Kael followed the Guildmaster down a hallway lined with sigil-woven stone, the noise of the guildhall fading behind him. Every step felt heavier, not because of fear, but because of the strange weight that now clung to him.
He hadn't planned to draw attention. He'd wanted to slip in, register quietly, and work in the background. Instead, he had faced a ring of wary hunters, a Rank A elf's hostility, and an entire room silenced by the cold whisper of his bloodlust.
So much for subtlety.
Still… it wasn't all bad.
Dren Volkar, Guildmaster of Myrefall, and former SS-ranked hunter, had shown him something rare: respect without demand. And Kael respected that in return.
They arrived at a reinforced door. Runes flared as Dren laid his palm against it. The lock clicked softly, and he gestured for Kael to enter.
The room was clean and quiet, with a crystalline orb set into the table's center, glowing softly. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with scrolls, documents, and several locked drawers bound in mana-iron.
Dren motioned to the seat across from him.
Kael sat, his illusionary clothes shifting slightly as he adjusted his posture. The mask remained on.
Dren didn't comment on it. Instead, he pulled a slate tablet from a drawer and tapped it twice.
«Let's begin with orientation. I'll keep it short.»
He pressed a finger against the crystal orb. A projection rose from its center, floating tiers of glowing names, letters, and icons.
«The Hunter Guild functions internationally, answering directly to the World Accord,» he said, gesturing at the lower tiers. «Our rankings determine mission clearance, payment, and authority.»
A series of lettered badges rotated in the projection.
«F-rank and E-rank hunters handle basic duties. Herb gathering, courier work, guard rotations, stable cleaning. They're untrained civilians or newcomers. Most never go beyond E.»
Kael nodded silently.
«D-rank and C-rank are allowed outside the cities in teams. They handle rogue beasts, minor anomalies, mana flux cleanups.»
The display shifted again.
«B and A-rank, elite combatants. Assigned solo or group missions. Rift defense. Monster extermination. Most of the guild's fame and power rests on these ranks.»
Then came a pause.
Three glowing icons hovered at the top of the chart. A triple-star insignia. Each one different in design, language, and color.
«Then… S-rank. SS-rank. And above all, SSS.»
Dren leaned back, eyes fixed on the icons.
«There are only three SSS-ranks alive. One in the north, one in the central dominion, one whose location is unknown. Each of them… can shift the outcome of wars.»
Kael listened quietly, memorizing every detail.
«They're not just strong. They're symbols. The hope of every race. They're the only ones who can face… them.»
Dren tapped the orb again.
A new image appeared.
A silhouette of something impossible. A creature with no clear form. Shifting limbs, a mass of smoke, void-light twisting like serpents. It had no face, only a gaping maw full of endless teeth.
Kael recognized it.
The creature he had killed was a lesser one.
This… was a Fallen-Rank Voidkin.
«They are the generals of the void,» Dren said grimly. «Fallen ones. Each powerful enough to level nations. They appear rarely, twice in known history. The first vanished after a massacre in the Eastern Wastes. The second…»
He touched the center symbol.
«A beast slain five hundred years ago. At the cost of a hero's life.»
Kael's eyes narrowed behind the mask.
«The founder of the Empire,» Dren continued. «The first SSS hunter. The one whose bloodline still rules the continent. His sacrifice kept the world turning.»
Kael was silent.
He thought back to the divine message after his transmigration.
«Power Level: Equal to the Two Strongest Beings Alive.»
He hadn't questioned it then. But now… it made sense.
The two beings were likely both SSS-ranked, one physical, one magical. The peak of strength in this world.
And their power now lived inside him.
He focused as Dren continued.
«I need your specialties to complete the registry. Your dominant combat type?»
Kael answered simply. «Both.»
Dren raised a brow. «Excuse me?»
«I use aura,» Kael said. «And mana. Physical and magical combat. No preference.»
Dren stared at him for a long moment. Then chuckled once, but it wasn't mocking. It was more like disbelief.
«No one does both,» he said. «You train for a lifetime to master one. Maybe two schools of magic, or one martial art style. But aura and mana require completely opposite development paths.»
Kael said nothing.
Dren studied him again. «You're… something else.»
«I'm not here to flaunt. Just to work.»
Dren nodded, though his eyes lingered.
«Based on your bloodlust earlier… and my own instincts…» He tapped the orb again. «I can't rank you precisely. You're hiding the bulk of your power, that much is clear. But you're above A, at minimum.»
He reached into a drawer and retrieved a small box. Inside rested a black-and-silver hunter's badge etched with an A-rank insignia.
He placed it in front of Kael, followed by a thick laminated card with his masked portrait and forged details.
«Consider this an apology,» Dren said. «For how the others treated you.»
Kael accepted the badge wordlessly. It pulsed slightly in his hand, bound to his mana signature. The forged ID had just enough detail to pass surface-level inspections, but nothing that could be traced to any official region.
«You're a ghost,» Dren said. «Let the world call you that.»
Kael rose to his feet.
But Dren held up a hand. «Wait.»
He turned to the crystal orb again and pressed his palm to it.
«Secretary?»
A voice responded from the orb. «Yes, Guildmaster?»
«Bring me that file. The one from the northern watch post. Code A-9-B.»
«Understood.»
Minutes later, a young woman entered carrying a sealed scroll with a silver ribbon. She handed it to Dren with a bow and left silently.
Dren passed the scroll to Kael.
«A personal request,» he said. «From me.»
Kael accepted it and unrolled the parchment.
Mission: A-Rank Solo
Location: Village of Rhundal, 40km north of Myrefall.
Status: Abandoned 3 years ago due to structural mana decay.
Recent Events: Multiple disappearances near site. No bodies found. Mana readings unstable.
Priority: High.
Assigned Hunter: [The Ghost]
Objective: Investigate the cause of the disappearances. Determine threat level. Report or eliminate.
Kael scanned the details. «No party?»
«No,» Dren confirmed. «Only A-rank and above are permitted solo operations. You've proven enough today.»
Kael nodded. «Understood.»
He turned, coat fluttering behind him.
As he reached the hallway back toward the main guildhall, Dren's voice followed him.
«Good luck, Ghost.»
Kael didn't respond.
The moment he stepped back into the hall, the chatter ceased.
Dozens of eyes turned his way. Some curious. Others fearful. A few suspicious. But none approached.
He walked calmly toward the exit.
Then, he stopped.
Tilted his head slightly.
Locked onto a direction northward.
With a faint hum, mana surged around his boots. Space magic coiled into spirals beneath him. His entire form shimmered.
And before anyone could ask where he was going,
He vanished.
A teleportation spell.
In the open.
Mid-hall.
The murmurs that followed were louder this time. Awed. Confused. Whispers of:
«He just, teleported?»
«That's a Tier 4 spatial spell…»
«Who the hell is this guy…?»
But Kael didn't hear them.
He reappeared mid-air, just above a forest clearing miles away.
The abandoned village of Rhundal stretched below him like a broken scar across the land. Collapsed roofs. Rotting wood. Dark residue in the air. The trees around it were warped, some with bark flaking off like ash.
Kael hovered silently.
Then descended, landing lightly in the grass.
The air was wrong here. Not just corrupted, haunted.
No birds. No insects. No wind.
Only the faint pulse of something hiding beneath the earth.
Kael narrowed his eyes behind the mask.
«I guess this is where it begins,» he murmured.
Then, with a flick of mana, he vanished into the ruined village.