Chapter 01: Beyond The Gates
"Another book?" The driver asked his coworker.
"Yes. The synopsis looked interesting. Let's see how it goes..." The man responded, already immersed in his reading.
"Man, I envy your indifference." The driver exhaled. He could not believe that his coworker was in the mood to read some web novel, especially when he glanced in the wing mirror of the car.
Thirty-two Rols Royals, each carrying sixty-four elite A-rank hunters, sped down the highway. This lineup was enough to leave a permanent injury on the fabled two-headed rhinos.
'Hardly anything against her though.' The man took another look at the attractive passenger in the rear seat, Silvia, an S-rank player. It was said that they could defeat a hundred A-rank players on their own. Even among S-rankers, she was unique. She held three titles! Not one, two, but three!
But thinking about the man they were going for... The driver tightened his hold on the steering wheel.
He was just a regular C-ranker; he would drive the car, stop the car, and then stay inside. He had no desire to come across the top player.
Everybody was tense; Silvia could tell that. However, there was not much she could do, especially when she herself was nervous.
They have been trying to track him down for almost a year now, with little success, and suddenly he decided to show himself. When the name "Mr. Adventurer" was registered on the hunter's portal this morning, she knew it would be a hard day ahead.
'I hate this job.' A sigh left her lips as she glanced out at the changing metropolis. Another martial arts dojo was under construction, or rather, replacing the school meant for academic education, a common sight these days.
She would never have volunteered for the task if the others were not busy in the dungeon. She couldn't blame them; it was her bad luck that it was her turn to leave.
The automobiles drove past the dazzling city and into the desolate slums. Broken houses, cracked roads, weeds growing on the pavement, and amidst this desolation, poorly dressed figures drifted aimlessly, embodying the forgotten hopes that lingered in the air.
The Reboot had hit the scantily of these areas the hardest. It was so unjust to be excluded from an entire era simply because they didn't have a computer or the time to invest in it.
'Poor souls,' Silvia felt sorry for these people. To be born in the slums in an era where your status in a virtual world determines your fate was truly unfortunate.
"How much longer?" She inquired, plainly eager to leave this depressing environment.
"It's on the outskirts of the city, one and a half kilometres from here," the driver quickly answered, gazing at the GPS.
'He lives here?' Silvia found it hard to believe. 'Is he trying to mislead us? Then why would he...' She couldn't make sense of the scenario. She could only think along the way, nervous yet curious at the same time.
"Stop!" All the cars came to a sudden halt at Silvia's order.
"There's a dungeon nearby... A high-level one." She closed her eyes, trying to sense its presence.
The driver could feel sweat gathering on his brow. A dungeon dubbed "high level" by an S-ranker was enough to scare a city, let alone him. He hadn't signed up for this.
"Everyone! Get ready!" With a single command, all the doors opened simultaneously.
Men and women, all dressed in formal blue coats and black glasses, walked out at the same time. Within a minute, two straight rows had formed to the left and right of Silvia's car.
Looking at the large suitcases carried by each of these young people, the driver felt relieved.
Silvia stepped out of the car, and an old iron gate met her sight. There was a sign over it that read "Happy Children Orphan." An uncreative name for such an establishment, though it hardly bothered her as she focused on the park beyond the gates.
"How come I only noticed it now?" Silvia murmured, both intrigued and terrified by the fact that she had only just spotted the large crack in the space spanning the area above the land. It resembled a crack in a mirror, revealing the infinite expanse of black within it.
«D-rank Skill: Falcon's Sight activated!»
With the activation of her skill, Silvia could sense it. There were some presences in the dungeon, 'Multiple monsters,' she confirmed. 'And presences without mana... Non-players!' an involuntary frown appeared on her face. What are Non-players doing inside a dungeon?
She concentrated even more. There was a sudden surge of mana from a presence...
«D-rank Skill: Falcon's Sight failed!»
A mild headache came along with the skill's sudden failure. It was a signal; he was aware of her presence.
"He is inside." With that single sentence, all the players retreated to their cars. No further instructions were required. Their directions were clear: do not under any circumstances appear hostile. They were here only for formality or the worst-case scenario.
«E-rank Skill: Scouts Experience Activated!»
The passive skill was assisting her in maintaining her composure. The floating windows, which bugged her on normal days, hardly bothered her today.
"I'm going in," she said no further, opening the oiled gates. Within a few steps, she was standing in front of the dungeon. Drawing another deep breath, she walked in, eager to meet the number one player in the world.
.
.
.
For the first time in her two years as a player and another as a hunter, Silvia had seen such a sight. Dungeons were renowned as houses of destruction, overflowing with blood, corpses, and gore; they were a site of complete horror. When did they become so colourful and... full of Christmas lights?
"Is that the horn of a two-headed rhino!?" The shiny blue-green crystalline structure was an open testimony of its presence, but the blanket of Christmas lights and the cap of the red sock made Silvia question its authenticity.
It took her a while to recover from the shock. She could faintly hear some noise coming from a tunnel and followed it deeper into the dungeon.
"Give it back!" "No, it's mine." There seemed to be an argument over possession of something.
Silvia realised what was going on when she reached the source of the sound. There were two children, perhaps five or six years old, wrestling over possession of a slime monster.
Surprisingly, the monster known as the nemesis of every novice was acting docile and gentle. Both the children pulled it towards each other, stretching the poor creature in the process.
Before Silvia could warn the children of the slime's signature skill—acid charge—she spotted another slime in the cave, and then another.
There were around ten children in the cave, each with their slime. Some used it as a cushion, while others used it like clay, giving it various shapes. Silvia even spotted two girls using slime to play football!
Among these children stood a man with his back to her. He was operating on a table with a stove, cutting some vegetables.
"Exc-excuse me." Silvia seems to have lost her composure at this peculiar sight.
Suddenly, all the children had their eyes fixed on her, evaluating her existence. They started at her for some time, and then they looked away, dismissing her as less interesting than their slimes.
"I am telling you it's mine!" "No, mine." the querell continued, as did the others' games.
Silvia was left standing awkwardly. Children are usually fond of beautiful things, yet they receive no attention. She felt both awkward and upset.
"Yes. How may I help you?" The man asked softly and continued slicing, occasionally stirring the soup on the stove.
It took Silvia some time to collect her thoughts. "Good morning, Mr. Adventure. My name is Silvia Robin. I have come to invite you on behalf of the Eldian Hunter Association to the capital city-"
"No." the man replied with the same softness.
"Let go of it!" "No, you leave it." All the while, the verbal quarrel continued to develop into a more violent dispute.
Silvia chose to ignore this dispute, much like everyone else in the cave. "May I inquire the reason for your refusal? We promise to deliver all your demands–"
"That's enough. Let him have it." She was cut short again by the same gentle voice, though this time it was tinged with some irritation.
"Brother! You always favour him." The girl had to leave the slime disappointed, whilst the victor walked away, happily cuddling the creature.
"I will give you another one. But first, help me fetch some spoons." The man responded that after tasting the soup, it was nearly ready. "And get another bowl for our guest." He added.
"Kay." the girl replied, sulking as hard as she could to make her displeasure known.
"The Association is ready to meet any of your demands; we just want your corporation to clear some high-level dungeons that too at your schedule." Silvia quickly stated her purpose, afraid of being interrupted again.
"All right." the man responded with the same softness.