Chapter 11: Hunter Department

May 31, Year 1,000 of the Mystic Calendar

As soon as morning arrives, the orphans were immediately gathered by Bran. However, it was clear to see that except for Keon, these orphans don't really care about the mini-test. They are already set on not wanting to become a professional mystic

If not for the government wanting to have as much manpower as possible, they wouldn't even need to give 6 months of training to the orphans. The government can just simply let the orphans choose to do manual labor or undergo training in hopes that they can become professional mystics

"Today's test will be held in a different area. We just need to wait for our ride" Bran announced to all the orphans that nodded their heads in respect

It took around 30 minutes before the vehicle they will use arrived. It was a mini-van that can easily fit more than ten people at once

The doors of the van automatically opened and Bran signaled for the orphans to enter it and they did

The orphans were curious and as soon as they entered the van, their eyes immediately glowed. The interior has a bluish color and it was aesthetically pleasing to the eyes

Even though the orphans don't know the cost of this van, they know that even if they sell themselves, they might still not have the money to afford something like this

This made them fearful and the orphans didn't dare touch anything as they don't want to damage the things inside the van

The atmosphere inside the van was extremely quiet as no one dared to speak. This was all because Bran is riding with them. Bran might be their teacher for months now but they still feared him especially since these orphans are already a group of failure in his eyes

Even when the van starts running, the orphans still didn't feel anything. It was like the van is not moving at all

It took around another thirty minutes before the van stops and Bran gave the orphans the look. The soldier exited the van first followed by the orphans

As soon as the orphans saw the outside world, what met them was a tall building with a lot of people entering and exiting it

"This is a government-owned training area. Many mystics gathered here to train but of course, they need to pay. You all are lucky as your mini-test will be held here for free"

Lucky? These orphans didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that. They are here because they lose their family!

"The mini-test today would be a big one. Several orphanages in the whole Hone City will have a collaborative test and from the looks of things, I would be humiliated today" Bran said while looking at the orphans who slack off in their training since they were attacked by the wasps

Since Bran is in charge of their orphanage, both the glory and humiliation of these orphans will fall on him. It was only natural that he would be dissatisfied with these cowards

The group of eight people entered the huge building and the insides shocked the orphans greatly. The orphanage only have basic things but this building looks so futuristic

There are floating screens and robots everywhere. It was like these orphans traveled in time. In some sense, the orphanage can be called a backwater place compared to this one

Bran showed a badge to one of the guards and the guard looks at the orphans before guiding them

When they arrived at the venue, the orphans saw thousands of seats with different levels. In the middle of the seats was a huge open space with white floors

Just that open space alone is already more than five times bigger than the orphanage, its diameter was simply insane. This place was really enough to make people speechless!

Even Keon looks like a country bumpkin at all the things he was currently seeing. He was so busy looking at his surroundings and he didn't notice that he was about to collide with someone

Keon's body collided with someone and he bowed his head in reflex. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking at where I was going" Keon apologizes. This was not because he is this kind of person. Instead, it was his body's natural reflex that he gained after acting like a kind person for years

Keon was apologetic outside but he was actually annoyed inside. When he raised his head, Keon saw a man that gave his body some chills. The man he collided with owned a pair of eyes that were so cold it will give people goosebumps!

The man didn't say anything and just continued walking away which made Keon irritated. That man was lacking in manners, Keon already apologizes but he didn't even say anything

"Tough luck you got there. That youth is Gabe, one of the geniuses among the orphans in Hone City. He's already a Level 2 Mystic. It would be bad if you angered him and he decides to teach you a lesson on the mini-test" Bran said while shaking his head

Bran's reputation already received a huge blow by nourishing trashes. If the only orphan on his side that has some talent was defeated badly because of that genius, his reputation will receive another huge blow

"Ah, really? I guess I'm really unlucky" Keon answered while scratching the back of his head

'Genius eh? I promised I'll surpass these geniuses too!'

Bran guided the seven orphans into their seats and after ten minutes of waiting, large screens appeared in all four directions above the wide-open space

"Good morning everyone!" On the screens, a woman appeared and she greeted everyone with a smile on her face

"Today is a special day! There are currently six orphanages that are included in this day's mini-test. This would make the competition fiercer and the contestants will be more pressured and there is a higher chance that their potential will explode!"

Six orphanages, due to the regular weakening points of the barrier, it causes a lot of children to lose their family. Six orphanages are still not all the orphanages in just the Hone City

"This time, the Hombre Realm's Government is more generous than before. The top twenty will be given cultivation resources depending on their rank. And those who showed exemplary performance would be directly absorbed in the Hunter Department where they will continue their remaining three months of training!"

Several gasps echoed in the surroundings. This was really beyond generous!

The Hunter Department is the most dangerous department to be part of. This is also the department where the weak and strong gathered

The Hunters are the ones that were sent into the different realms in the galaxy to hunt monsters for their resources. At normal times, Hunters are the group of people that contributed the most to the number of resources that humans have

That made the Hunter Department the most dangerous department of all and it is the only department that the orphans can choose

It can't be helped, if humans only relied on resources that they got from the monsters that entered their territory, there would simply be not enough resources

The weak orphans will be forced to enter this department while those talented geniuses that are filled with confidence will also often choose to join this department as they can easily hunt monsters for more resources. Thus, it really became the department in which both the weak and strong gathered

Since the Hunter Department is the most dangerous, the facilities available for them are also one of the best. These orphans' power will skyrocket if they continued their training using all those facilities!

However... Keon turned to look at Bran that also looks surprised at this announcement. Keon has pride in his intelligence and he knows that for the government to do this, there must be a huge reason behind it

The rewards were generous yet the danger that the orphans will face might also be generous. But .... Keon clenches his fist. He can't continue being weak and he is not that weak-willed to refuse such a good offer!

Keon doesn't want to die but he is also unwilling to become weak!

"Today's mini-test will be a simulation of what can happen if Hunters entered realms outside of humanity's full control. The mechanics are simple, all the participants must do their best to survive for six hours while killing the monsters inside"

As soon as the woman said that, towering trees, lakes, cliffs, and several other things grew from the open space below. Even the sky looks like a real one with sun and clouds

With the help of human technologies and mystic powers, something like this becomes possible

One can already imagine how shocked the orphans become after seeing such a sight

Before the orphans can even recover, some people went to their side and opened a box full of rings inside

"The government will lend you spatial rings to store the monsters' corpses. Remember, one of the main roles of Hunters was to hunt monsters for resources! Spatial rings are a must for every hunter and the points a participant will have depends on the monster corpses they will bring back after six hours!"

Keon took the spatial ring given to him. These rings are now common among humans but they still cost money that Keon doesn't have. This was the first time that he can use such a thing as this

"The monsters inside the simulation are all real and the participants can get injured but we will make sure that none of you will die. But of course, as future hunters, you should treat this test as a real-life scenario. Don't ever let your guards down!"

"Aside from not killing each other, there isn't any other rule. After all, in the wild, no one knows what is going to happen!"

As soon the woman finishes her words, the large screens immediately vanished. However, her last words cause the orphans to look at each other while raising their guards

The woman didn't literally say it but she implied that snatching other people's prey is allowed. It seems like the government is really readying the orphans to what kind of life they will have if they became Hunters

"Things would surely be chaotic" Keon thought in his mind. He doesn't like how that woman said things. Keon wants to continue having a good reputation but if he does not have a choice, he is willing to give up that reputation to at least reach the top twenty or ten

Keon wants to train using the facilities that hunters have! Becoming a Level 2 Mystic would be easier if he has access to those things

The orphans were given some more minutes before all of them entered the simulation in different entrances. Based on Keon's judgment, there are around 170 orphans and that is a large number

After all, every orphanage has more than twenty people except for Keon's orphanage that was attacked by wasps. Fortunately, the simulation area was really big, it would be hard to meet people at the earlier stage

As soon as Keon entered the forest, a sword immediately formed in his hand. This was his first time in an environment like this and he can't let his guard down

It didn't take a long time for Keon to meet his first enemies and it even caught him off guard. Three snakes fell down from the trees above him and they almost bit him

Keon doesn't know if those snakes are venomous and being bitten by them is something he should not let happen

Fortunately, Keon is starting to have some fighting reflex already and he barely dodges the snakes that want to bit him

With Keon dodging, the snakes fell to the ground but they attacked the youth without rest

The bodies of the snakes were shot like arrows and Keon barely defended himself again by placing his sword in front of him

One of the snakes was only able to bite in Keon's solid sword but the other two were still coming to him

Without a choice, Keon uses his mystic power and he formed two cards in front of him

The cards turned red in color and fireballs came out from them that hits the snakes at point-blank range

These snakes don't really have that much power, they just caught Keon off guard!