"Rank D?" After leaving the building and going across the street where the bar was, Lukas showed the paper to Karen.
"Yes."
"Well, it was as expected. Probably your skills will develop in the future, and your Rank will increase a bit. But like I said, a Rank above C is just a dream."
"I see."
"Come on, don't be discouraged. I know that people at your age dream of being strong and-"
"I'm not discouraged." Lukas took the paper and folded it several times before putting it in his pocket. "Now I'm leaving. Make sure you get home soon. If you get too drunk, some of these men might try to do something." Lukas looked around.
There were some dangerous men around. Their expressions as they looked at Karen were disgusting.
"Don't worry. I can defend myself. Now you'd better go, or your mother will be worried. She doesn't know anything you're doing, right?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Well, your father was a hunter and quit his post after your mother got pregnant with you. I suppose she doesn't like the idea very much."
"He didn't quit his Hunter job just for that. My sister had already been born, so your assumption doesn't make much sense. Now good night." Lukas turned and left the bar.
Karen sighed and then took another sip of whiskey.
"That boy. I hope he's not an idiot like Jey."
####
"Dumb brother, where were you?" When he got home, Lukas found his sister sitting on the couch.
"Where are Mom and Dad?"
"They went to the market. Our mom was pretty worried, you know."
"Right, right."
"And don't ignore me. I want to know where you were. Did you happen to get a girlfriend? Huh?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"What?" Anna was shocked, and she didn't know what to say.
Lukas sighed and went upstairs.
He could hear Anna talking about some things downstairs, but he ignored her completely. He went into the shower and took a bath. His clothes were all dirty because of the dungeon.
"All right, now let's hide this. Maybe I should throw it away so no one will find it." Lukas took the paper and kept it inside one of his books. It was well hidden there since no one usually messed with his bookshelf.
Then he sat down in front of his computer and logged on to the association's website again. In the upper right corner, he saw a notification in his message box.
[ Dear Sir, Lukas Ortid. We have received the request for your license to be manufactured. Due to some circumstances, the delivery of your license will only take place three days after the scheduled date.
Hunter Association ]
'Okay? Well, whatever.' Lukas was not really in a hurry to receive his license. He managed to get into one of the dungeons even if he was without his license, so it didn't make much difference.
"But I suppose I need a license if I want to venture out on my own... I certainly do." He did some more research and did his school work before turning off his computer and heading downstairs.
As he expected, his mother asked several questions. She made him promise not to be home late.
####
"Ah, Lukas. I just received our money for the crystals. Hand me your account so that I can deposit it."
"Oh, sure." Lukas used his bank account for small transactions because he was young and didn't have a job. After passing his account numbers to Karen, almost within the same hour, he received a transfer of $400.
"Isn't that a lot of money?" he asked, surprised.
"I said it was a good reward, didn't I?" Karen smiled, noticing that Lukas was quite pleased. "Well, let's rest for now. Our next 'mission' is scheduled to take place next week."
Karen grabbed some coffee and then sat down. Noelle then appeared in the room. She waved and smiled after seeing Lukas.
"Aren't you guys going to another dungeon today?"
"Are you crazy? That needs planning."
"I see..."
"But you are free to enter a dungeon if you wish as long as you have a license and permission. Don't go doing something that will harm my guild, please."
"Don't worry. I haven't even received my license yet."
"Oh, that's right, they also warned me that they would delay the delivery of your license. Maybe because you took a long time to measure your rank?"
"But wasn't it just a day later?"
"It would be best to take the test and apply for the license on the same day."
"You should have said that before..." He looked at Karen as if disappointed.
"Come on; it doesn't matter. Why don't you take time off to go out with your friends?" Lukas felt those words. He didn't have many friends with whom he could go out for fun.
Karen realized this and apologized. But Lukas didn't want to talk to her. He left the guild and walked down the street while keeping his hands in the pockets of his black sweatshirt.
"Maybe I should run a little?" Lukas put on his hood and took a deep breath. Then he headed toward the park for a little run. "Speaking of running, I have to get back to school." It had been two days since Lukas had avoided going there.
####
Lukas felt "okay" going to school the next day but decided not to. His mother tried to get him to go, but he refused. For some reason, the school was not a place Lukas would like to be anymore.
That place brought back memories for him, which did not allow him to be able to take classes in peace. Especially all those classmates saying unnecessary things around him, it was torturous.
So he left and went towards the park to go for a run.
After running around the whole park, Lukas received an unexpected message from the system.
[ Thanks to the user's effort, he will be rewarded. ]
[ +1 Strength ]
[ +1 Agility ]
"Oh." Lukas opened his system and saw that the numbers had indeed increased. But nothing seemed different. "1 point isn't much, so it makes sense."
Fiding that out excited him enough to take another walk around the park.
####
"I thought I said our next dungeon visit is next week." When he arrived at the guild, Lukas removed his hood and was greeted by Karen. She was cross-legged, eating an entire pot of ice cream while watching something on her cell phone.
"Can't I visit the guild?"
"Of course, you can." Karen pouted and then signalled for Lukas to sit next to her. "Here, you like this?" On her cell phone screen was playing the same series Anna was watching a few days ago.
Lukas smiled bitterly.
"Not much."
"I find it quite interesting, you know."
"What?"
"The story is constructed very comically even though it is a story with a rather serious theme."
"Maybe I'll try to take a look at it."
Karen smiled and then brought a spoonful of ice cream to Lukas' mouth. He didn't refuse since he was hungry. Not that ice cream would fill his belly, but at least it would leave him momentarily satisfied.
"I thought you would refuse."
"What?"
"I'm using this spoon, you know."
"I don't mind that."
"Hm..."
"Here, your license. We are preparing for our next dungeon visit, so stay here until the afternoon." Arriving at the guild in the morning, Lukas was greeted by Karen and Noelle.
The two were having coffee on the first floor.
"Thank you." Lukas took his license. It was like a badge from an office, and on it was written his name and his rank. In addition, it also had a photo that Lukas didn't know where Karen had gotten it.
But that didn't matter. At least now he had his license.
He kept it and stayed in the house until the afternoon came. In the meantime, Giovan and Ember had also arrived at the place and had something to eat before the meeting started. It was just like the first meeting. A table was set up, and the curtains were drawn.
On the wall, The projector showed the dungeon that the guild would visit.
"Our next goal is to get the materials from these monsters." On the screen, a dark-furred wolf appeared.
"Just that?" Lukas asked.
"Yes. The association is paying a large bounty for its claws and fangs. They are used for medicine. Don't ask me how that works." Karen replied.
"I see."
"Right. Noelle and I will go out to buy some things and take care of some important matters about the guild. Just the three of you will be enough." Karen said as she smiled.
Giovan and Ember didn't seem to be against it, so Lukas didn't complain either.
Next, Karen began to show the dungeon structure to the three of them. It was like the previous dungeon, but it was a little smaller. It had a total of 3 floors. The whole dungeon was infested with canine monsters.
On the second floor, you would find wild wolves the size of a rottweiler, and on the second floor, you would find the wolves that were your targets. Dark-furred wolves that could be up to one meter tall.
"Lukas, you may think this monster is dangerous, but don't worry, their attacks are dull and simple to deal with. Usually, they use their claws and teeth. They can't use magic."
"I wasn't worried."
"I see..." Karen smiled a little awkwardly.
"Giovan, I leave this 'mission' under your leadership. And Ember, obey your brother."
"..." Ember looked away.
Then the three of them got up and got ready. But before they left, Karen approached Lukas and handed him something wrapped around a large amount of cloth.
"Here, use this." She smiled.
Lukas removed the cloth and found a dagger.
Its handle was gold, and its blade black.
"A dagger?"
"Yes. You don't have a weapon, do you? I don't know if you have any experience using this, but I'm sure it will help."
Lukas wrapped the cloth around the dagger again and smiled. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
So, Lukas left and then got into the car.
####
[ 14:25 - Lukas, where are you? Could you go to the market for me? ] As he was heading towards the dungeon, Lukas received a message from his mother. He quickly answered her. [ 14:27 - I'm at a friend's house. I'll stop by the market if you want. What do you need me to buy? ]
[ 14:29 - Bring meat and also some tomatoes. Also, bring a gallon of milk. ]
[ 14:31 - Okay, I'll do that. ]
[ 14:33 - Thanks. Come home early. ]
[ 14:34 - Don't worry. ]
"Who are you talking to?" Distracted, Lukas didn't notice Ember looking at him.
"With my mother. She wants me to stop by the market."
"There's no market in this area."
"No problem, I'll stop by the market on my way home."
"..."
So, they arrived at the dungeon.
This time the dungeon was far away from the rest of the buildings. This time, the "deserted" radius around the dungeon could reach 400 meters. Inside and outside the area, many guards were protecting the place.
As they approached, a guard stopped them as before.
Lukas and the others handed their permits, and Giovan also showed the guard the permission to enter the dungeon.
After the guard released all three, the three went towards the dungeon and entered the first floor. The guards seemed quite surprised by Lukas' presence. He wondered if he really did look so young.
And, at the moment, there were other Hunters inside the dungeon. Not that this was a problem.
####
Lukas and the other two left the dungeon a few hours later. It had been easier than expected. Lukas had done nothing but watch the other two do most of the work. The most he had done was to use his dagger to cut the throats of some wolves.
He didn't have much experience using one, so he killed very few of them. But Lukas didn't care about that. He only cared about 'sucking' the souls of all the wolves that killed.
While Giovan and Ember were tearing the claws and fangs off the wolves, Lukas took the opportunity to suck the blue flame out of all of them.
There were many, so he got more than 200 soul points when he was finished. 232, to be exact. The number of points the wolves gave was higher than the poisonous lizards because they were stronger monsters.
Lukas was very excited when he remembered that he could now use the [ Academy ].
So when Lukas arrived at the guild, he quickly said goodbye to everyone and headed towards his home. Before he got back, he didn't forget to stop by the market. His mother had sent him the money, but it didn't matter since he hadn't spent a single dollar of the 400 he had received a few days ago.
After getting home and showered, Lukas locked his room and quickly called the system.
"System. I want to know how I get to use the academy system."
[ To use the academy system, wish for it. An interactive message will appear so you can confirm your purchase. ]
"Purchase? Fine." Lukas wished the academy was open. Then a message appeared in front of him. Just like when he took the soul of a monster, he had two options to choose from.
[ Would you like to buy a ticket to the academy? ]
[ This will cost you 100 soul points ]
[ Y/N ]
Lukas, without a second thought, selected the first option.
When he selected it, something began to appear in the middle of his room. It was like a whirlwind, but it did not produce any wind. The 'whirlwind' extended and created a sort of bluish coloured portal.
Lukas swallowed his saliva and then took a step forward.
When he touched the portal, he felt every hair on his body shiver.
He took a few more steps, and his vision went dark for two seconds before it lit up again. On the other side, he found a Japanese style tatami. It was a large 200 square meter room wholly filled with equipment.
"The system wasn't lying when it said it was a [ Academy ] system."
Lukas laughed, approaching a piece of weight lifting equipment. He lay down and then held the bars.
[ Welcome to the academy system ]
[ Chosen Training - Weight lifting ]
[ Quest - Do 10 lifts before the time limit ]
[ Reward - 5 strength points ]
[ Punishment applied if the user fails ]
[ Time remaining - 00:40...00:39 ]
"Huh?"