15 – The Reason for a Hunter's Existence
"Welcome to the Command Room."
Of course, Alex's attention was immediately drawn to the environment in front of him, which was almost unbelievable.
"You'll need this. Take it with you, and don't eat it."
The General took out a package of candy and gave it to Alex. It looked like the kind of candy that was rarely found in regular stores around the city. Just from the packaging, it was easy to tell that it was a high-class product.
"What should I do with these sweets?"
The entire room was filled with about a hundred employees. Only a few of them were hunters, and when they saw the General, despite their surprise, they immediately went ahead and greeted her as politely as possible without neglecting their duties.
"Ma'am Natasha, what are you doing here?"
"Felix, didn't I tell you not to call me by my name at work?"
"Understood, General. What have you brought this time?"
Felix's brown eyes looked as though they could light up an entire district with their brightness.
The General took a bag of candy and gave it to Felix, who jumped for joy. Without wasting any more time, he opened it and began eating the sweets right there.
"Ma'am Natasha, thank you very much. Ma'am, who is that behind you?"
All the General could do was sigh. She had already made the necessary correction, but even though Felix was brilliant, he was still just a boy.
"He's a recruit I found causing trouble, so I decided to bring him here to play with you. How about that?"
To Alex's surprise, Felix's bright eyes turned toward him, and he raised his hands. Only when the General reminded him did he finally understand.
Alex took the bag of candy he had been carrying and kindly gave it to little Felix, who jumped for joy and stuffed his mouth with candy.
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty. These sweets are very good."
Alex could barely understand what Felix was saying because his mouth was full of candy.
Alert! Alert! Alert!
Before Alex could question the way he had been addressed, the huge holographic screens displayed red alert signs.
"What do you have, Felix?"
The General's voice rang out loud and clear. Everyone focused on identifying the problem, while Felix took the lead, operating the central panel.
"General, we have a dungeon breach in District 9."
The central panel displayed an area with several monsters passing through a red-tinted dungeon portal.
"What's the status? I want a summary and a complete report on the area and the dungeon."
At the General's request, everyone quickly gathered all the information about the dungeon and the district in question. Alex was the first to speak, with a naturalness that defied his apparent age.
"General, the dungeon was under the guardianship of the White Tiger Guild."
Increasing the speed at which he clicked on the keyboard, Alex continued.
"The military has already been dispatched. They arrived five minutes ago."
"Quickly, send a mandatory appearance notice to the hunters near that district. They must evacuate the population to a safe zone."
"Establish communication with the designated pilot."
A second later, several screens displayed the military rushing toward District 9 in their trucks.
"Create a perimeter around the dungeon gate. Collaborate with the hunters to ensure the safety of the civilians."
"As you wish, General."
On the other side of the holographic screen, the military shouted in unison as they rushed to the scene.
"How can there be a dungeon break out of nowhere? Why didn't the White Tiger request help from the Association or another guild if they weren't capable of clearing the dungeon?"
The General seemed visibly annoyed by the situation.
"General, according to the information they sent, the dungeon had already been cleared a few days ago. The thirty-day period had not yet expired for the dungeon to restart."
One of the employees at the site spoke hurriedly.
"Then what the hell am I looking at, Felix?"
"General."
"Analyze the validity of this report, and call Team C to deal with this breach."
"General, the report is legitimate. The team that is currently—"
"Team A is currently in a state of emergency, and those available are too far away to respond to the emergency."
Hearing the situation report, the beautiful General took only a second to assemble a team in her mind.
"Summon a wizard who can use long-distance teleportation. Bring Joana and Arnaldo here."
The General looked at Alex and smiled slightly.
"Felix, shapeshift and take Alex to change. You've been locked in here for too long."
"Sis, why me? Don't send me out there, please. The monsters are too scary."
"Felix, we don't have time for your tantrums. Quickly change shape and get ready to leave. Arnaldo will be your leader. What are you worrying about?"
The General kicked Alex out of his chair, sending him stumbling right next to Alex.
"Ma'am Natasha, please spare me. We currently have 48 mission teams. I must stay here to coordinate them. It's not like there's another genius like me."
"Idiot, that's not exactly why I'm sending you on this mission. I need your genius brain to figure out why a dungeon that was already cleared suddenly had a breach."
"General, I just joined the Association. Is it okay for me to participate in a mission on my first day?"
"Don't worry. You'll be under the protection of the Sword Saint."
"Your Majesty, it's better to do what your sister tells you. Otherwise, we'll suffer a lot."
"Your Majesty? Why are you treating me this way?"
"I can see your Majesty's attribute window. Your class is unique, King of Camelot."
"Is it a skill...?"
"Go now. People are dying. Do you want me to hold you two responsible?"
Felix, who until then had looked like an eight-year-old child, began to grow at a visible rate until he reached adulthood in just a few steps. Alex's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What are you looking at, Your Majesty? Have you never seen someone grow before?"
Before Alex could respond, the General's crimson eyes exuded coldness, reminding them of the urgency of the situation. The two hurried to leave the operations room. Together with the staff, the General began coordinating and dispatching the 48 teams that were on missions at the time.
---
As Alex and the now-adult Felix left, they found more people waiting for them, two of whom Alex recognized from having seen them before.
Alex now wore the same suit that all members of the Hunters' Association usually wore. Of course, although it displayed the same design, what he wore was a specific uniform for missions, made with materials extracted from dungeons.
"Turn on your cameras, and you can proceed with the mission."
"You must clear the dungeon and find out what caused the breach."
"Understood."
Arnaldo responded calmly.
"Please join hands so I can begin the teleportation."
The magician, who used her authority over space to initiate a collective teleportation, caused Joana, Felix, Arnaldo, and Alex to disappear in a flash of white light.
"Newbie, let me introduce myself. I'm Arnaldo, the Sword Saint. Joana and I were your father's students. Since this is your first mission, just stay behind Felix. Joana and I will take care of everything, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Don't call me that. I'm not your boss. We're all teammates here. Just call me by my name."
The group of four went to the area where the military had set up a garrison.
"Hey, where did you go? I waited a long time for you in the combat room," Joana asked Alex in a low voice, showing curiosity.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you later."
Alex remembered the experience he had earlier and decided not to think about it too much, choosing instead to focus on the mission in front of him.
"You guys, this is a restricted area. You can't go any further."
Two armed soldiers stopped the Sword Saint's group.
"Relax. We're from the Hunters' Association. We came to help you with this mission."
Arnaldo presented his credentials, and Alex and the others did the same.
"Sword Saint, forgive us for our rudeness. We just..."
"Relax, officer. You're just doing your job. However, can we come in?"
"Of course. Please, come in."
The group of four continued moving forward until they reached a large tent that had been built on the rubble of a completely destroyed store.
Alex looked around. The destruction was remarkable. Several buildings had completely collapsed. The military and some civilians working with the medical brigade collected the corpses, some killed by the rubble and others devoured and completely torn apart by the monsters.
The screams of mourners filled the place. Mothers and fathers had lost their children, while children had lost their parents and friends.
Alex looked at a little girl who was crying for her dead mother and father. She held a stuffed doll as she cried and struggled to see the corpses of her parents.
An elderly father who no longer had the strength to work now stared at the corpse of his son, the only person who had provided him with any sustenance. Now that the only person who took care of him was dead, what would become of the poor old man?
Alex saw the old man mourning his son, who had sacrificed himself to save his poor father, even when he had asked him to abandon him and save his own life. The father's guilt weighed heavily on Alex's heart.
"Newbie, keep this scene in mind. This is the reason we hunters exist. It is to prevent this kind of tragedy."
The Sword Saint's eyes were firm and resolute, giving weight to his words.
"We don't exist to get rich in dungeons. We exist to protect those who can't protect themselves. Do you understand?"