Luna, Jamal, and Sunny arrive back home, the reward from the hunt totaling thirty-five grand. Luna is handed her cut of five grand, while Jamal receives six grand as compensation for the money he spent during the mission.
Sunny smiles as she explains, "I would've given yall a bigger cut, but the house still needs work. While the power is running, the wiring still needs fixing. Plus, I'm using a chunk of this cash to finish the second bathroom before I start on the third one."
Luna nods while counting her money. "So, what's next?" she asks, setting her cash on the counter.
Sunny leans against the wall, her smile widening. "I was thinking we could go after an A-rank monster next, maybe even an A-plus. I also got a tip about a monster in Las Vegas. Not much is known about it, though, which adds an extra four grand to the payout."
Luna raises an eyebrow. "So, the less info we have about the hunt, the more money we get?"
Sunny nods. "Yep. High risk, high reward."
Luna tilts her head thoughtfully. "I see. Well, I'm gonna work on learning the rest of the spells in that book I got. Light Force, Mud Wall, and Rubber Ground are great, but I'm sure other monsters will adapt to them if a fight drags on."
Sunny's face lights up with pride. She pats Luna on the head. "Atta girl!"
Luna smiles at the encouragement before running off to study the three additional spells.
Meanwhile, Jamal is at the table, working on his guitar, repainting it to restore its vibrant red finish. He hums a tune as he works, clearly enjoying himself. Sronk walks in, silently handing Jamal a key and pointing to a nearby door.
Jamal nods in thanks. "Thanks for the key to my room."
Sronk grunts in acknowledgment before turning and walking away.
"A man of few words," Jamal chuckles, shaking his head as he continues to play a few chords, practicing with a grin.
Sunny walks past, bopping her head to the music before peeking outside. She spots Luna practicing her spell training in the yard. Sunny watches as Luna summons a pillar beneath her feet but loses her balance and stumbles. Sunny swiftly rushes in, catching Luna before she can fall.
Luna blinks in surprise, realizing she's in Sunny's arms, her cheeks flushing slightly. "T-thanks!" she stammers before hopping down and quickly returning to practicing her pillar spell.
Sunny smiles and heads back inside, sighing as she remembers all the work the house still needs. She steps out to her RV to collect her tools and begins working on the interior of one of the bedrooms, nodding in satisfaction at the progress Sronk has made on the lighting.
As Sunny works on the wiring in the room, she feels her pocket vibrating. Pulling out her phone, she answers, "What?"
On the other end, she hears Emmerich's voice. "Hello, Sunny. Good job on that hunt. How were Luna and Jamal?"
Sunny rolls her eyes. "They did great. Is there anything you need? Because I know you're not calling just to ask about my day."
There's a brief pause before Emmerich responds. "Well, I was calling to inform you that the vampire you and your team hunted was the youngest of her family. She has four older brothers, two older sisters, and her mother is still alive—though the father is out of the picture."
Sunny sighs at the news. "I see. Well, if I catch wind of their bounties, I'll see if my team wants to go after them."
Another pause. "I see. Well, I'll let you go now. I've got more calls to make." Without waiting for a reply, he hangs up.
Sunny stares at her phone before rolling her eyes. "Stuck-up prick," she mutters, sliding the phone back into her pocket and getting back to work.
Sronk steps outside to check on Luna and sees her practicing in the backyard, creating pillars. He nods approvingly before heading back inside to grab a glass of lemonade and a chair. Returning to the yard, he sits down to watch.
As Luna continues summoning pillars, Sronk waves her over. Once she approaches, he pulls out a piece of paper and sketches a pillar with a sharp, pointed tip. Then he draws a stick figure that resembles Luna with a representation of mana around her. He points to the mana and the pillar, forming a triangle with his hands.
Luna tilts her head in confusion. Watching her reaction, Sronk pulls out a pocket knife and points to its sharp tip.
"Do you want me to make the pillar like a spear or something?" Luna asks.
Sronk nods. Luna's eyes widen as she tries to follow his instructions. To her surprise, she successfully sharpens the tip of the pillar with her mana. Excited by the new technique, Luna begins experimenting with other ways to manipulate her magic.
Sronk watches quietly as Luna continues practicing. A little while later, Sunny comes outside to check on her. She notices Luna trying new things with her spells and smiles.
After an hour and a half of training, Luna takes a break and walks over to Sunny. "Should I practice with a weapon?" she asks.
Sunny pauses, considering the question. "Well, how about you start with a dagger and a pistol? How does that sound?"
Luna nods eagerly. "A dagger or a knife would work, yeah."
Sunny walks off and returns with a knife, a dagger, and a small case. She opens the case to reveal a Glock 19. "This will be the handgun you'll practice with!" Sunny says, smiling as she places the handgun on the table.
"Alright, partner, try practicing with both of these weapons. I'll go grab some dummies for target practice."
Luna picks up the knife and dagger, holding one in each hand. As she swings them experimentally in the backyard, she's surprised by how natural it feels. "Whoa! I'm better at this than I thought I'd be!" she exclaims, letting out a laugh.
Suddenly, Alter appears beside her. "Good choice of weapons," Alter says.
Luna turns to Alter, slightly startled. "Oh, uh, thanks? Sunny picked them out for me!"
Alter smiles faintly, though her eyes remain cold. "No, the weapons choose the wielder. And the person who wields the weapon must learn to master it. After all, you don't want to just be someone holding a sword—you want to be a swordsman."
Hearing this, Luna begins to reflect. "Am I just a person using magic, or am I a proper magic user?" The thought strikes a chord, motivating her to double down on her training.
As Luna practices with the knife, Sunny steps away to make a phone call to the Sanctum Den in Aspen, inquiring about the hunt in Las Vegas. After wrapping up the call, she comes back outside to set up the dummies and smiles as she sees Luna training.
"By the way," Sunny says, "the hunt in Las Vegas is on. We'll head out in a week!"
Luna gives her a thumbs-up, her excitement evident. "So, what do you know about the monster or whatever we're hunting?"
Sunny shrugs. "No clue. The hunt pays a fair bit more because of that, but I'm certain we'll be fine."
Luna nods and goes back to training, now even more excited for the upcoming hunt.
Sunny heads back inside and hears some commotion coming from Jamal's room. Curious, she walks over to check on him and finds him setting up soundproof padding on the walls.
She smiles, quietly amused, before turning away and getting back to work on the house.
The whole group is now preparing for their next hunt, excitement building for their trip to Las Vegas!