Chapter 14

Everything that Esecleus gathers about Serum -X would reach the higher-ups. Both Marxia and Plexi were also notified about the discoveries since they are part of the investigation team.

Only 4 days are remaining before the next deal with Mack's group and the group of men with tattoos under their eyes.

Esecleus, with Vice Chief Wright and Chief Alfredo, planned everything that needed to be done to capture the group of smugglers killing hunters and innocent lives with their illegal compound.

[Unique Ability Activation]

[Timestamp]

[Automatically save for your starting point when reset occurs.]

[Mana has been consumed.]

If Esecleus was the same five years ago, a simple activation of Timestamp would have almost drained his Mana. His first several uses of Timestamp was the hardest part of being a hunter. He could use it for like 1 or 2 times at best.

Even though, Timestamp had saved Esecleus countless times already in the past. If it was not for his Unique Ability, Esecleus would have been a goner before he could even reach 1 week of being a hunter. He is just so reckless and always rushing things. And yes, he was slightly immature back then.

"Is this really okay?"

Confused, Vice Chief Wright asked.

The three of them are having a separate meeting when both Marxia and Plexi should be there.

"Vice Chief Wright should not worry. I'll notify Marxia and Plexi later after our discussion."

"Then we will count on you about that," said Chief Alfredo. He had nothing against Esecleus and just agreed to whatever the man said and requested of them.

"I just don't like leaving out others when they should know about the plan."

"Isn't this why we are having a separate plan?"

"I know but..."

His words trailed off meaningfully. Vice Chief Wright seemed disheartened at Esecleus' actions and wanted to include both Marxia and Plexi in the meeting when it was already over.

Esecleus' approach was direct and blunt.

***

It was a busy and tiring day for Esecleus. Ever since he became a member of the organization's investigation team, he has been flooded with a boatload of work. He was never free anymore. His time for idling and doing nothing disappeared when he accepted the job and when he ended the life of his guild members.

Nonetheless, Esecleus would still have some spare time to play with the playful demeanor of Lynx. He even has the time to walk with her at night without a leash on her. She prefers walking freely, so she could run around with Esecleus still in her vision.

Yes, it was different from the other cats. Lynx was one of a kind. She even likes taking a bath every other day. And would not stop meowing until Esecleus gives her a warm bath.

Fascination gleaned on Esecleus' eyes when he saw the flickering and changing color of the Christmas lights. Never in Esecleus' life had he owned something related to Christmas. It brings fascination to him, yet it was accompanied by sorrow. His childhood was not the same, so

Esecleus had so much he wanted to experience. Being with someone for Christmas might sound simple to others, but to him, it means a lot.

A gentle zephyr passed by Esecleus. He felt the chill, thus rubbing his arm to warm himself up.

"Haa... It's snowing. I forgot to store an umbrella in my inventory."

Another chilling sensation ran at the back of his head. His head turned as fast as it could, doing a 180, which almost broke his neck.

[Astute Senses: On]

[Astute Senses: Off]

[Astute Senses: On]

Something just snapped in front of him, coming from above in the brightened path of the alleys. It was his Astute Senses giving him the warning about a danger he should be aware of.

A swift decisive slash did not connect when Esecleus tumbled and leaped away. The sound of metal clanging when it hit the ground rang on Esecleus' heightened senses. His sixth sense was telling him about the danger he was in.

What came into Esecleus' view was an assassin with his face completely covered. When he thought that there was only one of them, another set of kunai flew in his direction.

Esecleus has mastered the art of reflex. He effortlessly materialized whatever weapon came out of his inventory and parried the set of kunai flying directly on his way.

"Again, the two of you are not being discreet."

No words left the two assassin's mouths. They stayed silent instead and vanished through the wind. Their speed makes them somehow invisible to a normal person's vision. But not to Esecleus.

They were like a pair of foolish snails thinking they were the fastest in the world when they were actually slow.

In Esecleus' vision, they were running at a slow pace, jumping around from wall to wall, and thinking that Esecleus would not be able to catch up to their speed.

"A pair of trained assassins... Surely, they will entertain me, no?"

Esecleus had to give it to the two of them. Even though they are moving around a lot, they were making no sounds from their actions. A normal person would not notice that someone's actually moving at top speed. However, Esecleus was not normal. According to him, his battle against Lion's Mane guild accomplished nothing but omnipotence.

"I see. Kunai for a weapon, huh? That's so ninja-like."

[Ability Tree Activation]

Yesterday, Esecleus got rid of the useless abilities he garnered over the past years. Although they had their time, some of his abilities become useless on most occasions when they are low-tier skills. They would come in handy when an opportunity sprang up for them. But oftentimes they are useless.

Therefore, getting rid of them would save him slots for future abilities and he will have more time to browse through the Ability Tree.

[Bullet Punch]

[Strike through the air and watch your invisible punch travels across dimensions. The first punch will cost 100 Mana, but as you use the ability, 1 Mana will be deducted from the Mana cost.]

[Eyes of an Erudite]

[Also known as Sage's Eyes, this ability allows the user to foresee the future for no more than 2 seconds. This ability costs 200 Mana to activate.]

As an overpowered hunter, dealing with two agile assassins will be a walk in the park for Esecleus. First, he activated "Eyes of an Erudite" to take a peek at the future for exactly 2 seconds. Then, he posed in a striking position, jerking his clenched tight fist. Lastly, Esecleus patiently anticipated the perfect opportunity to land the punch.

"All I need is a single jab to put a stop to their stupidity."

His stretched-out right arm flew straight into the air. Its force rips through the magical barrier surrounding them. This ability was stopping people from entering the alleys. So, when Esecleus' punch destroyed the barrier, a thug suddenly appeared.

Note that all of this happened in an instant. When the invisible punch travels across two dimensions back to reality, with the help of the Eyes of an Erudite, it connected to whomever's neck, which vigorously flipped them due to the intensity of the punch.

The impact and the loss of footing caught up with the other assassin. It tripped and diminished their speed, resulting in both of them crashing into each other.

"M-Motherf— what the hell was that?!"

It stirred a ruckus in the alleys when the two assassins fell on the dumpsters, which caused alarming sounds from the people nearby.

"Are you two okay?"

They stood up as if nothing happened. No words were spoken and just disappeared in the midst of the ruckus. Well, there was no reason to stay since Esecleus already went on his way home.

"Why did they have to spoil my Friday night? But those two seemed different. Something was amiss about them."

What Esecleus felt about Ihra and Ahri was the hypnosis. The twins were under the hypnotism of someone. That is why they did not speak nor show emotions to Esecleus when they met.

Rumors about a man running around asking fishermen about Mack instantly circulated across the dock and near it. People involved in the said deal got a hold of the rumor.

"Should we move the next deal with Mack? It seems that the authorities are on our tracks."

"No, we won't. If they plan on subduing us in the upcoming deal, then let's just tighten our security and add more outcast hunters to our team. Let those monsters deal with monsters while we deal with our money."

While plans and plans are being broken out for the upcoming trade, hunters from across the city have gathered. And they will be divided into two sides. Hunters must fight hunters.

And as the trade is getting near, Esecleus notified both Marxia and Plexi with a piece of different information regarding the raid they are about to initiate in the upcoming days. Because he suspected that one of them is working under either Mack or the group with tattoos under their right eye.

Although Esecleus does not have any definitive proof that one of them is a spy or a rat, when his guts tell him so, it is true. Because most of the time, his hunches are correct.

~