Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~ - Volume 2 - Chapter 3.2

Her entire body felt like it was on fire.

As Tino awakened, every fiber in her body began throbbing with a dull ache. She groaned softly as she twisted in her soft bed. But that did nothing to ease her agony. She poked her head out from under her bedspread, and she found herself in her undecorated room in a building close to the clan house.

“If you can’t do it in training, you can’t do it in real life, can you?” is what her mentor would always say.

Tino was subjected to literal torture every time she sparred against her mentor, who claimed to have been acclimating Tino to the boundless power that was only unlocked on the brink of death. Tino had survived quite a few of these “realistic” training sessions by this point, but there was no sign of them getting any easier.

Her body screamed in pain under her expressionless facade as Tino managed to sit up in her bed, and she saw a girl with frumpy hair staring back grumpily from within the full-length mirror—without any clothes on.

Perhaps Lizzy had carried the unconscious me from the near-death experience, stripped me of my dirt-stained clothes, hosed me down, and tossed me into my bed.

Previously, her mentor would’ve simply left Tino at the training grounds after these training sessions of theirs. But ever since Master Krai had had a word with her mentor about her subhuman treatment of her apprentice, she had made sure Tino had at least made it back to her room. Her mentor might not exactly be tucking her in caringly, but Tino much preferred that to being left out on display in front of her clanmates for hours on end.

Tino saw no scars on her own porcelain skin, which looked almost too unblemished for someone who fought monsters for a living. This meant either her body had healed itself while she’d been out cold, she’d been dunked into a vat of potion, or her mentor (who definitely didn’t know how to pull punches) had devised a new technique to damage the human body without leaving any marks. But in any case, Tino was thankful for the absence of scars; she knew that her pain and exhaustion would soon fade too—Tino had taken in enough mana material to allow for that.

She wobbled her way to the bathroom where she stood under a cold shower to awaken her senses. As Tino enjoyed the sensation of icy water quelling her pain, she assessed her physical condition. A treasure hunter had to take good care of their body, especially when they had a mentor who subjected them to training with no regard for their safety.

Brushing her arms and shoulders as water streamed down them, Tino muttered to herself, “Lizzy really knows what she’s doing. There’s not even a single bruise.”

While her mentor had used no weapon, she hadn’t hesitated to go after and kick Tino’s joints. Brute strength wasn’t a Thief’s forte, but, still, each of her mentor’s strikes had been heavy enough that Tino couldn’t have blocked them without sustaining any damage; a single imperfect parry could’ve proven fatal to Tino. She was sure that a few of her bones had been broken last night, and it was a small wonder that she saw no evidence of internal bleeding now.

Though, her memory of the training session was still hazy, probably because she’d drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the training session. She must’ve done well though; she must’ve stared death in the face and still managed to parry her mentor’s attacks. Or otherwise, she would’ve never woken up.

There were plenty of places in the capital where a hunter could train in combat, many of them heralded by renowned ex-hunters in their retirement; there were formal schools too. In fact, most hunters Level 3 or higher had received some kind of formal training. Tino wondered how many of them faced training as brutal as hers: spewing blood and eating dirt, and all the while withstanding what felt like genuine murderous intents from her mentor.

It had been Tino’s own decision to seek out Liz Smart’s tutelage. Liz had refused at first, claiming she didn’t have time for it, but Tino had secured the apprenticeship out of sheer good luck. Master had happened to be there when she’d pleaded her case with Liz, and he had convinced Liz to change her mind. Without Master, Tino wouldn’t be a treasure hunter today.

Tino had often been told that she was strong and that she’d trained hard and well for her age. But, sometimes, she’d also been envied by other hunters. But before she’d known it, she’d always expected to fight on the brink of death. But despite the nearly fatal and torturous methods, Tino had no intention of leaving her mentor. She often felt a powerful urge to give up, but she hadn’t. Yet.

Am I living up to my mentor’s expectations? The thought gave her a chill, and she shakily turned off the shower.

After getting dressed, Tino headed back to the clan house. Her rental room was a ten-minute walk from the clan house, and it was for that very reason she’d picked the place. With First Steps’s clan house being much taller than its surrounding buildings, Tino could see its roof from her room if she poked her head out the window. According to her mentor, she could even see the insides of the clan master’s office on the highest floor of the clan house, but Tino’s eyesight had failed her in this regard.

Tino considered herself less than a full-fledged hunter. While she’d earned the above-average Level 4 and had seen her fair share of treasure vaults, she had yet to earn her mentor’s approval. And that was the reason Tino stayed mostly in the capital and refused to form a proper party despite the Association’s recommendation to do so—she considered herself to be still in training.

Tino’s entire life revolved around her training. But since Liz was an active hunter on top of being her mentor, there was precious little time for Tino to receive proper training from her fickle and free-spirited “Lizzy.” It wasn’t uncommon for her mentor to vanish without leaving so much as a message for Tino, and so Tino strove to spend as much time as possible in her mentor’s proximity when she knew her mentor would be in town.

Arriving at the clan house, Tino saw a rare sight: several large carriages were parked in front of the building. The steel wagons resembled tanks in their plainness, suggesting that they weren’t from any noble house. And strapped to the wagons were horses, stomping impatiently, bred specifically to traverse dangerous landscapes teeming with monsters and phantoms.

Watching the horses without thinking much of them, Tino walked into the lobby to find dozens of hunters congregating there. The hunters varied in class, getup, and level; the only thing they had in common was that they all belonged to First Steps. Tino frowned at the crowd of hunters, armed as if they were readying for war.

Why so many of them? A big quest?

First Steps was one of the more populous clans in the capital, but it was rare for a large group of its members to gather like this.

Tino, as an original member of the clan, was acquainted with just about every member.

“What’s going on?” she asked a nearby Swordsman.

“Oh, Tino, haven’t you heard? We’ve been summoned. It’s a joint effort with the Association, a government gig. We’re going into White Wolf’s Den,” he answered.

Noting the all-too-familiar vault name, she looked around the lobby again. “All of you are?”

A gathering of this many members was unprecedented. The hunters composed quite an impressive lineup, with their head count amounting to about half of the entire registry of the clan. Considering that some members were working outside the capital, Tino wondered if most members in town had been summoned. Tino had heard of an investigation in the works, but this was not the scale of one—this looked more like they were planning to exterminate all monsters in the vault.

The enemies in White Wolf’s Den were formidable, but the members of First Steps were elite hunters, with plenty of them being Level 4 or higher. Hence, Tino couldn’t imagine how much more trouble had been brewing in the vault to warrant this level of reaction, especially when the boss had already been taken care of. Although the boss could respawn once enough mana material had accumulated, it’d take a long time before such a powerful phantom would reappear.

Seeing the incredulous look on Tino, the Swordsman dramatically whispered, “Between you and me, I’ve heard that the CM wanted to send Ark.”

“What?” Tino stared unblinkingly at the man. What is he saying?

But the punch line never came.

He twisted his lips into a grin and chuckled. “What a joke, right? Sending one of our top hunters to look into a Level 3 vault. But Ark isn’t here, so we’re taking his place.”

Now Tino understood why the hunters seemed on edge.

Ark Rodin was one of the best-known hunters of the capital. He must’ve been a man blessed by all the gods and preordained to become a hero. He was also a master of various magic and techniques; it’d been said that his sword would tear the world asunder like a thousand lightning bolts. As such, he’d garnered passionate support from both the higher-ups of the empire and members of First Steps; he was also sort of a rival to Tino’s mentor and her fellow Grievers.

Investigating a Level 3 treasure vault was definitely below Ark. Sending him seemed like a disproportionate reaction; this move would be against the Association’s recommendation that hunters stick to vaults on par with their level. If high-level hunters looted all the low-level vaults and cleared their phantoms and Relics, that would leave lower-level hunters without opportunities to improve. Additionally, higher-level hunters could even be unavailable in times of need had this been the case.

But naturally, the calculating Master had to be well aware of that. That meant whatever was happening in White Wolf’s Den was so dire that it required the likes of Ark Rodin. Tino, a mere mortal, couldn’t imagine what that could possibly be. If she’d been among the hunters summoned for this job, she might’ve written her will, looking just as tense as they were.

Wait. If Lizzy sees me now, she could throw me into the mix.

“This is all of you?” she asked, suppressing her fear.

“Hey. ‘Give us some credit’ is what I would say...” replied the Swordsman, scratching his head.

Ark Rodin was undeniably one of the strongest hunters out there; mastering either the sword or magic to the caliber he had would’ve earned anyone a spot among the top-tier hunters. But not only was Ark a master of both, but he also used them seamlessly in battle. Even Tino’s master, who considered herself among the strongest hunters in the world, couldn’t deny Ark’s prowess. If the other members of Ark Brave had even seventy percent of Ark’s talent, they could’ve secured the title of “the strongest party of their generation.”

Can all these hunters really make up for Ark’s absence? wondered Tino.

The Swordsman grinned with a powerful spirit but also a hint of fear. “With this many of us, we’ll manage. I’ve heard parties from other clans are joining too—”

The crowd stirred. A young man came sauntering down the staircase, and the crowd focused their eyes on him. The clairvoyant Thousand Tricks was descending the stairs. Alongside him was his vice clan master, coldly observing the congregated hunters. There, a hush came over the crowd as the members waited for their clan master to speak.

Master, sticking out like a sore thumb with his casual getup among the fully armed hunters, said absentmindedly, “Huh? What are you guys doing here? What’s the big event?”

“For what we discussed yesterday,” said Eva.

“Oh. That,” he said. “But there’re so many of them.”

“I know you requested Ark, but he is unavailable at the moment. So I called for them instead. By my calculation, they collectively make a comparable substitution.”

Master stared at the crowd, wide-eyed.

Many nonhunters didn’t quite grasp how powerful hunters are. And because of that, every year, there’d be some nonhunters who’d set out for treasure vaults and never return. They thought if hunters could handle the vaults, they, being human too, could handle one as well—these were avoidable tragedies caused by ignorance. While Eva wasn’t a hunter herself, everyone in the clan respected her as a manager of their organization who knew a lot about the members of First Steps, second only to Master himself. The fact that no one in the crowd refuted her claim showed that Eva’s calculation was accurate.

Master, however, didn’t look convinced. “What? Oh... Uh-huh. Right... This many?”

“If something is not to your liking, please let me know,” said Eva.

The lobby fell pin-drop silent. Everyone in the clan knew how exceptionally powerful Ark was; the only ones who dared claim their superiority over him were the Grievers.

Master, with his neck tilted, observed the crowd for a few moments before hesitantly venturing a smile. “Well, our hunters are pretty good. Perhaps just half of them will do.”

***

“What?! Half?! There’s no way!” said a hunter in the crowd.

“This situation called for Ark, right?! I’m not convinced even the sum of all of us could fill his shoes!” said another.

How did this happen? I wondered.

I couldn’t conceal my dismay as the crowd of hunters erupted in protest. Eva was staring at me like I was stupid or something, but I didn’t think my comment was unwarranted, was it? Not to toot my own horn, but First Steps was one of the most robust clans in the capital; our members were much stronger than average.

There were two things I’d wanted to accomplish when I’d started this clan: one, to use my position as clan master as an excuse to stay away from the dangers of treasure vaults; and two, to make connections with other parties in order to socialize the Grievers. Having exceptional talent could be lonely at times: it kept most of the talentless at arm’s length. While the other Grievers weren’t all too lonely because they had each other, I felt like that only accentuated our lack of interaction with other parties. That was why I’d chosen parties to help based on age and skill when I’d been starting up the clan; I’d bet that the Grievers would accept them if they were close in age and could keep up with them in the field. I wanted to give the Grievers (mostly Luke and Liz) some social interaction and eventually take in someone to replace my place in Grieving Souls so I wouldn’t be holding them back.

With faint expectations, I’d contacted all the famous parties in the capital at the time: First, there had been Obsidian Cross, whose members had conquered many high-level vaults with minimal casualty thanks to them all having healing abilities. Then, there had been Starlight, whose multiple powerful Magi were unrivaled in their abilities to devastate large areas with magic. Next, there had been Knights of the Torch, whose members had attained high levels of abilities with their great discipline and rigor in training. And above all, there had been Ark Brave, whose members rivaled the Grievers and whose leader was the undisputed hero Ark Rodin. By the way, although it’d been the other Grievers who’d handled the negotiations, the process had gone surprisingly well.

To this day, I still hadn’t accomplished my original goals entirely, but I’d made decent progress: I was away from the front lines, and the Grievers were better off than they would’ve been had I not set up the clan, I’d like to think.

With all that in mind, the members of such a clan were, of course, very talented, and it looked like they’d provided a healthy sense of competition for each other. Even as I stopped being so picky about clan members as time went on, First Steps had still maintained its reputation as an elite clan on the rise—everyone in the lobby now was definitely above average.

Ark was on another level, sure, but I only liked assigning him these things because he was the safe bet, and I felt the least nervous asking him for favors; it wasn’t like I thought no one else could do this job. If our hunters here only thought about it for a moment, they’d realize that a situation where I had to have Ark would be a terrifying disaster—I couldn’t even imagine what kind of pickle we’d be in then.

I gave Eva a look. She doesn’t have to go this extreme... When I’d told Gark that I’d do anything to help him, I’d been mostly just being polite. How had she gotten this many people on such short notice? Of course, I already knew how amazing Eva was, but there was one burning concern in my mind, How much would sending all these hunters cost? Hunters had to be paid after all. I did pledge my full support to Gark, but my wallet was also nearly empty.

Eva nodded gravely and called to the lobby, “Quiet please. Krai has something to say.”

All of them hushed immediately and looked at me again.

I cleared my throat in an attempt to diffuse the stinging looks and the silence. Wow. Who’s this “Krai” who has something to say? I mean, I can say something...

After choosing my words for a few moments, I put on a smile to mask my internal panic and said, “Calm down, calm down. Think about it for a second. The treasure vault you’re going to used to be Level 3—don’t sweat it so much.”

“Lies!” shouted a Magus in a black robe at the front of the crowd.

Hunters who were far stronger than me were looking at me with horror in their eyes.

I’m not lying. I’ve never lied in my life.

“Branch Manager Gark is getting other parties on the team too,” I reassured. “It won’t be all on our shoulders. White Wolf’s Den is indeed more dangerous than normal, so I understand where this anxiety’s coming from, but please...”

Hunters weren’t supposed to trample through treasure vaults with overwhelming force. We’re supposed to be adventurers.

Zero trust.

Even Tino was looking at me like I was a liar. Despite my very logically sound reassurance, the crowd didn’t look reassured at all.

Well, I’ve just sent her to White Wolf’s Den before I knew about all of this. But I still think I’m correct here.

I looked around the room again, but the hunters were all avoiding my eyes. I’d been away from the front lines for a while; maybe I was overly optimistic. The way they were vehemently rejecting my input made me start to feel so. And I never had much confidence in myself anyway.

“What do you think?” I quietly asked Eva.

“With a situation as dire as this, I think we should leave some wiggle room.”

“Hmm...”

It sounded like Eva agreed with the other members.

I gave one more look at the group and saw that, although they were large in number, our top-tier hunters weren’t among them. Ark, of course, wasn’t there, but I also couldn’t find any Obsidian Cross or Starlight members either; this wasn’t unusual considering how busy our top talents were. Still, I couldn’t help but think that this was overkill. If all of them went down to White Wolf’s Den in full force, the place would be annihilated.

“What if we took out a few parties?” I suggested.

Even if we could afford to pay them, if we let all First Steps hunters go at once, there’d be no one left at the clan house to do things for me.

Not that I could admit to how pathetic I was...

Then, one of the hunters barked, “CM! We’re not asking for more hunters! What’s the problem with sending the ones here?”

“Well...” I stuttered.

“And we may be clanmates, but we’re not in your party—we’re not obligated to follow your orders. If there’s a legitimate reason you can’t send all of us, tell us!”

“Well, you have a point,” I said.

Some hunters behind him were also nodding in agreement.

What are they so scared of that they adamantly refuse to take a few parties out?

So I considered the matter again: while I’d pledged our support to Gark out of politeness, I hadn’t offered to do it for free. But as a clan that emphasized individual freedom, the decision to accept or deny a particular quest was usually left up to each hunter and party. As clan master, I should clear this up.

“Are they going to cover the pay for everyone here, Eva?” I asked. “They don’t have an unlimited budget, do they? I don’t think they could afford all of them.”

This quest came from the government, and they predetermine budgets according to the expected difficulties of quests. While what was going on in White Wolf’s Den was highly unusual, I didn’t think it warranted a budget that could pay for half of our clan.

Eva coolly answered, “They’ve no problem paying. Gark pulled an extra budget. I’ve double-checked with him, and it’s an appropriate rate.”

“Really? How did he pull that off?” I asked.

The empire wasn’t stingy by any means, but Gark would have had to present some kind of evidence to demand an increase to the proposed budget. I wonder if the first investigation party brought something back. Gark didn’t seem like he had any new information when I last spoke to him, but it was possible that he had gained new intel while I was out in the town with Liz. If that new intel was something foreboding, I could understand why my elite clan members were so nervous about downsizing their massive party; that seemed more likely the more I thought about it. I felt like I’d just solved the last piece of the puzzle.

Secretly, I was relieved.

Good thing my clan members didn’t take my word for anything; I was about to make the same mistake I’d made when I sent Tino’s party. Not that I would’ve done anything about it, but I would’ve liked to be informed of this new development though... And I did delegate this whole thing to Eva anyway.

I looked at Eva, and she gave me a quick nod. “He used the information you gave him.”

“Huh.”

What in the world is she talking about? Lost for words, I returned what must’ve looked like a knowing nod. Could Eva’ve been talking to someone else in the room? Someone with that kind of useful information?

When did I mention anything like that?

I tried to recall everything I’d told Gark, which was (to paraphrase), “I don’t know anything, but I will help.” I mentioned to Eva I would’ve sent Ark if he was around, but that was it. I couldn’t figure out how he could’ve used my words in his negotiation with the empire when I hadn’t even mentioned anything specific to what was going on in the vault.

I shouldn’t have agreed to help. I didn’t have to. I could’ve just said I was busy doing something else or something... It was too late now though. I was going to barf. Is it going to be my fault if nothing comes of this White Wolf’s Den fiasco? I put my hand on my forehead and spiraled into self-hatred. Why do I have to talk? Ever? This is what happens when I say things without thinking.

On the other hand, the officer at the Association should take most of the blame for misconstruing my words. But regardless, I had to decide on my next move. Now that Gark had pulled extra money from the empire to deal with this, I doubted that even my one and only talent—my expert kowtowing skills—could get me out of this one.

Presently, all eyes in the lobby were piercing me like daggers with their grim looks. I was out of excuses to downsize the party; and besides, now that the funding had been secured, Gark would just hire parties from other clans to make up for any downsizing I’d do from our side. It looked like I was out of options. I stood there grunting for a while until I decided to give up.

“Whatever,” I said.

“What?!” responded the crowd.

At the end of the day, I didn’t say anything to blow this out of proportion. I’d only told Gark that I would help him. It was he who’d gone ahead and got the extra funding, so Gark could handle it all if he got any heat from the empire. And if any heat ever came in my direction, I’d expertly play dumb about it. That was my other one and only talent.

“What? Are you sure we can all go, CM?”

“If that’s what you want to do, who am I to stop you?” I said.

Who cares? Go nuts.

The crowd was still looking at me weirdly somehow now that I’d decided to not care about it at all.

But don’t come grumbling to me when the quest turns out to be a walk in the park. I tried to downsize the team, but you lot won’t let me!

“What a load of crap. If you idiots want to flock together so badly—quit. Hunting.” A voice that I really didn’t want to hear at this moment came from behind me.

The group of hunters tensed up. There were no footsteps, but I soon felt a soft embrace on my back and a pair of slender arms around my waist.

“Liz, you shouldn’t say things like you’re mocking them,” I said.

Having just been on a date with me, Liz sounded more cheerful than usual. I couldn’t see her, but I was sure she had a grin on her face.

Meanwhile, Tino inconspicuously hid behind a tall hunter standing beside her.

“Like? I am mocking them. I don’t even feel like getting mad. How can I?” she went on in a sickly sweet tone, as if speaking to a room full of children. But even so, her voice seemed to inspire as much fear as she did as if she was yelling. “You do have impossibly high expectations, Krai Baby, but how can you call yourself a hunter if you’re too chicken to face death? I’d never say no to you.”

Wait a minute. “Impossibly high”? Really? I couldn’t believe my ears. Liz, while a hopeful meathead, was a top-notch hunter. If even she thought my expectations were high, it meant that I was completely misjudging the situation.

“They’re not high,” I muttered in quiet protest.

And Liz held me a little tighter.

“That’s because...you’re powerful, Stifled Shadow,” said one of the hunters.

Liz scoffed, “No wonder Krai Baby’s giving up on you. This is why you’re never getting any stronger. Do you really wanna take the easy way out that badly?”

When did I give up on them, exactly?

I was pretty satisfied with how First Steps was. I’d been wondering what they’d been so afraid of, but now that Liz said I had high expectations, their reaction made sense. Being careful was a good thing! I quit treasure hunting exactly because I didn’t want to die.

“Oh, well. Whatever,” said Liz. “I don’t care about you. Actually, I’m glad you don’t want to take it.” And with all eyes on her, Liz crooned to me, “T and I will be taking this quest, Krai Baby. You don’t mind, do you? I thought the phantoms in White Wolf’s Den and all their weapons were perfect for her training. I don’t need anyone else.”

The elite hunters in the lobby, understandably, expressed their confusion at Liz’s claim.

And on the other hand, Tino let out a pathetic cry. She’d had some major bad luck lately.

“But...a quest that you needed Ark for will be dangerous for T, so I want a—” Liz walked in front of me and swirled her finger on my chest. “You know, Anssy isn’t here, and we don’t have a healer; I can’t fix T if she loses a limb or organ.” She whispered into my ear, “You have one on you, don’t you, Krai Baby? A high elixir? Pretty please?”

She wants Tino to keep fighting even if Tino loses a limb...

Tino was quivering like a beaten puppy.

And with a smile, I told Liz, “No.”

“What?! Why not?!”

Because you can’t play nice with others.

Not a chance I was letting her go when there were already other hunters at White Wolf’s Den. Brute strength wasn’t the only consideration here—as much as I’d like to socialize Liz, she’d just gotten to the point where she’d almost kill any hunter she got into a fight with—she’d be a bigger threat than all the phantoms in the vault combined. Besides, I was starting to feel bad for Tino.

I patted Liz’s arm to quell her boo and turned to the hunters in the room. “Our situation has changed. I take back my words on cutting people from this party. I want everyone here, just as Eva has chosen, to go to White Wolf’s Den. I know the vault isn’t that high-leveled, but don’t let your guard down until the job’s done.”

Now that I flip-flopped on my opinion, they were sharing looks with each other like they were trying to make out what I’d said. And for some reason, there were a few of them chattering their teeth.

I’ll have to have Liz tell me later which part about this quest made it seem like I have “impossibly high” expectations.

Then suddenly, Eva timidly dropped this bombshell on me, “Krai...if you don’t mind, can you take charge of this quest?”

“Huh?”

Time stood still a moment before it returned to normal as the hunters began talking again.

Staring at me was Liz, bewildered.

“No, no, no, no, no. It doesn’t have to come to that,” I said.

“But the only one who could compare to Ark, especially levelwise, is you. It’ll also be an effective gesture to the Association,” countered Eva.

I broke out in a cold sweat at Eva’s words, which I couldn’t tell if they were meant to mess with me or not.

I’m weak. Remember?

And it wasn’t like I had any leadership skills to make up for that either. I’d only gained my position being carried on the backs of my friends, and I was fully aware of how useless I was. I couldn’t judge the skill sets of others, and I still struggled to match names to some of these faces in the room. Even Liz would be a better leader than me, especially since I’d been away from exploring treasure vaults properly for so long.

Besides, who’d want to follow my lead, anyway, when I haven’t produced any tangible results in the past five years?

“I see. Good thinking, VCM. You do know this clan like the back of your hand,” said one of the hunters.

“If our Level 8 CM has our back, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Phantoms are specks of dust before you, Master! I’ll go if you go!”

Everyone seemed confident about this quest all of a sudden.

How could they be so reckless as to trust me with their lives?

Eva was giving me her icy look again; I guess she was telling me to do my job for once. This was cruel and inhumane though.

I was going to barf.

I didn’t expect the quest itself to be too difficult, but being responsible for the lives of these hunters was another matter altogether—another reason for my stepping away from treasure vaults was that I didn’t want to kill any of my friends because of my ineptitude.

Concealing my snowballing anxiety, I pretended to consider the matter. “Hmm...I’m sure there’s someone who’d be a better match than me...”

I don’t want to do this; I don’t want to do this; I don’t want to do this—someone read my mind!

“Obsidian Cross is already there, but they specialize in hunting,” said Eva with a sigh. “They may be an effective party, but their leadership doesn’t compare to yours.”

So Eva can’t read my mind after all... Wait a minute.

“That’s right,” I said. “I got it!”

“Is something the matter?” asked Eva.

She’d reminded me that I’d sent Obsidian Cross to Gark. And as I’d hoped for, Gark must’ve tasked them with the initial investigation. They were certainly one of the top five parties in First Steps: they could hold their own in combat. Their leader, Sven, was like a trusty older brother and was well-liked in the clan too; he’d be a perfect choice to lead the hunters gathered here. Eva suggested that I’d be a better leader than Sven, but that was complete nonsense.

This bit of good news lightened the weight on my shoulders. With Obsidian Cross already on the scene, the quest was as good as over.

How much money did the Association fork over anyway?

Frowning dramatically, I pretended like I was thinking the option through. “All right, I think I’ll tag along.”

“What? Krai Baby, are you serious?!” cried Liz. She knew me well enough to think that my voluntarily going into danger was not a normal occurrence.

“But,” I said, looking around at the room full of clanmates, “there’s something urgent I need to attend to first, so I’ll catch up to you later. In the meantime, I’m putting Obsidian Cross in charge.”

Behold my magnificent deflection of responsibility! I’ll come check on you lot once the investigation is over. Good luck, everybody!

“Krai Baby, is this investigation that difficult?” asked Liz as we watched the other First Steps hunters pour out of the clan house lobby.

Usually, hunters’ expressions were alight with anticipation and thrill as they embarked on quests, but these hunters looked like they were marching towards the gallows—I didn’t recall saying that this quest would be difficult though. It certainly wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but we’d taken the precaution to send in that many hunters anyway.

What made them so sure that there’ll be terrible challenges ahead?

“You haven’t led a party in years,” whined Liz, almost childishly. “Even if you’re just catching up later, you’re still going with them when you barely tag along with our hunts!”

I hadn’t stepped away from leading parties for my own benefit but for the safety of everyone involved. Even back when the other Grievers dragged me from vault to vault, I’d rarely given any directions—simply because I had the unfortunate propensity to crack under pressure. The most influence I’d dared pose on my team at the time was answering their yes-no questions from time to time, but even that had led to disastrous outcomes more than once.

Grieving Souls had prospered not because of my leadership but in spite of it.

And upon coming to terms with my uselessness the hard way, I’d retired from making decisions for the team.

Liz should’ve known this better than anyone. It was all the more perplexing, then, that she was looking at me in this way.

“I have my reasons,” I told her without much thought as per usual.

“What are they? Why can’t I come?” she pleaded. “Why not? You wouldn’t want to bring Ark if it wasn’t something good. Please, Krai Baby?”

Liz’s pink eyes glittered with anticipation for a life-threatening challenge.

Her tendency for senseless violence didn’t extend to Ark out of her respect for his abilities. Apparently, even the Stifled Shadow couldn’t make easy prey of the multitalented magic-Swordsman, Ark Rodin.

She’s hopeless; her brain is fried.

As Liz shook me by the arm like a toddler begging for candy, I let out a sigh and said, “It’s just that you don’t play well with others.”

“What?” replied Liz in disbelief. “Don’t worry! Everyone else will go along with whatever I do.”

Exactly what I just said.

Meanwhile, Tino apprehensively watched her mentor.

And so, I decided to pinch Liz by her cheeks. She looked at me and blinked.

I continued pinching as I said, “You just came back from your last hunt, Liz. You should get some rest.”

Just staying at home will make everyone happy—it’ll make me happy.

Liz beamed at me, and I couldn’t help but wish that she always looked this nonviolent.

“You’re such a gentleman, Krai Baby! But we’re fine though, aren’t we, T?”

Tino nodded furiously like there was a dagger on her throat. “Y-Yes! We’re great, Lizzy... Master.”

“See?” added Liz.

Liz and I had known each other for a long time, pretty much our entire lives, so I could often tell what she was up to just by looking at her. That mischievous look in her eyes could only mean that she was going to sneak off to the vault, and I couldn’t let that happen. It wasn’t that I thought the high elixir would be wasted on her endeavor, but I just had this vivid vision of her trampling through the treasure vault like she owned the place, shoving all the carefully exploring parties to the side.

And so, I pulled Liz in by the shoulder and whispered conspicuously, “Calm down, Liz. You’ll...have another job to do.”

I’d have her tag along as my bodyguard when I eventually decided to join the parties.

Liz blinked at me a few times before saying disappointedly, “Oh, really? Okay then.”

This should stop her from leaving the capital without me knowing.

Over the years of knowing the Grievers, I’d picked up a trick or two. I suspected the fact that I knew how to tame the most troublesome hunters in the clan was a contributing factor to why they still kept me as clan master over the universally well-regarded Ark.

Liz subtly curled her lips up. “You want me to send just T then? Those phantoms with all sorts of weapons would be perfect for this training I’m cooking up for her.”

Pump the brakes!

The other First Steps hunters should keep Tino from being beaten up as badly as she’d been last time, but it just seemed like she and White Wolf’s Den weren’t a good fit; her fluky encounter with the freakish phantom demonstrated that.

As a solo hunter, Tino wasn’t well suited for wide-range search quests like this. She didn’t have specialized knowledge for the job, and the phantoms in that vault seemed a bit overleveled for her.

Liz, I thought, this must be a foreign concept to you, but you’re supposed to leave a healthy margin for error when you go to treasure vaults.

After what happened last time, sending Tino back to White Wolf’s Den would make me a terrible master. And I wanted to be a cool master—especially to a girl like Tino.

“No,” I told Liz.

“Aw.”

“End of discussion.”

“Aw...”

I let go of her shoulder and looked up to find Lyle, a stocky, young hunter, approaching me. He wasn’t an OG member of the clan, but he was pretty close to being one. He was a little taller than me and wore a set of steel armor that shone in a myriad of dull battle scars. This Level 5 hunter and I were close in age, so I got along with him more than most members.

Lyle uneasily watched Liz for a few moments before asking me, “Krai, do you...really think we’ll make it?”

I could see a flock of hunters, at some distance away, sheepishly watching us.

Apparently Lyle had drawn the short straw. But why was he asking me this? I knew so little about this quest, maybe even less than him and the others recruited to take part in the quest.

That being said, I was their clan master, and I was going to act like it. With a big thumbs up, I encouraged my comrades, “This may be a difficult quest, but I’m sure you lot will complete it no matter what!”

I thought this would lead up to some sort of cheer or applause, but I was met with silence only. Lyle and the rest of the hunters all looked like they weren’t sure what to say.

Huh. That’s odd.

Then Lyle timidly asked, “Well, um...could you, as clan master and a Level 8 hunter, give us...a few pointers?”

“Pointers?” I parroted.

That was quite the conundrum.

Pointers from me? When I’ve no clue how this quest is going to go? I wouldn’t waste my breath giving them pointers about exploring treasure vaults: watch out for phantoms; get along with each other; Thieves should lead and find booby traps; try not to explore alone. What good would that do? I grunted for a while with a pinched brow as I thought. Something else then. I know.

With a sigh, I said, “I don’t know if you’ll come across it, but be careful if you see a slime-looking thing.”

I can’t give you real pointers anyway, I thought. Where did that Sitri Slime go?

Lyle looked at me like I’d lost my mind. Rude.

“Slime?! There’re no slimes in White Wolf’s Den!” he exclaimed.

Treasure vaults were normally occupied with phantoms that were specific to the location. Even if external monsters were to wander into a vault, they were often killed by native phantoms before long. And so it was actually pretty rare to find other monsters deep within a vault.

I couldn’t blame him for reacting like that when I mentioned the most pathetic monster of them all.

“Like I said, I don’t know if you’ll come across it.”

“Not that I’m doubting you, but...” persisted Lyle, “let me ask you this: what made you say ‘slime’ of all things?”

I just smiled at him without a word.

The group of hunters behind him began discussing how to counter slimes—that was a concerning level of gullibility.

“If you do, it won’t be a normal slime. So be careful,” I added.

“It won’t be a normal—” said Lyle. “What do you mean?!”

As if I know.

Since it has the word “slime” in its name, I assumed it’d have similar weaknesses as other slimes did. But Sitri could be really thorough about these things...

Lyle and the hunters went into a tizzy as they tried to make heads or tails of my remark.

Smiling at them all the while, I was silently kowtowing for their forgiveness in my mind.

***

“Are you really going, sir?” asked Kaina with a concerned frown.

Gark Welter snorted in response.

His attire was unusual for conducting business at the Zebrudia branch of Explorers’ Association. Instead of his usual outfit, he wore a set of deep-red armor that provided protection without hindering his movements, accompanied by a horned helmet; the armor and helmet were covered all over with countless marks—testaments to the many battles Gark had survived. Along with a tool belt that allowed him quick access to his items, he also carried a large machete that had much more utility than just cutting down enemies. And out of his outfit, the most notable piece was the halberd in his right hand that was as tall as himself. The bluish-black weapon was a bizarre iteration of a halberd with a blade much larger than its point as if it was designed to swipe rather than to stab. All of these were pieces of equipment Gark had used and kept from his treasure-hunting days.

Long ago, before the Endurers, beings who claimed to have experienced the entirety of history, even existed, there had been a group of people devoted to smithing and battling. They’d mastered the art of blacksmithing and had developed the unique ability to infuse metals with magical power to create brand-new metals. Since they’d also been experienced warriors who revered the art of war, these people created numerous weaponry with their craft and used them to protect their prosperity.

Eons had passed, and now there was hardly any trace left of that civilization. Their technique of forging the unique metals had been lost to time—many a Magus and blacksmith had tried to revive the art to no avail.

The products of their marvelous technique, however, had not been lost. In fact, most weapon Relics found in treasure vaults were assumed to be recreations of items from that era of advanced magical weaponry.

A greatsword that controlled fire. A sword that was forever light and unbreakable. A lance that split the air itself and struck several meters beyond its tip. These were all examples of Relics that could tear through monsters and phantoms with bodies more durable than ordinary metal.

Since mastering a Relic required a long time, hunters rarely carried with them a large number of Relics. To compensate for that, most hunters chose weapons from this era of advanced magical weaponry as trusty arms they could trust their life on.

Gark’s halberd was no exception. It was constantly clad in frigid air, and it froze the blood of those it slashed.

Gark had used his trusty weapon—Hail’s Tusk—to climb his way up to Level 7. Despite the numerous offers—which had come in when he retired—to take it off of his hands, Gark could never let go of his weapon.

He held the weapon in his hand for the first time in a long while, and the halberd responded with a cold sensation in his palm that reminded Gark of old times.

Kaina saw great exhilaration in his menacing expression. “Sir, you’re not a hunter anymore,” she remarked. “You remember that, don’t you?”

“I know. I won’t go overboard,” said Gark.

“This quest should be smooth sailing since First Steps is fully supporting it. With Obsidian Cross already on the scene, I hardly see the necessity for you to go.”

Gark clicked his tongue and shifted his weight. With that, the tip of his halberd scratched the ceiling and frosted the mark it left behind. Even with over a hundred kilograms of metal on him in the form of weapon and armor, Gark moved with the same dexterity as he always had.

“I’m not letting Liz get away with this!” roared Gark. “I may not be at my peak, but I got experience on my side. No hunter’s gonna treat me like that!”

“So childish...” muttered Kaina as Gark looked the other way.

Given Gark’s moniker “War Demon,” there were very few people in the entire empire who underestimated the former Level 7 hunter’s abilities—Liz had really gotten to him.

Gark, as if to make an excuse for himself, added, “This job smells fishy. He needs Ark? This isn’t your run-of-the-mill gig! I’d better be there when things go down. And this helps to make a show to the empire too, after wrenching that budget increase out of them.”

Gark had commissioned double the number of hunters the empire had expected to send. He’d managed to secure the additional funds in part not only because of Krai’s status but also because Gark was well-known among the higher-ups of the empire. The Vault Investigation Bureau, the empire’s institution in charge of managing treasure vaults, was also watching this quest with a skeptical eye, so Gark concluded that he’d better reassure the government by going to the front line himself.

Hand on her forehead, Kaina slowly exhaled. I can’t stop him; there’s no way, she thought. Once a hunter, always a hunter.

“I’ll leave your paperwork on your desk,” she said, “so expect to work late nights once you return.”

“You won’t hurt my feelings if you took care of them for me,” suggested Gark.

“No, thank you.”

Kaina’s swift rejection left Gark letting out a forlorn sigh.

***

The space seemed too spacious and bright to be underground. Yet, its dirt ceiling and walls were compacted so neatly that the space looked almost like an ordinary aboveground room.

Papers were strewn all over the rows of desks; folders filled the bookshelves along the wall to the brim; and a stinging smell permeated the cold air. Contained on shelves were labeled vials of medicines lined up one after one. Also in the room was a round table covered nearly entirely with piles of a report written in a strange language quite distinct from the empire’s official language.

Presently, Magi, each in a different robe, congregated in the room. Their expressions were alight with excitement, animosity, and a hint of fear in anticipation of the battle to come.

The Master of Magi stood in the center of them and said, “The Association spared no expense it seems.”

Noctus assumed that White Wolf’s Den, his former research grounds, was being ransacked by a flood of hunters. His assumption had been based on the fact that the number of hunters assigned to investigate the unusual occurrences in the treasure vault—as Noctus had learned from an informant within the government—far surpassed what he’d expected. While it wasn’t unusual for high-level hunters to take on investigations of disturbances in treasure vaults, there were far too many of them for a mere investigation like this. Considering that most of those hunters were members of First Steps, it was clear who’d orchestrated the raid.

“Thousand Tricks!” spat Noctus. “A mere hunter dares take on Akashic Tower head-on?!”

After everything the Level 8 hunter had done to interfere with their operation, Noctus certainly hadn’t expected the Thousand Tricks to simply walk away. But this response of his was an insult to the magic syndicate: instead of a surprise attack or raid on the Tower’s branch in the capital, he simply threw more hunters into White Wolf’s Den.

Generally speaking, Magi grew stronger the more they could prepare for a fight. It was critical, if one wanted to take out a group of Magi, to strike before they had a chance to gear up for the fight. The Thousand Tricks completely ignored this idea—he’d gone through the trouble of warning the syndicate of having discovered their base of operations.

Now that he was sending a team to push through the treasure vault head-on, it seemed like he paid the Tower no mind at all.

So prideful of him, but could he afford to be?

This lack of regard for the most dangerous magic syndicate in the world was enough to enrage the Magus.

Noctus couldn’t guess the Thousand Tricks’s intentions, but his mind was already made up. Preparations had already been made, and Sophia had returned in time. If the Thousand Tricks was going to stand in the way of their search for the ultimate truth, they would annihilate him.

Flick, Noctus’s second apprentice, cocked a brow. “Master, while Ark Rodin is—fortunately—away from the capital, their team still has plenty of high-level hunters, not to mention the Grieving Souls. They may prove to be formidable.”

The defense system Noctus and his team had set up was powerful enough to overtake a team of average hunters. And on top of that, the Magi researchers could cast highly destructive spells that were boosted by the mana material the researchers absorbed during their time under the treasure vault. But still, the prospect of facing Grieving Souls, a treasure-hunter party infamous for risking their lives to conquer higher- and higher-level vaults, left the Magi with a dash of fear.

At this point, Sophia chimed in, “They won’t be an issue. That party is currently away from the capital, save for two—no, three members. There’s the Thousand Tricks, who always watches the world from the capital. Then there’s Liz Smart the Stifled Shadow, who has made a sudden return. And lastly there’s Sitri Smart, the dreadful Alchemist who has followed.” Fixed on the strange instrument in the center of the room, her crimson eyes were ablaze.

The machine was the culmination of Noctus’s research. Despite his exile from the empire and the world of academia, he still had managed to nearly complete this device that interfered with the flow of mana material. This unbelievable piece of technology had restructured the ecosystem of White Wolf’s Den. Noctus considered—compared to this breakthrough—the previous research he conducted as the Master of Magi mere child’s play.

Experimental research on mana material, one of the core elements of the world, was taboo in every nation. The powerful force was treated with reverence, and its inner workings were considered sacred; knowledge of the fundamental truth behind such a thing was reserved for gods alone. Since the days of yore, prophecies had always warned that studying mana material to this extent could cause world-ending devastations.

Now that Noctus had finally reached the first guidepost to the ultimate truth he sought, he wouldn’t stand to lose any more time.

“You know much about Grieving Souls,” remarked Flick incredulously. “So half of them are away from the capital? How did you figure that out?”

Sophia smiled. “I don’t bury my head in research. I’ve my own set of eyes independent of Akashic Tower.”

Their spy in the capital made a face at her words, but Sophia didn’t flinch. Her confidence had convinced the Magi of her claim; the first apprentice, who was talented in everything but spell casting, and who never hesitated to complete her research by any means necessary, could very plausibly have her own spy.

The spy challenged her further, “Are you confident you’ll crush them?”

Utterly unbothered, Sophia answered, “Our defense system is designed to defeat the likes of Grieving Souls—the best treasure hunters in the capital.”

The spy scoffed and said, “It better—after all the money we’ve put into that thing.”

While Akashic Tower was one of the most powerful magic syndicates, their funds were not limitless. The question of how much funding to invest in this defense system had been a contentious topic that, once again, had divided Sophia from the other apprentices.

“The Stifled Shadow is a Thief,” continued Sophia. “She is incredibly fast but not too offensive. She’s easily countered if we prepare against physical attacks. And while the Thousand Tricks has an unfathomable myriad of tricks up his sleeve, he’s only the brains behind the operation—he won’t be a true threat without the full team to bring his leadership to fruition; while many First Steps members are capable hunters, they aren’t good enough for the leadership of the Thousand Tricks.”

“A silver lining it is,” said Noctus. “Then, we must practice caution against...Sitri.”

For the first time since the meeting commenced, Sophia’s expression clouded.

Every experienced Magus in the capital was aware of Sitri Smart, the Alchemist who had formerly gone by the moniker “The Prodigy”; she’d been demoted for a crime she didn’t commit. While Noctus had never met her face-to-face, he’d heard tales of her talent. He’d always felt some sympathy for the Alchemist; perhaps, if she hadn’t been a hunter, he would’ve recruited her for the Tower and they would’ve conducted research together.

Sophia’s hesitation raised the tension in the room, but that only lasted for a moment. “She won’t be a problem. Sitri may be talented, but she operates on a different mindset than ours. Mana material has strengthened her physically, but that’s all. Flick, do you think an Alchemist bound by the laws of the empire can break through a defense system I’ve constructed with no such constraints in mind?”

Flick bit his lip in anger. As a powerful Magus and pursuer of knowledge, he knew full well that no matter how much he outperformed Sophia in pure spell casting, he couldn’t hold a candle to her abilities when it came to research. Despite the protest of his prideful heart, his scientific mind admitted it. Noctus’s research was more in the field of Alchemy, and Sophia possessed extraordinary talent in that area.

“Then why the sour look, Sophia?” asked Noctus.

The first apprentice, with her flaming hair and eyes, uncharacteristically raised her voice and said, “Master! Just like the Thousand Tricks, Sitri is catching on to our existence and research. She has been searching for your research, starting with the thesis you left in the empire.”

Now, Noctus’s expression changed.

Noctus had first dreamed of controlling mana material back when he had been an official member of an academic institution in the capital. He had been young and had made the mistake of expressing his taboo aspirations. That had led to his expulsion from the capital, but he had left his thesis—the starting point of his life’s work—in the possession of said academic institution; it wasn’t a stretch to think a copy of it was kept somewhere.

Sophia, in contrast to her usual demeanor as “the calculating researcher,” was ablaze with emotion, inspiring fear that replaced envy in the other apprentices.

“She’s a nemesis of mine in research; I must destroy her at all costs. Master, allow me to utilize all the resources we’ve created to get rid of the intruders.”

“Very well. You shall have full rein, Sophia, my most skilled apprentice. Flick, everyone, I command you to follow Sophia’s lead. Consider her words mine henceforth.”

“Yes, Master! All in pursuit of your glorious mission,” said Sophia.

An irrepressible glee lit her expression.