The Tokyo Branch of the Hunter Association resembled the headquarters of a corporation from the future more than a place for warriors to gather. Glass, steel, and endless holographic screens displaying news, stock quotes of hunter guilds, and lists of Gates cleared in the last 24 hours. The air here was saturated with the smell of sterility and the barely perceptible ozone crackle of mana.
I walked through the hall, trying to keep my head down. Six Eyes under the dark glasses worked in «information storm» mode. I saw everything: from micro-cracks in the armored glass to streams of energy in the bodies of people passing by. Most hunters here had mana that looked like dim smoldering coals. Only occasionally did brighter sparks flash — Ranks C and B.
— Next! Booth number four! — barked the clerk, a man with the face of a person who had seen too many idiots with delusions of grandeur. He tore me away from contemplation.
I approached the counter. Behind it sat a woman with a face expressing the extreme degree of tiredness of life. I placed my passport on the scanner.
— Satoru... Gojo? — she froze, looking at the screen. Silence in a radius of five meters became almost tangible. A couple of jock-hunters standing by the coffee machine turned around, hiding smirks. — Is this... a real name?
— Unfortunately, yes, — I answered, trying to make my voice sound as bored as possible. — Parents were fans of the classics. Can we move on to the measurement?
— Proceed to the crystal chamber, «Strongest», — she couldn't resist a barb, pointing to the transparent box in the center of the hall.
As soon as I stepped inside, the red System interface flashed before my eyes.
[ ⚠ Sync System: ATTENTION! ]
[Scan of magical core detected. Current synchronization: 57.2%.] [WARNING: If you reveal the real mana level, the Association will activate the «National Security» protocol. Probability of forced detention: 99%.]
[Recommended Action: Forced suppression. Compress mana to 0.01% of the Character's limit.]
«Compress, — I ordered mentally. — Make me look like an ordinary passerby who has barely enough mana to light a lighter».
I placed my palm on the huge crystal. It flashed gray for a second, and then simply went out. As if the light bulb burned out. The clerk looked at the monitor, and on her face reflected something between pity and contempt.
— Mana Level: 12 units. Rank E. The lowest registration threshold.
Friendly laughter rang out in the hall. One of the hunters, a big guy in leather armor, nearly choked on his latte.
— Heard that?! Gojo-kun is Rank E! Hey, kid, don't forget to buy a helmet, otherwise even a slime will hurt you if it hits your head!
— Satoru Gojo who is afraid of his own shadow! — came from another corner. — Japan, we have officially hit rock bottom!
I silently took my plastic card with the shameful letter «E». At that moment, my phone in my pocket literally exploded with notifications.
[ 📉 Sync System: EXTREME POPULARITY SPIKE (NEGATIVE) ]
[Source: South Korea. Live broadcast from the Association hall hit the top of Naver under the headline: «Japanese "Gojo" — Official Trash of the Year».]
[Comments (+45 000)]:
«Even my hamster is Rank D».
«Japan is trying to hype on the name, but nature takes its toll».
«Sung Jin-Woo would simply cry from pity».
[SYNCHRONIZATION: +2.8%] [CURRENT LEVEL: 60.0%] [UNLOCKED: Spatial Compression — «Blue» (Lapse Blue).]
«Damn it...» — I felt the air around my fingers start to tremble finely. Power arrived exactly when I wanted it least. I was being torn apart by hype based on my humiliation. What an ironic piece of trash this System is.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
Marin's Studio. Two hours later.
I returned to Marin's workshop in a state of «I'm going to fall and not get up». But as soon as I opened the door, I froze. It smelled of hot fabric, hairspray, and peaches.
Marin sat on the floor, buried in black and dark blue scraps. Seeing me, she jumped so high she nearly knocked over a mannequin.
— Gojo-kun! Well?! Show me! Show me the card!
I handed her the plastic. Marin peered into the letter «E» and... her eyes shone with such delight, as if I brought her a gold medal from the Olympics.
— O-O-OH! E-RANK! This is... this is simply the peak of canon! «The world's weakest hero actually hides the power of a god»! God, Gojo-kun, you are so cool! This is the most popular trope!
— Marin, this isn't a trope, this is a disgrace because of which all of Korea is laughing at me.
I wearily sank onto a chair.
— But I need to go to a dungeon. Right now. My body... it's burning. Mana is pressing from the inside. If I don't release it in battle, I will simply explode.
Marin instantly became serious. She walked to a tall cover standing in the corner of the room and slowly pulled the zipper.
— I knew. I saw on TV that new Gates are opening in the Ota forest. That's why I haven't slept for three nights.
She took out the costume. It wasn't just clothes. It was a masterpiece. A dark blue jacket with a high collar, perfectly fitted trousers. But Six Eyes saw more. The fabric shimmered.
— This is Rank D mana-web fiber, — Marin said quietly, approaching me.
— I spent all my savings from part-time jobs and... sold a couple of my rare collectible figures to buy out this material on the black market. It will withstand a monster's claw strike.
— And the blindfold...
She took out a strip of fabric. — It's made of nylon with micro-holes. You will see the world, and the world will see only your secret.
Marin began helping me put on the jacket. Her fingers touched my neck when she adjusted the collar. I felt her trembling. She stood so close that I saw every eyelash in her huge eyes.
— Promise me, — she whispered, looking up at me. — That you won't tear this costume. I put everything I had into it. And... and come back alive. Even if you are the «weakest», don't you dare die.
I looked at her. At that moment, two feelings fought within me: the cold detachment of Satoru Gojo and the frantic gratitude of an ordinary guy who for the first time in his life felt that someone worried about him so much.
I gently placed my hand on her shoulder. The fabric of her home T-shirt was soft.
— I'll try, Marin. Besides... who else will evaluate your new costumes if not me?
She sniffled and immediately punched me in the chest, returning to her usual cheerful mood. — That's right! Go and show those idiots from the Association that rank is just a letter!
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
[Location: Hidden Gates — «Emerald Forest»]
The silence in the forest was unnatural. It didn't soothe, but pressed on the eardrums. The «Steel Wolves» group led by Takeshi — that same broad-shouldered guy with an ax who at the Association advised me to «buy a helmet so slimes don't knock on my crown» — was moving deeper.
— Hey, E-Rank.
Takeshi turned around, wiping sweat from his forehead. His ax glowed faintly with Rank C magic.
— Why are you dragging in the back? The bag is heavy? Well, that's life. If you carry it poorly — I'll leave you here as food for squirrels.
The group's mage, a skinny guy with an unpleasant smirk, chuckled: — Come on, Takeshi. Look at him. He is a cosplayer. Put on nicer clothes to die in style.
I didn't answer. My Six Eyes under the blindfold were literally pulsing. I saw what these «pros» didn't see. Hidden under the emerald moss were not roots, but magical arteries that sucked life out of everything living. Space here was unstable.
— Stop.
I stopped. My voice sounded sharp, cutting off their laughter.
— We passed the point of no return. This isn't Rank D. These are Hidden Gates. A Rank B Boss is forming right here, right now. Leave while the barrier still lets the weak through.
Takeshi froze, slowly turned around, and began to turn red with anger. — You... you, piece of trash, are going to teach me to sense mana?! I've been in raids for three years! And you are just...
He didn't have time to finish. The world around shuddered. The emerald trees screamed — this isn't a metaphor, their bark cracked, releasing black steam. Gigantic vines covered in dagger-sized spikes burst out from underground. One of them instantly pierced the shield of the swordsman standing to the right of Takeshi. The guy didn't even have time to scream — he was simply sucked into the rift in the ground like a straw.
— WHAT THE...?! — Takeshi raised his ax, but the air became so heavy that it pinned him to his knees.
Out of the thicket, pushing apart century-old oaks, stepped a monster. Forest Horror. A five-meter golem of petrified wood, whose joints were fastened with pulsing flesh. Its eyes burned with poisonous green flame. It was pure, concentrated Rank "B" rage.
The mage tried to raise his staff, but a root-whip struck proactively. A snap — and the mage's arm hung like a whip, and the staff shattered into splinters. Takeshi, mad with fear, rushed forward, but the Boss simply swatted him with a paw like an annoying fly. The leader of the «Steel Wolves» flew twenty meters, crashing into a rock with a crunch.
I was left alone. The duffel bag with supplies slowly slid off my shoulder.
[ ⚠ Sync System: ATTENTION! ]
[Resonance with negative feedback from Korea detected. Synchronization: 60%.] [Your body (Lvl 1) is unable to hold such a volume of energy. Release mana immediately, otherwise internal organs will turn into mush.]
— I got it, I got it... — I whispered.
I felt white-hot needles crawling under my skin. Blood in my veins was boiling. But there was one problem. The Costume. Marin sold her collections, didn't sleep at night to sew this. If I just «explode» with mana now, nothing will remain of her labor.
«Infinity...» — I appealed to the very essence of Gojo's power. — «Don't let mana touch the fabric. Leave all the overload inside me».
I took a step forward. The Forest Horror roared, raising a gigantic fist over me, capable of crushing a tank. I slowly raised my right hand, folding my fingers into that very gesture. The air around my hand began to curl into a black hole. Space whined pitifully. Capillaries in my eyes burst, flooding the whites with scarlet color. Thick blood flowed from my nose, staining my lips, but not a single drop hit the blue collar.
— Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue (Jutsushiki Junten: Ao)
I didn't just hit him. I created a point of absolute compression right in the center of his chest.
SNAP.
The sound was short and terrible. The five-meter monster was sucked into a tiny blue point in a split second. Its wood, mana-core, bones, and the earth beneath it were ground into dust.
BOOOM!
A vacuum explosion blew off the tops of trees in a fifty-meter radius. When the dust settled, a smooth, perfectly polished crater gaped in the monster's place.
I fell to my knees, frantically gasping for air. My right arm under the jacket sleeve turned into one continuous bloody mess — the muscles couldn't withstand the pressure. But the jacket... The jacket was intact. Marin's mana-web turned out to be incredibly strong, it worked like an external exoskeleton, not letting my arm simply fly into pieces.
[ ⚔️ Sync System: TARGET ELIMINATED! ]
[You received a colossal amount of experience for a 4-rank difference!] [LEVEL UP: Lvl 1 —> Lvl 10]
[STATUS UPDATED:] [Physical vessel strengthened: +200% to tissue durability. Your body adapted to 60% synchronization.] [Passive Ability: «Reverse Flow» — wounds heal at an accelerated rate.]
I felt warm, golden energy spreading through my body. The pain in my arm instantly subsided. Bones fused, vessels restored. I slowly stood up, feeling... different. As if I finally put on shoes of my size. My «vessel» became wider. Now I could use «Blue» and not turn into a bloody fountain.
I lifted the blindfold and put it back on, hiding my eyes. Takeshi, clutching broken ribs, looked at me with such horror as if I were the Devil himself.
— You... you... who are you?.. — he whispered, crawling backward. — This isn't Rank E... This is...
I walked up to him. My shadow covered him.
— Remember, Takeshi. There was a monster in this forest that ate your swordsman and nearly killed you. And then it just... disappeared. Collapsed. Dungeon error. Got it?
I leaned in slightly, and a cold blue light flashed from under the blindfold for a moment.
— If even a word about the «guy in the blue jacket» appears in the Association's report, I will find you. And then you will learn that «Blue» can be created right inside a human skull.
Takeshi nodded frantically, his teeth chattering from fear.
[Somewhere in the shadows of the trees]
A small reconnaissance drone, camouflaged as a beetle, smoothly flew away from the battle site. Its high-resolution lens recorded everything.
Ten kilometers away, in a luxurious dressing room, Ai Hoshino sat in front of the mirror, holding a tablet. Her fingers froze over the screen. On the recording, the guy in the black blindfold stood in the middle of a perfectly polished crater. His arm, which was a bloody mess just a second ago, knit together in an instant, leaving not even a scar.
Ai brought the screen closer to her face. The reflection of the explosion danced in her eyes — those dark, purple stars that captivated millions. But now they shone not with stage light, but with the cold, sharp delight of a predator finding equal prey.
— Miyako-san was afraid of you... — Ai whispered, tracing the silhouette of Gojo on the screen with her finger. — But you aren't scary.
She smiled. It wasn't her usual blinding «Idol Smile». It was a quiet, knowing smirk.
— You are pretending. You act weak, you wear a blindfold, you hide your power... You are a liar, Satoru Gojo. A magnificent, terrible, beautiful liar. Just like me.
She quickly opened the chat with Marin. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, typing a message that sounded cheerful and bubbly — another layer of her perfect lie.
Ai: «Marin-chan! ( ˘ ³˘)♥ Your assistant... Gojo-kun. He is totally fascinating! Tell him I want a personal meeting. Tomorrow at ten. I have a job for him that he absolutely can't refuse!
P.S. Tell him that blue is definitely his color. It suits his "performance" perfectly. 😉✨»
Ai put the tablet aside and looked at herself in the mirror. Her heart was pounding — not from fear, but from anticipation. For the first time in forever, she found someone whose "mask" was as heavy as hers.
— Everyone loves the idols who shine... — she whispered to her reflection, imitating the voice she used on stage. — But I think I finally found someone who loves the darkness behind the curtains.
She narrowed her eyes, thinking about Marin Kitagawa. To catch a liar, you don't ask for the truth. You just grab the only thing that makes his acting crack.
— I'll be waiting, Gojo-kun. Let's see whose lie is stronger.