THUD!
Ren suddenly struck, knocking a punk in purple clothes and a purple cap to the ground with a single punch.
The guy immediately passed out.
The other two delinquents still standing, along with Ichigo Kurosaki and the little girl’s ghost, stared in disbelief.
None of them had expected Ren to attack out of nowhere.
Ren, however, frowned slightly as he realized he hadn’t gained any level experience.
This fact made him pause thoughtfully.
A faint sense of satisfaction stirred within him as he considered the issue.
He had a rough idea what the problem might be.
A brief silence lingered.
While Ren was thinking, the two remaining delinquents finally snapped back to reality.
Seeing their friend’s state, anger flared up.
“Hey, you bastard!
You hit An!” “Why did you hit An!?” Then, as if something occurred to him, one of the delinquents pointed at Ichigo and shouted, “I get it!
You must be friends with that orange-haired kid!” Ichigo was dumbfounded.
He hadn’t expected to get caught in the crossfire.
He opened his mouth to explain, but before he could, Ren spoke with absolute conviction: “That’s right!
I am his friend!” “And since you were ganging up on my friend, that makes you my enemies!” Ichigo was stunned.
He wanted to protest, but it seemed like no explanation would save him now.
Ren’s words completely enraged the two delinquents.
Glaring with indignation, they yelled, “You two are way out of line!” “We were just skateboarding here!
We didn’t start anything!
That orange-haired kid came out of nowhere and tripped Asan first.
We were just demanding an explanation!” “The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
Yo, let’s go!” “Right!” Seeing the two delinquents charge at him, Ren’s eyes lit up slightly.
His body shifted with calm precision as he moved.
Without hesitation, he threw two swift punches.
THUD!
THUD!
Two more thugs hit the ground, knocked unconscious.
[EXP TARGET +5] [EXP TARGET +5] [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION] Ding.
The Gilgamesh Character Template has reached Level 2.
Passive unlocked: Magic Resistance (E).
The notification echoed directly in Ren’s mind, as if projected through a system interface only he could perceive.
For a brief moment, a subtle sense of satisfaction stirred within him.
To raise the Gilgamesh Character Template from Level 2 to Level 3 required 20 EXP.
That meant he only needed to defeat four more EXP Targets like these to level up.
And for Ren right now, that was almost too easy.
At the same time, Ren confirmed that he could only gain Level EXP by defeating people who held hostile intent toward him.
He took a brief moment to process this rule.
“Who the hell are you?” Ichigo’s serious, questioning voice broke the silence.
The little girl’s ghost looked confused.
She had also thought Ren was Ichigo’s friend.
But from Ichigo’s reaction, it seemed he didn’t know Ren at all.
Ren turned to face Ichigo and gave a small smile.
“Don’t be nervous.
My name is Ren Kurogami.
I genuinely want to be friends with you.” In Ren’s eyes, Ichigo was a walking, EXP Target.
Anywhere Ichigo went, experience would never be in short supply.
The early days in Seireitei.
The middle phase in Hueco Mundo.
The later period with the Wandenreich…
All of that represented massive amounts of EXP.
If he could farm all of it, he would definitely max out the Gilgamesh Character Template.
So, Ren was determined to be friends with Ichigo.
No one could stop him.
Ichigo’s expression didn’t soften at all.
He knew his own personality and appearance weren’t exactly likable.
Usually, he was lucky if he didn’t scare people off.
Why would someone he didn’t even know voluntarily want to be his friend?
Under Ichigo’s watchful gaze, Ren slowly turned his eyes toward the little girl’s ghost beside him.
Ichigo’s body jolted.
He looked at Ren in disbelief, then at the ghost beside him.
His voice was hesitant as he asked, “You can see her?” The little girl’s ghost was also stunned.
Since her death, Ichigo was the only person who could see her.
Now Ren was the second.
Ren walked over and righted a vase and some flowers that the thugs had knocked over by the roadside.
A brief silence lingered as he did so.
Then he spoke the words he had prepared.
“You’re the only person I’ve ever met who can see ghosts.” With that, Ren reached out and gently patted the little girl’s ghost on the head, proving that he really could see her.
Then he straightened up, looked at Ichigo, and smiled.
“Before, I was alone.
I thought I was a freak.
Now that I’ve finally found someone like me, I wanted to be friends with you.” “Let me introduce myself again.
My name is Ren Kurogami.” Ichigo had also never met anyone besides himself and his sisters who could see ghosts.
This was new and surprising.
A subtle shift passed through Ichigo’s expression.
Perhaps because of their shared status as “freaks,” Ichigo’s expression softened.
He replied, “My name is Ichigo Kurosaki.” Seeing this, Ren extended his hand and asked with a calm smile, “So, can we be friends?” Ichigo hesitated for just a moment, then reached out and took Ren’s hand.
He grinned back at Ren.
“Yeah.
We’re friends now.” A quiet sense of resolution settled over the moment.
With his goal achieved, Ren said goodbye to Ichigo.
Since there was still time, he planned to find some targets, farm some EXP, and level up.
On his way home, Ichigo suddenly remembered something: although he and Ren had become friends, they only knew each other’s names.
He hadn’t even left a way to contact him.
‘What if I make a friend today and never see him again?’ Ichigo muttered to himself.
If that happened, he would be pretty disappointed.
He’d actually gotten a pretty good impression of Ren.
Time passed, and night began to fall.
In an alley, Ren took down his last thug.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
He had thought Japan was crawling with delinquents.
But after searching for ages, he’d only found four.
The system’s voice echoed in his mind.
[EXP TARGET +5] [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION] Ding.
The Gilgamesh Character Template has reached Level 3.
Ability unlocked: Gate of Babylon (E).
A faint surge of energy washed through Ren’s mind, as if something vast had just opened within him.
Gate of Babylon was the signature move of the Golden King.
A Gilgamesh without Gate of Babylon was a fake Gilgamesh.
Even at this stage, Gate of Babylon was only E Rank and could summon E Rank treasures from the Babylonian Treasury, but it was more than enough for now.
After all, even E Rank Noble Phantasms, the lowest tier in the Type Moon system, were far more powerful than ordinary mortal weapons.
Ren glanced at the sky.
It was about time.
Tonight was the night Ichigo would become a Shinigami and meet Rukia Kuchiki for the first time.
He couldn’t afford to miss it.