Hunter Association of America building, 32nd floor. New York.
"Mr Ellis, another portal has appeared here in New York." Sitting in his office, the head of the Hunter association was surprised by his employee, Marcus. He was wearing a suit and holding a clipboard.
"Another one? How many have shown up this week?" Ellis said with a severe tone. He propped his chin on his hands as he looked at Marcus.
"Over 20 portals have opened up across the country, sir. I also contacted the Hunter association in Canada, and the number of portals has almost doubled compared to the last month."
"I see. Have you reported the appearance of this novel dungeon to a guild that operates in New York?"
"Yes, we have done that."
"I see. But changing the subject, set up a meeting with the leaders of the major guilds in New York."
"So suddenly?"
"Yes. I intend to set up a group of hunters to operate 24 hours a day throughout the state."
"But don't the guilds already take care of that?"
"It's still not enough. Every time we detect a new portal, we must notify all the guilds in that region. After that, one of them still has to accept the request. This is taking too long, so the association making a group of hunters in each state will make everything safer."
"But do you think the heads of the guilds will give up their top hunters to the association?"
"It's not a choice." Ellis stood up and then walked through his luxurious room. A massive space of 60 square meters.
He then walked to the door and opened it. Looking back, he signalled for Marcus to come out. "Go and set up the meeting. Starting next week, I will be visiting the other states to have meetings with some guild heads."
"Right."
Marcus ran out of the room, and Ellis closed the door. Then he turned and looked at his large desk in front of a large glass window. From there, he had a view of the entire Times Square.
He saw people living as if nothing was happening in the country and the world.
Ellis sighed and then sat back down in his black leather chair.
"Things are sure to get even worse." He said to himself.
####
A week passed. Lukas had started running again after the park's running track was cleared.
After finishing his run and getting home, he took a shower and then went to his computer. He wants to research a guild accepting new members in Jacksonville.
One convenient site: Hunter.association.us
Entering the site, Lukas found a very interactive interface. He clicked on the button in the upper right corner to create an account. After filling in all the details using his name, he confirmed his email and was ready to use the site.
On the home screen, there were several posts about the latest portals and some news about guilds all over the country.
There was a way to filter by cities, so he chose Jacksonville and then scrolled down and looked at the recent news. As the head of the association had said, the number of portals was increasing.
The number of guilds created had also increased, making it easier for Lukas to find a guild.
"Here. A recent guild. But isn't that name shameful?" Lukas found a post from Hunter's association advertising a new guild called "The Butterflies."
"There's a number to get in touch and set up an interview." Lukas swallowed his saliva and then reached for his cell phone. After thinking a little more, he called the number on the website, and someone answered.
[ Guild The Butterflies, how may I help you? ]
It was a woman's voice, and it was a harsh voice.
[Oh yes, I'd like to set up an interview.]
[ Hm, I see. Okay, hold on. ] The woman disappeared from the call, and Lukas could hear her talking to someone.
[Okay, first of all, I need to know your age and name.]
[ My name is Lukas. I'm currently 16 years old. ]
[ 16 YEARS OLD?! ]
[ Yes. ]
[ Wait a second. ] Again, the woman disappeared and argued with someone. [ Are you sure you want to do the interview? It's usually hard for us to accept someone as young as you. ]
[ I want to do the interview, please. ]
[ Right... ] The woman seemed to have given up, so she asked. [ So... Lukas? What are your skills? ]
[ The skills I was born with are telekinesis and pyrotechnics. ]
[ Abilities you were born with? ]
[ Forget about it. ]
[ I see. But that's amazing. It's rare to find someone with two skills these days. Okay, I'll set up a time for your interview. How about tomorrow at 15:00? Is that good for you? ]
[ Sure, no problem ]
[ Right, that's settled then, do you need me to give you the address? ]
[ Don't worry, the address of the guild is already on the Hunter association site. ]
[ All right then. When you arrive at the reception, call me, my name is Noelle. ]
[ I will. Thank you. ]
Then he ended the call. Lukas threw his cell phone on the computer desk and took a deep breath.
"I did it..." He smiled as he put his hand on his forehead to wipe his sweat.