Hunting party

'Those fees are insufferable, why would mister Scofield send me here if he knew I don't have enough money to participate in an incursion?'

Uriel thought on all the possibilities. For a minute he believed that maybe the old man wanted him to keep working at the library forever, but then he dismissed it. It wasn't like he was that good of a janitor or that janitors were that difficult to find.

'Then the only reason I can think of is that he wanted me to realize that no matter what, I'll still need the support of a corporation to participate on incursions.'

He kept reading the sign and found out that the cost that seemed to be extremely high was, indeed, a bargain. They provided a vehicle, life insurance, medical care and, most importantly, the possibility of being rescued in case things went wrong.

That last part was most likely the heaviest expense for the agency but, just like transportation and medical treatment, it was indispensable.

'Who would venture out of the city knowing they wouldn't be rescued if they get injured or lost?'

"Ehem..." The receptionist who had been professional up until that point cleared her throat, then proceeded to speak. "Are you interested in participating in an incursion?"

"Not really miss, I mean yes, but I can't afford it at this moment."

Thinking that the student in front of her was not worth her time she grew even more impatient.

"Then make way for other people, why are you wasting everyone's time like that? you're clogging the line already." She said in a scoff.

Usually she wouldn't say something as disrespectful as that, but since many college students had just received their traits it was high season in business and she was already stressed. Besides, it's not like there would be any consequences for her if she spoke like that to an evolved. Even she was an ascended and so were many of the people that just started to build a line behind Uriel.

The young student felt embarrassed and quickly apologized as he left the line, only to be grabbed by the arm by the person right behind him.

"Sage!? What took you so long? how come you're always late for everything!?" Said the woman who was grasping his arm.

"Uh? Lieutenant Dragonfang! What are you doing here?" Uriel said in a daze.

"What do you mean? didn't you get the call?"

"Call? what call?" Confounded, he looked at his flip phone and there were more than fifty missed calls. After a quick check he noticed that Medusa and Sam had been calling him, but there were also several missed calls by the saleswoman who contacted him the other day.

'Just what in the world is wrong with that person? why does she keep calling me?' He thought back at the seductive voice of the person who called him and realized that perhaps she wasn't a saleswoman and, maybe, she provided a different type of 'service'. At that thought Uriel started blushing up.

"Hello? you still there?" Lieutenant Dragonfang stared at Uriel who had spaced out.

"Uh, yes... I... I'm sorry, I always turn off the sound because my phone tends to ring at the most inconvenient times" Only then Did Uriel notice that Lieutenant Dragonfang wasn't wearing her army uniform but casual clothes. A tight fitted skirt and a blouse with a couple undone buttons, her attire was nothing fancy, but its simplicity brought up her figure and mature charm.

If he didn't know her from before, Uriel would have thought that she worked behind a counter, just like the receptionist he spoke with before.

"Like what you see?" She chuckled.

"No, that's not it..." He replied apologetically and blushing even harder.

"What do you mean no?" She frowned for a brief second and then continued. "Anyway, I quit the army and I'll be working independently. After what happened... I can't bring myself to trust them anymore."

She had joined the Army before even receiving a trait with the intention of becoming a clerk and help in any way she could. She came from a wealthy family, not a rich one, but still she would have been able to live a comfortable life without the need to ever join the army or risking her life.

The reason why she did it wasn't because she wanted money or power like many people of her generation, she only did it because after learning about the true state of humanity and the truth behind the 'forceful drafts' she thought she needed to do something to prevent young people from dying pointlessly.

However, as soon as she got a battle oriented ascended trait she was sent to help young people acquire their traits and she eventually got used to fighting, and unfortunately, to watching them die too.

"Uhm, that's understandable..." Uriel replied not knowing what else to say.

"I'm glad you see it that way. Now I'll be joining incursions as an independent hunter and since I don't know or trust anyone in the association, I thought of inviting our former unit to join me. To be honest, I didn't want to invite you, but all your classmates said they would only come if you came along." Miss Dragonfang's words made no sense to Uriel.

He wasn't strong and the only one who knew about his trait was Medusa, which was even stranger because she knew it wasn't that strong of a trait. As if that wasn't everything, all of them turned out to be of the ascended rank and he was the only evolved among them.

'Just why do they want me to go?'

"I know what you're thinking, why do they want me to go? is it?" Miss Dragonfang giggled at Uriel's stupefied look. "They all had their reasons, but one thing they all agreed on is that you have a good head over your shoulders." She shrugged.

"I'm sorry miss... but I don't have the money to join, besides... I don't want to be near Shaker again, that guy is dangerous." Uriel said in honesty.

"Shaker is it? Don't worry about him, he joined the army, I think he'll fit right in. Also, don't worry about the money, I'll be paying the fee and everything, so... what do you say? Your friends will be really happy if you say yes."

"If you put it like that then I can't refuse. When do we leave?"

"Right now, of course."

Uriel's face turned blue, then he started asking for time to get ready, then pleading to at least give him enough time to prepare himself mentally and finally he started begging for just one more day to learn about independent incursions, but miss Dragonfang was already speaking to the receptionist and she ignored him completely.

"Congratulations mister Sage, you are now registered as an evolved hunter. Be careful out there!" The young receptionist said with a smile and a gentle attitude, it was nothing like five minutes ago when she had just humiliated him from taking too much time asking questions.

Uriel was dragged by miss Dragonfang towards the garage, although she didn't know anyone in the agency, she was already familiar with the building and the inner workings of the cryptid hunting agency.

"Uriel!? Look guys It's Uriel!" Sam said loudly as soon as he noticed his arrival, both Luna and Medusa smiled widely and were just about to greet him when miss Dragonfang spoke.

"Do I need to repeat myself, Lightbringer?" She glared at Sam. "Do not use your real names under any circumstance, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am." He lowered his gaze.

"Oh, I do need to repeat myself after all, I forgot Uriel is just joining us. Listen Uriel, the reason why we can't use our real names outside the city is because there might all sorts of different people out there, not just from this city, and they might be hunting in the same place as us. The cryptid hunting agency organizes most of the incursions so it doesn't happen that often, but anyway, it's too risky to reveal your name because if you happen to anger someone they might go after your family, that's why we use our nicknames." Miss Dragonfang explained.

"You say that like they might attack us or find where we live or something..."

"That's what I mean, cryptids are not the only danger out there." She cut Uriel short. "Although incursions are organized with the intention of killing cryptids and diminishing their numbers to make it safer for everyone, the actual source of income is salvaging valuables from POIs and gathering essence orbs. There are some groups of people that specialize in stealing other people's loot. Heck, even good honest people might feel tempted if you stumble upon something really valuable." Miss Dragonfang explained as they got inside an armored transport vehicle.

When Uriel entered, he was relieved when he realized that he already knew the driver, it was the corporal with the purple hair. It wasn't really a surprise for him, given that she was loyal to her and even participated on their meeting before the zeppelin arrived.

"What's up kiddo!" The former private greeted him.

"Uh, hi miss..." He lingered for a while because he didn't know her name.

"I'm evolved Phlox" She smirked as the engine roared.