Tyler looked at the system panel and said, "View the objectives." The panel closed instantly, replaced by another displaying:

Objectives (Ranked by Difficulty)

1. Use Primal Subjugation.

2. Craft 10 different weapons.

3. Slaughter 50 Monsters.

4. Reach level 100.

5. Kill the Whisper Wind Angel.

Rewards will be given according to the objective's difficulty.

"Oh, so these are the objectives," Tyler murmured, slowly reading through the list. "The first three don't sound that hard. But the last two? I was planning on reaching level 100 sooner or later, but what is a Whisper Wind Angel? It seems to be the most difficult one since it's listed last. This must mean it's probably stronger than a level 100 hunter."

The system panel disappeared. "Oh well," Tyler said, a grin spreading across his face. "First, I have to go get my rank assessed. I bet Grone is going to be super surprised that I already reached D-rank."

Meanwhile, back in the dungeon, Emily sat uncomfortably on the cold stone floor. The air hung heavy with the stench of stale urine; a dead mouse lay decomposing in the corner. The added stench of the rodent was almost unbearable. Emily quickly covered her nose, went to the corner, grabbed the mouse by its tail, and flung it out of the cell with a disgusted heave.

Right then, Emily heard footsteps echoing down the dungeon corridor, approaching her cell. A moment later, she saw the guard she'd seen talking to Tyler earlier that day. He crouched down, sliding a metal plate containing food into her cell. Emily snatched up the plate—it contained a meager portion of stew and a spoon—and began to eat ravenously.

"You were really hungry, weren't you?" the guard commented, his voice a low murmur. Before Emily could reply, she heard another set of footsteps entering the dungeon, closer this time.

Another guard walked up to the first, standing beside him and looking down at Emily. A cruel grin stretched across his face as he regarded her, his gaze lingering in a way that made Emily feel deeply uncomfortable and disgusted.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the newcomer sneered. "You shouldn't feed her like that. You're just giving her energy to fight back tomorrow." He clapped a hand on the first guard's shoulder, his grip tight. "Don't you want to enjoy yourself tomorrow?"

The first guard shrugged off the hand. "No, I'm fine."

"What do you mean you're fine? I heard you told the other guards a story earlier," the second guard said, his voice dripping with malicious amusement. "Something about a total stranger saying he's going to pay for her crimes and let her out?" He burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the confined space of the dungeon. "I'd be surprised if he didn't pay us extra to join in the fun," he continued, licking his lips. "And she's pretty young too, still fresh… but not after tomorrow, am I right?" He looked expectantly at the other guard.

The first guard remained silent, his gaze fixed on the floor.

Emily felt a shiver crawl down her spine at the guard's words. She lost her appetite, pushing the plate of food away.

"Why aren't you saying anything? What, you think you're better than me?" the second guard pressed, his voice laced with menace. "You're just a new recruit. You don't know how things really work around here, do you? You probably only know through rumors. But don't worry, you'll know everything tomorrow night. And you're going to be thankful," he said, his voice thick with anticipation. With a final, chilling laugh, the guard turned and left, leaving Emily alone with her fear and the untouched food.

Meanwhile, Tyler reached the river without encountering a single monster. Before crossing, he paused, looking around the area. "Did the other monsters get killed by other hunters? That's probably it," he mused, then proceeded to cross the river. He continued walking, the path ahead seemingly clear. Then, he saw them: a young man, roughly his own size, with a bowl cut, wielding a sword, chasing a slime. The slime, surprisingly agile, hopped away, seemingly trying to escape.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Suddenly, a system message flashed before Tyler's eyes: Slime has activated skill: Bash.

"Watch out!" Tyler exclaimed, his eyes widening. Before he could react, the slime bounced off the ground with surprising force, slamming directly into the hunter's chest. The hunter stumbled, falling heavily to the ground.

Tyler reacted instantly, sprinting towards the scene with incredible speed. The hunter, stunned by the slime's attack and even more amazed by Tyler's speed, could only watch as Tyler arrived in a flash. With a powerful kick, Tyler sent the slime hurtling through the air, smashing it against a tree. The slime instantly disintegrated into blue dust, which faded quickly in the wind.

Tyler looked down at the fallen hunter, his system automatically displaying the man's name and level above his head like a shimmering halo: Steve Branch: Level 34. He extended a hand. "Here, take my hand."

"Oh, thank you," Steve said, gratefully using Tyler's hand to pull himself to his feet. His eyes widened as he noticed Tyler's necklace—a clear indicator of E-rank status, the same as his own. "Whoa, you're an E-rank hunter? Are you an assassin type?"

"Yeah, how do you know?" Tyler asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Well, you're super fast," Steve replied, "and it seems like you're not wearing any metal armor that might slow you down. That's what assassins are known for. Anyways, thank you for helping me. You kind of took my kill, but I can still have the core, right?"

Tyler looked at him and shrugged. "Sure, you can have the core. I was just trying to help. Anyways, I'm going back to base," Tyler said, turning to leave.

Unbeknownst to Tyler, Steve swiftly drew a dagger from his belt and lunged, aiming for Tyler's exposed neck. Tyler reacted instantly, spinning around and seizing Steve's wrist in an iron grip. He looked Steve directly in the eyes, his expression hardening. "What the heck are you doing?"

Steve's heart pounded in his chest as he met Tyler's intense gaze. Something extraordinary happened then. Tyler's eyes shimmered—a faint, almost imperceptible blue—for a fraction of a second, sending a jolt of icy fear down Steve's spine.

Tyler examined the dagger Steve held, his surprise evident. It was a copper dagger, identical in design to every other copper daggers he'd ever crafted. "Why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"It looked like you had some pretty expensive gear," Steve stammered, his eyes darting around nervously. "I thought if—" His words were cut short as Tyler's grip tightened, causing a sharp pain in his wrist. Steve tried to use his free hand to punch Tyler, but Tyler was faster, grabbing his other arm and quickly pinning both arms between his own, trapping Steve's movements. With a swift headbutt, Tyler sent Steve sprawling to the forest floor.

Both men groaned; Tyler from the impact of the headbutt, Steve from the force of the fall and the pain in his wrists. Blood trickled from Steve's forehead.

"You're seriously just going to kill me for my gear?" Tyler said, his voice laced with disbelief. "What if I killed you right now and took your gear?" His hammer materialized in his hand, its weight familiar and comforting. He extended it towards the cowering Steve.

Steve recoiled, his eyes wide with terror. He hadn't expected such a swift and decisive response; he'd thought he had a chance, believing Tyler was unarmed and also an E-rank. "Oh please, I'm… I'm sorry!" Steve cried, scrambling backward. He dropped to his knees, bowing his head to the ground. "Sorry! Please forgive me, sir! I shouldn't have done that!"

Tyler looked down at him, a mixture of anger and pity in his eyes. He sighed. "I wasn't going to kill you, anyways." He walked over to the nearby slime core. "I'm taking the slime core. But if you try anything like that again… you die."

Tyler looked at the slime core on the ground. It shimmered blue, then vanished into his inventory. Steve watched, his eyes wide with astonishment. Tyler simply glanced at him, his hammer disappearing with a similar shimmer. He turned and walked away, leaving Steve staring after him in stunned silence. "Is that guy really an E-Rank?" Steve wondered, still shaken.

Tyler walked through the forest, eventually reaching the familiar clearing and the crossroads base. He passed through the open gate, the sights and sounds of the base—the restaurants, the inns—a comforting familiarity.

He stopped before heading to the tent, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Oh, right," he murmured. "The Brunish tree was actually my quest, but I don't have to give him the whole tree, right?" The Brunish tree materialized in his hand, causing a few nearby hunters to pause and stare in surprise before continuing on their way. Others simply watched him with open curiosity.

"Ah," Tyler muttered, "I probably shouldn't keep using this ability in front of people." He began carefully plucking leaves from the Brunish tree. "This branch might be some other ingredient in alchemy, so I can't let all the leaves go to waste, right?" He plucked leaf after leaf, stuffing his pockets until they were overflowing. With a final shimmer, the Brunish tree vanished back into his inventory. He then walked over to the tent and saw the young man he'd spoken to earlier. "Hey," he said, "I'm back."

The man looked Tyler up and down, his eyes lingering on the necklace and the distinctive style of his armor. Recognition dawned on his face. "Oh," he said, "it's you. Um, Tyler, right?"

"Yeah," Tyler replied.

The man ducked under the counter, emerging a moment later with the quest flyer. "Did you return with the materials you were supposed to get?"

"Yeah," Tyler said, and proceeded to pull a large quantity of Brunish leaves from his pockets, piling them on the counter.

The man's eyes widened. "Whoa, you came back with a lot, didn't you? I hope you didn't have any difficulties with monsters. It looks like you had quite a lot in your pockets. Were you able to fight your way through monsters comfortably with these?"

Tyler chuckled nervously, knowing he was stretching the truth. "Oh, it wasn't easy," he said.

The man behind the counter nodded, taking a small sack and carefully brushing the leaves into it. "All right," he said, tying off the sack. "Looks like you've completed your first quest." He pointed to a space on the quest flyer. "Sign here."

Tyler took the offered pencil and signed his name. The young man then produced a small pouch containing a few coins.

"Oh, is that the reward?" Tyler asked.

"Yes," the man replied. "Nine copper coins, remember?"

"Ah, yeah, yeah, thanks," Tyler said, gratefully accepting the pouch and the coins.

Tyler turned to leave, but the young man called out, "Oh, hey, wait!"

Tyler turned back. "What?"

"Um," the young man said, "there was a D-rank hunter looking for you. She told me to tell you to meet her at the restaurant."

"Oh, okay," Tyler replied, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

"Do you know her?" the young man asked.

"Um, a little," Tyler answered vaguely.

"Oh, alright. Good luck then," the young man said with a smile.

"Bye," Tyler said, and continued on his way.

As he headed towards the inn, Tyler mused to himself, "What does she want from me? Now that I think about it, she's probably holding a grudge. I mean, I did take all the spoils from that battle—but it was to teach her a lesson! She once took the hexhorn hide from me as well, so I think we're even. Anyways, I'm not going to that restaurant. I'm gonna have to sleep at the inn, and after that, I'm gonna go for my Hunter Rank Assessment tomorrow, and I'm gonna hunt all day. I have to make sure I get Emily out of that dungeon."