15 Becoming an Hunter

When Laurellius woke up, he noticed that the color of sunlight passing through the window had already turned orange. It seems he slept past noon and woke up right during sunset. It looks like he won't be having a good night's sleep this evening.

Having that realization, Laurellius sighed. 'What a bad day…'

It was truly a bad--no, worst. It was the worst day he ever had his entire life. And for the first time too, sleep didn't make his worries disappear like usual. And from the looks of it, even ten more sleeps won't make the worries go away.

'Well, at least I don't feel as bad as before.' he consoled himself.

Laurellius stood from his bed, but a sudden opening of the door took his attention. Someone had entered. It was Nell. It seems she snuck out without permission.

"Nell, what were you doing outside?" Laurellius asked. It was rare for her to leave without permission.

Nell stiffened from his question. "U-Um… I went to big sister Her Highness's room…"

Laurellius was speechless. What did she just call Avarosa?

"Just now, could you repeat it?"

Nell visibly tensed further, "I… I went to big sister Her… Highness?"

Laurellius slapped his forehead. Just when he was feeling a bit better, something just had to drop a bomb on his head. The worst day indeed.

Laurellius shook his head. With a sigh, he spoke: "Did she tell you to call her that?"

Nell suddenly beamed. She shook her head and explained: "She only told me to call her as Her Highness. I added the big sister part on my own." she giggled.

Laurellius sighed once more. It looks like Avarosa had already brainwashed his sister. Great.

'Well, it's not like it's gonna hurt anyone or anything. I guess I should just let her call Avarosa whatever she wants. However…' there was a matter she needed to warn her sister.

"Nell, can I ask for a favor?"

"Really?! You need help?!" Nell exclaimed with a bright smile. She looked at him with anticipation.

A small chuckle escaped Laurellius' lips. And with a light sigh, he spoke: "Can you promise me you'll never stay near her without me?"

"Why?" Nell asked with surprise.

Laurellius made a wry expression, "Just promise me, Nell."

Nell frowned and contemplated. Was she hesitating? Perhaps. But Laurellius couldn't trust Avarosa like before. She was dangerous.

After a while, Nell spoke: "Rell, did big sister Her Highness do something bad?"

Laurellius shook his head. "No. But she might, so I need to be there for you. It'll be scary otherwise."

Nell nodded. She didn't really get what her brother meant, but she was sure it was important. After all, her brother rarely had a serious expression on his face when making favors.

Laurellius smiled at Nell. He then hugged her petite body. "Nell, if you're ever in trouble, just tell me, okay?"

"Un!" Nell nodded.

***

When Laurellius left his room, he was met with the sight of Avarosa walking towards her own room. Was that the reason why he went out right at this moment? Perhaps.

With a frown, he asked her: "Where have you been?"

He sounded like a lover interrogating his girlfriend, but he was actually wary. After all, he didn't know what she would do if she randomly went out. As someone who's life was bound to her, Laurellius felt like he had the responsibility to watch over her.

Without even turning to his direction, Avarosa answered in a sharp tone: "I do not recall having the obligation to tell you what I do. You do not hold power over me, plebeian. Also, mind your tone."

Laurellius' brows twitched, but he let it go. After all, she was right. And he couldn't beat her.

He sighed. And then turned to the stairways leading downstairs. He was planning on leaving, however…

"Plebeian, where do you plan to go?" Avarosa spoke out of nowhere.

Laurellius was somewhat tempted to answer her the same as she did, but he restrained himself. He was sure she'd lash out if he did.

"Outside." Laurellius said with a resigned tone.

Avarosa frowned. Clearly not satisfied with his answer.

Laurellius continued, "I'm heading to the Hunter's Guild. I plan on registering."

"Hunter's Guild?" Avarosa asked. "On this time of the day?"

"An organization in charge of taking in and giving out missions to subjugate monsters and magic beasts." Laurellius explained. "And I just woke up. I doubt I could sleep even if I wanted to."

A frown formed on Avarosa's brows when she heard his explanation. Laurellius was wondering what she was planning this time.

After a few seconds of silence, Avarosa spoke: "I shall go with you."

Laurellius sighed. It was just as he expected. He didn't exactly know where she came from, but he was sure it didn't have a Hunter's Guild in it.

"Fine…" Laurellius consented. Though he was sure Avarosa would still go even if he refuses though…

And so, they left the inn together.

***

When they reached the Hunter's Guild, they were, as expected, met with quite a reception. Most of the people in the guild were people who combatted monsters and magic beast daily, so it was natural most of them were men. And as men, it was natural to ogle a beauty once they see them. It was instinct.

"Oh? A pretty lass. What'ya doing here, girlie? This ain't no place fo--" a Hunter who seemed like a thug spoke, but his words were cut short as he suddenly blown away(literally) by a slap from Avarosa.

"Silence, insect." Avarosa spoke coldly as she continued walking. It was as if she only swatted a fly.

Some people stood in order to join the fun, but they were stopped by a single glare from Avarosa. She wasn't really releasing any pressure, but the Hunters were people who were used to dancing with death. They could even spell it letter by letter in their deepest subconscious minds.

They knew Avarosa was dangerous.

Laurellius' face lost a few shades of vibrancy for a moment, but heaved a sigh of relief when he realized no fight would occur. He wasn't too experienced in fights.

They both stood in front of the counter. The receptionist spoke: "Welcome to the Hunter's Guild! How may I help you?"

"We would like to register as Hunters." Laurellius was the one who spoke. He was probably better than Avarosa when it comes to this.

The receptionist nodded. "Registration, yes? Then please fill out these forms. Other than your name, we won't really need any other form of identity, but please use your real name when writing it down."

Laurellius nodded, and filled upon a form. He also filled out for Avarosa as he knew he would still get ordered to fill it out for her. He then handed it over.

"Hm… Avarosa and Laurellius, yes? Would you like to register as a party?"

Laurellius turned to Avarosa in confirmation, and she nodded. It seems she properly knew what it meant.

"Yes, please."

"Alright." the receptionist said, and wrote on a paper. He then stowed it away, and handed a runic medallion to each of them.

"Thank you for registering at our branch, Ma'am Avarosa, Sir Laurellius. Would you like me to explain how things work in the guild?"

Laurellius nodded.

"I understand. It's actually much simple, Ma'am and Sir. In this guild, people posts their missions they want us to complete, and give rewards once someone completes it. And the Hunters are people who undertakes those mission. Hunters are divided by ranks. From F-Rank being the lowest, an S-Rank being the highest. In a nutshell, the more missions you accomplish, the higher rank you'll rise. And with higher rank, you get to be able to accept missions that have rank restrictions on them." The receptionist explained in a few breaths.

"Also, you can only take a mission that's one rank higher or lower than your current rank, so be careful in raising your rank too quick." He added a reminder.

"I see. How intriguing…" Avarosa suddenly mentioned.

"Isn't that right? The guild used to be called adventurer's guild and had long annoying rituals and process, but all of those were either removed or replaced. Even the name was changed as hunting monsters was nothing close to an 'Adventure' and more like 'Death-Seeking'." The receptionist said after hearing Avarosa's remark.

Laurellius made a wry smile at the term "Death-Seeking". Does that mean he'd registered just to seek his own death?

'Well, not that I plan on dying though.' Laurellius thought.

And so, without any further ado, Avarosa and Laurellius ended the conversation right there, and undertook their first mission.

***

"Strange…" Avarosa suddenly spoke, "Why did you choose the easiest subjugation mission?"

"What's strange about that?" Laurellius asked back, "I have no intentions of overestimating myself."

"Yet you underestimate your power too." Avarosa stated.

However, Laurellius denied her. "No. Perhaps in the power you cultivate, someone of my state would be able to easily beat a bunch of goblins, but magic is different." Laurellius explained, "Being a mage means relying on the power of the elements. And since I don't have elemental aptitude, I can only use pure condensed mana in my attacks. I want to practice and see if I can make it stronger."

"So you plan on getting stronger bit by bit?"

"At least that's what I intend to do." Laurellius said with a nod.

"I cannot comprehend why." Avarosa suddenly remarked. "Why do you rely on elements this much?"

Laurellius shook his head. "I don't know. All I know is that it's the point of our system of Power."

Avarosa didn't say anything this time.

It was already evening, yet Laurellius and Avarosa was going around a nearby forest looking for goblins. Tiny, nimble, green, and foul-smelling goblins. It was the very first mission that Laurellius had undertaken as a Hunter.

The forest was dark. The trees, despite not being too tall was still able to block out most of the radiance that the moon was supposed to illuminate the place. The sound of insects making their own tiny noises mixed together in the background, forming together a mildly jarring sound for Laurellius' ears. Nonetheless, he still maintained vigilance.

Silence continued on, until Avarosa spoke.

"I do not understand. Why not do this tomorrow? Surely these goblins you speak of appears more frequently than evening, no?"

A sudden sound of a branch cracking resounded, making Laurellius' vigilance soar for an instant. Due to that, he wasn't able to immediately answer Avarpsa's question. 

When he noticed, it seemed a night rabbit was the one that had stepped on a dry branch. Laurellius heaved a sigh of relief.

He then turned to Avarosa and spoke: "No. Night time is usually my time for training, so it's convenient for me since I don't have to train in elemental magic anymore. I suddenly have free time."

Laurellius saw a small glint in Avarosa's eyes for an instant, but he was sure he was imagining it. After all, if he wasn't, Avarosa would have already lashed out or anything.

He waited for Avarosa to react to his answer, yet strange enough, she was silent. He turned to her, and saw that she was suddenly holding a dagger from out of nowhere. Laurellius suddenly paled.

"W-Wait, Ava--Lady Avarosa… What is with that dagger?" he asked with a tense expression.

Avarosa didn't answer, but her eyes suddenly narrowed and she spoke: "Silence, plebeian. Something is coming."

"Eh?" Laurellius was confused, but all of a sudden…

"ROOOOOAAAAAR!!"

...an ear-splitting roar resounded within the entire forest.