39 Episode 7: Guild Recruitment (3)

Through the quiet streets of Aurelis, a young black-haired man could be seen casually strolling on the sidewalk, sluggishly making his way back home.

"...man. That took way longer than I expected..." As Jace closed the door behind him, a yawn escaped from his mouth. "To think dinner took two hours..." Throwing aside his house keys on a table next to the door, the young man began walking over towards his couch.

After the whole ordeal in the restaurant regarding the guild invitation and his hunter rank, there was yet another round of doubts and questions that ensued. In the end, Jace helplessly showed Rachel his Hunter's License to resolve every bit of misunderstanding that she had.

"Sigh..." Flopping down to the couch in the next second, Jace lazily turned his attention over towards his phone. "In the end, I ended up getting her contact..." As he entered his WhatsUP app, he took notice of a string of messages sent by her.

-Rachel - Luxur- Last seen 17 minutes ago.

[Rachel - Luxur]: This is Jace, yeah?

[Rachel - Luxur]: This is Rachel! The one that invited you earlier!

[Rachel - Luxur]: Just reminding you to save this number, alright?!

[Rachel - Luxur]: Let's be sure to keep in touch!

Reading through the messages, Jace helplessly sighed. "Seriously now... Even after confirming my hunter rank, she still wants to keep in touch with me?" Confused by her intentions, Jace scratched his head, turning off his phone the next moment. "Well... She can do whatever, I guess."

In regards to her gut instinct reason for inviting Jace to Luxur, she was mostly correct. When it came to the bullet that had struck the thief, it wasn't from Landon. Instead, it was Jace who had shot out the bullet.

"Though... I could've sworn that no one was looking when I shot the thief..." Despite discretely helping the group to capture the thief, Jace never would have expected Rachel to notice it in that chaos. "Was it due to my carelessness? Hah. I don't know. I guess I'll have to be more mindful of my shots in the future."

Letting out another tired yawn while in deep thought, Jace turned his head over towards the clock that was hanging by his wall, noting that it was now 8:47 PM.

"Well, enough of that. I should probably do my dailies and sleep for the day. I'm exhausted." Stretching his arms in the next second, Jace stood up, making his way over to the bathroom to wash up.

And, after idling around for another hour or so, he finally slept.

...

"Hah... Hah..."

Within a desolate and dark forest, a man could be seen raggedly darting through it. There, it could be noted that there were a lot of visible wounds on his body.

"Come on... Legs don't fail me now... Faster..."

As the man's breathing became jagged, he anxiously scanned the area, taking note of the thickening fog that was enveloping his surroundings. From behind him, sounds of rattling bones and incomprehensible screeches could be heard.

"Dammit... I'm out of mana and everyone's separated..." he frowned. "What do I do...?!"

As the incoherent noises came closer and closer to the man, he gritted his teeth, helplessly running. Suddenly, the figure randomly tripped on the root of a tree, forcing him to abruptly fall to the ground.

"A-Ack...!" he cried out. "Ugh... Stupid tree..."

As the man hurriedly attempted to get up, the distant noises from behind him drew nearer.

"Kehehehe..."

"N-No...! I need to get out of here fast...!"

"Kehehehe... Run while you still can~"

...

"..." Within a dark and quiet room, a young black-haired man could be seen soundly asleep in his bed. With the room chilly and the atmosphere relaxing, it almost felt as if the man could sleep for ages. However, his body suddenly shook. "...?!"

Abruptly opening his eyes the next moment, Jace was greeted by his room's ceiling.

"What the hell was that?" With a confused expression on his face, the young man's body stood up from his bed. "...a nightmare?"

Turning his attention over towards his phone, Jace noted that it was currently 9:42 AM.

"It's already the next day..." he rubbed his eyes, yawning loudly. "Man... It felt like I only slept for a few hours... Ugh. That nightmare's probably to blame. But... Why does it feel so weird?"

Compared to Jace's usual nightmares or dreams that he would randomly have at times, Jace found himself completely confused with the 'dream' that he just had. To him, rather than a dream, it felt as if he was watching from someone else's perspective.

"It feels stupidly familiar somehow..." he scratched his head, sighing. "Hah... Whatever. This stupid nightmare is probably just messing with me..." Deciding to ignore the dream, Jace began moving out of his bed, now heading towards his bathroom to wash up and shower.

However, right at that second, Jace felt a sharp pain in his head.

"—a-ahh... Get away, you stupid ghouls! Get away!" A random gunshot sound rang in his ears.

"...?!" At that instance, Jace's attention became alert as he scouted the area around him, only to realize that he was still in his room. "What the hell...? Am I going crazy or something?"

Feeling extremely uneasy, the man glanced around his room again, confirming that there was nothing around him that could've made the vivid sound that he had just heard.

"...maybe I am going crazy..." Pinching the bridge of his nose, the man continued to the bathroom, washing up without any interruptions this time.

After feeling only slightly refreshed, the man made his way over towards his couch, flopping down on it with his phone in hand the next moment.

"Jeez... What a morning..." he muttered, drying his hair with a towel. "What's even going on with me today?" Still caught up with the nightmare from earlier, Jace clicked his tongue, soon turning his attention over towards his phone the next second. "Argh... This is so weird..."

Whenever Jace would even remotely think of the dream, a vague figure formed in his head. It was almost familiar, yet distant at the same time. He knew not of who it was, but simultaneously, he felt as if he instinctively knew this person's identity.

"..." Without realizing it, Jace ended up opening his WhatsUP app, only to somehow enter Landon's chat. "...what the hell am I doing?" he blinked. "Why's this making me feel so uneasy?"

With a helpless sigh, Jace pressed the call button on the top right of his screen.