Home

Kaito finally reached to his home, then he step inside the house and lock the door behind him before turning on the light.

As everything silence down, the small house felt almost comforting after the chaos outside. So he dropped his bag near the door, loosened his collar and let out a slow breath.

Without wasting time, he moved towards the small table in his living room, and sit on the chair as Kaito rested his elbows on the surface.

His eyes become more focused as he began thinking.

"The first thing I need to do… is to register myself at the guild association, so I could officially become a Player."

He muttered to himself.

Becoming a Player wasn't as simple as receiving a path and instantly getting the title. To make full use of the system, one had to register. so they can officially start hunting monster, and earning lot of money in the process.

The Guild Association also handled everything from assigning ranks to distributing quests and tracking a Player's progress.

Without registration, he'd just be another civilian that can't hunt monster without an player identification.

Kaito leaned back slightly, tapping his fingers against the table.

"Since the Samurai Path doesn't give me any abilities, I'll need to figure out how it works on my own."

He had already expected this the moment he chose it.

The description only mentioned gaining a skill that was 'needed,' but nothing about how to unlock it or what it even was.

"There has to be a requirement. But the system isn't telling me what it is…"

His brows furrowed. The easiest thing to do was testing how it would be like through combat, but unlike other players who could immediately got their abilities or skill from the path they chose. he had nothing to rely on.

Kaito stood up and stretched slightly.

"I'll start with the registration tomorrow. After that, I need to figure out about my path before becoming a player."

With his plan set. he stand up and gone to grabbed an bottle of water from the fridge, taking a sip before sitting back down.

His mind already running through possible scenarios.

But then, Kaito suddenly remembered another function of the system—one exclusive to those who had chosen a path.

The Status Menu.

This was something all Players had access to, allowing them to view their stats and progress. Since he had officially chosen a path, he should now be able to see his own status.

Wanting to test it out, he spoke clearly.

"Open status."

A few moment later, an blue translucent panel appeared in front of him. His eyes begin scanning the displayed information.

{Status Menu}

Name: Kaito Nakamura

Path: Samurai (Progress: 0%)

Skill: [Locked]

Ability: [Permanently Sealed]

{Stats}

Strength: 009

Agility: 007

Defense/Health: 006

Sensitivity: 010

Intelligence: 008

Trait: [None]

Kaito's brows furrowed slightly. His stats were better than he expected.

Most new Players started with a range between 3 and 6 in each category, yet his numbers were noticeably higher. It wasn't extreme, but it was enough to make a difference since he did a lot exercise.

Then Kaito crossed his arms and continue analyzing each stat.

"Strength is self-explanatory. It measures raw power. The higher the number, the harder I can hit."

He shifted his gaze down.

"Agility… This determines my movement speed and reaction time. It makes sense why mine is a little higher. I've trained my body enough that I should be faster than the average person."

His eyes moved further.

"Defense and Health. These two are listed together, meaning my durability is tied to my physical resilience instead of being separate values. If I had higher Defense, I'd probably be able to take more hits before feeling serious damage."

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, deep in thought.

"Next is sensitivity, I'm guessing it should be referring to my five senses. The higher the number, the better my sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. If it's at ten, then my senses might already be sharper than most people's"

He finally looked at the last of the main stats.

"And Intelligence… That probably has to do with increasing an person knowledge adaptability, or maybe even an ability to learn skills faster."

Kaito was about to close the panel when his eyes landed on something that made him pause.

He narrowed his eyes. "And there's this one…"

Trait.

Unlike the Skill and Ability sections, which were clearly locked or sealed, this one wasn't restricted in any way. It didn't marked as unavailable, nor was there any information explaining what it did.

Kaito leaned back in his chair, staring at the glowing text.

"I've never seen this before?"

In all the information he had gathered over the years, nothing was ever mentioned about Traits.

And he had never heard a Player talk about it. Even if Traits existed, then why wasn't there any documentation?

His fingers tapped against the table once more.

"If it's part of the status menu, then it must be important. But if there's no information about it, does that means… Either nobody else has one, or it's something Players simply don't notice."

He narrowed his eyes at the screen, deep in thought again.

"Or it could be that only I has it... Then I need to figure out what it means."

But Kaito shook his head, pushing the thought aside the annoying mystery. since there was no point in dwelling on something he couldn't understand yet

His expression shifted slightly for a brief moment. Then, he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly before standing up again.

And he made his way toward the bedroom.

Once inside, Kaito walked straight to the corner where his clothing closet stood. He grabbed the side of the heavy wooden structure and with minimal difficulty, it move aside.

Dust scattered into the air as the hidden passage behind the closet was revealed.

It wasn't anything extravagant—just a simple entrance leading downward.

A basement.

An place, he hadn't stepped into for a very long time.

Then Kaito stepped forward, descending down the wooden stairs into the basement.

The air was thick with dust, and unused for years.

The wooden stair creaked under the weight of his step, but his expression remained unreadable as he continued downward.

When he finally reached the bottom, his eyes swept across the basement room.

The first thing Kaito saw, was an collection of katanas.

The walls were adorned with countless katanas, each hung in flawless alignment. Some gleamed in perfect condition, while others showed signs of rust or bore dulled edges, the evidence of their use in past battles.

Scattered on the floor were several wooden boxes, their lids slightly open, revealing stacks of aged books inside.

Each book was filled with intricate writing and detailed descriptions of the techniques, like instructions on how to wield a blade with precision and purpose.

But Kaito's attention was drawn elsewhere.

At the far end of the room, separated from the rest, was a single katana. Unlike the others, it stood alone on a wooden stand, its scabbard untouched by time, its presence commanding yet silent.

Without hesitation, Kaito walked toward it.

Then he pause at the lone blade, and slowly lifted his hand, reaching out to touch it.

As if it remind him of someone he hold dearly before passing away...

Memory flash before Kaito eye and in front of him, stood a tall man wearing a kimono and hakama uniform, or in simple terms it is called samurai outfit. The man eyes is blue, his hair is black.

And he is holding an wooden katana on his right hand, then suddenly...

BONK!

Kaito head was hit by the wooden katana.

"Ouch! What the hell?!" He raise both of his hand to rub the spot where it was hit an moments ago.

But then, the man in front of him spoke.

"Quit whining, it's not like this is the first time you receive a hit." the man said, his voice stern but with a hint of a smirk.

"So get back to training, or else you won't inherit my dojo!" His eyes narrowed, challenging Kaito to push through the pain.

"Damnit, dad! I said, I don't want to inherit your stupid samurai dojo stuff!"

Kaito snapped, glaring at the man which was revealed to be his father.

Continue...