Chapter 35 - 35 – The Demon
The Hunting Guild first fell silent, and then erupted in an uproar. A middle-grade demonic beast! They usually didn’t accept such missions since killing such a monster required multiple people with tempered muscles, at least. Its defense was nearly impenetrable, and its speed would be monstrous.
When one tempered their muscles, their attacking power, as well as their speed, would increase. The speed increase was the main reason why people with tempered muscles reigned supreme. Even with a Formation Array, an attack from a middle-grade demonic beast would still be incredibly fast.
Simone was just as shocked and didn’t know how to process this request. She had never received such a mission. Who would send a request for such a monster to a small Hunting Guild of a town? One could only find success with Hunting Guilds in cities. Only they had enough people with tempered muscles for such a task.
"Don’t mind it," said Joyce, placing down a sack full of gold. "According to the standard of missions, 100 gold will be the reward," she said as she turned to Gravis. "Are you up to the task?"
Gravis furrowed his brows. Even if he could ignore the beast’s speed, he was not sure if he could manage to hit any weak spots. Joyce said that the Formation Array would restrict its movements, but it could surely still manage to release some attacks. He needed a plan for that.
Joyce grinned a little. "Scared?" she asked mockingly.
Gravis looked up and into her eyes. "I am thinking about how I should handle this," he explained.
Joyce’s grin transformed into a smile. "Good! You have courage. I hope my gold will not be wasted. I don’t want my money to remain in this small Hunting Guild forever." Then Joyce started explaining all the details to Simone, who wrote everything down on a notice. Simone felt like this was unreal, but she also felt pride in filling out a mission for a medium-grade demonic beast.
After Simone noted everything down, she took the money and stashed it below the counter. Then, she walked to the mission board and put the notice up.
Everyone was looking at the notice, but even with the hefty reward, no one dared to take it.
Gravis continued thinking, and after a while, his eyes shined. Everyone watched as Gravis walked up to the notice and took it down. He went to Simone and placed the notice, as well as his emblem, down on the table. Then he frowned because he realized that he didn’t have the contract fee.
Simone sighed and waved her hand in dismissal. "No one else will take this mission, and it has been placed specifically for you. You can ignore the contract fee," she said.
Gravis felt thankful and took the notice back. He had a mission. He had his weapons. He had a plan. Now, only the execution remained. He turned to Joyce and the old man and bowed deeply. "I will never forget what you have done for me today," he solemnly swore.
The old man waved his hand, and Gravis felt his upper body being lifted until he stood straight again. "As long as you help the young miss when the time is right, everything will be repaid," the old man smiled. "Also, the money is not yours yet. You have to earn it with your own strength."
Gravis felt sincere gratitude and would remember this favor. He had to repay it, no matter what! Like this, another reason was added for him to become stronger. He turned to Joyce. "How can I find you in the central continent?"
Joyce smiled. "You will learn of my family when you arrive, and you will probably also hear my name. Then, you will know where I am." She then remembered something. "Right, what’s your name?"
The hunters in the hall, who listened to the whole exchange, also noticed that they didn’t know Gravis’ name. No one had asked him that before. Some of them felt ashamed for not asking a fellow hunter for their name.
Gravis looked shocked and then rubbed his neck in embarrassment. He just realized that he had never introduced himself to anyone in the lower world. He had completely forgotten about that. "I’m Gravis," he said shyly.
The hunters felt bewildered. Was this shy youngster still the person they had called, the Demon? Right now, he looked like a shy country boy who didn’t know how the world worked. The contrast was immense.
Joyce smiled happily. "Gravis, I will remember that." Then she turned around and walked to the exit, her teacher following her. Before she left, she turned around and winked at Gravis. "Until we meet again, Gravis." Then, she quickly left.
Gravis felt like he was in a dream. No girl had ever winked at him before. People in his hometown either kept away from him or acted deferentially. This was the first time where someone of the opposite gender made his heart flutter. He didn’t know how to react to those unknown emotions he was feeling. In the end, he just stood there dumbly.
"Hahaha! Was that your first contact with a girl?" Gravis felt an arm wrapping around his shoulder. "Man, if I hadn’t seen you acting all cold before, I would never believe you to be the rumored Demon," Anthony said with a laugh.
Gravis acted flustered. "Demon? What are you talking about?" he asked.
Anthony just laughed, and slowly, more people joined in. "You don’t know? That’s your nickname," he said while laughing.
Gravis felt weird. In his mind, he was just doing missions and tried to limit his contact with others. What was demon-like about him? He couldn’t find anything on him that resembled any demon.
Anthony then pulled Gravis by the shoulder to a table. "Come on! We never got to know you, Gravis. Let’s drink together!" he shouted.
Gravis felt a deep warmth inside, but he stopped halfway to the table. He clenched his fist in bitterness. If he grew too close, there would be a high chance that Heaven would forsake them. The friendlier people were to him, the more it hurt to push them away. He couldn’t accept their friendship because the end result was their death.
"I’m sorry," he quietly muttered.
Anthony looked surprised. "What?"
"I’m really sorry," Gravis shouted, and ran out of the Hunting Guild. Before anyone could react, Gravis was already gone. They didn’t know what had happened.
"Hey, wait!" Anthony shouted as he raced out of the guild, but he couldn’t see Gravis anymore. He was already gone. After a while, Anthony sighed and went back into the guild.
Gravis, meanwhile, ran to the direction of his mission. The feeling of isolation he felt was overpowering. He cursed Heaven, and he cursed his luck!
After a while, he clenched his teeth again. The only way out of this situation was strength. He could not falter now and wallow in self-pity. If he gave up now, he would be suppressed by Heaven, forever.
Gravis took out the notice, new motivation shining in his eyes.
Target: The Demon (middle-grade demonic beast)