18 Another Mission

Rama sat down and leaned against the wall after three hours of relentless training. He breathed heavily, sweat drenching his face, but he still smiled as if feeling satisfied.

Adrien approached from his side and handed him a bottle of mineral water.

"Thank you, sir," Rama said. He promptly gulped down the water and sighed with satisfaction after the cold liquid refreshed his throat.

Adrien then sat beside him. The clock showed noon, and there was no one else around because they were all busy having lunch. It was just the two of them engaging in an unusual activity, training when lunchtime was approaching.

Adrien had stopped actively training Rama, letting him practice on his own after teaching him everything he knew about the Rookie Slash technique. As it had happened before, Rama executed everything flawlessly, making Adrien appear to be an exceptionally competent teacher.

In reality, it was Rama who possessed extraordinary abilities. He could memorize all the moves and perform them impeccably. His passion and determination were also remarkable. Combined with his seemingly boundless stamina, Rama had achieved results that would typically take months of training in just three days.

"I should at least treat you to lunch, shouldn't I?" Rama suddenly said.

Adrien let out a chuckle. "No, son. It's me who will treat you to lunch. After all, you've been my first disciple in years."

Then, Adrien stood up. "Let's go. Even though your stamina is impressive, I'm getting old, and I've been hungry since a while ago."

Rama, realizing that he had kept Adrien waiting for lunch, wore a guilty expression. Not wanting to delay any further, he promptly rose and followed his mentor.

They had lunch at a restaurant adjacent to the Hunter Training Center. Although Adrien had said he could order anything he liked, Rama still had enough decency to order a meal similar to his mentor's.

After they finished eating, Rama decided to inquire about something that had piqued his curiosity for a long time.

"I'd like to ask you something, sir," Rama began.

"What is it?"

"I'm quite sure that you used to be a Hunter. May I know why you stopped?" Rama asked.

Adrien exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke before responding. "Well, as you've guessed, I experienced a failure on a mission. Some of my friends died during that mission, and I decided to quit."

Rama gazed at his mentor for a moment. It must have been a profoundly sad and traumatic experience. However, Rama was not one to easily empathize.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I shouldn't have asked," Rama said in a flat tone.

"It's okay. Besides, it happened a long time ago, and I've been trying not to dwell on it, or at least attempting not to."

Rama could see the sudden gloominess in Adrien's face. His question had triggered this unexpected change in mood. He was well aware of it and felt somewhat guilty, but his curiosity had driven him to ask.

"Perhaps I should rein in my curiosity."

Not long after, Adrien broke from his reverie. "Training again?" he asked.

"Uh, I think I've had enough training for today. I need to take on a mission," Rama replied.

"You want to take on a mission?" Adrien asked while looking at him. The retired Hunter displayed a longing expression for a moment, but it didn't last long; it vanished, extinguished by whatever he was currently feeling.

"Yes, sir," Rama replied. "I need to work as soon as possible. I've been quite extravagant these past few days."

Rama smiled and then left the restaurant. As he departed, Adrien watched his receding figure with that same longing look he had shown earlier. However, Adrien quickly averted his gaze, taking a deep drag on his cigarette and exhaling a puff of white smoke into the air.

"It's not your place anymore. Stop it," Adrien muttered to himself.

~~~

After cleaning up and resting from the strenuous training, Rama headed to the headquarters of the Veil Guards guild. Now more confident in his abilities, he wondered if he was ready to take on missions with a higher rank than before.

His Sword Mastery skill had reached Beginner Level 10 with a progress of (45 /100), thanks to Adrien's rapid training methods. Rama was grateful for the progress he had made.

He wasn't sure about the difficulty level of higher-ranked missions, as he had never participated in them before.

'Maybe, for now, I should stick to Rank D missions. If I handle them myself, I'll earn more—'

Rama's train of thought halted when he spotted five familiar Hunters. They were the same Hunters who had been with him on the mission to eliminate the Ghost, the ones who had remained silent when Donovan had dragged him to the sacrificial altar.

Rama gritted his teeth involuntarily. His steps carried him toward them.

One of the Hunters turned when he realized Rama was approaching. He frowned upon seeing Rama's stern expression.

"You got a problem?" the Hunter asked. The other four immediately turned their attention to Rama, recognizing the unfriendly look on his face.

'So, they really don't recognize me.'

It was understandable because Rama had previously been just a porter. Few had taken notice of him, let alone remembered him.

Rama's face suddenly returned to normal. This place was too crowded to do anything about them.

"I'm a porter. Perhaps you need someone to carry your stuff?" Rama said.

The five of them eyed him for a moment. Then, they exchanged glances.

"We do need a porter, right? We have mining to do today. I don't want to carry all those ores," one of them said. After he said that, the others quickly agreed.

"Fine. You can join us."

Just like that, Rama had managed to join the Hunters' party. It seemed they didn't take his previously unfriendly expression too seriously. After all, he was just a porter, and he didn't pose any problems for them.

~~~