1 Returned

The commander looked at the oncoming beastwave from the sea with growing despair. 

" We need to block it with a barrier, there's no other choice. Ice mages, get ready. " he told the team. 

Clair looked at her teammates, sighing inside. 

They are almost out of mana, but there's nothing and no one to block the wave save themselves. 

" Let's do our best. " She called out. Her colleagues nodded in answer. 

[ Barrier ] 

They cast together. Five beams of white combined into one, forming a gigantic wall. As they poured their all into the barrier, her colleagues started dropping like flies. The barrier had reached a height of hundred meters and was growing, before Clair lost consciousness. 

▬ ●◘● ▬

When she opened her eyes, she was looking at a shabby ceiling. 

It's the one room apartment the military gives orphans and widows after the active duty member of their family dies in a mission. 

No, it's not Clair's parents who hold that honorable title of ' martyr '. 

It's Clair's uncle. His son, who lost his legs in a monster attack. Clair is living here to look after him. Truth is her parents are too much of cheapskates to send her to school in the city, so they threw her out here to mooch off her unfortunate little cousin. 

" Sister ! It's time for school. " her brother called out from the living room. 

This … What happened here ? Clair wondered. She closed her eyes. 

' Plese ! I just want to be dead. Let me be dead ' Clair prayed. 

When she opened her eyes, the scenery did not change. She is still just as alive as before. 

' Damn ' Clair cursed. 

' I don't want to attend school ! I don't want to go into service once again ! living life is hard once, I don't want to do it twice. ' She cursed inside her mind, but it was no use. She is just as alive as ever. 

" Sister ! " The call came from the front room again. 

That voice startled her out of her funk. Her little brother was the only person in her life to whom she held a feeling of gratitude. 

After she got the job, she sent part of her measly salary to parents, and a bigger chunk to her little brother. 

Clair dragged herself out of the bed, into the hallway. 

She looked at the sloppily buttered toast, and the half spilled tea. She cleaned up the table first, then instructed her little brother to put lids on all the condiments, put them back in the fridge. Clair did not help as her little brother manipulated his wheelchair laboriously to complete the task. 

This is his chore of the week. Clair designated it a while ago. Despite grumbling against it, her little brother completed the task diligently. 

He stopped in front of her, beaming at her like an eager puppy, waiting for praise. 

" Well done. " Clair patted his head. 

She finished in no time. She slung her bag on her back, walked out pushing her little brother. She will drop him off at school, then, she will go to her own. 

As soon as she stepped out, the warm breeze whistled by her. Despite seeing the scenery thousands of times, this time, the lush greenery, quaint neighborhood and the cacophony of a small town morning all hit her heart as if she was seeing it for the first time. 

How long has it been since she felt such peace ? 

School was surprisingly alright. Everything the teacher uttered sounded like gibberish. Seeing happy faces of her colleagues and friends who have long since parted this world, it brought her a sweet melancholy.

In the last but one class hour, the home room teacher entered the classroom, standing at the podium with an extremely serious expression. 

" From now on, the students whose names are called will come with me. " He announced. 

" Clair Bassett, Zayne Rockwel , Jessica Shaw, Primrose Friar , James Notting , Ravi Mukuta , Yuriy Sokovsky , Miki Yamada, Qi Shen, … " 

The list went on. 

This is the early recruitment list for the Blackbulls, a renowned guild. They offered awakening and a slave contract - just like that, Clair and her classmates were suckered into slave contracts. 

They were led like sheep to the open playgrounds. The other children looked on curiously. 

" As you all know, our world is ravaged by dungeons and monsters. During these troubled times, there was a group of people who rose above the rest to possess the ultimate power. " the teacher began. 

Whispers started among students. 

' Is bald Lou thinking he is an anchor ? ' 

' Gods ! he won't talk for hours like he does in class, right ? ' 

Fortunately, the teacher continued after the dramatic pause. 

" These people are hunters. This year, our school is proud to announce, we received a scouting visit from the Blackbulls guild. They will provide free awakening , and an offer to join the guild. " The teacher paused, expecting thunderous applause. 

… weeeeee…. A dry leaf flew by. 

There was a sporadic applause, as few of the enlightened students took pity on their homeroom teacher. 

" Any questions ? " The teacher asked perfunctorily. 

Clair raised her hand. 

" Yes,Bassett. " The teacher asked her. 

" I don't want to join this guild, sir. Can I leave now ? " She asked. 

" Even if you do not want to join the guild, it's a very good opportunity to experience the interview. Moreover, BlackBulls offered awakening at a very low price. You will not be able to find such an opportunity once you miss it." The teacher convinced her. 

" Low price is not the same as zero, sir. I don't want to participate. " Clair was clear in her rejection. 

" Clair Bassett. This is the opportunity to change your life for once and all. If you miss this now, no matter how much you regret it in future, you will not be able to get it back again. " The teacher was getting pissed. 

" All the same, I want out, Sir. " Clair answered. 

" You ignorant child ! You and your friends will live in different worlds once they take this opportunity. Are you willing to be in your current situation forever ? … " The teacher would have said more, but a person at his side held his hand. 

" We do not do forceful recruitment. Anyone who wishes to leave can leave now. " The voice is magnetic. The face is beautiful. 

Clair got up with her bag, walked out. 

Surprisingly, Zayne Rhafyre followed her out. 

Some people separated out from the crowd, followed Claire and Zayne. The teacher's eyes burned with anger looking at the children walking away. 

While only twenty walked away out of a hundred, all of these twenty belonged to a list of geniuses he prepared for further negotiation with Black Bull for further commission. 

'Alright, Bassett. If this is how you want to play, I will accompany you. ' He thought angrily. 

Clair went to the elementary school to pick up her brother. 

Her thoughts strayed as she walked home. The awakening merely meant that one of the experienced hunters will accompany your class to the dungeon. The black bull guild did not even have the decency to take them to a proper dungeon. They took them to the nearby F-rank dungeon to kill slimes. 

Just like that, they have become slaves to the black hearted guild. 

If they want to buy their freedom, they have to pay ten times the amount of money needed for awakening. If they wanted to live in the base, where even breathing cost money, they have no choice but to work eighteen hours a day. Clair is one of the fortunate ones. 

She had a high amount of mana, but just as many elemental cores. The mana is always distributed equally among elemental cores. The core eliminating process is very expensive. The guild offered the elimination ritual, at a high price, which continued to accrue interest like a loan. With that, despite being third strongest ice mage in the country, Clair just scraped by. 

Worst part of this entire experience was that the government offered free awakening at all high schools. If only they had waited one more month, they would have become hunters at zero cost. 

On top of that, all the contracts they made after a month would be subject to the new hunter rights guidelines. 

' This time, I dodged the bullet ' Clair thought happily, as she opened the door to their house. 

Zayne, who was following her sighed regretfully, then entered his own home with the children. 

Clair made dinner for the day, then opened her books. However, her focus is not on the books at all. It was all in the slime dungeon. 

' What if she kills a slime without awakening ? ' 

What happens then ? 

The slime dungeon that opened near their house was the weakest slime dungeon ever. So much so, the government did not even think of clearing it away to prevent the danger. So, she can totally try to conquer the dungeon with a kitchen knife. 

At this moment, she did not know… 

This random adventure will change her life entirely.