CHAPTER 3: SIDE OF THE COIN

Words cannot describe how heavy the atmosphere was in the Guild as many looked at the Hunters who had just entered. Some Mercenaries, mostly those who are new or have not been outside the city looked at the group in awe and amazement seeing the 'Heroes' of Rinthum here in a city where no Dungeons could be found.

However, those who have been outside Resurgent and encountered Hunters looked at them with either hate or anger. Flint could see some Mercenaries gripping their weapons tightly as they just stared at them ready as if they would attack at any moment. If he was holding his knife right now, he would have been one of those who were cautious.

*THUMP*

The loud sound of a wooden mug hitting a table broke off the silence as many looked at the one who caused it. Walter, who was taking in a big breath opened his mouth.

"Welcome our dear guests to our fine establishment. Please, feel free to take one of the reserved seats we had prepared. I hope we will give you guys unforgettable memories here in the fine city of Resurgent, am I right folks?"

With a smile on his face and a cheerful tone, Walter yelled earning some cheerful yells in return from numerous customers. To others who don't know the Bartender well, see it as a way to welcome guests from other cities. However, for those who know him, it was a warning saying "Cause some trouble here, you're dead."

Many gulped at the warning and returned to either eating or talking to their friends. Flint, who returns his attention to his food, just silently eats while chatting with Harry.

"So Flint have you heard?"

"whaft?" he replied while eating his pasta.

"Apparently, some people started to go missing for the past few days near the city."

The masked Mercenary finished gulping his food before saying something. This time his tone was a slight worry.

"When did that happened?"

"A week now, and many said they always smell a rotten odor in places where the kidnapped people were last seen."

Unknown to the Cow folk, Flint widened his eyes underneath his mask as soon as he learned about the kidnapping.

'Could it be?' he remembered something from his past. Sounds of screams and agony went up through his head before recomposing himself. 'No, that 'project' was abandoned, and I had already made sure that no one would repeat that …..Must be a coincidence, yes, just a coincidence….I hope.' 

****

The four Hunters sat at the reserved table as an employee gave them their menus and waited for their orders. After a moment of reading the menus and deciding what food they would like to eat, the employee left to bring their food. Ignoring the stares they were sensing from multiple people, the four looked at each other before one of them spoke up.

"So…. how did it go?"

The one who said it was a man with dark blue hair tied into a ponytail wearing grey armor.

"We managed to rent two rooms to an inn called the 'Lively Cabin' and didn't see anything suspicious there. How about you Lance? Did you find something with Claire?

A green-haired woman asked, her clothes were different from her three companions who wore armor. Hers were a white robe with golden trims on each edge that covered her whole body and face giving an air of mystery and a mystical aura.

This time, the one who responded was a silver-haired girl who sat beside the dark blue-haired man named Lance. The girl just shook her head before moving her fingers and hands…..it was "sign language".

"Nothing as well."

The green-haired woman just nodded understanding what the silver-haired girl was signing before giving out a tired sigh.

"This will take a while now ha?"

"There-there, Thea, but look on the bright side, just think of it as our vacation from Hunting."

A tall muscular man over 180 centimeters with tanned skin and orange hair uttered with a soft tone while patting her back, this earned her blush a little as she smacked the tall man lightly.

"Shut up Orin."

The tall man named Orin just sheepishly grinned.

"Ahem….well anyway we should not cause trouble here, it's bad enough that we are drawing attention as it is."

"Well if it weren't for our little princess here, we would have sneaked inside the city here without problem."

The green-haired woman looked at Claire with a teasing smirk, this earned the silver-haired to bow her head apologetically with a blush on her face

"Hehehe, Don't sweat it, newbie, it always happens when new Hunters do this because of their family." The green-haired softly said with a fond smile as she comforted the girl who was still bowing her head.

"Pfft- Joking aside, we should enjoy tonight's dinner before doing our mission got it." Said Lance, stopping the teasing of her junior by the green-haired woman named Thea.

All Hunters including the silver-haired who had recomposed herself from the teasing nodded in confirmation. To wait for their food, the Hunters talked to one another about different topics to pass the time.

*THUMP*

The conversation between Hunters abruptly ended when they heard a loud bang on their table. All of them looked up to the one who caused the loud thump and saw it was a scruffy-looking man who was wearing a brown tunic and dark brown pants. The man's face tinged with red as his body tried to balance his swaying.

"*Hic*….you*Hic*Hunters….*Hic* Not welcome here!!"

Yelled the drunk man while each word slurred. This time the lively atmosphere once again stopped as many looked at them. Some were concerned about what would happen, while some gripped their weapons ready to intercept if things went down.

"Sir, please calm down, I think you're drunk."

"Ohh, *Hic* big guy think you *Hic* Stop me *Hic* Big…talk *Hic* talked from you." The drunk man gripped the tall man's armor and mocked him.

This time the tall tanned Hunter furrowed his brow as he grits his teeth and an angry scowl appeared on his face. Before the other Hunters could stop the ensuing fight…..the drunk man suddenly fell as a wooden plate hit his head, completely knocking him out.

When all looked where the plate came from, they saw a mysterious man who was wearing a long trench coat that reached the knees and a smiling theatre masked with slightly messy hair walking toward them with the aura of a killer before it disappeared once he bowed his head in front of them.

In a gentlemanly tone that would earn chuckles from people who know him. "I apologize for my fellow Mercenary please enjoy your visit while you guys are here."

This earned a head tilt from the four Hunters for what he was doing. However, underneath the mask, he was gritting his teeth and blushing on both sides of his cheeks. He mentally screamed.

'PLEASE, KILL ME!!!!'

 ****

A few moments ago

"Haa, that's the stuff."

A satisfied huff came from the Cow folk as he finished his ale and was enjoying his salad. This earned a small chuckle from the Bartender who only refilled his ale.

"Well, thanks. What about you, Flint?"

Walter looked at Flint who was still eating his pasta, when the piece of food suddenly disappeared from the fork he was holding when it touched his mask. Flint let out a small burp before looking at the bartender.

"Good as always…..what?" he tilted his head in confusion once he saw both faces of Walter and Harry staring at him…most particularly his mask.

"Is there a hole or something so you could eat and drink…or it just disappeared?"

This time the masked Mercenary stared with a deadpan look at Harry as he silently drank his juice…the latter of which also disappeared leaving an empty cup when touched by the mask, this earned more mystery about Flint's mask.

"It's Magic." Replied in a neutral tone.

"Whatever you say, but I still don't believe it is just magic."

"Sure, just add it to the bingo book about my mask."

"Wait you knew?"

For a moment the Bartender thought he saw Flint grinning inside the mask.

"Lucky I'm not joining."

""HAHAHAHA""

Both Mercenaries and Bartender laugh at enjoy their conversation. Their conversation soon ended when they heard a loud thump from the table where the Hunters were sitting.

'Damn Hunters' Flint thought as he instinctively reach his knife in his left boot. However, he stopped when he felt someone holding his shoulder.

"It's your turn to stop their fight."

"Bu-"

"IT'S AN ORDER." With an aura of authority, Walter declared making Flint retract his from his Boots before letting out a sigh.

"I need the plate."

"Remember, Smile."

Flint grumbled upon hearing what Walters said before throwing the plate directly at the drunk man who was causing trouble for the Hunters. As he walked toward them his thought was filled with anger and malice as he unconsciously let out a killing aura. Due to his action several Mercenaries who were near him shivered as they watched the masked Mercenary as he walked.

Later, he controlled his killing aura and bowed in front of them earning a snicker from multiple people he knew. However, one glance was enough to shut their mouth.

In the Guild, those who work there know one thing: The life of a Mercenary is a cruel position. Those who had become Mercenaries were either forced due to lack of money or…..for some special cases, a sentence or punishment from one of the governments that runs and operates the city. Though being a Mercenary would pay a high price for just doing some tasks, those tasks, however, were either monster exterminations or requests that would usually harm a life.

Compared to Hunters who had surpassed their natural limits to fight the monsters head-on. Mercenaries, however, are just a bunch of people without any proper knowledge to fight any monsters that they are forced to engage when they come across one, and this only leads to their deaths.

To Flint's case, he was one of those special cases. No one knows why was he punished or what he did to earn his position. He had just appeared over a year ago, and from the start, no one paid any mind to him, thinking he was just a normal Mercenary. However, since he joined, he had taken missions and requests that would need a team full of Mercenaries to finish it…..alone, and each time he always returned either covered with blood…or broken equipment caused by monsters they deemed too dangerous to handle alone.

With each mission he takes, he always returns with only small injuries adding more mystery to who he is. As time passed many of his coworkers gave him the title the "Bloodied Mask" as he always returned with the only equipment that was never seen broken….. His bloodstained white theatre mask, that always showed a joyful smile that always crept the majority of the people who first saw him.

'PLEASE, KILL ME NOW.'

Currently, the "Bloodied Mask" was apologizing for what his coworkers did. Many people could feel his disdain for the Hunters, though he covered it with a gentle tone that can even be mistaken by many people as respect toward someone higher.

"Thank you for your assistance." The blue-haired Hunter said with sincerity in his voice.

"You're welcome, dear Guest. If there's nothing you guys need then I'll be taking my leave."

Flint turned around and was about to walk away from the Hunters and planned to leave the Guild after paying. He didn't want to be in the same place where Hunters were, they would cause him some trouble. Looking back at them…they were the typical Hunters, with shiny and expensive equipment with them, this only made the masked Mercenary click his tongue in annoyance. But the odd thing he noticed was a whole group itself, two Elves and two Humans it was the first time he saw that kind of pairing 

Once he reached the counter, he suddenly felt a gaze on him. The gaze wasn't the regular looks he always felt, those were full of wariness and caution towards him. However, this gaze was neither of those….as if they were not afraid of him…but curious?

Ignoring that, he focuses his attention on Walter and Harry…which The latter was currently holding his laughter while the Bartender held a stoic face while his eyes were closed.

"Good one –PFFT"

"Shut up."

A smack ended the chuckling Cow folk, and Flint began looking through his coat to pay for the food. When he managed to find the small bag, he took ten silver coins and placed them on the table.

"Leaving so soon?"

"Yeah, I need to check on something back at the inn."

"Ha-ha, tell Leona I said Hi."

"Got it, Bye."

At that word, Flint left the Guild as he made his way back to the inn, but this time someone followed him when he left. Sensing that someone is following he can't help but let out a loud quiet sigh.

'Well, I guess tonight is not my night ha, well…let's play.'

****

Changing from his usual route from the inn, he ended up on the street far from the east and went north. When he reached an area where the street was quiet and only some crates lying around the sides of the walls, the place had an air of abandonment as there were no people present there.

The lights that were always seen in the streets were always kept clean and fixed but in the street where he is right now, the light poles were rusted as if they were never cleaned, and the glowing crystals that make up the lights were slowly blinking away.

To add to this, the smell of trash and rotten food spread throughout each alleyway he had come across. Usually, this area is prohibited from entering by the government due to the unhealthy environment and health causes that would harm the city's reputation, so it is one of the cut-off areas that is never shown in each map of Resurgent.

However, to people who know Resurgent well, one of the cut-off areas was the best place to do unquestionable activities like illegal dealings, and….taking care of unwanted attention.

The masked Mercenary stopped in the middle of the abandoned street and kneeled, pretending to tie up his boots he quietly took the knife and hid it on his sleeve. He once again stood up and stared at the dark area where he could not help but chuckle, however, it wasn't the usual tone when he laughed.

"If you want to sneak around people, you should control the intense stare."

*RATTLE*

A loud thud of fallen crates echoed through the darkened area, as sounds of rattling metal could be heard. Flint waited for a moment, still focused on where the individual was. When the mysterious individual finally revealed itself...or more precisely herself. Her silver hair shines through the small flickering light as she slowly walks through nearest the light pole.

Her appearance was like a knight who gave off an aura of chivalry. Her silver-blue light armor gleamed as if it were brand-new and the rapier sheathed by her side was perfect for her petite body even though it was covered by armor. If kids saw this, their minds would imagine a gallant Heroic Knight facing a Villain who hides their face through a mask revealing his evil deed to the Heroic Knight leading to their showdown between good and evil. A perfect story for a fairy tale right?

Yet in this situation, there were neither kids nor a Heroic showdown present as both only stared at each other. Flint only analyzes the silver-haired girl. On the outside, his mask prevented him from showing any expression he made only the happy smile that creeps out the majority of people when he just stared at them. However, underneath the mask, he was showing a surprised look as if he had just seen an old friend that he would never see again. 

As he kept staring at the girl….an image of a small silver-haired girl who was smiling at him appeared in his mind, and a memory of the past appeared to him. That memory soon quickly disappeared as his eyes shifted to the emblem that was on her left chest plate.

Right, how could he have thought the girl was the one from that time….she is already dead after all. Recomposing himself he let out a curious tone as he spoke.

"So….what do you want Oh great Hunter of Lux?"

His voice was tinged with sarcasm as he tried to hide his anger toward the female Hunter. This only led the Hunter to hesitate for a moment as she fiddled with her fingers out of nervousness. The masked Mercenary only watched the bubbling mess that the girl was making before annoyance filled his body.

"Oi, speak up!"

This only made the girl shiver a little before inhaling a deep air. With the movement of her hands and finger, she signed what she wanted to say.

"I-I wanted to know if you noticed anything strange is happening in Resurgent?"

The masked Mercenary only looked at the girl silently. His silence led the girl to think that he didn't understand what she was implying and tried to look for her notebook and pen to write.

"Why should I? Is it for a mission or something?"

This time Flint's voice was tinged with curiosity as he crossed his hand and tilted his head.

The Hunter was taken aback as she was surprised that he understood her. There were only a few people she knew who understood her sign language and it would often be hard to understand was she was expressing. But in front, this man managed to understand her quickly.

"It-"

"THAT'S THE GUY!!!"

She was about to explain the reason but was cut off by a loud yell coming from the opposite side where they were standing. Both Mercenary and Hunter looked in that direction and saw seven people who were wearing different clothing ranging from dirty tunics to more casual ones, each was either holding old-looking knives or sharp bottles.

Contrary to the Hunter who didn't know who the unexpected group was, Flint recognized one of them as he saw the man from the fountain incident earlier and was showing a cocky grin as he pointed his finger toward him.

"Well...shit."