55 New Hunter

"You seem happy today, Sir Orga…"

Miss Han noticed his smiling face as she served him tea. Although he was petting his Crimson Eagle, he wouldn't always look this happy. He must've heard some good news recently.

"Haha! We have another promising Hunter in our branch. Who wouldn't be happy with that?"

"Oh, you're talking about the young man who just passed your exam?"

"Yes…"

"His name was Art, right? Was he a barehand fighter?"

"Well, he said that he's a good archer…"

"Eh? But I didn't saw him bring a bow and arrow for this examination."

"Ahh that… He said that he just arrived today in the village and sent his weapon to the repair shop since his bowstring was damaged."

"That's why… How did you test him, then?"

Miss Han asked curiously.

The front desk was being handled by another employee so she had the time to chat with this old Hunter.

"We just played some game and I tried some of his close combat skills. That boy was really good even with barehanded battles."

"Really? It's rare to hear you give praises."

The lady was impressed to hear this. She was sure that the game that Orga was talking about wasn't as simple as he suggests.

She was hoping that Art would pass the second exam as soon as possible so she can see what kind of mission would he be accepting.

As an employee of the association for so many years, she had a good intuition about the abilities of the Hunters based on their first 5 accepted missions. It would sometimes reflect on their personality.

Suddenly, noises were heard in the lobby… It seems that an unexpected person arrived so they hurried to check the situation to ensure that everything was fine.

"What going on?"

Miss Han accompanied by Sir Orga asked after seeing that the Hunters were surrounding something.

Orga's Crimson Eagle has already left the building and freely roamed the sky. Anyway, it would just return once Orga called for him.

"Ahh… Sir Orga, Lady Han."

"That kid, Diether… He brought something unexpected."

"That's right… We saw him carrying a High-Grade beast!"

"It's so awesome!"

"He'll definitely earn a lot of money with that intact body."

"Hey, the head was clearly damaged…"

"That's where the core is… It was perfectly normal to destroy its head."

The hunters explained as they faced the two.

Soon, they make a way for them to see the young man that was currently sitting in front of the front desk.

At this time, the association's employees were trying to study the imp's body and its core so they could give a proper value to the one-star Hunter.

"Hoho! So you can hunt a high-grade beast now… Did you do this alone?"

"Ahh, Sir Orga… Yes. I got lucky. However, I can assure you that I didn't go deep inside the forest…"

Diether replied solemnly.

These words stunned many hunters. They have just realized the severity of the situation.

The strongest beasts that they could hunt at the outer range of the forest was the Phantom Wolves, an Evil Beast who were normally active at night, and the Armored Iron Bear, a mid-grade Wild Beast who was surprisingly hunting in a group of three or more.

"Was it perhaps the after-effects of the Lure?"

"That could be the reason…"

The hunters were whispering as they conversed with each other.

The appearance of high-grade beasts at this part of the forest not only affects their hunting but also the lives of the low-grade beasts around the area.

They were careful with their controlled hunting in which they ensure that the low-grade beasts will not be annihilated. Even just a single high-grade beast could result in a massive problem if it wasn't quickly taken care of.

"Hmm… It seems that we have to ensure that there are no other high-grade beasts. Miss Han, make an appropriate mission request for this."

"I understand, Sir Orga."

After this, Orga personally appraised the Imp that Diether brought.

The body parts can be sold for 350 gold coins while the core can be sold for 3000 gold coins!

Unfortunately, the association won't be able to purchase the core at a market price unless there was a request from it even from the other branches.

"Although the association doesn't have any use for it. I'm sure that the Arcanists Association will be interested. You can visit them to get an offer or you can wait for a city merchant to visit here… Ah… You joined the previous mission, right? Then you can try selling it at the Academy's Marketplace. I'm sure that those students will need such high-quality material."

"Oh…"

Diether was reminded of the token he received as a reward and unconsciously touched his pocket where it was placed. He was also fully aware that these students were loaded with money.

"I'm visiting the Academy in a few days… I guess I'll sell the core there instead…"

"Good… I'll issue an item certification to you…"

Orga said after Diether decided to visit the Academy.

"Item Certification?"

"Yes… It can prove that the item or the core you have was owned by you. The Academy is quite strict in selling stolen items or forbidden materials."

"Ahh… I see… Thank you, Sir."

Diether wasn't really sure but answered as if he understood it. The words were quite new to the 10-year-old him but he knows that he should be grateful for having it.

The young man returned to the inn bringing his 350 gold coins and another 12 gold and 140 silver coins from the rewards on his other two missions.

"Mhmm… Now, I can buy a lot of things…"

He was now again quite rich. The difference in selling the material of low-grade beasts and the high-grade beast was very clear.

He couldn't help but feel excited as he was sure that he'll be able to purchase a very fine Magic Weapon that he could call his own…

Apparently, he couldn't really say that he owns the shinai since it feels like the shinai owns him.

By purchasing a Magic Weapon using the money he earned would feel completely different.

On the other hand, Reiji was similarly delighted as he completed not just the Beast Duel Victory II mission but also the Blood Bath!