Chapter 15

"So, who are these guys?" Sam asked.

Currently, he was in the car, sitting in the front seat next to Himeno.

During the last month, Sam had been quite an active hunter with positive results. He felt like he deserved to act like a senior, especially with two rookies behind him.

He pointed behind him to a short, dark brown-haired, pretty cute face. The other guy was quite tall, had spiky brown hair, and a scar on his face.

"These are my rookies. This is Arai, and this is Kobeni," Himeno replied.

He recognized them from the show. The girl, Kobeni, was a talented fighter, but her psyche made her vulnerable. As for the guy, Arai... he didn't have enough screen time, but Sam suspected he would die bravely.

"Nice to meet you guys. I'm Sam. Probably, you've heard about me?" Sam inquired.

"Sorry, I didn't."

"We're still new."

"And here I thought you would brag about our night in the circus." Sam looked at Himeno and sighed in disappointment. He then turned to the two. They appeared to be really afraid, which reminded him of his first job. He smiled and reassured them, "Don't worry, guys, just stay behind me, and you'll stay alive."

The girl smiled and nodded, while the guy just lowered his head and nodded.

Himeno smiled. "Well, there's nothing about this job to brag about. Also, didn't you get too cocky for someone who's been in this job for a little over a month?"

She was quite gloomy when it came to the lives of her subordinates. Sam knew her better. Himeno would prefer if no one became a devil hunter, and she always felt guilty about the deaths of her previous partners. She wasn't the type to brag about achievements, especially in this line of work.

"You for real?" Sam asked her.

"Sorry, you've been like this since day one. By the way, you still not smoking?" Himeno reached into her pocket and offered him a cigarette.

"No, thank you," Sam declined, pushing her hand away.

"What a shame. You'll die young without knowing what you're missing."

Sam looked forward. There were many cars driving in the same direction. They were all devil hunters led by Makima. So, all the events would start from here: the adventure to collect the pieces of the gun devil, fend off devils and devil hunters from other countries, and the control devil would make its move.

'Shit. I'm still too weak.' Sam's lousy expression stiffened all of a sudden as he crossed his arms.

He decided it would be a good time to use his points. Now that he had enough strength and agility, it would be wise to have more energy to execute his skills. He allocated 2 points into Strength and the remaining six into Wisdom. This increased his mana to 200, a significant power boost. Now it was time to use his 4 skill points.

[+ Skill: Air Slash. Unleashes a compressed air blade from the sword. This skill's power depends on the distance, the basic level of swordsmanship, and the level of the skill. 20 MP/Use] [Air Slash up to level 3] [Swordsmanship up to level 8] 'Stats,' he thought.

[Stats.

Name: Sam Lee

Level 10

Class: Devil Hunter

MP: 200/200

HP: 250/250

Age: 18

SP: 0 (Skill Point)

AP: 0 (Affinity Point)

Skills: Devil Sense (Passive)

Devil Aura (Passive)

Wind Footwork - level 4

Swordsmanship - level 8

Wind Cut - level 2

Moonlight Arc - level 3

Air Slash - level 3

Affinities:

-Strength: 17

-Agility: 15

-Wisdom: 11]

He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Even with his eyes closed, he could see the screen. It made him wonder what it would take to reach level 100 or level 200. At his current rate, it would take him years.

'Man. Would I have to go to Hell and fight devils there until I'm strong? Hell no.' He shook the idea from his head. 'Still, I'm itching to see how strong I've become.'

"We've arrived. Sam, you may not have worked with Makima before, but don't crack jokes," Himeno said.

Sam didn't realize he had taken a nap. "You were saying?"

"Nothing. Let's just get out."

"Aye, aye, captain," he said as he stretched his arms, took his sword in his hand, and got out. He and many other agents were in front of a warehouse.

The smell of rotten bodies filled the air. Even with Sam's weak sense of smell, he could tell how much death was around. Vibrations could be felt as chainsaw voices echoed. It was nearly dawn, and in such silence, he could feel everything clearly. The other devil hunters showed stoic faces except for Himeno's rookies, who were trying to keep their composure.

A few zombies were running in their direction.

"Leave that to me," Sam said, taking the initiative. Even if he wasn't meant to do that, so what? He wouldn't waste a single ounce of XP. Squatting, he dashed forward to the zombies. With a few slashes, he managed to cut them down, taking advantage of their slow speed. Waving his sword clean, he sheathed it. He had gained a few thousand decent XP points. It wasn't significant, but it was another step in the thousand-mile journey. It counted.

'Swordsmanship level 8 is way better than level 6. I didn't even feel that I sliced them,' he noted. He returned to the line with the others and observed as one man got out of the warehouse. He had three chainsaws: one on his head and two on his arms.

This should be Denji, the main protagonist.

Sam remembered. Denji was so poor that he had to sell his organs and balls to pay some of his debts. He then looked at Makima and thought, 'I pity him.'

The rest of the events went as he remembered. Makima hugged him, and Denji lost his fiend appearance. Sam and the rest of the squad went to fight the zombies. Sam was the most enthusiastic one about hunting.

After half an hour, he stood atop a pile of zombies, his XP bar almost reaching the next level.

"Sam, it's time to head back," Himeno said. "And take a shower beforehand."

"Why?" he asked.

"You smell like death," she said, raising her hand to pat him. "But on the bright side, we don't have to work in the morning."

"There's nothing great about that," Sam said. 'If I want to stand a chance against the most powerful devils, then I don't think I have the right to rest.' He then said, "I'll train."

"What about our date?" Himeno inquired.

"Leave it for the night."

"Okay, deal then." She approached him and whispered, "Since you're young, you can't buy alcohol. So how about I get you some. At your place."

"I missed my birthday. I'm grown up now," he smiled. "But I'll take you up on the offer."