Chapter 8 - Hunter at Stake

Blake was enraged and irritated as he watched John defeat the Evaluator in the evaluation battle.

He was frustrated to see someone weaker than him outshine him.

Clenching his fists, he glared at John, and all the other people noticed his anger emitting a tremendous red aura.

Two of the audience started to murmur about Blake's frustration and irritation.

"Look at him, getting jealous!" The man chuckled. "The Goodwin family is well-known for their strong aura, yet how is this boy so weak? Should we call him an lesser Goodwin? Hahahaha!"

"Hey! Keep your voice down, I don't want to see him cry here, hahahaha!" the other man replied.

"Say it again," Blake growled, gathering his aura to his palm, ready to conjure a destructive fire-based skill. "And I will burn you alive!"

Suddenly, a huge, old man with a sharply-grey beard stepped in; he was a veteran hunter.

"Calm down, Mr. Goodwin. We don't want to cause an unexpected event here, do we?"

Scanning the old man up and down, he had no choice but to keep his cool as he realized the old man was no ordinary hunter.

The Evaluator then announced John's result: a B rank.

Hearing this result, Blake angrily left the arena, unable to accept the fact that someone with a mere white aura was more talented and skilled than him.

***

John walked back to the Headquarters to look for his first mission, when suddenly a group of rookies surrounded him and announced their admiration for his swordsmanship.

"You were so cool back then, could you teach me how to do those bizarre swift steps? Please!" One of the rookies said

Then another rookie followed up, "Yeah! Me too, train me and I will pay you with my lifetime savings!"

"Nobody expected you to manage to defeat the Evaluator!" Another one added.

John chuckled appreciating the eager eyes and admiration of the rookies, when he suddenly remembered this was the same thing that happened when he was a child, admired by his peers but eventually their admiration turned to irritation and caused them to bully him because of his weak aura.

But John knew that this was something different than the past, and thought to himself that even though there might be some people who will not accept his talent, he would not back down and would face them with open arms, as he promised himself that he would prove to those people his strength.

While John was surrounded by rookies, Blake roared and interrupted the conversation.

"Get out of my way! You're blocking the Mission Board!"

The rookies that surrounded John immediately dispersed, unable to talk back due to their knowledge of Blake's identity and family background and not wanting to mess with him.

As Blake walked to the Quest Board, he muttered to John,

"You think you're better than me? Remember your place, white one. I'm getting irritated with your presence, did you know that?"

John smirked and faced Blake eye to eye and said.

"Irritated? Are you jealous? I can teach you then, but you have to call me master and kneel before me."

Blake was enraged by the taunt and replied.

"Do you know who you're messing with? Be careful with your words! Or I will make your days in the East Watch City miserable!"

John chuckled and replied "Oh! Did I get you wrong? Please pardon me."

John tapped Blake's shoulder as he gazed into his eyes threateningly and muttered "Try me then, and I will make you understand what miserable really is."

Blake left silently as he hid his trembling hand from the crowd before saying.

"We're not done here!" Blake roared as he left the Hunter Guild.

***

- Mission Board -

[Monster Hunting Available Mission]

Mission rank: B

Quest Name: Bear Hunting

Time Limit: 3 days

Reward: 500 Gold Coins and mysterious Old man's special gift

Objective: Hunt and defeat the Fiery Bear.

Details:

- Find and defeat the Fiery Bear, who dwells near the mountain peak.

- Beware of the Bear's powerful attacks.

- Return with proof of the Bear's defeat in order to claim your reward.

[Exclusive B rank mission]

John chose this to be his first mission, he thought that completing this mission would make those who hadn't accepted him to recognize him as a swordsman despite being a white aura user.

John moved to the receptionist and brought the Mission Paper to sign a contract for it.

"Hello, Erika! I'm taking this mission," John said as he smiled warmly. "Is it exclusive or not?"

"It is exclusive," Erika replied, looking around for John's companion and finding none. "Oh, so you're taking this mission solo, I see."

Erika prepared the contract and handed it to John along with the quill and ink.

"Sign this paper and hand me your hunter badge," Erika said.

John handed his hunter badge, before taking the quill and signing the contract.

Erika gave back John his hunter badge after she scanned it.

"Not completing the mission in the allotted time can have a great effect on your hunter career, and you may be suspended from taking exclusive missions for a while," Erika said, smiling, "but completing it can be great for your career. Complete 50 B-Rank missions, and you'll be promoted to A rank and allowed to take A rank missions and special benefits inside the Hunter training facility and Hunter Trading House."

"Thanks for the details, Erika! I should go now; I'll see you tomorrow!" John replied before putting the quill back in its place.

John left the Hunter Headquarter with thoughts of completing this mission; failure was not an option.

As John walked back to his house in the outskirts of the East Watch City, he thought of the great day that he had.

He was so thrilled to have battled the Evaluator, and he felt so proud when he had defeated him in the match.

In fact, he couldn't believe where he had got the idea of making the moves, creating a flash of light using his concentrated aura on his finger snaps.

Then he concluded that it was possible to create skills out of his white aura not just healing and Enhancement, and it depended on how he would study and practice his white aura for further uses.

John smiled as he concentrated his aura on his finger tips, then snapped his fingers. The bright flash exploded through the dim forest in an instant.

"Wow! This may not be considered an attack-type move, but this is really helpful in combat!" he murmured.