Matthew looked at his torn coat as he held it in front of him. He had gotten his clothes back from the hospital, and most of them were in fine condition, however, his hunting coat he wore as armor had been mostly torn away. The coat normally went down to around his thighs, but now its tattered remains stopped above his waist. On top of that, an entire sleeve of it was missing and several holes were ripped through it.
Matthew sighed before rolling up the coat in his arms.
He glanced to his side to see the same golden screen he'd woken up to.
===================================
[Quest Rehabilitation has been completed]
[You may accept your reward at any time]
===================================
"Accept reward," Matthew muttered to himself. Part of him didn't expect anything to happen, but then a small portal opened up; no wider than a small computer screen. The small portal was rimmed with golden light.
All Matthew could see when he looked into the portal was a reflection of himself with a golden hue, as if he were being reflected in glistening honey.
Hesitantly, Matthew reached a hand into the portal. His hand felt faintly warm as it entered, causing the reflection to ripple slightly. Then finally, a small item appeared in his closed hand; a box of some kind.
Matthew's eyes widened slightly. The reward for this quest had been a healing item of some sort. Could healing potions exist with this new ability? It seemed to emulate video games to some extent.
Matthew retracted his hand. Just as quickly his anticipation faded as he looked at the object in his hands.
"Huh..." He muttered in disbelief. In his hands was a small rectangular box. Printed on the box was a small photo of a common medical patch you would put on minor wounds. On the front, the brand read Band-Aid.
"Band-Aids, wow thanks." Matthew sighed, pocketing the small box before starting the hospital room.
Marco greeted him when he left the room, at his feet was the luggage bag Matthew had left behind.
Matthew had nearly forgotten why he'd come to New York in the first place, vacation. Although now most of it had seemingly been spent unconscious in a hospital bed.
Matthew grabbed his luggage bag and hoisted it over his shoulder, or tried to. When he went to bring the bag over his shoulder to carry it, the bag lost momentum halfway and simply fell back to the ground.
Marco and Matthew exchanged somewhat confused looks. Matthew simply cleared his throat and opted to roll the bag instead while trying to ignore the warmth of his face.
"So are we going to the car? Or what?" Matthew asked Marco who was still standing tall against the wall.
Marco simply nodded and started down the hall, Matthew following quickly behind.
"Why'd you join the F.B.H.?" Matthew asked as they walked.
Marco led Matthew into an elevator and pressed the button to the first floor.
"How long have you known Victor?" He asked as both stood in the elevator.
Finally, the door opened and they both stepped out into the lobby, quickly heading toward the front door.
"Can you hear me?" Matthew huffed, slightly louder this time. "You aren't much of a talker are you?" He mumbled as they finally exited the building.
A sleek black car was parked outside near the front door. The windows were tinted but the passenger window had been rolled down, revealing Victor sitting in the driver's seat.
"Just set your stuff in the trunk and hop in the back." He shouted through the opened window. His shades were back on his head, however, Matthew could still see glimpses of his discolored eye.
As Marco got into the passenger seat, Matthew stepped to the back of the car and opened the trunk.
Setting his luggage down in the trunk, Matthew noticed a small black case in the trunk next to where he had set his bag. Engraved in silver lettering on the side of the case was 'L. Adams'.
Closing the trunk, Matthew finally got into the back of the car. Immediately he was met with a familiar voice.
"You seem fine," Luke said as Matthew stepped into the car.
"I didn't know they had you too." Matthew retorted as he closed the door and buckled his seatbelt.
Luke was wearing the same hunting gear he'd worn during the dungeon, albeit there were small bits torn from the coat, albeit not to the point of dysfunction like Matthew's. He had his head propped on his hand which was resting on the edge of the door.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Told them I wouldn't leave once you'd woken up." Like replied. His voice sounded oddly dull for how Matthew knew him.
"Thanks for that."
Luke just nodded, still facing the window.
Matthew glanced out the window as they began moving from the hospital. "Where are we even going?" He asked.
Victor glanced at the two hunters through the mirror hanging above the window of the car. "Heading to the reevaluation center."
Matthew knit his brow. "Why the reevaluation center? We were just in a strange gate. I get you questioning us and everything. But why are we going there?"
Victor glanced at Luke through the mirror, who promptly glanced at him, then at Matthew.
"Remember when we took your mana reading, and it was about 8 or so?" Victor asked.
Matthew nodded. He already knew his mana was low, even for an E rank due to his very low aptitude for absorbing it.
Victor gestured to Luke. "Your friend does too."
Matthew immediately turned to his friend, who slightly tensed up as he saw his eyes on him. "8!?" He shouted, making nearly everyone in the car flinch.
"Yes! It's at 8." Like shouted back with an annoyed sigh before crossing his arms and slouching in his seat.
Matthew opened his mouth to ask a question but Luke spoke first.
"No, I don't know how. No, I don't know if it has something to do with the gate. And yes, the reevaluation is for me." He said. His voice was very stern and strained as if he was resisting the urge to punch a hole through the car window.
Matthew closed his mouth and mimicked Luke's posture, minus the stiffness of his annoyance. "If it helps I have a lot of experience with being.... like I am. I can help if-"
"Shut up Matthew," Luke said, his voice was steady, but it still quivered as he spoke.
Out of the corner of his eye, Matthew could see Victor and Marco exchange glances.
Victor forced a half-smile on his face and took off his sunglasses, folding them and placing them on the collar of his suit.
"Alright, sorry for all the formalities and stuff earlier. Gotta' to act all professional in front of others. I'm sure ya know what that's like, huh?" He said with a somewhat forced laugh. "So, what were your roles as hunters anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Wouldn't you know that? You work for the Bureau of Hunters." Luke retorted.
Victor just chuckled. "We don't memorize every file we got, man."
Luke sighed, sitting up in his seat slightly. "I was a ranger, mainly just hopping into lower-ranked gates to take them on alone."
Victor nodded in understanding. "A lone wolf... gotcha," He turned to Matthew. "What about you?"
"I'm a fighter... sir," Matthew added in a second later.
Victor just waved his hand. "No need for the 'sir' stuff. Like I said: 'You can drop the formalities'."
"So, Matthew, what's an E-rank like yourself doin' in New York of all places? No offense, but generally big cities like this are above an E-rakers pay grade." Victor explained.
Matthew gestured to Luke. "He bought my trip here. I was supposed to stay for the week... but it seems I've been unconscious for most of it." Matthew forced out a laugh. He then motioned to Marco in the passenger seat next to Victor. "By the way, what's up with him? He doesn't talk much."
Victor chuckled. "Oh don't worry, he's still social." He said, jabbing an elbow into Marco's. "Back when we were hunters his esophagus was injured; his vocal cords were suffocating him. So," he made a snipping gesture with his fingers. "They removed them."
Marco just glanced at Matthew through the mirror and held up a thumbs-up with a half-smile spread across his face.
***
For the most part, the ride to the reevaluation center was uneventful. During the ride, Victor asked more about the events of the double dungeon, and how both Matthew and Luke enjoyed their careers as hunters.
The reevaluation center was a large, three-story, building. In the Business district of New York, it didn't look like anything out of place apart from the fact there were several guards posted outside its entrance.
"Alright, c'mon out you two. No need to be shy." Victor chuckled as he opened the door for Matthew and Luke to exit.
The group then began towards the front door. "You two haven't forgotten how all this stuff works did you?" Victor asked as he walked in front of the group towards the front door.
"I remember it took a few hours to get my rank," Luke replied.
Victor chuckled. "Don't worry about that. Fortunately for you two, we got you two a 'fast-pass'." He said, holding up his F.B.H. badge.
Sure enough, the group sped through security, skipping over half of the usual procedure.
Finally, they stopped at a set of double doors with vacant chairs set on either side of it. Above the door read 'reevaluation testing'.
Victor and Marco stopped between the two hunters and the door. "Alright, it may take us a moment to have the mechanics for the reevaluation. You two just sit tight, we'll call you when everything is set up." He mentioned before both walked through the door, leaving Matthew and Luke to choose one of the many empty chairs to sit at.
A few strained seconds went by as both hunters sat in silence.
"So what's up?" Matthew asked, turning to Luke with his arms crossed.
Luke just glanced up to meet his friend's gaze. "What?"
"You're quiet."
"And?"
"You're never quiet."
"Lot's goin' on." He muttered, glancing back down at his hands.
"Is this about your mana level being 8?" Matthew walked to sit a chair away from Luke.
"Sorta'." He muttered again.
"I'm not sure what happened," Matthew crossed his arms. "But I know we'll get through it. I can imagine it being hard going from an A rank to E, but good thing you have a friend who's been one since the beginning." He said, forcing a half-smile across his face.
"Matthew," Luke said, his eyes still glued to his hands. "Can I ask you a strange question?"
Matthew faintly smiled. "Of course."
Luke looked up to Matthew's eyes. For once he looked wholly serious, but also confused, and slightly sad.
Suddenly, Matthew heard a familiar ding. However, it wasn't from a screen of gold and silver light in front of him.
Instead, it was in front of Luke. However contrarily to him, Luke's screen was dark red and lined with black brimstone on the edges intertwined with briars whose thorns pulsed white-hot. The text on the screen was written in glowing orange text as if the letters were hot irons.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
[Name: Luke Sirius]
[Level: 1]
[Job: None]
[HP: 50/50]
[MP: 25/25]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 10]
[Vigor: 10]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Sense: 10]
[Faith: 10]
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
Luke glanced from the screen to look at Matthew. "You can see this right?"