It was shortly before 11 AM. Eva led Kailan and his family down the hall and to the elevator. Riding down to the first floor basement everyone was feeling anxious. Even Kailan was feeling it a little bit.

“I didn’t think you of all people would be nervous.” Eva called out quietly beside Kailan as she noticed his odd expression.

“Just a little. The venue makes it a bit intimidating and the fact that everyone across the world is watching also makes me a little nervous. But I’ll be fine.” Kailan responded with a whisper.

Eva turned back to look at the digital screen displaying how far down they were. It eventually landed on 1B, designating the first floor basement. The alarm dinged as the doors opened on their own. Everyone followed behind Eva as she walked out. They held their heads up in confidence. This was a tactic Eva had explained to them earlier. Showing confidence would deter the media from being too brazen.

As they walked across the recreation hall, members of the bureau watched from the side. Many of them couldn’t attend the press conference as they had too many things going on. But they were able to pull away from their desks for a few minutes to watch Kailan and his family come in. As for the conference itself, they would be able to watch a recording later as the bureau also documents every event by recording it.

The bureau escorts met them as they walked to the arena doors. Everyone had already been seated and the recreation hall cleared, aside from bureau personnel, before they were called down. This was to ensure that they wouldn’t get mobbed as they made their way to the arena. Two of the escorts opened the doors and then filed in front of Eva and Kailan, while the others surrounded his family.

They all walked in and down the landing, surrounded by agents. From the moment they set foot in the arena, cameras began flashing and people started calling out. There were also bureau agents lined up along the rows on either side of the main walkway, blocking the people from getting out as Kailan and his family continued on. They finally made it to the ground floor and then were escorted to the stage that had been setup.

There were rows of chairs on the ground floor, all turned to face the stage. Creating an extra level of people to have to wade past.

As they walked up the stage, Eva signaled for Kailan’s family to take their seats and Kailan walked over to the center of a long table that was stretching from one end of the stage to the other. Several people were already seated along this table, and at the center was Director Morris and an empty chair which was designated for Kailan. Although he didn’t recognize anyone else at the table, he could tell that they were important figures within the bureau. Kailan then took his seat and Eva moved to stand behind him next to Douglas who had arrived earlier than them.

Director Morris leaned over to Kailan and whispered. “It’ll still be a few minutes before we start. Take a deep breath and prepare yourself.”

Kailan nodded back in acknowledgement. Looking around at the countless faces in the crowd, he saw several that he recognized. Including several of the reporters that had been at the last press conference he was involved in, in particular he noted the presence of Dana Warshank. Looking up into the stands there was a row of cameras each with a different symbol on them. And beyond them was a mass of people who clearly weren’t reporters. There were some in suits, others in uniforms and many in casual clothes.

“They must be the bystanders and guildies that have come to watch the show.” Kailan thought to himself as he analyzed.

Kailan noted a few groups of people within this crowd. Several were looking straight at his brother or sister. Which suggested they were from the same guild and were probably the members Elias had mentioned would be here. Then there were some staring intently at Kailan. These were most likely the board members of guilds that were interested in him.

“If they stare any harder they might actually borrow holes in my head.”

At this time, Director Morris adjusted his microphone and cleared his throat as a grab for attention. Everyone in the arena started to quiet down and focus on the stage.

“If I could have your attention please.” Director Morris stated as he looked around at everyone expectantly. His face appeared on the large screens that had been placed at the back of the arena as the main camera focused on him.

Once the volume had dulled greatly, he continued. “Thank you all for coming today. As you all know 16 days ago it was announced by Gaia that a new returnee had arrived. This was the first returnee in 5 years, since Chen Hua of China. Five days ago we held a small press conference in accordance with policy and today we are holding the official press conference to disseminate information after taking a period of time to collate what we have.”

As Director Morris spoke, camera flashes went off in the background.

“To that end, I have several announcements to make. Once they are completed, Mr. Jones will speak and then we will have a Q&A session. Please remember to ask only pertinent questions and do not violate Hunter privacy rights. Questions should remain as pertaining to realms, dungeons and the Hunter himself.”

Director Morris paused for a moment as he flipped over some papers in front of him. Holding them in his hands he glanced at them as he continued to speak.

“Firstly, I would like to reiterate the information on the Hunter in question. To my left is Hunter Kailan Jones, who went missing 10 years ago at the age of 14. He was later declared deceased in accordance with the decision made by the United Nations on June 8th of 2040, declaring that all persons who disappeared, 7 years prior at that time, would not return. His status has obviously been changed since.”

Several chuckles filtered out amongst the crowd in response to Director Morris’ comment.

“Secondly, it should be noted that a brief was released several days ago detailing the realm and world that Mr. Jones was transported to. This brief contained all of the information we had at that time.”

A number of people pulled out folders with documents in them after this statement. No doubt a copy of the brief in question.

“Thirdly, as some of you may be aware, Mr. Jones has been working closely with the Indianapolis Hunters Bureau. This is in accordance with bureau policy allowing for the protection and reintegration of returnees. Behind me are agents Eva Miller and Douglas Harmes who are acting as Mr. Jones’ watchers.” Director Morris stopped and took a drink of water from the glass nearby.

Clearing his throat he took in a short breath before continuing. “Now, as for Mr. Jones’ talent ranking, it has been determined that he is a Demon rank talent. For those of you who are unaware, Demon rank is the rank above King rank. Making Mr. Jones the first and only Demon rank in the world.”

Director Morris stated everything smoothly as if it were natural to say. It took a moment before anyone could respond. Their hearts began to pound and shock set in. The director paused after he let loose this bomb on the unsuspecting crowd. Even the spectators in the back were shocked silent, their eyes bulging in surprise.

After a few moments, he continued again. “Mr. Jones’ classification has been determined to be a Warrior and Shaman hybrid. With a focus on both of his offensive stats of Power and Intellect.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Before Director Morris could finish people began to clamor and yell out as they jerked out of their seats, demanding an explanation.

“Director Morris, what do you mean Demon rank?”

“Director Morris…”

Director Morris raised his hand and spoke out. “Please take your seats and calm down.”

It took a few minutes but eventually Director Morris’ stoic and silent attitude caused the crowd to simmer down and re-take their seats. Voices of discussion could still be heard around the arena but they were mostly whispers.

“As you all know a Hunter’s talent is graded into several ranks, starting with Plebeian being the lowest and to date King being the highest. However, Mr. Jones has been graded as a Demon rank talent by Gaia. This has been confirmed. We have always suspected that there were ranks above King rank but had no confirmation until now. We have also been able to confirm from Gaia that there are several additional ranks above Demon rank as well, though as to what those ranks are we are still in the dark.” Director Morris explained calmly as he looked around the arena to all of the cameras.

"In accordance with the revelation of a new talent rank, the US Hunters Bureau's board of directors have dispatched Dr. Nekola, the head of the Research division for consultation. He unfortunately was unable to make today's press conference."

Director Morris once again paused to look around as the crowd became noisy once more. After several more minutes and a very bland disinterested expression from the director, they all quieted down.

“Now, I will turn this over to Mr. Jones and then we will start the Q&A session of the conference.” Director Morris turned to Kailan and nodded.

Kailan nodded back before turning to look around the arena. All eyes had turned to him. Although Director Morris had a knack for quieting the crowd with his expressions and silence, the moment everyone focused on Kailan the entire arena went deathly silent. Kailan took a deep breath as he prepared his words.

“I’d like to thank everyone for coming out today. I know that you all have many questions so I will try to keep this brief. I don’t really have anything to add to the director’s statements aside from I’m glad to be home with my family again. I look forward to working with everyone and better understanding how the world has changed since I’ve been gone. Thank you.”

Everyone was stunned. Kailan’s speech was too brief.

It took Director Morris a few moments to collect himself before he cleared his throat again, waking everyone up from their stupor. “First questions please.”

“Mr. Jones!”

“Mr. Jones over here!”

Countless voices called out as words flew across the room. It was impossible for anyone to keep up, even Kailan. Director Morris knew that this was going to be a chaotic mess but he let it happen on purpose. After a few moments he called out through his mic once more.

“If I can have everyone’s attention please.” The crowd quieted down a bit, enough to hear what the director was saying.

“Obviously there are a lot of people here and everyone wants a chance to ask questions. To ensure that these questions are heard and responded to accordingly we have several agents ready with microphones throughout the seating area. Please raise your hand and we will select each of you in turn to ask your questions. I believe this will allow the conference to run more smoothly.”

Everyone knew that the director had done this intentionally. It was the perfect setup to force the mass of reporters to fall in line. Director Morris was essentially treating them like grade schoolers and he was the teacher at the head of the classroom. But no one cared enough to call him out on it. It would work out better for them this way as there were simply too many people here and it was hard enough hearing across the arena, especially when there were a hundred people screaming at the same time.

“Let’s begin.” Director Morris spoke out.

Countless arms rose and the voices of the reporters sounded out as they called out to be noticed. Kailan pointed to one of the reporters in the front row and an agent rushed over with a microphone.

“Mr. Jones, Marc Brooks, New York Times. Can you tell us a little more about the realm or world you went to?”

“The world was called Valhalla. It was filled with warriors of all kinds and I was adopted into one of their clans and trained by them. The society itself seemed more primitive from our perspective but was actually more advanced than we are. They simply took a more natural approach to development and used the systems of Gaia as well as other natural technologies like magic and mana crystals during that development.” Kailan responded plainly.

He then looked off into the crowd, suggesting he was finished with his answer. This caused a queue of hands to rise up and voices to clamor once more. After observing the reporters he once again pointed to someone amongst the crowd. This time closer to the middle.

“Mr. Jones, Gabriella Rossi, Fox News. You stated that you were trained by a race of warriors. What types of skills did you learn and how do they apply to your combat style?”

“As the director stated, I'm classified as a Warrior-Shaman hybrid. My original skills were along the lines of basic magic and sword skills, so I trained in those. My focus is debilitating my enemies and then attacking with rapid sword combat. I also possess some support skills to enhance my combat. Other than that I was also trained in survival and analytical skills which are essential to warriors of any race.” Kailan replied before looking around again for another hand to call out.

“Yes, but can you tell us more about the specifics of the skills you learned?” Gabriella Rossi grabbed the mic, pulling the agent back to her as she quickly asked.

Director Morris adjusted his microphone and spoke back to her instead. “Please try not to ask questions that are too personal. Hunters have the right to retain a level of privacy on their stats and skills. Next question please.”

Kailan looked around and pointed out another reporter.

“Mr. Jones, Alex Moore, WNDU. Will you be obtaining your Hunter ID and taking on dungeons? And if so, when do you plan to start raiding?”

“I have already received my Hunter ID and started training in local dungeon mines with the assistance of the Hunters Bureau. Right now I am working my way up the Hunter Rankings while adapting to Earth.” Kailan began to look for the next question.

Hands and voices raised once again and Kailan pointed out another.

“Mr. Jones, Elena Perez, NBC News. Do you have any intentions of joining one of the guilds? As the world’s first Demon rank talent I’m sure there will be many interested in recruiting you.”

“I don’t have any intention of joining any of the guilds at this time. Right now I am working with the Hunters Bureau to convey various information that I learned in the realm that I was sent to and compare it to what is presently known by humanity. As well as finding time to spend with my family and learning about the world I’ve returned to. I don’t believe joining a guild will be a discussion that will come up anytime soon.” Kailan responded with a smile.

Director Morris and the others of the bureau were shocked momentarily. They wondered when Kailan had ever started sharing any information with them. But they were all intelligent individuals and something quickly occurred to them. “The reports from Eva and Douglas. He knows they are reporting to us. He’s using them to convey what he wants, when he wants.”

Director Morris glanced over at Kailan who was wearing his signature smile. “Clever brat.” He thought to himself. He grabbed his microphone and readjusted it.

“As Mr. Jones stated we are presently comparing all information that he provides and validating it. We will release this information in briefs as we confirm it.” He added.

Kailan then began to scan through the crowd once more, looking for the next person to call on. As he glanced over the left section, Dana Warshank stood up, raising her hand high with an expression showing her determination to be selected to speak. Kailan of course felt annoyed, but knew that he couldn’t ignore her. It was better to get it over with.

He pointed to her with a smile and an agent reluctantly walked over to hand her the microphone. Director Morris felt a headache coming on.

“Mr. Jones, Dana Warshank, WRTV.” She began like everyone else.

“From my understanding ever since you started working with the Hunters Bureau 5 days ago, there have been a number of briefs released. I assume this is because you are aware of information that the rest of the world is not and have been providing that information to the bureau as stated earlier. Why not explain everything all at once so that a larger conglomerate can then take over to confirm this information? Why slowly disseminate information when it could be better used to save people’s lives?” She questioned pointedly.