Ray and George talked for a few more minutes after the sparring session before going separate ways.
'He's definitely a lot more optimistic and cheerful in his youth,' Ray thought to himself as he looked at his phone screen, which showed George's contact information.
Ray befriended George a few years later in his past life. Because the two of them fought for rival guilds, there had been a lot of bad blood between the two, which resulted in them not actually having a proper conversation until much later in life. And by then, George was already a shell of what he used to be. He flashed fake smiles which were enough for the media, but it was obvious to anyone who was close to him that there was something bothering him. Perhaps Ray didn't notice it, or maybe he did notice it but didn't think it was appropriate to say anything. After all, they weren't good friends at the time.
But regardless of the reason, the decision he made that day would end up haunting Ray until he reincarnated, as the fight within the empty arena was the last time he would see George alive. He ended his life a few days later that spar, and Ray always felt guilty of how he handled the situation.
'Why on earth did you end your own life, George?' Ray wanted to know the answer, but more importantly, he wanted to stop the tragedy from happening again.
'I have to keep an eye on him.' Ray declared in his mind as he got on his motorcycle and put on the helmet. There was a reason why George was considered by many to be a genius. And Ray planned to make him his teammate when the new 'Protectors of the World'. A team who'll actually succeed in protecting the world.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Erin.." George spoke with a faint smile on his face as he walked up to his black sedan. Erin was waiting outside the backdoor with a nervous expression on her face. Her lips quivered as she said, "It's alright, Mr. Hendrick…"
"What's the matter, Erin?" George asked with a curious and concerned voice as he opened the backdoor and entered the vehicle. "You look like you've seen a-"
His words were interrupted suddenly, as the faint smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a stone cold expression. "... a ghost." He completed his sentence before narrowing his gaze at the person who was sitting right opposite to him and continued, "What are you doing here…. father?"
"Oh, my! How cold.." The person sitting opposite to him spoke with a sad tone in their voice, implying that they were hurt by the words of George. But the implication of being hurt was contrasted by the confident manner in which they sat and presented themselves in front of George. They almost had a dominant aura oozing all over the interior of the vehicle, and no matter how cold and tough of an expression George put on, he couldn't help but feel pressured by this powerful aura.
"You shouldn't speak to your beloved father like that, you know?" The person was, of course, Leonard Hendrick, George's father, who leaned forward with a grin on his face, his hand holding onto a glass of champagne which he swirled before gulping it all down in one go. "Especially after I came here to celebrate with you!"
"Why on earth would you think I'd want to celebrate anything with you?" George replied with a tone of anger in his voice as wrinkles began to appear on his forehead.
"You should really try this champagne. It's very good!" Leonard ignored the words spoken by his son and instead held up a bottle of champagne with an innocent smile on his face, which only infuriated George even more.
"I think you need to leave." George said with his hands clenched tight. Leonard stopped what he was doing and stared at George for a few seconds before nodding his head and leaning back. "Is this because of what happened back home? I was just trying to mold you into a better hunter-"
"Didn't you hear me?" George cut off his father's words before he could finish and pointed his finger at the door. "Leave."
".... Is this really how you're going to handle this? I thought you were an adult." Leonard spoke with a frustrated voice, but George didn't respond and continued pointing, and Leonard raised his hand in the air before moving towards the door.
Clack!
He opened the door and slowly stepped out. "No matter what you might think about me, we're still family." Leonard stopped for a moment before closing the door, his gaze fixed on George, who was simply staring forward with a cold expression on his face, not even turning his head to look at his father. Leonard did a simple nod, implying that he understood his son's intentio, and began walking away. "Goodbye son. I hope you'll return home someday."
As he walked, Leonard glanced at Erin, who was standing next to the car, and he smiled at her. Erin, in response, did a bow and stared at her feet, unable to look him in the eye.
"Erin!" George yelled loudly, and Erin regained her composure and quickly entered the vehicle. "Yes, Mr. Hendrick?"
George grabbed the champagne bottle that his father had bought and handed it over to Erin. "Throw it away." He said with contempt. "I don't need anything from that person."
"Alright Mr. Hendrick," Erin nodded her head before grabbing the bottle and exiting the vehicle, leaving a frustrated George alone in the backseat of the car.
"FUCK!" George bit his lips and clenched his fists tightly. Because of a single interaction, his entire day had just been ruined.
-----------------------------
A few metres away from the Orlinion Hunter Gym.
"Master Hendrick." Butler Henry, who was standing next to a blue limousine, bowed his head as he saw his master approaching quietly.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Butler Henry could feel the intimidating aura of his master on him, which made him gulp down his saliva due to nervousness.
Leonard stopped moving right before he entered the limousine. He stood outside the backdoor and stared at his own reflection on the tinted windows before pulling out a box of cigars from his pocket.
He picked up one of the cigars and placed it in his mouth, and the end instantly lit itself on fire like magic.
"Hoooo…" Leonard breathed in the smoke and closed his eyes tightly for a few seconds before breathing out, and the smoke filled the air in front of him.
"That kid finally stood up to me. Can you believe it?!" Leonard suddenly turned around and asked Henry, who didn't know how to reply to his question. It turns out, he didn't really need to answer, as Leonard continued with a weird smile, "That same kid who cried all day because he got beaten a few times! I can't believe he's grown so much!"
A large grin appeared on Leonard's face as he said, "I mean, it's only natural… He's my blood after all." Leonard paused, took another puff of the cigar, and continued. "But I guess he still has trouble distinguishing those who he can give orders to from those who he should respect."
BAM!
Leonard threw the cigar into the air, and it burst into flames right above him before turning into ash.
"No matter…" Leonard stretched out his hand and a piece of the ash slowly floated down onto his palm, and he clenched it tightly. ".... He'll learn soon enough. I'll make sure of it."
--------------------------
The next day.
Horicon City Dungeon.
BZZZZZ!
Maria, who was standing right behind the front desk, immediately turned to look at the entrance to see who had entered the building, and a bright smile appeared on her face as she stated, "Good morning, Mr. Park. I'm glad to see you back."
"It's good to be back, Maria." Ray spoke with an enthusiastic voice as he walked towards her. "I'm here to enter the dungeon once again." He placed his Hunter licence card on the desk and flicked it over to Maria, who caught it and placed it above the scanner before handing it back to him with a smile. "I'm assuming you're not ready for any weapon upgrades yet?"
"Not right now, no." Ray shook his head as he placed the hunter licence card back in his pocket.
"I'm assuming you made it in time for your appointment last time?" Maria asked about their last meeting, when Ray suddenly ran out of the building because he was late for his date. Ray chuckled for a few seconds before replying, "Just barely. Although I'm pretty sure I'd have the same appointment today as well."
"Is that so? Well, then.. we should probably get going, shouldn't we, Mr. Park?" Maria said as she walked around the front desk and then moved towards the hallway, and Ray followed her, his expression now serious once again.