Don't Under Estimate Me

Takami stopped by at the mall to get some things. The mall visit was short, Takami barely paid attention to what he bought. His body ached, his mind buzzed, and the weight of the past week pressed on him like a heavy blanket. Seven days in Okutama. Seven days of survival, blood, and spirits. He had changed, but the world hadn't.

The ride back was quiet. He stepped off at his stop, stretching his stiff muscles before making the walk home. The sun was still climbing, Saturday morning's crisp air swirling around him. Tomoe and Yosuke should be home, right?

When he reached the house and opened the door, the familiar scent of rice, eggs, and miso soup greeted him. Voices came from the kitchen, laughter mixing with the clatter of utensils.

Takami took a deep breath. It's been a while.

Just as he stepped in, Yosuke appeared, carrying dishes to the dining table. The moment his eyes landed on Takami, his expression froze.

"Takami? Finally!" He dropped the dishes on the dining, "Mom! Tomoe! Takami's home!"

Tomoe's small footsteps pounded against the floor, and in seconds, she barreled into him, arms wrapping around his waist.

"Big brother!"

Takami winced at the impact but patted her head. "Hey, Tomoe."

Their mother came out last, dish towel still in hand. At first, she just stared at him, her face unreadable. Then, slowly, relief washed over her features, and she pulled him into a hug.

"You're safe," she murmured.

Takami wasn't used to this. Warmth. Concern. Family. He hadn't realized how much he missed it.

After a small breakfast filled with laughter and small talk, Takami excused himself and headed to his room.

The moment his body hit the bed, he sighed. "My head hurts." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "And I don't plan on wasting my last healing potion on a damn headache."

Then it hit him.

"Aha… my rewards. I ignored them yesterday."

The familiar blue interface flickered into existence before his eyes, displaying a summary of his achievements:

[ Objective Completed:

| Survival – Complete

| Low-Class Dorm – Cleared

| High-Class Dorm – Cleared

| High-Class 2 Dorm – Cleared

Total Rewards:

| Forge Skill - Obtained

| Velis the Nightfang (Option to Obtain)

Spirit Kills:

| 31 Low-Class Spirits = 620,000 yen

| 25 High-Class Spirits = 875,000 yen

| 20 High-Class 2 Spirits = 1,200,000 yen

Total: 2,695,000 yen ]

[ Bonus Objective:

Defeat Spirit Commander – Complete

| Reward: System Update Available ]

[ Stat Increase:

| Strength | 142 > 201 |

| Agility | 121 > 220 |

| Stamina | 112 > 199 |

| Intelligence | 140 > 251 |

| Perception | 159 > 248 | ]

[Current Status: High Grant Level (Green).]

Takami sat up, eyes wide.

"Wow…" He exhaled slowly, feeling a mix of shock and satisfaction. His growth had skyrocketed. He was no longer the same Takami who left a week ago.

Curious, he checked his new Forge Skill:

[ Forge Classification_

1. Astral Forge – Create weapons from remnants of a spirit's Grant (✔ Unlocked).

2. Weapon Infusion – Imbue weapons with personal Grant (Locked).

3. True Forge – Forge the Player's true weapon (Locked). ]

"Interesting…" He smirked. "This could be useful."

Then his attention moved to Velis the Nightfang. He tapped [Obtain.]

A dark mist swirled on his bed, twisting and coiling until it solidified into a small black cat.

One yellow eye. One blue eye. Slightly fat.

"Meow."

Takami's face went blank.

"…Are you serious?"

The cat blinked at him.

"And here I thought I was getting some badass weapon or something," he groaned, flopping back onto the bed.

"Meow."

Velis padded closer, its cold nose pressing against his cheek. Takami ignored it, pulling up the next reward:

[System Update Available]

[Note: System access will be unavailable for 8 hours during the update.]

[Start System Update?]

[Start] | [Cancel]

Takami glanced at Velis, who tilted its head.

"Uh… might as well." He tapped [Start.]

While Takami rested, Okutama was in chaos.

Guild members flooded the town, trying to confirm if the spirit oppression had truly ended.

The people's answers were all the same:

"A man did it… but we never saw his face."

News channels picked up the story. Takami, eating lunch, saw his own achievement being broadcasted.

He sighed and looked away. No point in dwelling on it.

Later that evening, he went to Jimin's apartment, knocked on the door.

Jimin opened it, raising an eyebrow. "Huh… well look who's back."

Takami stepped inside and collapsed on the couch. "Tired."

Jimin smirked. "Beer or coffee?"

"None."

Jimin rolled his eyes. "Fine. So, what the hell have you been up to for seven days?"

Takami sighed. "Long one."

Jimin leaned against the counter. "Well cut it short then."

"Needed money. System pays well. Hunted spirits. Ended up stopping the Okutama crisis. Bla bla bla"

"…Wait, that was you?"

Suddenly, Jimin's phone buzzed. "One sec, it's Yuri." He picked up the call "What up missy,"

Yuri: We've got an emergency

Jimin: What?. Where?

Yuri: Possible high-class spirit dorm collapse. After the highway. And… We're working with The Phang's guild team.

Jimin: Huh? Are they out of members or what?

Yuri: Well I received a call from the HQ saying we should help them, I just hope none of em' pisses me off. Get yourself here fast.

The call ended.

"What's up?" Takami asked.

"There's a possible high-class spirit dorm collapse. We've been called to back up The Phang's team."

Takami stretched. "I'll go with you."

They arrived at the scene. Yuri and a four-man team from The Phang, three slayers and a mage, were already there.

Yuri crossed her arms. "So, you decided to come back, huh?"

Before Takami could answer, the dorm collapsed.

"After this, you got a lot of answering to do." Yuri said, pulling out her weapon.

Takami instinctively waited for the system's enemy threat level… but then he remembered.

System Updating.

He checked it. 11 minutes left.

The Phang team's captain scoffed. "Hey, I remember you. You're a Low Grant Level user, we evaluated on the same day. What are you doing here? Wanna get hurt or something?"

"Shut it," Yuri spoke.

"Ayy, just because you're a Rank-2 doesn't mean you can boss me around, I'm the leader here." The captain replied to Yuri.

"Why exactly would your guild send a Rank-3 high grant level team to a high-class dorm?" Jimin said with a frown on his face.

Takami smiled. "It's okay guys, I'll sit back. I just came to watch you guys handle it."

The battle began, and it was brutal.

9 evolved High-Class Spirits. 4 were slain, but the remaining 5 were stronger than expected.

Two members of the Phang's team got badly injured while the mage was trying to heal them, but it was only a matter of time before she ran out of mana, due to the one she already wasted fighting the spirits.

Jimin, Yuri, and the Phang captain fought hard, but the team was wearing down.

Takami got a notification.

[System Update Complete.]

[New Interface Activated]

He checked the enemy threat level:

[Blue – Easy.]

"My fight with high-class 2 spirits definitely changed a lot, now even evolved high-class spirits aren't a match," He sighed, then noticed something, remnants of Grant floating from the places the other spirits were slain.

Curious, he activated Astral Forge. Made sure no one was looking as he stepped to one.

He put his hand where the grant was floating, then it all compiled and a dagger materialized in his hand.

[Weapon Name: Claw (Class D).]

Takami smirked. "Not bad. Now I get to know a weapons class? I think I'm gonna like this update more than I thought," He looked at the others fighting "They're exhausted, a single mistake would mean defeat."

He sighed then stepped forward.

"You guys should take a break. I'll handle the rest."

The Phang captain snapped. "Are you out of your—"

"Alright," Jimin said, stepping back.

Yuri followed. "Better not screw this up, dummy."

The captain stared, furious. "What are you guys—"

Jimin chuckled. "Never look down on someone too much."

Takami stepped into battle.

"I promised Tomoe I'd be back early. Let's wrap this up." His voice cold.

The captain clenched his fists. "I am NOT gonna let some Low grant—"

Takami turned, his amber eyes glowing in the sunset.

"Wanna get hurt or something?"

A spirit lunged.

Takami moved.

And the slaughter began.

The next spirit lunged. Takami vanished.

The Phang team barely registered his movement before a sickening crunch filled the air. The spirit's head snapped back, a line forming across its neck before it was split clean in two.

A black Blood-like essence sprayed into the air, dissolving into the night.

The battlefield fell silent.

Takami stood behind the spirit's falling corpse, casually shaking his dagger to rid it of excess Grant.

"What the hell…?" one of the injured Phang members muttered.

Takami's gaze flicked to the remaining four. He didn't rush. He didn't need to. The spirits hesitated, an instinctive fear creeping into their cores. They knew.

They weren't fighting a human.

One spirit snarled and launched a bladed tendril at Takami's head.

He twisted his wrist, Claw shifted.

With a single slash, the tendril was severed mid-air, spiraling to the ground.

Takami wasn't done.

He lunged forward, faster than the spirit could react, and drove the dagger straight into its chest.

The spirit shrieked, but Takami twisted the blade, dragging it up till it came out of it's head". The spirit fell and disintegrated.

Two down.

The Phang captain took a step back. "This… isn't normal."

Jimin looked surprised. "He's way stronger and faster than before."

Yuri smirked. "I guess now I know one reason why he was away."

Two of the spirits desperately tried to escape.

Takami exhaled, adjusting his grip. "Now you run?"

A gust of wind. A blur of motion.

When he reappeared, the two spirits were already collapsing, each cleaved apart by a strike too fast to see.

The last one was a stealth spirit. It appeared behind the Phang's team member that was healing the injured.

Just about to strike when Takami appeared in front of it "Did you have to hide from me?" He rendered a sickening punch to it's face, as it was sent flying before dissolving into nothingness.

The battlefield was still.

The Phang member he just saved stared at him.

"…W-Where did he even get a weapon," one whispered.

The captain clenched his fists.

Takami turned to Jimin and Yuri.

"Let's head home."

Takami, Yuri and Jimin had started leaving when the mage he saved ran to them.

"Excuse me… please wait," She said

Yuri looked back, "meet us after your little chat." As she and Jimin left Takami and went ahead.

"Yes?" Takami replied to her

"T-Thank you for saving me back there."

"Ohh it's nothing really." Takami said wanting to leave.

"I'm Hanae, and you are?" She said

"Takami." He replied before walking off.

The Phang's team captain was still in a sort of trauma, remembering every single thing as if it were replaying itself in his head. "That look he gave me, … his eyes, they didn't look human , if this guy is really this good, then it'll be just a matter of time before he starts making a mess that'll affect both spirits and humans."

Hanae was lost in her thoughts for a while before snapping out. "Takami… that's one name I won't forget anytime soon," then she looked up to the sky.