Chapter 572 - 568 – THE HUNTER ASSOCIATION AND THE GOLDEN CARD IN THE ADVENTURERS’ HOMETOWN

The golden-orange afternoon sunlight swept across the stone streets of the border city, casting long shadows from the gothic-style buildings along the commercial district. A cool breeze blew gently, carrying the aroma of fresh wheat bread from the bakery and the faint scent of magical machine oil from the weapon workshops.

After finishing her orange juice and cookies at the open café, Sylvia decided to continue her leisurely stroll. She walked with unhurried, elegant steps. Her long jet-black hair gleamed softly under the afternoon light, fluttering gently with every step she took.

On her left shoulder, Sol, the small golden cat that had filled its stomach with roasted meat and sweets, was closing its eyes while occasionally giving a tiny yawn. Meanwhile, on her right shoulder, Noir sat upright with an elegant posture, its pair of purple eyes calmly surveying the surroundings as though the entire city lay within its grasp.

Sylvia’s next destination was the most magnificent building in the center of the middle district: the Black Lotus Branch Headquarters of the Hunter Association.

The building stood firm like a medieval fortress blended with modern magical architecture. Its outer walls were layered with glossy black obsidian stone, decorated with carvings of a blooming lotus with a dragon’s head. Dark-blue silk flags bearing the association’s emblem fluttered proudly at its peak, fitted with protective magic formations that radiated a low-pressure aura to maintain security.

Sylvia ascended the wide white marble stairs toward the gigantic bronze doors of the Association.

The atmosphere inside the main hall was extremely noisy and crowded. Hundreds of hunters of various ranks from bloodstained swordmasters in heavy armor, thick-robed mages, to eagle archers carrying gigantic bows gathered in front of the massive mission boards. However, the focus of most of their conversations was not about monster hunting, but the terrifying phenomenon that had occurred the previous night at the Mayor’s residence.

"Did you hear this morning’s news? Mayor Garmon’s residence was leveled to the ground overnight!" whispered a burly hunter to his companion.

"Not just leveled to the ground, bro! They say a gigantic Shadow Black Dragon descended from the sky! But strangely, not a single guard died. The mayor only suffered bruises and is now reportedly insane from fear!" another hunter replied with a tense face.

"Good riddance! That corrupt mayor deserved a lesson from a Natural Disaster. Ever since he raised the hunting taxes, many small teams nearly starved to death!"

Sylvia curved a thin smile upon hearing the hunters’ whispers. Without caring about the attention of several people who were captivated by her beauty, she walked across the busy main hall toward the magical elevator area that led to the upper floors the material appraisal and VIP transaction zone.

When Sylvia arrived on the second floor, the special area for rare material appraisal and high-class trade, the previously calm atmosphere was suddenly colored by a commotion from one of the open glass rooms.

"I’ve told you many times, you poor boy! This horn is worth at most 500 gold credits! Do you think this slimy swamp trash is high-value?!" the arrogant voice of a slightly plump middle-aged man in official appraiser clothing rang out.

In front of the silver-ornamented appraisal desk stood Elian, the son of the roasted-meat tavern grandfather with a tense face. He tightly gripped his burlap sack containing the Earth Dragon Horn. His armor, already cleaned of mud, still showed traces of monster slashes.

"That’s impossible, Appraiser Vane!" Elian protested firmly, trying to hold back his anger. "This is an intact Earth Dragon Horn from a Rank 5 mutated monster! On the open market, its base price is at least 30,000 credits! Why are you offering it at a garbage price like that?!"

Beside Appraiser Vane stood a handsome young man who radiated an irritating arrogance. The youth wore gem-studded silk armor and carried a gold-engraved fencing sword. He was Julian, the son of the leader of the Golden Trade Guild, a close ally of the Mayor’s faction.

"Enough, low-class hunter," Julian interrupted in a contemptuous tone while twirling a gemstone ring on his finger. "Uncle Vane has already been very generous by giving you 500 credits. The mayor just suffered a disaster, and all high-level material transactions in this city are under my supervision today. Will you accept those 500 credits, or shall I make sure your hunter’s license is revoked and you are arrested on smuggling charges?!"

"Y-You’re deliberately extorting us!" Elian clenched his fists until they turned white. Then he remembered the message from the girl who had saved his father. "Miss Sylvia... Miss Sylvia herself ordered me to bring this material directly to Chief Appraiser Kael! She guaranteed that Master Kael would give a fair price!"

Hearing that name mentioned, Appraiser Vane and Young Master Julian, instead of being afraid, burst into loud laughter while holding their stomachs.

"Stupid subordinate!" Vane’s laughter boomed through the corridor. "Miss Sylvia? Who is that?! Is she a street cook or a whore from the lower district that you met in some shady tavern?! You’re using an unknown foreign name to scare us?!"

"Master Kael is a high-level Executive Logistics Manager!" Julian added with a look full of mockery. "A respectable man like him is currently busy handling an emergency meeting about the dragon incident with the branch leaders! He has no time to meet an earthworm like..."

"Oh? Since when has my name become so unfamiliar in this place?"

A woman’s voice that was extremely calm, cold, and clear cut through their laughter.

The voice was not loud, yet somehow it sliced through the conversation in the corridor like a sharp knife cutting silk. The entire air pressure on the second floor suddenly dropped several degrees, becoming so silent that even the sound of breathing could be clearly heard.

Elian quickly turned toward the source of the voice. His face, previously pale from pressure, was instantly filled with extraordinary relief. "Miss Sylvia!"

Sylvia walked casually toward the appraisal desk. Her long black hair swayed slowly with every movement. Both of her hands were folded casually in front of her chest, while her clear blue eyes regarded Appraiser Vane and Julian with an indifferent gaze like a human looking at two insects on the ground.

Julian, who had initially been captivated by Sylvia’s absolute beauty that he had never seen in his life, quickly regained control of himself. His arrogance as the son of a rich merchant resurfaced.

"You... you are the one named Sylvia?" Julian asked with a disdainful smile, examining Sylvia’s simple casual clothing. "Heh, pretty enough. But little girl like you, who do you belong to? Why are you letting this trash hunter use your name for empty threats in the VIP area of the Hunter Association?"

Sylvia did not answer Julian’s question. She did not even waste energy looking into the youth’s eyes. Instead, her gaze was fixed on Appraiser Vane, who had begun dripping cold sweat for no clear reason.

On Sylvia’s right shoulder, Noir the small black cat opened its pair of purple eyes a little wider.

Sshhh...

On a microscopic scale that only the purest survival instincts could sense, a speck of the majestic pressure of a Primordial Darkness Dragon radiated from the pupils of Noir’s eyes. That pressure did not destroy the room, yet it directly attacked the fear center in the brains of Julian and Vane.

Thud!

Without warning, Young Master Julian’s knees went weak instantly. His body collapsed onto the marble stone floor, his face turned as white as chalk, and his entire body trembled violently as though he had just been dropped into a sea of eternal ice. His breathing was panicked and ragged, his eyes bulging as they stared at the floor without daring to look up.

Appraiser Vane fared no better. The plump man clung tightly to the appraisal desk, his teeth chattering hard from the invisible terror. "W-What is this... what kind of magical pressure..."

"What is this commotion?!"

A heavy and authoritative voice suddenly echoed from the main VIP corridor. A middle-aged man in an expensive black suit with a gold pin shaped like the Black Lotus emblem hurried toward the location. That man was Kael, the Chief Appraiser as well as the Executive Logistics Manager of the Hunter Association branch.

Kael had actually just left an emergency meeting room. Yet the moment he stepped onto the second floor, his high-level magical sensitivity instinct caught an extremely terrifying aura fluctuation, the exact same aura as the energy traces of the mysterious dragon that had destroyed the mayor’s residence the previous night!

Kael quickened his pace, ignoring the cold sweat soaking his shirt. However, the moment his eyes caught the figure of the black-haired girl with two cats on her shoulders standing casually there, all of Kael’s courage and dignity collapsed at once.

He recognized that figure! Although the Central Association concealed the true identity of the expert for world security, photos and S-Class secret warnings regarding the existence of a black-haired girl who carried Disaster had been distributed to every branch manager!

"Y-Your Excellency Miss Sylvia!"

Without the slightest hesitation, in front of the dozens of guards and hunters who stood frozen in confusion, Kael bowed his body to a full ninety degrees, his voice trembling with absolute respect and fear.

"T-This servant Kael, Chief Appraiser of the Black Lotus Branch, begs the greatest forgiveness! We did not know of Your Excellency’s great arrival to this humble place! Please forgive our negligence in welcoming you!"

The scene made everyone in the room freeze like statues.

Appraiser Vane, still trembling behind the desk, felt as though he had been struck by lightning in broad daylight. Young Master Julian, kneeling on the floor, groaned in disbelief. Kael? The most respected man in the commercial district, the man who would not even bow before Mayor Garmon, was now kneeling in respect before a black-haired teenage girl in ordinary clothes?!

"Master Kael..." Appraiser Vane stammered with trembling lips. "Th-This girl... who is she really..."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU STUPID LIAR!" Kael shouted hysterically, turning with a face flushed red from anger and panic.

Kael immediately stood and slammed the appraisal desk until it cracked. "Vane! From this second you are dismissed without honor from the Hunter Association! All your assets are confiscated and you are detained on charges of abuse of authority and corruption! And you, Young Master Julian..." Kael glared at the merchant’s son with a killing gaze. "...all trade contracts of the Golden Guild with the Hunter Association are permanently terminated! Guards, drag both of them out of this building right now!"

Four high-skilled heavy-armor guards immediately moved quickly, dragging the hysterically crying Vane and the already unconscious Julian out of the room.

After the area was cleared, Kael once again bowed his head deeply before Sylvia, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. "M-Miss Sylvia... once again this servant begs forgiveness for the foolishness of my subordinates. Is there anything this servant can do to atone for this sin?"

Sylvia glanced at Elian, who stood awkwardly beside her, then regarded Kael calmly.

"This boy brought the Earth Dragon Horn as I ordered," Sylvia said casually. "Give an honest and fair appraisal without any price games."

"Y-Yes, at once, Miss!" Kael immediately took the burlap sack with both of his own hands as though holding a sacred artifact. He carefully examined the golden horn for ten seconds, then turned toward Elian with an extremely friendly smile.

"A pure, flawless Earth Dragon Horn! The standard market price is 30,000 credits, but because it was presented directly under the recommendation of the Great Miss Sylvia, the Hunter Association will purchase it at a special compensation price of 100,000 Gold Credits! Plus a free Rank Silver VIP Hunter Badge!"

Elian listened to that number with ragged breathing. One hundred thousand gold credits?! That was an enormous amount of money, enough to buy ten luxurious taverns in the middle district and guarantee his father’s life for five generations!

"Th-Thank you so much, Master Kael! Thank you so much, Miss Sylvia!" Elian knelt and bowed his head repeatedly, tears of emotion dripping onto the marble floor.

"Take your money and return to your father’s tavern. Study hard so you will not be easily oppressed by others again," Sylvia praised softly, waving her hand for Elian to stand.

After Elian completed his transaction and left overflowing with gratitude, Kael very politely invited Sylvia into the Executive VIP Room on the topmost floor of the building, a luxurious room opened only for royal envoys or kings of neighboring countries.

Inside the quiet VIP Room with a direct view of the entire city landscape, Sylvia sat leaning back on a soft leather sofa. On the glass table in front of her, Kael served the most expensive spirit-herbal tea and various magical fruit snacks that Sol immediately gobbled up with joy.

"Miss Sylvia," Kael said extremely carefully while standing beside the table, not daring to sit until permitted. "Is there any special matter that has made you gracious enough to visit our Association today?"

Sylvia sipped her warm tea, enjoying the calming aroma of magical jasmine, then set the cup back down.

"I intend to continue my journey to the Kingdom’s Capital in a few days," Sylvia answered casually. "I want to know what the best transportation options the Association has for travel there."

Kael’s eyes sparkled. He immediately took a sandalwood box from the iron safe in the corner of the room and opened it carefully. Inside the box lay two sheets of clear crystal cards layered with golden carvings that radiated high-level spatial aura.

"Miss Sylvia, you have come at a perfect time!" Kael explained with full enthusiasm. "Four days from now, the Central Association will operate the Executive Magical Airship ’Golden Gryphon’ the most luxurious and fastest flying-ship fleet that directly crosses a special aerial route non-stop to the Kingdom’s Capital. A journey that usually takes one month by land will only take two days with this ship!"

Kael took the two crystal tickets and presented them on the table in front of Sylvia. "These are two Royal VIP Suite class tickets to the highest-level private rooms at the peak of that flying ship. The ship is equipped with royal-class chefs, a magical swimming pool, and full protection from aerial monster disturbances."

Sylvia looked at the luxurious crystal tickets. Four days from now... That departure time suited her plans perfectly! She could spend the remaining four days of her rental at the Silver Tower apartment relaxing, then board the airship directly without needing to waste time or struggle walking through the forest.

"How much are these two tickets?" Sylvia asked directly.

"O-Oh! No need to pay, Miss!" Kael immediately waved his hands in panic. "Consider this a small gift from the Black Lotus Branch Hunter Association for the honor of your visit! We dare not accept money from..."

"Kael," Sylvia interrupted with a flat yet heavily emphasized voice that immediately silenced Kael. "I do not like owing favors to mortal organizations. I buy what I need. How much is the price?"

From within her system inventory dimension, Sylvia took out her black-gold VIP Access Card. The card was made of unstructured darkness crystal, combined with pure gold carvings that radiated the highest-level financial authorization emblem across the entire continent.

Seeing that card, Kael’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. The Unlimited Black-Gold Card?! A card owned by fewer than five people in the entire world, the highest leaders of the World Central Bank and the continental rulers!

"Th-The price is... 50,000 gold credits for both Royal VIP tickets, Miss..." Kael answered in a squeaky, frightened voice, no longer daring to argue.

Sylvia nodded in satisfaction. She offered her card toward the high-level magical credit-processing terminal machine on Kael’s desk.

Beep... Ting!

The magical terminal screen blinked brightly with a sparkling green color. A successful transaction notification immediately appeared, deducting 50,000 credits from Sylvia’s card balance without reducing its main value in the slightest. Sylvia took her card back and stored it into the storage dimension with a casual motion.

"Besides that..." Sylvia continued, glancing toward her two cats who were enjoying the spirit fruits. "I heard the Association has a storage room for exotic food ingredients. Do you have high-rank monster meat or rare cooking materials?"

"Of course there are, Miss!" Kael responded promptly. "We just received a supply of Rank 6 Mutated Snow Beef and Ancient Ice Crystal Fruits from the northern mountains this morning! This servant will order the staff to wrap the entire fresh supply for you to take home free of charge. I mean, this servant will deduct the price from the earlier transaction discount!" Kael quickly added when he saw the furrow on Sylvia’s brow.

Sylvia smiled faintly. "Good. Send all those cooking ingredients directly to the main suite room at the Silver Tower apartment under my name."

"Ready, executed this very second, Your Excellency Miss!" Kael bowed respectfully.

The sun had fully set beyond the western horizon when Sylvia stepped out of the Hunter Association headquarters. The night sky of the border city was now adorned with thousands of brightly twinkling stars, framed by the magical street lamps that began lighting up one by one.

This afternoon’s journey had been extremely productive. Sylvia had not only settled Elian’s matter and secured high-class cooking ingredients for her apartment’s chef, but she had also obtained luxurious airship flight tickets to the Kingdom’s Capital that would depart in four days.

Sylvia walked leisurely along the cooling night streets. Sol slept soundly on her shoulder after stuffing itself with VIP spirit fruits, while Noir leapt down from her shoulder and walked elegantly beside Sylvia’s feet, following her like a loyal protective shadow.

"A pleasant morning until evening," Sylvia murmured softly while gazing at the city landscape from atop a stone bridge. "Now all that remains is to enjoy the remaining four days of vacation in that luxurious apartment before the real show begins in the capital."

Noir looked upward, its purple eyes glittering softly under the night’s darkness, responding with a soft purr of agreement.