The Raven Dark Hero 13

Chapter 13 : The First Holder

TL:SummerPeanut

Thanks for the patron~ fellow peanut!

When they arrived at school, all eyes were suddenly on Kouki and Fuuka, who had come to school together. The next moment, however, their classmates were even more surprised.

"Good morning!"

Kouki greeted them in a loud voice.

Since entering high school, Kouki had always been in a lethargic mood because of his resentment and resignation over not being able to awaken his gift. It was unthinkable for Kouki of that time to greet someone with a refreshing smile.

Since the both of them were seated next to each other, they seemed to enjoy talking with each other even after they took their seats. The rest of the classmates could only stare in wonder.

"Good morning, everybody! ...hmm?"[1]

As if to destroy the atmosphere, Takahiko, who came into the classroom with his usual cheerfulness, also felt the awkward atmosphere.

“Oi oi oi~. The two of you are really close, aren't you? Could it be that you two are dating?”

When Takahiko made fun of them jokingly, Fuuka panicked and her face turned red.

"Tehthe,thtehehthere’s no way that’s the case isn’t it?!"

"...Kouki, from that response, can I take that as an affirmation?"

"Hmm? Don’t be stupid. Well, if it’s a girl as cute as Mizutani, I would be more than happy to date her though."

"Ah?! Dating?!"

Fuuka's face turned so red that steam came out. Then while mumbling to herself, she turned into a frozen statue.

"...Kouki, you, did something happen?"

"Hmm? Various stuffs happened yesterday. I thought I should also try to change myself and live more positively."

Takahiko stared closely at Kouki who said so with a smile. Then, just for a moment, his eyes opened wide. And...

"...I...see. ..You're finally back on your feet, my best friend! What’s wrong with being a non-gifted? We can live happily even with no abilities right!"

Takahiko happily embraced Kouki’s shoulder while Kouki himself felt it’s unusual of him to do so.

(I never realized it until now because I've been so closed-minded but Takahiko really is a nice guy.)

"Alright! Here’s a blessing to your sides then!"[2]

"Whoa! You son of a bitch! Don't get carried away when you're just Takahiko!"

Some of the girls in the class who were watching the exchange between the two of them had blushing cheeks.

Noon.

"Mizutani, will you have lunch with me today too?"

"Yes, of course! If you want, we can share my lunch again."

"I’m jealous~. Let me join too~......is something I won’t say! Because I've decided to support you couples as much as I can!"

"A-a, cocococo, couple you say!?"

Putting aside Fuuka who was obviously agitated, Kouki did not lose his composure.

"Oi oi, don’t tease Mizutani too much. Can’t you see she’s troubled."

"Oh! The boyfriend instantly defends his girlfriend! *whistle whistle*, you're so cool! So... introduce me to a cute girl too!"

"As if I can. ...ah, I can introduce you to a girl with a dynamite body."

"Dada, dynamite buddy? The dynamite buddy you can introduce is not Yoshida.....right?"

".......Mizutani, let's go to the courtyard."

"Eh? Oh, yes."

"Wait a minute! It's not Yoshida... it's not Yoshida,right?!"

The two of them left Takahiko behind and went to the backyard where they sat on the same bench as yesterday and had a good time while having their lunch.

And the time passed. After school.

"Kouki~Let's go home together~. Or, are you going back with your girlfriend?"

Takahiko, who was in the same go-home-club as Kouki, came asking at Kouki's seat.

"A-as I said before, I’m not his girl..*mumble mumble*..."

"I'm sorry but I have something to do today."

"Hmm? You, the ace of go-home-club, Suou Kouki has something to do after school? I'm really curious of what you will be doing~"

"I have some research to do in the library. I'll see you tomorrow!"

After saying goodbye to Takahiko and Fuuka, Kouki came to the library.

The purpose is none other than to check his gift ability.

Among countless other books, he started reading a book called "The Complete Book for Gift," which contained all the published gift abilities from the past to the present.

"First..."

『Speed Star.』

An A- ranked acceleration-type gift. There are a total of six holders of the mentioned gift recorded.

The gift literally allows the user to move faster. The maximum speed and initial speed depends on the physical ability and proficiency of the gift holder.

The problem is that although the speed is increased, the durability of the body is not strengthened, thus making it vulnerable to contact during use and it has a large fuel consumption.

Higher ranked gift: Speed King, Flash, etc.

Lower ranked gift: Speed Up, High Acceleration, etc.

(...certainly it drains a lot of energy and the hand I used to attack was shattered from the fist to elbow.)

『Invisible Slash.』

An A+ ranked slashing-type gift. There are a total of five holders of the mentioned gift recorded.

The ability creates slashes on the targeted space by performing actions such as waving hand down etc. The area of effect and power vary depending on physical ability and proficiency of the gift holder but the intervals at which it can be activated is short thus it can be released continuously, making it a very powerful weapon in combat. It is also said that the power can be increased by using a weapon while doing the swinging motion.

Higher ranked gift: None

Lower ranked gift: Sonic Slash, Force Sword, etc.

(...so instead of sending slashes, it actually makes the slashes appear instead... It’s true that I wasn’t able to tell when I was slashed by it. I wonder if it ignores obstacles... I'll try it next time)

As for the Revived Hunter, it is not documented in any of the gift compendiums.

(What does this mean? You're telling me that I'm the first holder of this gift?)

The first holder of a gift. This is a big discovery even in the long history of humanity. And it’s an ability that could be said as a cheat where you can revive yourself and obtain the gift that killed you. If you were to give it a gift rank, it would probably be comparable to the highest S+.

If people find out that Kouki has Revived Hunter, he is sure to join the National Defense Force. In fact, he might be able to expect a very generous treatment from the moment he joins the army.

However, it's too much of a cheat ability and it’s not likely that it will be used in a good way.

(...that's right. After all, it's a super-powerful gift that's not even listed in the record. ...besides, I can’t trust NDF anymore.)

Joining the NDF was a must for Kouki's longtime dream of becoming a hero. However, in the recent incident, Kouki was killed by a member of that very same NDF without any chance to utter a word.

The person who killed him, Lieutenant Saejima, is a battle maniac who enjoyed fighting more than serving justice, and based on what he heard from Hiro and Kashiwagura, the NDF as an organization is not a clean one.

For Kouki, the NDF was no longer an organization he admired, but rather a hostile organization.

(In fact, I'll never forgive that bastard and the guy called Saejima. Since that is that, the NDF is my enemy...)

Speed Star and Invisible Slash are both powerful gifts ranked A- and above. From the moment he obtained these two gifts, he felt that Hiro is someone he could easily beat.

However, he felt Lieutenant Saejima would be tricky. Even if they both have the same gift, the difference in their mastery of the gift is like heaven and earth.

If the proficiency is different, for example the Invisible Slash, the area of effect will be different.

The current Kouki, from his experiment, can only create 3 metre radius slash. That time where he was split into half, Saejima was at least 10 metres away. This alone makes the difference in level between Kouki and Saejima very obvious. In addition, the Invisible Slash from the current Kouki can not cut the human body cleanly, but Saejima could do it so naturally that he did not notice when he was slashed.

(Well, since I have Revived Hunter now. All I need to do now is to obtain various gifts until I can defeat Saejima-class enemies for certain but...there’s no easy way huh...)

The condition for obtaining a gift ability is to activate the Revived Hunter...in other words, he needs to be killed once.

Kouki experienced the feeling of death twice, but it is not something that one can get used to no matter how many times they experience it.

The pain and suffering are unimaginable, and more importantly, the feeling of one’s consciousness fading away can cause mental abnormalities if experienced too many times.

(...Still, if there are really no restrictions...if it makes me stronger, I'll die again and again. No matter how many times...)

And that feeling after he came back to life... The uncontrollable anger...the urge to kill, is especially strong against the person who killed him. There is also this danger from losing his rational mind.

(...I killed the corpse disposal team without hesitation, but when I think about it calmly, I kinda feel sorry for what I did. I didn't have to kill anyone, but at the time, I felt like I had no choice but to kill them…)

He felt guilty for killing the corpse disposal team. However, Kouki's desire for revenge against Hiro and Saejima is strong. He has a strong desire for revenge against Hiro and Saejima, to the point where he can forget about the guilt he feels for killing people.

And more than that, as a gifted who has the Revived Hunter he developed a feeling of wanting to rise to a higher level.

(I will...definitely get stronger with this ability!)

Author’s note:

Status open! ...if there’s such thing in this world, how much easier it’ll be (wry laugh)

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TL: Btw, those words in italics...I just realized some of them are quite the big hints for future events. What kills you, makes you stronger.

TL’s note:

1. Takahiko said it in english instead of japanese.
2. Tickling his sides