The armored transport rumbled forward, the hum of the engine filling the silence. The woman sat across from me, arms crossed, studying me like some unsolved equation.
"So," I said, breaking the tension. "Are you going to tell me what this is about, or do I have to guess?"
She glanced at me, then pulled a tablet from her coat. With a few taps, she turned the screen toward me.
Hunter Registration – Status Unknown
Below it, a list of anomalies.
No recorded Awakening event
Unregistered ability classification
Unmeasurable stats
I raised an eyebrow. "Sounds serious."
"It is," she replied. "You're a problem."
I smirked. "I get that a lot."
Her expression didn't change. "We don't know how strong you are. We don't know what category your ability falls under. We don't even know if you should be considered human at this point."
"Harsh," I muttered.
She ignored me. "The Hunters' Association needs to understand what you are before the guilds get involved. Before someone makes a mistake."
I leaned back. "So what? You're here to test me?"
She shook her head. "We're here to offer you something."
I raised an eyebrow. "An offer?"
She slid a small black card across the table. It was blank, except for a single emblem—a golden eye.
"The Association has an internal division," she explained. "A group of special Hunters who operate outside the standard ranking system."
I picked up the card, turning it in my fingers. "And let me guess. You want me to join?"
"It's not mandatory," she said. "But considering your… unique circumstances, it might be the best option for you."
I tapped the card against the table, thinking.
A special division, separate from the guilds, separate from the ranking system.
It made sense. The Hunters' Association wouldn't just sit back and let the guilds snatch up every strong Hunter without keeping a few for themselves.
And if I was as much of an unknown as they claimed…
They weren't going to let me walk away so easily.
She looked at me, waiting. "So? What's your answer?"
I glanced out the window. We were back at the Association's main building. The same place where all newly Awakened Hunters had registered.
I had two choices.
Walk away—try my luck with the guilds, pretend I was just another Hunter.
Or step into the unknown—see what the Association really had to offer.
With a sigh, I flipped the black card between my fingers.
"…Guess I'll hear you out."
Her lips curled into a small, knowing smile.
"Good choice."