A black car zoomed through the street. In the backseat of the car sat a young man who was looking through the foggy window with a serious expression on his face. He looked like he was deep in thought.
"Are you alright, Mr. Hendrick?" A voice snapped the young man, George Hendrick, out of his thoughts, and he tilted his head in the direction from where the voice had come before replying. "I'm alright, Erin."
"Are you sure? You know that you don't have to lie to me, right?" Erin Lee Jones, George's assistant, asked George with a concerned expression on her face. When she didn't receive an answer from George, Erin paused for a second, after which she asked, "Did something happen with your father again?"
George bit his lips and squinted his eyes before answering her question. "I saw that he was at the Orlinion City Dungeon."
"Ah, yes. I saw that video of him yelling and cheering loudly after you cleared the dungeon. It's been circulating all over social media for a while now." Erin nodded her head. She glanced over at George before continuing, "But wasn't he just celebrating? Is it really that big of a deal?"
"You don't know my father, Erin…" George shook his head and rubbed his forehead with his fingers as he spoke. He looked distressed and nervous. "You know the reason why I left that godforsaken place one year ago, right?"
"I know, Mr. Hendrick. And I know that you despise your father for the absolute hell that he put you through." Erin nodded her head. "But didn't he leave you alone for one whole year after you left the Hendrick Estate? What makes you think that he'll interfere with your life right now?"
"Because he celebrated my dungeon clearing," George said as he took a deep breath. He could see the confused expression on Erin's face, and he explained. "My father never said a single encouraging word to me in my life. Ever."
He looked out through the window and continued, "All my life, I've been told that I wasn't good enough. That I was a shame to the family. An embarrassment. Because I was an E-rank when I got awakened, while both my sisters and my father were C-ranks during their awakening. Apparently that automatically made me a 'worthless investment '."
George glanced at Erin, who was staring at him with a sympathetic look on her face, and let out a short and bitter chuckle. "That's what I am to him. Just an investment. Not a monetary one, but one that's based on pride and arrogance. And now that I've proved his words wrong, he probably considers me a good asset."
He rolled down the window and stretched his palm out, feeling the raindrops brushing against his skin. "My father wasn't a great dad, but he's definitely a great businessman. He didn't build his entire fortune by working as a hunter alone. He's persistent and ruthless, and when he finds something that he considers worthy, I can assure you that he won't stop until he gets what he wants."
"So you think that he'll try to poach you from the Anfield Alliance Guild?" Erin asked with a concerned expression, and George laughed. "Oh, he'll only play nice the first time. It'll get a lot more ruthless afterwards."
Snap!
George snapped his fingers and said with a serious look on his face. "He'll destroy the Anfield Alliance Guild if he has to. And he definitely has the power to do so."
Erin's eyes widened with surprise, but she didn't say anything in reply, and the conversation ended there. The car continued moving forward with speed.
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Hunter Gym, Orlinion City.
"Hey, isn't that the…"
"I think it is. It might be him.."
"Holy shit. I did hear that he trained here, but I definitely didn't expect to see him in person."
"Should I go ahead and ask for an autograph or something?"
"Are you crazy? He's obviously here to train. At least wait until he finishes his training."
A small crowd of people were staring at George Hendrick, who had entered the gym just moments ago in order to train. He was already famous as the son of Leonard Hendrick and his initial rank after the awakening process had resulted in some headlines. But after his insane growth within a single year, his critics began to reevaluate his talent, and he became known as an up-and-coming genius. He even had a considerable amount of fans.
'I thought I could clear my mind with training, but…' George, who was putting on the required training clothes, let out a sigh in response. '... It seems that the increase in my popularity might not be too good for me."
"Good evening, sir." A woman wearing a black top and a white skirt walked up to him with a clipboard. "Your half-virtual training room is ready."
"Thank you," George nodded his head and flashed a friendly smile.
Right then..
"Mr. Hendrick!" An unfamiliar voice entered into George's ears, and he turned around with raised eyebrows to see who had called him.
Behind him stood a youth who seemed to be younger than him, and with a confident expression on his face, he said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hendrick. My name is Ray Park, and I'm a hunter working for the Obsidian Hunter Guild."
'Oh great, is this another fan?' George didn't show it on his face, but he was actually quite annoyed as his training session was now being interrupted.
"Oi, oi, can't that guy read the room? Even a moron can tell that Mr. Hendrick was about to enter the training room. Couldn't he have waited a few minutes?"
"I admire his confidence, but he's way too impatient. He might end up getting on Mr. Hendrick's bad side."
The crowd around them began mumbling to themselves, but Ray didn't care. "I know that you're about to start training, which is why I'll keep my words brief."
'Or you could've just waited, like everybody else.' George began tapping his feet impatiently, waiting for this young man who was standing in front of him to finish his words so he could start his training. What was this young man going to ask of him? A picture? An autograph? Or maybe both?
But the words that came out of Ray's mouth not only shocked George, but the entire crowd as well.
"Mr. Hendrick…" Ray said with an innocent smile on his face. ".... Would you please spar with me?"
"... Huh?"