Chapter 13
The conference hall of the Japan Hunter Bureau Headquarters was filled with an oppressive silence. The walls were adorned with banners of guild insignias, each representing the most powerful organizations across the nation. Seated at the long obsidian table were the 10 SS-Rank Guild Masters, the pillars of Japan's hunter society.
The 10 SS-Rank Guild Masters
1. Wang chi - shallow guild
Known as the "Shadow Wolf," a hunter feared for his ability to stalk both monsters and humans with equal precision.
2. Hideo Kanzaki – Silent Lotus Guild
The strategist and master assassin, feared for turning his enemies' plans against them. Tang Shi served under him.
3. Onizuka Daigo – Crimson Ogre Guild
Towering like a mountain, he was pure muscle and destruction, leading his guild with brute dominance.
4. Shiraishi Mei – Moonveil Guild
An ice-cold illusionist whose illusions were said to rival reality itself.
5. Kobayashi Ren – Thunderclaw Guild
A spear-wielder who could call down storms with his strikes.
6. Fujimoto Kaoru – Iron Blossom Guild
A heavily armored juggernaut who specialized in defensive raids.
7. Sasaki Taro – Scarlet Fang Guild
A berserker whose rage only grew with every wound he suffered.
8. Minamoto Rikuya – Azure Shadow Guild
A dual-blade assassin, silent as the grave, feared even by other hunters.
9. Hayashi Genzo – Sunfire Guild
A fire mage whose flames could reduce entire city blocks to ash.
10. Ito Masaki – Storm Serpent Guild
A master of water and wind, controlling the battlefield with devastating range.
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At the head of the table sat Takeda Ryoichi, the sole SSS-Rank Hunter of Japan, known to the world as Raijin. His aura alone was enough to make even the SS-Rank masters stiffen.
The Bureau Chairman stood, his voice grim.
❝The SSS-Rank Dungeon has collapsed… and the Boss's presence has vanished. This is the first time in eleven years we've seen such an event.❞
Murmurs filled the room. An SSS-Rank Boss did not simply disappear.
Takeda's voice cut through the noise like a blade.
❝I entered that dungeon. I found… nothing but rubble. Nothing but a boy lying unconscious on the ground. His name—Renji.❞
The room fell silent.
❝He had no scars. No burns. Not a scratch on him. Yet everyone else inside was slaughtered.❞
The guild masters exchanged uneasy glances.
❝If three SSS-rankers are needed to slay such a beast, then how… did a boy survive alone?❞
Thus began a quiet order from the Bureau:
For six long months, Renji was observed in secret.
Hunters disguised as civilians watched his every move.
Informants monitored his school records, his daily patterns with Lily, even his visits to the market.
Some even staged accidents—hoping to provoke a reaction, a burst of hidden power.
But Renji remained… ordinary.
He walked his sister to school. He worked part-time at a convenience store. He studied late at night, determined to give Lily the future she deserved.
He never once displayed abnormal strength, never summoned mana, never fought.
The guild masters began to doubt. Perhaps he was truly nothing more than a lucky survivor.
But Takeda was not convinced.
One evening, as rain poured over Tokyo, Renji returned home carrying groceries. As he stepped into the narrow alley leading to his apartment, a man stood waiting.
Renji froze. His chest tightened not from aura suppression as before, but from recognition. This was Takeda Ryoichi. The God of Lightning. The strongest Hunter in Japan.
Takeda's golden eyes studied him, sharp and merciless.
❝Renji,❞ he said, his voice like distant thunder. ❝I came to see for myself.❞
Renji swallowed, gripping the plastic bags until they nearly tore.
❝S-see for yourself? What do you mean?❞
Takeda took a step closer. Normally, even SS-rank hunters would collapse to their knees under the sheer weight of his aura. But Renji stood firm. His heart raced, his palms sweated, but… he wasn't crumbling.
That unsettled Takeda.
He raised a hand, lightning crackling faintly at his fingertips.
❝If you were touched by the power of that dungeon… I will know it.❞
Renji's breath hitched, but nothing happened. No mana stirred from within him. No hidden force awakened. He was… empty. Like an ordinary man.
Takeda narrowed his eyes.
❝Strange. I sense… nothing. No mana. No aura. Not even a trace of awakening.❞
He turned away, cloak billowing in the storm.
❝Perhaps… you truly survived on luck alone.❞
Renji stood frozen, trembling—not from Takeda's aura, but from his own confusion. Deep inside, his heart screamed at him. That's not the truth. Something is inside me. Something… waiting.
But he forced a smile when Lily opened the door to greet him.
Takeda's gaze lingered one last time before he vanished into the storm.
And so, the Bureau settled it.
Renji was deemed ordinary.
His survival… nothing but a miracle.