On a Wednesday of a very busy week, Johan faced the real first ordeal. He stared at the young man roaming between the shelves like a child in a candy shop and anxiously called his boss.

  Morgan, as always, wasn’t the fastest to pick up phones in emergencies. She had no idea how to use most of her phone features, but turning it to silent? She was a pro at that.

  When the tenth call wasn’t answered, he face-palmed, audibly fed up.

  “Is there a problem, sir?” Eugene, finally done exploring the modest store, came back.

  “My Boss is rather, no, very unreliable,” Johan said.

  “Miss Morgan did seem a little different,” Eugene added with an awkward smile.

  Of course, Morgan was different; how else would she hire a kid like Eugene for a Hunter Mart job? Eugene Smith, the name alone screamed well-bred and wealth. Not to mention his attire.

  He couldn't allow such a kid to work in a Hunter mart; he felt he might get yelled at by some woman in Gucci glasses, Eugene’s mother, in a mink coat that would get offended just by breathing the same air as him.

  Just as Johan was about to politely decline the kid, his phone rang. Morgan finally checked her phone.

  “Are you bad mouthing me again?”

  “How you can notice that but not see your phone ringing is beyond me.” Johan sighed.

  “Its bad manners to talk behind people’s backs.” She clicked her tongue like an old grandma.

  “It’s also bad manners to not pick up calls.”

  “I was in the shower.” He could see her elderly look of disapproval.

  Johan had a lot to say, like why would she shower at midday on a Wednesday? But through the grogginess, he remembered that this woman owned assets worth millions across the city; she made more in a month than most mid-level guilds and clans from the comfort of her home. Meaning she could do whatever she wanted. Plus, she’s his boss, as problematic as she may be.

  “So, what’s the problem?” He thought she’d never ask.

  “The kid, we can’t hire him.” Johan didn’t even bother to whisper, as disappointed as Eugene looked. “You should know the dangers surrounding a Hunter Mart.”

  Hunters were basically superpowered elephants on roids running around in a sugar glass zoo. A little mishap could put anyone in the past tense. Johan continued because he had no other options, and he had paid for that mistake a few times.

  “He’s awakened, as for his safety, did you not see his uniform?” Johan wouldn’t miss that with his eyes closed. You could smell it; that was the level of the elite high school this kid went to.

  “He’s still a kid.” He saw Eugene pretending not to hear the conversation while reading some ingredients on the back of a soda can, a polite kid, he must say.

  “Picture this, you are worried about a kid who receives training to fight Magik Beasts under active Hunters and has been inside Rifts to experience real combat,” Morgan added. “Have you been sleeping well?”

  “2-3 hours.” Johan pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Thomas the Tank Engine says that you should get a proper eight hours of sleep every day, no exceptions.”

  “I don’t think he ever said that.” Johan deadpanned.

  “Well, the point is, don’t try to be Gordon.” She added. “Also, the kid is a fan of yours, so don’t let him down, ok?”

  “What do you mean by fan?” Johan asked, but he only heard a familiar bouncy melody in the background.

  “Thomas and friends, time, bye.”

  Johan looked at his phone after the call ended and shook his head. Why was she watching reruns when he gave her the file that had all the episodes?

  The thought didn't last as he saw Eugene creeping closer, he seemed anxious about his hiring, but didn’t want to disturb. What a good kid he was.

  Since Morgan chose him, Eugene’s hiring was set in stone. He’d hear no end of it if he refused here. What Johan worried over was that he wouldn’t get as much free time as he expected. However, another part caught his attention, all of his attention.

  “You said you were a fan of mine?” Johan coughed, looking at the anxious boy with one eye open.

  “Miss Morgan told you that, now I am embarrassed.” Eugene rubbed the back of his head with a shy smile. “Truth is, I use this street often on my commute. So, I was nearby when the rift opened up here.”

  “You were?” Johan didn’t remember much of that day; truthfully, he didn’t want to.

  “Yes, Hunter Course students are taught to carry out evacuations and such during times of emergency. I was helping that day.”

  Elite high school students moved differently, Johan marvelled. His school didn’t have a hunter course, so all he learned were basic drills and general knowledge about rifts.

  “So, how did you feel? It must’ve been different when you were with teachers, right?” Johan leaned on the counter.

  “It was, and I am not proud to admit it, but I got overwhelmed. I couldn’t even move.” Ashamed, Eugene looked at his shiny boots. “But, when the Hunters returned, I heard that you saved a young child, even when you didn’t have a class. That truly opened my eyes, for the first time I felt like I wanted to learn from someone.”

  Facing the glimmering eyes, Johan could only look away. Unknowingly, he had become a hero to a promising young man; how could he let him see that he had been corrupted by wealth?

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Please hire me, I swear I won’t get in your way, Teacher. I am a quick learner, and I have high stamina.” Eugene bowed, arms straight by his side.

  He had that youthful fervour and innocence. Johan felt like an old master in the mountain approached by the young main character. A Hunter Mart job may not help with a lot of things, but it did help one get used to the Hunter’s aura. That nasty wave of magik that caused nausea.

  At the start, Johan used to tremble like a newborn fowl even in the face of F-Rankers, although a Hunter fresh off a rift run or before wasn’t any less than a wild animal in hunting mode. But with time, he grew used to those overwhelming presences, as dangerous as they were.

  He believed Eugene could benefit from that exposure. Still in High school, even though in the Hunter Course, there weren’t many opportunities for authentic experiences. And, Johan needed help, or young Eugene might lose his hero to something as deplorable as workplace exhaustion.

  “You’re hired,” Johan said, after agonizing over the decision. The fact that Eugene spoke so highly of him did not affect this decision; it definitely didn’t.

  “Thank you, I won’t let you down, teacher.” Eugene smiled, and watching that joy, even Johan began to feel his lips move upwards.

  The next day, Eugene arrived at 7 o’clock, an hour before the mart opened. He wore the shop’s uniform, a light blue cotton shirt with a beckoning white cat on the breast pocket and simple navy-blue pants, along with his polished shoes; he looked more like a manager than Johan.

  Although the mart had the uniform, Johan only wore the shirt over some bleached jeans or sweatpants. No one bothered or cared about the dress code, but Eugene seemed hellbent on following it.

  The kid should’ve been more worried about the fact that he worked in the mart during school hours. When Johan asked, Eugene simply showed him his daily timetable.

  Two hours of mandatory physical training every morning, which he did from 4:30 to 6:30. Since he was a hunter course student, Eugene didn’t have to worry about normal subjects. He only had to attend the special training held thrice a week, all of which happened after noon.

  And by noon, or even 11 o’clock, Johan’s potions sold out.

  It takes longer to package them than to sell them. Johan grimaced, changing the sign to closed.

  “Even after so many hours, there are hunters in the line.” Eugene looked at the dispersing line through the glass door; most didn’t seem happy about missing out. “So many Hunters line up for your potions, you’re amazing, Teacher!”

  Johan wondered if that was true. He only brewed basic potions; that’s all he could do without an alchemist class. The quality came from the ingredients he got from Phantasia. But he could only enter there thanks to his class. So, he was the only one who could make potions like these. In conclusion, he was amazing, wasn’t he?

  “It’s nothing.” Faking humbleness, he went back to the cash register to check the sales.

  After confirming the amount and separating Morgan’s share, Johan was about to send Eugene away and get a quick nap, but notifications from Hunter Net started to appear.

  And not just Hunter Net, articles from Hunter News and other news outlets started to pour out. Even Eugene looked at his phone, eyes widening.

  Johan stared back at the new discussion thread on Hunter Net. The big, bold words made him gulp.

  Hunter Lucas White challenges the SS-Rank Rift Mahapadma for a second time!

  ***

  Lucas felt good today, better than any day from the past two years. In the back seat of the limo, his finger tapped on the tinted window to the tune of the piano. A song from his homeland, the only memory he had of that place.

  In front of him sat three more Hunters, all top A Ranks of the country, all survivors of the previous attempt at Mahapadma. Their faces contorted, less because of the music but mostly because of the reporter swarm they escaped from.

  “My eyes still sting.” The lanky man seated across from Lucas pulled his green hood down. “How do you deal with them, Luc?”

  “I was born for this.” He ran his fingers through the extra silky hair, still posing.

  “This is what happens when you don’t step out of the basement for a year, Sae.” Brima, sitting on the hooded guy’s left, scoffed.

  “I don’t want to hear that from a shadow dweller. Have you even showered? The stink is burning my throat.” Sae whispered.

  “Say that again, a bit louder.” Brima glared, her black leather cloak fluttering.

  “You heard me.” Sae continued to whisper as sparks flew.

  “Place your bet, Adrian, my money is on Sae this time.” Lucas poked the man deep in his thoughts.

  “Can we not do this for once?” Adrian, in the middle of his prayers, turned solemn.

  “That’s a tall order.” Brima shrugged.

  “Truly.” Even Sae agreed.

  “He’s gotten too used to home. Adrian's always been a sucker for stability.” Lucas leaned back into the heated chair, one leg crossing the other. “Did you at least say your last goodbye to Seema?”

  “Don’t start this again.” Adrian looked at them, his eyes more serious than ever. “No matter how much you try to tease me into leaving, I am coming along.” His hands clenched as he looked at them. “I am still the bruiser of this team.”

  “Uncle next door suits you better.” Brima shook her head.

  “A fat uncle past his prime.” Sae nodded.

  “A soft, pudgy uncle that can’t stop eating homemade cinnamon rolls every day.” Lucas pointed at the leather breastplate extender Adrian had on. Though it wasn’t because of fat, the uncle had gotten more muscular.

  “You guys…” Veins popped up on Adrian’s forehead as the other two chuckled silently.

  Lucas looked at his team, a team he used to lead personally. A team on its way to recover two of its members from the icy hell. The car came to a halt, and he stepped out first. They had passed a military checkpoint near the capital three hours ago, and before them was a barren wasteland with a single road that went back to the city.

  The day was as sunny as it could get, no clouds in the sky, just dry wind at the peak of summer. However, the wind here carried a chill. A chill from the other side of the rift in front of them. The crack in space spilled icy blue into the world, as jagged as a slash from a crooked dagger, covering a kilometre around it in a layer of frost.

  When Lucas stepped on the frost that permeated the very earth, it started to disperse. Air itself sizzled. Lucas couldn’t help but express his displeasure.

  He hated a few things. Liars, disrespectful people, and those who got in his way. At that moment, three hunters stood in his way.

  “The Association President didn’t tell you, I take it.” Ares, a S-Rank Hunter from the International Hunter Association, smirked. His golden armour with rose filigree glimmered in the midday sun, reflecting light into his eyes.

  “I told you she won’t buy it,” Adrian commented.

  Lucas cursed inside. How could that woman be so vengeful over a little delay in meeting? Truly, the older women get, the worse their temper becomes.

  “Did they send you to clear the rift?” Lucas laughed. “Was Herc busy or something?”

  “He has too much work, and for a rift like this, I alone am enough.” Ares shook his head.

  “Lucas, stay calm,” Adrian whispered from behind.

  “I am totally calm.” Lucas tilted his head to the right.

  “He’s not calm,” Brima muttered.

  “Totally not calm,” Sae whispered his acknowledgement.

  He didn’t know what they were on about. Lucas had always been calm. Just a bit of flaring magik wasn’t that big of a deal.

  “You can join, leave the rabble behind, though.” Lucas passed by Ares, glancing at the sweating A-Rankers he brought along. “I don’t plan on having any more casualties in this rift.”

  “Sure, sure.” Ares dismissed the two hunters from his guild and glanced over his shoulder. “Are you sure you can handle the rift? I mean, you failed once.”

  Lucas stopped in his tracks and turned around, his lips curled in a smile.

  “Man, for someone named after a God of War, you seem awfully afraid.” He patted the man’s shoulder, burning off the gathering frost. “If you are too chicken to follow, you can stand guard at the entrance. I’ll still say you entered with us, so you can finally have an SS-Rank Rift on your resume.”

  “Very well then, don’t cry for help later.” Ares’s smile turned venomous.

  “I am into making others cry.” Lucas turned around, facing the icy blue crack.

  He closed his eyes for a moment before taking a step forward, a message flashing before his eyes as the world stretched out at the seams.

  [You have entered the rift, Mahapadma.]

  [Objective: Kill the Warden of Mahapadma.]

  [Time Limit: None.]

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