The Weakest Hunter

Chapter 1: The Weakest Hunter

Act 1 – Shadow's Awakening

[SYSTEM LOG — ACCESS LEVEL: RESTRICTED]

"Shadow Protocol initializing...Vital signs: Critical. Neural sync: Unstable.Candidate viability: …3%.Override in progress.Searching for host…"

A sharp crack echoed across the void, like the sound of a heartbeat exploding through glass.

"Host found.Weak. Broken.Perfect."

The code pulsed like veins on a dying world — flickering red and black, shifting in cryptic languages too old to be human. Then… silence.

Until a whisper — deep, not mechanical, but alive — slithered through the darkness:

"Rise."

Five Hours EarlierWest Sector — Outskirts of Tokyo ArcadiaE-Class Dungeon Ruins, 'Red Zone 7'

Ryo Kazen was the last one to step through the dungeon gate. He moved slow — not because he was cautious, but because the gate stung more for the weak.

The others barely noticed him. Four hunters in mismatched gear laughed and joked ahead, their voices bouncing off the concrete ruins. Their helmets glinted under the low crimson light of the dead dungeon.

Ryo's boots scraped against fractured glyphs on the ground — once pulsing runes that powered this place. Now? Just fading scars in a dungeon no one cared about. Like him.

"Yo, Trash Rank," one of the hunters called, a guy with jagged shoulder pads and a chipped greatsword. Keiji. "Try not to piss yourself again."

The others laughed. Even Yumi — the only girl in the squad — cracked a smile.

Ryo didn't reply. He adjusted the cracked lens of his cheap AR visor, which blinked weakly in protest. His gear was secondhand, bought with borrowed money, and patched together with tape and glue. His dagger was rusted, dull. A joke.

"Hurry up, Kazen," their squad leader barked — Shinji, tall, sharp-featured, with a scar down his jaw and a sneer that never left. "You're only here to carry loot. Don't fall behind. Or do. No one's gonna miss you."

He pushed forward.

[Player Profile — Ryo Kazen]Rank: E- (Unofficial)Status: Unlicensed, IndependentNotable Traits: Low mana. No known affinity. Weak constitution.System Access: Denied.

Ryo didn't need a system message to tell him what he already knew: he was the weakest hunter here. Probably the weakest in all of Arcadia. And if he wasn't careful, he'd die here — just another nameless kid no one remembered.

But still... he came.

Every time.

Not for money. Not for power.

For her.

His fingers brushed against the faded bracelet on his wrist — tiny silver beads, cracked from time.

"Just a little more… I can afford one more treatment…"

That thought was a rope around his soul. Tighter with every dungeon he survived. Tighter every time he saw her face pale, her breath weaken. His little sister, Aika.

The only person in the world who hadn't abandoned him.

The dungeon stretched ahead — an open chasm lined with shattered walls, flickering torches, and silence too thick to be normal. Dungeons were never truly "dead." Even cleared ones had ghosts.

"This place is too quiet," Yumi muttered, her spear twitching in her hand.

"Relax," Keiji replied. "This dump was cleared a year ago. Nothing but rats left."

"We're here to strip cores and data stones," Shinji snapped. "Move."

But something felt off.

Ryo noticed it first. The torches — they weren't flickering from wind. They were flickering like… code. Glitching.

He opened his mouth to speak — and that's when the floor cracked.

KRKKKKTTTCHHH.

The glyphs pulsed red — not faintly this time. Vibrant. Alive.

"Trap—!" Shinji shouted—

Too late.

The dungeon screamed.

The floor collapsed beneath them.

Stone, steel, and screams shattered into the darkness. Ryo felt himself fall — weightless, helpless — air tearing at his face as red light swallowed everything.

Impact.

Pain flooded his ribs. Blood in his mouth. His HUD visor shattered. One arm bent wrong.

He coughed, blinked — darkness.

Then… a faint light. Not fire. Not magic.

Code.

Lines of crimson data danced across the black walls. Symbols floated in the air like corrupted butterflies.

"Shinji?! Keiji?!" Ryo called. His voice echoed… but no one answered.

He was alone.

Something buzzed beneath his skin. Like electricity. Like a whisper in his blood.

"...Kaz...en…"

He froze. That wasn't his name being spoken.

That was something knowing him.

A screen materialized in front of him, glitching wildly. Not the regular dungeon interface. Something older.

[UNKNOWN SYSTEM DETECTED]Accessing protocol…Host: Unregistered. Vital signs: Unstable. Compatibility: Critical.

"SHADOW PROTOCOL REQUESTS ENTRY."

▸ Accept▸ Decline

Ryo's breath caught.

What the hell is this?

This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to see this. Only S-Ranks ever touched protocols, and even then, only through regulated relics. And this… this felt wrong.

But he could barely move. His vision blurred.

A choice.

One finger lifted.

He tapped Accept.

[SHADOW PROTOCOL: ACTIVATED]

"Merging with Host…Welcome, Ryo Kazen.Error…Error…Override initiated."

Pain like fire raced through his body — not burning skin, but burning his data, his code, his soul.

He screamed.

His shadow split.

And something inside him opened.

Minutes Later…

Footsteps approached.

Shinji's voice echoed through the wreckage. "He fell this way. Idiot probably got himself killed."

Yumi followed, spear raised. "There's something down here. I can feel it."

They stopped when they saw him.

Ryo stood, facing away. His body swayed. Blood dripped from his hand.

"You're… still alive?" Shinji scoffed. "Guess cockroaches don't die easy."

But then Ryo turned.

His eyes glowed. Not red. Not gold.

Black.

His shadow twisted unnaturally around his feet, rising… whispering.

Yumi took a step back. "Shinji… what is that?"

Shinji raised his blade. "Stay back, freak."

Ryo blinked. Confused. Hollow.

Then —

"You pushed me."

Shinji froze.

"You knew this dungeon wasn't cleared. You wanted me dead."

Shinji raised his blade. "It's nothing personal. Trash like you wastes resources. Aika's better off without a weakling brother dragging her down."

Ryo's body twitched.

Something snapped.

"...You shouldn't have said her name."

The shadows surged.

Shinji screamed.

[SYSTEM LOG — UPDATE COMPLETE]

Shadow Protocol Host: Ryo KazenClass: UndeterminedLevel: 1 (Awakening)Ability: Shadow AssimilationStatus: Unstable. Corruption Rate: 3%. Initiating cooldown…

"Let the hunt begin."