NOVEL SIMPLE Hunter’s Plight
"Hello, am I speaking to the Hunter Association?", I asked on my phone in French.
[Yes, what can I help you with?], the man on the other side seems pretty serious.
"I would like to send a research paper I wrote for review. For something related to a Commision I recently took.", I stated, holding the stack of papers in my hand.
[What is your Hunter ID?]
"Sinclaire, Captain of Prydwen. Current location is Libertas.", bureaucracy is always a pain in the ass.
[What is your subject of research, Miss Sinclaire?]
"The Wendigo, I've found evidence that could prove that they are not human, nor are they beast.", I stated with full confidence.
[...Can I hear it first?]
"Sure, just don't steal my research."
[We Hunters all follow the rule of first dib, you don't have to worry about that.], he said as if it was the most obvious thing ever.
"Right, so I found out that Wendigo is more similar to Relic than a lifeform since it is a natural phenomenon that takes place under very specific conditions. Their DNA change and become completely different from human DNA.", I explained.
There is more nuance to that but this is a simple enough explanation.
[I see, this is interesting, do you have any samples to prove it?], he was skeptical about this whole thing.
"I ran some experiments and that's the result, there is some arcane trickery going on too. I had captured some Wendigo, I can transfer them over to the headquarters if you want to test them yourself."
One of the things that hinders this research a lot is whether or not Wendigo counts as human. And you can't exactly ask a mindless monster to consent to your research.
Somebody has to commit crimes against humanity. I am such a messiah, aren't I? Haha~
[Then please transfer the paper and a Wendigo for testing. Your deadline is January 28th. Or do you require an extension?]
"Hmm, I can make it.", just speed to France isn't a problem for me, "Which port should I go to?"
[Brest would be fine, just give us a three days notice before you arrive.]
"Sure, thank you for your time."
[No, thank you for contributing to the cause of the Hunter Organization.]
"So can I ask about my License change to a Leviathan Hunter—"
[It is a pleasure to work with you, bye], and he hung up.
I just stare at my phone, letting out a sigh.
—Crack!!
I threw my phone out of the window, sending it flying far away from the academy.
"Reconstruct.", I fixed the broken glass window with a snap of my finger.
Those fuckers are definitely holding me back from my deserved promotion. Is it that they don't see a need to change my license? No... it's because I too fucking useful to be put on the sea.
My commission success rate is 99.5%, which is only surpassed by an old guy who did one commission and then retired immediately, that doesn't count. If I am a Leviathan Hunter, the number of assigned commissions I have to take is greatly reduced.
The Hunter Association's Commission System works like this, the Association will post Commissions coming from various sources for the Hunters to take. But when a time limit is hit and no one has taken it, the organization will assign Hunters based on past records to finish it, with reduced compensation.
That's it, no more joking around. I'm going to unleash a deep sea horror and protect it until they change my License. I'm waking up Cipactli.
I snap my finger, recalling my phone. It's a custom phone made by yours truly, it is pretty much indestructible.
I called the Association again.
[Hello, what can I do for you—], this time it's a woman.
"If you don't change my License to a Leviathan Hunter right this instant, I'm going to wake up Cipactli the Devourer. This is not a threat, it's a warning."
[Okay... please don't do anything irrational.], she tried to pacify me, clearly panicking.
"Then change my License to Leviathan Hunter, or do you want me to wake up the largest Dragon? Because I am on trigger-happy time."
[If you do that, I'm afraid we have to suspend your License—]
"Listen to me here, I am Sinclaire, the Captain of Prydwen. I have a ship that can shoot artillery fire from the British Channel all the way to the Scandinavian Sea. My arsenal is made for large-scale warfare. Being a Hunter on land is an insult to me, I'd rather kill everything on sight than let it live. And if you suspend my License, all eight thousand of my guns will make it everywhere you send me to reduce to nothing, like whatever happened in China."
[...], she was silent.
The suspension of Hunter's License means that they are under the direct supervision of the Association, and do everything it wants with 10% of the original reward. So I'm going scorched earth if that ever happens to me.
"I heard a Peluda is somewhere in the Bay of Douamenez. I'll drug it to the point the amount the cocaine bear took seem like a fucking piece of candy.", I proposed with a smile, "Let's see how much damage a fire-breathing poisonous Drake can cause."
[We— hey!], someone else grabbed the phone, this is the voice of an older man, [Uhh... please don't do anything stupid—]
I cut him off, "I'm not, what's stupid about drugging a Drake to make it rampage? Either I'm going to wake up Cipactli or drug a Drake."
[Okay, okay. We will change your License to a Leviathan Hunter, is that good enough for you?], this guy seems more reasonable.
"After that, give me a year's paid leave, since I am teaching at Libetas at the moment. If you don't do that, expect me to wipe out the majority of Africa's Elementals.", I demanded, using Euphoria to help with my case.
Elementals are walking disasters in Africa, but the tribes there also need them to sustain in the harsh environment since the living elements provide resources like plants or water, essentials for survival. Yes, I am threatening to increase Africa's fatality rate.
[Alright, alright! Please don't threaten to commit genocide, let's talk like civilized people.], he has the gall to say that?!
"I've been waiting for the change for TEN FUCKING YEARS!! I had enough of waiting patiently for bureaucracy to move!!"
I had Utopia tamper with my records to make it seem like my operation was longer than two years.
[I see... then you will have your paid leave.], he relented, seeing how trigger-happy I am.
"See? That wasn't too hard, was it?", I chuckled. Making threats seems barbaric, but it always works!
"Well then, have a good day.", and I end the call.
Now that's dealt with, I should go around and look for some interesting stuff. Checking out the gymnasium isn't too bad of an idea.
I don't have that place since somebody else is using it. I just want to see what is happening there.
=0=0=
The gymnasium is a three-minute walk away from the main academy. So it wasn't hard to get there.
The building itself was huge, as big as four basketball courts. And it has air conditioning too, albeit only one in a massive place.
Here I can see many students practicing sports for the upcoming event. So I placed Ouroboros Omniscia down and crossed my arms.
A coach who was overlooking a volleyball practice spotted me and stopped the practice to meet me. He is pretty tall, a white guy with that military haircut.
"Hello, what can I help you with?", he was clearly wary of me.
"Just looking around and see how the students are doing.", the girls look at me in fear, yeah, my reputation is rock bottom already.
"Hmm, we are about to go on a break, want to play with them for a match before that?", he suggested.
"Sure, I'm down for it.", I took off my trench coat, hanging it on the coffin, "I'm pretty good at everything, so I'm going solo."
"You sound arrogant.", he saw that as a challenge, "Alright! Girls, let's show her how we do things at Libertas!"
The girls are pumped up, they look at me as if I fucked their mothers. I'm not offended, rather, I'm proud of that.
"Alright.", I walked over to the volleyball court, strength myself, "Let me introduce myself, you can call me Sinclaire, the Captain of Prydwen."
I cracked my neck, "Any question?"
A girl raised her hand, "Yes, you."
"Are you a Gem Holder?", she asked.
I am not a Gem Holder, but I can't exactly explain that I am the representative of humanity in a Game made by the World. And the shits I do is way out of what normal people are capable of.
...fuck. I have to go with that, don't I?
I smiled, cracking my knuckles, "Yes, I am the Gem Holder of Gilgamesh, the First Hero of Humanity."
Everyone looked at me in awe, and some nodded in understanding. Since being a Gem Holder means you have to understand other Gem Holders and their Devils, that traps a lot of people in the rabbit hole called history, more than four thousand years in fact.
They know who Gilgamesh is, the man who is the first ever recorded hero in the history of humanity, and the archetype of the Hero's Journey.
"No more gawking... let us start.", get ready to be utterly defeated.
=0=0=
And just like that, 25 to 0. This is light work for me.
"That was pretty fun, don't you guys agree?", I smiled, "Ready for round 2?"
They can't track my speed, that is a given. My strikes are faster than the eyes can track, but not fast enough to have them despair. A glimmer of hope is all that needed for human to push forward.
If Hope is the end of the tunnel, then Ambition is the road one has to walk, even if it is full of pain. That is humanity.
"H-How... are you so good?", one of the girls asked between her breath.
"I fight monsters for a living, between wrestling a monkey with a venomous tail, herding Elementals, killing Leviathans. And to be a Hunter, you have to have one more thing on top of putting your life on the line.", I began to walk over to my equipment.
"And what would that be, Professor Sinclaire?", a girl asked.
I took Ars Goetia, wearing it with a exaggeration movement.
"Style, of course. There is nothing more awesome than to look cool while killing a giant monster.", I brushed my hair with my hand, "You are going to experience what it feel like to be a trainee Hunter on my field trip, so sign up if you want to have a look at what it means to be a Hunter."
They look at me with a new vision, gawking as me as if I am a celebrity, which I kinda am being the daughter of a hero and adopted by another hero.
"Well, I might drop by another time.", I picked up the coffin, "Bye~!"
They proceeded to say goodbyes to me, and the coach too seem to be happy that the girls got to face a challenge.
This inspired me, I really should spice things up for my lesson.
One of Avalon's body should do it.
