Chapter 11: Becoming a Monster Hunter

Luke stood in front of a building, studying the exterior before walking inside.

It was filled with people chatting, talking to the people behind the counters, or studying the notices pasted on the walls. All of them were immersed in their own business, barely paying any mind to the newcomer coming in.

That suited Luke just fine as he observed his surroundings, marveling at what a monster hunter base looked like.

This was his first time entering one.

He and his ex-comrades had never needed to enter one. All their communications with the monster hunters had been done through calls and messages, so they never sought out any of the monster hunter bases.

Luke paused in front of a section of the wall to read some of the notices.

The information on them was short and to the point, listing what kind of monsters to expect, how many, and other essential details needed to deal with them. There was also the bounty that would be paid to the monster hunter or hunters who successfully dealt with them.

As he read over the details, he listened in on everyone else’s conversations.

“No way. That’s too difficult. Let’s pick another one,” a monster hunter said.

“How about this one? It’s decent,” a different monster hunter said.

“Hey, do you want to grab a bite to eat after this?” someone else asked.

There didn’t seem to be anything worthwhile to listen to. Although he was a bit disappointed not to hear any information regarding his ex-comrades, he didn’t take it to heart. He just had to be patient.

Having had enough of reading the notices, he walked towards one of the free counters.

The woman behind the counter said, “Excuse me, I’m going on break. He’ll take you.”

She gestured to a man dressed similarly to her before heading into the back.

“Hello, what can I do for you?” the man asked, not batting an eye at Luke’s appearance.

“I would like to become a monster hunter. How do I do that?” Luke said.

“It’s actually pretty easy. Fill out this form, and you’ll be given an ID,” the man said, pushing some papers toward Luke.

He picked them up and asked incredulously, “That’s it?”

“Monster hunting isn’t an easy profession. Even with the heroes dealing with most of the monsters, it’s still a dangerous job. We can’t be too picky about who signs up, and most understand the dangers. The forms are just so we know who we have to contact if you die out on the field,” the man said nonchalantly.

Luke wasn’t sure how to feel about it and chose to stay silent, filling out the form. Once he finished, he turned the form to the man who skimmed the contents.

After he finished, he said, “Alright, it looks like everything is in order. Let me process these and give you your ID.”

As the man walked away, Luke breathed a sigh of relief.

For a second there, he had been worried that the man would notice something wasn’t right with the forms. Since Luke couldn’t exactly go around with his original identity, he fibbed on all the details. He had tried to make them sound reasonable, but he hadn’t been sure.

Fortunately, he managed to clear the check.

It didn’t take long before the man returned with an ID and handed it over to Luke as he said, “Good to have you aboard. You can just pick any of the notices on the wall. Once you’ve decided on what mission you’ll go on, bring it back here so we can log it in the system. Then you can go on your way.”

“Any tips or advice you can give me?” Luke asked as he stared at the ID.

“Don’t overestimate yourself. A lot of newbies think they are a lot stronger than they think they are and get themselves killed. It makes our jobs harder, but you can’t stop stupid people if they’re determined enough. Anything else?” the man said.

Luke shook his head and checked the wall to find a mission he could take.

Many of them were laughably easy. He could easily finish many of them without breaking a sweat, but that had been when he had the others by his side. Luke couldn’t be sure if his strength alone would be enough to finish the missions without any issues.

After skimming over the notices, he finally settled on a mission along the way to his hometown.

At the thought of the place, he wondered how his family was doing. Before he left on his journey, his mother had been pregnant with another sibling. His younger brother and sister had promised to look after their mother and father while he was away.

His hands curled into fists.

Did they cry when they heard news about him? Were they in denial?

Well, the only way to know for sure was to check up on them.

However, would it really be alright?

They had believed he was dead for ten years. Showing up out of the blue would be a huge shock to them.

Would they accept him back?

It depended on what his ex-comrades had told the world.

If they told his family that he died a hero, they might be overjoyed to see him come back alive. On the other hand, if they had smeared his name into the mud, his family might despise him the moment they laid eyes on him.

“What’s wrong? Afraid to see what reactions your family might have?” the evil god whispered into his ear.

Luke sighed.

He had enjoyed a brief reprieve from the evil god, but good things couldn’t last. Luke didn’t want to hear whatever the evil god had to say about his family. It likely wouldn’t be anything good.

As Luke reached out to grab the notice, the evil god said, “You say there are only two outcomes when facing them, but have you considered that they might think you’re a monster wearing your face?”