"Thank you for registering as a hunter! Do you want to join the Hunter Association of Indonesia? There is no registration fee."
"Ah, no thank you."
I did not want to be a slave like before. Because of the contract, I missed many opportunities in the past and did not want that to happen on my second chance in life.
"Are you sure? The association will help you grow, you know? We will offer you the best offer in the country."
I smile at her and say.
"I have a friend who wants me as part of his team. He is a level-five person, and he will show me around."
"I see. What a shame. Does that mean you want to buy the permission ticket for F-rank Tower?"
"Yup. Also, I want a permission ticket for E-rank Tower as well."
"Of course."
Tower is divided into eight ranks: F → E → D → C → B → A → S → SS.
Each tower has different kinds of monsters that get stronger the higher the tower's ranking. Each of the towers is dangerous and even more dangerous in the future. Sadly, much of the low-ranking tower is used to mine something called [Mana Crystal], a crystal that can be used to produce pure energy. Since the first tower appeared in the world, many technologies have been invented using the [Mana Crystal] power.
Because of this, many governments decided to 'tame' the low-ranking tower and make it a mining operation. However, they did not know that the boss of the tower kept getting stronger. The growth is small, but for the next ten years, it will accumulate enough to make the boss an A-rank Boss Monster, which only level seventy and above hunters can fight. When that happens, the boss will get out of the tower and command all the monsters inside the tower to kill the humans.
When that happens, the government reluctantly orders a conquest mission. Sadly, the boss monster has already evolved enough to make the cost of this mission so severe that it becomes a high-ranking mission with a high death toll.
I snap from my thoughts when I see the woman return with my hunter identification.
"Here you go. The two of them cost you thirty million rupiah."
I hold a wince as it is almost all of my money. It is all the money I have from selling many things in my home. Lucky for me, I live alone and did need to care about many of them. Among them is my car, which I sold for quick cash.
To normal people, this sounds like a risky investment because I am just a newbie, but if I cannot get back my money from the hunt, it is better to kill myself because I don't deserve a second chance.
After paying the money, the woman takes out a short sword and says,
"On your form, you request a short sword, right? This is the free weapon the government gives to all new hunters. Please don't do anything too reckless, okay? This sword is sharp and durable, but it is not a perfect weapon."
"I see. I understand. I will be careful when we visit the tower."
"That is good. However, with a level five hunter on your side, it is not as bad as going alone."
After another few seconds, I get out of the building and walk to the subway nearby. I need to take the train and go to Bandung. There is something I need to do there.
==//==
I walk through the thick forest and arrive in front of a giant boulder. I get closer to the boulder and see a carving of a woman on the boulder. This drawing is a drawing of a Goddess. She is Dewi Sri, the Goddess of Agriculture, Fertility, and Rice.
She is the manifestation of another goddess called Lakshmi, the Mother Goddess of Prosperity, Fortune, Wealth, Power, Abundance, Beauty, and Maya. She is also the wife of Supreme God Vishnu, the God of Preservation.
Dewi Sri is like Jupiter. He is the manifestation of Zeus, who appears to the people of ancient Rome. Dewi Sri is the manifestation of Lakshmi, who appears to the people of ancient Indonesia.
I shake my head and touch the boulder. A second later, I appear inside what looks like a tower.
This is something called [Artificial Tower], which the Gods created to give someone worthy of a gift. I know about this when one of the stupid hunters stumbles on this boulder after getting chased by a monster that manages to get out of the tower.
He managed to conquer the tower and get the prize.
Why do I call him a stupid hunter? Well, he boasts on national television about his prize and gets killed while his prize gets stolen. You did not boast about having great items. It is a sure way to die in this world.
"Now… let's do this."
I take out my short sword and slowly walk forward. The entire place looks like a cave, but there are many plant roots on the wall. As I get deeper into the tower, I can hear a rumbling. I take a familiar battle stance and prepare to fight.
After waiting for a few seconds, I can see a massive boar charging at me. This is one of the few monsters that appear in this tower.
I quickly ran back to where I came from and put my back against the wall. I remember what he said about the monster in this tower.
"The easiest one is the Boar. They will charge at you and do significant damage if you get hit. The first time I got hit, my rib was broken into pieces, and the boar threw me to the wall. That is when its weakness appears. When it hits something that is stronger than its charges, it gets stunned for a couple of seconds. I use the wall to my advantage."
With that word in mind, I wait for the boar to get close before rolling to the right.
*BOOM*
The impact creates a crack in the wall, and I can see the boar stunned by the impact.
"The next weakness of this boar is the place underneath its mouth. A good stab through the mouth and to its brain will result in a one-hit-kill."
I thrust my sword, and true to that information, my sword punches through the skull of the boar, and my entire face gets covered by blood. After a few seconds, the boar fell to the ground, dead.
I nod and take out my sword. I put my hand on the boar, feel where the biggest mana is coming from, and start butchering. Years of butchering come in handy. I take the leather, the tusk, and the mana core.
I put them all inside my bag, and I got up from the ground.
"Let's continue."