Owen took a good look at the two cakes on the table, then turned back to Theo.
"Did you rob a bakery or something?"
Theo scratched his head, his mind churning for an explanation.
"I ordered them," he finally said. "It was supposed to be a surprise gift since I passed the exam."
Owen's eyes lit up.
"Wait. Seriously?" he asked, already stepping closer to the table. "You actually bought two whole cakes?"
Theo shrugged, trying to look casual.
"I figured we should celebrate properly."
Owen crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes.
"With what money?"
Theo hesitated for a moment, smiling awkwardly.
"I signed up for a mission and got some money," he said. "I'll start tomorrow, but the pay is really good."
Owen froze, his eyes darting back to Theo.
"You… are going on a mission already?"
"It's just patrolling the beach… not much danger there," he replied.
Owen let out a low whistle, shaking his head lightly.
"You're insane."
Theo simply smiled as he picked up the cakes and brought them to the living room.
The cakes didn't last long, reduced to crumbs between the four of them within minutes. Naturally, he couldn't dodge the serious questions from Owen's parents along the way.
After half an hour passed, Theo lay down on his air mattress, hearing faint noises from the television through the walls.
'Three days,' he thought, staring at the ceiling.
The system had appeared exactly three days after the previous prompt.
Just as he thought about the system, a tiny panel popped up in the air above him.
[Cooldown: 70:30:22]
'That's new…' Theo thought, tilting his head.
He stared at the glowing numbers for a few seconds, a small smile forming on his face.
"So it really was on a fixed timer," he muttered under his breath. "I guess it's showing me now for some reason…"
Even if it was only a slight difference, Theo felt far more at ease since he no longer needed to guess when the next time would be.
Just then, the panel flickered once before disappearing on its own again.
'Nice,' Theo thought, closing his eyes. 'Now I can actually concentrate on tomorrow.'
He clenched his blanket, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.
Tomorrow wouldn't be a test or some exercise anymore. It would be his first real mission… and if he wasn't careful, he could lose his life.
Despite his nerves, it only took a few minutes before exhaustion pulled him into a deep sleep.
Hours flew by rapidly.
At five in the morning, the alarm rang.
Theo's eyes opened groggily.
For a second, he lay on his back, staring at the dark ceiling.
'Today...'
He got up quietly, getting dressed while trying not to wake Owen.
Before he left the room, he heard a noise behind him.
"Good luck, Theo," Owen said, his voice tired and incoherent.
"Thank you," Theo responded, smiling faintly. "And sorry for waking you up."
Owen waved him off once and turned onto his other side.
Theo shook his head lightly, still smiling as he closed the door behind him. He quickly went downstairs to put on his shoes and coat before slipping out of the apartment.
As he stepped outside, the cold air washed over his body, making him shiver.
"This is it," he muttered under his breath.
The city felt different under the dark sky, with the streets completely empty and silent.
Instead of running to his destination, Theo headed to the nearest bus stop and boarded a nearly empty bus, with only two other passengers seated inside.
The fifteen-minute drive was quiet, only the sound of the bus's engine ringing in his ears as he watched the buildings pass.
By the time the bus stopped at Shoreline Park, orange light had begun to appear on the horizon.
"Thank you," Theo said, giving a polite nod to the driver.
He stepped off, immediately noticing the military vehicles lining the side of the street.
A few dozen hunters stood scattered across the beach, some stretching while others checked their weapons.
'Registration point,' Theo thought, locking onto a small military van parked on the sand.
Theo walked across the sand, his boots sinking slightly with every step.
A soldier stood beside the van, a clipboard in hand.
"Name?" the man asked without looking up.
"Theo Lane."
The soldier scanned the list briefly before nodding.
"Low-Class Hunter, I see. You've been assigned to Section B."
He reached into the van and pulled out a small black device, no larger than a car key.
"Emergency signal," the soldier explained. "Press it if you're in danger or outclassed. But be warned, military response time is at least three minutes."
Theo nodded and took it carefully.
'Three minutes,' he thought, staring at the device. 'That makes everything a lot more serious.'
Could he even last against a creature above his level for that long?
Before his thoughts could continue, the soldier spoke again.
"Rules are simple," he said. "Observe the ocean and report if anything is off."
Theo nodded slowly as a strange mix of unease and nervousness settled over him.
With that, he stepped away from the van and glanced at the shoreline in the distance.
It seemed nearly endless, waves rolling in one after another.
'I can do this,' he thought, clipping the device to his belt. 'I just need to stay calm and focused.'
Theo took out his phone and glanced at the map he'd received.
Without any further hesitation, he began making his way to his assigned sector.
Hunters all around him did the same, each disappearing into the distance.
Finally, Theo reached a small wooden marker labeled Sector B and stopped.
"This is my spot," he muttered quietly.
He glanced around slowly, catching sight of a couple of hunters far in the distance.
'I'm practically alone,' he thought, clenching his jacket.
His gaze focused on the water, watching wave after wave come in, waiting for anything to appear or move.
But… nothing.
Just the sound of waves colliding with the beach over and over again.
Theo sat down after a few minutes, his eyes still locked on the horizon.
Still nothing.
'Maybe this really is just easy money,' he thought, exhaling slowly.
The tension in his shoulders slowly disappeared.
He took out his phone briefly, checking the time before slipping it back into his pocket.
'Guess I really was overthinking all of this.'
As the minutes passed, Theo summoned a lemon cake, eating his way through the boredom.
But his eyes never left the ocean.
After finishing nearly half of the cake, his eyes widened slightly.
Far in the distance, a small patch of water bubbled, white foam rising to the surface.
Theo slowly stood up, dumping the cake on the ground.
"Is that…?"
His heart began pounding, drowning out the sound of the waves.
Slowly, a head covered in scales poked out of the ocean.