'Crap. They noticed me,'' Lyden had a habit of looking at the direction of what he was hearing.

He saw the buff man walking towards him, but since he got caught, he might as well introduce himself.

"Hey, did you just came by? I did not notice you earlier." The man said.

"Yeah," Lyden put on a friendly face. "It took a while to walk here so I was a bit late."

"You're not that late. There was a team that went ahead of us, but they should be out soon. Anyway, I'm Gary Steele a 2-stars hunter, and we are looking for another member to raid the tower. We already have 5 people on the team."

Lyden did not know much about hunters, much less in raiding towers. He only met two other hunters in his life, one of his friend, and someone who used to live at the orphanage. But they were not there in his life for very long.

"This is my first time doing this. I honestly have no clue what to expect." Lyden gave an awkward laugh as he scratched his head.

When Lyden said that, Gary expectation of him lowered.

'Everybody had to start somewhere, but I cannot bring a newbie like him. If we had to protect him, I can lose another team member. I can't risk their life on a gamble.' Gary was about to leave, but he saw the sigil on Lyden's wrist.

"You're a 2-stars hunter!?" Gary asked surprisingly. The chances for someone to awaken as a 1-star hunter are 75% and to be awakened as a 2-stars was only 25% percent. Beyond that, it was rare and those were the hunters that usually get snatched by the big-time companies or government.

"Yes!" Lyden was caught off guard by Gary changed of tone.

"That's great. You should join our team. We are in need of more people. We already have two 2-stars hunters including me." Gary tried to sound pleasing as possible but he saw Lyden hesitating for some reason. "We will split the rewards based on contribution so do not worry that we will short-handed you."

Lyden was hesitant because of the team. In all actuality, they have a decent amount of people and even two 2-stars in their team. It is a good team to be a part of for someone with little experience.

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The reason he was hesitant was another reason that made him feel powerless. However, he needed to enter for his own sake.

"I'll join," Lyden said.

Gary was glad that he wrapped his one of his arms around Lyden's neck.

"Good. You have made the right choice."

Lyden showed signs of discomfort with Gary being so close to him. He tapped on Gary's arm to tell him to let go.

"Alright, let's go meet the team." The entire team was waiting for the two of the team. Lyden saw the woman that was with Gary before, and three other people he had seen yet.

"It seems that we are ready to enter soon. Before that, let's introduce to each other as well our aretisite," The woman said with enthusiasm.

Aretisites look like a cross between a parasite and another living organism, and they grant people magical abilities. Some awakened but reject their aretisites but of their disgusting look, thus, causing it to die.

Aretisites need specific nutrients to be kept alive from their host body. However, by doing so, they grant their host power to protect themselves. It was a symbolic relationship between the aretisite and the hunter.

Aretisites were something that every awakened hunter was gifted. Without it, they were nothing but normal humans.

Also, their strength depended on the stars on their body. The higher the star, the stronger the abilities. However, they needed more nutrients to stay alive. If hunters do not constantly eat, the aretisite could kill them.

"My name is Maina, and I am a 2-stars hunter. This is my aretisite," She revealed her palm to everyone around her. Slowly a small tentacle arose from her hand than many until they could see the head that resembles a dog.

None of them had a look of disgust. They all have more or less similar aretisite in term of appearance.

"My 2-stars aretisite, Howling Dog, is a crowd control aretisite that causes its targets to tremble in fear." A crowd control ability was a valuable ability that was good against fighting many monsters at the same time.

"That's a nice aretisite. Even if it is a 2-stars, it still can't be stronger than mine in raw strength." The confident man with a scar on his left arm revealed his aretisite. It looks like an animal fang but it had one big eye right at the center of it.

"This is my 1-star aretisite, bellow eye blade, that I, Terry Polar, owns!" As he says that, that small aretisite turned into a giant sword that was almost as tall as him.

The other 1-star hunters were surprised about how such small aretisite became so huge.

Maina was displeased with Terry interruption and her face shows it.

"With my Howling Dog, you will kneel in fear. So compared to your aretisite, my aretisite is stronger." Maina tried to size him down, but Terry did not take that without a fight.

"Bitch, please, just because it's a 2-stars aretisite, that does not mean shit. I will cut you down before you can even use it." Terry was very confident that he can hold his own against the 2-stars hunter.

Maina was about to activate her artesites, but Gary grabbed her shoulder before she did anything.

"That's enough you two, we are a team now. And Maina, remember where we are at..." She looked around and saw the soldiers being wary while grasping their gun.

She simply walked away while Gary stood there awkwardly.

Terry withdrew his aretisite and apologize to the team for getting heat up.