Chapter 3: Chapter 3. Hunter’s Guild

Arthur continued to lie on the soft "bed" for some time. His whole body ached with pain, and fatigue whispered a devilish tune steadily: "Sleep, sleep."

But the wounded boy knew that if he let himself relax now, he might not wake up again.

- The remaining time. - He spoke in an exhausted, low voice.

[2h 4min]

- Ah ... I've spent too much time relaxing. I still don't even know where I'm supposed to go. How am I even supposed to accomplish this mission?

He stared blankly at the sky. The bright sun had been replaced by thick clouds.

- It looks like it's going to rain...I feel like a beaten dog as it is. And I will become a wet beaten dog. - Arthur laughed tiredly.

- What's that?

Suddenly the clouds parted in one place, briefly revealing the sky to the world. But instead of being blue, it was as if the sky was covered by a translucent purple film.

Arthur rubbed his eyes. He thought the phenomenon was simply caused by blood getting into his eyes. But to his surprise, it didn't help.

- Maybe I hit my head hard when I fell...well, that explains a lot...

Sullenly lowering his head, he involuntarily looked at his body. Bloody gray armor, torn pants...

- Wait, gray armor?... Of course...what an idiot I am! It's obviously hunting armor. It's not my eyesight that's failing me. That purple veil is real.

Even yesterday, when Arthur was reading the novella, he was a little interested in hunting and hunters in the story. In fact, in many ways, it was like many other novels. The same greedy guilds, arrogant hunters, various ranks, and bloodthirsty mana beasts.

However, as they say, the devil is in the details.

One hundred years ago an event happened that completely changed this world. Suddenly, spatial rifts began to open all over the world. And terrifying demons invaded the world.

These were not those intelligent beings who make insidious plans and dream of enslaving mankind. No, they were just bloodthirsty monsters without a mind. Their desire was incredibly simple: to destroy everything in their path.

They escaped from a place that everyone would later call the rather trivial name "The Abyss. It was not a separate world, but rather a sub-dimension - scorched earth full of countless hungry monsters.

No one still knows what caused the boundaries of the dimensions to be erased. The world of Eridanus was technologically advanced, much like Earth, and there was never mana or magic here either. That's why the invading demons were indestructible. Whatever weapons the Eridanians used, the demons quietly continued to destroy cities and kill defenseless humans like sheep in a slaughterhouse.

Humanity was in despair. In just the first week of the invasion, millions of people died, and several countries collapsed, plunging into complete anarchy. Fear had penetrated deep into the hearts of every inhabitant of Eridanus.

One happy accident, however, saved humanity. At the moment when the borders between Eridanus and the Abyss began to blur, another world joined them.

It was Arborea. A world technologically backward, but with advanced magic. A world ruled by countless gods. A world where powerful mages could quietly destroy entire continents.

Arborea, as well, was attacked by demons at the same time as Eridanus. Moreover, it was the one that took most of the blow.

The three worlds merged into a peculiar spatial triangle. Arborea and Eridanus had to present a united front to win.

Eridanus' main stroke of luck was that one of the gods arrived in their world.  Azrea - the goddess of Light. Perhaps the strongest goddess of Arborea. She arrived in Eridan's world and became the light of hope for the doomed world. She not only fought on her own but bestowed some of her powers upon the faithful soldiers of Eridanus who were desperately fighting on the front lines. In so doing, she created the first angels, in the future her loyal supporters and followers.

It was with her help that Eridanus survived. They were able to banish the demons back into the abyss and then close the spatial rifts. More accurately, they blew them up.

The closing of the rifts finally brought the peace so badly desired.

There was, however, a side effect. The destruction of the rifts unleashed the uncontrolled energy of chaos. In the place of the former rifts, a unique territory was formed.

The chaotic energy covered the surrounding territory with a kind of dome. This dome just looked like a purple translucent wall, through which, except for certain points, it was impossible to pass.

All living beings, including humans, unfortunate enough to be trapped in this zone, underwent a massive mutation. They lost their minds and were transformed into completely different beings.

Each mutated beast formed a mana core. The beast's core. It soon became clear to all how valuable this item was.

New weapons, obelisks of mana, and even the development of human mana core, all of which required beast cores.

For the hunting of these beasts, the first guilds were created to control both the gates to the zone and the hunters themselves.

- Ah ... so it's a hunting area. If I remember correctly, the ones in the woods are usually considered some of the easiest, rank F. God, I can't believe anyone would seriously say that this creature was weak. I almost died.

Arthur cursed, rising to his feet. There was no more time to rest.

- Since I'm in the hunting zone, Arno should have brought a map with him. Even if he wanted to come here just to kill himself, he had to have it. The map was part of the standard equipment list.

He slowly staggered to the bag he had dropped from the tree before his fatal jump.

In the bag, in addition to a laptop, a robot spider, and a couple of unknown tools, Arthur found a small tablet. Fortunately, the screen was still on. It showed a holographic map of the surroundings, with a red icon burning in the center.

- The red dot... I guess that's my location. Somewhere on the edge of the zone, there must be a portal to the outside.

It didn't take Arthur long to find it. There was a green dot on the map to the east of his position. It was obviously the way out.

- Damn...that's pretty far. Arno, you little bastard, couldn't you have died closer to the guild?

Gritting his teeth, and enduring the pain, Arthur walked in the right direction. He couldn't move fast enough. He had to hide behind bushes and trees to avoid running into another " easy" monster.

The monotonous scenery was annoying. His tired body was failing, but he stubbornly held on by sheer willpower alone.

- Arthur, when did you become so weak ... bear it. Remember how many times you came home like this as a child. - Even though these memories must have been painful, a bright smile played on Arthur's face.

When he was little, he often came home covered in bruises and blood on his clothes. But for Arthur, it was a beautiful memory. Every time he came home, his beloved mother was waiting for him. She always greeted him with tears in her eyes, asking forgiveness for what was happening to him.

His mother blamed herself for being so poor. She blamed herself for only being able to face her wounded son helplessly. She cursed herself as the worst mother ever.

Arthur, however, never agreed. He knew that even despite his health problems, his mother selflessly cared for him, doing the best for her child. At times he noticed how his mother could starve all day, giving everything to him.

To a young child who was often bullied, and who had no friends, his mother was the most important person. Arthur didn't care, even if the whole world hated him, because he knew that when he came home, loving, weeping eyes would be waiting for him.

- I miss you so much. - Arthur said and was surprised when he felt the moisture of tears on his face for the first time in years. He was crying.

Casting aside the sad thoughts, remembering his old mother's face, Arthur found new strength to move on.

As he trudged through another thicket of bushes, he finally saw what he had been walking toward so persistently. Beyond the purple wall, he saw a tall glass building. It looked like a huge sphere, similar in some ways to the ones people present at Christmas.

A tunneled out of this building toward the hunting ground. Part of it, like a knife, went through the purple barrier. Arthur wasn't sure, but it seems the book mentioned that there was a portal to the other side in the middle of these ground tunnels.

The building looked very beautiful. And Arthur would have been happy to stop and admire it. But he was running out of time.

- Next time. I'll have another chance.

As he got closer, Arthur finally saw the first people in the new world.

It was quite lively in front of the building. As Arthur immediately guessed, these people were hunters. They were all going about their business. Some were dismantling equipment, some were actively discussing plans with their teammates.

There were many different groups here. How did Arthur figure it out? Each hunter had about the same design of armor, but completely different colors. Red, blue, yellow.

- Are they peacocks? Why would there be such brightly colored armor in the woods? To lure monsters? - Arthur grinned.

As Arthur passed by, he noticed that the gazes of all the hunters were gradually directed toward him. A lone figure, covered in bloody armor, holding onto a broken arm couldn't help but attract attention.

But what Arthur didn't know was that that wasn't the only reason for the stares.

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- Who was this guy? What happened to him?

- Don't you know? He's Eric's younger brother.

- Who's Eric?

- The idiot, that Eric Mann.

- The former top 1? E-rank? No way, that's his brother? Then maybe he should be helped.

- No, not a chance. If you do, the next time you do, our group will be cursed.

- What? What does that mean?

- He's useless. He has the worst rank in the guild. His hunter card says G-, but rumor has it that's still an incredible exaggeration.

- Really? Then why was he taken as a hunter in the first place?

- I heard only because of the brother. The guild hopes to keep ties with him, so they keep this loser with them. But since there isn't a single party in the guild that's willing to take him in, the management forcibly includes him. So don't you dare communicate with him, or they might send him to us next time.

Arthur walked by, not paying attention to the strange whispers around him.

Even the murderous intent coming his way from some of the hunters did not resonate in his mind. He simply walked straight toward the entrance to the glass archway.

As he stepped inside, a circle of purple in the center caught his eye at once. It was as if it was embedded in a purple barrier. Arthur didn't need to be told what it was.

- There's my way out at last.

He smiled happily at the sight of the portal. Absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't notice a man approaching him from behind. He patted his shoulder and said.

- You are seriously injured. You can make your way to the infirmary by yourself...

But the man stopped talking when Arthur turned to him. His friendly expression and concerned tone of voice quickly disappeared as if he had never been there. Now all that was on his face was a look of contempt and disgust.

-Ah, it's you, Arno. I understand.

Without saying anything else, he turned and walked away.

- Hey... what was that? - Arthur was perplexed by the absurdity of the scene.

He stared at the back of the man walking away. His uniform was unlike that worn by hunters. He was dressed from head to toe in nothing but white. On his shoulders were black shoulder straps with three white stripes. And in his hands, he held a large clipboard.

But Arthur quickly realized that many in the guild were dressed this way. Some of them were standing near the portal, checking their papers.

"That must be the guild staff. So I have to go to one of them." - Arthur thought. He couldn't afford to say anymore out loud, they'd think he was crazy.

Next to the portal was the reception desk where hunters were welcomed.

Arthur stood in line, waiting for the group of hunters in front of him to finish their work with some documents.

- Your papers, please?

A young girl dressed in a white uniform said this without even looking in his direction. She continued to look through something on the computer while holding out her hand to Arthur.

Arthur stared at her palm thoughtfully.

"Should I give her money? Or spit on her palm? What the hell else papers?"

The girl had not waited for the documents, raised her head irritably, and met her eyes with Arthur. A look of surprise appeared on her face as she realized who was standing in front of her, also in such a terrible state.

- Arno. What happened to you? Where is your group?

It might have seemed as if the girl was worried about him, asking such questions, especially since she obviously knew him. But Arthur doubted that very much. Her look seemed to scream disinterest in his answers. With an unemotional expression on her face, it was as if she were reading a text.

"And what should I answer her? Hey, beautiful, you know, I went away for a while... you know, to hang myself in the woods. So I don't know."

- I accidentally lost my group. And then I was attacked by a monster. Barely fought back.

"God, I completely forgot that the monster had the beast's core in it. I should have taken it...but no, I didn't have time for that."

- Fought off the monster? - The young receptionist furrowed her brow. She highly doubted that with his stats this man could fight off any beast.

- Well, yeah so nasty with no eyes. With a mouth full of teeth and very fast.

The girl only rubbed her temples at this.

"Why is he lying to me? It's Glifheiger. No, there's no way, that a weak loser like him could get away from him. Unless he climbed a tree and waited for him to leave...and he got these wounds when he fell out of the tree." - Satisfied with her insight, the girl nodded to herself.

- May I go to the other side? I seem to have lost my papers.

- Yes, wait a minute. I'll make a copy of your ID from the database.

A minute later the girl brought Arthur a little card with his information on it.

[Hunter ID]

Hunter's name: Arno Mann

General Rank: G-

Job: Technician / Scout

- I have one more request. Could you tell me my home address?

-А? Your address?

- Yes, I recently moved and I don't remember what address is registered with the guild. I want to check.

- Got it.

The girl hesitantly gave the address. Something about all this seemed strange to her. Of course, Arno Mann was considered a complete idiot in the guild. And she never had any positive feelings for him, since his incompetence was a constant source of quarrels among the staff and the groups of hunters to which he was assigned.  But today he seemed to look different. She couldn't quite put her finger on the reason for that feeling.

- That's right. There's a new one listed here, thank you. Can I go now?

- Yes, the exit is free. You won't wait for your group?

- No, they can take care of themselves.

Arthur mentally commanded "remaining time".

[1 hour 25 minutes]

He walked toward the portal without a second's hesitation and without saying goodbye. But no sooner had he taken a couple of steps than a roar echoed through the room.

- Arno, you piece of shit, come here.

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