First Official Mission - Part 1

“Kaito! How could you do this to me?! Didn’t you love me?!” came the voice from the television.

A week had already passed since the appearance of the Tuskens. While I was fully recovering from my wounds, we continued patrolling the area, and truthfully, I had started to enjoy it. Seeing people grateful for our help, even if it was only a little, was comforting.

Is this how my sister felt? I feel like contributing in this way brings me a little closer to what she was. Yet, there was something we couldn’t ignore.

With my injuries healed, it was time to get to work. It was time to get serious.

“BANG!”

“Ah!” Yu shouted, startled by the hit I had delivered to the desk. “What the heck got into you now?!”

“That’s enough! We need to get to work!” I exclaimed with determination.

Yu looked at me with irritated, confused eyes, still not understanding what I meant, but he didn’t let go of his instant noodles, even taking a bite before speaking. It almost seemed like they were glued to his hands.

“Huh? But we do patrols in the afternoon…”

“No, no, no, that’s not what I mean. Look, there’s a point where we can help in many ways, but we’re still hunters, and as such, we must support the battles against magical beasts.”

I acknowledged his point about helping in ways that didn’t involve fighting, but that didn’t mean we could forget about the magical beasts, which, even with so many hunters in the country, still caused plenty of destruction.

“You’re right, but we don’t even have any prediction equipment for the domes, so it’s not like we can do much. Do you know how expensive those things are?”

Prediction equipment are advanced devices that locate the areas where mist domes—and thus magical beasts—will appear. They were a major advancement by the renowned researcher Rina Takahashi, one of the most important scientists of recent times thanks to her contributions to mana research and hunter development. All the major guilds and important agencies have at least one prediction device for work, but that wasn’t our case.

However, I already knew that, which is why I came prepared this time.

“Don’t worry about that,” I said as I pulled out a slightly crumpled sheet of paper. “I got us a job with a major guild!”

Hearing me, Yu’s eyes widened in surprise, and he took the paper to read it.

“A major guild? How on earth did you get a job like that as an intern?”

“Heh, heh, despite how I look, I have my contacts,” I replied smugly, flooded with memories of kneeling and begging a friend from the academy to help me, but he didn’t need to know that.

The important thing was that we already had something to start with.

“It seems a large part of that guild went on an important mission, but their prediction device detected a future dome in Asukayama Park. Since they’re short-staffed, they decided to hire people for this.”

“Rank C, huh? And the pay looks good too. I was running low on noodles anyway.”

“Is that really the only thing you care about?” I asked, irritated.

“No, also the electricity bill—I don’t want to be left without TV.”

Seriously, how does someone like him become such a skilled hunter?

Yu continued reading the mission notice, and then his gaze fell at the bottom of the page, right where the guild administration had signed it next to the name.

“Dead Eye?” he said, his eyes lighting up slightly.

“Yes! Isn’t it impressive?!”

Yu finally nodded and handed the notice back to me, then got up to find his worn coat and filter mask.

“Alright, we’ll go. It might be dangerous, so don’t stray from me. I don’t want to deal with your professors if something happens to you…”

Yeah, I can imagine him running away from the country instead of facing the fact that something might happen to me. I might be a hunter, but right now, I’m a student under his charge, after all.

“Oh, and don’t forget your mask again, or I’ll have to save you once more.”

“Enough already! Do you want to?!” I exclaimed.

He had been teasing me about the same thing all week. What an irritating guy…

Once we accepted the assignment and prepared ourselves, we headed to the mission area: Asukayama Park in the Kita-ku district.

***

Upon arriving at the guild’s mission area, we were overwhelmed by the sheer number of hunters present. There were all types: armed fighters, mages, support classes… the numbers seemed endless.

“They’re really numerous…” I said, still surprised.

“Dead Eye must have a lot of money to hire so many people,” Yu added.

He wasn’t exaggerating. Dead Eye was, in fact, the second-largest guild in the country, second only to Red Thunder, although they are said to be very close in strength. It was impressive that my friend could get into such an important guild, even if only as an intern.

While I continued observing the scene, I noticed Yu looking around urgently.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“I wanted to greet a kid who works in this guild, but he doesn’t seem to be here. Slippery as always, little bastard,” he said with a sharp look.

“Seems like you want more than just to say hello…”

“He never visits me! It’s cruel!”

“Yeah, right…”

After our little exchange, a shout drew our attention. It wasn’t a cry for help or anything alarming; it was the shout of a mage casting a spell.

“[Luminous Blade]!” the mage shouted in the distance.

The crystal on his staff began to glow, gathering mana from the surroundings, forming a large luminous blade that shot toward a nearby tree, leaving a deep cut.

Looking around more closely, everyone was practicing and preparing, whether by casting spells or imbuing their weapons with mana to attack.

Seeing so many people with great skill and talent, my morale dropped noticeably. Everyone seemed to excel in their own way, and their mastery of mana was precise—everything I was not. I imagined them all fighting bosses fiercely, while I had been easily defeated by a Rank D monster.

I took the rifle from my back and examined it. Large and powerful, with significant recoil; the bullets might be effective against monsters, but using it left me with more disadvantages than advantages.

“Feeling discouraged?”

“W-what?” I exclaimed, startled by Yu’s sudden question. I must have been very obvious. “N-no, it’s not…”

“Let me guess!” he said, placing a finger on his forehead, crudely imitating a psychic. “You think you’re not cut out for this and got overwhelmed seeing everyone’s skills.”

“How did you know?!”

“Did I get it right?!” he exclaimed excitedly. I tried to hide it a bit more, but seeing it was useless, I decided to just tell him.

“…Yes. Everyone seems so skilled, and I almost died against a Rank D boss—the second-lowest…”

My experience with the Black Tusken had been enlightening, showing me that no matter how hard I had tried, there was a limit I could barely surpass. I couldn’t see myself succeeding under any circumstances.

“Tell me, Touka, what are guilds for?”

“Why the sudden question?” I asked, then answered after a moment’s thought. “To facilitate the deployment and management of hunters, right?”

Yu sighed at my answer.

“Has no one told you that you’re very technical? You lack passion,” he replied in his usual nonchalant tone. “What you said is true, but the real reason is collaboration. Hunters unite, and from that, their true strength emerges. If it bothers you that you couldn’t handle the Black Tusken, don’t worry; it’s normal not to take down a boss alone. But now you don’t have to worry—I’ll cover your back.”

“…But you took him down as if it were nothing.”

“Yes, but that’s because I’m incredible,” he said smugly.

Collaboration, huh?

He was right. Even my older sister had a great team where everyone supported and complemented each other. I even remember her stories about how they defeated massive monsters with excellent coordination.

“Besides, if you’re scared, you can always hide behind your trusty tutor,” he added mockingly.

“Not in your dreams!” I shot back, readying my rifle. “You better not get in my way!”

“That’s the spirit! Get ready; it looks like it’s about to start.”

As Yu said, the dome formed just a few minutes later. I had already prepared my rifle and filter mask, while he readied his spear-shaped weapon and his own mask. Now that I remember, he didn’t wear any mask when he faced the Black Tusken; he truly has impressive endurance.

With everything ready, hunters in position, and wild growls approaching, it was time to fight.