As I exited the portal, I was met with a familiar interior. I was in the Hunter Bureau. A red carpet stretched towards the reception desk, before splitting left and right into 2 staircases. On the side were cherrywood furniture and glamorous chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
"Please, follow me this way." The man in front insisted, picking up the pace.
I scanned around, spotting a group of hunters on the left, some of them wore silver armour, carrying swords and shields, whilst the others had staffs and wands; it seemed that they were preparing for a battle. They must have been a party - a group of hunters that cleared dungeons as a group.
One of them gave me a condescending glare but I ignored his gaze. He was a well built 6 ft 4 man and had curly blonde hair paired with a well groomed beard. He was at least in his mid 30's.
From the mana pressures I could sense from them, the party members were at least B and C rank.
-Knock. Knock.
"Come in."
The man escorting me turned the handle of the door and pushed it open; he gestured for me to enter and followed behind me into the room.
"Zeref. Long time no see." The Old man (Director of the Hunter's Association) turned his back to face me. He had a stern look on his face and I could tell he was stressed as the wrinkles on his forehead and around his cheeks had become more visible.
It had been a long time since I had had a chat with the Hunter Association's Ceo, and he'd never called me up before. What was so important that he had to call me in?
"What's the matter?" I asked, taking off my sweaty sports jumper and bringing out a new one from my dimension ring.
"A portal has appeared in the South of the Kingdom, near a human town. The monsters have somehow already begun exiting the portal and the teams I sent to assess the situation haven't returned. We believe they've been killed." The Old man had a grim look sprayed on his face.
"What rank were those teams?" I questioned.
"The hunters in those teams were composed of high level B,C and D rank hunters. The S rankers are all occupied with clearing their own dungeons all over the kingdom, otherwise I would've just sent one of them. We're facing a shortage of strong hunters, our forces have been scattered.
"The number of dungeons appearing has increased; something is happening. Therefore, I brought you here as you were the nearest available hunter that will be able to help with clearing this anomalous dungeon.
"I have prepared a squadron for you to lead, they will be of great help to you. I hope you're not too tired, I was planning on sending you there as soon as possible." He informed me.
"Although I prefer to work alone, I'll take them with me so they can handle evacuating the citizens and handling any monsters that have already infiltrated Border Town's boundaries. I'll take down the monsters and clear the dungeon myself." I replied, cracking my neck left and right.
"Good. Please do be careful, the Trolls that have exited the Portal are all B rank in strength and have the ability to evolve via absorbing other life forms."
"Sir! The trolls, they're getting closer to Border Town. They've absorbed the nearby life forces of the mana beasts and are getting stronger by the minute. We need to hurry!" A man wearing some sort of helmet, joined with wires to a screen, shouted frantically.
He must have been a sensory type mage - mages that could sense other things over a long distance with the help of mana. It was similar to my sixth sense.
"Zeref, the situation is getting worse. The citizens will be at risk if we stall any longer. Quickly get changed, I have already set the coordinates of our transport portal for Border Town." The Old man insisted.
"Fine. I'll head out as soon as possible." I replied, giving him a quick nod, before walking out through the door.
**
I wore a black long sleeve T shirt along with my new Black and Gold Hunter's long coat on top. All of my clothes had been fortified with Earth Magic, to increase durability so wearing armour was not needed in my case. I preferred lightweight clothing that I could move in.
"Sir, let me introduce you to the squadron you'll be leading. Please follow me downstairs." The messenger from before appeared in front of me in his black suit, as I left the changing room.
Following him downstairs, I could feel the condescending glares of the hunters towards me. I had a feeling this would happen.
"Jason, meet Zeref, the A rank Hunter that will be leading your party."
"A kid like him can become A rank? Have The Hunter Association's standards become this low? Our Party won't be following some kid's orders, so go tell that old man we'll be going ourselves; we don't need some kid's help." Jason, the leader of the party retorted..
"B-But Jason. It's the President of the Association's orders."
"I couldn't care less!!" He shouted in anger, raising his mana pressure.
The escort gulped at the large man's roar.
"Oi. Lower your tone." My voice reverberated with mana, making the atmosphere shake.
My mana pressure froze the Hunters like statues as they all gasped, wide eyed at the monstrous presence in front of them. Even Jason began sweating as I walked up to him slowly with an expressionless face.
"Listen here. As long as I'm here, no one will be allowed to speak without my permission. You will all follow my orders without question. Is that clear?" I said, before releasing my mana pressure, letting them breathe in ease.
"Yes sir." Jason gritted his teeth, giving me a submissive bow.
"Good. Now let's head out."
Destination: Border Town.
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