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BLAIR

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Episode 7

“Here you go.” Yuki handed a note of currency to the driver that lent them a ride.

“Thank you.” The middle aged man replied.

“Safe travels.” Yuki said lastly before the man sped away with his carriage pulled by a dinosaur looking creature.

“Even the carriages are pulled by raptors…” Matthew muttered by himself.

“Matt, are you really sure about this?” Rose asked him in a whisper.

“Yes, don’t you understand how cool it would be to throw fire or water out of your hand?” Matthew said.

“I understand, but do ‘you’ understand how dangerous it is?”

“Of course I do. I don’t just throw myself anywhere without thinking, you know?” Matthew proudly pointed at himself with his thumb.

“I am doubting that.”

“Huh… Look Rose, if that’s not enough of a reason, here’s another; I ain’t just gonna sit around and wait for a miracle to happen. If I become a Hunter, I can venture about in this world while looking for a way to get back home. You get me?”

Rose flinched after hearing Matthew’s answer. She had never thought of it that way. She did not retort, however, she was still worried.

“Okay, let’s head in shall we?” Yuki interrupted the two.

“Yes!” Matthew answered without delay.

Rose only stared at Matthew with concern, but Matthew reassured her.

“Relax Rose, I won’t die or anything. I promise, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“... I still doubt that but… Hah… You’re so stubborn.” Rose could not go with his attitude now. At this point, it’s useless.

PSST!

The doors slid open smoothly as soon as they approached it.

“Whoa, an automatic door?”

“It functions by detecting motion in a magic field that it emits.”

“Similar to infrared motion sensors.”

Just like the bar they were at before, there was a receptionist waiting behind the counter except that there were ten of them. Most of them were lined with people carrying weapons and clad in armour and fancy looking clothing. People like these were also at the bar before. Matthew saw a few new races in the crowd.

“Welcome to the Hunter Association Headquarters~ How may I help you?” The young woman politely said.

“Listen, this guy wants to be a Hunter, sign him up for the academy.” Yuki said.

“Ah, I see. Then please place your hand over this magic item.” The receptionist stood up and pointed at the orb that was held above the counter by a four-legged ring around it. Below it, she placed an empty card.

Matthew did as he was told and placed his above the orb. Once he did, the orb glowed slightly.

“Whoa~”

The orb then shot out a laser like beam out of its bottom and engraved something on the card, like a printer.

“This thing will automatically read everything about you. Once it does, it will print out all the necessary data onto this card.” Yuki explained.

“I see.”

After a few more seconds, the orb stopped glowing. The receptionist then grabbed the card and inspected it.

“Matthew Dragunov is it?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Okay then, here you go.” The receptionist handed the card to Matthew. “This card shows that you are a non-licensed Hunter yet. A licensed Hunter are those with the official tags. You may work your way up to pass the exam within the period of time the card is active which is two years.”

“Alright, this will be important then.” Matthew stored it away in his pocket.

“That is all, you may spend the time to train and grow before entering an exam. Do you have any further questions?”

“Ah yes actually, I see there are different colours of the tags, what do they mean?”

“The colours show their ranks. Starting from the bottom is Cadet-black, Newbie-purple, Rookie-red, Novice-blue, Experienced-green, Seasoned-yellow, Veteran-white, Champion-bronze, Ace-silver and finally Legendary-gold. Ten ranks in all.

There are a few ways to earn your ranks. Usually one would start from the bottom and make their way up by doing quests. Some aced the exam and got an upper rank right off the bat. Some earn points by contributing to the community by financial or military means.”

“I see. I get it now. So I either have to work my way up or ace the test somehow.” Matthew nodded a few times.

“Yes, are there any more questions you want to ask?” The receptionist asked in confirmation.

“Hmm I don’t think so.”

“Well, then I wish you the best of lu-”

“Wait.” Rose suddenly cut off the receptionist. “I… I also would like to be a Hunter.”

This sudden turn of events shocked Matthew the most.

“Rose, I thought you said you didn’t want to because it’s dangerous.” Matthew immediately questioned her actions.

“I know what I said. It is dangerous, but… Having a companion is good while adventuring right? And besides, about what you said. I’m not gonna wait for a miracle either nor do I want to let you go find the answer alone, cause it’s faster with two, right?” Rose smiled softly with her eyebrows curled and a red face. In heart, she was definitely embarrassed about this.

Matthew did not pick up on these details, but he understood her intention as a friend.

“Well I’ll be. You’re right, doing it alone is quite lonely. Good to know I’ll have some company. Looks like you’re a softy once in a while huh?” He blurted out.

“Sh-shut up!”

“Ahahaha I’m just kidding.”

Yuki only watched in silence as the two made a little commotion.

‘I feel like something great is gonna happen with these two.’

…..

The three of them walked back out of the headquarters and hit the streets. The place was bustling with people of all races.

“What now?” Matthew asked without pointing the question to anyone.

“You tell me.” Rose replied.

“What do you think, Yuki?”

Yuki put a finger on her chin and looked at the sky. “Well… As the receptionist said, you should start training to pass the exam.”

“How often do the exams take place?”

“Once every year.”

“Is that so. Then, how should we go about training?” Matthew asked again.

“Hmm I have a colleague that might be able to help you.” Yuki said with a smile.

…..

CLING! CLING! CLING!

The doorbell rang as the door swung open.

“Welcome, how may I help you?” A female elf with beautiful blonde hair, long pointy ears, a pair of blues and was clad in high-quality and fancy clothing of blue and yellow turned around to greet her customers. She held a clipboard in her left arm and a pen in her right hand.

“Yo, long time no see Layla.” Yuki greeted her with one hand up.

“Ahh! Yukiki!!” The elf, Layla, jumped into a tight hug with Yuki.

“Hahaha! Good to see you too. How’s business going?” Yuki pushed Layla away lightly and asked.

“It’s been going well. What about you? What rank are you now?”

“Still Seasoned. I haven’t been doing a lot lately.”

“Oh~ That’s not so bad Yukiki. I’m sure you’ll rank up soon. Hm?” Layla noticed the two people that were behind Yuki. “Who are these two? Your new party?”

“Eh, no. I just came across them in the forest.”

“Oh? In the forest?”

“It’s a long story. Anyways, guys, this is Layla. She’s a close friend of mine since I became a Hunter a few years ago.” Yuki gestured with her hand at Layla.

“Nice to meet you~” Layla said.

“Nice to meet you too. I’m Matthew.” Matthew had to look up a bit in order to look at her face. ‘She’s really tall’.

“I’m Rose.”

“Matthew and Rose, okay. So what brings you here? Perhaps you want to buy a few magic items? A potion perhaps? Or even a new weapon?” It seems that Layla was now in business mode.

“Thank you, but no thank you. I want to ask a favour.” Yuki said.

“A favour?”

“These two wants to get some training going. Think you can handle that?” Yuki asked.

“Training? I see, yes of course, however, it will cost you a bit.”

“I came prepared.”

“Good then. I will contact my clients later, you all should get going. Yuki, you know where, right?”

“I do.”

“Great then! The total will be 150 000 Bytes.”

“Here you go.” Yuki handed the money to Layla.

“Thank you! And by the way, are you really not going to buy anything?”

“No thank you. See you later Layla.” Yuki had already started walking out of the store.

“Come again soon!” Layla waved happily at them.