The Loner - Monster's Market(Short Series) (part-2)

Hello, I got my name from the my grandfather. My grandfather is a good story teller. His goodnight stories were the best for me. Even though his life is decreasing because of cancer, he always smiled and singed me a song whenever I make a wish to hear it. His smile are very warm and that when I am with him, I am not afraid of sleeping alone at night. My grandfather is the a military veteran from world war. He used to tell me that war is a scary thing, when people kill each other without any reason just for the sake of the order. He said me to always take care of the weak ones and never give up, that is the true hero. His stories were the most motivating for me, even though there were the past experiences of him fighting in the battle. He is actually being very happy to tell me this and I used to listen to his stories every night before going to bed. I was born with the unknown disease, which is that my body kept rejecting some kind of energy and I feel more sensitive to that energy while others don't even know that it exists. Because I can't go to school and I was named as "weirdo" in the class. My father and mother were very caring for me but they are mostly busy with their work and I have only my grandpa to make me accompany. And he named me as "Hope", so that one day, I might be the symbol for the others who are suffering from unknown diseases.

Later that day, the unknown earthquakes happened and I lost my grandpa in the earthquakes, he was in the hospital to make a medical checkup for the his cancer that he is getting better gradually. Why? The destiny is a funny thing right? In the middle of chaos, my father, mother and me, run to our old bunker under our house, it is a old bunker built for the bombing danger during the world war. Grandpa bought the house, even though it is old and in a rural place, he worked so hard to renovated the house and he also grow grains as well as barley in the field. He had been cleaning and renovating the old bunker in his free time even though he is sick. We never though the bunker would save our family life during crisis. Grandpa prepared for every possible danger, he stored thousand of canned meat and he also secured tons of fresh water of drinking. Electricity, generator, first aid and other defensive items like hunting rifles and with tons of ammos. When the earthquakes breakout, my father run outside to find grandpa but grandpa left for hospital and told me to not tell my father and mother because he don't want them to worry about the checkup results. I felt sorry and sad at the same time, what if I tell my mother and father about grandpa going to the hospital downtown all by himself? Maybe I could save him back then if I just tell that to my parent?" The earthquakes stopped on the first day, but after that, we don't see any light or any sounds coming from the outside, all we heard it "Animals screaming and endless growls voices", my father peek the outside from the peek-hole and acted like nothing happen in front of me, but even me a kid who was 13 years old know that something was wrong because I had never seen my father in such state of terrifying, his hand which he was strongly holding the hunting rifle was shaking uncontrollably. It had been 6 years, since then, we lived quietly in the bunker for about 4 years while my father went out and looked for food starting from the 2nd year. Every time he went out, my mother held me tightly in her hands, quietly praying to gods "May my husband be okay through his search? May no danger befall onto my dear husband, please!". I never learned how to pray to god but I know that, because at that time, I was praying the same time for my father too. After spending 4 and a half years in the bunker, our family was rescued by the government's volunteer rescue party but mostly of the people were as weird as me, They have inhuman strength and some of them can easily kill a monster of the small car size with ease. "I want to be like them."

Since then, a lot of things changed and I have grown up and also have to learned a lot about current knowledge to survive. My mother and father both didn't awakened and I was considered as a normal human being. In this era, where being hunters means everything, normal people have to struggle a lot to survive. My mom and dad had been working day to night without complain to get a spot in the secured area for the family. This year, I have decided to join the raiding teams as porters but I am not awakened yet, I might be awakened or not. I don't really know. They said to become a awakened person, you have to attract the attention of the some entities for the unknown regions and they will whisper you inside your head and offer you the contract depending on how smart, hardworking, patient, violent you are. Even if a person is awakened, only if awakened person is gifted with strong abilities from his or her contactor entity, he or she can become a hunter who counter monsters. I really want to be a hunter, man.... Alright decided tomorrow I will go to the hunters' association office to apply for the position for the porter.

Chatter...Chatter.....Chatter.....(People chatting in the background)

"Hello, how can I help you with?"

Hope: Hello, I would like to apply for the position of porter in the dungeon raid team?

"Sure, can I know your rank and abilities and I will need your hunter ID?"

Hope: Sorry, I am normal person. I am looking for the porters position for the normal person who want to partake in the raid team.

The reception girl suddenly look at Hope, (why there is so much useless people coming for the job?)(whisper) "Can you wait a sec please? I might need additional information from you and have you ever practice running, swimming or any other sports?"

Hope: I haven't but I had been training under the government rescue program 2 years ago supervised by the military as a volunteer.

Reception girl: I am sorry, all rescue operations were canceled a few months ago so we can no longer guarantee that you will get the job. But I will at least try it for you, it might be hard to get as you trained as volunteer.

Hope: Thank you.

Reception girl: I will notify you both by app and electronic message. Next!

(background chatting) "Hello, I would like to apply for the position in the dungeon raiding. My name is Denial Thomas and here is my Hunter ID......"

A stranger: "Hey, kid. Right there. You got the job? What are you applying for? From your look, must be porter position right?"

Hope: Me?

A stranger: "Right, I am talking to you. Kid, you are not awakened right, at least even if you are, must be F-ranked hunter, if you are applying for the porter's position that is.

Hope: Well.....

A stranger: Well, I have a job for you, of course from the another way around. You can get money that way. Interested? Here is not a good place to talk about business, right?

Hope: Arrr...(thinking)

(background noise) "Yo, who is here? Denial oh denial.....looking for job when you are F-ranked.........unlike that everyone want to be partied with, ha ha ah...)

(chatting..whispering)

(what? He is a F ranked hunter? )(I haven't seem a rank with F abilities before, are they rare? Well they are rare because they are mostly useless. Really, waste of another awakening potion, i guess?, Yep, naturally awakened person started from at least Rank E.)

Hope: ........(silence)

A stranger: Hey, kid. You don't wanna end up like him right? Listen to me, I can find the job for you. It is a dungeon under Black Bear organization, they are currently recruiting many porters and hunters to the dungeons without any charge. Isn't fantastic right?

Hope: .....(silence) (thinking) I need the money, if I can get money from the dungeon may be a couple of lowest grade magi stones would ease my mother and father's burden a bit. If I can make enough fortune back there or maybe I can be even awakened because magi particles are stronger in dungeon.

Hope: .....Alright I am in.

A stranger: Ok then, come to the ship dock tomorrow. Remember, your dungeon will be E-rank dungeon. Gook luck.

Hope left.

Another stranger: Yo, you got another one right. Your way of pursuing are better and better, I have to admit that, I tell you. Poor guy, another cannon fodder.

A stranger: These days, kids are more and more easy to pursue. You just have to find the right target. With more people are in need of money, our business will be blooming ha ha.

Another stranger: Yo, have you ever wonder why Black Bear is hiring us, scammers to scam people into going their dungeons, both hunters and normal people also.

A stranger: That is not my concern, as long as I am being paid. But I am sure that there is nothing good when you are in touch with black bear. I heard that most members are originally criminals of life sentences later they become awakeners with some luck and now they are rooting their base in the underworld market. But it is strange, last time, they told me to find a dozen of porter of the dungeon of F-level with some coordinate. But this time, it is E-ranked Dungeon with the same coordinate as well?