F Rank Hunter (2)

'At long last. I'm finally a Hunter. I hope I can find a decent party.' Arthur scanned around, before walking over to the Mission Notice area. 

"Looking for a D rank Magician."

"Experienced Team here. Any Healers? We accept any rank!"

"Looking for one more party member!"

The sounds of invites and advertising resounded, causing the mission area to be rowdy. 

"Oi youngin, are you looking for a party? Come Join us!" 

Arthur looked around ignoring the calls of some of the Hunters there; he went straight for the mission board. Scanning the board, he saw many missions, a lot of them simple beast clearance missions.

[Danger (F) - Kill 10 Mutated Aligators from the Beast Forest near the Swamp. Bring the bodies back as evidence.

Rewards - $5000]

The Hunting mission captured Arthur's attention, 'That's a pretty good one, but there's no description on how big those alligators are.'

Arthur's hand hovered near the poster, but before he could grasp it, a fair-skinned hand swiftly snatched the mission poster from the board. Startled, Arthur turned his gaze to the young man who now held the document.

"Oh, sorry," the young boy said, a cheerful smile playing on his lips. "Were you going to take up this mission?"

The young boy appeared to be around Arthur's age; he exuded a vibrant energy that reflected in his sparkling blue eyes and a mop of tousled blonde hair. His fair complexion and friendly smile conveyed a sense of youthful enthusiasm, mirroring his adventurous spirit. Dressed in practical yet stylish gear suitable for Hunting, his demeanor suggested a balance between confidence and approachability.

Arthur chuckled, shaking his head. "No worries. I was just considering it. You beat me to it."

The boy's smile widened, and he extended the poster toward Arthur. "Well, you're welcome to join me on this one. The more, the merrier, right?"

"Sure, I was just thinking of taking on my first mission. That one piqued my interest; I'm Arthur by the way." Arthur replied, offering his hand for a hand shake.

The blonde haired boy shook his hand in response and smiled brightly, "Nice to meet you, Arthur. I'm Leo Valorcrest. I was actually looking for one more party member. You see, I was lucky enough to make a Hunting group a few weeks ago. I recently just got my Hunter ID and am a F - rank Hunter. If you follow me I can introduce you to my party members."

Arthur nodded appreciatively, following the young boy across the large hall to where a group of other young teenagers just like him sat, playing a card game. Leo's party consisted of one dwarf and 2 elf girls.

"Hey, everyone! Meet Arthur. He's joining us for the mission in the enchanted forest," Leo announced, drawing the attention of his friends.

"Who's this? I told you Leo you can't just invite every guy you see into our party, and he's a mere commoner and looks weak too." The dwarf looked up momentarily at Leo, his eyes showing disinterest.

"You can't say that Thorin! I can feel it in my guts, he's going to be strong and he has a clean heart. I have a good feeling about him. You know I never get things wrong. Hehehehe!" Leo smiled, putting his arm around Arthur.

"Well if Leo vouches for you I'm willing to accept you in our party too. My sister, Lauren, also will agree." One of the elven girls smiled, putting down the cards in her hands because she had won. 

"Welcome to the party Arthur. I'm Aria and this is my non - identical twin sister Lauren, we're both archers." Aria introduced with a welcoming smile. She had the typical blonde hair and pointy ears that all elves had. Both her and her sister were clad in green armour; although one was all smiley and jolly, the other seemed shy and avoided eye contact.

"As Leo has already said, My name is Arthur and I'm a swordsman. I'll be in your care." Arthur bowed in respect.

"You better not hold us back, twerp. You humans really have no meat on you. Skinny folk." Thorin, the dwarf retorted, his hands crossed. 

'Are all dwarves grumpy? I did hear rumors they were. This is good, I somehow secured a party.' Arthur smiled, 'Although the mission shouldn't be too difficult, If I can clear 10 missions with them, I can start solo missions soon.'

"Great! The mission I picked was the Mutated Alligator clearing job. We've done this 3 times already so it shouldn't be too difficult. Let's take a day to prepare, since it's Arthur's first mission, we'll stock up on any necessities." Leo said ecstatically. 

The team then discussed a few small things introducing themselves and getting comfortable with each other, they decided to meet up directly in front of the enchanted forest at noon.

**

It was already the next day, the sun was out and the birds chirped. 

"Where is it?! That stupid blade. I knew I said I wasn't going to ever use it again, but it should still be here. Where is that katana?!" Arthur frantically searched through the possessions in his messy room.

Then a sudden realisation struck him, and he rushed to his closet. Pushing aside clothes and other miscellaneous items, he found the sheathed sword hidden behind an old dusty box. Relief washed over him as he pulled out the katana. The memories it held, both good and bad, flooded back, and Arthur couldn't shake the weight of his past decisions.

Taking a deep breath, he strapped the katana to his side. The oath he made to himself seemed to hang in the air, but the urgency of the situation left him with no other choice. As he prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead today, the sun continued to rise, casting its warm light on the Earth. 

Arthur sighed, holding the hilt of his old katana, his old companion. He was going to purchase a new blade yesterday but the prices of the blades in the market was too much for him currently. Instead he decided to buy an enchanted storage ring, this led him to becoming dirt poor as he now had $0 to his name

Glancing at the time on his phone, his eyes widened as he realised what time it was. He took a deep breath before jumping out through the window of his room. 

He was late!

His body weaved through the traffic of people, apologising to the people for his parkour jumps. The train station loomed in the distance, and the clock on his wrist reminded him that time was slipping away. The sounds of honking horns, distant chatter, and the hum of the city formed a chaotic symphony around him. Pedestrians parted like a sea before him, surprised glances following his hurried path.

With a burst of energy, Arthur reached the entrance of the train station. The automatic doors slid open, and he dashed inside. The digital display above the ticket counters taunted him with the imminent departure time of his train. He couldn't afford to miss it.

'Yess!' He slid through the train doors in time making it in time. Arthur settled into a seat, catching his breath as the train glided smoothly along the tracks.