Vol 1:Hmmm, Join A Guild??

An hour later, Iris and Gord wake up.

"Umm, what happened?"

"We defeat the monster," Adam shows the core to Iris.

"We managed to defeat that thing?" She says, shocked.

Gord says, "I thought that we would die there, but unexpectedly we win."

Gord looks to his right to see Cloude sleeping without his left arm and right leg.

"Sigh, if only I were stronger," he says with disappointment.

"That was my fault that I didn't act in time."

Susie, who was watching them, then speaks. "We should get back now. We already got all the core we needed; now it's time to get back."

Adam, who was grieving, hears what Susie said. "She's right; we should get back as fast as possible."

They all pick up and start leaving the forest.

In front is Adam, followed by Susie. Behind Susie is Gord, who is carrying Cloude, and at the rear is Iris.

They cut through all the undead coming their way with ease, but something still bothers Iris.

"Adam, I have a question. How did you manage to defeat the grim reaper?"

Adam is silent for a moment before replying, "It was thanks to Susie."

"Susie?"

"Yeah, she enchanted my entire body and weapon with holy magic, making me able to take down the grim reaper."

Susie is shocked at the statement but keeps up a straight face.

[Before they woke up]

"Susie, can you keep it a secret?"

"About what?"

"That I can use angelic transformation."

"Why do you want to keep it a secret, though?" She asks as she heals Adam.

"I thought that you should already know about this, but I guess I never said it. If people know I can use angelic transformation, they might be confused since I am not devoted to any religious or gods."

"When I think back about it, the angel that you take the form of... I never saw anything like it."

"So, can you keep it a secret for me?"

"Well, since you saved my life, I will keep it a secret."

"Thanks."

[Back to the present]

Iris seems like she believes in Adam's made-up story and stops questioning him.

At dawn, they reach the gate of the training facilities.

Eva and two other people notice them as they approach.

Adam hands over the four cores to Eva. "Here, these are all the cores of the monsters we were tasked with."

She has a surprised look on her face but gives a smile. "Well done, contenders. Bring the medicine here."

"Alright, miss." "Alright, miss."

Adam's teammates let out a breath of relief.

He looks around the area, noticing nobody else is there except for his own team and Eva.

"Have the other teams come back yet?"

"Nope, you guys are the first ones."

Adam looks toward the horizon before going inside.

Another day passes.

Only three teams manage to come back from the final task, with two teams managing to get all the monster cores.

They group up inside the facilities.

"Congratulations to the people who managed to come back from the final task. From today onward, you are officially a 'Hunter.' We will be going back to the arena. There you will be given your rank and official hunter tag. Pack your stuff up; we will be leaving."

[After reaching the arena]

They are congratulated by the staff members. In the spectator seats, a few people are also watching.

They are then given their Hunter tags and ranks on the platform. Some of them receive a gift, including Adam.

"From now onward, you are a hunter, Adam Lightray," the staff says as he hands out the tag.

As Adam is about to get off the platform, the staff calls him.

"Wait, Mr. Adam, there is something else we wanted to give you."

"!?"

That's unexpected. Is there something they want to give?

"We heard that your sword got broken when fighting the monster. So here's a present for you."

The staff member gives Adam a long sword with a brown and silver sheath.

Adam unsheathes the weapon, revealing a clean double-edged long sword. Adam is able to see the reflection of his broken mask on the sword.

But for some reason, Adam doesn't seem pleased with the weapon he received.

He can feel the aura this weapon emits; this sword's rarity is ultra-rare.

"Do you like the present, Mr. Adam? The weapon's rarity is ultra-rare."

Adam puts back the sword into the sheath before speaking.

"It's alright. Thanks."

It's not that he has a problem using a long sword, but having a long sword means he has less use out of his hand since it needs two hands to release its full power.

Not to mention, it will decrease his speed of attack and overall movement. It's also pretty much unusable in tight spaces.

Adam walks off the platform with a slight unpleasantness.

After everyone has received their title, the announcer speaks.

"Now that you all have been given your title and rank, it's time to choose your hunter guild!"

(Most hunters are recommended to join a hunter guild after getting a hunter title. The reason is that hunter guilds have more quests than a town signboard where you pick up hunter quests. It's also more rewarding, and the quests can be returned if you can't finish them.)

Adam actually doesn't want to join any of the hunter guilds. Even though they have a lot of benefits, not being in a hunter guild also has its own advantages.

First, he will not have to listen to people who have a rank inside the hunter guild. Second, he prefers working alone.

The announcer continues to speak. "With us today, we have a total of 10 guild leaders of hunter guilds. You can request to join their guild if you want to. If they think you're worthy enough, they will let you join in."

The point of view changes to one of the guild leaders.

From the spectator seat, a woman with long dark purple hair, a dark blue dress, and gloves is analyzing all the new hunters.

She has her legs crossed while analyzing all the hunters.

Standing beside her is another woman who is the servant.

"Miss Rosa, here is the name list of all the hunters who made it."

She is still sitting there quietly as she goes over each and every single individual.

After done looking at everyone, she gives a gentle smile before speaking to her servant.

"This time around, there are a lot more people with potential, but only two caught my eyes."

She says with a seductive voice before resting her head on her right hand.

The servant asks her master, "Who are these two people, Miss Rosa?"

All the new hunters show a strong aura, but only two people keep their aura from leaking.

"The first person is the guy wearing the black armor with a red spear. The second person is the one wearing the cracked mask with a crossbow on his back and a long sword in his left hand."

The servant looks toward the person her master mentioned and finds their names on the list.

"That person wearing the black armor is Ethan Alexsender, and the person wearing the cracked mask is Adam Lightray."

"What interesting individuals they are. In fact, one of them noticed I'm looking at him."

The servant is quite shocked at her master's statement.

"Huh!? To notice that you are looking at them... that must mean that person has a strong sense."

"It seems to be the case."

[ Back to Adam's point of view. ]

Adam notices that the woman has been looking at him a lot.

He can tell that she is a strong person because her aura doesn't leak at all. This could be troublesome if she has an interest in him.

Adam turns to look at Iris, who was looking at every guild leader.

"Iris, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Do you know who's that woman there?" Adam asks as he points toward the woman.

"You mean the one wearing the dark blue dress?"

"Yes."

"If I remember correctly, she's the infamous hunter Rosaria Raindrop and also the leader of a hunter guild, 'Purple Reaper.' She is a grandmaster rank hunter."

Grandmaster hunter.

This woman is at the highest rank a hunter can be. There are five ranks in hunter: beginner, trainer, expert, master, and grandmaster.

Each rank has five tiers: I, II, III, IV, and V.

"Thanks for letting me know."

"Will you not going to join any hunter guild?"

"Well, I—" Adam doesn't finish his words as someone is approaching him.

"Your name is Adam, right?"

"Yeah, so what is it?"

"My name is Jack Hansmon. I am offering you to join my father's guild."

"!?.

What makes you think I will join a shady hunter guild?"

Jack holds his anger before speaking again. "I know that you are a strong person, Adam. So why not join a strong hunter guild, right?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to decline your offer."

Jack giggles a little before he talks again. "I know that you are going to decline my offer. So how about a match? You versus me. If I win, you have to join my father's guild."

This guy really wants me to join his guild, but maybe I can gain something from this match.

"Sure, we can do a match, but if I win, I want you to give me your weapon. That twin pistol of yours is a very interesting weapon."

Jack looks like he's against giving his weapon to me, but in the end, he agrees to the condition.

"Alright, if you win, I will give you my weapon."

They both shake hands, and a duel will happen there.

Everyone who was on the ground is moved to the spectator seats above.

"It looks like Adam will be having a duel against that guy. We will be able to observe what that man is capable of," the servant said to her master.

The master giggles a little. "Hehehe, I doubt that he'll show much of anything at all."

The announcer then said, "This is a duel between Adam and Jack. If Adam wins, Jack has to give his weapon, and if Jack wins, Adam has to join his father's guild. Both opponents, please go to the end of the arena facing each other."

Adam is to the right, and Jack is on the left.

Adam unsheathes his long sword and takes a ready position. Jack pulls out his twin pistol with a smile on his face.

Everyone in the arena is looking at both of them.

The announcer speaks. "Now let the match begin."

Jack immediately shoots one of his guns toward Adam.

The sound of the shot is silenced, but Adam blocks it with his sword.

"Brummm."

Something unusual happens. Adam is sent flying and crashes into the wall behind him.

"Hehehehe, how do you like that?" Jack laughs as Adam tries to get out from the rubble.

Adam, who is trying to get out from the rubble, thinks to himself.

I managed to reinforce my body with mana before crashing into the wall. If I was late for a second, I could sustain more injuries.

But that shot is unusually strong... is it magic?

Adam stands on his feet and takes another ready position.

"Looks like you can still keep going. Now let the game begin," Jack says before taking his cloak and covering himself with it.

Jack suddenly vanishes into thin air.

Invisible cloak? It will definitely catch someone off guard, but it's not a problem for me. I can still hear his footsteps, smell his presence, and feel the air changing.

Two shots are launched from Adam's right.

Adam jumps forward, dodging the bullet.

Now he is in the middle of the arena.

"Isn't it a bad idea to stay in the middle of the arena, Miss Rosa?"

"It is. But I think he has a plan."

Two bullets come from Adam's 6 and 8 o'clock. He dodges both of them.

There are two sounds of bullets. One is silent, and the other one sounds like ice freezing.

Three more bullets come Adam's way. He dodges two of them and blocks the third one.

But something is different about this bullet compared to the others.

Adam's long sword and arm have been frozen with ice.

Adam quickly breaks free from the ice and dodges the silent bullet coming from behind him.

"Brummm," the wall gets destroyed.

So that's how it is. One of the guns freezes the target, and the other one destroys it.

It's much simpler than expected. If that's all he's got, then this will be easy.

Five minutes later, after dodging all the shots, Adam finally makes his move.

Jack is probably already exhausted by this point. Now I make my move.

In Jack's mind. Huf, huf, huf. I shouldn't have run all over the place; now I am tired.

Either way, how come he managed to dodge all the bullets anyway?

I should catch a breath before attacking him agai—!

Adam is aiming his crossbow toward Jack's direction.

Phew.

Jack barely manages to dodge the unexpected attack, but the bow has taken off Jack's invisible cloak.

Adam looks toward Jack, who is exhausted.

"You fucker, take this!" Jack shouts before firing at Adam.

Adam puts away his crossbow before charging toward Jack with his long sword.

Dodge, dodge, and dodge. Adam swiftly dodges the rain of bullets.

The bullets that hit the ground leave an ice spike or a crater.

Adam then proceeds to parry one of the freezing bullets back to Jack, and it frosts his leg.

"Shit. Shit." Jack curses as he is unable to move from the spot.

Adam is now right in front of Jack, but instead of swinging his sword, Adam gives a strong punch to Jack's jaw.

Jack is sent crashing into the spectator seats and instantly falls unconscious.

The announcer speaks. "The winner of this match is... Adam!"

"Sigh, this takes longer than expected, but it's alright since I'll be getting a new weapon."

"He is a very strong person. Do you consider bringing him to our guild, Miss Rosa?... Miss Rosa?" The servant turns to look at her master, but she isn't there.

Adam puts back his long sword in its sheath; that's when he notices someone else has jumped down to the arena.

It's a woman wearing a dark blue dress and dark blue gloves.

The woman gives a clap to Adam after she has landed.

"Marvellous, Marvellous. You did great in that fight, defeating him without showing much of what you can truly do."

This woman has a very weird aura. It feels like a withering flower and a blooming flower at the same time.

Adam lets out a sigh before speaking, "So what do you want?"

"You catch on quick. I wanted you to join my hunter guild."

As she says that, the other guild leaders become mad, and in protest, they also jump down to the arena.

They start arguing about why I should join their hunter guild.

As time goes on, it starts to get worse and worse.

It gets to the point where the guild leaders about to start fighting each other.

"Stop!" Adam shouts.

All of them stop fighting and look at Adam.

"What makes you think I will join your guild?"

All the guild leaders become speechless after hearing what I said.

"For your information, I never intended to join any guild in the first place, but there is an exception."

"If you want me to join your guild, there are three conditions. First, I can do whatever I want, and nobody can order me around. Second, the guild that I join must provide the information that I want at any moment. And finally, the last one, the guild cannot interfere with anything that I do."

"If you can't fulfill these conditions, then fuck off."

Some of the guild leaders curse at Adam and say, "Who do you think you are to make such outrageous conditions?"

While some don't accept Adam's conditions, there are also some guild leaders who are still considering it.

"This is my condition for me to join your guild. Feel free to add more conditions if you want to, and of course, if I accept your conditions. If there's nothing more, I will take my leave."

All the other hunters look at Adam with unexpected and dumbfounded faces while he walks toward the arena gate.

As Adam walks, he stops when he hears a woman's laughter.

It was the woman wearing the dark blue dress.

She then stops laughing before saying with a smile, "Adam, you are a great figure. Even when facing someone stronger than you, you still don't back down. I have considered your conditions, and I will fulfill them. So come and join my guild. We will later discuss the conditions that I will add to the contract."

Other guild leaders couldn't believe what the guild leader of the purple reaper just said.

Even her servant couldn't believe it. "B-But, Miss Rosa."

"Let's go back to the guild; we still have a lot of work needed to be done."

The other guild leaders are still in shock that she actually accepted his conditions.

Adam is also quite shocked that someone actually agreed to his conditions.

"Oh, by the way, Adam, when will you have free time so we can discuss this contract?" The woman asks Adam.

I think this woman is dangerous. I should try my best not to piss her off.

Next morning arrives.

Adam is just having breakfast when he hears someone call his name.

Adam goes to the window to check who it is.

Ah, it's the woman from yesterday and her servant.

Adam quickly puts on his mask and goes outside.

Adam greets them and asks them to come inside his house.

The dark purple-haired woman starts talking to Adam.

"Your house is pretty small, Adam."

"Well, I was living alone. Both of you can sit here; I will go make some tea."

"Oh, thank you."

She sits on the sofa with her legs crossed while her servant keeps standing.

After making some tea, Adam gives it to both of them, and they start talking.

"So what is the condition you would like to add?"

The woman sips the tea Adam had prepared before speaking.

"We should introduce ourselves first. My name is Rosaria Raindrop; people usually call me leader or Miss Rosa. Standing beside me is Miss May; she is one of the members in the 'Purple Reaper' guild and also my personal assistant."

Miss May then says, "It's nice to meet you."

Adam replies, "It's nice to meet both of you. So, let's get straight to business. I already stated my conditions to join a guild, now let's hear your conditions for me."

Rosa starts to speak with a smile on her face.

"We have four conditions you must follow. Our first condition is you need to participate in any event that the guild celebrates. The second condition is you must not attack other guild members unless they provoke you. The third condition is the information that you want can only be asked once a week. The final condition is you must be the vice leader for the 'Purple Reaper' guild."

Adam sits there for a few minutes, thinking about the conditions.

The first and second conditions are pretty easy to follow. But the third one will limit the information that I could get.

These people are pretty smart.

Adam thinks as he looks at Miss Rosa drinking the tea he made.

The fourth is a weird one. Why do they want me to become the vice leader? I'm pretty sure that they have a lot of stronger hunters to fit the role.

After a few more minutes have passed, Adam finally made up his mind.

"I'm good with most of the new conditions that were added, but...why do you want me to be the vice leader? I know that there are plenty of strong people in your guild."

Then Rosa speaks with her beautiful smile. "Well, you see, there are a lot of strong people in my guild, but they don't have the leadership or the knowledge to guide the other members."

If I become the vice leader, I can command the other members that are under me, but I feel like I'm missing some information about becoming the vice leader.

To be more careful, I should add a new condition to this contract.

"Then I'm alright with those conditions, but I would like to add one more."

"Go on," she replies at my word.

"I will only be staying in this guild for a minimum of 6 months at the most. After 6 months have passed, I am free to leave the guild if I want to."

She then says, "You're pretty smart, Adam; you are aware of what it means when someone becomes vice leader. But that doesn't matter; we will add that condition to the contract."

She snaps her fingers, and Miss May immediately writes it down on the contract.

Then she says to me, "Sign here, and you will be officially joining the guild 'Purple Reaper.'"

"May I have a look at the contract first before I sign it?"

"Emm, sure."

Miss May gives me the contract, and I start reading it.

I'm checking it to see if they had put hidden stuff or conditions that I don't know in the contract.

Rosa starts to talk to me with an annoying face.

"You don't have to check everything, you know. This contract will benefit both of us."

Adam looks at her before saying, "Fine, I sign the contract."

After signing the contract, Miss May makes a copy and gives it to me.

Then Miss Rosa stands from her seat with a smile and says, "Welcome to the Purple Reaper, Adam."

After that, they both shake hands, and Miss Rosa and her servant leave Adam's house.

Adam takes off his mask and lets out a sigh of relief.

Now that is out of the way, what should I do... I should meet up with Lynn and tell her what happened.

Afterward, Adam makes his way toward Lynn's house.