THUD
“Someone just got out of the gate…..”
As I heard the voice of the person right before me, I felt the cold breeze of the night.
“Hey!” The man who approached me was dressed in a crisp uniform with the emblem of the Hunter’s Association emblazoned on it. His stern expression and steely eyes gave off an aura of authority. He looked me up and down, assessing me.
“State your name and Hunter ID,” he demanded, a notepad in hand.
I took a moment to collect my thoughts before responding.
‘He must be from the association. I guess others have already left, and this place is being referred to as the crime scene.’
Remembering the familiar scene from the game, I collected my thoughts.
“I’m Astron Natusalune, a student of the Arcadia Hunter Academy. Here you can see my ID.”
He jotted down the information, then looked at me expectantly. “Cadet of Arcadia Hunter Academy, huh?” He seemed to have confirmed my identity as his gaze turned from squinting to understanding.
“You were inside the dungeon for quite some time. We need to debrief you regarding your experience.”
As they escorted me to a waiting area, I started recounting what happened inside this place, starting from the betrayal of Fred and how I got swept off by the attack of the boss monster of the dungeon.
And then, I explained how I was suddenly sucked into another gate randomly and trapped in a different space than the environment of the dungeon, possibly giving them the definitions of the hidden stages.
Since that fact wasn’t much known at this point in time, I didn’t use the term ‘Hidden Stage’ but simply counted my experience inside.
The official listened intently, scribbling notes as I spoke. “Your encounter with the Time Guardian is quite unusual. The initial investigation teams have reported no signs of such a creature. We’ll need to conduct a thorough analysis of the area.”
Even though I could see him trying to cover it as an abnormality, I knew he was aware of the fact that this was a hidden stage.
“Then, what about Fred Niels? Have you encountered him inside there?”
Of course, I wasn’t going to announce that I killed Fred there. I needed him to stay alive in the records of government for now. After all, giving my name would do more harm than good for now.
“No, I haven’t. The moment I was swept off by the Embertree Spirit’s attack, I hadn’t encountered anything else.”
The investigator leaned back, folding his hands in contemplation. His poker face was hard to read, giving away nothing of his thoughts. I could tell he was assessing my story, looking for any inconsistencies or signs of deceit.
“Your experience is indeed unique and raises some questions. We will thoroughly investigate this matter,” he finally responded, his voice neutral.
I nodded simply without showing any signs of doubt or nervousness. “I’m willing to cooperate in any way I can to aid your investigation. I believe what I encountered in that dungeon is a significant deviation from the norm.”
He nodded in acknowledgment. “Your cooperation is vital. We will conduct further inquiries and may need to debrief you again as the investigation progresses. For now, you are free to leave but remain available for further questioning.”
“Understood,” I replied, acknowledging his instructions. After all, for those who were in power, the thing they like the most is always seeing easily agreeing people.
As I left the waiting area of the investigation, a cab came and grabbed me, taking me to the academy.
Since we entered the dungeon Saturday and a whole day had passed in this world, now it was Sunday evening.
‘I don’t have much time.’
Just like that, I left the place and returned to the academy not long after, as the cab took me to the place.
*******
In the dimly lit office, the two officers exchanged a wary glance as Astron Natusalune exited the room.
“What do you make of this?” Officer A broke the silence.
“I’m not sure,” replied Officer B. “The story is plausible, but something feels off.”
Officer A activated a concealed device, tapping into an unusual ability. It glowed softly, processing the data from Astron’s recent statements.
“He’s not lying,” Officer A announced, a perplexed frown marring his face. “Every indicator shows truthfulness.”
Officer B frowned, leaning back in his chair. “Perhaps he’s just a skilled liar, someone trained to deceive such devices.”
Officer A shook his head, scrutinizing the data once more. “I’ve honed my abilities for years. It’s highly unlikely for a cadet to fool me this easily.”
“Regardless,” Officer B said, “we need to report this to our superiors. And what about Fred Niels?”
Officer A sighed, tapping his fingers on the desk. “Fred’s gone off the radar. We’ve searched every known location, but it’s like he’s vanished.”
“Notify the higher-ups that his whereabouts are unknown,” Officer B suggested. “They’ll have a plan in motion. As for the kid, we’ll keep an eye on him. Something about his story doesn’t sit right with me.”
Officer A nodded in agreement, sending the encrypted message to their superiors. “Indeed, I feel the same. I am getting a weird vibe from that kid, something shadowed. That kid is even weirder than the ones inside the jails.”
The tangled web of events had only grown more complex, and they needed to stay ahead of the game. The war between the Hunter Association and Demon Contractors was getting more and more intense with each passing time.
As for Officer B, he slowly tapped on his watch, pushed a small needle onto it, and started writing a message to his ‘higher-ups.’
*******
After returning to the academy, the first thing I did was, of course, immediately reach out to my room and feel the place I had been missing for 30 days.
Since I spent a whole month inside the Chrono Groove, I felt like I was looking like a nomad. Even though I constantly cleaned myself and used the high-quality tent, nothing beat the feeling of being inside the home.
After taking a long and hot bath, I was left alone in my room, looking at my smartwatch.
No, especially the messages sent to me. A new and special entry was there, a person that I hadn’t talked to before.
[Ethan: Astron, are you okay?”]
[Ethan: Hey, I am getting worried. Hey, are you okay?]
[Ethan: Please, Astron, respond. I’m starting to fear the worst.]
[Ethan: I should’ve been there with you. This is my fault.]
[Ethan: Maybe if I had been stronger, faster, I could’ve prevented all this.]
Looking at the messages, I couldn’t help but feel that this guy was really suited to become a protagonist. Even though I was just a random person he knew from the academy, he still showed concern about me.
This fact was alone enough to show that this guy had the qualities to become a hero. Of course, just by simply looking at one’s feelings, I can’t determine if they are a hero or not, but at least he fulfilled one requirement for it.
But, even then, these messages were cringe.
‘What the hell are you even writing? Are you a little kid?’
Slowly tapping on the keyboard, I started writing.
[Astron: I’m fine. Don’t overthink it.]
Almost immediately, Ethan’s reply popped up.
[Ethan: I’m just glad you’re okay. If you need anything or want to talk…]
I didn’t want to prolong the conversation, so I cut him off.
[Astron: I’m busy. Don’t talk to me.]
It felt harsh, but it was not like I cared much. Even though Ethan showed kindness to people, that doesn’t mean I need to let him enter my space.
Ethan didn’t know me well enough to understand that, and I didn’t have either the energy or the desire to explain.
[Ethan: Alright, if you need me…]
I put my phone away, cutting off any further messages. This message would be enough, as Ethan would soon contact the remaining party members, as well as Emily. I would get my payment for the raid and exploration, and I would also get a small entry to put on my profile.
The Hunter IDs and the site worked like CV and job opportunities, and putting your previous dungeon experiences into your Hunter Profiles would let people see it and would also increase your overall score inside the Hunter rankings.
This was how Hunters were ranked globally, as it was mostly related to their achievements rather than their individual strengths.
After posting the message and chilling in bed for a little longer, I went to sleep not long after, as I was already tired from all that constant fighting with the Time Guardian….
*******
After sleeping and resting, I woke up very early in the morning. Calling it morning would be wrong, in fact, since it was more like midnight. Since the sun had yet to rise up, there weren’t many people around, so I just reached the training grounds and started my daily routine as usual.
Thanks to this last month, my muscles and my body were a lot more refined, though it cost me a lot, considering I was buying my own food all this time in the absence of Academy Cafeteria.
After training with my body and my archery inside the club rooms, I finished my morning routine as I returned to my room, getting ready for the classes of the day. If I remember correctly, soon, another dungeon exploration would happen, and it would be on Monday. Thus, it was better to be prepared.
After eating a good, hefty meal inside the academy cafeteria for breakfast, I headed to my first class.
However, this time, the hallways seemed different—whispers echoing louder than usual. It was as if the air carried a strange weight, and most importantly, I felt a lot of gazes on me while I was walking.
‘What is this?’
In fact, I had been feeling a weird gaze for a while, but now the number of gazes seemed to increase. Since I was actually sensitive to the gazes of people around me, I knew something was not right.
As I approached my classroom, the usual hum of conversation grew louder. I couldn’t ignore the whispers, more intense than usual. Gossip flowed freely, distorted, and twisted like a modern-day game of telephone.
“He’s a criminal, for sure.”
“I heard he was involved in some really shady stuff.”
“…an adulterer, can you believe it?”
Their words contained quite a lot of exclamations about me, and to be honest, it was weird.
‘Why is this happening all of a sudden?’
Of course, it wasn’t that hard to understand that someone was spreading rumors about me. This was a pretty common tactic for bullying. People would always utilize this trait of general humans.
We are curious, jealous, egoist, attention-seeking, prideful, entertainment-chasing beings. Therefore, such things as dramas would always get the attention of people, especially those in the age of socializing.
“Heard he has a criminal record from a different city.”
“…involved with some shady underworld organizations.”
“…he’s got connections; that’s why nothing’s happened to him yet.”
“Of course, how can an orphan bastard join this academy unless he has connections.”
The rumors spun out of control, crafting a narrative of deceit and danger around me. I heard them and their talks, but at this point, I couldn’t do anything.
‘Considering the way they are talking and the tone of their words, it was clear that most people had already taken a side.’
It was pretty normal since most people didn’t have the required reasoning to confirm facts before believing something.
“He’s dangerous, for real. I heard he threatened a fellow student once.”
“…manipulating people to get his way.”
“…cheated on every test since he came here.” 𝑂𝗏𝗅xt.𝗇t
I approached my desk and took my seat, greeted by a few sidelong glances and hushed conversations.
However, it was not my first time dealing with rumors or gazes. I was pretty familiar with this topic, and right now, the best course of action would be ignoring those, as an attempt to clarify them would backfire.
‘The person who is targeting me won’t stay idle when I try to clarify myself. I first need to find their identity.’
For now, the person responsible for all these rumors is unknown, and dealing with an unknown enemy is one of the hardest things.
Thus, I simply focused on preparing for the upcoming class, the rumors fading into the background like a distant storm.