Episode 5: Link (1)

Through the busy streets of Aurelis, a blonde-haired man could be spotted within the crowd as he could be seen casually dragging along a young black-haired man through the streets. There, following from behind them were Toriq, Derek and Penelope.

"And... We're here!" Stopping at his footsteps in front of a tall building, Landon smirked. "Timeless Waves Restaurant!"

"...Timeless Waves?" Jace squinted his eyes at the signboard in front of the building. "Is this where we're having lunch at?"

"Yep!" he enthusiastically nodded his head. "Come on, let's head in!"

"Before that... Can you like, let go of me now?" Jace helplessly pointed at Landon's strong grip on his arm. "If you're worried I'd run away... Well, it's already too late for that."

"Oh, right. My bad!" Landon coughed, finally letting go of Jace. "Just so you know, this entire thing will be my treat! So don't worry about it!"

"...yeah, sure..." Jace scratched his head. "Though... That's not the main problem here..."

"Hmm? Well, whatever it is, let's go in!" he grinned. "I've reserved a private room for us, so we can all relax and enjoy our meals in peace! Ah, have you eaten Shakusan Cuisine before? If not, I can recommend you my favourites!"

"Anything is fine," the young man replied. "Though, prawns could probably work."

"Prawns? Got it!" Nodding his head, Landon waltzed into the restaurant. "We'll have a great celebration full of tempura and sushi!"

"Hey, wait..." Before Jace could interrupt, the blonde-haired man had already entered the building. "Sigh... It was just a suggestion..." Helpless, Jace and the others followed after the man.

...

As the group entered the restaurant, they were all greeted by the beautiful interior decorations of Timeless Waves, inspired by the culture of Shakusan. There, a waiter happily welcomed them in as he escorted the group to the second floor of the restaurant, where the private room Landon reserved was at.

"...phew! Finally... Aircon..." As soon as the party were seated in the room, Derek instantly stretched his arms, letting out a tired yawn the next moment. "Who knew taking on a dungeon would be this tiring..."

"Haha! It was fun!" Landon chuckled. "The thrill of physically fighting against the monsters was a whole other experience!"

"Now, Master Landon... Hunter work may be thrilling, but understand that your life is also on the line here," the old man calmly stated. "So you can't be so reckless in the future like you were in the dungeon earlier."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it!" Landon pouted. "But that's not the point right now! Since we've already ordered our food... Let's do some quick introductions!" The blonde-haired man turned his attention over towards the silent Jace. "After all... You guys didn't get to properly acquaint yourselves with Lazy Eyes here, right? Likewise, the same goes for him! So now's the perfect chance!"

"...is that really necessary?" Jace raised his brow in doubt.

"Of course it is!" Landon firmly nodded his head. "These are your fellow party members, so it's only right to get to know them a bit! Now then... Where do I start?" Thinking to himself, he soon pointed his finger over to Derek who was seated in front of Jace. "Let's start with our team's Striker, Derek!"

"Uh... Hi?" Caught by surprise at Landon's abrupt spotlight on him, the brown-haired man coughed. "Ahem... Well, the name's Derek! As you may already know, my class is a Striker, and I mainly use the spear. Err... I guess that's all? Oh, I guess like you and Landon, I recently took the license exam as well. Like a month before?"

"Eh? That's all to your introduction?" Landon glared at Derek. "Why are you suddenly so awkward!"

"Well, how am I supposed to know I suddenly have to formally introduce myself? I thought we were long past introductions!" Derek cried out. "I guess if I need to add more, then I could say that I'm your best friend??"

"Blergh, moving on!" Landon shifted his attention over to the old man sitting next to Derek. "This here is Toriq! You've probably seen him at the cafe before, right? He's the Sentinel of our group!"

"...I've seen him at the cafe before?" Jace blinked at Landon's words.

"You know, Ceruelean Cafe? The one Lisa told you to meet at?"

"Ah..." As if it finally clicked for Jace, he uttered.

"Haha, it was only a brief meeting, so there's not much of an impression," Toriq chuckled. "I'm just a barista at the cafe, it's nothing too amazing. Though... I must say, your handiwork with that gun of yours sure is a sight to see. Not to pry or anything, but, have you had any experience with a real gun before becoming a hunter?"

"Err, well... Not really?" Jace answered hesitantly. "Before I became a hunter, I was just a streamer, mostly playing games for a living. The games I typically play tend to lean into the FPS and RPG genres."

"Oh?! You were a streamer?!" Landon's eyes shone with excitement. "I never would've expected it with how little you talk! Say, what's your channel name?"

"I was just a small indie streamer. So it doesn't really matter," he stated. "And... You know... Not all streamers talk. I mean, for me at least, I really just stream for the gameplay."

"Oh? Interesting," Toriq raised his brow in interest. "I would have expected you to have been a part of the police force or something with how experienced you were with that gun of yours. That accuracy is no joke."

"Maybe he has some accuracy-raising skills?" Derek added.

"Hmm... That would make sense," he nodded his head. "But, even then, accuracy-raising skills can only help so much. In the end, the true accuracy of a hunter is more or less dependent on their actual skill. So, Jace's accuracy is quite scary."

"Well, I'm not so sure if my accuracy can actually be called scary? Truth be told, I do have a skill that increases accuracy," Jace explained. "So, it's nothing so special. But, if you do want another reason, I guess you could say I practised?"

Jace's [Focus Fire] passive increased his accuracy by 10%. However, it was just a measly increase. The benefits of that skill came from the 15% CRIT Damage increase when focusing on a target from afar.

When it came to his actual accuracy, it was much more than just a number. His performance in general stemmed from the years of experience under his belt. By now, he was at a level where he could comfortably hit his targets regardless of whether a skill was in use or not.

"Practice, huh?" Derek thought to himself. "Hey, Landon! You should put more effort into practising your aim!"

"Ugh... You've seen my skills!" The blonde-haired man grumbled. "What do you expect me to do?? Change my title's trait from 'for each time I miss' to 'for each time I hit my target'?"

"Well, even if it changes, your aim would still be the same!" Derek laughed, soon turning his head over towards Jace. "Say, Jace... You got me curious. Since you've been practising, just how long were you awakened for? I mean... You couldn't have gotten so good in such a short period of time, right?"

"Ah?" Jace blinked at the question. "How long was I awakened for...?" Seemingly in deep thought, his attention shifted over towards his phone, noting that today's date was [2nd June]. "Err... I guess... For about a year now?"

"...a year? Huh?" Landon's eyes opened wide in shock. "You waited that long before you got your license?!"

"W-Well, yeah. I've been spending that time training..." he coughed. Jace was soon nearing his 11th anniversary of being an awakener. However, no one needed to know that. As such, a year was his answer.

"Hoh. That's quite impressive," Toriq slowly nodded his head. "Most awakeners tend to jump straight into action the moment they awaken. Some don't even practice before taking the exam."

"...well, we ARE risking our lives in this line of work. So, putting some time into training helps to prepare yourself for this sort of lifestyle..." Jace stated. "Honestly, if not for the training, I probably wouldn't have been able to pass the exam or get through that dungeon."

Although the young man was mostly answering on a whim, there was some truth to his words. Jace didn't instantly head into danger right after awakening. Rather, he took his time to familiarize himself with his newfound powers. Though, that was the case a decade ago.

"Woah, that sure is some serious dedication!" Derek applauded. "Meanwhile, Landon here just went straight into the exam!"

"What? Hey! I trained too, you know!" Landon frowned. "It's not long, but it's still a decent amount of time!"

"Yeah, sure..."

"Hey, it's the truth!"

"Uhuh..."

"Bah, whatever! Let's move on!" Finally giving up on arguing with Derek, he soon turned his head over towards Penelope. "Now, for the final person on this table, this is our party's Magician, Penelope!"

"..." Penelope kept quiet.

"Just like us, she also recently took the license exam!" Landon followed up. "I think she got her license at around the same time as Derek?"

"Yep!" The brown-haired man nodded his head.

"..." Penelope continued to remain quiet.

"...I see," Jace nodded his head, glancing at each person sitting at the table. "Then, what about Toriq?"

"Hmm? Oh! You must be wondering whether or not he got his license recently as well, huh? Well, you're wrong!" Landon grinned. "Toriq has been a hunter for a while now!"

"Aha... In actuality, I've been a hunter for two years," Toriq scratched his head. "Though, it's more of a part-time job than anything else. I'm content with being a full-time barista."

"Not just any full-time barista, you know!" Landon laughed. "You're the owner of Cerulean Cafe!"

"Well, the true owner is you, Master Landon," Toriq smiled.

"Hmm?" As Jace listened in on the conversation, the door to the private room opened. At that moment, the waiter from before brought in a few dishes that were ordered earlier.

"Oh! The food's finally here!" As the sushi and rice were placed on the table, Landon's eyes sparkled. "Well, that's it for introductions! Let's dig in!"