The Hunter's District taverns buzzed louder than usual. Tankards clinked, dice rolled, and adventurers shouted over one another, but one rumor threaded through every conversation.
"You hear about the Ice Wasteland gate?" a scarred F-rank brawler whispered to his table.
"Yeah, squad went in?" another asked, leaning forward.
The first man shook his head. "Not a squad. A single hunter."
Laughter erupted from the table, harsh and mocking. "Solo? In a frozen E–D hybrid zone? Bullshit."
But a quiet archer at the corner leaned in. "Not bullshit. I was at the exchange. Saw the clerk's slate myself. Twelve wolf cores, seven fox, three musk ox, a bat, a bear… and all pristine. No way a squad split those. It was one seller."
The table fell silent.
Across the tavern, another group of hunters had the same discussion.
"New blood, just registered. Walked out of the Skill Hall glowing with fresh imprints."
"Minor Heal and Safeguard, right? I saw the clerk bowing to him."
"Kid's either crazy lucky or hiding his real rank."
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And still elsewhere, whispers carried the tale wider. From Outer Bank X to the neighboring guild outposts, word of a nameless rookie clearing a dungeon solo spread like sparks on dry grass.
[System Update: Status Window – Logan Hale]
Name: Logan Hale
Rank: F (Unregistered Potential Detected)
Credits: 395,000
Stats
Strength: 18 (+4)
Agility: 21 (+5)
Vitality: 19 (+3)
(Stat Points gained from dungeon clear and combat experience have been allocated automatically.)
Skills
[Arctic Armor (Passive)] – Cold resistance, frost mana affinity.
[Fireball (E)] – Condensed fire projectile.
[Minor Heal (D)] – Restores light-to-moderate injuries.
[Safeguard (D)] – One-hit protective barrier.
Equipment
Adaptive Combat Suit (D) – Balanced mobility and defense, rune-synced with mana flow.
Iron-forged Longsword (E) – Reliable melee weapon, mana-conductive.
Notable Achievements:
Cleared Ice Wasteland solo (Estimated Difficulty: E+ → D).
First-time hunter core sales exceeding 1,000,000 credits.
Recorded combat efficiency: Unusually high mana output with minimal drain detected.
[System Note: Subject performance exceeds standard rookie benchmarks. Monitoring recommended.]
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Back in the tavern, the brawler grunted into his mug. "So what's the verdict? Prodigy or fraud?"
The archer shook her head slowly. "Doesn't matter. If he keeps this up, squads are gonna start hunting him instead of monsters. Nobody likes a rookie upsetting the market balance."
The murmurs thickened. Respect. Envy. Suspicion.
And somewhere beyond the District, unseen eyes had already marked Logan Hale's name.
The storm was coming.