–System Message–
Daily Quest (3): "Hunter's Challenge"
Defeat 10 monsters ranked level 4 or above.
Special Quest Unlocked:
Meet ???
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Alex looked at the system message and frowned. "Great, at least the next quest is straightforward, but what is this special quest? How would I even know I've met him? I'm guessing that once I do, the system will let me know," he thought.
"Anyway, it's time to head out and finish the daily quest as quickly as possible. While the last penalty ended up being a thrilling and fortunate event, it was only a level 1 penalty. Who knows if I'll survive the next one?" After putting on a new pair of pants and a long-sleeve shirt, Alex went out.
As he left the apartment complex, he immediately started heading towards the forest.
This time, Alex grabbed a backpack with him, as he wanted to try to gather some materials to sell. Alex was flat broke, and he couldn't buy anything at all. He also wanted to pay back Merchant Alex. Alex may be many things, but he was someone who always paid back his dues.
As he walked towards the forest, with his hands in his pockets, he suddenly felt a gaze...
He quickly turned around to see who it was but did not find anyone.
"Must have been my imagination." Soon, Alex reached the border of the forest, which had the same two guards he had met the last time.
They immediately recognized him, and, with a slight nod, motioned for him to go through.
Alex still had a feeling that he was being watched, so this time, he ventured deeper into the forest, away from the perimeter.
Alex was confident in his power and did not think he would struggle with any beasts or monsters lower than level 5.
Standing on a rooftop that oversaw all of Old Town, stood a man with long red hair, Arthur - the rank 4 hunter. He had been keeping an eye on Alex since he met him at the hunter's exam. He was still curious to know more about the boy.
He thought it was strange for an inexperienced kid to have a high-level artifact in his possession, especially since neither Arthur nor any hunter was able to deduce the level of that artifact.
Since then, Arthur employed his wide network of connections as well as resources to try and track down the origins of the ring. Being a Rank 4 Hunter had privileges, and Arthur had more than enough money to retire whenever he wanted.
As he started to dig into Alex's past, the stranger everything became.
Not only could he not locate anything about the ring, but he could not even find anything about Alex. He couldn't locate a birth certificate for a boy named "Alex Walker" anywhere in GreenHaven.
The first official certificate of Alex Walker was at the age of 2, but there are no records of anything before that.
This didn't make any sense to Arthur, since the only conclusions drawn from this were that either Alex's past was completely erased, or he was not born in GreenHaven.
Arthur sent a few scouts to the western continent, at great cost, to try and find something, but he has not heard back as of yet.
As Arthur dug deeper into Alex's origins, he was even more surprised to see that no one knew his parents, not the hunters, nor the government. The government employee who originally brought Alex the box of possessions that belonged to his parents had disappeared without a trace. When Arthur inquired about this, the government denied anyone ever brought anything to a boy named Alex Walker.
The government did not even pay for Alex's apartment or send him food. In fact, they did not even know about Alex, except that he was a student at the "Kintor School for Children" and a Rank 1 Hunter.
It was not too strange for the government not to know everything about every child, as there are some illegal refugees who may have fled their own countries during the war with the Spinners many years ago.
But the fact that someone paid, in cash, for an apartment, sent food, and took care of Alex without anyone's knowledge hinted that there was something, or someone trying to keep everything about the boy secret. It could be someone with great influence in the government who erased all records, or it could be something else.
None of this made any sense, and the craziest thing was what he saw today. Alex looked very different from the last time he saw him.
Sure, boys go through quite a growth spurt once they hit puberty, but it's only been 3 months since the hunter's exam. Alex's rapid physical changes could be attributed to a unique trait or latent power, but this is highly unlikely and was not something Arthur ever heard of before.
Arthur had a very good memory, which is expected of any high-ranked hunter. He perfectly recalled what he saw during the hunter's exam.
Alex's appearance was that of someone notably malnourished. He had a very pale complexion; under the hoodie, he could tell that his hair was sparse, and finally, he looked weak. He had an average upper body, but his lower body was much weaker.
It was also obvious when he fought with Lena or ran against Dash.
But now, the boy's skin looked different, no longer pale. He packed a lot more muscle, he did not look "unbalanced," and his eyes were a different shade of color. There is no way to explain this change within 3 months, at least it is not something Arthur has ever seen or heard of before.
Knowing all of this, Arthur decided to keep following Alex.
He even thought about interrogating the boy, but he decided against it, as he did not want to alert the boy or whoever was behind all of this. He didn't really even know what to think yet.
Once Arthur saw Alex head into the forest, he jumped from the high rooftop, and landed softly on the ground, near the guards of the border of the forest.
"Sir Arthur! It's a great honor to see you! What brings you here today?" The larger of the two guards immediately saluted and respectfully asked. The other guard was lazing around, but as soon as he saw Arthur, he followed the same actions.
"No need for formalities, David, James - we're the same age," chuckled Arthur.
"Nothing much, just going to survey the area to make sure everything is in order."
"Understood, Sir; hope you have a successful hunt," the guards eased and immediately made room for Arthur to pass.
"Let's see what this kid is up to," Arthur thought, his expression now serious.