Chapter 226: S-Rank Problems.

Kael retrieved the reward box he had received for his exceptional performance on the Boss Floor and immediately stored it inside his inventory without even sparing it a second glance.

Whatever was inside could wait. He had spent enough time in the Tower for one day, and right now, there was only one thing he wanted.

Home.

Kael closed his eyes and willed himself to leave the Tower. The familiar sensation immediately enveloped his body. The pink walls of the Start Room blurred before his eyes, his surroundings dissolving into a distorted haze before everything suddenly snapped back into focus.

He was home.

Kael barely had time to register the familiar walls of his room before a sound reached his ears.

Rain.

Heavy rain hammered against the window, countless droplets striking the glass in a steady downpour. The sound filled the room with a constant, muffled rhythm, while beyond the window, the outside world had practically disappeared beneath a curtain of water. The sky was dark and gloomy despite it still being relatively early, thick clouds hanging overhead as though night had decided to arrive ahead of schedule.

Kael turned his head toward the window and simply stood there.

After everything that had happened inside the Tower, the ordinary sound of rainfall felt strangely peaceful.

Kael remained still for a while, listening to the water beat against the glass. His shoulders gradually relaxed as he allowed himself to bask in the quiet atmosphere. It was almost strange how something so mundane could feel so comforting after spending so much time surrounded by danger.

Eventually, however, Kael snapped himself out of it.

He had more important things to deal with.

First, he needed to clean himself up.

Kael reached for the damaged combat suit and began stripping it from his body, revealing the countless injuries scattered across his skin.

By now, most of the wounds had already healed thanks to the healing potion and his naturally strong regenerative ability, leaving behind little more than faint traces of the damage he had suffered. Unfortunately, neither had done anything about the dried blood covering nearly every part of his body.

He glanced toward the mirror.

For several seconds, Kael simply stared at his reflection.

"What a sight."

Kael sighed as he looked himself over.

If anyone suddenly walked into the room and saw him standing there like this, they would probably assume they had just stumbled upon some psychopath who had spent the entire day murdering people.

With another sigh, Kael turned away from the mirror and headed toward the bathroom.

The shower was exactly what he needed.

He took his sweet time cleaning himself, allowing the hot water to wash away the layers of dried blood that had accumulated across his body. The reddish water slowly disappeared down the drain as Kael scrubbed himself clean, taking considerably longer than he normally would.

Once he was finally satisfied, Kael dried himself and left the bathroom before changing into a set of ordinary house clothes. Afterward, he sat down on his bed and reached for his phone.

The moment he unlocked it, his expression changed.

Notifications flooded the screen.

Message after message had accumulated while he was inside the Tower, enough that Kael’s brows immediately furrowed. He scrolled through them for a few seconds before gradually realizing what had happened.

"Well, this is quite troublesome."

Kael had almost forgotten just how much attention an S-Rank Hunter could attract.

A large portion of the notifications came from various individuals, businessmen, and organizations attempting to establish some kind of connection with him. Some wanted to invite him to private gatherings, others wanted to discuss potential partnerships, while a few were simply trying to get acquainted with him.

How they had even gotten his contact information was something Kael didn’t know.

He wasn’t particularly interested in finding out either.

There were also several messages from banks informing him about changes to his accounts, including various upgrades and offers. With billions of credits now sitting in his accounts, it seemed the banks had suddenly decided that Kael was someone worth treating very carefully.

Kael couldn’t help but massage his forehead as he scrolled through everything.

He was beginning to understand those ridiculously wealthy characters in movies and television shows who always seemed to have personal assistants following them around.

Being rich really did come with its own set of headaches.

Kael ignored most of the notifications and continued scrolling until he finally found something that actually mattered.

A message from Lyra.

Kael opened it.

> Hey, I knocked on your door earlier, but it seems you already went to the Tower. Anyways, I’ll be going shopping with Ezra and might return pretty late. Oh, by the way, you received a delivery. It’s some documents inside an envelope. It looks important and official, so I kept it in the living room.

Kael’s brows furrowed.

Documents?

Who would send him anything?

There were only a few possibilities that came to mind, but Kael didn’t bother dwelling on them. If the envelope was sitting in the living room, he could simply check it later and satisfy his curiosity.

He continued reading.

Then immediately regretted it.

> By the way, try not to invite your little girlfriend over while I’m gone. Wink wink.

Kael’s eye twitched.

He stared at the message for several seconds before slowly lowering the phone.

"Lyra is becoming more mischievous by the day."

There wasn’t much he could do about it.

With a resigned sigh, Kael shifted to the remaining notifications. Thankfully, there wasn’t anything particularly important among them. After quickly skimming through the rest, he exited the messaging application and navigated through his phone until he opened his mail.

There was one thing he needed to take care of.

His armor.

The combat suit had taken quite a beating inside the Tower, and while it was still functional, Kael wasn’t foolish enough to continue using damaged equipment when he had access to people capable of repairing it properly.

He opened a new mail and contacted the Spectre Guild, informing them that his armor required repairs.

The reply came shortly afterward, informing Kael that someone would be sent over soon to collect the armor and take it back to the guild for repairs.

Kael read the message before nodding to himself.

"Good."

Kael placed his phone down on the bed before slowly rising to his feet and making his way toward the door. He opened it a moment later and stepped outside.

The apartment was unusually quiet.

With no one else home, there was nothing to interrupt the soft rhythm of the rain outside. Kael glanced toward the living room and immediately spotted the thick brown envelope resting on the table.

Still, Kael wasn’t in any particular rush.

The fight inside the Tower had completely drained him, and now that he was back in the safety of his apartment, the exhaustion he’d been ignoring was beginning to catch up with him. More importantly, he was hungry. Very hungry.

Whatever was inside that envelope could wait a little longer.

Kael changed direction and headed toward the kitchen, where he quickly prepared himself a heavy meal, making sure there was enough to fill his empty stomach. It didn’t take long before everything was ready, and Kael sat down to eat, focusing entirely on the food in front of him.

Once he had finished eating, Kael cleaned everything up before finally making his way toward the living room.

His eyes immediately fell upon the envelope.

Kael walked over to the table and picked it up, turning it over in his hands as he inspected it more carefully. It was thick, made from sturdy brown material, and the Hunter Association’s logo was clearly stamped into one of its corners.

"It really does look official."

But the logo wasn’t the only thing that caught his attention.

There was a faint magical fluctuation coming from the envelope.

Kael narrowed his eyes as he examined the seal placed across its opening. He recognized it almost immediately as a rather expensive secrecy enchantment, the kind used to ensure that sensitive information reached its intended recipient without being intercepted.

Kael didn’t know exactly how the enchantment had been constructed, but his newly acquired knowledge of magical runes allowed him to decipher the enchantment and understand its basic function.

The seal would first register the aura of its intended recipient. If someone other than that recipient attempted to open the envelope, the enchantment would activate. Rather than allowing the contents to be stolen, it would trigger a destructive charge powerful enough to destroy everything contained within the sealed envelope.

It was essentially a magical safeguard designed to ensure that whatever was inside remained in the hands of the person it had been addressed to.

Kael’s expression gradually became more serious.

Going to this extent just to protect the contents meant the information inside was likely extremely important, and Kael’s curiosity naturally grew as he wondered what could possibly be contained within.