Capítulo 6: Hope
In a castle-like mansion in the territory of Gamel, a woman about 20 years of age stood arms crossed with a proud look. She was about 2 meters tall and had shiny black hair that flowed down her back like a waterfall. She had very smooth skin and was very beautiful. She was elegant and looked like the most beautiful fairy one could ever imagine. Her black eyes sparkled as she stared at the beast cores and beast materials before her.
She turned to look at a man standing by her side with a mocking grin. He was very muscular and was a few inches taller than her. Just like her, he had shiny black hair. He looked at her and quickly averted his gaze with a cough. "Yes, yes you won" he admitted defeat. She glanced back at the items before her and then at the man. "Just take them already" he grunted.
It was frustrating seeing all his materials taken away by his younger sister. The two had a bet on how long it would take for her to advance to a Rank 21 Hector. Surprisingly, she progressed quicker than he had wagered. It was his loss this time, a painful one at that. She inspected the items and quickly said, "Big brother, I still need a lightning element beast core."
He looked at her with a frown, "What do you need that for?" he asked unhappily. He had a lingering feeling he was about to be robbed again. She looked at him and seemed to know what he was thinking. "Don't worry I won't be taking yours. I only need a rank two beast core." she flatly said, except deep down, she felt different. "Shameless big brother. You won't even give your little sister a few cores. Just shameless" she thought and pouted unhappily.
"Why would you need a rank 2 element core? Besides, you are not a lightning element user but a frost element user". he said with a confused look. "None of your business; just get it for me" she demanded and turned to leave with the items she had collected. "You know there are restrictions on all the hunting territories except the territory of Kore which you can certainly visit if you had a death wish." He paused and continued, "Unless I was of a much lower rank, I couldn't enter a territory with Rank 2 beasts".
There were many hunting territories and they were all divided into various ranks. Only at an appropriate rank can you have access to certain hunting territories. The territory of Kore is an exception as, even though all levels of beasts were available there, the majority were high-rank ones. Lower ranks would only visit there if they had a death wish. Though a high ranker, he didn't want to take unnecessary risks by going there. Bearing this in mind, she said, "I never said you should go. You can get someone to do it" She left without another word. Her brother shook his head in dismay and called a few guards around.
A red-haired man in a set of red and white clothes with white shoes walked into a small building with the inscription 'Beast Scouts'. He walked towards a counter where a pale-looking Old Dan was attending to another scout. His expression changed when he saw old Dan. He thought perhaps some grave disaster had befallen him. "Old Dan why do you look so pale?" he asked as he arrived before the counter.
Old Dan looked at the approaching Lin with wide eyes. They were so wide eggs could fit into the sockets. "Lin, you are alive," he said with teary eyes. Lin was surprised by his reaction and just looked on in confusion. "Obviously, I am. Why would you think I was dead when I was only away for a few hours?"
Old Dan shook his head and said, "You were not away for a few hours but three days." Lin gasped after he heard what old Dan said. He thought he had been in the hole overnight since they arrived in the territory late evening. Who would have thought he had been in there for 3 days? He quickly asked old Dan, "What about those three who went with me? Did they make it back?"
Old Dan shook his head and said, "No, they are all dead. That's why I believed you were dead as well. Who would have thought you would show up here without even a scratch? I am just glad that you are safe" old Dan said with a smile. Lin was touched by how the man cared for him. As one with no parents, he fended for himself; no one cared about his wellbeing. Not until he met old Dan and started working as a scout.
Lin seemed to be a little confused about the situation. How did they know the three were dead; if it was because their dead bodies were found, then how come they thought he was dead if his body wasn't found? As the thought crossed his mind, he asked old Dan, "Old Dan, who found their bodies?"
"Ohoo, there were no corpses at the scene. Someone had followed you guys to rob you of your beast cores after the hunt but stayed as far from you as possible. According to him, they were trapped between a fire element beast and a sonic element beast and burnt into nothingness." Lin couldn't help but swallow hard. He imagined himself in such a situation and thought it would be a miserable way to die. "But Lin, how did you survive?" old Dan asked him after a while.
Lin motioned him to follow him inside a private room where he narrated everything that happened. After hearing the story, old Dan had a mysterious smile. "So that's how it is," he said after a brief silence. "But do you know how to do this levelling down?"
"I'm not entirely sure. I have some theories and would have to try them out and see the result." Old Dan nodded and asked, "I assume you would go hunting then."
"Yes, but I'm also thinking about adding another thing to our bucket list here. Beast core sales". Old Dan smiled and said, "That's a great idea. We could make more money that way. We didn't have anyone that could hunt beasts for us back then but now we have you. This might just work." Old Dan was happy. He had always wanted to sell beast core but getting people to hunt would cost him a fortune; now that Lin has found a way to get stronger, they could pull it off.
"Yes, we can also sell the bodies of the beast to alchemists to make potions. It would be a boon for us." Lin said in anticipation. He imagined himself swimming in a room full of gold coins and rubies. "Would you go to the territory of Kore again for the hunt?" old Dan asked after a moment of thought.
"No, it's too dangerous there. The young master and those three were exceptions. I would rather go to the designated territory to hunt instead."
"That's great then. I will be waiting for the good news. In the meantime, I would get us a licence to start selling beast cores."
"You do that," Lin said and stood up to leave. "See you later Old Dan". He left the room and headed out of the building. Old Dan meanwhile had a hopeful expression as he said, "You have finally succeeded just like they planned. Now there is hope for us again. Sorry I cannot tell you about your past now Lin, but I promise to tell you everything once you are strong enough". He left the private room and returned to attending to the scouts around the counter.
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder