CHAPTER 20: THE REQUIREMENT OF LEVEL FOUR

"This is actually annoying," Raito muttered. "After defeating goblins, I leveled up. Goblins are ranked A monsters. But now I’ve defeated rank D monsters—the white wolf and even the red wolf—and I didn’t level up. What’s going on?"

He clenched his teeth, pacing. "What if the system voice has gone silent? No... I’ll call onto it."

"System voice," Raito said aloud.

[System voice available. What do you want?]

"Explain this to me. Why didn’t I level up to 4? I fought goblins and rose to level 3, but now nothing. What’s wrong?"

[You have not yet reached the requirement to advance to level 4. The system will notify you when you are close. When you encounter a monster that triggers a notification, that means defeating it will push you to the next level. You must continue fighting until then.]

And then the voice went silent.

Raito tightened his fists. "So that’s the reason... When I fought the goblins, the notification appeared, and I chose ’accept.’ But when I fought the wolves, nothing popped up. That means I wasn’t even close to level 4 yet. I thought I could level quickly, maybe even reach 50 in no time... but this might take a long time. A very long time."

He exhaled sharply, forcing himself to calm down.

Opening his closet, he pulled out the stack of bills Renji had given him. He counted through them with a small smile. "At least this will help. I can use it for groceries."

Yawning, he tossed the money back inside and stretched. "I’m actually feeling sleepy..." He fell into bed and was out within moments.

About five hours later, at 4:30 PM, his phone buzzed loudly. Half-asleep, he groaned and swiped the call away.

"Let me sleep..." he mumbled. But then his phone rang again.

"Huh? Who’s calling now...?" He picked it up and pressed it to his ear.

"Hey, you idiot brother!" a sharp voice snapped.

Raito blinked. "Aiko?"

"You’re so stupid. Did you forget what I told you last week? I said I was arriving on Wednesday. I even gave you the exact time! You told me not to bother calling because you’d already be at the airport waiting. But it’s past 3:30, and where are you? Not here!" Aiko shouted through the phone.

Raito shot up from bed, wide awake now. "Oh, crap! Sorry—I almost forgot! I’ll be there right away!"

He scrambled into a jacket, bolted out of his apartment, and waved frantically at passing cars. "Taxi! Taxi!"

One screeched to a halt. He jumped in and gave the driver the airport’s name. It took thirty minutes, and by 5 PM, he arrived.

Through the crowd, he spotted her. Aiko was standing there, arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Hey, sis," Raito said, sheepish but smiling. "It’s good to see you. Been a while."

Aiko marched up and grabbed him by the ear. "Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting? Instead of being here ahead of time, you left me standing outside the airport! You really think that’s okay?"

"Ow, ow! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!" Raito winced, trying to pull back.

Finally, she let go. He quickly grabbed her luggage, tossing it into the back of the taxi. She slid into the seat beside him, still fuming.

Aiko was stunning, even more so than Raito remembered. Her hair, a soft grey with faint reddish streaks, shimmered under the dim taxi light, giving her an almost otherworldly presence. She could have easily been mistaken for a top-ranked hunter. In fact, in her assessments, she had been ranked C. But she had chosen not to live the hunter’s life.

The taxi hummed quietly as the city blurred past. Neither of them spoke at first, silence stretching between them. Raito shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Now this is getting awkward. Should I say something?

"Um... how have you been?" Raito finally asked with a crooked smile.

Aiko’s head snapped toward him, her eyes narrowing. "You still have the guts to talk to me after what you did today? Huh?"

"But I already told you I’m sorry. I really am," Raito said quickly, his voice almost pleading.

She crossed her arms, unimpressed. "You’re going to have to make it up to me if you want me to actually forgive you."

"Okay, yes. Anything. Anything within my power—I’ll do it."

Her lips curved into a sly grin. "You never hesitate, do you? When I ask for something, you’ve never once declined."

"Yeah, sure. That’s what makes me the best little brother, right?" Raito replied, flashing a grin.

For a moment, the tension dissolved. Aiko’s expression softened, and she let out a quiet laugh. "I actually missed you. How have you been?" she asked, her voice gentler now, her eyes glimmering with warmth.

Raito looked at her, caught off guard by the sudden shift. Wow... that’s more like it.

He returned her smile. "I’m good. Better now that you’re here."