'First International White Gate hunt'
'Strongest Hunters Gathered For Historical Moment'
'First Step into Monsters' Realm? The Whole World Holds Its Breath'
Faust was awake very early that morning, scrolling through the news absently as he drank his latte.
The White Gate would open in six hours but it would start appearing in five. The Dark Dragon warned them it might anger the Light Dragon and so the guilds around the world had been alerted for potential more Black Gates, which was what they'd decided to call the Moon Gates created by the Light Dragon as opposed to the white ones created by the Dark Dragon.
The list of hunters on this hunt had been posted across the web. Faust recognized all of them since the ranking of the hunters hadn't really changed for the past few years. Their last collaboration had been on a badly-placed gate so large that had split a building in half.
Faust was excited about the upcoming hunt. No, perhaps excited wasn't the right word. This would be the start of his mission. He must find a way to get the Light Dragon's attention. That meant he must cause a ruckus and Faust wasn't really good at that. However, he had a plan.
The assault team was there to send them off. "Good luck, sir!" They were leaning into Nathaniel's car from the open windows. "Mr. Faust, we'll be counting on you to keep everyone alive."
"Why?" Faust frowned.
"That's your job, dumbass." Nathaniel punched him. "Don't just sit back."
"If anything goes wrong," Matt said, "we'll be rushing in. I'm sure you already got the details but we just want you to know that we got your back."
Nathaniel snorted. "If somehow all the high-rank hunters get wiped out, it's most likely not something people like you can take care of."
"I'm planning to run at first sign of trouble," Faust told him. "So if you don't see me, I'm probably out of the gate already."
They spoke with the assault team for a bit longer before leaving the car behind to head to the training center. Because of the durable walls created specifically to battle the damage from hunters, the Association decided it was best to open the White Gate there.
Most of the hunters had gathered already and the assault teams were busy holding the reporters behind the lines.
"How are you feeling, Mr. Whitman?" one of the reporters shouted as the man walked past. "Do you have high expectations for this hunt? What do you think you will find beyond the gate?"
Really, the reporters were blessed to have someone like Nathaniel as the strongest hunter because that man always stopped for the press.
"Excited," he replied. "This is my moment to make another mark in history."
"Mr. Whitman is as energetic and ambitious as usual." They smiled. "And you, Mr. Faust? Do you look forward to collaborating with the world's top hunters? Compare to them, where do you think you stand?"
"I'll be standing in the back," Faust replied and left Nathaniel with the reporters.
He went to greet the other hunters. Since Faust wasn't there to spar with them yesterday, most of them were rather interested to meet him. First was the French hunter Corentin Dubois. Faust shook his hands.
"We look forward to working with you again," he said.
"The pleasure is all mine." Faust smiled.
One by one, the other hunters introduced themselves as well and shook his hand. Last was Xiu Cai who, on top of the greeting, asked if he'd considered her offer.
The hunters turned to them in anticipation because having Faust was something any country could benefit from. Unlike Nathaniel, Faust wasn't chained to a country.
However, Faust thought the other hunters' sudden attention was merely to see whether he would accept China's offer so he missed their sigh of relief at his rejection.
"Why not?" Xiu Cai asked. "If you want money, just name the price."
"Why do you want me?" Faust frowned. That was something he didn't understand. A support-type hunter is not beneficial in the larger picture. If the first White Gate hunt went well, there would probably be more of it in the future. And what they needed against White Gates was more fire-power, not defensive supporters. "You need to look at the long-run," he said.
"It's always good to have strong people," she said. "This is unfortunate. I hope we can work together in the future."
"Certainly." Faust enjoyed the diversity because seeing Nathaniel and the assault team every day was tiring.
He looked behind them. The White Gate was as tall as a flat house and white particles of light flickered out but died seconds later. Faust knew the entrance to the light realm would have some effect on him but he did not anticipate how much he was drawn to it. He felt like something was tugging him to the other side.
His feet carried him to the gate and he stopped a few steps away. The light was gentle as it washed over him.
Faust looked up and sighed. It was majestic.
Then, as if sensing his thought, the gate began to warp.
"...! What's that?"
"Step away! What's happening?"
Someone grabbed him but Faust held up a hand as he looked back at the Gate. The gate stilled as it reached a new shape. A disbelieving laugh escaped Faust as he looked into the eyes of the lion that stared down at him.
Soft white mane billowed in the air and glowing white eyes pierced the room with firm dominance before landing on him. It was only the head of the lion but the size of it was enough to send the reporters scrambling back.
"A…lion?" Next to Faust, Nathaniel looked with confusion. His sword was drawn. It seemed like the rest of the hunters had drawn their weapon as well. "Did the gate open? Is this the monster?"
Faust looked at the gate and met the eyes of the lion sternly. It barred its teeth at him before warping back into the shape of the gate again.
"Where did it go?" one of the hunters asked. "Was that a monster from the light realm?"
The First Prophet standing on the side told them the Dark Dragon had yet to open the gate. "It's likely an effect of the gate," he said hesitantly. "It seems to be harmless but I cannot say for sure."
"A gate that can change shape…Is this the power of the Light Dragon?"
"Perhaps it's foreshadowing what kind of monster we'll face on the other side."
"Right…Right, that must be the case."
Shiiiing. Nathaniel slowly sheathed his sword, shaking his head. "Don't know if that's a good or bad omen."
"Why are you here?" Faust asked, frowning. "Weren't you talking with the reporters?"
"I was—until I saw a gigantic ass lion. Why are you here?" Nathaniel narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Don't tell me…"
"...What?"
"The monsters on the other side must've felt you and tried to attack." The man's eyes lit up triumphantly. "That must've been what happened. Thankfully the Dark Dragon held it back, else you would've been eaten."
Faust stared at him.
"C'mon, take a few steps back. Let's go set up our formation."