"What's up with that kid?" Argon asked as a team of researchers scrambled around the lab.

"His name is Alexander Gray. No family, residence, nothing," a short woman with long and messy hair replied.

"A criminal?"

The woman shook her head. "No criminal record at all."

"Then how was he able to take down an original demon?"

"After measuring the Aether in his body, we found he has enough Aether to form a core," the woman revealed. "He most likely obtained through constant encounters with demonic humans."

"What about his augmentations?"

"Strength, durability, and agility," the woman answered. "A standard fighter."

"What happened to the necromancer demon core he absorbed?"

"It served as his first core and is already at stage four."

"Nearly half full," Argon muttered.

"Are you upset that he took the core your team worked hard on?" the woman asked.

"The necromancer demon escaped after setting an explosive trap for us. My team was already out of commission and I couldn't just leave them there," Argon mentioned. "The only reason Astrid found them was because they started fighting. If the boy wasn't there, the demon would have escaped."

"Can't say I expected that reaction," the woman stated. "Did headquarters give you a hard time?"

"No," Argon replied. "They informed us that the necromancer demon had no more way of escaping and sent us out for direct confrontation."

The woman just shrugged and turned away as a response.

------

"Finally," Alex sighed in relief as he put on his jacket.

"Why do you have a bulletproof jacket?" Astrid asked.

"Why not?" he responded. "Everybody practically has a gun."

"I mean. Why would you need one when you're bulletproof?"

Alex just looked at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Astrid pulled out a gun and shot Alex in the leg. He jumped in panic and patted his leg, only to find no wound. "What the fuck?"

"You're bulletproof," Astrid stated.

"What the hell? Since when?"

"Probably around you got that jacket," Astrid pointed at the jacket. "That's why you had so much confidence in it that you took a whole wave of bullets from those demonic humans."

"Damn..."

"You'll learn much more when you begin training," Astrid mentioned.

Alex turned to Astrid with narrowed eyes. "Training? For what?"

"To become a demon hunter."

"Wait... who said I wanted to become a demon hunter?"

"Why not? It's like being a hero that saves people from shadows."

Alex shook his head. "I'm no hero," he said before he began walking away.

"Wait!" Astrid blocked his path. "There are many benefits."

"Not interested," Alex tried walking past her, but Astrid stretched out her arms to stop him.

"The pay is good, and you get bonuses based on performance."

"That's what they all say."

"There's free lodging and food."

"Sounds like the military."

"The wishing stone!" Astrid exclaimed in a last-ditch effort to recruit him.

"What's that?"

"It's a stone given to high-ranking demon hunters," Astrid explained. "As long as it's possible, the stone can grant any wish," she revealed. "My captain once used one to find one of our team members who had been kidnapped."

"Can it heal someone?" Alex asked.

"Yes."

------

"Welcome to demon hunter training, you worthless pieces of shit!"

Alex's eyes twitched as a man who seemed to be a drill sergeant marched before them. There were exactly eleven trainees, including Alex. All of them were gathered in a gymnasium inside the facility.

"All of you will be assigned to a provisional team where you will be learning the basics," the instructor explained. "While physical training and combat training will be handled by me!"

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Now, let's get started on your training!"

The instructor had them run laps around the gymnasium. Then, they did some warm-up exercises before doing some weight lifting. The intensity of the training was way beyond what a normal human could handle, but Alex was surprised that he was keeping up.

"You're doing well," one of the trainees who was already out of breath approached Alex.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I don't even know why."

"Are you a fighter type?"

"Fighter type?" Alex looked even more confused.

"Did you not get yourself tested before joining?"

Alex's eyes twitched in annoyance. "I didn't even know this place existed until a few hours ago."

"Get back to your positions!" the instructor yelled at them.

Alex headed back to training.

------

"This is your dorm room," the man handed Alex the key. "If you need anything moved, you have to do it yourself. You can borrow a cart in the lobby if you need to," the man said before leaving.

"Already starting to regret it," Alex grumbled as he entered the room.

Instead of a dorm room, it was more like an apartment. It had a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and a small spot for a kitchen.

"At least there's something good about this place," Alex muttered as he sat on the bed.

He'd need to get a few things from his old apartment, but it wasn't that important. Alex checked the closet and found that they had provided some clothing. They provided seven white shirts, black shorts, pants, and three jackets.

"How convenient..."

Alex heard a beep from the door and checked who it was. A skinny guy with tired eyes and round glasses stood before him, carrying several papers.

"Are you Alex?"

"Yes."

"My name is Simon. You were assigned to my team for your provisional," Simon stated. "May I come in to explain things to you?"

"Sure," Alex opened the door and allowed Simon in.

Simon began laying several files on the living room table. Alex respected how eager and organized Simon was with all this. "I was told you were an exposure recruit."

"Exposure recruit?"

"That just means that you're not from a demon-hunting family," Simon answered.

"This is a family thing?"

"In a way, yes," Simon replied. "Demon hunters had been around for hundreds of years. Many of them come from the bloodlines of the people that fought in the human and demon war."

"Can we skip the history portion?"

Simon nodded. "Let's discuss the demon ranking," Simon handed Alex a file. "The weakest demons are called demonic humans. As the name suggests, they're just normal humans that were given demonic energy that made them a bit stronger."

"Fought a lot of them," Alex mentioned.

"The next in the ranking is mutated demons," Simon stated, and Alex flipped a page to see an image of a disfigured human. "They're humans that have been exposed to a lot of demonic energy, which caused their bodies to mutate."

"I'll enjoy killing these."

"Were you aware that demonic energy can only be absorbed willingly?" Simon asked.

"To a certain extent," Alex responded. "I lived in the rough part of town, and everyone that I met with demonic power always bragged about it."

"You seem to be reacting well for someone who only found out about demons recently."

"I live by a code. Adapt and survive, or die."

"That's pretty harsh," Simon commented.

"Harsh world," Alex shrugged.

"Anyways, the next type would be original demons like the necromancer demon you encountered," Simon explained. "Starting from here, they have demonic cores that demon hunters consider a precious resource."

"I've been told."

"They're born demons and have access to one or two of their origin's abilities. For example, the necromancer demon had access to both necromancy and curses."

"Do I also have access to both?"

Simon gave him a different file, and Alex noticed it was his file. "From your file, you only have access to the necromancy branch, and your ability is called Demonic resurrection."

"Edgy," Alex commented. "What does it do?"

"It lets you turn a demon you have slain into your undead."

"Sounds pretty useful."

Alex noticed Simon cringe. "I have to be honest with you. Demonic resurrection is not a good skill for a new recruit."

Alex sighed. "What's the downside?"

"You can only use it on original undead or above, and you can only use it once per core you gain after."

Alex rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "So... I need two cores just to get one?"

Simon nodded.

Alex looked visibly annoyed. "Continue with the rankings."

"After the originals would be the primals. Powerful demons that were born after the war," Alex didn't respond. "The strongest are the demon lords. Demons that survived the war."

"What's next?" Alex asked, still looking annoyed.

"That would be the demon hunter power scaling. The main power scaling is determined by cores. If you check your file, you'll see that you have one core at the 4th stage," Simon explained. "Once a core reaches stage ten, it will be considered full."

"Won't people just make multiple cores rather than filling up one?"

"You could, but when they create a core, they need to fill it up before they're able to create a new one."

"What about absorbing a core from a demon?"

"That would allow you to have multiple unfilled cores, but two first-stage cores are still weaker than a single second-stage core."

"Don't absorb cores come with an ability?"

"You'll still need Aether to use those skills."

Alex nodded understanding. "That clears up a lot."

"Shall we discuss what we'll be doing as a team?"

Alex nodded.

------

"He's not joining our provisional team?" Astrid asked. "I even recruited him!"

Argon glanced at his angry niece. "Do you know how expensive it is to sponsor someone? Do you think the family would spend money on someone unrelated to us?"

"He has a lot of potential," Astrid answered.

"He absorbed a core from a weakened demon."

Astrid pulled on her hair. "Whose team was he put on then?"

"Simon's."

"The field researcher? That's not a hunting team," Astrid looked confused.

"Apparently, he has been requesting some members for years, but all the recruits already had provisional teams."

"Why does he even need a team?"

Argon just shrugged.

------

"A haunted house?" Alex raised an eyebrow as he read the file Simon gave him.

Simon nodded. "The report said that people had been disappearing around that house."

Alex stared at the picture of a mansion. "Shouldn't a haunted house look creepy and old?"

Simon just shrugged. "Wouldn't you rather haunt a mansion than an old house?"

"Fair point," Alex nodded. "Where's the rest of the team?"

"Ah, please meet Ms. Alyssa," Simon gestured to a young woman approaching them.

"Hello," Alyssa bowed.

Alyssa had long black hair and eyes. She was average in height and quite slim. She was wearing a nun's outfit and held a golden book.

"She's a priest," Simon mentioned.

Alex nodded. "Nice to meet you. I'm Alex."

"I look forward to working with you," Alyssa bowed.

Alex turned to Simon. "What now?"

"You need some rest," Simon said. "You woke up in the infirmary today, went to physical training, and a briefing," Simon listed. "You need some rest."

Alex nodded. "I like you. I'll enjoy working for you," Alex said before leaving.

The next day, Alex got started on the physical training early. He needed to get used to his newfound strength to perform at his best. Once the other trainees and instructors arrived, they got started on the warm-ups.

"You're working hard," the trainee who talked to him yesterday jogged beside him.

"Just didn't have anything else to do when I woke up," Alex replied.

"Jared," the man introduced himself.

"Alex."

"You got all your gear?" Jared asked.

Alex shook his head. "I don't even know what you're talking about."

"Once assigned to your provisional team, you get the basic demon hunting gear. You just need to go to dispatch."

"Thanks."

"Anytime."

After training, Alex tried looking for Simon. However, he couldn't find him anywhere. "Might as well go get my stuff."

When he went to dispatch, the man at the counter gave him a briefcase. Alex opened it to see a phone, handgun, knife, and a bracelet. "You need to head to the armory to choose your main weapon."

Alex nodded. "Thanks," he closed the case and left. "They just hand out guns to everyone huh."