Chapter 2: Fate of the Unfortunate
"Already have what job in mind to pick after graduation?" Pieces of memory came running through Dov's mind as he walked to Tulgrolek's house. It was the voice of a mature lady, with beauty screaming from every shade of her faded image.
"I'm but a soldier. The future that I hold… depends on the needs of my people." An echo of his retort.
"Hmm… ever consider being a Hunter?"
"Those criminal chasers?"
"Um-hum~ with your view of justice, I'm sure you'll carry both His will and His law. And I know… you will keep us safe."
***
**
*
"Father? *cough!* *cough!* Father is that you?"
The violent sound of the door being opened caught the attention of Tulgrolek's daughter. The girl was stuck on her worn-out bed, unable to move due to the severity of her disease.
"Oh, you're right Dov! Even I can sense its pulse."
"You're a lightning bearer, it'll be weird if you're blind from it."
But those voices aren't her father's. Fear shrouded her body, especially as she heard one of them is a lycan. Their kind is the only possessor of the element of lightning.
"Who are they!?"
"What are they doing here!?"
"Where's father!?"
"What happened to him!?"
Questions after questions kept racing into her brain while her body shuttered hard even with its condition at the peak of its worst.
With how crowded her mind got, she couldn't even notice someone barging into her room. And when she finally came back to reality, a shadow has already painted the blanket coating her body.
In fear, she shifted her gaze and found someone standing right next to her bed. His blue bear eyes stared right at her, glowing profusely under the dimness of her room. The girl was so shocked and scared by him, that she couldn't even let a sound out of her mouth. Her face was scorching in red.
A cane was raised right above her lying body. It was the cane that she used to use when she was healthy enough to move around. And now… it was held by someone completely unknown.
"Look at that beautifully shaped body, even an infant can tell she's a succubus—a demon that extracts lust from other races. If only he let her do just that, she won't be sick in the first place."
Dov sighed. Yet Turgolek's daughter couldn't hear it due to the intense amount of fear coursing through her brain.
"Although… if there were still plenty of men (human) on this continent, this pitiful state of her would easily get avoided. Succubi instinct is so sensitive before a being flooded with lust."
Her pale ashen skin was full of eerie blue marks, a sign that she suffered from energy deficiency, or severe starvation in other races' language.
"Poor soul, may you find peace."
The Hunter proceeded to stab that cane as hard as he could straight to her heart, ending her suffering once and for all. Her blood flowed out like a slithering snail, it just showed how weak her body had already gotten.
". . ."
*
"Hey, Dov, I'm done collecting the ball!"
Hearing Celene shouted from the living room, Dov took his way out and leave the dead succubus alone. Since he already asked the bartender to clean his mess, the girl will at least get her body earthed. Though whether she'll get a proper burial or not is another story.
"I'm done with mine as well."
Celene could sense the act Dov just committed, and meeting him in the hallway made it even clearer. She smelled the thick smell of blood coming from where he walked out. She know what he did to the daughter, yet she decided to not question it.
"So? What's next?" She asked the masked Hunter right after leaving the house.
"We'll be collecting some intel from a Broker."
"Someone from the guild?"
"Correct. The meeting point is at the end of Hazinite Bridge."
As a Hunter, both Dov and Celene work for the Adventurer's Guild. Hunter is one out of five professions someone needs to take after being an accomplished adventurer. Their job is to hunt down criminals ranging from petty thieves to powerful warmongers.
Every adventurer is destined to be strong as they can gain power from leveling up and completing all kinds of commissions of achievements. But Hunters… they need to be stronger, as it's not seldom that the target of their hunt is also an adventurer.
Another profession someone could take is the Broker. They are like the lifeline of Adventurer's Guild as they're the ones who store information and knowledge about everything. That's right, everything.
From something known by the public to pieces of information guarded by all the 9 Champions of Elements.
It is why someone needs to spend years, decades, or even centuries to course through the 6 adventurer ranks (Bronze-Silver-Gold-Platinum-Palladium-Rhodium), so they can finally gain a profession. They are hardcore jobs that need utmost talent and experience, so they won't end up dead.
A ring on Dov's index shined and a portal opened right before it. His hand went inside and started rummaging whatever items he had in there.
"That bridge is also a village, right?" Celene tried to ensure.
"A market and fisherman village to be precise."
After a while, Dov finally pulled out his hand out of his portal. With it came a long thin weapon, fully covered in black bandages. By the shape of it, one can be sure that it was a sword, and purple runes were written all over the bandages. Though they didn't seem to be active judging by the lack of glow they're having.
"What is that?" Celene grew curious.
"This mission scale is quite large, it's better to prepare for the worst that could happen."
Dov strapped that bandaged sword and let it hang on his back. The weapon's length is not to be underestimated as its top goes taller than Dov's head while its bottom almost touched the back of his knee.
"Ehh? But isn't your usual weapon already pretty powerful? How can a sword even top that?" Celene glanced at the huge black pistol attached to his waist.
"We're adventurers, Celene. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out."
Amid the business from the talking of those two, a golden-haired dog suddenly popped right next to them. It carried an empty bag on its back, with a mail logo painted on top of it.
"Oh! It's here!"
Celene saw it, then put the crystal ball in her hand inside and closed the bag tight with a faint smile on her face. A golden portal went open soon after she was finished, and the dog quickly hopped into it, delivering the stolen goods back to the Hunter HQ.
"You look relieved." Said Dov. "You still care about the lycans."
Hearing him Celene turned silent and mellow for a while. She stared upon the bright moon, as she always reminded her of home.
"They might have ended my pack, but…" She took a deep breath. "A kin is always a kin."
Dov didn't go further with the topic. He just nodded as he respected her view regarding the lycans.
"Now with that done, let's travel to Hazinite. It'll take us 18 hours to walk there." Said Dov moving on.
"Should we take some rest first? It's peak night you know." The lady suggested. It was cold, dark, and windy on the edge of this winter province.
"We're both nocturnal creatures, Celene. Stop jesting around." His monotone voice just made it sound more demeaning.
*
The two of them headed east from the Forgotten Meadow through the woody forest filled with tall trees and cold dews coating every leaf and grass. They arrived at the entrance of Hazinite Bridge village after 24 hours of walking.
It's not that Dov miscalculated, but as a nocturnal, they both sleep when the sun is at her peak. They made a hidden camp away from the road since sleeping in the middle of the day just makes them a suitable target for the local bandits.
There are a lot of them here lately since a lot of refugees travel through here to find safety in the Forgotten Meadow—the one and only village in the human province that's not covered in snow.
***
"Hm?"
The moment they arrived, they were greeted by the sight of demons and dark elves hurriedly trying to get away from the village.
"What's wrong, Dov?" Celene asked. Although she can also sense there's something not right happening.
"This place is a haven for traders and fishermen, which are highly active at night. For them to leave mean there is something bad happening at the bridge." The masked Hunter retorted.
"Hey!" Celene suddenly grabbed one of the fleeing demons. "Is there a problem? Why is everyone leaving?"
"Huh…? A Lycan?" The demon stared at that tall woman confusedly. But his eyes quickly lit up as he saw Dov standing beside her. "Night Bear!? You guys are Hunters! Thank the All-father… the bridge will finally be clear again." He looked so relieved, even his eyes dripped in water.
"Please hold your excitement. It's incredibly saddened me to inform you this, but our mission might differ from what's clinging onto your mind." Dov stepped closer to stop the false hope.
"Care to explain what happened on the bridge?" Celene asked.
"Ah, of course! Apologies…" The demon's light turned dim. "You see… a couple of vampires suddenly arrived not too long ago."
"Vampires?"
"That's right! Usually they're pretty chill, some even regulars at my shop. But tonight… they seemed to be on a hunt for maidens! E-even worst, they also turned people left and right into ghouls!" The way the demon's eyes opened and trembled tells that one of his family, friends, or relatives is one of the turned.
"So they're making an army…" Dov thought to himself.
"I see… thank you for your information, mister." Celene bowed. The demon bowed back and proceed to leave in a worried yet hopeful manner.
"What should we do now, Dov?" Celene asked.
"Our mission remained the same, meet the informant at the meeting point." He affirmed.
"Can we just help the residents? It won't be hard for us to beat vampires, right?"
"We're Hunters, not Protectors, Celene. We must not stray from our mission." Dov reminded her.
"Uh— Understood…" The lycan looked somewhat disappointed, but she can't go against Dov, as she's but an apprentice compared to him who's a veteran.
"But if that bothered you, we can ask our informant about it when we meet them. They might have something for us regarding the vampire."
Celene went cheered seeing that side of Dov. "Ahaha… yeah, I supposed so."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone