Ascension: Online

After eating, we headed for the Hunter's Guild. Because we didn't want to run into Ichigo and Horiya, we purposely stalled for a little bit. Once the clock hit 9, we went into the building.

The morning's Hunter's Guild was bustling with people more than ever, and I had to hold Hina-nee and Aisa's hands as to not get lost. Slowly, we made our way to one of the bulletin boards, pushing through the crowd in the process. Whenever someone spotted us, they quickly made way. I could hear faint murmurs going around, but they weren't hostile.

"Oi, look… it's that kid from last night…"

"The one who took down the woman even Guildmaster Feng could not defeat?"

"Yeah… I heard he took her down with one attack."

"No way, right? He seems so young…"

"Tch… what's so good about him?" someone snorted, bodying his way through the crowd and arriving before me, blocking our path. He had a tall stature and seemed to be quite buff as well.

"Seriously? The Golden Wolf…?" I heard someone else say quietly.

I discretely used 'Inspect' on the man, along with the four lackeys behind him.

[Name: Hiaki Gabriel]

[Gender: Male]

[Race: Human]

[Rank: Nascent Cultivator]

[Level: 31]

[STR: 160]

[AGI: 10]

[INT: 10]

[DEX: 10]

[MAG: 160]

[LUC: 10]

Heh… his stats were actually pretty high. We had the same STR stat and he even had a higher MAG stat than me. Looks like he's not just picking a fight without any power to back himself up. However… the problem was that his stat distribution was vastly imbalanced. He's probably going for some kind of hybrid build with both high STR and high MAG and would make for a good Tank that could also cast hidden arts, but unfortunately… in a 1v1 duel, they fell behind.

As for the other four, his lackeys, they were of little importance. They weren't even Level 20 yet.

"The Golden Wolf… why does that name so familiar?" I murmured thoughtfully, sizing up the man before me. Aisa seemed nonchalant, while Hina-nee got ready to fight.

"Hmph… you're the kid who beat up my brother?" he glared down at my face, eyes filled with malice - but they did not hold killing intent. It was clear he had never experienced murdering someone before… unlike me.

"Your brother? Who's that?"

A vein in his forehead bulged. I smirked. I knew full well who he was talking about, but chose to do this purposefully in order to make him snap. I had a plan in mind, after all.

"The Silver Wolf. Don't tell me you don't know who that is," the man spat, cracking his knuckles in an attempt to scare me.

"Nope. Care to enlighten me?" I replied nonchalantly. From behind me, Hina-nee giggled while Aisa sighed.

His expression darkened even further as he clenched his fists. "Kid… don't test me."

"Ahhhh, I remember now," I suddenly said in an overly excited tone. "That pervert I beat up the other day? Oh, he was your brother? My bad man, he just looked so stupid that I couldn't help it. Wait, does it run in the family?"

Unable to hold his anger back any longer, he unleashed a devastating right hook aimed straight towards my head. Even though I could just block it, I didn't see a point in doing that, so instead I just casually leaned backwards slightly, avoiding his attack by just the bare minimum. All of this was part of my plan to piss him off even further.

"You bastard!" he yelled, swinging at me again. Everyone in the building immediately dispersed as to not get caught in the crossfire, as I once again dodged his fist with ease.

Hina-nee took Aisa and moved away, since they knew I was toying with this guy and didn't want to spoil my fun. Similarly, Gabriel's lackeys didn't join in, probably because he wanted to take me on alone.

"Hey now, why are you so mad?" I asked innocently as I ducked down to avoid his punch. "Did your brother tell you to do this?"

"No… he told me NOT to, matter of fact," Gabriel replied, attempting to kick me with his foot. I jumped up, avoiding his attack once more.

"Then why are you still doing this? He's smarter than you are, really."

"Shut the hell up, bastard! My brother has never bowed down to anyone apart from me before. You are the first. I want to see just how strong you are."

As he kept attacking me, I kept dodging. He slowly advanced, and I slowly backed away. We were getting nowhere. At this rate, it was just a matter of who's energy would run out first.

But that was fine. He tried to fight me here, but I wouldn't fight back. I would just keep avoiding his attacks until someone from the guild decided to interfere. And if my prediction was correct… it should be anytime now…

"RAH!" Gabriel yelled, throwing a punch with all of his might.

I smiled. This time, I did not dodge it.

I calmly blocked his attack with my palm, sending a shockwave all around us that caused the tables to wobble a bit. His eyes widened as he prepared to throw another hook, but at that moment-

"Stop!"

-A voice interrupted. It was one we were all very familiar with.

Gabriel slowly turned his head. "Guildmaster Feng…?"

"… What are you doing in my guild?"

"This guy beat up my brother. I am just getting revenge for him," Gabriel replied confidently. "Is protecting one's own family member wrong?"

"Hmph. You should be asking your own brother that," Guildmaster Feng scoffed, eyeing him with disdain. "There were plenty of witnesses of the incident yesterday. You can ask them yourself what happened."

"What…?"

"You see…" I sighed. "Your brother tried hitting on my sister yesterday, but got rejected. Since he wasn't willing to back off, I 'helped' him out."

That wasn't the full story, but it was close enough.

"W-What…? He never told me that…"

"Looks like you have some educating to do," Guildmaster Feng snorted.

"Y-Yes, of course, Guildmaster…" then, turning to me, Gabriel continued, bowing deeply. "This friend, I am sorry for the trouble I have caused. I… wasn't aware of the full story. The shameless actions of my brother have inconvenienced you. On his behalf, I apologize."

I waved him off. "It's fine, he already said sorry yesterday. But I'm warning you, and everyone else in this guild hall right now… I welcome anyone who tries testing my strength from here on out. But if you do so… you must be prepared to face the consequences."

Turning back to Gabriel, I continued. "Yesterday, I only beat your brother up. But the next time he or anyone else tries this kind of thing again… I'll kill them."

Even though he was a player, he could still the pain. Sweat formed on Gabriel's forehead as he nodded. "I-I understand, friend."

"Oh, and that too. I'm not your friend, so don't call me one."

"R-Right… sorry."

With that, he left, and the guild's atmosphere returned to normal. Somewhat, at least. I kept receiving glances of fear from time to time, but it was easy to ignore them.

Guildmaster Feng walked over to me. "This Hunter… how may I address you?"

"Kaze. Igarashi Kaze," I replied.

His eyes widened. "Could it be… you are from the Nihon province as well?!"

I tilted my head. "Oh? You come from there?"

He quickly denied it. "No, but my wife does. Because of this, I am familiar with the culture and environment of the Nihon province. If I recall correctly… I should call you Igarashi-kun, correct?"

I nodded. "Good memory."

He smiled slightly. "In that case… Igarashi-kun, allow me to express my deepest gratitude for yesterday. If it was not for you, I would already be dead by now… along with the rest of Qilian City. Therefore, on my own and their behalf, thank you, truly."

He bowed deeply, which made me kind of uncomfortable. I quickly raised him back up.

"No problem, Guildmaster Feng. I was merely doing what I could."

"If you do not mind me asking… how did you manage to kill that woman so quickly?" he asked. "All I saw was a flash, and in an instant, you had teleported directly in front of her…"

So, this was his real reason for talking to me today, huh? Well, I guess I can tell him… it's not like the art I used is a secret anyway. All players could obtain it if they wanted to.

"It's an art called Vanishing Clouds," I explained. "What it does is allow you to quickly dash in a direction, covering distance in the blink of an eye."

"Such an art… I have never heard of it before…" Guildmaster Feng murmured. "It does indeed sound powerful, however. Igarashi-kun, do you, by any chance, possess a textbook or scroll describing the art?"

"Ah… I learned it back in Nihon province a long time ago," I laughed awkwardly. "I don't really remember…"

"That is alright. Unfortunate, but no big deal," he hurriedly said. Then, as if remembering something, he took out a jade token of some sort and handed it to me. "Here. Take this."

I accepted it hesitantly, unsure of what to do with it. "What is this thing?"

"It is a token of authority," he explained. "This token will allow you to do anything within the Hunter's Guild branch here in Qilian City. If you wish to tackle quests harder than your current level, or if you accidentally failed to complete a quest, you can simply use this token to waive any sort of fee or punishment and have your access granted. Seeing this token as akin to seeing myself."

"Huh… you aren't afraid I'm going to abuse this power?" I raised an eyebrow.

He shook his head. "You saved my life. You are a good person, I believe that. And if you do end up abusing it… I can only say it is my own fault for being blind."

I chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll use this properly. Thank you."

He smiled. "This is the least I can do to repay my debt to you. If anyone else tries bothering you again, you can similarly use this token to scare them off."

With that, he prepared to walk away, but I stopped him.

"Hold on, Guildmaster, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"About the reward money for taking care of the leader..."

"Ah, worry not, just speak to a receptionist and she will-"

"No no. I was going to say to give someone else the reward money," I interrupted. "You see, I made a deal with someone beforehand..."

"No problem. Who do you have in mind?"

"A Hunter named Ming Hong. He goes around everywhere with his two younger siblings - they shouldn't be hard to miss."

Guildmaster Feng nodded. "Hm... I do believe I remember his face. Very well, consider it done."

I thanked him as he walked away. Hina-nee and Aisa regrouped with me shortly after.

Heh… what a clever man. By adding that last bit about the jade token, he was basically telling me to use this thing to scare off anyone who tries to pick a fight with me, rather than killing them directly like what I said I would do earlier. He was doing this to discretely protect his Hunters… not that I could complain.

I wasn't evil, so I might as well do as told. By killing others, I could get my hands on their belongings, but I would do my best to refrain from doing that. I would only kill when absolutely needed - that was the conclusion I had settled on last night. Otherwise… I might really lose my mind and become a Monster.

Aisa had said players were immune from the Malevolence that turned people into Monsters, but…

… Could I really still be counted as a normal player, at this point?