This is where the adventurers who are willing to join the fighting group to hunt and terminate the group of monsters had gathered around the Hanjaan market to prevent it from growing into a horde and threaten the market or the nearby human settlements.
But, what troubled Gideon was that there was no order in the group who had gathered here which is unusual as if it was the Adventures Association or in any governmental buildings, the people would tend to stand in line to do what they came to do, but this is completely opposite to order, a complete chaos.
He even wondered if these people could work together to hunt the monsters as some in the group were arguing among each other with ferocious expressions as if they may pounce and start a fight at any moment.
Raam ignored them all and went to the guard and spoke with him while Gideon was still trying to get close to him by trying to gently move through the crowd of the angry mob while Jaice was feeling a little excited and started to flap her wings while still standing on Gideon's shoulder, but was unable to reach Raam on time as he turned to leave when he got close to him.
"Have registered our names for the hunt kid. We still have some time till the captain comes to lead. Get some rest." Raam said, dragging him by his hand, noticing he is having difficulty moving through the crowd.
They sat in a nearby restaurant and Raam ordered fresh juice for them to drink to refresh their mind and body while waiting.
Gideon, on the other hand, was looking around at the group of adventurers who they are going to hunt with. He took note of their weapons, armors and also shields that they did not hide as there are no restrictions to carry them in the market unlike the villages, towns or cities.
Gideon saw a few of them having heavy axes, hammers and one bulky man was just wearing gauntlets with sharp needles pointing out on his hands which was the first time for him to see, but didn't mind as everyone has their own way of fighting and he doesn't have to worry about them unless it causes any trouble for him.
He also noticed their monster partners and found he had no idea of what some of those monsters were as they are rarely found near the village or from a nearby place. They might have traveled a great distance with their partners to come here to complete their tasks.
He tried to remember if he could find any of these monsters from his memories, but couldn't as they were taught to him when he was 5 to 7 years old, which he felt like a distant memory that had buried itself in the depths of his mind.
After a while, the loud and crazy crowd became silent in a second which made Gideon look around instinctively to find why they became silent.
"Time to go." Raam said, throwing a few dallans on the table where they were sitting and walked towards the crowd without waiting for Gideon which made him a little angry, but followed him thinking with a sigh 'One more thing to adjust with him.'
Gideon noticed Raam is generally a friendly and approachable person, but when it comes to work, he becomes very focused and his expressions change drastically and seriously as if he just had a heart attack.
When Gideon reached the crowd, he could see a man in blue guard uniform standing at the front and looking around, scrutinizing each and every adventurer who had gathered at the front for the hunt for a few minutes.
"Good afternoon adventurers. I am Jaanav, one of the captains in the guard force of Hanjaan market and will be leading you people in this hunt. I want everyone to follow my orders precisely and do not slack off. We are here to hunt." The guard captain said with a stern look.
Gideon noticed that his gaze lingered a second more on him and shook his head before scrutinizing others. Maybe because he is too young or he is just a newbie or his mind just created something that didn't happen.
After giving a brief explanation about the 'mission' they were to take to hunt the Swift Tail Monkeys, Jaanav walked through the small path created in the middle for the crowd for him to walk.
He was coming towards him?
Gideon flinched seeing Jaanav come towards him, but gained his composure immediately after looking at Raam who was staring at the approaching guard captain.
"Fancy to see you here." Jaanav said to Raam while raising his hand for a shake which Raam was polite to accept. Shaking hands, Raam gestured towards Gideon and said "I am on a mission to protect this kid."
"Good for me then. I need him at the front, with me. Till the battle starts." Jaanav said with a smile which made Raam groan in anger.
"He is the only one in the hunting group that has integrated with a bird. We need him and his monster partner to scout the location of monsters. He will be next to me and you" Jaanav said in a hurry to indicate he is not having any intention to hurt Gideon.
Raam looked around for a minute and nodded his head in response which made Jaanav sigh in relief. Seeing this, Gideon's already racing heart jumped out of his chest to be stuck in his throat.
It is not a good sign for a newbie like Gideon to stand at the front of a battle. He has next to zero experience in any battle that has monsters and adventurers over 10 and this is a battle that is going to take place between hundreds of them.
He also doesn't have enough Spirit Energy or stamina to fight for a longer time. At max, he can fight for an hour or two and have to take rest before he can fight again, but that is not possible in a battle at this scale and he could even die if the monsters are stronger and he doesn't get help from the people around.
'What are they thinking? I can't be at the front.' Gideon thought, but couldn't open his mouth to refute because of his respect towards the security guards who protect them from any dangers, any time. He reluctantly nodded his head noticing both of them were looking at him to share his opinion, like it really mattered.
"Thanks kid. It is good to have a brave one like you with us. We could make a good guard, hell, even a soldier out of you." Jaanav said with a smile and patted his head a little hard, which made Jaice to poke his hand sharply.
Gideon had to console her and grab her so she would not go against a Tier-3, level-4 person who could kill them like swatting a mosquito, without any effort from him which made Jaanav laugh seeing a monster so fierce and brave.
After their small talk, Jaanav gestured towards a female guard standing at the front who nodded and moved into the security guard office that was set up close to the fence.
She came back out after a few minutes and placed a huge sack at the front table, next to Jaanav who was already there, standing looking at the crowd to ensure no one starts arguing again.
He then started handing out tiny syringes that were filled with red, green and blue color liquids to each of the adventurers who had come to join the mission.
The syringe with red liquid is a Medical syringe that could increase the healing capacity of the people while the syringe with green liquid is a Constitution syringe that would increase the stamina of the body allowing them to fight for a longer time.
The Blue liquid syringe is a Spirit Energy syringe that could increase the quantity of the Spirit Energy in the body that would allow them to use the Spirit Energy in their body without any restraints.
Seeing these, Gideon's eyes sparkled with excitement, making the worry and fear that was on his face a second ago disappear without a trace.
These syringes are the most important necessity for any adventurer who ventures into the wild for a long time as they couldn't get back to the settlement for medicals if they are injured severely or had less Spirit Energy and stamina to fight monsters for a long time.
Each syringe would cost a minimum of 100 to 150 dallans and Jaanav is handing it out with a smile and pride on his face.
He gave two of each syringes to every adventurer who had registered themselves for this mission and Gideon was one of the few who received it at the end, after he came out of his excited state and calmed his mind.
By 2:00 PM, Jaanav led them out of the fence towards the Hanjaan mountain with a group of over 50 adventurers and their monster partners and a small group of 5 security guards.