Kael thought about it for a moment before looking back at Ferris.
"How long will it take?"
Ferris shook his head slightly.
"I can’t say for certain. If headquarters has an S-rank hunter operating somewhere nearby, they can probably arrive fairly quickly. If not..." He paused for a moment before continuing. "It could take anywhere between thirty minutes to a few hours."
Kael nodded thoughtfully.
"I see."
"Then I’ll make a call while I wait."
Ferris didn’t think much of it and simply nodded before stepping away. Taking out his communicator, he quickly contacted the Association headquarters to submit the request for an S-rank examination.
The call didn’t last long.
Several minutes later, he returned.
"I’ve already informed headquarters."
"They’ve accepted the request and will dispatch an S-rank hunter. Based on their estimate, the examiner should arrive in roughly one hour."
"One hour..."
Kael unconsciously frowned.
That was longer than he had expected.
He had no intention of wasting an entire hour sitting around doing nothing. There were still several matters he wanted to take care of while he had the chance.
Looking back at Ferris, he smiled politely.
"I understand."
"In that case, I’ll go handle a few things outside first."
"I’ll be back before the hour is up."
"..."
Ferris stood there, completely frozen.
Leave?
Who exactly was this young man?
Did he truly understand what was happening?
An S-rank hunter.
That wasn’t just another title.
They stood at the very peak of humanity.
Although SS-rank hunters existed above them, there were so few of those monsters that most people would never see one in their entire lifetime. Those individuals were regarded as strategic deterrents, existing more as symbols than active hunters.
As for those who truly carried the world on their shoulders...
It was the S-rank hunters.
Every single one of them possessed enough strength to influence the balance of an entire city.
Their time was priceless.
Normally, if an S-rank hunter agreed to meet someone, that person wouldn’t complain even if they had to wait an entire day.
Some people would willingly wait several days just for the chance to exchange a few words with one.
Yet this young man, after hearing that an S-rank hunter was personally coming to examine him his first reaction was to leave.
Ferris suddenly felt a headache coming on.
’What if he leaves and the examiner arrives first?’
’An S-rank hunter isn’t someone you keep waiting.’
If the dispatched examiner became dissatisfied because the examinee had disappeared halfway through...
The consequences would most likely fall on him.
Just as he was about to stop Kael, the young man had already turned around and was casually walking toward the exit as though nothing unusual had happened.
"..."
Suppressing the urge to sigh, Ferris hurried after him.
The two left the testing area together before walking through several corridors. After passing a few security checkpoints, they eventually arrived at the Association’s main lobby.
As they arrived, Kael stopped near the entrance before turning toward Ferris.
"I’ll be back before you know it."
Ferris opened his mouth, intending to remind him once again not to be late.
Unfortunately...
Someone else spoke first.
"Ferris."
The voice boomed across the lobby like rolling thunder.
"I’m disappointed in you."
It was loud enough that conversations throughout the hall immediately died down.
"Don’t tell me you actually left our discussion halfway just to entertain some rich brat."
The moment those words rang out, Kael immediately noticed the subtle change in Ferris.
His shoulders stiffened almost imperceptibly.
His expression became noticeably more restrained.
Seeing that reaction, Kael couldn’t help narrowing his eyes.
Turning toward the source of the voice, Kael saw three figures walking confidently through the crowd.
Leading them was a heavily built man standing well over six feet tall.
He wore a tight short-sleeved shirt that stretched over his broad frame, every step causing the muscles beneath the fabric to shift visibly. Thick black tattoos covered both of his arms before extending upward along his neck, disappearing beneath his collar. Numerous scars crisscrossed his face, each one telling the story of countless battles.
The two men following closely behind him looked no better.
Both were heavily tattooed.
Their expressions were fierce.
Combined with their intimidating physiques, anyone seeing them for the first time would mistake them for gang members.
In a sense...
They wouldn’t be entirely wrong.
The man’s booming voice had already attracted the attention of nearly everyone inside the lobby.
Whispers immediately spread through the crowd.
"Isn’t that Morgan Howell?"
"The vice captain of the Dark Viper Guild?"
"It’s really him."
"I heard the Dark Viper Guild has been expanding rapidly these past few years. They’re already one of the top five guilds in the Third District."
"So he was here to meet Director Ferris?"
Someone else frowned as they looked toward Kael.
"Then who’s that kid?"
"Could he be some young master from a wealthy family?"
"Director Ferris actually interrupted his meeting with Morgan Howell because of him."
"That says a lot."
As Morgan’s earlier accusation spread through the crowd, people’s expressions gradually began to change.
One middle-aged hunter snorted.
"What background he has doesn’t matter."
He looked toward Kael with clear dissatisfaction.
"Director Ferris leaving a meeting with the vice captain of the Dark Viper Guild just to receive some rich kid? That’s simply disrespectful."
Several hunters nearby immediately nodded in agreement.
To ordinary hunters, guilds occupied an almost sacred position.
The Hunter Association managed hunters and maintained order.
Guilds, however, were the ones constantly risking their lives on the frontlines.
Whenever a Rift Break occurred.
Whenever a city was threatened.
Whenever monsters poured into human territory.
It was the guilds that responded first.
Countless hunters in the lobby had once been rescued by guild members during dangerous expeditions. Others had lost comrades only to survive because reinforcements from a guild arrived in time.
To them...
Guilds weren’t merely organizations.
They were symbols of protection.
Because of that, seeing the director of a Hunter Association branch seemingly cast aside the vice captain of a major guild just to accompany an unknown young man naturally left many people feeling indignant.
Within moments, murmurs of dissatisfaction spread throughout the entire lobby, and countless questioning gazes landed squarely on Kael. None of them knew who he was, but judging from Morgan Howell’s words, they had already begun drawing their own conclusions. They assumed he was nothing more than another privileged young master using his family’s influence to receive treatment far beyond what he deserved.