Chapter 20: Leaving The City
Evan arrived at the 10th floor of the plaza. Unlike the seventh floor, where potions were being sold and bustling with people, there were very few individuals on this floor since not many people sells monster cores.
Evan approached one of the receptionists after reaching at the 10th floor, seeing Evan the receptionist asked him politely, "How can I help you?"
"I want to sell these shadow cores." Evan said while taking out four shadow cores.
The receptionist's eyes lit up upon seeing the cores. "Sure, we can offer you thirty thousand credits for each shadow core."
Evan had already checked the price of cores on the internet before coming, and he was satisfied with the receptionist's offer. He sold the cores and received one hundred and twenty thousand credits in return.
After selling the cores, Evan went to the seventh floor to buy some healing and mana potions. He knew the chances of getting injured during his mission is quite high, so having potions will be beneficial.
Once he purchased the potions, Evan left the plaza and headed to buy some food items and other necessities for the journey.
By the time he finished all his errands, it was already evening. "I should dine at a restaurant tonight since I'll be going on a mission tomorrow," Evan said to himself.
He went to one of the best restaurants in Astrate city and enjoyed a meal. Afterward, Evan returned to the academy early to rest, as he will be departing for Oklima city the following day.
The next day, Evan took a taxi and made his way to the city gate, where he was scheduled to meet the other three hunters and the merchant who issued the mission.
Having never left Astrate city before, Evan was unaware of the exact situation outside the city. However, based on the information he had gathered from the internet, leaving a city was considered dangerous due to the presence of many monsters.
In the Arora world, most cities were protected by barriers that prevented monsters from approaching. However, once someone left the city, they lost the protection of these barriers and had to rely on their own strength to defend against monsters.
Merchants who needed to travel from one city to another to sell their goods often issued missions in hunter associations to hire hunters for protection. The hunter association collaborated with the academy to provide low-danger missions to students for training purposes.
Evan was more concerned about the other hunters who will be joining him on this mission. He knew they will be from the hunter association and likely quite powerful.
'It should be fine. According to the mission details, all three of them will also be D rank hunters. Even if something happens, I should be able to handle them,' Evan thought to himself. Even though he was aware that teamwork is crucial, especially during the mission to safely transport the goods to Oklima city, he also knew that humans are more dangerous than monsters in this world.
Soon, Evan arrived at the city gate, where he was supposed to meet the other hunters and the merchant. He noticed several vehicles parked there, resembling vans, but longer in size, ranging from five to ten meters.
These vans were a combination of science and magic, powered by monster cores. They even had protective barriers to ward off monsters.
"Let's see where van number Ko90 is," Evan said as he scanned the area. After five minutes, he finally spotted van number Ko90.
The ten-meter-long van was made of black, steel-like metal, with weapons installed and a futuristic appearance compared to vehicles from modern Earth.
Evan noticed a middle-aged man standing near the van and assumed he must be Henry, the one who issued the mission. The man was dressed in a business suit.
"Hi, are you Evan?" the middle-aged man asked when he saw Evan approaching.
"Yes, I am."
"Can you show me your hunter card?" Henry asked.
Evan showed Henry his hunter card, which now displayed his updated rank as an E rank hunter. The receptionist at the mission hall had updated it the day before when he picked up the mission.
After inspecting Evan's card, Henry nodded. "You're the first one to arrive. The others should be here soon."
"It will take us two days to reach Oklima city, right?" Evan asked Henry while waiting for others.
"Yes, is this your first time leaving the city?" Henry inquired.
"Yes, I've never left Astrate city before. It'll be my first time venturing outside," Evan replied.
"No need to worry too much. The hunter association clears most of the high-rank monsters on a monthly basis. We won't encounter any monsters higher than D rank during our journey," Henry assured Evan.
Evan waited for a few more minutes until he spotted two men approaching. Both of them were D rank hunters. 'They must be the hunters from the association,' Evan thought as he observed them closely. They appeared to be around thirty years old and experienced.
"Hello, I'm George, and this is Dean," one of the hunters introduced themselves as they approached Henry.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Henry. Can you guys show me your hunter cards?" Henry requested.
"Here," both George and Dean handed their hunter cards to Henry. After confirming their identities, Henry nodded and said, "Alright, we'll depart as soon as the last hunter arrives. Ah, it seems he's here."
Evan looked towards the approaching figure and was surprised to see that the last hunter was also a student of the academy.
"James," Evan recalled his name. James was also an orphan, and Evan remembered that Mike and his gang often targeted him for bullying. James was not very sociable and rarely interacted with others at the academy, so Evan didn't know much about him.
"Are you James?" Henry asked as James joined them.
James nodded and handed his hunter card to Henry, who checked it and then said, "Now that everyone is here, we should leave. My name is Henry, and your mission is to protect me and my cargo until we reach Oklima city and return to Astrate city."
"We'll be taking a route cleared by the hunter association every month, so we won't encounter any monsters higher than D-rank."
"Any questions?"
When no one asked any questions,Henry nodded in response. "Okay, let's depart then."
The van was divided into three sections. Henry went to the front section where the driver was located. In the middle section, the goods that Evan and the other hunters had to protect were placed. The largest section at the back was where all four hunters took their seats.
Once everyone was settled, the driver started the van, and they left Astrate city behind.
Chapter 21: First Mission
Since we will be working with each other until this mission ends, let's introduce ourselves. I am George, a D-rank hunter," one of the hunters who came from the association said.
"I am Dean, also a D-rank hunter."
"James, D-rank," James replied with a flat voice.
"I am Evan, an E-rank hunter," Evan said without much interest.
Everyone was surprised after hearing Evan's rank, but the most surprised person was obviously James because everyone in the academy knows that Evan is an F-rank hunter.
"You are quite brave to take on a mission like this when you're just an E-rank hunter," Dean said after hearing Evan's rank.
"You can say that," Evan replied to Dean with a light smile.
"You are from the academy, right? You must be quite famous in the academy with this kind of face," George said with a jealous voice when he saw Evan's handsome face.
When Evan heard this, his eyes twitched. "Yeah, I'm pretty famous in the academy," Evan said, as everyone in the academy knows about him. After all, he got the title of the weakest hunter in the academy.
"So, what do we have to do? This is my first time doing a mission like this. I thought the van would be slower, and we would have to protect it against monsters. But looking at the speed of the van, I'm sure even a D-rank monster would have a hard time catching up," Evan asked with a confused voice.
"Oh, it's your first mission. Well, let this senior give you a brief summary then," Dean said with an old man-like expression.
"It will take us two days to reach our destination, and they can't drive continuously for two days. They will eventually stop to rest, and that's when there is a high chance that monsters will attack them."
"Monsters are one thing, but there are also bandits who rob merchants whenever they get a chance. These bandits are more dangerous than monsters because, unlike monsters, they can use tools that can negate the barrier and other functions of this van."
Evan was surprised and a bit concerned that they might have to face a bandit higher than D rank, but after hearing Dean's next words, Evan relaxed.
"Although these bandits are dangerous, you will not find anyone higher than D rank since the association clears these areas every month."
"And it's not impossible for monsters to catch up with us even when we are going at a pretty fast speed. There are some monsters like Sky Eagles and Forest Tigers who can easily catch up with us with their speed," George added when Dean finished his explanation.
Evan nodded and understood what they had to do during the mission. Everyone stopped talking after this. George and Dean closed their eyes and did not say anything.
James sat silently, not saying anything after introducing himself to George and Dean.
Evan looked outside from the window with a bored look, but suddenly he saw someone following them.
Evan looked carefully and saw five monsters chasing the van. Their speed was also quite fast, and they looked like hyenas. All five monsters were two meters tall, and their fur was light brown.
"There are five monsters chasing us," Evan said while looking out the window.
Dean opened his eyes and looked outside. "These are wild hyenas. Although they are fast, they will not be able to catch us."
Evan nodded when he heard this because he could also see that the speed of the hyenas was getting slower as time passed. Unlike the van that runs with the help of cores, the monsters were spending their stamina to catch them.
"If you're bored, you can look outside using that,"
:
Evan heard George's voice, and saw him pointing his finger towards the roof of the van.
When Evan looked at the roof of the van, he saw a slider there. Evan stood up, pushed the slider forward, and brought his head outside the roof of the van.
The barrier of the van was currently deactivated to save energy. Only when a monster came near the van did they activate the barrier.
Evan felt the cold morning wind as he brought his head outside the van. "The air is quite fresh here," Evan said, enjoying the cold wind.
Evan was enjoying the view when he suddenly saw another group of hyenas start to chase after them. He glanced at James and the other hunters to confirm that they weren't looking outside.
Once he confirmed they weren't looking, a smile appeared on Evan's face. "Since I'm getting bored, I should practice with Shadow Bullet."
Evan pointed his finger towards one of the hyenas chasing them. "Shadow Bullet."
A pitch-black small bullet formed before Evan's pointed finger and shot toward one of the hyenas at lightning speed.
Swish!
The bullet arrived before the hyena in the blink of an eye and pierced through its forehead. However, Evan didn't use much mana in the bullet, so it didn't penetrate too deep. Nevertheless, the running hyena dropped to the ground when the bullet struck it.
Howl~~~
[The blinding effect of Shadow Bullet activated. Your target is blinded for two seconds]
A notification appeared before Evan informing him about the blinding effect of his shadow bullet.
Evan was surprised when he saw that even the blinding effect of his Shadow Bullet activated.
--- Shadow Bullet: You can shoot a bullet made of shadow using mana. The power of the bullet depends on how much mana you use to cast it. There is a 5% chance that the target will become blind for two seconds after being hit by Shadow Bullet.
The hyena howled in pain upon being struck by the bullet. The loud howl caught the attention of George and the others, who quickly looked outside.
"What happened?" Dean asked, looking at Evan, as he was the only one looking outside.
"Nothing. That hyena suddenly fell while running and crashed against a rock," Evan replied without looking at them.
When Dean and the others heard this, they stopped looking outside and closed their eyes once again.
"I completely forgot that they will definitely make a loud sound after getting hurt," Evan said, sighing in relief.
He didn't use Shadow Bullet again, and after six hours of continuous travel, the driver finally stopped the van to take some rest.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
14 Power
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