She ordered a large platter of roasted hog slices.
He wanted to shout, _"I told you not to overdo it!"_
But he didn't have the courage, remembering he'd done the same thing on his first visit.
The waiter handed him a menu, patiently waiting for him to choose. As she glanced at his face, a flicker of recognition crossed her expression.
"I'll have the same as her," Sariel said. "Slices of roasted hog."
That voice. She was certain she had heard it before.
Then it hit her—he was that kid. The one she'd heard rumors about. He'd come here with Natasha, was supposedly favored by Neil. (The leader of the trio that saved Sariel)
Sariel noticed the woman's delayed reaction and was puzzled for a moment. But when he caught her staring as if he were some rare bird that had just flown by, he understood.
"Am I not welcome here?" he asked.
She snapped back to reality, a flustered smile spreading across her face. "What? No, no! Everyone's welcome here. I'll get your meals right away!"
She hurried off.
Mein raised an eyebrow. "Did you really do something weird? The slayers, the guild folks, and now her—they all look at you strangely."
"It's not important," he replied.
"Hmm..." She was about to press further but decided against it. "Does it annoy you, or are you used to it?"
"Not used to it yet. I just shrug it off most of the time."
"By the way," He asked, "I get that you became a hunter for a job, but why not pick something less dangerous?"
She gave a faint smile. "I wanted something even more dangerous. I wanted to be a slayer."
That caught Sariel's interest. "You didn't have what it takes?"
"Ouch... but yeah, no slayer master wants to train me. So, I figured I'd save up to attend a slayer academy. Until then, hunting will have to do. What about you? Do you plan to stay a hunter forever?"
"Yeah... for now, it's the only realistic option."
"Eh, fuck realism. We should chase our dreams as long as long as we ain't starving."
"You don't say." Unlucky for him, he was starving.
The waiter returned with two plates and a receipt. The total was 180 valus.
Sariel's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. He hadn't seen the receipt the first time he was here and hadn't realized how expensive it was.
Mein had warned him, but he hadn't known it would be _this_ much.
Mein wasted no time tearing into the meat with her teeth.
Sariel was surprised. She said she was hungry, but she must have really meant it.
Sariel followed suit, using a fork-like tool. He was starving too.
"Aren't you going to take off your hat?" Mein asked while food was in her mouth.
"No."
"Bad table manners."
He rolled his eyes. It was ironic coming from her.
"I have my reasons."
"Uhuh..."
They continued eating.
Mein moved onto another slice of meat. It was covered in yellow grease.
When she took a bite, tears welled up in her eyes. "This is so good..."
Sariel had to agree. The rich, delicious flavors made him want to come here every day. It was the best food he had ever tasted, though he didn't have much to compare it to, having only a week's worth of memories.
Mein paused halfway through her plate, smiling. "By the way, why didn't you get your wounds treated?"
Sariel glanced at his blood-stained shirt. "It doesn't hurt much."
"Oh, I guess it wasn't that deep."
"Yeah."
She cleared her mouth and said, "Please help me get a kill tomorrow."
She was only level 1, so she needed assistance in killing those deers
Of course, there were safer options, like hunting bunnies. It was odd that the Silverback Guild sent newbies after such dangerous animals.
"Sure, I'll try my best. But maybe we should start with weaker animals before moving on to deer."
"Sounds good."
They finished eating and went their separate ways. Sariel didn't have a home, but he slept on the roof of a building.
It was a two story tall building that seemed almost abandoned. He rarely saw anyone enter it.
It was the perfect place for him. No one to tell him get off their property.
Too bad the roof wasn't comfortable to sit or sleep on. But he made due.
Sariel looked at the sky, watching it get darker.
Usually he would stare until it became completely dark and could clearly see the stars. But today was different, he was tired. Dog tired.
As he drifted into sleep, he wondered if he would see _her_ again—the one who had given him the outline power, the one who spoke in his head whenever someone tried to read his levels.
A couple seconds passed and he was completely asleep.
When he opened his eyes again, he was floating in a void of complete darkness.
Around him were eight floating stars, their light diminishing from the first to the last, which was barely a flicker.
In front of him sat a woman on a thick golden throne. No, not an ordinary woman—she was stunningly beautiful, with unnaturally white, wavy hair that defied gravity, floating elegantly behind her. She wore a white dress fit for royalty, with a long necklace and golden armlets.
He spoke her name, "Sup, System."
Every time he slept, he ended up here.
She smiled. "How have you been?"
"You can read my mind and find out."
She rolled her eyes. "Struggling, but at least you're using my power well."
"I do appreciate it. The outlines are a game-changer."
"Still calling it that," she sighed.
There was no joy or warmth in Sariel's voice. Not because he didn't mean his words, but because he was interacting with _her_ (or _it_?)
He knew little about her, and she refused to reveal much.
"So, I see you still haven't tried the other gift I gave you," she noted.
"No. I don't trust you."
Her smile deepened. "You should. Everything I do is for your prosperity."
He didn't reply, and they stared at each other in silence.
Why should he trust her? She randomly one day appeared in his sleep and claimed she wanted to help him.
When asked why, she would repeat the same thing she just told him. For him to prosper.
It was beyond suspicious.
When he asked about her past or anything other than her name and existence, she would dodge the question.
Her name was System, and she was a sentient system. That was all she was willing to share.
After a moment, the space around them began to fade.
"See you tomorrow," she said as she disappeared.
Sariel woke up the next morning, staring at the dawn sky with little emotion.
"What a smug asshole..." he muttered. It always felt like she was toying with him.
He got up. It was time to hunt, level up, and make some money.
---
Dandy yawned as he made his way to the Silverback Hunter's Association.
Many of the hunters had been working for Silverback for years, and it showed on their bodies—scars, missing eyes, fingers, arms. But they also made incredible money. Dandy remembered seeing a Tier 3 hunter (a hunter in a Tier 3 squad, ranked from Tier 1 to 10) eating at Hansfood everyday.
He wanted that kind of money. More than that, he wanted to return to the city with a massive animal slung over his back, bleeding, with people staring in awe. Being a hunter was the coolest thing—
He bumped into a man wearing a cape adorned with a red fist symbol.
The man looked him dead in the eyes. "Move."
Dandy stepped aside without a word.
Being a hunter wasn't the coolest after all—slayers were. What was a hunter compared to a slayer? Nothing.
Hunters killed dangerous animals; slayers dealt with monsters from other dimensions and even slayers from other worlds. They were blessed by Kama with incredible, unique powers... while hunters were not.
He once wanted to be a slayer. He remembered every single slayer master looking him up and down before shaking their heads.
They all said he didn't have the talent. That he wasn't worth the investment.
Producing a slayer was expensive—both in time and money. It took years to train them and required a significant investment in armor, gear, and weaponry. Only the wealthy could afford it.
So, he tried out for the Slayer Academy, where he could have served the state instead of an individual, but even there, he was rejected. The nation didn't find him worthy.
He accepted it, but it still stung.
He continued waking. He heard a familiar voice: Sariel.
Sariel no longer had that blank expression; he seemed almost happy, talking with another guy.
The young man had purple hair, the unmistakable trait of the Museigen clan, one of the two ruling clans that controlled the North Nation.
"I didn't expect you to be a hunter, of all things," Jasper said, arms crossed. "You know, slayers and hunters have a lot of beef. Makes me kinda regret helping you." He smiled.
Sariel replied with a slight smirk. "I guess that means we have to fight someday."
"I'll win."
"Probably."
"Anyway, good to see you."
"Yeah, same. But I better go before I'm late, and to avoid your master."
"Relax. She wouldn't force you to become a slayer trainee."
"Maybe."
They bumped fists, and Sariel ran toward the Silverback Hunter's building.
Jasper leaned against the wall of a nearby clothing shop. People approached him, anxious to strike up a conversation or offering bows, but he paid them little attention.
A moment later, a woman with purple hair emerged.
She was tall, dressed in a pink outfit with a cape embroidered with pink flowers. Louis Museigen...
She and Jasper walked off together.
Dandy watched, perplexed. He had noticed Sariel got strange looks from people, especially slayers, but hadn't cared to learn more.
Now, seeing him interact so easily with a Museigen—a clan of great influence—and knowing a slayer master saw talent in him... Just who was this guy?
"You okay?" Mein asked, spotting Dandy as she made her way to the association.
"Uh... What do you know about Sariel?" He asked.
"Well, he's surprisingly kind. He treated me to Hansfood yesterday. Super cool guy. But there's something odd about him, I guess."
Dandy nodded slowly.
They entered the building and headed to the equipment room.
Inside, they found Sariel retrieving his mace from his locker. He also took a shield.
Dandy didn't know why. Sariel didn't use the shield yesterday so he doubted it would be different today.
"Sariel! How did you sleep?" Mein asked as she opened her locker.
"Pretty well. You?" Sariel responded.
"I slept with a full belly. I rarely experience that."
Sariel smiled. "Glad to hear it."
Dandy wanted to push Sariel against the wall and demand answers, but… for some reason, he felt distant.
So, he said nothing, opened his locker, and took out his spear.
Maybe it was better not to know.
With Randy missing, the squad got a newbie—a tall guy with a handsome face.
"Irish," he introduced himself, shaking hands with everyone. But when he got to Sariel, he paused.
"Oh… I've heard about you," he said.
Dandy ears perked up.
Sariel responded, "Oh?"
Mein anxiously smiled. "Damn, did he steal money from you?"
Irish looked confused. "Oh. You don't know?"
"Oh, crap. He did something weird…?"
Before he could continue, Dandy clapped loudly. "Whatever it is, it can wait! Let's get out there, hunt, and level up as much as possible!"
He didn't want to know more. He wasn't sure why.
The four of them headed out of the city, and, as always, Sariel still drew those strange looks.
Mein always found it odd, but now that she was paying attention, she saw it all clearly—the contempt, especially from the slayers. It made her anxious.
But she held her tongue.
They entered the forest, and unlike the day before, Dandy was actually hunting deer, with Irish by his side.
Sariel turned to Mein. "Want to hunt something weaker?"
"Yeah…"
The two of them wandered nearby, staying close to the forest's edge.
They spotted a centipede the size of a cat.
Sariel wanted to sneak up on it, but that failed. It sprang towards them, emitting a strange screech.
Sariel dashed forward and struck it. With one blow, it flew and slammed into a tree with a thud and fell to the ground.
He waited, expecting it to get up again, but to his surprise it was immobile. Did he really kill it with one shot...?
Mein asked, "You think it's still alive?"
"No star, so yeah. You should finish it off. Even if it makes a sudden move it would still be weak."
Mein moved in to finish it off. She wielded a war hammer so when she struck it, it sounded rather painful and crunchy.
She kept hitting it, even when the essence star was rising from it. Purple blood splashed everywhere.
Sariel said, "It's dead. You can stop now."
She was about to strike again, the hammer mid-air. She was heaving and had a lot of purple blood on her pants. She then threw the hammer to the side.
"Want to share it?" she asked.
"There isn't much to share."
"Who cares?"
They both placed his hand over the essence star, and it dispersed, flowing into both of them.