Chapter 183 - Skill hunter

Anyway, as soon as I handed our identifications to the receptionist, her eyes widened slightly as she glanced back at us. Well, I could honestly understand why she was surprised.

"R-Rank B" 

She stammered. And as I had anticipated, the reason was our Ranks. Though it's a bit obvious, our Ranks were elevated to B with the help of the royal family. Besides killing monsters and completing quests, the final requirement to achieve Rank B was to have the approval of the royal family of the country you were in, regardless of which race you belonged to.

After that, to move up to Rank A, it's necessary to solve a problem that threatens an entire kingdom. Moreover, these are usually issues that threaten the continent or even the world, so to speak. Honestly, I wonder who exactly the few Rank S individuals fought against to reach that level.

Setting that aside, after hearing our Ranks, the entire guild seemed to become slightly more animated, and I wouldn't expect any less. While not as grand as Rank A and not as hard to attain as Rank S, being Rank B basically means you've been recognized by a country as a force to be reckoned with. Overall, you're strong enough to rival the best knights or warriors of a realm.

Anyway, after the initial surprise, the rabbit woman returned our identifications while looking a bit more respectful. Not that she wasn't being respectful before, but now it's as if she found out we're some sort of celebrities or something.

"The mission board is over there" 

The receptionist said, pointing to the location. Nodding, I followed her indication and stood in front of the board, which was filled with various quests. While most were about monster elimination, there were a few involving resource collection or personal requests from someone to resolve a situation requiring an adventurer's intervention.

I didn't spend much time perusing the board and simply chose a few quests involving moderately strong monsters I hadn't faced using my ability. I grabbed all the papers and took them back to the rabbit woman. By the way, there was a drawing on the papers showing the monsters' appearance. Basically, it was this visual representation I used to gauge whether they were strong or not.

Of course, I also took into consideration the mission's difficulty level itself to assess the monsters' strength. That's why most missions were of Rank B, although there were a few of Rank C. After that, Ana and I left the guild, under the curious gazes of everyone, and started walking toward the exit of Anima. More precisely, we were headed to a specific part of the forest.

Upon reaching the gate, we encountered the same Demi-human who welcomed us when we arrived in Anima. As he already knew our faces, it was quite easy to leave the city. Afterward, Ana and I began walking through the forest until we reached the location where the first monster I would hunt was being spotted.

The monster we were hunting could be described as a bear entirely made of wood and vines, if I had to sum it up in one word. This is a Rank B monster capable of using magic, being a particularly dangerous creature due to its natural habitat in forests.

Anyway, I honestly didn't expect it to be so difficult to defeat. Moreover, this was a monster I had never used my ability against before, so there was a chance of getting something valuable from it. At least, that was the thought that motivated me as I continued to hunt it with Ana's help.

In the end, we found it near a lake between the trees. It wasn't necessarily drinking water, and to be honest, I really didn't know if it could. All it was doing was basically moving back and forth while the lake water flowed over its wooden body.

Before we acted, I had already come up with a plan with Ana. Following my instructions, she slowly approached the water. As soon as her hand touched the surface, the lake was almost instantly frozen by her.

Although the monster wasn't completely frozen, the fact that its limbs were trapped in the ice meant it couldn't move, giving me a tremendous advantage. Seizing this opportunity, I approached the monster and mentally called for Shade. Feeling his hands circling my neck, I extended my hand towards the monster.

With speed and efficiency, several small black portals appeared around the monster. From them, sharp spikes were launched, piercing the monster from all imaginable angles. Almost instantly after my attacks, the monster's movements were completely halted.

Seeing Ana approach with eyes shining with excitement, she tilted her head in my direction. I knew exactly what she wanted, so I started petting her head. Ana looked like a cat trying to get closer to me, her face expressing pure satisfaction.

I walked up to the monster, stepping on the ice as I raised my hand towards it, activating my ability. A few seconds later, a very familiar voice echoed in my mind.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE ACQUIRED THE ABILITY (NATURAL RECOMPOSITION)

Honestly, I had no idea what this ability was supposed to do. Furthermore, the fact that it wasn't an active ability didn't help either. In the end, I decided to associate it with my regeneration ability since the name "Natural Recomposition" for some reason made me think of some kind of healing ability.

DO YOU WISH TO MERGE ABILITIES (REGENERATION) AND (NATURAL RECOMPOSITION)?

Mentally agreeing, seconds later, another voice surfaced in my mind.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE ACQUIRED THE ABILITY (CELLULAR RECOMPOSITION)

With a slight smile on my face, I continued towards the other locations where the monsters I needed to defeat for the missions I accepted were. I decided not to take them back to the guild, as they would all become my food.

Moreover, I must say that this hunt became incredibly rewarding, considering all the abilities I acquired by defeating the monsters.