Standing Tall
Time: April 16, 2032. 10:05 AM.
Location: Tokyo Central Military Hospital, Ward 404.
With trembling hands, Laylo unlocked the door.
Three figures stood on the threshold. In the center was a young woman with a commanding presence, her silver hair slicked back perfectly, clad in an immaculate white suit. Flanking her were two armored guards. Unlike the thugs from the "Red Dragon," these men moved with military precision and discipline.
The woman stepped into the room, her eyes sweeping the space for a split second. Her gaze flickered over the knife in Laylo's hand, dismissing it instantly as a threat. Then, she looked straight at Kenji.
"Mr. Kenji," the woman said with a polite nod. "I am Kaori. Operations Manager for the 'White Tiger' Guild. I am here to finalize the transaction."
Kenji sat on the edge of his bed. He didn't rush.
"Welcome, Miss Kaori. But before we proceed to business, I have a small technical question. I registered on the 'Hunter's Exchange' as Anonymous (ID: Ghost_Player). My data was encrypted. How did you know who I was and that I was in this specific ward? If 'White Tiger' respects client privacy the way it seems, perhaps we should cancel the deal?"
It was a provocative question. Kenji was testing their power—and their integrity.
Kaori smiled gently, though a cunning spark flashed in her eyes.
"Rest assured, we didn't hack the Exchange server. That would be beneath our reputation. One does not need to be a hacker to find you."
Kaori turned her tablet toward Kenji.
On the screen was footage from the hospital corridor's CCTV. It showed Mr. Tanaka and his lackeys causing a scene outside Ward 404, Tanaka rolling on the floor, screaming, "Give me the stone!"
"Mr. Tanaka is a very noisy man," Kaori said with a touch of irony. "He practically announced the existence of the Slime Core to the entire hospital. Our intelligence monitors his movements. When he came here, left in disgrace, and a stone matching that exact description appeared on the Exchange moments later... connecting the dots wasn't difficult."
Kaori's expression turned serious.
"Furthermore, the photo your sister uploaded... the metadata containing the GPS coordinates hadn't been scrubbed. Be more careful next time, 'Ghost_Player.' In today's world, anonymity is just a myth."
Kenji cursed internally.
Damn. I thought I was eighty years in the future, but I forgot to check the smartphone settings. Laylo is a casual user; naturally, she wouldn't know. That was my oversight.
But he kept his composure.
"Logical," Kenji nodded. "Thanks for the lesson. So, I have the goods. You have the payment?"
Kaori signaled. One of the guards placed a silver metal case on the table and popped it open.
Inside lay:
A Black Credit Card (loaded with 150 million credits).
A Gold Badge (The insignia of an Honorary Member of "White Tiger").
A small glass vial containing a thick, shimmering golden liquid. "Water of Life" (S-Class Elixir).
The mana radiating from the liquid was so potent that Kenji's newly opened meridians trembled involuntarily. This was a true treasure.
"Feel free to inspect it," Kaori said.
Kenji signaled to Laylo. She pulled the blue Slime Core from her pocket and handed it to Kaori.
Kaori scanned the stone with a specialized device.
Beep!
[Purity: 99.1%]
Kaori's eyes lit up.
"Incredible..." she whispered. "The Appraiser was wrong. It's even purer than listed. This will definitely cure Lady Yuki."
She looked at Kenji with newfound respect.
"You don't strike me as merely a lucky man, Kenji. Calling a stone like this a 'souvenir'... that is excessive humility."
"Luck is my middle name," Kenji replied curtly. He picked up the Elixir. "Do we have a deal?"
"Absolutely. From this moment on, you and your sister are under the protection of the 'White Tiger.' Our car is waiting outside. Tanaka's men are watching the hospital exits, but they won't dare attack our convoy."
"Good. Give me ten minutes alone. I'll take the medicine and change."
Kaori nodded and exited with her guards.
Laylo remained.
"Brother..." Laylo stared at the credit card and swallowed hard. "Is this a dream?"
"No," Kenji said, uncorking the glass vial. "The dream is over. Now, the real work begins."
He looked at Laylo.
"I'm going to drink this now. It might be... a little painful. Don't be scared. It's the process of restoration."
Kenji brought the vial to his lips and downed it in a single gulp.
Body Restoration: Shedding the Burden of 80 Years
The moment the liquid slid down his throat, Kenji felt an explosion.
But it wasn't like the fire training from the night before.
This was a Tsunami.
The S-Class "Water of Life" didn't just heal wounds; it rebuilt the body from the ground up.
Kenji lay back on the bed and closed his eyes.
Crunch! Crack!
Sounds began to erupt from his bones. Skeletal structures that had become brittle from two years of immobility were densifying, hardening into steel.
Muscles... they began to grow with the speed of inflating balloons. Blood rushed into withered fibers. Life boiled beneath his skin.
"Gh... ggh..." Kenji gritted his teeth. The pain was exquisite, yet terrifyingly intense. His body was trying to adapt to match his eighty-year-old consciousness.
Five minutes passed.
Kenji, drenched in sweat, took a deep breath.
He lifted his hand.
It was no longer a thin, sickly limb. It was the arm of a normal, healthy young man. The muscles were defined, the skin taut.
He took off his glasses (he never wore them before, but his vision had blurred in the hospital). Now, his sight was as sharp as an eagle's.
[STATUS]
Strength (STR): 15 (Normal: 10).
Agility (AGI): 12.
Vitality (VIT): 20.
Mana: 100/100.
Condition: Healthy. Restoration 100%.
"Not perfect," Kenji said, standing up. His feet felt the floor solidly. "Not even 1% of my former power. But... I can walk."
He opened the wardrobe and put on the simple clothes Laylo had brought: a black t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.
He looked in the mirror.
Standing there was a nineteen-year-old boy (physically), handsome, but with an abyssal depth in his eyes.
"Let's go, Laylo," he said, opening the door.
The Farewell to the Doctor and Tanaka
In the corridor, the "White Tiger" guards had formed a living wall.
In the corner stood Mr. Tanaka and the doctor. Tanaka was purple with rage, but he couldn't get anywhere near where Kaori stood.
Kenji stepped out of the ward. He walked on his own two feet, upright and confident.
The doctor's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
"This... this is impossible! Yesterday he was dying! How can he be walking in a single day?!"
Kenji stopped in front of the doctor.
"Doctor," he said with a smile. "Medical science has really advanced, hasn't it? Or maybe you just need to prescribe the right medicine. Thanks for your services. The bill is settled."
Then, he looked at Tanaka.
Tanaka glared back with pure hatred.
"You... you played me! That stone... it was S-Class! You didn't give it to me! You've started a war with the 'Red Dragon,' kid!"
Kenji stepped closer. The guards moved to intercept, but Kaori signaled them to stand down.
Kenji leaned into Tanaka's ear and whispered, just loud enough for him to hear:
"I didn't start the war, Tanaka. You did. I'm just going to finish it. And one more thing... throw that ring in the trash. It really does make you look like an idiot."
Kenji turned his back and walked toward the elevator with Kaori and Laylo.
Tanaka was left standing there, humiliated and defeated.
Outside the Hospital. The New World.
The automatic doors slid open.
Fresh air and the roar of the city hit Kenji's face.
The sun was shining.
But this was not the old Tokyo.
Above the skyscrapers, massive holographic screens flickered, drones buzzed through the air, and most importantly... in the distance, piercing the clouds in the center of the city, stood a colossal Blue Tower.
It was the "Tower of Babel" (The Prime Dungeon).
Kenji looked at the tower. From it, he caught a familiar scent—the smell of blood and Essence.
"Eighty years passed," he said quietly. "But the game isn't over yet."
Kaori opened the car door for him.
"Mr. Kenji, we will take you to a safe location, our Guild hotel. What are your plans after that?"
Kenji looked at the sky, then at Laylo, and finally at his own fist.
"Plans?" he said, a predatory glint igniting in his eyes. "First, we eat a good meal. And then... I'm looking for a job. To be a Hunter, I need to get a license, right?"
"Yes. You'll have to start at F-Rank."
"F-Rank," Kenji laughed. "Perfect. I love starting from the bottom. The climb to the top is so much more interesting."