The screen didn't lie.
André's rank B was confirmed.
For a moment, the tension in the Hunter Center eased. The guards lowered their weapons, though their fingers still hovered near their triggers. The red emergency lights flickered before shutting off, leaving only the dim glow of overhead bulbs.
Cain exhaled slowly. "So it's true."
His voice lacked emotion, but Lucas could see it in his eyes. He was still processing, still piecing together the inconsistencies in his head.
Lucas forced a smirk. "Told you we weren't lying."
Cain didn't rise to the bait. His gaze flicked back to the woman in the black uniform the one who had checked André's credentials.
"Is there anything else?" he asked her.
She hesitated. Then, with a small shake of her head, she turned the tablet toward Cain. "The data's clean. No abnormalities in his record."
Lucas didn't miss the way she avoided mentioning the glitch.
That single, haunting line:
[Status: ERROR]
It had vanished from the screen the second she rebooted the system. As if it had never been there.
Lucas knew better.
So did Cain.
But for now, neither of them pressed the issue.
Cain finally looked at André, his sharp eyes scanning him once more, as if searching for something unseen.
Then he exhaled and gave a small nod. "Alright. You check out."
Lucas expected relief to wash over him, but it never came.
Instead, Cain's next words sent a chill down his spine.
"But I'll be watching you both."
The registration process took another ten minutes. Standard procedure. They handed over their Hunter ID cards, and the system logged their presence in Sola City.
A necessary step for anyone who entered through official means.
By the time they stepped outside, the sky was beginning to brighten with the first hints of dawn.
André stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders. "That was annoying."
Lucas snorted. "Welcome to dealing with assholes in power."
André shot him a side glance. "You mean you?"
Lucas grinned. "Nah. I'm a different kind of asshole."
André chuckled softly, but his amusement was brief. He glanced back at the massive steel gates of the Hunter Center, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"You think they'll come after us?"
Lucas shrugged. "Not right now. But we just painted a target on our backs."
André didn't respond. He didn't have to.
They both knew the truth.
People like Cain never let go of suspicion.
The streets of Sola City were quiet at this hour. Most shops were still closed, and the usual crowds of hunters had yet to appear.
They walked for a while in silence until Lucas finally gestured toward a narrow alleyway.
"There's an inn down this way. Cheap, but good enough for a night's rest."
André raised an eyebrow. "You've been here before?"
Lucas hesitated for half a second. "Yeah. A few times."
They reached the entrance a small, run-down building wedged between two larger structures. A flickering neon sign read "Wayfarer's Rest."
André glanced around. "Not the nicest place."
Lucas smirked. "Not the worst, either."
Inside, the lobby was dimly lit, the air thick with the scent of old wood and cheap alcohol. A bored-looking clerk barely glanced at them before handing over a key in exchange for a handful of credits.
Lucas took it without a word and led André up the stairs.
Their room was small. Two beds, a single window overlooking the street, and a worn-down desk covered in scratches.
Lucas threw himself onto one of the beds with a sigh.
André sat down on the other, watching him. "You knew your way here fast."
Lucas stared at the ceiling. "Yeah."
Silence.
Then
"You don't have a home, do you?"
Lucas didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
André didn't push. He just leaned back against the wall, waiting.
Finally, after a long pause, Lucas exhaled and spoke.
"My parents died when I was ten."
André's expression didn't change, but his eyes sharpened. "How?"
Lucas turned his head, staring at the ceiling again.
"An open dungeon."
The words came out quietly, but they carried a weight that settled heavily in the air.
"A breach happened right outside our home. Monsters flooded the streets. My parents tried to run, but "
He stopped.
His fingers clenched around the bedsheets.
André didn't speak. He just waited.
Lucas let out a short, humorless chuckle.
"They were civilians. Normal people don't survive things like that."
For a moment, the only sound was the faint hum of the city outside.
Then André finally spoke. "And you?"
Lucas closed his eyes. "I lived. Barely."
After that, there was no home to go back to.
So he drifted.
Sleeping in inns. Abandoned buildings. Wherever he could.
Surviving.
Until he was old enough to pick up a weapon and fight back.
André exhaled softly. "I see."
And that was it.
No pity. No empty words.
Just understanding.
Lucas appreciated that.
---
Outside, the city was beginning to wake.
Sola City one of the largest hunter zones in the world.
A place where forty S-rank hunters resided.
And that wasn't counting the SS-ranked monsters that lurked beyond the city walls.
It had been forty years since the dungeons first appeared.
No one knew exactly why or how.
But the moment those rifts tore through reality, the world changed.
People awakened abilities.
Hunters were born.
And humanity was forced to fight for survival.
The ranking system had become the foundation of everything.
From weakest to strongest:
F → E → D → C → B → A → S → SS → SSS.
Those at the bottom struggled to survive.
Those at the top became legends.
Lucas wasn't sure where he fit in yet.
But one thing was certain.
He wasn't staying at the bottom.
A knock at the door.
Both Lucas and André snapped to attention.
André reached for his dagger.
Lucas quietly moved toward the door, fingers hovering near his blade.
Another knock.
This time, followed by a voice.
"Cain wants to see you."
Lucas felt his heartbeat slow.
His gaze met André's.
Neither of them moved.
Then Lucas smirked slightly. "Well… that didn't take long."
André exhaled, standing up. "What do you want to do?"
Lucas tilted his head, considering.
Then
He unlocked the door.