Chapter 30: Mainlands and Outlands Part 1

A day had passed after the trial mission and the dungeon clearing, with Andeen receiving her usual payment of $10,000 for the job.

Cashel, as usual, wasn’t surprised by the mediocre amount, since that was the same thing given to the First Division commander and the other soldiers.

It was almost ironic how stupid it seemed.

Somehow, he wasn’t as offended as before, since he also got his own base payment of $10,000.

He stared at the money displayed on his phone for several seconds before sighing.

Ten thousand dollars.

For entering a dungeon with a literal death card over his head, keeping his class and stats suppressed if not for the extra cards, fighting an S-rank awakener who couldn’t even be considered a proper S-rank, nearly getting his bones broken, and capturing a C-ranked beast alive while helping clear an entire dungeon.

Ten thousand.

Cashel stared at the amount for several seconds, then he leaned back against the chair, both hands resting beside him, one holding his phone and the other a stick of cigarette.

"I’m starting to understand why most awakened people work unaffiliated. This is just highway robbery."

Amia, sitting across from him, barely looked up from her phone as she placed her cup of coffee on the table. "This is just your first day as a BMM member. That was just a trial."

"And?"

"And you’re already complaining about the payments," she laughed softly. "You really think it’s going to remain like this?"

Amia, real name Mia Ouyang. It didn’t take Cashel long to find that out, because he didn’t even have to bother about it.

After the mission, he was called back to the BMM building for a brief briefing and was told he would work with Amia and another hunter once they were ready, as a team.

He was indifferent about it, especially because he was told his tasks would be handled alone and they’d only be on standby or on their own missions around the same area.

He also discovered her identity and the face beneath the mask, and it was safe to say he hadn’t expected it.

Cashel lifted his head, dragged a bit from the cigarette and let the smoke out through the corners of his lips before looking at her.

She had long shiny and luscious black hair, and he noticed she always tied it in a messy bun with a few strands over her face.

She had beautiful silvery-green eyes that seemed dull until she was using her abilities, which he still had no idea what they were, neither did he know what her rank was.

She had a small beauty mark underneath her eyes, and pale skin that had a few flushed areas on her elbows, knees, her face and ears.

And she was only a few inches below him after taking off her heels.

She was beautiful in a sharper, more mature way than Andeen. Where Andeen possessed an almost ethereal beauty, Mia’s features carried a mischievous edge that made it difficult to tell whether she was flirting or preparing to stab someone.

"It’s a valid complaint," he straightened up and leaned against the table. "Tell me, how much do you make?"

Amia raised a brow. She looked up at him, her eyes dimming softly as she gazed at him, then she tilted her head and smiled. "What do you think? I’m a special hunter. You don’t expect me to get anything more than twenty thousand."

Cashel’s brows curved downwards, and an irritated expression appeared on his face. "Special hunter implies you’re doing more dangerous stuff. Why are you getting paid so little?"

A mischievous smirk appeared on her red-tinted lips. Then she picked up her coffee mug again, raising it to her lips as she grinned. "Because I get a lot more directly from the clients."

Cashel narrowed his eyes. "You’re kidding. That’s allowed? Wait, we could do jobs outside the military?"

"Of course. Why do you think the BMM is a legitimate organisation? Our net worth rivals SAMD, but they get treated like trash because they are stagnant," she shrugged and took a sip from her cup. "Andeen would do beautifully in BMM, but I’m not sure her sponsors would let that," she laughed softly. "She’s being dragged back so bad, I almost feel sorry."

Cashel said nothing.

There it was again.

That strange implication that Andeen belonged to someone other than herself. He knew she had history with the military. He knew Commander Theo and Gerald were connected to that history somehow.

But every time someone mentioned it, they stopped just short of telling him the truth.

He hated that.

He wondered, if he had met her when she was still younger and maybe before she lost her sight, like he heard, maybe things would be different?

He leaned back and looked outside the window.

They were currently on the fifteenth floor of one of the BMM buildings near the barracks and where Andeen worked. It was a building disguised as a restaurant and café, but it was actually where BMM hunters met up to hang out safely.

He was alone in a booth with Amia, with their masks beside their plates.

The city from that height was larger than he had imagined. The huge billboard across the road displayed the report of the dungeon they cleared just the day before and everything that went down.

With the division’s images taken there.

Andeen stood beside Commander Theo, in her usual cold demeanour, probably showing her discomfort towards being close with him, and the old guy just smiled.

Behind Andeen, holding her staff like a baseball bat, was her deputy, and everyone seemed happy.

General Rain’s profile at the top of the whole report looked entirely different. A serious expression, fiery red eyes, and in the uniform, worn properly this time.

He almost smiled just seeing that, but his eyes quickly darkened when the image switched to Gerald’s.

(Deputy Commander Gerald Jones missing in action.)

That was the headline, and the only thing beside his profile was the crushed crystal.

His mind then went back to the pair of eyes that he had caught staring at him. Not only was it creepy, but for some reason he felt like he was still being watched.

He tried to ignore it, but honestly he was curious and eager to find out who had those eyes and why they were interested in him.

He still had a lot to do, and it had multiplied after awakening. He still hadn’t met up with Nathan either.

’Good riddance,’ he thought before turning back to Amia, who had returned to her phone.

"Have you ever been outside the country before?" he suddenly asked as he put out his cigarette in an ashtray and got up.

Amia paused. She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "The first fight we had," he began as he reached for his mask. A new mask, with a voice changer and a crow carved into it. "The hunter from the military. I heard he was from abroad."

Amia hummed thoughtfully. She picked up her cup and downed all the contents with a satisfied exhale, then she reached for her mask. "Yes, the mainlands... or Europe, to be precise."

Cashel nodded. ’So that exists here too,’ he noted that and continued. "Is that a continent or..."

Amia shook her head, also rising to her feet. "I wouldn’t call it a continent. That word couldn’t be used to describe the world right now," she chuckled softly and pulled her coat over her shoulders while Cashel held the door open.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Cashel took his jacket from the door handle and pulled the door shut before taking a brief glance around the large space.

There were other booths, and many were occupied for rather sensual reasons. He just smiled and shook his head before following Amia.

"What happened to them?" he asked as he reached into his pocket to take out a phone to send a text to Andeen.

"Well, the major organisations and supreme awakeners decided to—uhm... what’s the word? Colonise?"

Cashel laughed softly and shook his head. "I’d say break and merge?"

"Yeah, that," she reached into her coat’s breast pocket and took out a stick of cigarette, then she lit it with the furnace they walked by. "After the old governments collapsed, the major organizations and the strongest awakened factions divided the remaining territories between themselves."

Cashel raised a brow. "Divided?"

"Into four major regions," She held up four fingers. "The East belongs primarily to the BMM. The West is controlled by the military under the Supreme General. The North falls under SAMD influence, although they’re technically allied with the military...," she paused and turned towards the reception area.

The staff there waved at her joyfully, sending greetings and even calling her over. She just smiled, waved back aand continued walking.

"The South and East. The leaders are not particularly fond of each other, especially since they were once close," she said and looked at him. "Eclipse and BMM."