Secret underground workshop

The old man led to the tavern's corner, where Hunter saw a latch on the floor.

"Here's the entrance," the old man said, bending down to open the latch. He put a key inside the hole down the hatch as the floor clicked. Then, the old man opened the latch, revealing dark stairs leading down to the underground. Hunter picked up a lamp hanging on the wall and prepared himself to climb down the dark stairs.

"Go ahead," the old man gestured at Hunter to go down. Hunter nodded and slowly walked the stairs to his new workshop.

"Thrud, stay up here," said Hunter when Thrud was about to follow him down the stairs. Hunter was just being careful. The last thing Hunter wanted was for the old man to shut the latch behind them and turn the underground workshop into their grave. Not that Hunter thought the old man would do that, but he preferred to be safe than sorry.

"Yes, boss," Thrud nodded.

There were twenty steps between Hunter and the workshop. The further down he went, the darker the place became. Thanks to the lamp in his hand, he was able to see the clean walls vaguely. After climbing down the stairs, Hunter was welcomed by a spacious yet cold room. The lamp in his hand dimly lit his new workshop.

The workshop Xander built for his son was large enough to allow at least twenty grown men to work comfortably. Its walls were lined with various alchemy ingredients in glass jars. In one corner of the room stood a basin into which ice-cold water poured from a falcon's mouth, while in another was a supply cupboard made of red oak. There was also a blackboard on which one could write formulas and recipes. The room was especially cold. But luckily, Xander built a fireplace with magical runes to absorb the smoke in a corner. Otherwise, one would be able to see their own breath in the winter.

Additionally, the room was scattered with many tables, and the walls had golden trim with ancient runes on them. Since the workshop was built underground, Xander had to place ancient runes to let the airflow in and out of the room. These runes did not come cheap. As an elf born and raised in this world, Kolvar was speechless after looking around the workshop. If he had to put a price on the workshop, it would be in the millions.

"We really hit the jackpot with this one," Kolvar mumbled, just loud enough for Hunter to hear him.

"I think so too," Hunter put the sacks on one of the tables. He finally heaved a sigh of relief. For a few minutes, Hunter walked around the workshop. He wanted to know if he could brew something more addictive and affordable than the devil's breath in this place. By the look of the equipment, such as cauldrons, the distillery system, and the glass vials in the room, he was quite confident.

"But before we start doing anything, we need to get those papers from the adventurers guild," said Hunter. Without those papers, he would be like an illegal immigrant in the city. It would be another headache if he stayed without the papers. He didn't want that. Hence, he decided to register himself in the adventurer guild and get some papers.

"Good idea," Kolvar agreed with Hunter with a nod. The two of them climbed the stairs up to see the old man, and Thrud was waiting for them. When the old man saw Hunter, he handed over a silver key to Hunter without asking a question. The old man seemed to be the kind that minds their own business.

"I assume you were ordered to keep your mouth shut about this place," Hunter tilted his head. Hearing Hunter's words, Kolvar felt a child running down his spine. He wouldn't be surprised if Hunter unsheathed his red dagger and slit the old man's throat if he dared to utter a word about the workshop to others.

Fortunately for the old man, he bobbed his head up and down.

"I was paid to keep my mouth shut. Just don't cause any trouble for my business, and we will get along just fine,"

"I can do that," Hunter nodded.

Then, he left the tavern with Thrud and Kolvar following him behind. Once again, Hunter stepped into the bustling streets among the people. No matter what, Hunter couldn't shake off the feeling he was in a fancy dress competition. He only saw medieval dressed people in movies and dramas. The air itself smelled rich and fresh. Thanks to the system, he and Kolvar were dressed to look the part. They blended with the people and headed toward the adventurers guild.

Eventually, they reached the white marble building Hunter had seen earlier. The adventurers guild was an imposing snow-white multistoried marble building located in Bellburn city's heart. It towered over the neighboring shops. From the street, a set of white stairs led up to a set of burnished golden doors. An elf flanked the doors in a uniform of crimson and gold.

Hunter walked the stairs with his head held high and chest puffed up like he owned the place. This wasn't an act but his natural attitude. As the most dangerous dictator who ever walked the earth, he had met and even dined with world leaders, weapons dealers, terrorists, and important heads in the underworld. While climbing the stairs, he noticed several groups of people dressed in various armor. According to Parker's memoirs, they were called adventurers. They were like freelancers who did all the dirty grunt work that the nobles were afraid of.

The elf guarding the door didn't bother to acknowledge their presence. Hunter didn't mind the guard as he pushed open the door. The guild looked grand and elegant inside, just as it was on the outside. Pure white marble floors, golden chandeliers, red-carpeted round stairs leading to the higher floors, and portraits of various people were just a sliver of beauty the guild had to offer. Unlike Hunter, Kolvar looked timid, with his head dropped to the ground. He was nervous to the point he started to sweat bullets. Kolvar lived most of his life as a slave. So naturally, he didn't go to luxurious places like the guild.

"Act cool and imagine you own this place," Hunter whispered to Kolvar. After giving a pat on Kolvar's back, Hunter walked toward the marble counter where an elf was standing behind. On his way to the elf, Hunter noticed the adventures inside the guild wearing chains with different kinds of metals. For instance, some wore copper plates, while some wore golden plates. If he had to guess, he would say the adventurers who wear golden plates had higher status than the copper plate adventurers.

Only a few wore platinum plates. These few had arrogance written all over their faces. Hunter completely ignored them before they ignored him. When the elf saw Hunter, Kolvar, and Thrud, she let out the fakest smile Hunter had ever seen. A typical receptionist of this world.

"How may I help you, gentlemen?" asked the elf with striking golden hair. This was the first time Hunter had seen a lady elf in person. Those books that described elves as beautiful didn't do justice to their beauty. A simple mere elf behind a counter made all the supermodels Hunter had seen look like ordinary girls. But even in front of otherworldly beauty, Hunter didn't lose his calm and act like a fool.

"Miss…" Hunter dragged his words, expecting her to tell her name.

"You may call me Brianna," said the elf.

"Brianna," Hunter nodded as he leaned forward on the counter.

"I hate to ask you for a favor, Brianna. Look, the thing is me and my buddies lost our temporary papers. We are hoping to join the guild, become adventurers and earn enough to settle down in the city. We would be in your debt if you could help us out of this bind," Hunter talked really gently and slowly, wooing the elf into helping them.

The elf squinted. Despite her look, she was older than the trio before her combined. In other words, she lived long enough to tell they had entered the city through the tunnels from outside the walls. But it wasn't her job to catch the lawbreakers and bring them to justice. Plus, one of her kind was standing behind the human, and for some reason, she felt bad for him.

"Please fill out these forms," Brianna bent down and grabbed three yellowish parchments with several questions written on them. The form had the most basic questions like name, age, birthplace, and other miscellaneous stuff. Hunter took one form and pondered about what name to use in the form. This name would be his brand in this world. Everything, including his criminal empire, businesses, and properties, would be tied to this very name. After long deep thinking, Hunter wrote the name in the form. He wasn't here to live in the shadows but to rule the world from it.

"Hunter," Kolvar mumbled after seeing the name Hunter wrote in the form. At that moment, the world of Abalon was oblivious to the fact everything was about to change…This was the birthplace of the biggest and the baddest criminal, Hunter.

End of first Arc…. To be continued…