While the bus was riding along, Kiril had a thought while looking out the window. Thinking about how Haruno swore next to him, and how much shocked Uncle Wren would be if he knew.
‘I appreciate Uncle Wren… But… Isn’t he too strict on Haruno, at times?’ He thought with a huff. ‘It’s like he can’t even afford to have fun. I know.’
He let out a smile, ‘I’ll be extra attentive, and finally lend him my PF5 console for the weekened. He always asked for that.’
‘He deserves a somewhat normal childhood, at the very least.’ Kiril’s eyes darkened as he recalled Russia in the ruins, his parents beneath a burning building. ‘I’m already fucked-up anyway.’
When someone tells you that you deserve a normal childhood, what do they mean?
Normal to Haruno, or to them?
It’s always them. Wren didn’t want Haruno to stand out. He needed to keep the moral high ground, to make sure Haruno stayed the obedient student, humbly eating from his palm.
There’s nothing normal about a child breaking themselves down to fit into someone else’s idea of it. Nothing normal about a kid letting people trample over them because they were taught that’s how “normal people” live; or that’s the “right thing to do” when you’re strong enough to demolish them.
A so-called genius once said powers are just a trait. Like running fast or being smart. That they aren’t special, yet shouldn’t be used to get ahead. That they’re like a knife, something that must never be used against others.
But if that’s true, then telling a superpowered person not to use their abilities, like Pob-Mesycho, is the same as telling a fast-runner to never compete, never profit, never excel.
It’s not wisdom. It’s not fairness.
It’s meant to bring them down to everyone else’s level.
‘And I refuse to be controlled.’
‘If I’m gonna live in this world, I’ll stand at the top. If it’s powers, then I’ll use them.’
Another leap from the ground.
‘AND USE THEM…!’
Another leap from a sturdy rooftop.
‘AND USE THEM-OH FUCK THIS IS SO FUN!’ Yuuto chuckled as he soared through the air time and time again, following the school bus in his invisible form.
Yuuto glanced at his MANA bar.
MANA: 2,490/5,000
‘Haah… Refreshing.’
But his gaze hardened.
‘If this field trip is too far, I’ll have to hide. Hunters can sense my energy, and while I rank S, I’m still at the lower end of the spectrum. Unlike Haruno or the others, I, Yuuto Sakurai, have zero real battle experience. No Hunter-to-Hunter fights. No monster fights.’
His jaw tightened.
‘My first few scuffles are gonna be rough.’
His thoughts shifted.
Hojin.
‘I know it was you, you oaf. The one who got Kiril killed. You practically confirmed it in the classroom. If you were just another boastful bully, you would’ve insisted I come along—to reinforce your superiority like you always do. But you kept silent.’
His fingers curled.
‘Because you couldn’t afford me messing up your plans… or outshining you.’
‘Because you fucking know Haruno is a Hunter.’
The realization clicked into place.
‘Thinking back, he always pummeled Haruno when he could. I thought it was just Haruno tilting his head whenever he got hit and playing dumb. I thought those scratches on his cheeks were just dust.’
Yuuto’s expression darkened.
‘But I see now. He knew.’
A chilling thought crept in.
‘…Does that mean Haruno knew he knew as well? Hm. An important detail like that was just glossed over?’
Yuuto shook his head.
‘No—makes sense that Haruno knew but didn’t do shit. Uncle Wren told him never to harm fellow Hunters unless absolutely necessary. That aggression would make him a killer. And Haruno, being the obedient little nephew, would rather get beaten down than disappoint him. That’s why he never retaliated. Because Hojin never tried to kill him—just break him.’
Yuuto’s gaze locked onto the bus.
‘I’m not Haruno, though.’
Then, a question echoed in his mind.
‘But… Do I kill him?’
His body flinched mid-jump.
‘…Guess I’ll wait and see. Maybe it really was a coincidence. Maybe Kiril died for some other reason. Maybe Hojin’s just an attention whore, and he didn’t want me there because he knew I’d outshine him.’
Yuuto exhaled sharply.
‘I’ll find out soon enough.’
———————————————
“Alright! Attention, class! We’re about to enter a C-RANK GATE!” The teacher announced, rounding up the students.
“Follow the instructions of the Hunters and stay in the group! Any mischief, and you’ll be kicked out on the spot!” He warned before bowing to the Hunter approaching from between the buildings. She was flanked by a party of armored Hunters, their presence alone commanding respect.
“Woah…”
“That’s…!!”
A dark-haired woman stepped forward, her expression unreadable.
“The 3rd strongest hunter in Japan!”
“Hello,” she greeted, voice deep yet indifferent. “I’m S-Rank Hunter Sakuya Yama.”
Her presence alone silenced the students. She looked to be in her late twenties, light armor fitted over her frame, a polearm strapped diagonally across her back.
Yuuto watched from a distance, eyes narrowing.
‘There she is… One of Haruno’s enemies… And one of my favorite characters in the manwha.’
His gaze sharpened, studying her movements.
‘Even if I had proper combat experience, I’m not sure I could take her. Best stay hidden until they enter the portal.’
Sakuya turned to the students. “You will be entering a C-Rank gate and joining the other schools for the yearly Hunter evaluation exam. We will assess the awakened.”
Then, she exhaled, her tone dipping into irritation.
“As for the rest of you—you’re just dead weight.”
Silence.
The teacher flinched. The students stiffened.
“You’re only here because the higher-ups wanted their pockets lined,” she added bluntly.
Murmurs spread through the students, confusion and unease swirling between them.
“C-come on, Ms. Yama!”
A confident voice broke the tension. Hojin stepped forward, grinning.
She flicked her gaze to him. “You’re the one being evaluated, right?”
“Yes! I’m honored you remember me, senpai!” He bowed.
Yuuto and Kiril, being far apart, shared the same thought.
‘Jesus Christ, what an ass-kisser.’
“I may not have been evaluated yet, but I’m already a B-Ranker!” Hojin declared, puffing his chest. “In a C-Rank gate, I could handle everything inside, no?”
Misaki, standing in the crowd, gazed up at him in awe.
Sakuya’s expression didn’t shift.
“…You’re being evaluated, and yet you don’t know that Gate Ranks and Hunter Ranks are separate?” Her voice, while flat, carried a dangerous edge.
Hojin flinched. “Ah… I-I knew that… It’s just that this gate—most of the monsters are below my level—”
“Have you ever choked on a sausage?”
She asked.
Hojin blinked. “N-no…?”
“Would that also be below your level?” She took a step forward. “Because a sausage has no rank. And yet, it could kill you.”
Her tone darkened. “Same goes for these gates. NEVER underestimate them. And if you can’t help but flex your puny muscles, don’t do it in my presence. Got that?”
Hojin swallowed. “A-ha… I… I… Yes…” He looked away awkwardly as the Hunters behind Sakuya sighed in unison.
“If that were me, she’d have broken my bones…”
“I know, right? She’s way too soft on kids… Best wife material—”
Before the last guy could finish, a faint shhkt cut the air—a tiny slash appeared on his cheek.
He paled. “I’ll just keep quiet.”
Yuuto’s eyes narrowed from his perch on the rooftop.
‘I barely saw it, but she cut that guy’s cheek… Damn. She’s tough.’
Sakuya turned back to the students. “Listen up, all of you.”
Hojin stood stiffly, teeth clenched. ‘Damn this fucking bitch…’
“Even experienced Hunters die in these gates. If you stray from the group for even a second, I will kill you myself. It’s already enough that we have to carry dead weight like you—don’t make it harder for me or my party. GOT IT?”
The students snapped to attention. “Y-YES, MA’AM!”
Yuuto exhaled, watching her speak.
‘I always liked her.’
His gaze lingered.
‘She never sugarcoats her words. When she says something, she means every word. Even when Haruno was about to hand the system over to everyone near the end of the manhwa, she was one of the very, very few who tried to stop him—even as his enemy. Not because she cared, but because her pragmatism clashed with his idealism. She hated his guts, but she still respected him enough to warn him.’
Yuuto smirked faintly.
‘She disguised it as a jab at his ego, but she was right. She told him to keep the system to himself—because once he gave it away, he’d be worthless. That his so-called allies, and even people he thinks he loves would toss him aside the second he outlived his usefulness. That they were snakes, whispering about ‘the right thing’ only to bleed him dry.’
His smirk faded.
‘They fought over it. He lashed out at her, told her she was wrong. That he ‘believed in people.”
Yuuto’s fingers curled against the rooftop.
‘I like to think he thought about her in his last moments and how stupid he was… Nah. He was too naive for that. That’s why…’
‘I’m gonna make her my ally rather than follow this manhwa’s dumb plot.’
Her party split into four groups, circling around the students. Determined hunters surrounded the excited, smiling students before they all stepped into the gate.
‘They’re gonna be in there for three days—until the party takes out the main boss.’ Yuuto watched the swirling energy of the gate. ‘Beyond this thing is an entirely different dimension. Every gate has its own monsters, its own world…’ His gaze shifted to the hunters stationed nearby, ensuring no one unauthorized entered.
‘What’s troublesome about this gate isn’t its rank. It’s that I have zero clue what’s in there. Haruno wasn’t inside this one, after all. And the monsters? The manhwa never specified them.’
‘Well, there’s a first time for everything…!’ A smirk crept onto his face as he activated COLD BREEZE [LV.9] and leapt from the building.
‘Oh, I love this.’ The wind howled against his face as he plummeted, a rush of exhilaration coursing through him before he crashed into the pavement below.
“What was that!?” The hunters’ heads snapped toward the impact zone.
‘Yeah, look here…!’ Without hesitation, Yuuto bolted away from the crater as the hunters rushed to investigate.
“A tremor..? The ground just cracked out of nowhere!” one of them exclaimed.
“There’s someone out there!?” Another scanned the area, but Yuuto had already slipped past them. Their attention quickly returned to the gate.
“I don’t sense anyone…” a hunter muttered, while Yuuto stood right before the swirling portal.
‘Here we fucking go… My first gate. I’m about to fight monsters I’ve only ever read about.’ A shudder ran through his body as he imagined the cerberus-like beasts with glowing red eyes and claws as big as a man’s torso—creatures Haruno had breezed through like they were nothing.
‘Monsters that can kill me.’ He clenched his fists. ‘Hunters who could evaporate me with a spell.’
‘Is it really worth it? I could just abandon these guys. No one’s gonna remember me anyway—as the manhwa already confirmed…’ He lowered his gaze, Kiril’s presence lingering in his mind.
‘What’s my real motivation here? Saving the world? Securing my future? If that’s the case, I could just stick to the gates I actually read about—places I know I can get stronger in safely—rather than blindly walking into this one.’
His MANA Bar flickered into view beside him.
[WARNING! Mana EXTREMELY LOW!][MANA: 405/5,000]
‘Kiril’s a nice guy, sure. But if I stuck my neck out for every “nice” person, I’d just be following in Haruno’s footsteps. And it’s not like I have any deep ties to Kiril… or that Hojin guy—other than being a reader of this dogshit story. I have no reason to go in there whatsoever.’
[MANA: 200/5,000]
‘So why am I here?’ He stared at the swirling blue energy of the gate.
[MANA: 90/5,000]
‘Ah, right.’ His lips curled into a smirk as he recalled the cold wind whipping against his face, the rush of soaring to a height equivalent to a small apartment building when he left the school to chase the bus, the city shrinking beneath him.
[MANA: 35/5,000]
[INSUFFICIENT MANA! COLD BREEZE [LV.9] will be deactivated!]
‘To secure an alliance with an influential S-Rank hunter… And to see just how high I can jump if I get stronger.’
He stepped into the portal just as his skill ended.
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