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the plaza

The sun rose peaking through the clouds like a shy eye, and for once, the sky above Arcadia wasn't completely torn by rifts.

Kairo didn't have a mission today.

He had something more important.

Mina.

She burst out of her school gates as soon as the bell rang, her oversized backpack bouncing behind her. "Ollie!" she shouted, beaming when she saw him waiting by the corner lamppost.

He waved, pretending not to notice the parents whispering nearby. Even with his hood up and his hoodie zipped, the silver badge on his chest caught eyes.

"You came early!" she said, throwing her arms around him gently.

"Yeah, figured my favorite person deserved a surprise."

He opened a portal.

Mina grinned.

They walked down the street to a glowing food plaza inside a safe zone dome. Colorful lanterns floated in the air, scent trails from grilled meats and sweet buns danced on the breeze. A magic violinist played near the fountain, while children darted between booths with glowing cotton candy.

Mina's eyes went wide. "This place is expensive..."

"Not anymore kiddo ," Kairo said. "Eat anything. Everything. Even dessert first if you want."

She looked at him, suspicious. "Did you win the lottery or something?"

"I...may have bullied a chimera into coughing up some loot."

Her eyes went even wider. "A real chimera?!"

He laughed. "Don't worry. I didn't let it bite me."

Mina grabbed his hand and dragged him to the nearest food stall.

The next hour was nothing but laughter, sticky fingers, fried everything, and watching Mina try to carry all her prizes from the mini-games they played.

Later, she sat beside him on a bench, mouth full of mochi.

"You're doing better, huh?"

Kairo looked over. "What do you mean?"

"You don't look way anymore when people stare. You don't avoid the high-ranked zones when we pass them. You're...I dunno. More you."

He stared at the floating lights.

"I've been fighting for survival so long I forgot what it felt like to actually live."

Mina leaned on his shoulder. "Well... I'm glad you remembered."

That night, after tucking her in and leaving a tiny light orb floating by her bedside, Kairo stood in the living room of their apartment, the dim glow of his smartwatch reflecting off the cracked wall.

he was now level thirty and every ten levels a hunter gained a new skill and it was time to get his. he opened his status window and clicked accept

[New skill  Acquired:Void - Cloak]
allows the user to put up transparent walls that people or objects can walk right through so the user can hide from all sides basically becoming invisible - skill class: stealth.

[New skill  Acquired: void  Fangs Daggers] twin daggers made of void that can pass through anything to hit its target the stronger the object / skill the higher the level has to be to phase through it-skill class: offensive

[New skill Acquired: Dimensional Satchel Mk. II] increases the space inside your storage portals.

His gear sat in his Voidspace—newly upgraded thanks to the payday from the Ironfang hunt. Not flashy, but flexible. Fast. Quiet.

Just like him.

Kairo flexed his hand, feeling the Voidpulse hum under his skin.

"Time to put it to work."

Sector 12: The Ruins

It was a Level 25–30 hunting ground. Off-limits to solo D-Ranks.

Kairo didn't care.

The night air was thick with magic and smoke . Broken skyscrapers jutted out of the earth like crooked teeth of a horrible monster. Shadows crawled with mutated wolves and bone-snakes—monsters twisted by Rift corruption.

He stepped through a portal onto a rusted balcony, overlooking a pack of Rift Hounds feasting on an abandoned drone.

he activated his appraisal glasses
[Target Identified: Rift Hound – Level 28]
[Group Alert: 6 total signatures]

Perfect.

He opened his satchel, pulled a gravity trap orb, and tossed it through a miniature portal that opened above the alpha's back.

CRACK.

The trap detonated mid-air, forcing the hounds to the ground. Kairo warped above them mid-fall, daggers drawn, and drove them into two of the stunned beasts he quickly cut their throats and continued.

He reappeared behind another ,

THWIP.

Blood sprayed. Another fell.

Voidstep triggered again—he vanished and came out upside-down from a portal high in the air, a dagger in each hand, spinning like a whirlwind.

By the time the last hound growled, only two remained. They bolted.

Kairo didn't follow.

Instead, he stepped back into the shadows, breathing hard. His body was shaking, but not from fear.

From thrill.

[+ Exp Gained: 1,800]
[Voidstep Proficiency Increased.]
[Current Level:30 → 31]

He looked down at the bodies and opened his satchel again.

Everything valuable—cores, bones, enchanted hides—slid into his Voidspace without a sound.

Then he stared at the horizon, where a strange light flickered on top of a distant ruined tower.

Something... wrong.

Something he felt pulling at the edges of his System Mark like static against skin.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Guess I'm not done yet."
" time to get paid"