Esoteric Hunter

Year 229 of the world broken calendar

"Magnius Solexil! You damn punk! How long are you going to keep sleeping in my class for?!" An academics teacher was shouting one of his students awake. Magnius sat up and looked down the lecture hall at the teacher.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Grafton." The old academics teacher just scoffed at his apology.

"You can demonstrate how apologetic you are by coming down here and explaining what you know of hunters. You're interested in becoming one, aren't you? Even though it isn't very realistic for you." Magnius ignored the last statement and faced the class of bored students.

"A 'Hunter' is someone who enters gates and hunts for beasts and materials. Everybody here knows that." A grin formed on Magnius' face as he got excited.

"But that's wrong! A Hunter is an explorer. They enter gates and adventure into the unknown to hunt not just beasts. They hunt for knowledge, artifacts and worlds. Each of your ancestors became Hunters when they stepped through that very first gate to escape their broken world. That means all of us have the blood of hunters. Hunters hunt the very existence of our reality." The class was surprised to see the usually boring and polite Magnius so excited talking about hunters.

"Just shut up, man. Nobody wants to hear you fanboy over people who abandon their families." A male student at the back of the classroom interrupted him. "Didn't your parents abandon you, too? Stop trying to make them out to be something great, you naive fanboy."

Mr Grafton interrupted before Magnius could reply.

"Magnius. That's enough." Mr Grafton urged him back to his seat.

"Being a hunter is dangerous. Not just anyone can be one. You're better off living out your lives here, in New Capita, the city your ancestors sacrificed so much to build, so don't get any ideas. I doubt any of you will enjoy being hunters while comrades bleed out in your arms, or you're being dissolved and eaten alive by strylids." Mr. Grafton did his best to scare the students away from being hunters and it worked. The students' faces scrunched up in disgust and fear. All of them except for Magnius.

"And Magnius–" Mr Grafton shot him a stern look.

"Visit my office when you have time."

—

Thwak!

Magnius' nose began bleeding from the punch, it had landed square on his nose. A group of male students surrounded him, one of them was the one who had spoken against him in the classroom. He kicked Magnius in the stomach, and he landed on his back.

"Oi, fanboy." Another kick. "What were you thinking? You know we don't like hunters. And you shouldn't either. Almost half of the people in that classroom have lost someone in their family to that profession. That includes everyone here." The male student glared at him. "Including you."

Magnius stared back at him. "Unlike you, I'm not a coward that doesn't recognize the necessity of hunters."

The male student flushed with anger, but this time a different student punched him in the face. "I lost my father, you bastard!" The student started kicking him relentlessly. The hits were weak, but the weight of emotion was behind them. "The city is self-sustaining at this point! Nobody needs hunters anymore! He died for nothing!"

Magnius became angry. "You're wrong! Why do you even think the city is self-sustaining?! Because of an artifact found by a hunter!"

"Shut up!" The mob of angry students all came at him together, battering him into the ground.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You don't know anything!" The students backed up, leaving him bloody and bruised on the ground. One of them spit on him before leaving. "Stop being such a fanboy, you soulless bastard."

Magnius pulled his necklace from below his uniform.

"Phew… Not broken."

—

"That hurts, damn it." Magnius' face was bruised all over, his straight white hair had dirt and stains in it. He was cleaning himself up in his dorm room before heading over to Mr. Grafton's office. He wasn't excited for it. The old man was known to be firmly anti-hunter. He'd been discouraging students from pursuing the profession ever since he began teaching. Noone even knew why, but everyone assumed he just shared the 'Hunters aren't needed anymore' sentiment that most of the student body did.

He palmed the necklace. The only thing his parents had really left behind for him. The edges of it were rough, digging into his fingers as he squeezed it. It was obvious they'd found it in a gate. But as an artifact, it didn't seem to have much use, so they'd given it to Magnius.

"Magnius? Are you okay?" His female roommate, Layla, entered their dorm room.

"Classes aren't over yet. What are you doing here?"

"Some of my friends saw what happened and told me." Layla walked over and took the disinfectant wipes from him, cleaning his face.

"I… I always knew how you feel about hunters."

"Are you going to tell me off, too?"

"N-no! I… It's just…" She finished cleaning his face and moved on to his neck. "These bruises are nasty…"

"Yeah…"

"You should take better care of yourself. I like how passionate you are about hunters, even if I don't… Even if I don't agree with you. Most of us don't. So, maybe keep it to yourself?"

Anger flashed inside of Magnius as Layla said it.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" He smacked away her hand. "I don't need you telling me what I should, and shouldn't say." Magnius left the room before she could reply.

"I just don't want you to get hurt…"

Magnius' relaxed position in the plush chair was in stark contrast to that of Mr. Grafton's who looked everything but relaxed in his desk chair. "Out of all of my students, I would've thought YOU would have the least interest in becoming a hunter, of all things."

Magnius sat a bit straighter.

"Because my parents are dead hunters."

"Yes."

Magnius sighed.

"I would give you a discouraging lecture, but from the look of you, someone else already did it for me." Grafton looked a bit satisfied as he said it.

"Should a teacher really be satisfied that his student is beat up?"

"There are exceptions for everything." Grafton picked up a pen from his desk, expertly twirling it between his digits. "Why do want to become a hunter so badly?"

"My ancestors were hunters. Their children were hunters. And theirs. And my parents. I am from a family of hunters." An intense look spread over Magnius' face.

"Even if you'll die?"

"Our legacy shouldn't end with my parents just because I got cold feet."

"Well said!" The door burst open and a woman with flaming hair strode in.

"S-sedia! Why are you here?" Grafton stood up from his chair.

"How're you doing you old geezer? Still trying to prevent youngsters from becoming hunters are we?" Sedia approached Magnius.

"You. I'm sure you know, but you can't become a hunter just cause you want. It used to be easier, but ever since I brought over that artifact it got stricter, all of a sudden. You need a 2 year mentorship and recommendation now." Magnius tried to figure out who this woman was.

Sedia? Where had he heard that name before? He noticed a proud Hunter badge on her chest.

"W-why is Sedia Alimenti in my Academics teacher's office?"

Magnius didn't show it, but he was starstruck. Sedia Alimenti was a well known hunter. She was one of the top hunters in existence. Her impact on humanity as a whole was immeasurable. Her most notable discovery was an artifact which allowed the conversion of mana crystals into energy, which was now used to power the entirety of New Capita.

"I'll tell you why I'm here if you become my pupil."

Was Magnius hearing this right?

"What?"

"You wanna be a hunter, right? I'll teach you, then."

"Sedia!" Grafton burst out in a rage at the suggestion.

"Why do you want me to be your disciple?" Magnius couldn't figure her out.

"I like your eyes."

"What?"

"I was listening in for most of that conversation, you see. You got messed up real good by some classmates? But your eyes are still on fire. I like them."

"..."

"You have the eyes of a hunter. I like them."

Magnius was speechless.

"Magnius, do not become her pupil… please." Mr Grafton made a last attempt.

"You shouldn't listen to this geezer, y'know even he was a hunter before he became a teacher."

Magnius was a bit surprised.

"He was my mentor and the best damn guide I've ever seen." Magnius looked at Mr. Grafton.

The guy who was so anti-hunter was the mentor of one the best hunters ever?

A look of extreme guilt flashed over the old man's face.

"I'll be your pupil." Magnius agreed.

Sedia's face lit up with excitement and the tips of her hair sparked with flames. Mr. Grafton collapsed in his chair with a sigh.

"Good. Then you can stay and listen." Sedia faced Mr. Grafton.

"Onto what I'm actually here for."