The vehicle that picked up Leonar glided smoothly along the dusty road leading back to the city. Up front, the officer drove with a calm but focused expression.

Selena sat beside her, never taking her eyes off Leonar during the entire trip back from the camp, as if expecting him to do something reckless at any moment.

In the back seat, Leonar shifted uncomfortably. He'd let them bandage his left arm, though he knew there wasn't much he could do with it for now. While he tugged at the bandages to adjust them better, his gaze wandered to the blurry landscape as the vehicle picked up speed.

'How does Eleonora's regeneration actually work?' he wondered, waiting for her response. But to his surprise…

Nothing.

Seconds passed, but there was no reply.

'Eleonora?' he called again in his mind, but she stayed silent.

After about twenty minutes of travel, the vehicle pulled up in front of an imposing, brightly lit high-rise.

Selena was the first to get out, gesturing for Leonar to follow, while the officer stayed behind to go over some documents.

"This is the Hunters' Headquarters," Selena explained as they passed through the automatic doors. "Registrations, skill tests, evaluations—they all happen here. It's a pretty secure place, so you don't need to worry."

Leonar raised an eyebrow as he glanced around. The place was bustling with hunters of all kinds. Some were in formal clothes, others wore iron-plated armor, and everyone seemed to have their own unique style.

"Hey, do you know a place nearby where I can make a call?"

Selena rolled her eyes and kept walking down the main hallway.

"This way," she said, leading him to a room with wall-mounted phones. "If you need to call someone, use one of these. But here's a tip: don't say anything too personal. The odds of these lines being monitored are pretty high."

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"Monitoring public phones? Who does something that paranoid?" Leonar joked as he approached one of the phones.

Selena crossed her arms and leaned against the nearby wall.

"Don't take everything so lightly, rookie. It's free advice. Use it or ignore it—your call."

Leonar raised a hand in acknowledgment.

"Thanks for the tip. I'll repay you someday with a coffee or something."

Leonar dialed a number, concentrating as he tried to recall it correctly.

When the call connected, he waited impatiently as the ringing sounded.

Barret's voice came through the line, gruff and serious.

"Who's calling?"

"It's me," Leonar answered, trying to sound casual. "I need to ask you something. Do you have a copy of the contract I signed?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Barret burst into laughter.

"Contract? Did I ever make you sign anything?"

Leonar frowned, recalling the conversation he'd had with Barret about working as a collector. As much as he tried, he couldn't remember seeing or signing any physical contract. Slowly, a relieved smile spread across his face.

"So, you're telling me I'm not technically bound to anything?"

"Exactly. What I did was get you a trial run so they'd let you into that dungeon. If you survived, then the guild would offer you something formal. If not… well, you know how these things go."

Leonar let out a short laugh.

This was excellent news!

"Thanks, Barret. You just saved me. I guess I'll see how this plays out."

"I expect good news soon, kid. And try not to drag me into your messes again," Barret replied with a sigh before hanging up.

Leonar returned the receiver to its cradle, feeling content. But even so…

'Eleonora, are you there?' he asked in his mind, but there was no response.

As he left the room, Selena was waiting for him, one eyebrow raised.

"Your face looks different. Good news?"

Leonar smiled, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Let's just say my situation is… more flexible than I thought. I have a hypothetical question for you."

"Go ahead," Selena replied, starting to walk again and guiding him through the building.

"If someone enters a dungeon without being officially contracted to a guild and awakens as a hunter… what happens next?" Leonar asked, keeping his tone casual.

Selena gave him a sideways glance.

"Well, technically, that person would be free to negotiate with any guild that offers them a better deal. But going in without a contract is pretty unusual. Why do you ask?"

Leonar laughed, shaking his head.

"Nothing important. Just curious. Is this evaluation mandatory?"

"Yes. They need to record your abilities to update your hunter profile. After that, you'll be assigned a rank and can take on missions."

"Even if I'm feeling terrible? I have an arm I can't move."

"Yeah, but I think a healer can fix that…"

"You think?"

"Yeah. You haven't lost the arm, so it should be healable. I'm not 100% sure, but from my experience, I'd say… I'm 99.99% sure some healer can fix it."