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The guild visit

The front door to the guild slammed shut behind Kairo with a mechanical hiss.

The air inside was thick with tension and sweat—rows of hunters in mismatched armor, gear clanking as they shared stories too loud and drinks too strong. On the walls, holographic quest boards blinked with red, orange, and black-level missions, each more suicidal than the last. But Kairo ignored it all.

He kept his head down and walked straight to the appraisal counter.

The clerk, a thin woman with white glasses and silver hair, raised an eyebrow as Kairo dropped a pile of rare loot onto the desk—glowing cores, enchanted metal, and even a piece of the chimera's molten armor plate.

The clerk blinked. "...Where did you get all this?"

Kairo shrugged. "Sector 9. Yesterday's dungeon."

"Bull. That gate was labeled high-risk. You're E-Rank, kid. This kind of haul would require at least a B-Rank team ya know".

"I was lucky," Kairo said flatly.

The woman frowned but ran the items through the scanner. The screen flashed, and the clerk's eyes widened as numbers poured in.

[Total Value: 1,402,000 credits]

"...Holy hell."

Kairo nodded slowly. "I want to cash out and register for team recruitment."

The woman stared for a long second, like he was trying to solve a puzzle that shouldn't exist.

Then she leaned forward.

"You didn't use any identification when you entered that dungeon, huh?"

"No."

"You're lucky. If a ranked team had claimed it, you'd be charged with theft."

"I'll take the risk again if I need to," Kairo said, voice low.

The girl gave him a quiet look of respect—and maybe a touch of fear—before nodding and handing him a silver guild badge marked D-Rank.

"Team recruitment's that way. And kid..."

Kairo turned.

"You might be something scary one day."

The recruitment hall was chaos in its own way. Screens floated above long benches, listing team openings, mission types, and compatibility ratings. Most applicants were yelling over one another or showing off powers to try and get picked up by stronger teams.

Kairo sat in the corner, silent, watching.

He didn't want fame.

He wanted reliable.

That's when he saw her.

Red hair in a messy braid. Twin daggers on her hips. Eyes that scanned the room like a soldier looking for threats. She was fierce. Confident. And, judging from the way no one sat next to her, not particularly friendly.

Rena, her badge said. D-Rank.

Then a blonde girl floated in beside her—literally floated, using a subtle hover spell under her boots. She wore pristine robes, her staff pulsing with soft golden light. Calm. Controlled. Intelligent.

Lumi, Mage. D-Rank.

A third figure stomped in next—a walking wall of muscle with a steel greatsword taller than Kairo. He laughed too loud and flexed when he sat.

Bran, Tank. D-Rank.

Then, finally, the fourth.

A girl in a hoodie sat next to them. Her face was hidden by her bangs, but faint sparks danced across her fingers. Static clung to her like a second skin.

Volt, Lightning. D-Rank.

Rena stood up.

"We're looking for a fifth," she announced loudly to the room. "We're taking on the Ironfang contract in the Wastes. Not babysitting. No healers. No cowards."

Most people averted their gaze.

Kairo stood and walked over.

"I'm in."

Rena looked him up and down. "You're the portal guy, right? The weak one?"

"Yeah," Kairo said. "?"

She raised an eyebrow at the tone.

Bran grinned. "Ooh,think you got what it takes .."

Lumi tilted her head. "What's your level?"

"twenty ."

That got their attention.

"Bullshit," Rena said. "You'reE -Rank."

"Just got bumped. Yesterday."

They hesitated. Then Volt finally spoke—just one word, quiet like thunder before the storm:

"Let him in."

The Wastes. One day later.

The Ironfang nest was supposed to be a straightforward job: clear out a few dozen armored boar-beasts that had settled near an abandoned mining rig. But the creatures had mutated—fast, armored, enhanced with elemental buffs.

The battle went sideways in minutes.

Bran took the front, sword swinging in heavy arcs. Volt zipped between enemies, crackling with lightning as she electrocuted clusters. Lumi backed them up, throwing out timed spells and area stuns like a professional.

Rena?

She vanished into shadows, reappearing behind boars and slitting throats before they could even scream.

Kairo stood at the edge—quiet. Watching.

Waiting.

Until the biggest boar of them all—twice the size of a car—charged Lumi from behind.

Kairo moved.

He didn't think.

He warped.

One portal opened in front of him.

The second opened in the sky.

It charged through the first portal—and its own momentum tore it in half as it emerged with only half its body.

The team froze.

Lumi blinked. "Did you just—?"

Rena stared at him.

"...What the hell was that?"

Kairo just shook blood off his hoodie.

"Voidstep," he said. "It's new."

Back at the guild

They cashed in the bounty. Split the pay. Sat around the table, covered in dirt and bruises.

"So," Bran said, chewing on a protein bar. "You're not weak."

"Nope," Kairo replied.

"Still don't trust you," Rena muttered. "But that was badass."

Volt nodded once, quiet approval.

Lumi smiled. "I think he's the wildcard we didn't know we needed."

Kairo didn't smile.

He just looked down at his cracked smartwatch.

The System Mark on his arm pulsed faintly.

This was only the beginning.