Free Web NovelChapter 18: Saga 18— Yh?! Let’s All Just Pretend Like We Didn’t See That....
Titles are only given to S-rank hunters and above. They not only showcase strength but also command power. Titles were not given even after one becomes an S-rank hunter. Being an S-rank hunter only makes them eligible to earn a title.
Lest Minato Kage earned the title of Dragon Slayer by killing the Elder Water Dragon that plagued the Sumbiya Plains for two decades. It had a threat rating of ’Supreme High’. Many hunters had tried and failed. Even a party of S-rank hunters banded together to kill the dragon, but tragically they all met their untimely demise.
It was Minato who took on the two-decadon quest (it’s a name given to quests that haven’t been completed in a decade). And ended the reign of terror brought by the Elder Water Dragon.
He quickly rose to fame and decided to build the Sumbiya Hot Springs.
Sayuri, on the other hand, finished from Creptek Academy as the best student in her class. Creptek was an Academy of the Four Aspects known to breed some of the greatest assassins in all of history, one of whom is rumoured to be an EX-Beta hunter. It gauges their students based on kill counts, be it beasts or criminals.
Sayuri was not only S-rank before graduation, but she had a kill count of 10,000—nobody had ever gotten that high before graduation in the past decade. And so she earned herself the title of ’The Dance Of Death’.
"Adian, I guess you are bowing your head for formality, not because you want to?"
Minato’s lips curled into a calm smile. He, alongside Sayuri, had their seats at the extreme edge of the dining table.
’This repulsively annoying bastard,’ Adian hissed inwardly.
"Whatever do you mean?" he said with his usual carefree tone as he had his seat.
"Welcome, students." Minato’s voice carried.
"It’s nice to meet you, Dragon Slayer," the students’ voices echoed in harmony.
"Oh, please, please. Minato is just fine." He chuckled slightly.
"I hope you find your stay here wholesome—"
"Sayuri, why don’t you say a word to the students?" Minato turned to Sayuri.
"It’s good to see such promising hunters that are sure to lead the future generation... I’m Sayuri, the secretary here, and it’s a pleasure to meet you all." Sayuri’s voice wasn’t exactly what they expected; she sounded timid and nice.
"The pleasure is all ours, Ms. Sayuri." The students jammed their hands together.
Claire brought her lips close to Harriden’s ear. "Yo! Thud.... Between you and her, who do you think would win in a fight?"
Harriden rolled his eyes. "Do you know that she has this place bugged with listening threads?"
"Yh! I do.... I already cast a noise-cancelling barrier." Claire smirked.
’What a monster,’ Harriden hissed. Noise-cancelling was an advanced spell. Normally, people chant at least three verses to cast it, but Claire did it in less than a second without chanting.
"I can’t say. It would depend on the terrain and circums—"
"What if she threatened to kill Sylvia?" Claire cut in with an abrupt question.
"Then I’ll shred her into tiny little pieces." A profound grimace formed on Harriden’s face.
"Hahahaha... That settles it." Claire laughed.
The dinner ceremony continued as the students wined and dined—sharing the latest gossip amongst themselves. Kael was more focused on Sylvia throughout. He was just curious to see how she interacted with the other students up close.
The dinner ended, and everyone left to their various chambers. By the time they were almost gone, it was just Minato and Sayuri remaining in the dining hall.
"There are more people missing in the Highlands," Sayuri said with a worried look on her face.
"Contact the Renodin Hunters Guild and have them send their rising stars—Azure Blake." Minato cleaned his lips with a napkin.
"I heard they take missions at their own leisure." Sayuri rolled her eyes. Azure Blake had quite the reputation amongst their fellow S-ranks. Usually, an S-rank could ask another S-rank for help, but Azure Blake had turned down every request that had come their way except if it came from the guild, and the reward had to be extremely high.
Minato turned towards Sayuri. "The Guild Master owes me one. He will make sure they accept."
The next day arrived. The sun broke through the gap in the blinds and hit the sleepy eyes of Kael. He awoke to quite the ruckus. He could hear the voice of a student screaming in pain not too far from their apartment.
He wasn’t in a hurry because he heard other voices around the screaming student. He walked out of his room, and he saw Claire, Sylvia, Yuki, and Harriden sitting in the living room.
"Do you guys care to share what’s going on outside?" He sat on the couch lazily.
"One of our classmates got attacked when he snuck into the woods in the Highlands, probably to make out with his girlfriend." Claire didn’t seem to show any sense of interest in whatever she was saying.
"Ok... cool. So what attacked him?" Kael asked.
Yuki opened one of his eyes. "It’s not like anything I have seen before, from the claw marks down to the poison that’s spreading from his leg through his body."
Kael didn’t really understand what they were saying at first, so he chose to take a peep outside the window.
What he saw actually shocked him, even though he didn’t showcase it on his face. The boy lay on the floor with his left leg brutally scratched by a claw or something. There were three huge claw marks on the boy’s leg.
Crimson red blood wasn’t pumping out. Instead, the leg was covered in thick dark purple decay spreading fast to other parts of his body. Even worse, the victim was not in his right mind. Not only was his body burning hot, but he was acting unnecessarily violently.
According to what Kael heard through the window, he had run down from the Highlands and collapsed at the fourth gate before the two guards.
The professors were duly alerted, and so they made their way to the scene. None of them were healers, but they possessed some spells that could help. Adian placed his hands over the leg, and a green spell circle burst forth underneath it.
"It’s absorbing my mana?!" Adian furrowed a brow as his spell abruptly discontinued.
