Predators in the Storm III

"Sooo? How are things on your end?"

Within the Guild Leader's office of the Kassio Adventurers Guild, a bizarre scene was playing out that would mislead any who didn't know any better.

Sitting in the grand chair in front of the sturdy and magical wood desk where the Guild Leader was supposed to be was an adorable child that didn't even seem to be close to a decade old. He was spinning around in the chair looking completely bored as he examined some papers.

In the seat that was usually meant for the visiting party, the actual Guild Leader, Fabian, was actually sitting there obediently. He was trying his best to avoid eye contact with the boy and maintain his cool. Despite his efforts, a faint nervousness could be seen in his demeanor.

It might've looked like a grandpa that was allowing his young relative to play in his chair, but the reality was vastly different.

The reason why Fabian was so anxious and fidgety was that the boy currently in his chair was in a seriously foul mood. The boy might've seemed bored and calm on the outside, but he could tell that he was considerably enraged on the inside.

"E-Everything is getting along magnificently Grandmaster Denmark... Especially with the still growing numbers of immortals. They're great for business, almost too great."

He was a mere Guild Leader, and this "boy" was his boss's boss!! It was like the CEO of a massive international corporation coming to visit a store manager!!!

"....." Denmark seemed to be completely preoccupied with his thoughts. Even though he asked the question, he didn't pay any special attention to the answer given to him.

Fabian was of course not offended by being partially ignored. He instead racked up enough courage to ask, "If you don't mind me inquiring Grandmaster Denmark, but what seems to trouble you?"

Denmark's chair-spinning stopped and he frustratingly glared off into space as he remembered his failed attempts to sway his colleagues.

"Those damnable and idiotic young people don't understand the full severity of the situation we're in! Just because they can get some POTENTIAL benefits from involving themselves with Genesis, they're basically forsaking the church and digging their own graves?! How does that make any sense at all!?! The only reason we Grandmasters are still alive to this day is because of the friendly masquerade we're putting on for the church so we can live just a little bit longer!!

Take it from someone who's lived long enough to see the church's power first hand, this is the highest height of folly! Because I'm the one with the manpower in the group and they're my 'friends', I can't leave without knowing they're safe!! Gahh, I know they each have their own personal grudges against the church that they've refused to tell me about, and I understand that the church is complete villains, but that doesn't mean they should go seeking death!?!?!"

Denmark continued to angrily ramble on about the other Grandmasters for quite a while, making him look like a child having a temper tantrum. Him venting his frustration seemed to slowly calm him down and he eventually regained his reason. Fabian also relaxed a little bit and rested his old and weary bones.

"*Sigh* Anyways, what's your opinion on the immortals? Before I lost myself there, you mentioned how things were 'too great'?"

Fabian stroked his soft grey beard as he earnestly and deeply contemplated the topic, "As of right now, the immortals have been more of a blessing than a curse. They seem inclined to get involved in society and do their part. Risky jobs and missions have fewer casualties, businesses are flourishing, and the Empire's overall strength is steadily rising.

On the other hand, the players might be a cause for concern in the future. Their numbers don't seem to stop growing and are instead getting close to exponentially increasing every week. There also seem to be quite a few who side with evil and create complicated problems for the rest of us with their immortality. They're extremely free-willed and seem to always follow benefits, but this reason isn't solid. They tend to 'do' and 'say' strange things that none of us can understand or comprehend and they're quite tight-lipped about where they came from, their past, and their true names and not just the 'usernames' they go by.

But they certainly don't seem cohesive and seem to hate each other's guts more often than not, so I don't believe this is an organized effort for takeover. They're seriously competitive when it comes to their fellow immortals, with some even participating in bloody battles for nonsensical reasons.

Despite all of this, I think that they will be an invaluable resource of manpower going forward. I have much more to say but this is a brief summarization. But I'm sure you've come to a much better conclusion than I ever could, Grandmaster Denmark."

After that, they discussed a large myriad of topics for who knows how long. The Grandmaster of the Adventurers Guild wasn't only known for his temper, but also for how down to earth he was. He was open to the opinions of his subordinates and those he respected.

"Well, we've already covered all the other topics I was interested in so I'll take my leave now."

They said their farewells and Denmark began to exit the office. Two massive and burly, heavily armored and weaponized, and experienced bodyguards magically appeared out of thin air on each side of the door and they followed suit. The same thing happened on the other side of the door and now four other A~grades were following him.

On Denmark's way out, he noticed the Guild Leader's personal secretary swiftly pay respects to them but hurriedly rush inside. It was obvious something urgent happened and she was forced to wait until the Grandmaster exited.

He halted his guards just outside the door and thought for a moment. As the secretary closed the door behind her, he used a flicking gesture to fling a magical bug half the size of a marble ball through the crack of the door. His intuition was tingling ever so faintly and he couldn't help but feel curious as to the contents of what they were speaking about inside.

:::Guild Leader!! Master Kyren has come to visit you!:::

:::What!?! You're not joking right?! I thought that kid would stay in seclusion until he shakes off his pursuers! What about the attendants at the front desk, did they notice his arrival?!:::

:::They have but it looks to me like he did this on purpose. He seems to have a plan.:::

:::*whispering* Damn, two super important guests in one day... Can this old man's heart handle this?:::

.....

Denmark was now thoroughly intrigued and glad that he eavesdropped.

Fabian placed this other guest's importance right up with him? And this "Kyren" has pursuers to which even a prominent Guild Leader of his guild would actually be wary of?

There was obviously much more to the situation than meets the eye, and him having thousands of years of experience in human interactions, saw this easily. His monstrous intuition was doing somersaults in his heart and brain and he couldn't help but feel even more curious.

He opted to wait somewhere nearby so he could watch the show unfold. He had nothing better to do right now.

After he and his bodyguards completely erased their presence, they proceeded to leave through the front entrance. They came into the main lobby and despite being an extremely noticeable party, not a single person managed to notice them.

The lobby was ridiculously busy. Civilians streamed in to make requests, adventurers were in a flurry to accept requests that seemed to be coming in faster than they went away, and the staff was even being forced to use summoned creatures to fulfill their tasks.

Despite the chaos going around, Denmark's party moved through the crowd unhindered and at a leisurely pace. When someone was about to collide with them or get in their way, they would unconsciously move aside or redirect their course, unaware of what they were doing. They wouldn't notice them standing right in front of them but they would still subconsciously move out of the way, like water in a river flowing around a boulder or rock.

They were passing by the lounge area, which was noticeably less busy than the rest of the guild, and Denmark overheard a conversation that he couldn't ignore.

"*whispering* You mean that guy in the hood?"

"*whispering* Yeah, he just waltzed up to the front desk, all mysterious like, and he just asked if he could see the Guild Leader for crying out loud!"

"*whispering* Is he attention-seeking during all this mayhem? Why would the Guild Leader even think about meeting a mere newbie adventurer?"

"*whispering* That's right! He presented his identification and I thought I overheard that he was called Kyren. Some peak E~grade weakling that's a newbie adventurer."

"*whispering* I also heard that. Does he think he can get an audience with our Guild Leader?! That's just idiotic!"

The collective disdain and harsh whispers that denounced and cursed the one they were talking about only grew. They thought of him as an incredibly disrespectful nobody, who was joking around with their guild, resulting in some becoming hostile towards him.

Denmark followed their glares to a pair that were patiently waiting in seclusion on the other side of the lounge. Their hoods hid their appearance and power level along with every other feature about them. Their physiques were the only apparent characteristics. One was slightly smaller in height, feminine, and petite while the other was taller with a balanced muscular build.

None of the others paid any attention to the female, directing all of their hostility to the male, meaning he had to be Kyren.

'Those cloaks must be high quality if even I can't see their power level.' He internally sighed at his still growing curiosity. 'I guess I'll just have to use another method.'

If he couldn't see his power level, he could just utilize his danger intuition. By showing just a small amount of killing intent that no one should be able to notice, and thinking of entering combat (but not actually doing it), he could make a general estimate of how strong they were by how much danger he felt.

He inwardly snickered smugly, 'You think a mere piece of cloth can hide you from me? HA, think again!'

As soon as he released the minuscule amount of killing intent, his intuition instantly told him what would happen if he challenged that man. His mind went blank and his knees gave out, making him fall back onto his rear. Internally, he didn't know what was happening to him and why his body was reacting like that. It only took him a moment to finally feel the results of his intuition's impression on the man.

'WHY ARE THERE SO MANY HIDDEN MONSTERS IN THIS DAMNABLE CITY!?!?! FIRST THE HIDDEN ORGANIZATION AND NOW THIS!?!'

Because of his accursed body, he looked like a child that was about to wet himself because he saw a demon under the bed. This was degrading to feel like a coward two times in one week, but what was he supposed to do?

The guards were startled and instantly jumped into action. Two of them helped their master up while the other two cast spells to further erase their nearly compromised stealth. Once finished, they immediately checked their surroundings for any suspicious activity but found absolutely nothing to their surprise.

As if their thoughts were connected, they mutually agreed to retreat. They didn't know what was going on but they did know that their master sensed danger.

One picked up his scared stiff childlike master and carefully darted for the exit. The others stayed close to his side while staying vigilant.

Just before they exited, time seemed to slow down as Denmark caught one final glance at Kyren and his eyes widened with confusion, 'He's not pursuing?! And... why is he looking at me like that.....'

A shudder went down his spine and his heart quite literally stopped beating for a few moments after he noticed that chilling gaze. The intentions behind that man's hood were as plain as day to him. Denmark could almost imagine the expression he was making behind that veil of darkness, which he knew all too well.

'He's deciding on whether or not he should kill me or not... oh god.'

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It's been around ten minutes since Kyren and Maya entered the guildhall and spoke with the front desk. He now calmly sat in the lounge as he constantly checked for any suspicious individuals around him. So far, a little more than a dozen people caught his attention.

Most of them were the helpers at the desks, including the lady he just talked to, along with some of the regularly visiting adventurers that seemed to just "hang around" or "couldn't decide on a job".

The reason why he suspected them was that they would all periodically sneak glances at him with greedy and/or hostile eyes. He ignored the adventurers that were openly showing him disdain because he could tell they weren't involved, otherwise, they would try to hide their intentions and not talk crap about him.

There were also five others, but he could tell they were professionals. Three were camped on one of the higher floors of a building out front, most likely keeping an eye on the entrance. Another was manning the back entrance where employees accessed the back alley while the other was pretending to wait in line for the civilian mission registry.

He had to hand it to them, they were true experts in infiltration and stealth. Not even peak A~grades would be able to detect them, and they were just B~grades. As soon as he showed the lady at the front desk who he was, she did something comparable to an alarm to communicate with the five of them, and the place was blocked off in a matter of seconds.

His attention was then pulled away from his thoughts when he noticed another group of suspicious people.

'A child surrounded by bodyguards? No, wait... That kid's a peak A~grade??? How does that work? He must also have unfathomable growth potential, meaning he isn't human.'

He probably wouldn't have paid attention to him if he didn't sense someone trying to erase their presence. Something told him that they weren't after him, but he was still wary.

<Hmm, you can try appraising him. He might be an important character.>

After being reminded, he immediately used [Appraising the Horizon]. His diamond shapes pupils focused as he felt like he could see through the boy. If he focused, he could even see every individual cell in his body with stunning clarity.

A screen popped up and he was instantly overwhelmed by all the information he was looking at. He was practically gawking at his life story and any other details that held no importance to him, like what he had for breakfast this morning.

It was indeed spectacular that he was able to gather this much information with nothing more than a glance. The ability didn't seem to be able to read his mind or see his future though, which looked like the only things he wasn't capable of seeing. It was possible to see some parts of his past which were shocking to him. The boy was now an open book to him, just with a little too much information.

This appraisal ability was very generalized and didn't seem to specialize in anything in particular. He initially thought this was something bad about the skill, but it was extensively more valuable.

'Could you summarize this? I don't care about him that much so just give me the important stuff.'

The screen reloaded for a tenth of a second and all the excess tabs disappeared except for one.

While he looked over the info, he felt a very faint killing intent come out of nowhere but he kept his cool and showed no reaction. He's been long ready for an attack, even if there were witnesses around. He mostly put his focus on protecting the ignorant Maya to his side, who was off in her own little world thinking about a large array of topics at a time, with most of them concerning Kyren and recent events.

Nothing happened after a few seconds and he snuck a glance around. The ruckus he heard wasn't noticed by anyone else and everyone acted normally.

'That's weird...'

Once he found the source, he was met by an odd sight of a terrified child that was twitching in fear, four super burly bodyguards acting like the secret service during an assassination attempt, and a mob of people that strangely seemed to be ignoring the over the top scene in the middle of the room... going so far as to avoid it even.

While he was monitoring the boy and his bodyguards, a specific detail caught his eye on the tab of information.

'This Denmark fellow is super loyal to the crown and the Alvestine Empire? He also looks like he saw something when he looked at me. Was I exposed?'

<Can't say for sure, but he might be a future liability if he managed to figure something out.>

'Do you think he's one of the predators that were sent after me? He is deeply involved with the Empire... *sigh* Can't have him spoiling any surprises to my enemies. I definitely don't want the Empire figuring out I'm the actual predator while they're the prey before I have some fun,' He looked up from the interface and their eyes met while Denmark was being evacuated. His gaze turned icy cold, and in response, the boy paled considerably, 'Should I kill him?'