Chapter 31: S Rank Hunter

Kael touched the swollen side of his face while the clerk brought out a registration form. His cheek still hurt from the fight, but he tried not to let it bother him. He had come to the Hunter Association to register as a hunter, and he didn’t want an argument with five F-rank hunters to ruin everything before he even got started.

"Before we continue, will that fight affect my registration?" Kael asked.

The clerk glanced toward the other side of the lobby, where two security officers were helping the injured hunters to their feet. One of the men was holding his jaw, while another continued arguing with a security officer and insisting that Kael had attacked them without a reason.

"No, it won’t," the clerk assured him. "As long as you cooperate with the investigation, there shouldn’t be a problem with your application."

"Good," Kael replied.

The clerk hesitated before lowering her voice. "Honestly, those guys cause trouble all the time. They’re F-rank hunters, and they’ve been F-rank for years. Instead of improving themselves, they spend their time picking on newcomers and ordinary people who come here to register."

Kael glanced at the five men. Their current situation made the clerk’s explanation believable, although he hadn’t expected hunters to behave like street thugs inside their own Association.

The clerk sighed before continuing. "They think being hunters makes them better than everyone else. They bully beginners because they know most people won’t fight back. Sometimes, they even demand money from newly registered hunters. We’ve reported them several times, but they always find some excuse to get away with it."

"So this happens often?" Kael asked.

"More often than it should," the clerk admitted.

She pushed the registration form toward him and offered him a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry. Your application won’t be rejected because of this. In fact, the Association will probably be happy that someone finally stood up to them."

Kael picked up the pen and prepared to fill in the required information. Before he could write anything, however, a man’s voice came from behind him.

"Is that so?" the man asked.

The clerk immediately straightened her back, and Kael turned around to see who had spoken.

A tall man stood several steps away from the counter. He wore a dark combat coat with a silver badge attached to his chest. His black hair was cut short, and a faint scar ran from his left temple toward his cheekbone. His appearance wasn’t particularly flashy, but the surrounding hunters had stopped talking as soon as they noticed him. Even the security officers looked in his direction.

The man glanced toward the five F-rank hunters before giving an order. "Take those idiots away. I’ll deal with their reports later."

"Yes, sir!" one of the security officers replied.

The officers quickly obeyed and began leading the injured hunters away.

Once they were gone, the man turned his attention to Kael. "You’re the one who knocked that fellow across the lobby?"

Kael nodded. "Yes, I am."

"How long have you been a hunter?" the man asked.

"I haven’t registered yet," Kael answered.

The man’s eyebrows rose in surprise. "You haven’t registered yet?"

"No," Kael confirmed.

The man studied Kael for several seconds before letting out a short laugh. "Interesting."

Kael wasn’t sure what was interesting about getting punched in the face, but he decided not to ask.

The man turned toward the clerk. "Finish his registration. I’ll handle his assessment."

The clerk looked surprised by his decision. "Sir, you’re personally taking his assessment?"

"Is there a problem?" the man asked.

"No, sir!" the clerk answered quickly.

Kael looked between them before asking the question that had been bothering him. "Sorry, but who exactly are you?"

The man gave him a sideways glance. "Marcus Vale. I’m a senior combat instructor for the Hunter Association."

Marcus paused briefly before adding, "And before you ask, yes, I’m a hunter too."

Kael glanced at the silver badge attached to Marcus’s coat. He hadn’t seen one like it before, but judging by the way everyone treated the man, Marcus clearly wasn’t an ordinary member of the Association.

"Come with me when you’re finished with the form," Marcus instructed. "I want to see whether that punch was luck or something worth examining."

Kael looked down at the registration papers. He had expected questions, forms, and perhaps a simple test. He certainly hadn’t expected to get into a fight before registering, much less attract the attention of a senior combat instructor.

Still, he had already come this far, so he filled in the required information.

A few minutes later, the clerk returned his identification card and checked the details one final time.

"Your preliminary registration is complete," she explained. "You’ll receive your official hunter rank after the assessment."

She handed him a small card bearing his name and a temporary identification number.

"There’s one more step before the combat assessment," the clerk added. "You’ll need to undergo a potential appraisal. Please follow the instructor to the appraisal room."

Marcus nodded toward the corridor. "Come along."

Kael slipped the card into his pocket and followed him. As they walked away, he heard someone whispering behind him.

"That guy is going to have a rough day," one hunter remarked.

Another hunter chuckled before replying, "At least he won’t be bored."

Kael pretended not to hear either comment. He had a feeling they weren’t talking about the five F-rank hunters anymore.

====

The appraisal room was located on the second floor, behind a set of security doors. Unlike the crowded lobby, the room was quiet, with several clerks sitting behind desks and a few people waiting beside a large stone pedestal in the middle.

A smooth, oval-shaped stone rested on top of the pedestal. It was about the size of a human head, and faint lines ran across its grey surface.

Kael looked at the stone before turning to Marcus. "What’s that?"

"That’s the Hunter Appraisal Stone," Marcus explained. "It measures the energy in your body and gives us an initial estimate of your rank. It isn’t perfect, but it’s useful for identifying a person’s general potential."