Kieek!
A goblin tried to ambush him. Abyasa turned his head, the sharp blade attached to the end of his braid swayed along and went through the goblin's neck.
"Then, the dungeon should be closing soon."
Abyasa shifted his attention to the blue-eyed mage. Some kid who was just awakened would have their limit. Moreover, the officer felt guilty for pushing the mage to this point. He materialized a well-made machete from thin air.
"Hey kid! I'll take care of it from here." The officer yelled from the distance while running towards Andrius.
"But...the dungeon boss?"
"It's done. You can rest now."
Abyasa leaped in a spin. The spin caused his braid to move following the momentum, slaying over 5 goblins in a single motion. He slashed calamities with his machete and covered ambushes with the blade attached to his long-braided hair.
The officer is incredibly proficient in timing. He could predict how long would it take for the blade in his hair to reach his target. Even better, Abyasa knew which way to move his body to deliver the most fatal blow.
'So that's an experienced assassin type hunter...' Andrius wonders what rank is Officer Abyasa. Is the Hunter's Unity full of incredible people like him?
Fighting bigger opponents such as orcs, Abyasa used his machete as an anchor to secure his position after jumping to the orc's height. Then proceeded to dive in a salto. That way, both blades took turn in slicing the orc until it was split in half.
"What agility..." The mage was awestruck on the nimble assassin's movement.
"Hehe, Abyasa is one of our best officers. Using [momentum], [centrifugal], and [speed] he invented this unique style." A woman with hair bun emerged from behind Andrius.
The mage looked at her with confusion. She smiled sweetly in response of Andrius's curiosity and bewilderment.
"Mr. Viator, yes? I must thank you for helping Hunter's Unity in containing this dungeon break. Because of your contribution, casualties are kept to minimum."
"Ah, I'm just doing what anyone would..." The mage smirked, thinking of the abundance karma points he reaped from this incident.
"I'm Noreen, a professor at Hunter's Unity and the leader of this dungeon's strike team." She introduced herself.
"A professor?" Andrius questioned.
"Hunter's Unity provides education to newly awakened hunters. Unfortunately, guilds only care about hunters they can immediately deploy to dungeons. Without basic combat training, mortal chart will pierce the roof."
Noreen glanced at the braided officer who finished his clean up. "Abyasa is a graduate from Hunter's Unity. He invented his fighting style during his student years." She added.
"I didn't expect the government to provide education directly. Is that normal?" Andrius listened to Professor Noreen attentively.
"You may not know since you've been asleep since 8 years old. But, that is their responsibility. Any hunter of all ages can participate. It's their right to earn qualifications."
"How noblesse oblige of them..." Andrius nodded in respect.
"Haha! You sound like some noble from victorian era."
'I am a nobleman, though?' The mage thought. At least, he used to be one. Honestly speaking, he wasn't a good noble himself. He could ensure the prosperity of his land on the bare minimum. Not sure about other obligations...
Keugh!
Blood spilled from Andrius's mouth all the sudden. His body trembled as he was struggling to breathe.
[Warning! Mana failed to synchronize, initiating defense system...]
"Mr. Viator! Stay with me!" Professor Nareen absorbed a string of dark aura from his body. Andrius has no idea what it is, but the pain subsided.
Professor Nareen said something. The mage could no longer hear her as his consciousness left slowly.
'Am I gonna be sleeping again?'
***
"Franc...?" A girl with blonde hair with a knight uniform called his name. Her complexion looked pale.
"Oh, Rae? You're back?"
"You...what have you done?!" The female knight drew her sword and brandished it. She was furious beyond comprehension.
"Hmm? Oh this?" Franc gazed coldly to his blood painted hands and clothes. Underneath him, is the corpses of people who were once dear to him.
"This is a commemoration. A grand welcoming of a soon-to-be appointed Duke Elixis." The blond man grinned as he felt thrill run through his veins.
"...! You lunatic!"
"And whose fault is that? Hmm?"
The knight went silent. Cat got her tongue as she glanced to her lifeless parents.
"That's right, Rae! Their fault! Haha!" Franc laughed wickedly as he repeatedly stabbed his dagger to the deceased.
"Enough is enough, Franc!" His sister swung her sword in as tears streamed down her face.
***
"AAAH!" Andrius jolted awake. He panted heavily while looking around an unfamiliar room.
"Damn it, why from all dreams it has to be that one?" He gritted his teeth in annoyance.
'It's in the past. It didn't matter anymore. This is a new start. I'll be a good person here and save many people...' Andrius convinced himself of his noble deeds.
Upon discovering karma points on his recent awakening, Andrius has been obsessed with the sentence using violence to save people. Although he only intended to save his mother and opened a path for them to escape the mess, he ended up saving over 200 people.
[Karma Points: 230]
"That's a lot for a greenhorn, huh?" Andrius sniggered at the floating pop-up. He didn't want to admit his perfectionism either. Whether it's torturing, extorting, or helping others. If he does it, then it has to be perfect.
'I was anxious I couldn't do it since it's my first time. Turns out I have a talent of saving people too, hehe...' The mage smiled devilishly.
Bang!
"Rius!! You're awake!" Estela ran through the door and hugged him. She couldn't hold her tears and began crying.
"How dare you locked your mom in the bathroom?! Then had the audacity to collapse?! Do you even know how worried I was?! I thought you fell into slumber again!" She pulled her son's ear amidst nagging.
"Aw! Aw! I'm sorry! I was trying to pay you back! I had no idea this piss you off-"
"Of course I'm mad! My son threw himself into danger! Do you think I'll continue living happily if I knew my child died saving me?!" Estella sobbed loudly.
"...I'll be more considerate next time..." Andrius had a hard time comforting his mother. In fact, this is the first ever situation he has to. The evil Duke would simply cut down everyone who pleaded to him. He never needed to pity or assure someone.
"Mom, I'm a mage now. Look!" He tried to shift the conversation.
[Andrius used Relentless courage of invisible authority lv. 24]
The blue-eyed mage reached to his mother. Light-blue aura began enveloping her as she defies the gravity, floating slowly like how it is in space.
"H-Huh...? I'm flying...? Rius, is this your skill?"
"Yes. Cool isn't it?"
"It is one of kind." A deep, grown-man voice answered instead. Abyasa has been waiting in the front door the whole time. He leaned to the doorframe, watching the wonderful reunion between the two.
"Officer?!"
"Mr. Abyasa? You have business with me?" Andrius flustered. The mage withdrew his spell instantly and sat his mother on the bed.
"I'm paying my benefactor a visit. You fainted all the sudden and I'm worried."
"You're a busy man. That's not all there is, right?"
"Hah, how perceptive. Here is your hunter license." The braided man handed a card.
Information regarding job-class, rank, and status are listed in detail. It's a shame because the card was issued in urgency, they are unable to take updated picture of Andrius and used the one when he was 8. Estela was particularly fond of that picture. She teased Andrius for growing up so quickly.
"And here is your enrollment letter to the Hunter's Unity Academy."
The mage frowned at the letter. He understood that every hunter must enroll in the public academy made by the Hunter's Unity. However, the enrollment date bothered him.
"This is in the middle of a semester? Am I going in as a transfer student?"
"We decided to make a whole new class consisted of new hunters as soon as possible due to...ahem...recent incident..." Abyasa cleared his throat.
"...You mean, the dungeon break?"
"Yes, it's a rare mass dungeon break that concurred in diverse places. We received 77 reports of awakening all near the vicinity of the gate, as if the world tried to maintain a balance between calamities and hunters." The officer took out a one-eyed glasses, similar to what Andrius has worn before.
Abyasa pushed a button and laid down the glasses in a bedside table. Light emitted from the frame, projecting its content to the wall. Andrius noted several screens playing records of dungeon breaks in other places. Amongst the records, few people stand out and saved the day. Similar to how he did.
One peculiar video showcased a man with straight black hair and tall, lean figure wielding a staff made of steel. He fought close combat at first and revealed his true nature as a mage after casting a shadow spell. His shadows swallowed calamities whole. His surroundings weren't clear but there are signs of an office wreckage.
"That...guy. He felt familiar...who is he?"
Obviously, Andrius has no idea who he is. But, his skill is what made him 'familiar'. Noticing the blue-eyed mage cadaverous expression, Abyasa pressed another button in the glasses.
"South Jakarta has their dungeon break inside of a firm headquarters. He is the heir of that company. He managed a high position due to nepotism. The same as you, he also awakened during the dungeon break."
The screen changed to display a hunter's profile. It was a portrait of the man along with his registered stats in the Hunter's Unity. His eyes are sharp and crimson-colored that uniquely marked him as a mage too.
"His name is Vuizen Oshiro, a new S-rank Hunter. Mage of the Abysmal darkness."
Thus, upon hearing the officer's statement, Andrius's stomach sank as his body trembled in terror.
"Mage...of the Abysmal Darkness?!"