Chapter 3: Back from the Dead
Sunlight pierced Kairo's eyelids like spears of fire, dragging him out of the darkness.
He stirred, groaning as pain stabbed through his chest, ribs, and legs. The sensation was duller than it should've been, like everything around him was wrapped in cotton. His fingers dug into the soil beneath him—warm, dry earth. Not the stone floor of the dungeon. Not the cold embrace of death.
Had he… survived?
Kairo opened his eyes.
He was lying in the middle of a crater. The forest around him was scorched—trees reduced to blackened stumps, leaves turned to ash. Smoke curled lazily into the morning sky. The air smelled like burnt ozone and copper. Birds chirped in the distance, confused or perhaps emboldened by the sudden return of silence.
He sat up slowly, every joint screaming. His clothes were torn, bloodied, and scorched at the edges. The broken spear he'd used in the battle with the Revenant lay beside him, now little more than a snapped staff with a half-melted blade.
His heart pounded. He checked his body. No broken bones. No visible wounds beyond scrapes and bruises. Nothing that matched the trauma of falling into a collapsing dungeon.
And yet… he was alive.
His hand reached up instinctively, fingers swiping the air. The translucent blue screen appeared instantly.
[Echo Protocol – System Online]Status: StableHost Vital Signs: NormalizedCurrent Level: 3Abilities: [Void Claws], [Shadowstep]Link Slots: 1/5New Trait Acquired: Mana Assimilation (Minor)
Kairo blinked.
Level 3?
He remembered it now—the kill. That final moment when his spear sank into the Revenant's eye, just before everything went white. The system must've absorbed the energy released during the creature's death and—somehow—teleported him out. Or maybe reconstructed his body from the remains?
He shivered at the thought. Was that even possible?
The word "assimilation" echoed ominously in his head.
Then he noticed something else.
A second screen had appeared.
[Warning: You are being tracked.]
Kairo stiffened.
Tracked? By who?
Before he could think, a low humming sound reached his ears. A second later, a shadow passed over him. He looked up and saw it—a black and silver hovercraft descending through the smoky clouds.
Military grade. Unmarked. No guild logos.
He scrambled to his feet, wincing as the pain flared up again. His system screen vanished with a thought. He didn't know who these people were, but caution was automatic now. The world had changed in the span of a single fight.
Three figures descended from the craft, landing in a triangle formation around him. They wore dark armor laced with glowing circuits, their helmets shaped like sleek falcon heads. A fourth descended more slowly, standing taller, his armor marked with silver insignias across the shoulders.
Kairo raised his hands.
"I'm not hostile," he said. "I just… I woke up here."
The tallest figure stepped forward and removed his helmet. Sharp eyes. Buzzcut hair. A jaw set like concrete.
"Name?" he asked.
"Kairo Tanaka."
The man looked surprised. "From Black Fang?"
Kairo nodded slowly.
"You're supposed to be dead."
"That makes two of us," Kairo muttered.
The man turned to his squad. "Scan the area. Pull heat maps from the last six hours. I want energy signatures, trace mana, anything unusual."
One of the soldiers tapped their wristpad and the air shimmered. Blue light danced over the crater, pulling data from invisible sources. Kairo watched, confused but fascinated. Even for high-level Hunter Corps tech, this was next level.
The officer turned back to him. "You were inside TK-421, correct? The rogue dungeon that collapsed two days ago?"
"Two days?" Kairo echoed, blinking. "I've been out for two days?"
"Officially, the dungeon caved in. Zero survivors. We found Black Fang's IDs. All dead. Your body was never recovered."
Kairo lowered his hands, slowly. "I don't know what happened. I killed something—something strong. Then the core exploded, and I woke up here."
The officer studied him carefully. "You're lucky."
"I don't feel lucky," Kairo muttered.
The scan tech spoke up. "Sir—there's something weird. No residual traces of a dungeon gate. But we're getting spike markers—unfamiliar frequency. Like a secondary system layered over the Rift."
The officer's eyes narrowed.
"You're coming with us, Tanaka."
Three hours later, Kairo sat in a decontamination chamber within the Tokyo Hunter Corps facility. His clothes had been taken. Scans performed. Mana levels assessed.
The results? "Unstable, unregistered signature."
A polite way of saying: "We don't know what the hell you are."
Captain Hana Miyamoto entered the room with an air of quiet power. Her silver-streaked hair was pulled into a sharp ponytail, and the black Commander's coat she wore swept across the floor like a shadow. She carried no weapons. She didn't need any.
"You're not infected," she said without greeting. "You're not mutated. And yet… your system is unlike anything we've ever seen."
Kairo said nothing.
She folded her arms.
"You want to explain how an F-rank Hunter survived a dungeon collapse that killed seven others, and then teleported across twenty miles of locked terrain?"
He met her eyes. "No. I don't think I do."
Silence stretched between them.
"I see," she said eventually. "Then I'll be blunt. You are now a classified anomaly. Until further notice, you're being suspended from active duty. Your Hunter license is revoked. You're under observation."
Kairo's jaw clenched.
"Revoked? I saved myself. I didn't cause the collapse!"
"We don't know that," she said evenly. "And we can't take chances."
He stood, fists clenched. "So what now? I just wait for someone to decide whether I'm dangerous?"
"No," she said. "You live your life. But understand this—if that power of yours becomes a threat to others, we'll erase it. And you."
She left.
The door locked behind her.
Kairo sat alone in a government-issued apartment later that night. One room. One bed. One dim light flickering overhead. No phone. No terminal. No way to call for help.
But he had his system.
[Echo Protocol: Online][Skill Tree: Adaptive][Warning: You are still being monitored.]
Monitored or not, he wasn't going to sit quietly.
He had tasted power. Real power. Power that didn't come from guilds or licenses or reputation. Power that let him stand toe-to-toe with something no F-rank should've survived.
He would learn to control it. To grow it. To surpass it.
Even if the world turned against him.
Especially then.
He pulled up the system menu and whispered, "What's next?"
The system responded instantly.
[New Quest: Prove Your Evolution]Objective: Win a sanctioned duel against a registered C-rank Hunter.Reward: +1 Link Slot | Bonus Trait if victory is flawless.Risk: System will lock abilities for 24 hours if you lose.Accept? [Y/N]
Kairo grinned.
"Oh, I accept."