We left the office and went down to the underground training hall, with Ethan guiding me. As we descended, I kept sensing spikes of mana.
When we arrived, I saw the Chairman sparring with two other hunters, all dressed in sparring gear. My excitement bloomed as I was about to witness the abilities of an S-rank hunter.
The training hall seemed quite sturdy, with no openings that would allow any dangerous spikes of mana to pass through, as normal people could faint from a huge surge of mana. However, an awakened individual with keen senses could still detect the mana, even if it was shielded by mana-infused minerals.
One of the hunters sparring with the Chairman looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen him, it felt as though I'd seen him up close but had forgotten him. He seemed to be around my age and was fighting quite well.
The other hunter was unfamiliar, but he appeared quite strong—stronger than the hunter beside him.
"Ah, now I remember. He's the famous Good-for-Nothing, Eirin Laufey," I thought, recalling that he was the person I'd seen on the Hunters' Nexus.
As soon as we arrived, the Chairman noticed us and told the other two hunters to stop. They both halted, turning to look at us standing at the edge of the training hall.
"Good morning, Mr. Zephyr. To what do we owe the pleasure of having you here?" the chairman said with a soft smile.
"Good morning, Mr.Chairman. Please don't embarrass me by saying that. You're my senior by far."
"Haha… rarely does anyone these days speak to me so casually," the chairman said with a hearty laugh.
The other two hunters were baffled, staring blankly at the two as if they had seen this side of the chairman for the first time. One of them had a look of jealousy on his face, which confused me slightly.
"This is Jace Miller, the highest-ranking hunter in Cobalt City excluding myself. He is an A-rank hunter.," the chairman said, introducing me to Mr.Miller.
"Good morning, Mr. Miller. Nice to meet you. My name is Zephyr." I extended my hand for a handshake.
"Well, Zephyr, this is, as you might have guessed, Eirin Laufey, an aspiring high-rank hunter," the chairman said, introducing me to Eirin.
I extended my hand to greet him as well, and he did the same. His grip was tight, but he didn't stop there, letting a faint wave of killing intent wash over me.
I responded by doing the exact opposite, ignoring his pointless taunt entirely.
"There, there, young ones. Hold your horses. You'll get your chance soon enough," the chairman said in an elderly manner, stopping Eirin's taunting. By this point, a sour expression had settled on Eirin's face.
"Chairman, why did you bring this arrogant-looking boy here when I alone was enough to win the tournament?" Eirin bragged, showing clear distrust toward me.
"Enough, Eirin. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. He'll be just as crucial, if not more, than you in winning the tournament," Mr. Miller said, sounding like an older brother.
"Want to find out?" the Chairman asked Eirin, eyeing me.
"That wouldn't be a problem for you, would it? The case is that this young fellow just needs a bit of teaching here," the Chairman added politely, knowing full well that I was here just to spar.
"Got it, I was just getting bored anyway."
The stage was clear. Both of us were standing face to face.
"You'll regret this, big time," Eirin said, annoyance clear on his face.
"???" I was just confused as to why he was so upset to see me.
"START!"
As soon as the starting word fell from the chairman's mouth, Eirin lunged at me with full speed. In the next instant, he was right in front of me. He threw a punch, but I blocked it easily. His speed was impressive, especially considering he has only been awakened for a few months.
"Maybe he just invested in his agility," I thought, blocking his every attack.
Even though my agility slightly surpassed A-rank, his speed was not far behind.
He then paused for a second. "Surprised, aren't ya?"
"Who said I'm surprised? You're still clearly within my expectations."
"Is that so? Now you'll know why they call me Hell's Prodigy," Eirin bragged, vanishing before me, but it was all part of his ploy. In the next instant, numerous cuts appeared on my outfit.
"Okay, time to end this."
I lunged with full speed, grabbing him by his throat and ending his pointless frenzy.
"Now, now, be a good boy and admit defeat," I said, patting his head with my other hand. Suddenly, his face turned as red as a tomato.
"Release me, you fiend!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. I let go of him, and he swiftly vanished, reappearing at a distance from me.
Even though I was fighting, my attention was spread all around the training hall.
Seeing Mr. Ethan, I immediately understood that he hadn't seen even an ounce of our fight, as we moved too quickly for him to perceive. The Chairman stood at a distance, intently examining both of our skills. As for Mr. Miller, his expression held a look of disappointment, though it may not have been directed at us. Something seemed off about him.
"Omen..." said Eirin, immediately catching my attention. As he uttered the words, his entire body began to change, taking on a more wild appearance. A mark appeared on his forehead, spreading and darkening his skin. His eyes turned red, giving him a demonic look. Ominous red mana oozed from his body.
"Now you'll taste real defeat," he said, as this time he truly disappeared. Suddenly, I felt a strong killing intent and looked up, only to find the demonic Eirin clinging to the ceiling. He lunged down, aiming a devastating kick directly for my face.
"Such arrogance. Maybe the chairman was right, you really need a lesson," I said, catching his foot before it could hit me. I then treated him to the best possible solution—smashing him here and there on the ground with his foot in my hand.
"Stop Zephyr. You win, no need to continue the spar," chairman declared.
Before I could make him abandon his skill, Mr. Miller appeared, stopping me and pulling him away.
"May be I went a bit toor far."
"Chairman, would you mind telling me about his family?" I asked, appearing before him in an instant, thinking I had heard the name Laufey somewhere.
"Well, to tell you the truth, Eirin Laufey is the youngest son of one of the five great families, the Laufey Household. But he's vastly different from those arrogant fools. Today was the first time he showed this behavior, and it only happened after seeing you. Deep down, though, he's a good person," the chairman explained, a flicker of sadness crossing his face, as if he had been reminded of something horrible from the past.
"Eirin, huh. It seems I was wrong about him," I thought, reflecting on the chairman's words.
"And by the way, you didn't think you'd only have to fight one of us, did you?" The chairman's demeanor suddenly shifted to a cheerful one as he took a fighting stance.
"I've been waiting for you to say that, chairman," I said, a large smirk blooming on my face as I took my own fighting stance.
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Enjoy....