Chapter 48: Real ’Training’ Part One

Nathan watched Cashel admire the mask in his hand, his expression still stuck somewhere between confusion and suspicion.

That expression hadn’t changed much since he’d arrived. Nathan almost felt sorry for him.

Along with the confusion, he’d be walking a path against one of the world’s second-largest enemies, that was if Eclipse didn’t get to him before the entire world did.

’That would actually be quite terrible,’ he thought with a smile.

The poor guy had spent most of his time thinking BMM was simply a place where people accepted contracts, killed targets, collected money, and went home.

Now he was slowly discovering that the organization was considerably larger than the neat little box he’d placed it in.

And judging by the way Cashel was staring at the equipment, he still hadn’t understood half of it.

Nathan pushed his glasses higher on his nose. "You’re thinking too much."

Cashel looked at him and frowned. "That’s because everything you’re telling me makes less sense the more I hear."

Nathan laughed. "Good. You’re learning."

Cashel rolled his eyes and placed the jester mask back into its case.

Nathan turned toward the others.

"Everyone finished?"

Amia nodded, fastening the last piece of her equipment around her waist. The three BMM hunters stood by the door, checking their weapons and equipment.

He then glanced toward the ceiling camera. "We’re ready."

"Take them to Training Ground Three."

Nathan nodded and led everyone to another area behind another large door. The moment they stepped inside, the sounds of loud crashes and explosions came from all corners.

What came into view was an entire landscape.

Cashel frowned, instinctively reaching to touch his case, but the weapon case was still in the other room. He exhaled and shifted his focus back to the place.

The entire training room was littered with rocks, huge rocks that reached as high as the ceiling, nearly touching it. There were a few trees and broken walls scattered throughout the area.

It was almost like a replica of a forest and an abandoned city.

"You’ll be training yourself on your speed, endurance, and accuracy," Nathan said, gesturing toward the unaffiliated hunters currently sparring with a large BMM hunter who wore a gold mask similar to Lionface’s.

Two of the unaffiliated hunters were standing on top of one of the rocks, clearly battered from the fight.

Cashel felt a smile crawl up his face almost immediately at the sight of the fight down below.

Nathan then walked over to a bench and lowered himself onto it. He pulled off his shoes, slipped on a pair of white socks, and switched to a pair of hard-soled boots.

Cashel narrowed his eyes at him. "Does that..."

Nathan grinned. "Yes, it does." ℯℯ𝑙.

The red spot in his eyes glowed softly at that moment.

Cashel simply shook his head and made his way to the untouched side of the large training area. He and the BMM hunters descended the stairs, muttering amongst themselves.

Cashel’s gaze lingered on the wolf mask. He recognized him immediately. This was the same man who had appeared in his car and brought him to BMM.

The man then slowed his steps until he was walking beside Cashel and turned to him.

"You’re staring an awful lot, Cashel."

The man whispered his name, and Cashel couldn’t help smiling behind his mask.

"You’re the guy who appeared in my car that day, right?"

The man chuckled softly and nodded. "You sound very pleased."

Cashel shrugged. "What can I do? It’s not every time you find people you can relate with in your workplace."

He said it as they both took a turn and made their way to the opposite side of the area, while Amia and the other two went the other way.

"How’s your wife doing?" the man asked.

Cashel narrowed his eyes behind his mask. As though reading his hesitation, the man laughed again and shook his head.

"Please don’t mind me. I’m the only active hunter around, aside from Amia, who knows everything about you."

He tilted his head.

"I’m actually Nathan’s student."

Cashel muttered an "Oh."

Before Cashel could respond, Nathan made his way to the center of the field at the same time a wall rose, separating the field between the unaffiliated hunters and the BMM hunters.

Cashel narrowed his eyes at him. Nathan had a small bell in his hands, an oddly familiar bell.

Nathan, however, slipped the bell into his pocket and smiled.

He carefully removed his glasses. The second they left his face, his bright expression turned cold. Heavy black bags sat underneath his eyes, giving him a rather unapproachable look instead of the jolly doctor he had been moments ago.

His eyes darkened until the red in them faded completely, and some of the black in his hair expanded, taking up a large part of the blond area. Then, a red cross appeared in place of the red spot.

Cashel, who could see everything from where he stood, watched in amusement.

Nathan lowered his head and looked at his glasses.

’System.’

His System screen appeared before him.

[Command Received]

[Pulling Up Player’s Seal]

[Would you like to remove the seal or release a skill?]

"Nathan..." Lionface’s voice came through the comms.

Nathan glanced toward the speaker, then at the camera beside it, and smiled. "I’m fine. Relax."

Then he turned back to his glasses, still in his hands.

"Release one," he muttered under his breath, and the System screen flickered.

[Releasing Skill]

Instantly, the mana inside the training ground shifted, and a faint pressure rolled across the battlefield from Nathan. The other BMM hunters on Amia’s side instinctively reached for their weapons.

Cashel narrowed his eyes further. He felt goosebumps before the energy even spread. He could feel it, and it felt downright exciting but terrifying at the same time, despite how small it was.

’This bastard...’ he thought, laughing softly. ’S-Rank my foot. That is definitely not the kind of energy a human being should be releasing.’

And yet, it only made Cashel even more excited.

Lionface’s voice returned through the comms. "Alright, BMM hunters, are you ready?"

Cashel’s eyes slowly moved toward the roof area and straight to an observation deck, where he saw a faint gold silhouette behind the glass. Then he smiled.

"You will be provided with weapons." As he spoke, another individual wearing a gold mask made their way down the stairs, holding a weapon case.

"Your goal is to tire Nathan out and subdue him, if you can. But please watch his face." He chuckled softly. "I wouldn’t want anything touching his face. That can’t be fixed... or replaced."

Nathan laughed softly in response as he slipped his glasses back on and let out a sigh.

"This is my first time taking one of these out to fight," he said with a small shudder. "Hey, I’m going to need medical help after this."

"Is it that serious?" Lionface responded.

Nathan nodded, completely ignoring the other hunters watching them with confused expressions.

The question was... ’What exactly is this?’ Cashel wondered, noting the sudden changes in their tones and the strangely casual way they interacted.

Whatever was going on between the two, Amia and the wolf-masked hunter clearly weren’t surprised.

Which somehow made it even more suspicious.

"Alright, everyone, please go easy on Nathan and use only the weapons given to you and only two abilities or none."

Lionface paused briefly.

"Don’t bother using the rest. They’ll be useless... unfortunately."

"Now, go!"