After the hullabaloo caused by Aurelian Cross, Eli—drained of every ounce of power—collapsed to the ground, powerless and helpless.
Aurelian attempted to heal him, but before his hand could touch Eli—
A translucent system window flashed into existence.
[BING]
[HOST'S BODY CURRENTLY IN REPAIR MODE]
[TAKE YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HIM]
Aurelian's eye twitched.
"…Damn youuuuu!!"
Three hours later…
Eli still hadn't awakened.
"…Maybe I should leave."
"Didn't expect him to be this weak."
Aurelian muttered in disappointment as he rose from the office chair inside Eli's destroyed clinic.
Just as he reached for the door—
A faint, annoyed groan echoed behind him.
"Tsk… even though I waited so long, Kai still didn't complete his evolution."
"Maybe I shouldn't have woken up…"
Eli sat up, looking mildly irritated.
Aurelian froze.
"…Don't tell me you were awake this whole time?"
Veins bulged across his forehead.
"…Yeah. And who might you be??"
Eli blinked, finally focusing.
"…Wait. Aren't you the guy who attacked us earlier?"
Aurelian lowered his gaze.
His grip tightened around his walking stick.
Then—
BANG!
"Ow! What was that for, you sick bastard?!"
Eli clutched his head, now sporting a large lump.
"How dare you keep me here for three hours pretending to be unconscious?!"
"How is that your concern, you old freak?! And who are you to damage my property?!"
Eli pouted like an offended child.
Aurelian sighed deeply.
"Why don't you take a guess?"
Eli sat down in a lotus position, hands under his chin.
"Hmmm…"
"White hair…"
"White skin…"
"Green eyes…"
He looked up brightly.
"Are you my dad??"
Aurelian snapped.
"You dumb bastard!!"
He flung the walking stick again, sending Eli spinning.
"Who the hell wants to be your father?!"
>>> 30 Minutes Later >>>
"In short… you're the Hunter Association's president?"
"Yes."
"And you were passing by, sensed my mana, and decided to investigate?"
"That's correct."
"That's great and all, but who's going to take responsibility for this mess you caused?! Do you want to render all the defenseless monsters here homeless?!"
Tears welled in Eli's eyes.
𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘪 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥'𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵. 𝘓𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
Aurelian felt a twinge of guilt.
With a flick of his hand—
The destroyed level-one clinic shimmered and reconstructed itself, upgrading into a level-five intermediate facility.
"Thanks, Your Majesty."
Eli bowed dramatically.
𝘚𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦
"Ahem… It's nothing. Just a small upgrade. At least you're humble."
Aurelian coughed, hiding his embarrassment.
"The Hunter Examination is in one month. You should participate and register officially."
"Oh right! Guess I'll have to prepare."
Aurelian studied Eli quietly.
At such a low level, he's already stronger than his peers… perhaps even stronger than her.
But the power inside him… it's unknown.
If he ever becomes a threat to humanity… I'll have to use "that."
And I shouldn't tell him what happened earlier. He has no memory of it.
"I should get going."
"Really? Why not stay for tea?"
"I've had more than enough. Goodbye, young lad."
Aurelian struck his walking stick against the ground—
—and vanished.
"Whoa… He teleported without a trans-portal?? Will I ever become that strong?"
[MORE THAN THAT.]
The system reappeared.
Eli felt a strange warmth.
"Update me on Kai's evolution."
[KAI'S EVOLUTION COMPLETION RATE: 90%]
"Just 10% left."
"Flare!"
Flare appeared instantly.
I need to level up before the Hunter Examination. But I can't raid dungeons without a license…
The system responded.
[UNCOMPLETED DAILY TASKS DETECTED]
[HOST HAS NOT COMPLETED THEM]
"There were daily quests??"
[1,000 PUSH-UPS]
[1,000 SIT-UPS]
[1,000 PULL-UPS]
[RUN 100 KM]
[REWARDS:]
+5 TO ALL STATS
+5 CHARM
SKILL — DUNGEON RADAR
"What…?"
The tasks are insane… but the rewards…
"Dungeon Radar? What does it do?"
[DUNGEON RADAR — DISCOVERS THE LOCATION AND RANK OF A DUNGEON BEFORE IT FORMS]
Eli's eyes lit up.
"That's exactly what I need."
His fist clenched.
Looks like I'll be busy before Kai wakes up.
Determination burned in his gaze.