The survivors stayed silent. Raito had told them not to speak of what had happened. No one could know his name.

The portal's remnants disappeared completely. The dungeon, now fully cleared, had folded into nothingness.

Kira took a deep breath, her hands trembling. "He… he's not just strong… he's beyond anything I've ever seen."

Raito reached his apartment, silent as ever. He bent down, lifted the doormat, and pulled out the small silver key hidden beneath it.

The lock clicked. He stepped inside.

The moment the door shut behind him, he exhaled and walked straight to his room. Without hesitation, he stripped off his bloodstained clothes, leaving only his shorts. The cool air brushed against his skin, still carrying the faint smell of battle.

"Today was a bit rough," he muttered, sitting on the edge of his bed. "That lady… Kira. She's beautiful. Strong too. An A-Rank Hunter, famous, probably one of the best."

He leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "But that kind of fame… it's not for me. Not yet."

His eyes narrowed slightly, a faint glint flashing through them.

"I'll stay in the shadows for now. Until I'm sure… there's no one left above me. And when a calamity strikes, when something the world can't handle appears, I'll be the one standing at the top."

The television flickered to life. He turned up the volume lazily.

The news reporter's voice echoed through the apartment:

"Breaking news! The mysterious S-Rank dungeon that appeared earlier today has officially been cleared. According to the Hunter Association, A-Rank Hunters Kira and Jiro successfully completed the raid and rescued several survivors."

Footage of the dungeon gate collapsing played on the screen. Kira's face appeared, exhausted but calm.

Raito stared blankly, then smirked.

"Jiro, huh? He's taking the credit. He didn't even step inside."

He chuckled faintly. "Well… let him have it. Some Hunters probably know he wasn't there, but it doesn't matter."

He turned the TV off and sat quietly in the dim room.

"I don't need the fame," he said softly. "I just need the strength."

His voice dropped to a near whisper.

"That's enough for me."

Raito lay on his bed, eyes half open, exhaustion finally pulling him under.

He drifted off without realizing it.

Two hours later

Buzz… buzz… buzz…

His phone vibrated violently on the nightstand. The sound tore through the silence.

Raito groaned and reached for it. "Who's calling this late?" he muttered, squinting at the name flashing on the screen.

Jiro.

He pressed the green icon.

"Hello… why are you calling?" Raito said, his voice still rough with sleep.

"Ah, thank you," Jiro's voice came through, cheerful but serious underneath. "Kira told me what happened in there. You saved her, and not just her. Some of the others too. I sent a few hunters to help, but…"

He hesitated.

"Some of them didn't make it. But still, you managed to bring the rest out safely. Not even a scratch on most of them. That's impressive. And you cleared the dungeon, even if it was S-Rank."

Raito yawned. "It might've been S-Rank, but there weren't many monsters in it," he replied casually.

"That doesn't change the fact you cleared it," Jiro said. "Tell me, what did you fight?"

Raito's eyes darkened slightly. "A cursed spirit… or something close. Looked human, but possessed. Something in between," he said.

"Hmm. I see." Jiro paused for a moment, then continued.

"I've sent you your bonus for today. Oh, and about that Hydra you killed earlier, I already sold part of its core and scale. You've got 30 million yen for that alone. And I just transferred 200 million yen to your account. You'll get the rest later, another 500 million yen to complete the full payment. Don't worry, I will fully pay you."

Raito blinked, now fully awake. "Okay… thanks," he said flatly.

Before Jiro could say more, Raito hung up.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Two hundred million yen… huh."

He unlocked his phone and scrolled through his messages.

[Alert: 200,000,000¥ successfully deposited.]

A faint smirk crossed his face.

"Guess today wasn't so bad after all," he muttered.

He plugged his phone into the charger, stood up, and stretched. His muscles ached faintly from the dungeon fight.

Then, with slow steps, he walked toward the bathroom.

"Time to wash off the blood," he said under his breath.

The sound of running water filled the room as steam began to rise.

"Wow… life really changed so fast," Raito muttered, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Steam still drifted lazily from the shower behind him.

"It's actually been about… what, two or three months since my panic power? Yeah, three months in total since my power first manifested." He gave a quiet laugh, almost disbelieving. "And look at how far I've come. From having nothing, to over two hundred million yen."

He ran a hand through his damp, gray hair. "That's pretty impressive."

He looked up again, his blue eyes glinting faintly in the mirror. "Still, I didn't expect the three-headed Hydra, a full S-Rank class monster, to be worth that much. But I guess it makes sense. That thing had a body weighing over 150,000 kilograms, and stood more than forty feet tall."

He paused, thinking back. "Three years ago, I fought it. I wasn't this strong back then. I barely survived. But now…" His lips curved into a confident smirk. "Now, I might actually stand a chance."

He clenched his fist, feeling the faint surge of mana pulse through his veins.

"And if my Tria Skill, 'Purple Thunder Mist,' hadn't activated that time, I would've been dead for sure. It only triggers once, and it won't activate again until I reach level 50."

He took a deep breath, staring at his reflection.

"But I'm only level 25 now," he said quietly. "Still far from it."

A faint spark of violet lightning flickered between his fingers.

"But at least I've unlocked Sparrow Punch. That should be enough to crush the Hydra in a single blow, if it ever comes back."

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