18 The Hunter Association.

"And somehow I ended up here." Said Asper as he stopped in front of the hunter guild's door.

'Speaking of which, there's still more to inspect from the screen…'

"Guess I'll just do it after registering." Muttered Asper before walking inside

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The Hunter's guild. An old slightly run down space, filled with Hunters who either stayed in their cities or traveled all over the world.

The inside was slightly as Asper had expected. Many Hunters spreaded around. Some sat with their party members in their tables while others seemed to sit and enjoy themselves alone.

The air conditioning was just right, it wasn't too hot, not too cold. The smell was surprisingly fresh and most of all. It was well-maintained.

Well. Mostly well-maintained. Some tables and chairs seemed to have gotten broken from a recent fight.

Despite all of this, Asper felt disgusted being there. He couldn't stand being in the one spot, the one where the beings who had caused him all that pain would frequent the most.

And It seemed like he wasn't the only one. Who had problems with him being there.

The Hunters began to eye Asper. They all gave off a strong pressure and feeling. Even the weakest one that he could feel was a tall fat guy who even Asper didn't know if he'd be able to beat.

He felt as if he were prey walking into a spider's nest. He was receiving gazes from all sorts of directions as he walked towards the register. However, that didn't stop him.

He carried his bag which contained the two magical cores close to him and made sure to keep his guard up in case of anything happened.

In that place, he knew that there was only one thing that would protect him and keep him safe. It wasn't the tooth fairy or the common being of belief which the church referred to 'God' but rather, It was the knives on his waist and gun on the holster strapped to his leg.

'If anything happens, I'll-'

"OI…!"

The voice came from ahead of him. Asper looked up only to see a man towering over him. Tall with muscles running through his whole body. He had a strange looking monocle on his right eye and short tied-back black hair.

As Asper found himself staring at him, he realized something. This man was strong. So strong that he couldn't properly assess his strength.

"Are you just going to stand there and stare?! We don't have any spare food to give out."

"Register… I'm here to register as a Hunter." Said Asper

The moment he did. The room burst out into laughter.

"KUHAHAHAHA!"

"DID YOU HEAR THE KID!? HE SAID HE WANTS TO BE A HUNTER!!"

"PFFT! LOOK AT HIM! MY STEP DAUGHTER IS BUILT BETTER THAN THAT!"

The Hunters around him made fun of him, mocking him, one after another. They couldn't help but laugh. Especially considering Asper's size. It wasn't the first time such a case happened, so no one was surprised.

The laugh however, didn't last long. The air grew cold as the hunters and the man by the register began to let out blood lust.

"Do us hunters… Look like a joke to you?" He asked

In that situation, the air felt so thin that Asper found that he could barely breathe, much less think. It was just that overwhelming.

<Adapting…>

<Initiate, exterminate quest?>

…

Back at his home, After eating Asper had received a message

It was only then that there were other ways to level up rather than doing it through fighting. Such was by doing quests.

…

'Exterminate? As in exterminate all the other hunters here? Fuck no, I'd die.'

The man at the register quickly released his blood lust after realizing what he had done before saying "Scram kid."

Some of the hunters already had their hands on their weapons. Most looked like C-Rank to D-Rank hunters, but that was too much even for Asper to handle. Or so he thought.

This was a warning to Asper. A Clear warning that showed just what he had in store for him if he didn't stop wasting everyone's time. However, Asper didn't budge. He was barely afraid at this point.

Moreover, he wouldn't be able to stand it. The thought of them looking down at him and him doing as he was told. He had swore to change, and such was what he planned to do.

With a smile, Asper grabbed the two monster orbs from his bag, and placed it on top of the counter. He then added a whole 50 nova.

"This should cover the registration fees right? And the requirement is to have a monster orb, I have two of the same monster, I'd like to have it inspected and exchange it for money, if that's possible." Asper asked

The whole room became quiet. Asper wanted to avoid attention, but he had no other option in this case. He needed to start making money as soon as possible to improve his arsenal and strength.

The man at the register looked straight at Asper's eyes before grabbing a form and handing it over to Asper.

Upon seeing this, the tense atmosphere which had filled the air from the hunters, had dispersed. Most got their hands away from their weapons.

The rest of the adventures got back to doing as they were doing. Talking amongst each other and drinking. Now that, the register man confirmed it, there was nothing to say against it.

"Complete the form. It'll take from 24 to 48 hours to issue you your card, so come back later. We'll inspect the orbs and hand you the payment after it's inspected. You rank up as you exchange in and find more and more relics or monster orbs. Any valuables found in the ruins helps. If your rank is high enough, you'll be called in emergencies. You start are the lowest rank, F. Any questions?" He Asked

"None, thank you."

***

"What'd you think about that new kid?" One of the hunters who sat on the table asked.

The one who replied was another hunter who too sat on the table with him. Tall, and past his prime with a fully grown beard. A brown haired man who in many instances was mistaken for a bear.

He had scars going all over his arms and body, he had gained a prosthetic arm after losing one in during an expedition. A well-respected man amongst the hunters. The B-Rank hunter, Iron.

"He probably found the monster cores somewhere, but either way, it doesn't matter. Let him do what he wants. He'll see for himself, just how wide and dark the world really is. If he can survive that is." Iron muttered before taking another chug.

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'I wonder just how much EXP I can get from killing them…?' Asper wondered.

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