Earlier at the Hunters Guild — Zone 47

  In a room on the second floor, a rectangular table made of rustic oak displays a darker tone than is common for that wood. Around it, three men and three women covered by black cloaks sit while looking at some papers in their hands.

  Then a seventh member appears. A man covered by a cloak equal to the others, but his displays a darker gray tone. He sits at the end of the table and removes the hood, revealing hair as gray as his cloak and an eyepatch made of leather on the left side. Then he begins to speak.

  "Since we are all here, let's begin. First, you Miriane." His voice echoes soft and serene.

  "Good afternoon, Master Apis!" First she faces his black gaze while he returns a subtle nod, then she returns to the two sheets on the table. "This year I have two nominations to be part of the guild's internship program. The first is a young man called Lonobliqua, he presents above average performance in subjects in general, and a great knowledge about poisons. This is due to his parents who are already intermediate-level hunters."

  "Who are they?" Miguel, Sarah's school teacher, is also there. He questions while looking at her light brown hair.

  "Lanata and Dirphia."

  "Those two really ended up together?" Miguel lets the words escape.

  "In fact, they are very good with poison and traps." Apis speaks while looking at some details on the table ahead. "Approved."

  "The second is called Kandai." Before she can continue she is interrupted.

  "Isn't that Jaziel's son?" Apis questions her.

  "Yes, him indeed." Miriane answers already placing one paper over the other and letting her gaze get lost in the wood of the table ahead.

  "So the son of the leader of the strongest clan has finally grown." A man called Stuquer, seated beside Miriane, enters the conversation.

  "You are mistaken, the strongest clan is called Golden Gorgons." A woman called Miuri, who is sitting on the other side of Miriane, points out in a louder tone while closing her fist in front of her face.

  "You know very well that the Northern Griffins are the greatest." Stuquer even turns in his chair facing her already with a more serious expression, his long blond hair shaking along.

  Miuri also turns in his direction already throwing a cutting look. Miriane even leans over the table trying to get out of the crossfire.

  "Please calm down!" Apis sees no alternative but to intervene with a slightly raised voice. "We all know the Valley Anhangás are at the top."

  His statement started a heated discussion even among those who were just observing. Apis smiles in disguise while listening to each one overlap the other with their reasons to say their clans are the best.

  Miguel and Miriane look at each other and smile in silence.

  After a few minutes, everyone is calmer and the meeting continues. Other members speak and reveal their nominations, all of them boys.

  "Miguel, I see you have three papers, very rare for your school to have more than one nomination." Apis even raises his head a little to see if he can read some of the names, but Miguel places the sheets upright and stacked to frustrate him.

  "This year is an exception, but I guarantee they are more than qualified." Miguel begins to speak while observing from the corner of his eye Apis relax his shoulders and release the air. "The first is called Sebastian, he is the student with the second best grades in physical aptitudes and combat, whether with firearms or melee weapons." He pauses his speech and sighs a little, then resumes. "His father was one of the hunters who disappeared in the Desert of Creation... According to the report of a survivor, they were captured by the androids."

  At that moment everyone's gaze becomes low and distant, some even bite their own teeth.

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  "A strong motivation and exemplary grades. Promising. Approved." Apis stretches his hand to take Miguel's sheet and look closer, then joins it with the others that are stacked in front of him.

  "The second is a girl..." At that moment everyone's gaze turns to him attentively. "...her name is Iris." The hairs on Apis's arm even stand up when hearing this name, but the one who dares to speak is a man seated beside him called Travis.

  "So she really will follow that path..." Travis scratches the back of his neck, drowning his fingers among the short black strands while whispering to himself.

  "Are you sure about this nomination?" Apis speaks with a more serious look while staring at Miguel. "We all know where this will end."

  "I oppose this nomination!" Miriane even stands up while also staring at Miguel seriously. "She will die for sure!"

  Miguel breathes deeply and looks straight into her eyes.

  "You are right to worry, surely that girl one day will want to enter the Abyss Dungeon. But until she has permission for that, she will have to climb a lot in the guild, until then I myself will be responsible for observing and training her as far as it is within my competence." He finishes speaking seeing Miriane sit back down already a little calmer.

  "Even so, in that place there is only death..." She releases the words into the air almost like whispers.

  "Not to mention she probably went through an awakening that day. She presents the third best overall grade in physical aptitude, and a vast mastery of the most varied short and medium range weapons. And she already knows how to prepare many baits using plants." He resumes his speech looking at Apis.

  "I happened to meet them a few times, they were a very united family, the father and mother were good collectors and sold great flowers." The last member of the table, a woman called Loris who is sitting beside Miguel, speaks with a low voice while looking at some details on the table ahead. "She was always with them smiling and playing." Her dark gray hair falls forward and partially covers her face, but her blue eyes still stand out. "When I heard about that tragedy, I hoped she would follow the same path as her parents..."

  "If she truly is an awakened through trauma, the chances that she will rise in level in the guild in record time are quite big, not to mention that it has been some years already since we had a novice woman in the guild. She may become an example for the new generations of girls." Apis explains his thoughts with a distant gaze turned to the ceiling, then he sees Miguel stretch her paper toward him in his peripheral vision. After taking a look he resumes. "These grades really are good. Approved."

  Everyone's expressions become more neutral after all this conversation.

  "And lastly, another girl." Once again Miguel draws everyone's attention. "But this is a peculiar case, she didn't sign any of the fields."

  He releases the air and smiles lightly, somehow making the atmosphere of the room become lighter. Apis's eyes even open a little wider than normal.

  "Her name is Sarah, she has the best grades in physical aptitudes. With firearms, her hit score goes beyond seventy percent. With melee weapons her performance is below average. But she stands out at a level I have never seen before in hand-to-hand combat, I would say she is even capable of knocking down an adult depending on the situation. Not to mention her observation abilities which are well above average." Miguel even gets lost in thoughts while stretching his hand to deliver her sheet.

  "This really is a very rare case here. It is even possible to state that she is the most promising I have seen in all these years as a Hunter." Apis cannot even take his eyes off the paper while speaking. "Unfortunately I cannot approve someone who didn't even choose us." He smiles while reading what she wrote. "But if she changes her mind, the doors of the guild will always be open for whoever wants to become one of us."

  "May I make a suggestion?" Miguel releases the words toward him.

  "Feel free!"

  "Next week, we will have a practical exam of our discipline there at the school, and here at the guild some Neophyte evaluations will take place. I would like these names that I indicated plus two other promising ones to be able to watch from afar some of these evaluations." Miguel explains his thoughts still looking directly at Apis.

  "If I am not mistaken, that was how you entered the guild, right?" Apis asks Miriane.

  "Yes, I was undecided, but after watching one of those evaluations I ended up deciding to join the guild." Miriane answers him with a neutral and still thoughtful look.

  "Very well! Nothing more fair than you accompanying them, can it be?" Apis asks her and also looks at Miguel.

  "For me, it's fine, she is the most capable among us for this." Miguel answers while observing the hilt of her sword on the back of the chair.

  "Alright, this way I will also take the opportunity to look more closely at Iris. But I will warn you already. If I think she is not qualified, I will file a request to remove her name from the internship program." Miriane leaves her words in the air while already standing up. Along with her the others also stand up.

  "Well! We end our meeting here. I will pass the names and situations to central command. I hope everything goes well, the guild needs new blood more than ever." Apis is the first to leave the room after his speech. In silence, the others leave one by one.

  Some hours later, in a smaller room still inside the guild, Apis is holding a cellphone while speaking.

  "Chief, I want to make a nomination for our clan." He stays silent while listening for a few seconds and then resumes. "I know we are not accepting anyone at the moment, but she is the daughter of that couple who died in the Abyss Dungeon." He listens again and resumes. "There is a possibility that she is an awakened, it would be a great acquisition for our clan, not to mention that exploring that dungeon was already in the plans anyway." A bit more silence while he throws a distant gaze again to the paper. "Ok, I will keep you informed about her progress. Thank you very much and good night."