Chapter 20: Join the Greatest
In the Hunters Association meeting, The Guildmasters gather once again.
"I thank all of you good hunters. Gates that spontaneously appeared in different areas of Shakunetsu were successfully nullified." Kyouko said.
"It's nothing too serious. Just doing our job as Hunters." Mylan said while sipping on tea.
"And I'd like to apologize to Mr. Han for letting Leo Howard lead a raid claimed by the Fox Guild. I just thought it would make a good debut for him." Kyouko said.
"I am a humble man, such things do not faze me." Han said.
"Ho, I'm sure you're going to take out all your anger on the employees." Diego said.
"I am not an abusive employer like you are, Diego." Han said.
"Huh? It's called training. I don't want any wimp in my Guild." Diego said.
"**Smokes** You guys are so annoying." Katerina said with her feet on the table.
"Ms. Katerina, for the last time, this is not a smoking area." Kyouko said.
"Oops, My Bad."
"In two days, the recruiting day will begin. I wish you all luck and may you get the Hunters you seek." Kyouko said.
In Lyam's Apartment, Lyam classifies his books while Sherry sits on the couch with her legs crossed.
"Woah, Leo Howard is amazing. He didn't even leave a mark as he left the Dungeon. As expected of an S-Rank Hunter." Lyam said.
"..."
"Sherry, What's wrong? You've been quiet the whole time." Lyam asked.
"I finally saw my brother in a long time, when all this time I thought he was dead."
"You saw your brother? That's amazing."
"Not really amazing!"
"Sherry..."
"My mother ran away from us when we were still young, my father died, and my brother was the only family I had left. He worked so hard to make sure I was well-fed and properly taken care of, but I kept ridiculing him just so I could fit in with my Delinquent friends. I'm the worst sister aren't I...?"
"..."
"I want to apologize but I'm too ashamed. I'm afraid he'll turn me away. He's my only family."
"... When we got together, you used to preach about how your brother was a kind soul and the best sibling anyone could ask for. You were young when you did all that, I'm sure your brother understands. If he truly is a kind brother then he's already forgiven you."
"Thanks, Lyam, I'm glad I dated you."
Meanwhile elsewhere in the South City. Leo leaves the salon with his hair dreaded, dressed in a black hoodie, grey jeans, and white sneakers.
Leo starts to walk down the streets with his hands in his pockets.
(Ever since my first time leading a raid, This Side Quest Screen has been popping up. I tried to ignore it but it just won't go away. And deleting it is not an option.) "Accept Side Quest."
{Side Quest Accepted. Sending you location}
A Map appears on the red screen, showing Leo the map of his location. He clicks the screen and starts to follow its directions.
Leo keeps following the map and a few minutes later, he arrives at a crowded place in the South City, and before him is the South City Mall.
(A Mall? What's going on here?)
A portal opens before Leo. Leo looks around to see everyone's reactions but the people still keep minding their business.
(There are no abnormalities, Meaning this is not a real gate.)
Leo places his hand in the portal, following it with his whole body. He ends up in a different dimension where the mall is engulfed in flames.
{Welcome to Side Quest. Emperors must go through Side Quests after Defeating three city level Enemies}
(The System considers me an Emperor? Now that I think of it, Why me? What's with this system thing that's been happening to me? I won't question it but will find the answers soon enough.)
{Objective: Defeat 30,000 Enemies in two days. Failure to oblige will result in a penalty}
"Two days huh? Equip Item, Demon Blade Yagura."
{Access Denied. You may not use weapons with Damage +80}
"I See, because if I do then the Quest will be easy. Humph, how foolish."
{Side Quest Level:1. The Burning Mall}
"Equip item, Leo's lightning sword."
{Access Granted. Item Equipped: Leo's Lightning Sword}
"I can't use Spatial Manipulation to escape huh? Well then, Shall we get started."
Meanwhile in Davis's Household.
"That bastard Leo, How dare he embarrass me like that." Davis said with an angry tone.
"Mommy, Why is Daddy so angry?" Their Child asked.
"Don't mind it, sweetie, Daddy's just having a lot on his mind." Ava said.
"How did he survive that Dungeon? Those Demonic beasts were monsters. There's no way he could've won when Mr. Walker and Mr. Adelbert struggled against them." Davis asked.
"With his new strength, I say it's possible Leo defeated them. But Leo was never like that."
"A Reawakening, I'm that what it was. But no matter, this time I'll make sure he stays down for good."
"Davis..."
Two Days later, The Hunters Recruitment Day begins. Hunter Agencies approach many different kinds of Hunters in the hope of recruiting.
Meanwhile Inside the Side Dungeon. Leo sits over many beast corpses, panting hard, while the other Demonic beasts just stare him down.
{Enemies Defeated:10,000/30,000}
{Item Acquired: Teleportation Stone}
"I only managed to defeat 10,000 Enemies in the period I've been given. Shows that I still have a long way to go. I'll come back later."
Leo uses the Teleportation Stone to create a portal and escape back to the real world. He pops up amidst the crowd and he puts on his hoodie to blend in and walks home.
A Few Minutes later, He arrives at home with his groceries in hand.
"You sure took your time. I waited for so long." Said the voice of a mysterious woman.
Leo flinches and draws out his sword from his inventory.
(What's with this energy? It's on a different level.)
"Relax, It's just me."
"Huh?"
He sees a blonde woman, dressed in a green shirt, black tight pants, and black heel boots, wearing a lion fur coat. The woman was none other than Katerina.
"My Name is Katerina, Guildmaster of the Lion's Guild. Can we talk?"
"Uh, Sure."
Leo draws back his sword.
(I never knew there was a human with such a level. I thought I surpassed the normal hunter level. Was I clouding my mind with lies.)
"May I have a drink?" Katerina asked.
"O-Okay. Coffee or tea?"
"Do you have liquor?"
(Liquor during the day?! Is she okay?!) "Well I do have liquor but I don't think it's good during the day."
"I'll take it."
(She's completely nuts.)
Leo grabs a wine bottle and pours her wine into the glass.
"Thank you."
"So Ms. Katerina, What brings you to my home?" (Worse when I'm not around! How did you do it?!)
"Normally I'd let the scouts handle it but I personally wanted to meet you myself. A Professional in Swordplay that he's been given the name Master of Swords."
"Okay..."
"Leo Howard, I'd like for you to join the Lion's Guild."
"The Number One Guild in Shakunetsu."
"That's right. We have great services and will provide you with anything you request."
"For Someone like me, Isn't that a bit much."
"Having great numbers does not guarantee great strength. Shakunetsu might have the most S-Rank Hunters but in military ranking, It's ranked Fifth. Same with the Lion's Guild, In the World Guild ranking, we're currently number six. The Lion's Guild already has three S-Rank Hunters, We can climb the ranks and increase Shakunetsu's world ranking."
"So you want to use me for your own benefit... now I'm starting to reconsider."
"Originally I sent Akari to gain intel on you but she seems to have gotten attached to you. If you are not to join, It will sadden her greatly."
"..."
"I took all the effort to come recruit you myself. So what is your response, Leo Howard?"
"...My Goal...Is to become a Hunter my father can be proud of. After I learned what type of Hunter he truly was, I planned on being better than him. If the Lion's Guild will help me achieve that goal then fine, I'll join your Guild."
"That's great, here are the paperwork." Katerina said with a smile.
Katerina hands Leo papers to sign, Leo signs the paper and hands it back.
"Welcome abroad, Leo. And one more thing...can you pour me an extra glass? Your wine is the best."
(Is this woman really okay?)
Next Day in the Lion's Guild building, Piper is dropped off by her chauffeur at the entrance of the building.
She's dressed in a white t-shirt with a blue jacket on top, with blue jeans and blue sneakers.
She walks into the building and the one to greet her is Akari.
"Piper!"
"Akari!"
Akari runs towards Piper and gives her a warm hug.
"I heard you've been working hard, Akari. Good job, Just keep that up."
"Piper-chan, I've been working hard too, Please give me a hug?" Benimaru asked.
"Shut up creep."
A Man with Green hair dressed in a green suit walks into the building and the woman of the building starts to cheer for him.
"It's really great to see you you're still doing well, Ms. Taylor."
[Eliott _ Magazine Model and A-Rank Hunter of the Lion's Guild]
"Oh great, Who invited Mr. Pretty pants?" Benimaru sarcastically asked.
"No need to be like that, Benimaru. That's why women don't approach you." Eliott said.
"Shut up! Plenty of women approach me!" Benimaru said.
"**Sighs** But why do you think the Guildmaster called us on our day off?" Piper asked. 'Worse when I was going to spend the whole day with Leo!'
"Good, looks like everyone is here!"
Katerina walks into the building dressed in only an oversized t-shirt and sneakers.
"Guildmaster...What are you wearing?" Piper asked.
"It's our day off so I can wear whatever I want." Katerina said while smoking a cigarette.
"Ms. Katerina, Our sole job in this Guild is to find suitable hunters that may join us. Yesterday, why didn't you allow us to?"
[Gabriel _ Leader of the Lion's Guild's Human Resources Function]
"Because I wanted to do it myself. And thanks to that, I found an awesome recruit."
"Guildmaster, you recruited?" Piper asked.
"Yeah, That's why I called you all here, to introduce our new recruit. Please come in."
Leo walks into the building and everyone in the building just stares in shock.
"Hunters and Staff members of the Lion's Guild, I'd like to welcome our newest member. S-Rank Hunter, Leo Howard."
"Leo!" Piper and Akari both shouted at the same time.
Everyone in the Guild just stares at the both of them and they begin to blush.
"That's right, Starting today, He's now a Hunter of the Lion's Guild."
'I've never seen the Captain's face flustered like that. That bastard Leo, getting one step ahead of me before we even began.' Benimaru said.
"So that's the man I've been competing with for the front cover of the weekly magazine. He doesn't look as elegant as I am."
"I'm Leo Howard, Thanks for having me here."
'Ms. Katerina, You actually recruited him.' Akari said to herself.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Lord_Felix
Lord_Felix If you like it please add it to your Collections.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone