December 31st. The last day of the year 2022. Nearly a week had passed since that day, when I suddenly cut off all ties with the girls. Since then, I haven't seen any of the four girls - Feng Mian, Yu An Xue, Yu An Yan, and Qing Yue. Actually, let rephrase. I was purposely avoiding them by staying cooped up in my dorm room, practicing multicasting and various other techniques that didn't involve blowing stuff up and were weak enough to use within a confined space.
I wasn't 'scared' of seeing them outside after that night, but rather the awkward atmosphere that would ensue. I'm already bad at dealing with people in the first place; I definitely won't be able to handle that incredibly awkward feeling as I pass by one or more of the girls outside. And so, for that reason, I haven't stepped a single inch out of my dorm room for six days straight. But today, was different. I figured my body needed so exercise by now, so I decided to head to the Hunters' Guild branch in Shenzhen today to pick up a quest. I'm also kind of running low on money, so this is solving two problems at once. Two birds with one stone, as they say.
I set off for the Hunters' Guild at 8 AM in the morning. Early departure, early return. I debated this decision in my mind a little bit, since the Hunters' Guild was known to be extrely crowded in the morning. Just like how 6 PM was peak ti for those returning from their day jobs, 8 AM was peak ti for us Hunters to accept quests. Thus, I considered going later in the day, but eventually just went 'screw it', and ended up still going at 8 AM. The reason for this is that in case one or more of the four girls are also coincidentally at the Hunters' Guild at the exact sa ti as , at least the crowd will help blend in and inconspicuously escape.
That was what I thought, anyway. But what really occured, was sothing far different.
*****
- Hunters' Guild, 8:15 AM -
"Ooh, look who it is! Greenhorn, ya still rember , eh?" a cowboy-esque cosplayer dude called out to . I turned to see who it was, and sighed. I was wearing my Kai Xuan getup, using my ring to transform my eye color and a black mask as well, but it seems he sohow identified who I was imdiately. He was currently sitting on a chair leisurely, not caring for all the traffic going on around him in the least.
"How did you know it was ?" I asked.
"Heh, I got a knack for tellin' who people are!" the cowboy responded haughtily. "Just because you wearin' so new clothes ain't an I won't be able to tell who ya are. And ya know, ya left quite an impression on with how you handled a bunch a Veteran Hunters like that."
Hmm..? Is he refering to how I got them to stop fighting over a girl? Ha. I really only did that to save so ti for myself and be the first in line, but sure. If couldn't hurt to have soone have a favorable impression of . I'll just let him keep believing what he's currently believing and leave it at that.
"Er...okay," I said after a short silence. "Do you need sothing from , or...?"
The cowboy shook his head. "Nah, just wanted to say hi, ya know? We friends now, ye?"
Huh? So saying hi to soone ans they're automatically your friend...? First ti I've ever heard about that theory.
"Uh...sure," I muttered quietly, before heading over to the quest terminal on the left wall with the least people waiting in line. Last ti I was here, a beautiful veiled receptionist had shown how to use it. This ti, I would be able to use it myself with no problems. After a while, it was my turn, and I skillfully scanned my Hunter ID card and used the touchscreen to find quests suitable for .
Hm...what should I do today...? Last ti, I did a simple resource excavation quest. Since my objective today is to obtain enough money to keep going for a while, and so nice exercise while I'm at it, I suppose I should try sothing harder. Monster extermination, perhaps? Actually, on second thought, that's kind of disgusting. I'm used to human blood and gore, but monster intestines? Yeah, I don't think so. I guess I'll do a Magic Beast extermination quest, then.
With this in my mind, I clicked the Magic Beast Hunts category on the large screen before , and after a short little animation as a transition, several quests popped up in front of .
Let's see...Twin-Tailed Tiger Hunt...Griffin Hunt...Quadrafalcon Hunt...hm, none of these are very hard. Understandable, since Shenzhen is a pretty safe place. These Magic Beasts are probably all on the Avast Mountains, north of my school. Students in higher years go there to train and hunt often, so the area only has weak Magic Beasts and Monsters such as the ones listed on the quests here. Obsidia...was an exception. She didn't seem to have any intention of harming the human race, so even if I hadn't t her, there shouldn't have been any problems.
Hm...I could probably take any of these quests on my own. I'll just give it a shot then...I don't feel like hunting any flying Magic Beasts since that would be a hassle, so I guess Twin-Tailed Tiger it is.
I clicked on the Twin-Tailed Tiger Hunt quest, and it led to the familiar quest synopsis screen. The information was as follows:
Quest Na: Twin-Tailed Tiger Hunt
Category: Magic Beast Hunt
Elimination Target: Twin-Tailed Tiger (5)
Difficulty: Moderate
So I have to kill five of them. Shouldn't be hard...yet the difficulty is rated as 'moderate'? Hm...maybe I'm underestimating these Magic Beasts? I've never fought one before. You only learn about them starting from your 3rd Year at the school, after all.
Putting that matter aside for now, I then scrolled down a bit to see the rest of the synopsis.
Rank Requirent: Golden Hunter
Reward: ¥5000, 50 Bounty Points
...
Are you shitting ? There's a damn rank requirent? Curses...I'm still only an Iron Hunter, not even a Bronze! Not to ntion getting 1,000 Bounty Points for that Golden Hunter rank...man, this sucks. Guess I can only take another resource excavation qu-
My thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a certain four people. They had just entered the building, and already attracted the gazes of literally all the male Hunters in the building with their beauty. And these said beauties, were heading towards right where I was, planning to join the line behind .
...Wait. It's them...it's them! No way...what are the damn odds of this?! Shit...I gotta get out of here sohow, without letting them see ...oh, I know!
I turned my head slightly, and whispered sharply to the dude wearing wild west clothes and a large fedora. "Hey, psst, cowboy!"
Luckily, he was sitting near , so I could get his attention easily without raising my voice.
"Hm? Oh, what do ya need for, greenhorn? So guidance on what quests to take? I'll tell ya, ya best be careful when choosing a quest, don't just give it a lick n' a promise, ya hear -"
"No, it's not that!" I quickly cut him off before he could waste more of my ti. The clock was ticking, and if I stayed at the quest terminal for too long, the people behind will get impatient with , causing a commotion and attracting attention to . So far, the four girls - Feng Mian, Yu An Yan, Yu An Xue, and Qing Yue - didn't seem to have noticed yet, but them being in here was a walking ti bomb in and of itself.
The cowboy tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? Then what do ya want, greenhorn?"
"W-We're friends, right? I need a favor."
"Yeh, we're friends, but what's this all of a sudden?"
I furrowed my brows. "Uh...don't pry, please. I just need you to cause a commotion, right now. Please."
"A commotion...?"
"Yeah, just do sothing that will attract the attention of everyone here right now. You can pull that off, right?" I asked, close to despair.
"Well, yeh, but...eh, whatever. It's a request from a friend, I'll do it."
"Many thanks," I said hurriedly, and quickly turned back around to the quest terminal as if nothing had happened. Then, taking a deep breath, I prepared for my grand escape.
Thud. Thud.
I slowly glanced behind discretely to see what the noise was, and saw that the cowboy had crawled on top of the table, and was now standing on top of it, above everyone else. What the hell is he doing...?
"Listen 'ere, everyone! I got an important announcent to make!" he said in an exceedingly loud voice that no human could produce without the help of a gaphone or speaker. Did he use Sound Magic to amplify his own voice...? Damn, you're one hell of a serious person, when it cos to helping a friend out. I can appreciate that.
And as all eyes were drawn to this one cowboy, guards and receptionists alike trying to get him off the table, I, unseen by a single soul, discretely left the building, quickly vanishing from sight...though not before turning around for a mont and hearing what this 'announcent' the cowboy had to make was.
"I saw this really hot chick the other day, I'm telling y'all, she be fine as hell! A-Ay! Let go, ya annoyin' insect! I'm tryna tell a damn story 'ere- Ay!"
Then, his eyes and mine t, and he tipped his fedora slightly, as if giving a thumbs-up.
Seeing this gesture and hearing his loud and obnoxious voice, I couldn't help but chuckle. Man...what a weirdo you are. Still...I've got to thank you this ti. I owe you one, cowboy.
With this in my mind, I left the vicinity, and began heading back to the school dorms.
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