Director Morris wasn’t sure how to process everything he had experienced within the last 30 minutes, but one thing was for sure. This boy, Kailan, knew a lot more than he was saying. He could probably even shed light on many issues the major powers of the world were concerned with. But it wasn’t going to be easy getting that information. He had to be cautious and take his time.
It’s not like he could torture the information out of him. And they can’t just take him into an interrogation room for the rest of his life. Not that he wanted to do either. The nation and the world were watching. This was the first Returnee in over 5 years. He would have to release Kailan and his information eventually.
But before that…
“Alright, we will track down your family and get in contact with them. If you remember their address and phone numbers from 10 years ago, write them down on that piece of paper. That will help us to narrow down our search.” Director Morris pointed to a pen and paper on a table next to the bed.
“My family?” Kailan stated in surprise. “Of course. If only 10 years passed here then they might still be alive.” Kailan’s thoughts trailed off as he tried to recall his parents and siblings. It had been a lot longer for him and he had moved past having lost them. It seemed that his mind was still a bit scrambled from transferring between the realms and his power being sealed. It didn’t even occur to him that he could see his family again.
“Yes, we’ll try and track them down. Eva and Douglas will also be transferred to the Monitoring Division and assigned as your watchers.” Director Morris continued to explain.
Eva seemed to be excited as she gave Kailan a friendly grin but Douglas’ face twisted and he jerked his head to the side like he was pouting as he gave a gruff harumph.
“Is he an adult-sized pubescent teenager?” Kailan thought to himself. He had no idea how accurate his guess was.
“Happy to be working with you Kailan.” Eva gave a friendly introduction. But Kailan was a bit lost on the specifics.
“What do you mean they’ll be my watchers?” He asked.
“The Monitoring Division of the Hunters Bureau focuses mainly on monitoring Gaia as well as any events that involve dungeons or Hunters in their area. In the case of Returnees we assign someone from this division to watch over them for a period of time to ensure that they are able to adapt to the changes Earth has gone through as well as ensure they don’t have any trouble reintegrating back into society. The time period is one year.” Director Morris explained.
“Also due to the sensitive nature of your identity as a God we’ve come up with a cover for your information and these two being already involved have been moved to take the place of the watcher to limit the exposure.”
“We’ll do everything that we can to help you to adjust and make sure everything goes smoothly. So if you have any questions you can ask us.” Eva chimed in.
Kailan was a bit skeptical. He didn’t like the idea of someone prying into his life and there were things he couldn’t tell others right now. He also recalled movies about government agents following people for ‘reasons’, and they would often not end well for the one being followed.
“So you’re assigning government agents to keep an eye on me?”
“Actually they’re civilians. And we’re not exactly a government agency.” Director Morris slowly corrected Kailan.
“Civilians?” Kailan didn’t expect this response.
“Yes, most of the staff of the Hunters Bureaus are civilians, there is only a small government or military presence. Usually only the higher ups are government employees. Initially there was concern about the bureaus being staffed by only government or military personnel. So a decision was made that most of the staff would be civilians.” Director Morris explained.
“About three years ago all of the Hunters Bureaus were reassigned under a new department of the United Nations. And so the government and military presence was reduced even more. Incidentally I’m the only government or military staff at the Indianapolis Hunters Bureau.”
“I see. So the Hunters Bureaus are controlled by the UN and staffed by local civilians?” Kailan realized he had a lot to learn about. There would have been a lot of changes and he needed to familiarize himself with the new Earth before he could plan his immediate future.
“Correct. In any case, just think of them as your own personal helpline. If you need anything, contact them and they can assist you. Now, there’s one more thing we have to cover. After we contact your family we will have to release your information to the press and schedule a press conference for the day when they come to pick you up. Assuming that we can find them. If we can’t find them, Eva and Douglas will handle your living situation, but we will still have to go through with the information release and the press conference regardless.” Director Morris wasn’t fond of the press but there were laws and this was a hot topic right now.
“My family…” Kailan was sucked into his memories again as he recalled the faces of his parents and siblings.
He wondered if they were still alive and if so how they were. After spending a thousand years in Asgard he had long since abandoned the thought of ever seeing them again. After all, humans have a finite life span to begin with, and even if they were connected and gained an extended life it wouldn’t be that exaggerated probably. But to think there would be a temporal differential this massive between the two realms.
“As long as my status as a God doesn’t get out, that shouldn’t be a problem. I’d like to keep that under wraps for the moment.” Kailan recovered from his thoughts and pointed out his one concern. It would be a problem if people knew that he was a God, not to mention inconvenient.
“On that we can agree. Though I doubt we’ll be able to keep it a secret forever. We can at least take steps at this moment to ensure this doesn’t get out. This is also something that Eva and Douglas are tasked with helping you on. Also, I’d like for you to keep this a secret from your family for now. The less people that know the less likely of an information leak, intentional or accidental.” Director Morris was glad that Kailan had brought this up. It saved him from having to explain the importance of information security. Not to mention the ramifications if the world found out that there was a living God walking around, visiting the local Wal-Mart.
Kailan nodded his head as he took the sheet of paper and wrote down his parent’s address and phone numbers. He didn’t know if they would still be living in the same house but it might help and he could remember it. Gods had incredibly powerful minds, so remembering details like this even after a million years let alone a thousand was no problem.
After he finished he handed it to Eva who had reached out to take it. “I’ll take this to the research assistant downstairs and we’ll start searching. Edward and Maria, your parents?”
“Yes. I also have an older brother named Elias and an older sister named Rebecca if that helps.” Kailan confirmed.
“I’ll write that down. That’ll help with the records search since it also looks through birth and death certificates and compares them for better results. Let’s go, Douglas. Give Kailan some time to relax. And stop scowling, your face will get stuck like that and no girl in the world will want to look at you ever again.”
Douglas reacted like someone had stepped on his foot. His back straightened like he went stiff and he had a pained expression. He got over it quickly though, rolling his eyes as he followed behind Eva.
“They may seem a bit odd but they’re good people.” Director Morris left a few words before he turned towards the door to leave as well.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“We’ll let you know what we find soon. In the meantime it’s important to get some rest.” As he left the room he shut the door behind him.
Kailan was left by himself. Turning to the open window where the cool breeze was still bathing him, he fell silently back into his memories. His parents and siblings may still be alive. It had only been 10 years so they would only be a bit older. Of course he was a bit, no wait, a lot older, but still. His appearance was still so young so it shouldn’t matter.
“I wonder if they’re really still alive.” A single tear welled up in his right eye before falling heavily down his cheek.
“Huh? I didn’t think I’d get emotional over this. It had been so long, I thought I had moved past losing them. But now...” Kailan laughed at himself derisively. Despite doing so he wore a wide and fresh grin of satisfaction. He was home and there was more hope here than he had anticipated.
It took them a little under an hour, but eventually Eva and the research assistant were able to locate Kailan’s family.
“Wow. You don’t see that everyday. A family of Hunters and they are all alive. And his father is even a bureau agent.” Eva was a bit surprised. Normally the family of a Returnee would all be regular people and at least one or two members would no longer be living. But Kailan’s father, brother and sister were all three Hunters with only his mother being a non-connected human. And all four were still alive.
“Looks like the parent’s address is the same but the phone numbers have changed. The brother and sister are living in different locations with different numbers as well.”
“We’ll probably have to contact the guild’s hotline to get ahold of the two siblings.” The assistant interjected.
“Mhm. For now let’s see if we can get a hold of the parents. We’ll contact the brother and sister if they don’t have a better way to. Tell them to come to the east entrance when they get here and let me know when they arrive. I’ll pick them up myself. I’m going to go tell our little Returnee friend the good news.” Eva instructed before she dashed off to Kailan’s room.
~ The Greenwood Park Mall ~
“So Becca, is this your first time heading into a fresh dungeon with an average level of 4?”
“Yah. I’ve only been running dungeon mines up until now.”
“So this will be your very first fresh dungeon. Well, don’t worry. With your talent rank at Knight level you shouldn’t have any problems with the scrubs. When we get to the mini-boss and boss though, make sure you stay close. They’re always tricky.”
“Thanks Cole. I’ll stay close.” Rebecca flashed Cole a rare grin. She didn’t smile much anymore. Not since 10 years ago. But one day she met this man in her guild who seemed to make her want to smile again.
She had joined the Twilight Garden guild 4 years ago and went dungeon raiding with various teams. But until recently hadn’t had much interaction with the upper echelons. Due to her meritorious service over the years she finally got the opportunity to meet with several of the members of the board of directors. That’s what they called themselves anyways.
Guilds are a sanctioned business that allows Hunters to work together for a common goal. But at the end of the day, it’s still a business. Raiding dungeons was very lucrative. Even a low level dungeon could earn a party a net value of around $100,000 each run. Of course 15% of the value is given to the Hunters Bureau who manages the dungeon gates. Even so, it’s a lot of money.
Higher level dungeons provide even more value. The materials found inside are from other realms after all. Things that don’t exist on Earth. The most useful of these materials are the Mana Crystals. Mana Crystals are the physical crystallization of Mana. No one knows what Mana is exactly nor do they know why Mana Crystals form in dungeons, but when they do it’s a jackpot.
Many scientists theorize that Mana is a type of primordial energy, but all they can really confirm is that it powers skills and magic. It was only recently that there was a breakthrough in Denmark allowing scientists to integrate a small Mana Crystal with modern technology, providing it with an enormous amount of power. This only served to increase their value.
This is why guilds are businesses. Because they raid and mine dungeons bringing the materials back to Earth and then sell or utilize them. The higher echelons of every guild are all hunters of course. There are regular humans that work for the guilds but they mostly do desk jobs and research.
Cole is exactly one of the Directors of the Twilight Garden guild. His brother, Alexander, is one of the Vice Presidents. Which is how Cole was able to become a Director. But the power and authority of a Director never went to Cole’s head. In fact he much preferred to be out in the field raiding dungeons.
Recently he met up with a female Hunter that he enjoyed raiding with. They had raided a level 4 Plebeian rank dungeon mine before. And they worked so well together that they both decided to raid this new dungeon that had just formed side by side.
“We’re heading in, in 10 minutes. Everyone do your final checks on your gear. Assault team, we’re going in with little information as the advanced team wasn’t able to get very far, so be prepared for the unexpected. Miners, give us a 30 minute head start when we enter, then you can start collecting.” Cole issued out his orders and everyone nodded.
Cole was a competent leader and everyone following him held a great deal of respect for him.
“So Rebecca, did you hear about that Returnee?” One of the other team members, a short stocky young man approached Rebecca to strike up a conversation.
“Of course. I do watch the news.” Rebecca responded apathetically. This guy had also followed her from the previous raid and the one before that. He apparently had a crush on her and while she was flattered it was one-sided. So she tried to show some distance hoping he would take the hint.
“Yeah, but have you heard that it’s a boy about my age? He's caucasion and has blonde hair. They say he caused quite a stir in the hospital and the Hunters Bureau is keeping a tight lid on his information. Weird right?”
“Oh? And how do you know so much about it?” One of the other team members who overheard their conversation interjected.
“My cousin works for the Hunters Bureau. He told me. Luciana, you shouldn’t eavesdrop, it’s rude.” The boy responded in an annoyed voice.
“Hey, Harold… I told you to call me Lucy. I don’t like people calling me by my full name. And your cousin should be ashamed. Leaking a person’s personal information like that. If he gets caught he could get into a lot of trouble.” Lucy replied with a short temper.
“It’s not personal information. It’s information you can get just by looking at him. It’s not like my cousin handed me anything sensitive. And it’s Harry, not Harold!” Harry also didn’t like his full name.
“What evs. Hey chica, what are you spacing out for?” Lucy turned to Rebecca, smiling as she spoke.
Lucy and Rebecca were best friends and had known each other ever since Rebecca joined Twilight Garden. In fact, Lucy helped to train Rebecca when she first started as a Hunter.
Rebecca had fallen into her own mind. She still remembered that day 10 years ago when they found out about Kailan’s disappearance. They were devastated, but they held out hope. A week passed, then a month, then a year. Eventually they had to accept the fact that he would never return. “A Returnee huh? If only.”
Moisture started to swell beneath her eyes as she thought of her little brother. There was a time when she hoped he would be one of the Returnees. But after hearing about what the realms the other Returnees went to were like she lost what little hope she had. How could her sweet baby brother who was practically harmless survive in such an environment. There was no chance.
She quickly wiped her tears away. She is strong. She became strong. That’s what she told herself as she pushed all of the regret and pain down. She would become stronger than anyone and then she would hunt down whatever being came up with this stupid system and beat the living crap out of them. She directed all of her sadness, anger and grievance towards that one thought.
“Hey, chica… Rebecca!” Lucy finally yelled out as she couldn’t seem to get through to Rebecca.
“Oh. Sorry. What were you saying?” Rebecca finally recovered from her reverie.
“Geez, girl. What’s with the haze? We’re about to head into a dangerous dungeon. You need to get your head on straight.” Lucy rebuked.
“Sorry. I just spaced for a second. I’m fine.”
“Everything alright over here?” Cole walked over noticing Rebecca seemed a bit out of it.
“Yeah, we’re good to go.” Rebecca quickly answered as she grabbed her orbs and walked to stand next to the rest of the assault team. Rebecca used two orbs as weapons. They were infused with special Mana Crystals that enhanced her magical powers. She gripped them tightly as she glared at the dungeon gate, focusing all her emotions on it.
Cole looked back towards Harry and Lucy. Lucy just shrugged her shoulders like whatever and proceeded to stand next to Rebecca. Harry followed after.
“You sure you’re ok Becca? If you need to sit this one out just tell me. I’ll make it happen.” Lucy questioned her in a low and gentle tone.
“No, I’m fine. Really.” Rebecca responded, putting on a fake smile to reassure Lucy.
Lucy shrugged her shoulders again and faced forward.
“Alright. Let’s head out.” Cole turned and walked in front of the Assault Team members, taking a glance at Rebecca as he passed by, before leading them into the dungeon’s gate.