The Banting's roar split the blood-red sky. Its many eyes flared like lanterns of hate, and its claws raked the ground as it lunged. The earth itself trembled under its charge.
Haruki's body moved before his mind could keep up. His gauntlets shimmered, metal flowing like liquid. In the blink of an eye, they reshaped into a massive hammer, runes glowing a fierce blue along its length.
He didn't have a plan. He didn't even know if he could win. But something inside him screamed: swing.
And he did.
BOOM!
The hammer connected with the monster's jaw. The impact thundered through the wasteland, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the earth.
Bone shattered, black ichor sprayed, and the Banting's massive frame staggered backward, shrieking in a chorus of distorted voices.
Haruki's arms quaked. His chest rose and fell in ragged breaths. But this wasn't the weakness of a frail body. This was exhaustion earned through battle. His heart was hammering not from sickness, but from adrenaline.
For once in his life… his body wasn't betraying him.
The Banting reeled, claws flailing wildly. Its eyes dimmed, one after another, until only a single crimson orb glared at him with pure hatred.
Then, with a guttural roar, it collapsed in a heap. Its grotesque body convulsed before dissolving into glowing ash that scattered on the wind.
A soft ding rang in his ears.
[Congratulations! You have slain a Level 5 Banting.]
[Reward: 10 XP. Status: Still pathetic, but with potential.]
Haruki fell to his knees, laughter bubbling out of him, half-hysterical and half-disbelieving. "I… I actually did it. I killed a monster!"
[Correction: You barely killed a monster. The Banting was already weakened. Had it been at full strength, you'd currently be an appetizer in its stomach.]
"…Can't you let me have this moment?" Haruki groaned, rubbing his face.
[Not in my programming. Celebrations are premature when your survival rate remains in the single digits.]
Haruki ignored the sarcasm. His gaze fell to his hands. The gauntlets pulsed faintly, as if alive, as if acknowledging him. His lips trembled into a shaky grin.
For the first time in sixteen years, he felt strong.
Alive.
Not the fragile boy in bed. Not the patient waiting for another diagnosis. Here, he had fought and survived.
And if he could do this once… maybe he could do it again.
The wasteland had fallen silent. Only the sound of Haruki's breathing filled the air as ash from the slain Banting drifted like dying embers.
Then fwiiiiiit!
A sharp whistle cut through the stillness.
Haruki's head snapped up.
On the ridge above, three figures stood against the red sky, long coats whipping in the wind. Their presence pressed down on him like a mountain. They weren't just strong. They were terrifying.
Hunters.
The one at the front stepped forward. A tall woman with crimson hair tied in a tight braid, her golden eyes glowing faintly like molten metal. Resting casually against her shoulder was a sword longer than Haruki was tall, its blade humming with restrained power.
Her gaze swept over him, then the fading ashes of the Banting. One brow lifted, ever so slightly.
"Well," she said, voice smooth but sharp, "that's a surprise. Didn't think a stray like you could take down a Banting alone."
"…Stray?" Haruki echoed, blinking.
The man beside her, lean with jagged scars etched across his jaw, snorted. His weapon twin axes strapped to his back gleamed in the dim light.
"Look at him," the man said with a sneer. "No crest, no uniform. Just some lucky nobody who stumbled in and got the final hit. The thing was half-dead already."
[Wow. They can smell your weakness from a mile away. Impressive.]
Haruki clenched his teeth. "Shut up," he muttered under his breath.
The third Hunter, younger than the other two, with messy blond hair and bright, mischievous eyes, leaned forward on his spear. Unlike the others, he grinned.
"Still, not bad for a rookie. Got guts, at least. Cannon fodder material."
Haruki's eye twitched. "…Thanks? I think?"
The crimson-haired woman ignored their banter. She studied him for a long moment, her golden eyes narrowing as though weighing something. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she pulled something from her coat and tossed it down.
A small, glowing emblem landed at Haruki's feet, pulsing faintly with blue light.
"Hunter Academy," she said. "Trial gates open tomorrow. Survive, and you'll earn a place. Fail, and…" Her lips curved in the faintest of smirks. "The Bantings will finish what we didn't."
Before Haruki could respond, the three blurred vanishing into streaks of light that disappeared over the horizon.
Silence fell again.
Haruki stared at the emblem in his hands. It was warm, the symbol etched into it pulsing like a heartbeat.
Hunter Academy.
His chest tightened not with sickness, but with anticipation. A place where people like them trained, fought, lived.
"…This is it," he whispered. "This is where I'm supposed to be."
[Or where you'll die spectacularly. Either way, entertainment for me.]
Haruki grinned despite himself. He clutched the emblem tight.
For the first time, the thought of death didn't scare him.
Because here, in this cruel and terrifying world… he finally had a chance to live.
Night fell fast in Driath.
The red sky darkened into a bruised violet, and strange stars shimmered above, brighter and harsher than the ones Haruki remembered back home. Shadows stretched long across the ruined earth, and somewhere in the distance, a howl echoed.
Haruki sat on a chunk of broken stone, the glowing emblem resting in his palm. Its faint blue light painted his face, the only thing keeping the oppressive darkness at bay.
"So," he muttered to himself, "Hunter Academy, huh? Sounds like something straight out of the RPGs I used to play."
[Correction: Unlike your games, there's no respawn feature here. Once you die, that's it. No save files. No continues. Just a very messy death.]
Haruki rolled his eyes. "Do you ever say anything encouraging?"
[Encouraging? Hm…] The System paused, then chirped. [Ah, here's one: at least you're not as pathetic as you were yesterday.]
Haruki chuckled despite himself. "I'll… I'll take it."
The gauntlets shimmered faintly as he raised his hands. In the moonlight, the metal looked alive, flowing subtly as though shifting with his heartbeat. He flexed his fingers, the weapon reshaping into claws, then a blade, then back to gloves again.
"Where did these even come from?" he whispered.
[They're bound to you, User. Adaptive weapons tied to your soul. Their form reflects your will to fight.]
A beat.
[Which is hilarious, considering you never fought a day in your life.]
Haruki ignored the jab. His lips curved into a faint smile.
"Guess there's a first time for everything."
Silence stretched, broken only by the distant groans of unseen beasts and the crackle of embers drifting in the wind.
Haruki leaned back, eyes tracing the alien constellations. For sixteen years, all he had known were white ceilings and sterile lights. Here, the sky itself felt alive endless, terrifying, but free.
"This world…" His voice was soft. "It's cruel. But it's beautiful."
[Don't get sentimental. Beauty won't stop a Banting from tearing your limbs off.]
"Maybe not." Haruki closed his fist around the emblem. His gaze hardened, a quiet fire burning there. "But for the first time, I feel like I belong somewhere. And I won't waste it."
The emblem pulsed in answer, as though acknowledging his resolve.
By dawn, Haruki was on the move.
The emblem in his hand pulsed faintly, tugging him forward like a compass. The land stretched endlessly before him, and for once, his legs carried him without pain, without faltering.
Every step was a revelation.
He passed through jagged cliffs where rivers of molten light trickled down like veins of living fire.
Floating islands drifted above, each crowned with twisted trees whose leaves shimmered between silver and violet.
In the distance, a ruined temple loomed, half-swallowed by roots that glowed faintly as if pulsing with some ancient heartbeat.
Haruki stopped often, staring up at the sky, at the strange sun that bled red and gold across the horizon. He couldn't help it. After a lifetime of ceilings, how could he not?
Back home, the only landscapes he had known were hospital corridors, sterile white walls, and the faint blue of his bedroom ceiling. But here… here the world was alive, dangerous, untamed.
And he was walking in it. Breathing in it. Free.
A low screech echoed overhead. Haruki jerked his head up just in time to see a massive winged beast glide through the sky, its scales glinting like jagged glass. Its shadow swept over him, blotting out the sun for a moment before disappearing toward the horizon.
His heart pounded not in fear, but in awe.
"This world…" he whispered, "…it's insane."
[Insane is accurate. You're basically a mosquito in a world of predators. At least mosquitoes are annoying. You? You're barely noticeable.]
Haruki sighed, though a faint smile tugged at his lips. "I'll take 'barely noticeable.' Better than being bedridden."
The System hummed, unimpressed.
Haruki's gauntlets shifted again as he flexed his fingers, briefly forming into a blade, then dissolving back into gloves. The weapon seemed to answer his thoughts, flowing seamlessly with his will. It felt… natural, as if he had been born with it.
A part of him still feared this was just a dream. That he would wake up, staring at the same ceiling, trapped in the same fragile body.
But the ache in his arms, the sting of cuts from the Banting's claws, the warmth of the gauntlets against his skin—those were real.
And for the first time, he didn't want to wake up.
He tightened his grip on the glowing emblem.
Hunter Academy.
That was his next step. His next battle. His chance to prove that he was more than weak lungs and wasted years.
By the time the sun climbed high, Haruki saw them towering gates carved into the horizon.
They rose higher than any skyscraper he had ever seen, massive stone arches etched with runes that pulsed faintly like veins of molten light.
Beyond them stretched an enormous fortress-city, spires twisting into the clouds, banners snapping in the wind. Even from this distance, the air vibrated with raw power, as if the land itself acknowledged the presence of giants.
Hunter Academy.
Haruki's breath caught. His feet slowed as he took it all in, heart pounding against his ribs.
But he wasn't alone.
Dozens no, hundreds of youths crowded at the gates. Some bore weapons taller than themselves; others had armor that gleamed with enchantments.
A few carried themselves with the casual confidence of veterans, while others radiated elemental energy so strong it shimmered visibly around them.
And then there was Haruki.
Plain clothes. No crest. No training. Just a glowing emblem and a pair of strange gauntlets he didn't even know how to use properly.
He swallowed hard.
"…I don't belong here," he muttered. The doubt slipped in, sharp and merciless.
[Finally, some self-awareness. Took you long enough.]
Haruki gritted his teeth. "Shut it, System."
The memory of the hospital ceiling flashed before his eyes. The pity in the nurses' voices. The way his parents argued in whispers, thinking he couldn't hear. The way Makoto held his hand, begging him not to die.
No.
He had lived caged once. He had died once.
He wasn't going back.
Haruki tightened his grip on the emblem until it pulsed in answer. His chest burned not from sickness, but from fire.
"I've already crossed the line," he whispered. His lips curved into a shaky grin. "There's no turning back now."
The gates groaned.
A booming voice shook the air, amplified by unseen magic.
"Welcome, candidates!"
Every youth fell silent, eyes locked on the gates as they slowly parted.
"The Trials begin now. Survive, and you may earn the right to become Hunters. Fail… and die forgotten."
The ground trembled as the gates opened fully, revealing a vast, shadowed corridor lit by torches of blue flame. Whispers rippled through the crowd. Some looked excited. Others looked terrified.
Haruki's legs trembled not with weakness, but with anticipation.
The crowd surged forward, rushing into the darkness beyond the gates.
Haruki took one last breath. Then he smirked, nerves and determination twisting together.
"System," he muttered, gauntlets flaring to life, "try to keep up."
[Try not to embarrass me, User.]
And with that, Haruki stepped across the threshold, into the unknown.