Chapter 6 - Vengeance

The soothing glow of the sun grazed the bright green grass below, gently warming it with its love and care. The wind softly blew through, swaying each blade and revealing the tiniest of flowers that had been hiding underneath the lush vegetation. The birds chirped in the distance, their beautiful songs ringing out across the everlasting blue sky.

Life could not be more perfect as a loud shout rang out from the distance, a layer of skin dropping onto the peaceful flowers, giving the first taste of blood. And within seconds, the previously peaceful flower screamed in frenzy, jumping up and sinking its razor-sharp teeth into the thick hairy leg of its newest favorite food source, creating another loud shriek and another layer of skin to drop into the ground. Thus causing a neverending cycle of man-eating flowers to chew down on the man.

"No! Please! Stop! Help me!" He cried, flailing his arms around in horror as he tried to run from the massive crowd of flowers behind him.

The old man's belly continued to flop as he bounced across the field, attracting more flowers to join the entourage behind him.

"Sir! Please! I'm sorry!" He cried, tearing raining down his cheeks.

Marcus sat down a few distance away, patting the head of one of the flowers. They seemed to really like him as they slowly crowded him in awe when he first arrived.

He had also expectedly received the same mission as before. Killing the hunters in the gate.

Seeing the disgusting old man trip down and become overcrowded with flowers, biting him and ripping apart his flesh. Marcus slowly put aside the flower with a kind smile.

"I'll be right back," He whispered, as he stood up.

The flower nodded as it jumped back to watch.

Marcus walked up to the giant mountain formed by the hundreds of flowers all jumping on the drunk bastard.

"Stop," He said quietly, gaining the attention of the flowers who all swiftly jumped off its victim, some biting off a bit more flesh before leaving.

"T-Thank you!" He cried, wrapping his arm around Marcus' leg.

A look of disgust appeared on his face as he hurriedly kicked him in the stomach.

"I've always have been a patient man, you know." Marcus began, kneeling down and facing him.

"The last few things you're daughter told me before she died was to be kind, to be patient. But the thing is, I've always had. I've always tried my best to put others before myself. In fact, I'd say that those are my two defining features. So when she said those words to me right before she died, I wondered. Why would she say that?"

Valina's father shivered as he listened quietly, not daring to say a word.

"But, when I met you. I finally realized what she meant. The patience I've had all my life, it's slowly fading. The anger I felt when I saw you. The bottled-up rage when you spoke. It really pissed me off. But, I kept it in. You were her father. Her only remaining family. The last thing I'd want to do is disrespect her and her last wishes," Marcus muttered, staring at Valina's father in the eyes, "It hasn't even been a day. Not a single day and I've already broken a promise."

"I'm s-sorry!' He begged, pressing his head to the ground.

"Why don't you apologize to Valina when you see her," He scoffed, taking out the same metal sword from the previous gate from within his status board and instantly decapitated him with a single strike, not wanting to look at that wretched face anymore.

*Ding!*

[You Leveled Up!]

*Ding!*

[Mission Completed!]

[Warping in:]

[3]

[2]

[1]

He was once again enveloped in a bright white glow, distorting the world and warping him back to the half run-down shack.

Looking around, he found a single picture of Valina in the only clean part of the home. A small closet-sized bedroom, fitted with a single child-sized bed and a small desk filled with half-marked homework.

He slowly picked up the papers, skimming through the pages. Each sheet of paper had its own personalized note directed at the student in question, each meticulously written in a fun and engaging manner.

A small smile appeared on his face as he flipped through the pages, reading each and every little message given.

Taking the papers, he quickly left the house, making his way back towards his apartment complex.

----

"Marcus!" His mother's voice called from the kitchen, "Where did you go for so long? Lunch is out on the table. Eat it if you're hungry"

"Sorry, mom. Went to retrieve something from a.. friend." He replied, entering his room and putting the pile of paper on his desk.

"Your father came back earlier, you just missed him again."

"What? Why did he leave again?" Marcus poked his head out of his room in surprise.

"They said they detected another portal opening in the vicinity or something, but apparently it disappeared within a few seconds,"

"Detected?" He muttered, going back into his room.

*Ding!*

[Participation Point is calculated:

Gate Ranking: E (5 Points)

Hunters Eliminated: 1 (2 Points)

Time Taken: 1 Hour (1 Point)

Bonus points: 2

Total Points Collected: 10 Points

Evaluation: D]

[Would you like to open Point Store? Y/N]

"No,"

The screen closed.

"What's for lunch?" Marcus called out, taking his phone out to check the news.

"Lasagna," She replied.

"I'll eat it later," He called back, hopping onto his PC.

'Hunter Union Raid.' He searched, looking through the search engine.

'First Gate Raid completed with Massive Success.' read the first article.

'Casualties include 11 injured, 0 dead.'

Marcus raised his eyebrow as he kept reading.

It turns out the dungeon they raided was a simple 'defeat 100 monsters to leave'. With the numbers spread out throughout the dungeon, they were able to quickly swarmed the each monsters with their numbers. Tanks and attackers at the front while the supporters and healers stationed at the back.

As if playing a video game, the hunters which joined the raid had leveled up quite significantly, raising from the initial level 1 to level 5.

At the end of the article, a date was embedded. The next raid meeting.

Beneath it was a signup form for those interested. With over 2,000 slots taken, the remaining slots were quickly being filled as well.

"Marc," His sister burst into his room, holding a piece of paper in her hands. 'The new Hunter's Union recruitment pamphlet. No casualties. Therefore, safe?" She looked excitedly alternating between staring at her brother and staring at the paper.

"No." He gave a simple answer without looking at the pamphlet and handing it back.

"B-But, all my friends went to the last raid. They're all over level 3s now." She sulked, snatching the paper from his hands.

"No. Means no," Marcus sighed,

"Humph," She grumbled, slamming the door on her way out.

She stomped back into her room, locking her door behind her.

"Stupid brother." She lied in bed, her laptop opened with the words written, 'Thank You for Signing Up for the Hunter Union's 2nd Raid! We'll see you all in 2 weeks!' on her screen.