First Job

Emir examined the guns, trying to find the one that felt right for him.

After a few minutes, he settled on a sleek black rifle with a comfortable grip and a fast reload time.

"This is the one," he said confidently, picking it up.

Mariana nodded in approval.

"Excellent choice. This is the HX-10 assault rifle. It's a popular model among hunters for its speed and precision."

Mariana led him to another section of the shop.

"Our rail guns," she said, gesturing to a display case filled with various models.

"We have a few that would be suitable for your augmented suit."

Emir examined the rail guns, looking for one that was compact and easy to handle.

After a few minutes, he settled on a silver and black rail gun with a comfortable grip, strong blasts, and a slow charge time.

"This one will do," he said, picking it up, and examining it closely.

Mariana nodded.

"Good choices."

"This one is called Thunderbolt X1," she added with a smile.

"These are both manufactured by Hyperion Arms, so you know they're high quality. Let me grab some ammunition for you."

In a matter of moments, she returned holding ten magazines, five for each weapon.

"The ammunition crates will be dispatched to your present address upon receipt of your payment, which amounts to a total of 400,000 UC."

Emir strapped on the weapons she had given him, the weight of them feeling heavy against his body.

He carefully secured the magazines into his rucksack, double-checking that they were easily accessible.

Then he reached for his hunter ID and handed it over to her.

As she took Emir's ID, her expression shifted to one of surprise.

"You're rank 1?" she asked, surprise evident in her tone.

"Sir Emir, you don't look anything like it. And wait, how are you only thirteen? You're already so tall?!"

With that, any sense of professionalism she had previously exuded vanished, replaced by genuine astonishment at Emir's young age and physical appearance.

Feeling a slight sense of deja vu, he laughed out loud.

"Trust me, this isn't the first time someone said that to me, and yes, I've been training for years, so it's only natural that I look like this."

"Wait, so how tall are you?" She asked, still bewildered.

[Lyra, how tall am I?]

[183 centimeters, 6ft.]

His own surprise mirrored hers, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the situation.

"I'm six feet tall, and I have no idea how I ended up this tall at thirteen either."

Mariana's gaze lingered on him in amazement.

"Wow, you're reeeaaally tall for a thirteen-year-old," she said, her eyes roaming over his frame.

"You must have some impressive genetics."

Mariana quickly refocused on the task at hand.

"But enough about that," she continued briskly.

"Let's process your payment."

She scanned Emir's ID card with a deft hand and began the transaction.

Seconds later, she gave back his ID.

"Alright, payment complete, if you wish for anything else, please come by this shop, we need more regulars, and you look to be an interesting customer."

"If the weapons I got from you today are satisfactory, then sure, I'll be coming by again."

While heading towards the door, Mariana called out to him:

"Thank you for your purchase, Sir Emir. Stay safe out there."

He turned back to her and nodded.

"Thanks, I will."

'Nothing huh, maybe I'm being too paranoid...' He thought as he left the store.

….

….

….

Northern Border of Sector 11-A

'It's finally time.'

Emir walked towards the open field at the city border, nearing the wasteland.

This open area was the meeting ground for most hunters taking job requests.

Many shops were scattered here, some were restaurants, and others were shops that sold items that hunters commonly used.

Emir's request would have him grouped up with other hunters to patrol the wasteland.

The vehicles they would be on were provided by the association, so they just needed to go out there and kill as many monsters as they came across.

Many new hunters started their journey here since this was the perfect job for a newbie hunter.

After all, it was not a very life-threatening job, at least compared to the other jobs out there.

Anyway, their chance of getting killed while patrolling was relatively low, and the pay was good, besides the base pay for every patrol, they would get extra money based on the number of monsters killed.

Emir sat on the floor with his back resting against the wall of a nearby shop.

While waiting, he looked around, spotting many hunters fiddling with their information terminals to accept job requests, something he only found out to be possible a few hours ago.

Seconds later, an official from the Hunter Association stood up and used a megaphone to address the gathering of hunters:

"Line up and show us your Hunter IDs! Then board the vehicle assigned to you. You can do as you please until departure, but if you're not in the vehicle on time, we'll consider it as abandoning the request. Now, form a line!"