Chapter 33: Hunters

Maxwell and I spoke a bit more about the expectations for the trip. It seemed straightforward, and anything else I needed to know would be spoken of at the base. 

But beside that, there was another topic to discuss. 

“By the way, Rayla spoke to me about Crowns. I wanted to hear your opinion on them.”

“Crowns, hm?”

He went silent in thought, formulating his words. 

“They are very useful tools, but only if used correctly. Crowns are derived from specific Scourge Beasts, taking their abilities, fusing it with a White Crystal, and permanently engraving the body with it. Naturally, this makes the most important detail the Beast you’ve taken an ability from. Each body can only accommodate a certain amount of Crowns, so finding the right one for you is extremely important, just as much as its overall power.”

“Okay. So do you have any recommendations?”

“Well, I can give my opinion, but you know your skills best. Regardless though, you won’t be receiving one anytime soon. To acquire a Crown is difficult beyond cost. Finding the right beast can take time, and the best Crowns come from Unique beasts and Royals. Neither of those are something you can hope to kill, and you surely don’t have the money to buy one. Anything lesser likely isn’t worth it for you, so it’s best to forget about it until you reach around Authority 6 or 7.”

“Damn. That’s a long ways away…”

I frowned. I knew things took time, but these Crowns seemed cool, and I obviously wanted one now. 

But they were permanent, so like tattoos, I didn’t want to get something I would regret down the line.

That made it something I would only truly deliberate quite a while from now. 

After discussing all that, Maxwell had nothing else to say, so I took my leave. 

I headed back to the Key Master’s desk on my way out, morbidly curious as to what he wanted to tell me. 

“Hello again, Key Master.”

“Ah, John. Here, allow me to pass on some news.

The Key Master spoke with a smile. 

“It seemed there’s been a bounty placed on your head.”

“That actually happened?”

My eyes widened. I had just been worried about something like that, but I didn’t think it was actually possible. 

But after lifting his arm, I saw the Key Master expose an Aerial. This was the first time I’d seen accessories on his person. 

He tapped it a few times, revealing a screen that hovered above his arm. On it was a list, and he found my name before tapping it. 

He turned the screen, allowing me to read. 

“Bounty for John Cooper, known as the American. 22 years old, 6 foot 4 inches in height, is a fourth year student at the Magisterium and worker for Divine Distribution. Estimated power is Authority 5, a cold summoner with projectile weapons. Bounty is set to 40 thousand coin.”

“…”

I was silent for a while, seeing the profile that had a decent grasp on who I was. It was rather scary, but I couldn’t help but notice something. 

I frowned. 

“That’s it? 40 thousand?”

“It’s a decent bounty. Not enough to move the high class hunters but enough to cause you trouble. It seems it was just recently put up.”

“Right…”

This time, I went silent forr a different reason, remembering what I had been thinking about when I was previously speaking with the Key Master. 

Who the hell was this guy?

And what the hell was that program he was using?

I didn’t know about any sort of programs for the Aerial devices beyond calling and texting. Sure, you could send images and the like, but there wasn’t much functionality besides that. It surely wasn’t anything like phones from Earth. 

But this seemed to be some kind of program or service not unlike the internet. If that was the case, and there really was some kind of magic internet here, then I really wanted to know how to use it. 

And I really wanted to know what that program was that would allow me to see my bounty. 

The Key Master closed the program. 

“I recommend you be careful, John. I don’t believe you’ll have trouble with the Hunters that come your way, but do be sure to take precautions so you don’t get attacked and killed while unaware or vulnerable. Thankfully you will be leaving tomorrow morning, so the interest in the bounty will subside and turn to low levels by the time you come back.”

“Right. That’s a very fortunate coincidence.”

“Yes. Stay within the Magisterium though. It is your safest option besides within this hotel. I don’t recommend leaving for anywhere within the city, and if you must do so, right now is the best time.”

“Okay. Thanks, Key Master. I’ll take off now then.”

“Of course, John. Safe travels.”

With that, I said goodbye. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite go back to the Magisterium. 

I had a small bit of shopping to do. I needed a few more sets of clothes, something I seemed to lack. 

In fact, I had planned some time with Rayla to do so. I planned to go see her after Maxwell and finish off my night with her. And my plans didn’t change, but now I was anxious with an actual target on my head. 

Not long later, within a tailor shop of the Founder’s Market specializing in defensive and enchanted clothing, I found Rayla. This place was one we had come to before. 

“John! You look tired. Those scenarios really kicked your ass, huh?”

“Yea. Though, I guess there’s something I should tell you.”

Briefly, I told Rayla about the new bounty. And with a single sentence, she seemed shocked in several ways. 

“You said the Key Master told you about it?”

“Yea.”

“Weird… But either way, this isn’t good. That bounty system is known as the Black Spider Registry. They call it a Web, and its a place that can only be accessed by Aerials with special functions attached. I don’t know much more than that since even I don’t have access to it, but I do know that its a place for assassins known as Hunters. Anybody within it can place a bounty on someone’s head, so long as they have the money. People can even bid to increase the prize, and the killer gets the big payout.”

“That doesn’t sound good. There’s a lot of people who want me dead.”

“Yes, there are. Unfortunately it comes with the job.”

“Do you have a bounty?”

“Me? Please.”

She chuckled. 

“I’m not that amazing. You kill much more people than I do, mainly because of the way your weapons work. But, I’ve known people who have been killed by Hunters. One of them was one of Plex’s prior apprentices, someone who got greedy and angered some very wealthy people.”

“…”

I thought back, remembering being told about that. It seemed there was more to the story, but only now was I realizing just how dark this stuff could get. 

Now, I was being hunted. And unless that bounty came down at some point, I would need to watch my back. 

Perhaps sensing my stress, Rayla grabbed my hand and pulled. 

“Hey, it’ll be fine. I’m here now, so I won’t let anyone touch you. Okay, princess?”

“Heh, thanks.”

I chuckled a bit as she pulled me through the shop. 

There were plenty of basic clothes hanging on racks. All of them had self sizing features, temperature regulation, and decent defensive properties. At the very least, it wouldn’t be torn by anything other than a blade and would remain in great condition through even the roughest treatment. Considering I was heading to a battlefield, this was the stuff I wanted. 

We picked out several basic shirts, some black, some white, and others with some cool designs on them. This world was very modest in its clothing, at least in regards to colors. Unless you were rich, you probably weren’t getting your hands on much colorful wear. But to have some nicer shirts and pants wasn’t out of the question, especially for people like us. 

Rayla often liked to wear dark red and black, colors that went well with her blood red hair. 

I always wore my black overcoat, so Rayla picked out some shirts that could accentuate from underneath the coat and pants that matched it. 

She even picked out a few pairs of shoes, some more like boots, others more formal looking. 

By the time she was done, my spatial bracelet was loaded. I would need to bring an actual bag to pack some things. 

“To think I actually have enough things to pack a bag…”

I sighed as we left the store. Those words were heavier than I thought. 

I had plenty of things back on Earth. Devices, dozens of articles of clothing, accessories, things I could fill a room with. I had an apartment back then, and it wasn’t empty. 

But here, there wasn’t much to call my own. The clothes on my back and the few accessories I had were all there was. 

It was a bit amazing, having all these things. I wondered if one day, I could get a real home and fill it with a bunch of things. 

It seemed impossible. I was living such a different life here. 

Suddenly, I looked toward Rayla. Since I needed a chest for my items, we decided to go and get one. 

But as I watched her lead me down to another shop, I wondered if she was having the same dilemma. 

After everything she had gone through with her late husband and being in the position she was as a former military member and working in the black market, she was likely finding it impossible to truly settle down somewhere. 

Getting a house, a home, might seem nice on the surface, but it represented far more than just owning the property. 

It was about establishing a place for you to settle down, a place that you were committing to. On a more intimate level, it was a place to grow a family with the person you loved. 

For Rayla who had all of that taken away from her, maybe she couldn’t find it in herself to take that step, to finally give in and settle. She already had enough money to get a nice property within the city and never work another day in her life. But here she was, still working as a deliverywoman and giving the excuse that she was still saving up.

It made my heart ache. 

“Here, what about this one?”

She pointed to a chest as I finally snapped out of it. 

I didn’t really know how I got into a furniture shop, but I just went with it. 

The chest before me looked completely ordinary, but apparently it had some magic locks and was structurally enhanced. It was really difficult to break into, and the key for it could apparently track it and alert me to tampering. 

Of course, it was also 50 thousand coin, but hey, had to protect my investment, right?

I bought it without thinking too much, dumping a stack of Gold Bullion on the counter before finalizing the sale. As a courtesy, they even engraved my name on it, the guy writing it on the lock right then and there. After that, I picked it up.

It was large, more than enough for what I needed. It was also enhanced with spatial magic, making it contain much more than its actual size. This didn’t make it that much more expensive though because, unlike spatial sacks, this thing didn’t have to worry about making a small accessory contain so much space. 

It was kind of heavy though. And unluckily, just as we were getting ready to leave, my neck suddenly tingled. 

I turned, just in time to see a patron within the store jump toward me. 

I raised the chest into the path of the shortsword. 

*Ting!*

The chest easily blocked the blade, even though I was actually knocked to the ground. 

“Shit!”

Rayla cursed as I tumbled across the ground. In her hand appeared her staff, mana whipping around her as a spell rapidly assembled. 

But the man, who I quickly deduced as a Hunter, was only focused on me. 

Unlukcily for him though, I was quick to equip my trusty boomstick. 

The shotgun barrels lined themselves up with his lunging body, my Psyka infusing into the shells.

*BOOM*

The explosion shook the shop, the slugs from my shotguns hitting the man so hard his body was flung away. 

I broke open the double barrel the next moment, removing and slotting in two new shells with practiced movements. I was getting pretty good. 

Shockingly though, I wasn’t finished. The man still jumped to his feet, though not uninjured. He now had an extra hole in his stomach. 

The fact that he could move at all though spoke to his incredible strength. After all, that was two empowered slugs!

I scoffed. 

“All of you Knights are cockroaches, I swear. Even the dumbasses can get tough enough to survive their stupidity.”

I grumbled while climbing to my own feet. In that time the hunter brought out some small sphere and crushed it. 

It let out a blue foam, one that spread over the wound and seemed to seal it. 

After that, he suddenly dodged as a barrage of spells shot toward him. 

“My shop!”

“Go fuck yourself!”

Rayla cursed as she fired off her magic. Some were inaccurate, but others hit their mark. What seemed like magic missiles battered the hunter into a bloody mess, even more so than my shotgun blast. 

He was pushed toward me, and with a dodge, used Rayla’s spell to take another lunge. 

But I was ready, my shotgun drawn and my finger squeezing. 

*BOOM*

Another explosion, and this time, he wasn’t so lucky. 

His chest was blown open, the corpse sliding across the floor in front of me. 

Right after that, Rayla placed 5 Gold Bullion on the shop counter before grabbing my arm and running out. 

“That was a hunter. We need to get out of here.”

“Not without my chest!”

I shouted while diving for the chest, picking it up and looking over it. 

There wasn’t a single scratch on it, making me nod. 

“Money well spent. Now let’s get to the school.”

Saying that, the both of us made a beeline for the Magisterium. 

Thankfully, that seemed to be the only hunter. I felt like I was being watched as we were leaving the market, but not long after getting out, that feeling disappeared. 

Then, we got a carriage to take us to the school. It was only after arriving at the gates that Rayla sighed in relief. 

“That was almost bad. You’ve got good instincts.”

“It’s my practice with Aura. Looks like I have more of a reason to keep practicing.”

I smiled while thinking back. I reacted to that man before I even knew what was happening. 

That level of intuition almost felt clairvoyant. At the same time though, it let me know just how important something like that was in a fight. I would need to focus on it during my trip. 

Rayla also smiled. 

“I’m glad. You leave tomorrow morning, right? I’ll be there to send you off.”

“I won’t turn that down.”

“Good, because I won’t let you. I’ll say goodbye then, so for now, get a good night’s rest.”

She gave me a hug, which I returned. 

And inwardly, I sighed. 

Rayla was an amazing woman. Smart, level-headed, beautiful, and powerful. 

But as time went on and I learned more about her, I only became more conflicted. 

She was someone I wouldn’t mind truly dating. She seemed like someone I could be happy with, and she was someone I wanted to make happy. 

But two issues ate at me. For one, I didn’t want to do anything out of pity. That wasn’t right for either of us, and given her story, there was a lot of it. 

But more importantly, I also have much of my life ahead of me. I was only beginning my path to power. At the very least, I wanted to reach Rayla’s level before settling. My powers, my ability to summon weapons and gear from Earth, was too amazing not to cash in on. It would bring me much desired security that I could protect a family with. 

So I couldn’t begin a real relationship with Rayla. At least, not yet. 

If I ended my path, and both of us were still in the same place, then I don’t believe I would hesitate. 

But a lot could happen in the years it would take me to reach that end. 

And in the back of my mind, that thought made me fear for her. Fear that I wouldn’t be able to give her what she had lost. Fear that I may not give her the fulfilling end she deserved. 

That hypothetical scared me, even though it was something I had to face. 

If there was ever someone else, then would I really be able to forget Rayla? Would I really deny her everything I could give?

As I separated from her and left into the magic college, I silently brooded over that thought, both hoping that I would someday find someone and dreading the prospect of actually doing something about it. 

And the fact that I hoped for it at all left me in a spiral of self-loathing. 

That night, I went to sleep with a lot on my mind. 

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