Everyone was rushing around at the Hunters Bureau. Not long ago another major alert came out from Gaia and it was once again about the Gods. Director Morris was in his office as several people darted in and out, delivering reports and paperwork. His phone rang again and again as officials from various offices throughout the city and the state wanted to know what was going on.
This same scene was occurring all across the world in every Hunters Bureau head office.
Eventually Director Morris told his secretary to hold all calls for him and to let the party calling know that he will call them back as soon as the Bureau has worked out this latest development. He leaned back in his chair, defeated by the mountain of work. Someone handed him a short glass of bourbon as he gestured for the young man standing in front of his desk to continue reading the paper in his hands.
It was a list of any unusual activity surrounding the dungeons. As the Bureau monitored all dungeons they would naturally also file reports of any irregularities. These reports are then sent to specialists to analyse. Every detail regarding the dungeons and Hunters was important for research.
As the young man continued, one particular event stood out to the director, he held his hand up stopping him mid sentence. “Go back to the dungeon at 86th and Ditch.”
“Uh, yes sir. As I was saying, the two agents monitoring the check-in point reported that a 3-man raid team entered the dungeon. And one of them was apparently the young man that had commanded Gaia in the previous Greenwood Mall Incident. Although they received your document showing authorization for the Returnee, Kailan Jones, to enter despite not completing registration, they still felt that they should note it in the official report.” The young man read off once more.
“When are they scheduled to leave the dungeon?” Director Morris had a hunch, but he was hoping and praying it was wrong.
“Uh, according to the report the dungeon should take 4 hours, so 2 PM today.” The young man continued to read.
“Hmm.” Director Morris contemplated. The timing was wrong so that shouldn’t be it, he thought.
“Oh! According to the most recent report from that post the 3-man raid team in question actually exited the dungeon not long ago.” The young man held a tablet in his other hand, apparently checking the real time reports.
Director Morris had just been taking a sip of his bourbon when he suddenly choked. He hacked a few times attempting to push the alcohol out of his lungs.
“Sir?!” The young man called out as he rushed around the desk to help the Director.
“I’m fine!” Director Morris called out. “What time?”
“Sir?”
“What time did they exit the dungeon?” Director Morris clarified.
“Oh, it was… Around 1 on the dot. Which… would have been around when Gaia issued the alert.” The young man answered skeptically.
Director Morris sank into his chair as he placed his head into his hand. “He did it again… And it hasn’t even been two weeks.” He thought as he now dreaded the conference calls he would soon receive from even higher along the food chain.
Eva and Douglas dropped Kailan off at his house. They left after imploring him to call if anything came up.
Kailan walked into his house with a sigh, tossing his keys onto the coffee table, as he flopped onto the couch. It was an eventful day already. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he got up and went into his room, setting his sword case down as he slowly untied the straps of his armor, placing the pieces down next to the case.
He then went into the bathroom to wash up. Then back into his bedroom to change into something more comfortable. It wasn’t one of his one-piece pajamas, instead he wore a plain tank top and some sweatpants. He then proceeded into the kitchen to grab something to eat. There were leftovers from dinner so he heated them in the microwave and then went back into the living room to watch the news as he ate.
After an emergency broadcast of the notice from Gaia about the world buff, Kailan muted the television. Leaning back into the couch comfortably, he thought. “This will accelerate their leveling speed. Which may or may not be a good thing. It shouldn’t be a problem at first since the buff is only for Earth and not the entire realm, but later on it may make this world a target.”
“It also means that I will need to adjust my schedule.”
Kailan began to reanalyze his calculations on his own leveling. “God’s have the lowest requirements for leveling, but that’s still relative to the other ranks just like the stats. Still, I have my Heart Dungeon which greatly increases my leveling efficiency.”
God’s were near perfect beings born of chaos. So they naturally possessed great power and potential. As he reviewed how this new buff would affect the rest of the world in comparison to himself, he recalled something he possessed that most others didn’t.
“The achievement shop. I put it off earlier but Eva said that I should look into it when I have the chance.” Kailan had already planned to, but Eva’s urgings made him even more curious.
“Achievement Shop” He willed with his mind.
A holographic panel similar to the status menu opened in front of Kailan’s field of vision. It was larger than the other panels he was used to. He noted the various buttons organized into rows with categories written on them. Assuming that this was a convenience to make it easier to search for what he wanted.
Kailan quickly found the button that read ‘recipes’. This was what Eva was explaining to him earlier. When he focused his will on this particular button, the entire screen changed showing another set of buttons including one for weapons and armors. He once again focused his will on the button labeled weapons.
And another set of buttons appeared, this time broken down into weapon types. “This entire system is quite optimized.” He thought.
He focused his will on the button for swords. This time a listing of various recipes appeared along with a price in achievement points to the right of them. It was very organized and he was able to scroll down the list by willing it. When he focused on one of the recipes it opened a more detailed page.
“I see. I thought it was strange that Eva said it didn’t have text for the craftsman to follow for the crafting process. Instead of a scroll or book it’s a knowledge orb. Meaning that it’s absorbed directly into their minds. That’s why it’s a one-time use item, since it only stores a single copy of a memory or set of memories” Kailan immediately understood. He had seen and even used Knowledge Orbs before.
As he continued down the list he saw recipes for various types of swords with ranks ranging from Plebeian all the way to King. Not only were there recipes for specific sword types there were also more technical type Knowledge Orbs that conveyed techniques and general knowledge. He now knew why this was so precious and why the guilds and bureau treated it as a hot commodity.
Knowledge conveyed via thought transfer was nearly instantaneous. And there was enough knowledge here to turn a complete novice into a master craftsman. With this you could create a master craftsman literally in a day, assuming someone had enough achievement points to purchase everything.
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Kailan continued to browse the sword recipes. He was looking for something specific. It took him several minutes but he was finally able to find them. “Nodachis!”
There were dozens of recipes for this massive army sword, and even special techniques for the forging process. Kailan considered importing a Nodachi from Japan, since he was told they make them there. But when he went into the auction page to search for any listings there weren’t any. He even checked the Hunter’s Closet, but there were none listed there either.
He figured this was because swords of this size are impractical in most cases, unless it was an open field or other large open space with multiple enemies. Larger swords also had a flaw in one on one combat. Because they’re larger size and weight makes angling the blade for accuracy or swift movement next to impossible. So when pitted against standard sized weapons it’s harder to parry or counter them. Kailan thought there must be little demand for them.
Not to mention there were other options for large two-handed swords of this nature.
So his next thought was to search the achievement shop, especially after Eva informed him of the recipes. If he couldn’t find one at auction, he could simply train a craftsman to forge it for him. And as if to answer his needs, he found exactly what he was looking for. But there was just one problem.
“The basic Plebeian rank recipes are 1,000 AP and they increase exponentially with each rank. I would probably only be able to locate the materials for Plebeian and Mortal ranks in the first place. At least until I can get to the higher levels of my Heart Dungeon. Then there’s the technique manuals which are 10,000 AP even for the lowest level ones. It’s going to be pricey and take time.” He thought as he calculated in his head how much it would take to even raise a craftsman to be able to craft the most basic of weapons.
Kailan felt completely helpless in this matter. But there was nothing he could do about it right now. It was simply an issue that would resolve itself over time just like his leveling. In fact the two went hand in hand.
Kailan closed the Achievement Shop having found out what he wanted to know. There were no doubt other useful things in there, but he didn’t really feel the need to look through the whole thing right now. There would be better moments when he could dedicate time to doing so.
As he looked back up to the television, he saw a banner going across the screen talking about the dungeon Rebecca had gone into last Friday. The one where she nearly died. Kailan unmuted the TV to watch the report.
“Once again, we will replay Twilight Garden’s press conference from this morning on the unusual events that nearly wiped out an entire mid-level raid party last Friday.”
“This event comes not two weeks after a major story on an alert from Gaia that went out across the entire world of a God descending into Midgard. As well as preceding a more recent event from this afternoon providing a significant world buff due to, according to Gaia, the Earth being ‘watched by the Gods’.”
“Both of which have initiated major debates among theologists and scientists alike, on whether an actual God may have in fact descended to Earth. As well as, what exactly this God creature is and how it would affect the world today. We’ll have more on this at 11.”
Kailan felt a chill as he debated on whether the people of Earth were so arrogant as to think that a God would only descend to Earth or that they simply deduced it from recent events. Either way, it meant that they would be looking for signs, so he needed to be more careful in his actions.
The report switched to a large conference room with Chyou, flanked by members of the Twilight Garden guild, standing quietly on a stage as reporters swarmed the floor yelling out their questions. Alexander, one of the guild’s vice presidents, who Kailan recognized, stepped up to the podium to quiet the crowd down.
“If I could have everyone’s attention. President Huang will now address the press.” He stated as he stepped back, making way for Chyou to take the podium.
“Thank you.” She stated to Alexander as he stepped back.
“Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for coming today. Secondly, I would like to thank all of the men and women who acted to rescue and aid our guild members in their trying time last Friday evening. And I would like to express our and my personal sadness at the loss of many good people in that tragic incident.” Chyou smiled at the reporters at first, before showing an expression of loss towards the end.
“As many of you are aware, a raid team from our Twilight Garden guild entered the new dungeon at the Greenwood Park Mall, with the intention of capturing said dungeon to aid in the development of our guild’s many mid-level Hunters. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, most of the team members lost their lives. It was only thanks to an extraordinary young man whose sister was a member of the raid team, that the few remaining team members were able to make it out alive. In what can only be described as a miracle.” She continued as she emphasized Kailan’s involvement.
“President Huang, about the young man involved in the dungeon rescue…”
“Please hold all questions until the Q&A segment. Thank you.” Tyrese, the other vice president of the Twilight Garden guild stepped up to the podium as he shut down the reporter before he could complete his question.
Chyou once again stepped up to the microphone. “The original scout team came out of the dungeon prior to the mini-boss room per protocol. According to their reports there were no anomalies in the strengths of the minions up to the point that they had reached. After the primary assault team entered, they proceeded to challenge the mini-boss, which is where the first indications of problems occurred.”
Chyou paused for a breath as she looked around the room at the many reporters. “The raid team was met with fierce resistance, until two of the team members, including the healer, were killed. At which point, the captain of the raid team ordered a retreat in order to regroup. However, the guards of the mini-boss proceeded to follow the raid team, harassing them, as they retreated. Eventually the raid team ran into the mining team that had been following not far behind. The raid team attempted to protect the mining team as they retreated behind them, but the guardians intentionally targeted the weaker miners, eventually resulting in their complete annihilation. The raid team captain was also near-fatally injured as he put himself directly in harm's way to protect the miners, in the process.”
Chyou once again paused. This time she turned to Cole who was standing at the side of the stage. The reporters all turned with her as they focused on him for the moment until Chyou continued.
“Cole Taylor, who is also the younger brother of our very own Vice President Alexander Taylor, was able to eventually lead his team into a small room off of the main corridor, which limited the movement of the guardians. This provided them with a location to defend and rest. The guardians, no doubt realising that they would be unable to swarm the raid team as the path into this small room was big enough for only a single person to pass through at once, ceased their assault and retreated.”
Alexander’s face scrunched slightly when he heard the president state that he and Cole were brothers. He quickly corrected it. It wasn’t very noticeable, but Kailan, whose senses were very astute, noticed this subtle and momentary change.
“It was at this point that Cole made the decision to send the distress signal. And shortly after that the young man, who for whatever reason has the ability to open sealed gates, proceeded into the dungeon to rescue Cole and his remaining team members. All of whom have made a full recovery and have returned to their positions with the guild.” Chyou finally finished and stepped down from the podium.
The reporters burst out with noise as question after question flew out. Each of them grasping at a chance to receive an answer that would never come. As Chyou stepped down, Tyrese stepped up to take over.
“Please. The Q&A section will come shortly.” He motioned with his hands for them to quiet down.
“In regards to the dungeon in question, we have since sent in another raid team. This time with members at higher levels and talent ranks to wipe out the aggressors. Based on our analysis of the guardians in both the mini-boss and boss rooms, their talent ranks were at Knight rank levels, thus why the previous team had such difficulty in dispatching them. Incidentally, both the mini-boss and boss were also of Knight rank talent.” This revelation stunned the many reporters. Sounds of gasps and whispers of doubt flooded the room.
“This information has also been confirmed by the Hunters Bureau, and it’s implications are presently under investigation. We have been assured by Director Morris of the Indiana Hunters Bureau that once a full investigation has been completed, a brief containing all of this information will be released to the general public. We expect this release to be within the next 48 hours. Now, we have 10 minutes left for Q&A.” Tyrese concluded his piece before pointing out reporters to ask their questions.
Kailan didn’t feel the need to watch any further, muting the television again. After all, he had already known most of this, and anticipated the rest. What was concerning to him was the fact that they pointed out his involvement in the conference twice.
“They’re either targeting me or trying to push the press's attention away from themselves. Perhaps a combination of the two. Well, it doesn’t matter. The press will have their chance to target me come Wednesday.” He thought as he leaned back into the couch, contemplatively.
“They act so surprised about it, when it should be obvious. They should have anticipated this happening and been preparing for it. It’s really their own fault for not doing so. It could have been completely avoided. Humans are simply too arrogant and self-centered. It’s a good thing they haven’t figured out how to challenge other worlds yet. They’ll only get themselves into trouble at this rate.”
Kailan relaxed on the couch, lost in thought. Eventually his thoughts shifted back to Asgard. It hadn’t been a long time for him, but it would have been quite a while for those he had left behind.