The interior of the Hunter Association was pristine white. It was neat and clean, with not even a speck of dust in sight.
The walls appeared ordinary, but a hunter simply touched them and entered as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
There were no stairs or elevators. In one corner of the room, there was a black circle where four people could stand at once.
The hunters stood there, and the circle moved upward, taking them to the next floor.
There was a scuffle among some hunters, but a cute and delicate girl tapped them on their backs, smiling and pointing them towards the corner of the wall.
A large machine gun emerged from the wall and aimed at the hunters. Their faces paled, and they hastily apologized, quickly running away.
In the center of the room, there was a long desk with three beautiful girls conversing with the people who were lined up.
Several men wearing black suits moved around, appearing quite intimidating.
On the walls, various words were written, such as Skill Shop, Weapon Shop, Core Shop, and so on.
Behind the receptionist desk, there was a small room that seemed slightly out of place in the middle.
In short, the Hunter Association was bustling and seemed quite harmonious, with no conflicts and smooth operations.
"Line up at Desk 2." Uncle Wang took Lu Chen and joined the queue at Desk 2.
There were only six people in line, and most of their paperwork was done in a flash. It didn't take more than five minutes before their turn came up.
"How may I help you?" The receptionist girl was petite and sweet. Her voice was cute and melodious.
"She should be a singer," Lu Chen thought as he looked at her in a daze.
It wasn't every day he would get to see such a cute girl in person.
"Ahem!" Uncle Wang coughed and patted Lu Chen's shoulder.
"Oh, right. I'm here to become a hunter."
"He wants to take the hunter examination," Uncle Wang added from behind him.
"Okay. Please fill in your information."
"Okay." Lu Chen wrote his name, address, bank information, and so on. Then he handed over his ID.
After a moment, she pressed a button, and the desk sank into the ground.
"Come." She opened the door to the room.
Lu Chen felt nervous, but he calmed himself down.
"Good luck." Uncle Wang patted his shoulder once again.
"Thanks."
Lu Chen stepped through the door.
It was an empty room, with walls that appeared no different from the others.
"Now, please use your skill and hit the walls. If it's a support skill, direct it towards the wall as well," the girl said.
"Okay."
The girl left the room.
He pondered which skill to use and soon reached a decision.
"Gale, it is then." He extended his palm. "Gale," he murmured.
Mana circulated as his palm glowed. Fierce wind blew from his palm in a straight line.
As it touched the wall, nothing happened. The wind ceased, and after three seconds, a green light lit up on the wall.
"Come." The girl opened the door and led him outside.
"Not bad. Your skill is ranked E. It's a good start," she said with a beautiful smile, then typed on her desk.
Just after a minute, a card emerged from the desk.
"Here's your Hunter card. And please sign this agreement so you won't wander into any guild-managed dungeons. Only dungeons managed by the Hunter Association can be explored."
He read through the documents. The agreement had no more than 1,000 words.
"I hereby declare that I won't wander near dungeons managed by any guilds. In the event that I breach this agreement, I acknowledge and consent to the legal action pursued against me.
"I hereby declare that I won't wander into off-limit dungeons and won't enter high-level dungeons without permission."
...
After signing the document, Lu Chen looked at the new card. It displayed his photo, name, rank, and more.
[Hunter Card]
[Name: Lu Chen]
[Age: 24]
[Gender: Male]
[Rank: E]
[Date of registration: 2079-07-09]
It was a compact card on the surface, but it was digital. Meaning, he could swipe it, and the content would change.
First, there was personal information, then bank information, followed by a scanner, and the final part of the card was for transactions.
"Now, sir, please take this." The receptionist handed him a cool-looking black wristband.
It was the wristband that all hunters normally wear.
"Thanks." Lu Chen wore the wristband. A light blue glow emitted from the band, and a hologram appeared before him.
There were two tables. On one part, there were words written, while on the other, it displayed his full-body photo.
The words in the first part were loading. After a small box saying [Connected with Hunter Card] appeared, the words in the table cleared as well.
[Hunter - E-rank]
[Name: Lu Chen]
[Strength: 19]
[Defense: 14]
[Stamina: 20]
[Speed: 13]
[Mana: 10]
[Skill: (E - Gale)]
Only this information was shown in the hologram, and it was visible to others. The receptionist who saw this gasped.
"Congratulations, sir! Your stats are already at the peak of E rank!" It was rare for those who awakened a skill to have such high stats normally.
...
After an hour, finishing all the formalities, Lu Chen gained access to two dungeons.
Paradise of Tempestphant.
Coop of Cluckthorn.
One was an F-rank dungeon, and the other was an E-rank dungeon.
After obtaining the locations of the dungeons, Uncle Wang drove him to Dragon Restaurant.
"Cheers!" A box of beers was opened and poured into glasses.
The three of them toasted and drank the beer.
"Congratulations! From now on, I should call you Hunter Chen!" Sister Wei teased as she wrapped her arm around Lu Chen's shoulder.
"Don't tease me, Sister Wei. I'm still just your little Chen."
"Yeah!" She downed the whole bottle in one gulp. "Wow! Beer and meat are a perfect combo!" Her face was red.
"Drink slowly." Uncle Wang stood up. "I'm tired. I have an important meeting tomorrow, so I'm leaving. Enjoy yourselves, you two youngsters."
Uncle Wang left, and Sister Wei grabbed another bottle and finished it.
"Take it easy, Sister. Don't drink too much." Lu Chen said helplessly. "I don't want to deal with you being drunk."
"Hah!" She hugged Lu Chen and poked his cheeks. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and shorts.
Her breasts pressed against his chest, and a soft sensation invaded his body.
"S-Sister."
"You have finally fulfilled your dream." Despite being drunk and her cheeks flushed, her words were clear.
"Now, don't forget about your sister." She smiled. "I will always watch over you from behind. So keep moving forward." She rested her head on his shoulder with a slightly melancholic expression.
"Sister Wei... Of course." Lu Chen hugged her back. "I will always remember you. As long as you watch my back, I will never be scared to move forward."
After some time, Lu Chen gently carried Sister Wei to her bed, making sure she was comfortable before leaving the room. He bid her goodnight and made his way back to his own house.
(No worries, if you were getting annoyed by Sister Wei and Uncle Wang, they won't be appearing from now on. Their appearances will be short from now on.)