Chapter 1: The Weakest Hunter

The smell of blood and rotting flesh filled the air as Kazuki Hayato pressed his back against the cold dungeon wall. His hands trembled around the hilt of his cheap iron dagger, knuckles white from gripping too hard. Somewhere in the darkness ahead, he could hear the wet, shuffling footsteps of goblins getting closer.
"Stay back there, Kazuki," Yamada Kenji called out without looking back. The C-rank warrior swung his massive sword, cleaving through two goblins at once. "We don't need you getting in the way again."
Kazuki bit his lip hard enough to taste blood. He wanted to argue, to prove he could be useful, but the words died in his throat. What could he say? That he would do better this time? They both knew that was a lie.
This was supposed to be a routine E-rank dungeon raid. Five hunters, ten goblins maximum, in and out within an hour. Easy money for most hunters. For Kazuki, it was a nightmare he barely survived every single time.
"Fireball!" Nakamura Yui, the team's mage, launched a sphere of flames that illuminated the cave in orange light. Three more goblins shrieked as they burned, their high-pitched screams echoing off the stone walls.
Kazuki flinched at the sound. Five years. It had been five years since the Gates first appeared and turned the world upside down. Five years since people started awakening as Hunters with supernatural abilities. Five years since Kazuki discovered he was the weakest Hunter in all of Tokyo.
Maybe in all of Japan.
"There's the boss!" Tanaka Sho, the archer, nocked an arrow that glowed with blue energy. "Everyone, formation delta!"
The team moved with practiced coordination, spreading out to surround a goblin that stood a full head taller than the others. It wore crude leather armor and carried a rusty club the size of Kazuki's torso. The goblin boss roared, spittle flying from its yellow teeth.
Kazuki stayed frozen against the wall. His job was simple: stay alive and don't get in the way. He had learned this lesson through countless bruises, broken bones, and hospital visits. E-rank Hunters like him were barely stronger than normal humans. He could see better in the dark than most people and heal slightly faster from injuries, but that was it.
No fireballs. No super strength. No lightning-fast speed.
Just Kazuki, his rusty dagger, and the crushing weight of being completely useless.
"Now!" Kenji shouted.
The battle lasted less than three minutes. The team worked together like a well-oiled machine. Sho's arrows kept the boss off balance while Yui bombarded it with fire magic. Kenji delivered the finishing blow, his sword glowing red as it cut clean through the goblin's neck. The creature's head hit the ground with a wet thump, and its body dissolved into black smoke, leaving behind a small glowing crystal.
"D-rank magic stone," Kenji grinned, picking up the crystal. "Not bad for an E-rank dungeon. We might actually make decent money today."
"We should celebrate," Yui said, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Drinks on you, Kenji?"
"Why me?"
"Because you got the last boss kill too."
The team laughed and joked as they made their way toward the dungeon's exit portal. Kazuki followed several steps behind, invisible as always. His contribution to today's raid was exactly what it always was: nothing.
They emerged from the Gate into the bright afternoon sunlight of Tokyo. The Gate stood in the middle of a cordoned-off section of Shibuya, a swirling purple vortex hovering three meters off the ground. Hunter Association guards monitored the perimeter, keeping civilians away from the dangerous area.
"Good work today, everyone," Kenji said, stretching his arms. Then, almost as an afterthought, he glanced at Kazuki. "You too, I guess."
The words stung more than any goblin claw ever had.
"Hey, Kenji," Sho said quietly, though not quietly enough. "How much longer are we going to carry dead weight? He literally did nothing in there."
"I know, I know," Kenji sighed. "Guild Master Fujimoto assigned him to us. We don't have a choice."
"It's not fair," Yui added. "We split the rewards five ways, but only four of us actually fight. My little sister just awakened as a Hunter last month, and she's already stronger than him."
Kazuki's face burned with shame. He stared at his worn-out boots, unable to meet anyone's eyes. Everything they said was true. He was dead weight. A burden. The weakest link.
"Listen, Kazuki," Kenji turned to face him, and there was something in his expression that made Kazuki's stomach drop. "This isn't working out. You're a nice guy and all, but we can't keep doing this."
"What do you mean?" Kazuki's voice came out smaller than he intended.
"We talked to Guild Master Fujimoto this morning. You're being transferred to a different team." Kenji wouldn't look him in the eye. "Or... well, maybe it's time you considered a different line of work. There's no shame in being a regular person, you know?"
The words hit Kazuki like a physical blow. He opened his mouth to respond, but what could he say? That he would try harder? That he would get stronger? He had been saying those same empty promises for five years.
"I understand," Kazuki managed to whisper.
He turned and walked away before anyone could see the tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Behind him, he heard Yui say, "Poor guy. It must be hard being that weak."
The train ride home was a blur. Kazuki sat in the corner of the subway car, hood pulled up, trying to make himself as small as possible. Around him, people chatted excitedly about the latest dungeon raid news on their phones.
"Did you see the video? That S-rank Hunter Ryota cleared a red Gate in under ten minutes!"
"I heard the Dragon Guild recruited another A-rank. They're unstoppable now."
"My son just awakened as a Hunter. The Association says he has C-rank potential!"
Everyone celebrated the strong. The heroes. The powerful Hunters who protected humanity from the monsters that poured through the Gates. And then there was Kazuki, who couldn't even protect himself from a basic goblin.
His tiny apartment was on the fifth floor of an old building in a cheap part of town. The elevator was broken, as usual, so Kazuki climbed the stairs in darkness. The hallway light flickered, casting strange shadows on the peeling wallpaper.
Inside, his apartment was barely bigger than a closet. A single room with a bed, a tiny kitchen counter, and a bathroom he could barely turn around in. Posters of famous S-rank Hunters covered the walls his childhood heroes. Now, they just reminded him of everything he would never be.
Kazuki collapsed onto his bed without bothering to change clothes. His whole body ached, though he hadn't even fought today. Just the stress of staying alert, of trying not to be killed by his own teammates' attacks, exhausted him completely.
His phone buzzed. A message from the Hunter Association.
**"Meeting with Guild Master Fujimoto tomorrow at 9 AM. Attendance mandatory."**
Kazuki stared at the message for a long time. He knew what tomorrow's meeting would be about. They were going to kick him out of the guild entirely. Maybe revoke his Hunter license altogether. After five years of failure, the Association had finally given up on him.
He should have felt something. Anger, sadness, disappointment. Instead, there was just numbness.
"Maybe they're right," Kazuki said to the empty room. "Maybe I should just quit."
He closed his eyes, too tired to even take off his boots. Sleep came quickly, pulling him down into darkness. In his dreams, he was strong. In his dreams, he could fight beside the others as an equal. In his dreams, he mattered.
But when he woke up, he would still be Kazuki Hayato. The weakest Hunter in Tokyo.

[End of Chapter 1]