Kalyan woke up in white.
The first thing he felt was pain—deep, burning, precise. Not the dull ache of injury, but something sharper, like his body was being audited cell by cell.
[Ledger Notice]
[Skill: Kinetic Evasion — Deactivated]
[Cost Collection Initiated]
His vision blurred. A cold sensation wrapped around his chest, squeezing—not his heart, but something deeper.
"Debt acknowledged," the Ledger said calmly.
"Payment begins."
Kalyan gasped and sat upright.
He was in a medical ward reinforced with anti-aura seals. Machines hummed softly. Beyond the glass walls, armed personnel stood alert, insignias of the Hunter Association stitched onto their uniforms.
A woman noticed his movement and stepped forward.
"Don't try to stand," she said. "Your leg was shattered. If this were ten years ago, you'd be dead."
Kalyan swallowed. "The Raft?"
"Neutralized," she replied. "Three C-rank Hunters responded. You were the only civilian inside the danger zone."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "That's… unusual."
The door slid open.
An older man entered, wearing a long black coat lined with silver thread. His presence alone pressed down on the room like invisible gravity.
[Association Identifier Detected]
[Rank: S]
[Threat Level: Lethal]
The Ledger spoke before Kalyan could react.
"Observe carefully," it said.
"This human can kill you in under three seconds."
The man introduced himself calmly.
"Director Han. Hunter Association."
He studied Kalyan like a faulty calculation.
"You were unregistered," Han said. "No awakening record. No aura signature—until the moment the Raft opened."
Kalyan said nothing.
Han continued, "Yet you survived a C-tier encounter alone. That violates probability."
The Ledger whispered again:
"Truth is expensive.
Lies are cheaper.
Choose carefully."
Kalyan lowered his gaze. "I ran. I got lucky."
Silence.
Han smiled faintly—not kindly.
"Luck does not manifest controlled aura," he said. "You will be registered."
A holographic screen appeared.
Hunter Registration
Rank: F
Aura Stability: Low
Mana: None
Threat Assessment: Under Observation
F-rank.
The weakest.
Yet Han's eyes said something else.
"From this moment," Han continued, "you are under Association jurisdiction. You will not join a guild. You will not sign with a company. You will not enter Rafts without permission."
A pause.
"Because people like you either become assets… or disasters."
Han turned to leave.
At the door, he added quietly, "One more thing. Human knowledge ends at SS-rank."
He looked back.
"If you ever see something beyond that—run."
The door sealed shut.
The moment he was alone, pain surged again.
[Debt Collection Complete]
[Penalty Applied: Muscular Micro-Tear (Permanent)]
[Recovery Possible Through Training or Medical Resources]
Kalyan clenched his fists, teeth grinding.
"You crippled me," he whispered.
The Ledger responded without hesitation.
"Incorrect."
"I kept you alive."
"Power borrowed without payment destroys its host."
Kalyan stared at the ceiling.
"So this is the price."
"No," the Ledger corrected.
"This was interest."
Outside the ward, unseen by humans, something shifted.
A presence watched the hospital from far beyond the city—beyond Earth's laws.
"A debtor has awakened," it murmured.
"Interesting."
And somewhere deep within the Ledger's hidden archives, a new entry was written.
[Worldly Potential — Confirmed]
[Survivability Against Otherworldly Entities: Possible]
[Risk: Extreme]
Kalyan closed his eyes.
He was still F-rank.
Still weak.
Still human.
But now, the world had noticed him.
And the debt had only begun.