He opened his eyes slowly.
His vision was hazy at first, but the moment his eyes focused, a soft ding echoed in his mind.
[System Notification]
Level up ×10
Congratulations, Host, for completing the Daily Quest.
Reward: Demon Blade (Elite Quality)
Rantaro blinked, confused. Wait... where am I?
He turned his head and saw Juijui sitting beside him, arms crossed, a deep frown on her face.
"You finally woke up, idiot!" she snapped.
Before he could even speak, she pointed a finger at him. "What were you thinking fighting alone like that? You could've died! And don't think I forgot—you LIED! You're not some weak D-ranker, are you?!"
"Okay, okay!" Rantaro raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, alright? No more lies from now on... I promise."
Just then, the door burst open and Zek rushed in, his grin wide and wild.
"Brooo! That was INSANE, bro!" he shouted, slamming his hand onto Rantaro's shoulder. "That slash at the end? CRAZY! From now on, you're my rival! And next time we meet…" He leaned close with a smirk. "I'll beat you."
Rantaro laughed weakly. "Looking forward to it."
A few more minutes passed, and one by one, everyone from the team came in.
"You okay, Rantaro?"
"We were really worried."
"You looked dead when we carried you back..."
Rantaro gave them a faint smile. "Yeah… I'm fine now. Thanks, everyone."
Then the door opened again—this time, not with force but with anger.
"YOU IDIOT!"
It was his sister.
She marched straight up to him and slapped his arm—not hard, but just enough to make her point.
"You were injured! How could you be so reckless? Do you want to get yourself killed?!"
"I'm sorry…" he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"You better be."
---
Next Morning
---
Scene Shift: Zek
Zek stood in front of a glowing orb—his grandfather's legacy. The Training Tracer.
"This… is my turn now."
He touched the orb—and vanished.
Inside the Tracer Realm, time flowed differently.
1 day outside = 1 year inside.
But it could only be used three times in a lifetime.
Zek clenched his fists.
"I have a rival now... I have to grow stronger—faster than ever before!"
Dark skies lit up around him as he began his grueling training in the time-bent world.