News about an upcoming tournament got my juices pumping. The Hunter Games were where the money was at; teams pinned against each other to rake in thousands and thousands of dollars! While Naomi was worried that we were severely underprepared, I reminded her that I was no quitter. I’d do whatever it took to compete and win. The Hunter Games was my chance to prove myself, to show everyone that I had potential to be on top of the leaderboard. When Reina caught wind of a tournament just around the corner, she was just as fired up about it as I was. She loved the thrill of competition and wasn’t afraid to play dirty if she had to. The popular pretty girl at school fueled off on challenges, whether it be fashion shows, beauty competitions, or even duking it out with an entire cheerleading squad to be Model-Model’s prime finalist. Even though being a hunter was outside of her comfort zone, she was slowly molding into the hunter name, doing better and better on our assignments.

As for Naomi, I knew she’d come around eventually. Underneath that cautious exterior was a fierce competitor who hated to lose. I could just tell she wanted to show the world what she could do.

I needed to win this competition, and I’d carry my team on my back if I had to to get that prize money.

During the next few days, I started training harder than ever before, pushing my skills to the limit. I took so much of Hayashi’s time in the lab honing my metas and crushing any barricades my body put up. The finish line carved my path, and my motivation was my family. Pain was temporary, but victory was forever. I pushed through the aches and fatigue, visualizing the moment I would stand victorious on the tournament stage. My family needed this prize money, and I would be the one to earn it for them.

I trained nonstop. My skills grew sharper and my reaction time quicker with each passing day. Hayashi was impressed by my dedication, even as I demanded more of his time. I ate, drank, and slept under the ceiling of that dojo training room, and when I wasn’t training with sensei, I was completing missions. Again, I checked my status to read the update:

Career Level: 1

Name: Nero Aldeon

Hunter Attributes:

Gender: M

HG-Vitality:

Age: 18

Endurance: 10

Rank: Bronze

Strength: 11 (+50 meta boost)

Fame: 15%

Agility: 8

Infamy: 0%

Dexterity: 4

HG-HP: 0

Stamina: 100/100

Specialties:

Super Strength

Mental Immunity

Physical Invulnerability

Flame Manipulation

Thermoreception

Squadron: Beta1-UJP

Sponsor Count: 0

Mentor: Kenji Hayashi

Assignment Location: Utoro, Japan

Fame Points: 490

(FPs Accumulated): 1400

Items:--

HG-Respawn Token: 0

Currency: 4068 Yen

Throughout the week, we continued with our contracts. I made noticeable progress, but ultimately, it was up to one man to decide my fate in Hunter Corp…

This morning, our mentor, the strict, tough-skinned, and partially sober Kenji Hayashi, was going to check us off one by one. We tested as a team, but we’d be graded individually. Even though I told myself that there was no room for failure, I was still shaking inside. Personally, I thought I was doing fantastic, but unfortunately, it wasn’t my call to make. The deciding factor of my future was upstairs of the dojo, getting ready to either break or make my day.

No pressure or anything….

I was so nervous that I didn’t get a lick of sleep. I was wide awake, but anxious as shit. The feeling was terrible, and it was nothing coffee could fix. I’d already had two cups, and I was risking it. I was like a ticking time bomb after one cup of straight black, and the last thing I wanted to do was clench my butt cheeks in our evaluation meeting today to keep myself from exploding.

“Nero, my bestie, my amigo!” Ash crept in, noticing the door to my bedroom was partly open. I was sitting on the bottom half of my bed, flipping through my contract like I was about to lose it. When Ash took a seat on the bed that was supposed to be for Reina, I hurried and turned off my phone. I didn’t want her thinking I was sweating it. Despite her clashing with Kenji a few times, I’d rather not ruin her uppity mood. “Why so down, chum?”

I snickered. “I’m doing great, Ash.”

“Nervous like the rest of em?”

I shrugged. “Maybe a little. But tell me, what’s your secret?”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Hmm?”

“Why aren’t you sweating over the big day?”

She stretched her arms and legs before she plopped on the bed with a satisfying sigh. “Our trial is over, the day has come where our fates would be weighed by one man in a cute black dress.”

Cute?

“Those sandals look comfortable too.” She smiled. “Nah, I’m not sweating it, Nero. You know, statistically speaking, only 30% of hunters pass evaluations.”

“What?”

“Mhm! Out of that 30%, do you know how many were mentor-confirmed?”

“No, how many?”

“Another 30%. The other 70% either quit or died. I’m more of a glass half full kinda girl. Why bother bringing myself down when I know I’ve already won this week? Not many make it this far, Nero. Once you see it like that, you’ll be happy with yourself and take whatever he says as a bonus, not a verdict.”

“Ash, you’re always so optimistic. Just like Sophie.”

“Is she the girl you mentioned I reminded you of?”

“Yeah, she is.”

With a chuckle, she sat back up again and shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s just my perspective in life. You tend to live a lot longer when you’re not so stressed out all the time. Quit killing yourself over things you can’t control, and stop every once and a while to appreciate all the things that you have. Besides, I’ve heard people break down over evaluations. Lost good friends, too,” she said quietly, her gaze becoming distant. “Being a hunter was nothing I’ve considered long enough to say that I’m a huge fan of the trade. I want it because I feel like maybe, things are better on this side of it, you know?”

My smile lowered a little. “I get it, Ash. I feel like for the most part, people who want to be hunters are running away from something. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but just know that you’re not alone.”

She beamed. “Felix and Gun are such good friends. And now, I get to have more friends here in Utoro. I really like you, Reina, and Naomi. Even though Reina is a food murderer, and Naomi has a murder face.”

I laughed. “Well, I like you, too, Ash.”

“Don’t you ever miss my twin?”

“Your what?”

“Sophie.”

“Oh yeah, of course! I talk to her every day.”

“A girlfriend?” She smirked. “Think she’s okay with you hanging around us girls?”

“Haha, no, not a girlfriend. She’s more like a best friend. I could tell that she’s bummed about me being here, that we can’t see each other every day. We are family, real tight. And I get that she’s trying to move past it. Seems like every time we do talk, it’s about hunting.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Ever since I got here, she’s been obsessed with shadow walkers.”

“Like, what they do?”

“Moreso where they came from. She calls it starting the legwork, since I mentioned wanting to figure it out myself.”

She giggled. “Well, everyone knows that shadow walkers are spirits! No, not spirits, curses! No, demons! No wait, I got it—just plain ol’ defects of humanity!”

I snorted. “Yeah, seems like we could never narrow it down, huh?”

“You know, there’s this dark society on the internet, a cult saying they know the truths behind walkers.”

“So, what are they saying?”

“Demons. There are accounts online saying some walkers admit to it, too.”

“Admit it to who, humans?”

“Yep.”

“And they live to tell the story?”

“Hey, your guess is as good as mine! I’ve never heard of someone having a conversation with a walker and live to tell about it. Unless of course—”

“Ghouls….”

“As crazy as it sounds, we have those weirdos out there who love being shadow walker food. Catch a thrill from hanging out so close to danger.”

“Or maybe… they don’t have a choice….”

“I guess you can see it like that, too. I wouldn’t be surprised. But with so many options these monsters have, I doubt that’s usually the case, you know?”

“Monsters are sick….” I frowned. “They are capable of fulfilling any twisted fantasies they like.” I turned to Ash. “Hey, do you know the exact website of this cult?”

“Yeah, if the domain hasn’t changed. Why?”

“I want to look into it.”

“Really? You are aware that most of this stuff is crap, right? Mock theories at best.”

“Clearly to some, it’s real. I’m no cult advocate. I just want to pick their brains a little.”

“And what do you hope to find?” Ash asked, squinting at me suspiciously. “Don’t get too bogged down with this crap, Nero. These people aren’t in their right state of mind!”

“I’m just curious.” I said, handing her my phone with a notepad open on it. “Type the site.”

“Well okay…, if you’re sure,” Ash said, taking my phone and typing the website. “Fair warning, some of the stuff you’ll find in there are graphic. Nightmare inducing if you catch my drift!”

“Ash, how long have you been looking into this?” I asked as she handed me back my phone.

“I haven’t been looking into anything!” she resisted defensively. “One of my friends from school bumped into it and dared me to make an account as a joke. At first, I hung around for a while just to see what they were into. It was like a car crash, you know? Horrible, but you can’t look away? I thought it was a gag until I realized that some of those spells they were posting up there required sacrifices and stuff. It spooked me out! Ever since I logged out, I never logged back in.”

“Spells?”

“No one ever takes these kinds of sites seriously. But I’d be careful, Nero. Like I said, don’t get invested. You’re a hunter, too. Good people don’t get wrapped up with cult business.”

“Cult business?” Felix said, walking into our conversation. “Sorry, I heard you two talking. I actually came up here to fetch you for our meeting.”

“Oh crap, I lost track of time,” I said, getting off my bed to head out, but Felix intercepted me, hung up with Ash and I’s conversation.

“Hold on,” he chuckled. “What’s this I heard about cult business? Are you two….”

“Hell no,” I refused.

“Nero and I were just talking about how this cult named Obrihden had their own website, telling everyone that shadow walkers are demons.”

“What? Seriously?”

“Just a bunch of weirdos getting into dark stuff. You know how bored people get.”

“Well, if they are spreading lies fast enough, and their movement is strong, they may convert the masses. Fear is a powerful thing.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if their fan base is huge. People are so desperate for answers that they’d pretty much follow anything that has a believable enough foundation.”

“Let me see this website,” Felix said, and I showed him the link. He snickered. “Man, the lines some psychos online would cross.”

“I know, right?” I couldn’t help but chuckle along with him. “They’re also writing some convincing ‘dark rituals’ too. That’s what got Ash spooked.”

“Have you checked if this website is legit?”

“Ahh, no, not yet. I’ll try searching for it now.” I copied and pasted it on my browser, Felix snatching my phone before I could look at it. Felix’s eyes dissected the site which had a red and black theme, the tacky bold fonts and pixelated images giving it a real Myspace era vibe.

“Well, it’s true that the shadow walkers are real. But this...” He clicked on a tab on summoning demons, and another of being granted wishes through contracts. When I started reading along, Felix exited the website and scoffed. “It’s all utter nonsense, fear-mongering at its worst.” He handed me back my phone and smiled. “Now come on! We got more important things to take care of this morning.”

Felix walked out, Ash following him until she stopped short and turned to me. “Hey Nero, got any more chocolate?”

I flat-eyed her. “Was that the real reason you paid me a visit?”

“If I said yes, would you be mad at me?”

I sighed defeatedly. “I gave you one Snicker’s bar….”

“You know what happens when you feed a cat once right? They keep coming back.”

“No kidding.” I snickered, reaching into my pocket and tossing her another treat. “Pocky. Not a Snickers bar but—”

“Better!” she sang, snatching it with her teeth again and dashing off on all fours.

I scratched the back of my head and I wondered, sometimes, if Ash truly was a cat pretending to be a demi-human….

Anyway, it was time to face the music. Would I be staying in Utoro as a hunter, or would I be shipped back to New York as an Organization VII reject?