"Looks like three times," Kael announced, holding up what looked disturbingly like a long, glistening rope made of... well, meat. Anyone stumbling on this scene would've puked their guts out or fainted dead away from the sheer grotesqueness of it.
"Turns out Goldilocks wasn't an official Hunter," Kael mused, casually dropping the grisly cord. "Which kinda figures, since I didn't recognize his mask. Trained and raised by some unknown outfit called... 'Crimson Hand'. Seriously? Literally the most cliché evil organization name ever invented."
"Leavin' aside their leader's total lack of imagination," he continued, wiping his hands on his pants, "first time I've heard a whisper 'bout these guys. And seems like for some reason, they really want me dead. That's why Goldilocks here came." He nudged the corpse with his boot. "Hah! Idiots. Thought givin' him some shiny knives meant they could take me down… Goldilocks, you weren't half bad, honestly. But you'd need… what? Four or five more just like you to stand even half a chance." He sighed . "Can't blame 'em too much, though. The spot you hold in the rankings… it doesn't always show the real gap in power. Mostly just shows how many beasts you've bagged."
Kael was partly right, but things were way more tangled than that. Sure, the ranking leaned heavy on the number of kills. The catch was, the stronger the beast, the bigger the points. A measly Rank D critter might cough up 20 to 50 points. But a Rank A monster? That was 20,000 to 50,000 points easy. Meaning you'd need to slaughter a thousand Rank D beasts just to match one Rank A kill.
To crack the global Top 100? You needed a staggering 380,000 points. That meant… yeah, 19,000 Rank D kills. No wonder the big dogs at the top mostly hunted the nastiest prey – stuff a weakling couldn't touch. So yeah, generally, the higher your rank, the more muscle you packed. Usually. But since it also depended on how many hunts you racked up, Hunters only a few dozen ranks apart might not have a huge power gap between 'em.
"Ugh," Kael grunted, giving his wounds a quick once-over. The deep gashes were already little more than angry red lines. The shallow cuts? Gone. Vanished. In less than ten minutes, Kael was practically good as new. For even the top dogs in the global Top 100… that kinda healing speed wasn't just fast. It was downright unnatural.
He walked over to the attacker's still body. The guy's stomach was a ruin, guts spilled out like a macabre picnic. After spilling everything he knew to Kael, he hadn't lasted more than a couple minutes. Pain and blood loss saw to that.
With its creator dead, the Spatial Isolation field flickered and died. The damage from the fight was suddenly visible to anyone passing by if anyone had been around. The alley was practically leveled, dominated by a fresh, smoking crater. The only reasons alarms weren't blaring across the city were the area's remoteness, the ungodly hour, and the Isolation field muffling all the sound and Mana bursts before.
Kael crouched near the ruined corpse. A small flame, bright and hungry, sprang to life in his palm. He touched it to the body. Whoosh. It spread with terrifying speed, engulfing the man, the spilled blood, every trace of the fight. Seconds later, nothing remained but scorched earth and drifting ash. The flame snuffed itself out, job done.
"Goldilocks," Kael said, dusting his hands off as he stood. "You were a decent opponent. Kept me entertained for a bit. But you were miles away from making me get serious." He glanced at his palm where the flame had been. "If I'd busted out my Fire-type Mana? This whole dance would've been over way too quick."
"Hmph. Now, what to do about this 'Crimson Hand'?" he muttered, starting to walk. "Doubt those clowns were dumb enough to think some scrub like him could actually beat me. Plus, somehow… they know my face. Without the mask. Who knows what else they know?" He frowned. "Not entirely sure why they want me pushing up daisies, though I can guess a few reasons…"
"Ahhh, what a pain in the ass," he groaned. "They probably sent Goldilocks just to size me up. Right when he went down… felt a tiny little Mana tickle in his body. Like a signal. Bet the bastards who sent him saw the whole damn fight." A grim smile touched his lips. "Lucky I didn't go all out, huh? They definitely got heavier hitters. Just didn't wanna risk losin' 'em against me. Guess they wanted a peek at the real deal." He shook his head. "Sorry, Goldilocks. They literally fed you to the bear."
"Odds are high these guys will keep causing me headaches," he reasoned, stepping out of the ruined alley onto a slightly less ruined street. "Makes it damn dangerous, even for me, to hunt the beast I actually came to this frozen country for. They'd just jump me when I'm not at a hundred percent."
"Goddamn it," he swore under his breath. "And the hunting season's got barely two months left!"
"Ah, screw it," he decided, shoving his hands in his pockets. "For now… back to the flophouse I'm crashin' at. Tomorrow I'll figure out what the hell to do next." Before leaving the scorched alley completely, he pulled out one of the gleaming golden daggers he'd picked up Goldilocks's weapon. He twirled it expertly. "No doubt about it… top-tier craftsmanship. Shame I'd only get the best out of it if I could wield Electric Mana properly." He shrugged, a sly grin spreading. "But if I sell it… should net me enough coin to replace my old red dagger. Pfff. 'Replace'? Hah! This beauty's a straight upgrade." He chuckled, pocketing the dagger. "Goldilocks… Crimson Hand… Seriously, thanks for the gift. Wish all the assassins were as generous as you lot."
Kael turned and walked away, melting into the pre-dawn gloom of the battered city streets.
He didn't notice the figure watching him from a shattered story window, half a block away. Unlike his previous opponent, this time… Kael remained utterly unaware.