating the craftsmanship behind many of the outfits.

Some of them were incredibly well made, there was a digimon costume incredible well made.

Then...

He froze.

Wait.

Digimon...

Digimon wasn’t a franchise in this world.

His footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

There, casually standing beside a takoyaki stand, was a small figure happily eating from a paper tray.

An axe embedded in its head.

A pumpkin-shaped face.

A stitched plush-like body.

It was...

Pumpkinmon.

Takuya stared in complete disbelief.

That wasn’t a costume.

That was a Perfect/ultimate-level Digimon.

A being at least one evolutionary stage above Agnimon.

Something with the strength of an A-rank Hunter... it wasn’t among the strongest perfect digimon but still, a perfect was a perfect.

And it was standing in the middle of downtown Seoul...

Eating takoyaki like a tourist.

As if sensing someone staring at him, Pumpkinmon looked up at Takuya while continuing to eat.

Then he tilted his head and casually waved.

Almost on instinct, Takuya waved back.

Pumpkinmon simply turned around and kept walking.

Takuya watched him leave for several seconds, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Then he finally snapped out of it and hurried after him.

He reached out and tapped Pumpkinmon on the shoulder.

The Digimon turned around.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Pumpkinmon’s expression was so natural—so genuinely confused about why Takuya had stopped him—that, for a brief moment, Takuya wondered if he had somehow switched universes again.

What the hell...?

Am I the weird one here, and the Digimon are the normal people?

"What do you mean, is something wrong? How did you get here?!" Takuya asked.

"...By bus?" Pumpkinmon answered, as if the question were obvious.

Takuya just stared at him.

Seriously?

Am I inside some kind of reality show? where is the camera?

"No, not here—to the event!" Takuya said quickly. "I mean here from the Digital World."

Pumpkinmon’s eyes immediately lit up.

"You know about the Digital World?" he asked excitedly. "I thought it was lost. You know, nobody here seems to know anything about it."

His answer completely confused Takuya.

Wait...

So he doesn’t know how he got here either?

You’ve got to be kidding me.

"You don’t know?" Takuya asked. "Then why are you here? How did you end up in this world?"

"Well..." Pumpkinmon scratched the back of his head. "I was running away, you know? There was this Phantomon. He wanted me to work for him, but no thanks."

He shivered dramatically.

"I like pulling pranks, but that’s a completely different matter. That guy is just plain evil. If you do something he doesn’t like, you’re dead. If you say something he doesn’t like, you’re dead. If you simply exist..."

He shrugged.

"You’re dead."

"So... yeah. I ran."

He paused to take another bite of his takoyaki.

"This is really good, by the way. What’s it called?"

"Takoyaki," Takuya answered automatically before shaking his head. "Keep going. You were running away. What happened next?"

"Oh, right."

Pumpkinmon swallowed.

"I found a portal inside a cave while I was escaping, so I jumped into it."

"And the portal?" Takuya asked immediately. "Was it still there after you came through?"

If Phantomon had followed him...

That would be a huge problem.

Pumpkinmon shook his head.

"Nope. It closed right behind me."

"At first I was worried because I couldn’t go back..."

"But honestly?"

"This place is awesome,."

"There are so many fun things to do!"

Takuya couldn’t help but smile a little at the Digimon’s enthusiasm.

"And on your way here..." he asked, "people didn’t react strangely?"

Pumpkinmon was still a small monster.

Then again, he did resemble a child in an elaborate costume. If Takuya hadn’t known what Digimon were, he probably would’ve assumed the same thing.

"Hmm..."

"Not really."

"Some people looked at me a little strangely, but that’s about it."

"That’s... a relief," Takuya muttered.

At least Pumpkinmon wasn’t causing trouble.

He wasn’t an aggressive Digimon.

He was simply...

Lost.

Takuya looked around, trying to find somewhere quieter where they could continue talking.

The festival was crowded enough that standing in the middle of the street wasn’t a good idea.

When he turned back—

Pumpkinmon was gone.

Completely gone.

"...You’ve got to be kidding me."

His senses were currently at the level of a B-rank Hunter, far beyond those of a normal human.

Yet Pumpkinmon had disappeared in an instant.

Takuya quickly scanned the area, searching in every direction. He refused to use Agnimon’s abilities in the middle of a crowded festival and cause a panic, but he still needed to find him.

He moved swiftly through the crowd, checking every nearby stall and intersection.

Then—

Someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Takuya spun around.

Pumpkinmon stood there, happily holding out an absurdly large Frappuccino.

"For you," Pumpkinmon said cheerfully.

"...Thank you," Takuya replied.

The sudden relief hit him so hard that he wasn’t even annoyed anymore. His cortisol levels were already through the roof.

"Where did you even get this?" he asked, looking at the enormous drink.

Pumpkinmon pointed toward a nearby Starbucks.

"I didn’t know you had money," Takuya muttered as he took a sip.

"What is money?" Pumpkinmon asked innocently.

Takuya froze mid-drink.

He slowly looked at Pumpkinmon.

Then he sighed.

Of course.

Of course he didn’t know what money was.

At this point, though, Takuya didn’t have the energy to stress over another mystery.

He simply took another sip.

"Come on," he said. "I’m tired of the crowd."

The two of them left the festival and walked toward a nearby park.

Before long, they found an empty bench and sat down in silence, drinking their Frappuccinos.

Takuya stared blankly into the distance.

Not even fighting an A-rank monster had left him this mentally exhausted.

"So..." Pumpkinmon asked after a while.

"What do we do now?"

"I want to do something fun."

"You have to go back to the Digital World, you know," Takuya said.

He could absorb Pumpkinmon’s data.

Being a Perfect-level Digimon, it would probably grant him at least a couple of gigabytes.

But...

He didn’t want to, it was just a feeling.

Pumpkinmon didn’t seem like a bad Digimon.

"Hmm..."

"I want to, but I don’t know how, also, It’s pretty dangerous there, you know?" Pumpkinmon replied, sipping his drink.

"I know," Takuya answered. "But it’s dangerous here too."

"How so?" Pumpkinmon asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"There are Hunters in this world. Some are about as strong as Adult-level Digimon. The strongest can even rival Ultimates. We also have monsters too. They’re not Digimon, but if someone mistakes you for one of them..."

He paused.

"...You’ll end up dead."

Pumpkinmon looked at him for a few seconds before asking,

"You’re one of those Hunters?"

"Yeah."

"Well, then it’s fine."

Pumpkinmon smiled brightly.

"You didn’t attack me."

"I’m sure the others won’t either."

Takuya looked at him for a long moment.

Such an innocent soul...