Panting...
Huh...
We are on the run.
There are sorcerer hunters after us.
Dragon Empire sucks.
Sorcerers (especially Earthling ones) have quite a bounty on their heads.
But what really sucks is that I, Pratik, have only a 5000 Karo currency bounty on my head.
I am running, and behind me are four sorcerer hunters.
Yesterday, we were planning to make our way to Germio, and now here we are — or more like, here I am.
My team is using me as bait to lure a few bounty hunters out, and then at some specific place, they will beat the bounty hunters and steal their clothes (nasty idea) to disguise themselves as bounty hunters and infiltrate their squad or whatever it is.
Guess what?
I lost rock, paper, scissors, and now I'm running as bait to lure them out.
Even worse, I forgot my way back...
I am running here and there randomly without any sense of direction.
These hunters are no joke.
They can take me down if I don't get serious.
Well, I doubt I can beat them even if I get serious.
[Pratik]: Stop throwing those spears at me!! THEY ARE DANGEROUS, YOU MAGGOTS!
My anger hit the ceiling.
They are literally throwing spears around to force me into reckless movements.
One of the spears almost hit my butt.
[Hunter 1]: Stop! If you don't stop, we will kill you!
[Hunter 2]: Even if he's dead, he can get us 4000 Karo. Let's just kill him.
Hearing their conversation was depressing.
How can they act so inhuman?
Well, they aren't humans, but still, showing some humanity doesn't hurt.
Kel has a bounty of 6000 Karo,
Mala has 5500 Karo,
Lila has 8000 Karo, and Grimori has 9000 Karo on their heads.
I have a lesser bounty than even Mala.
After running for a long time, I finally reached the decided spot and slid into my Shadow Gutter beneath my feet.
The hunters stopped when they saw me disappear into the black foam on the ground, which later vanished.
[Hunter 3]: This must be a trap.
[Hunter 4]: Can't believe that idiot trapped us.
[Hunter 1]: Tch... no need to worry. We are four here. They can't do anything to us.
In the very next moment, my team attacked those brats.
It was so satisfying to watch them get beaten that I couldn't pull my eyes away.
Even Girishika beat the hell out of them... I guess it's some kind of greeting formality between Dragolings.
Not that I am interested.
This is bad.
Just after we planned to leave for Kankaar Society, an announcement was made that sorcerers had infiltrated Dragon Empire, and a huge number of sorcerer hunters were alerted.
They can see through disguises easily, so we had to change our plans.
The commander of their squad is someone named Griho, who has the title of Hunter King.
It is said that he once defeated a Catastrophic Class monster all by himself.
A Catastrophic Class monster, according to the Empire's scaling, is one that has the potential to destroy a massive area — possibly even an entire continent.
Griho was just a newbie at that time. He must have grown into a freaking monster by now.
We surely don't want to face him in the future.
Sorcerers are quite hated in Dragoling Empire for some reason.
Anyways, back to the topic.
We exchanged clothes with the hunters.
They have special devices that help change our energy signatures.
[Girishika]: I want a uniform too.
[Mala]: Why would you need it? You are not a sorcerer, so you don't need to disguise yourself.
[Girishika]: You are quite smart. Hahaha... you have great potential, girl.
I can clearly tell that Mala was using all her willpower to stop herself from hitting Girishika.
Wait, I don't get a uniform.
The ones who wore uniforms were Mala, Lila, Kel, and Grimori.
[Pratik]: Hey, my uniform?
[Lila]: Get it yourself.
...
This always happens to me. They are bullies.
*
Dragon Empire,
A 7-foot-tall monster whose face resembled that of a bear and an insect was standing near a cave.
It was humanoid with such a face — features similar to both a bear and an insect.
It was Zeg.
One of the most powerful creatures that Kankaar Society has — or maybe the most powerful the society has.
He was waiting for someone.
A huge spacecraft landed, and a figure walked out of it.
It was a Dragoling, but it appeared terrifying and powerful.
He was the most powerful Sorcerer Hunter in DRAGON EMPIRE — Griho.
Griho was a terrifying being, standing at 2 meters in height and emitting a commanding aura around him.
His henchmen stayed at the ship while he approached Zeg.
[Griho]: Where is your king?
[Zeg]: He is taking some rest. State your business.
[Griho]: It is more important than his sleep. Wake him up.
[Zeg]: Neither can I do that, nor can I allow it. You can conduct your business with me.
[Griho]: Is that so?
Griho punched Zeg away.
It destroyed the mountain in its path, creating a huge explosion.
Zeg, however, was unscathed.
Zeg returned to Griho.
[Zeg]: Was that your business?
[Zeg]: If it was, then it is fine. Because if it wasn't, I was planning to eliminate you.
Zeg said with killing intent.
Griho replied with his own killing intent.
Their killing intent could be sensed from miles away.
[Griho]: Stop this war. Tell your king to stop it. It will kill many innocent Dragolings.
[Zeg]: Lord Germio's words are final, and we just follow them without question. If those lives are at stake, it is still not our concern.
[Griho]: You don't understand. Sorcerers have infiltrated Dragon Empire. This is a bad situation. We can't have outsiders take advantage of our internal conflicts. It can become a great problem if there is a huge fish among them.
[Zeg]: Can you be more specific?
Griho narrowed his eyes with a tense look.
[Griho]: You must know Krishna, Arun, Tego, Treta, Kajal, Sunita, Gatu, and Lai from Immortalus Society, right?
[Zeg]: What about them?
[Griho]: I wonder if one of them might be in our kingdom. Their power, even as Apprentice Class sorcerers, is far beyond that of Catastrophic Class monsters.
[Zeg]: You have quite limited information about them.
[Zeg]: They are no longer Apprentice Class sorcerers. They were promoted to different ranks a few years ago. Also, according to my lord's informer, this mission to interfere in the war was given to apprentices rather than higher-rank sorcerers. All those sorcerers are small fries. They pose no danger.
[Griho]: One should never underestimate their enemies.
[Zeg]: Stop it, coward. Just leave already.
They were staring at each other with great enmity when suddenly a person walked out of the cave.
It was Germio.
Zeg bowed to Germio, while Griho hardly paid any attention.
[Germio]: Do you have any business with me, Hunter Griho?
[Griho]: Stop this war before it escalates into something ugly.
[Germio]: I refuse. I have listened to your words, and all I can say is that they are hollow. You don't understand how the world works, and here you are trying to protect it.
[Griho]: It is my duty.
[Germio]: It is stupidity.
Griho stared at Germio with a calm and composed demeanor.
[Germio]: Where life exists, war exists. That's basic sense. I am not doing this for fun. I have my own reasons. This society needs reform, and I shall do it myself.
[Griho]: You could have submitted your complaints instead of starting—
Germio giggled bitterly.
[Germio]: Don't say those words, Hunter Griho. If that would have worked, do you really think these problems would exist? Sometimes someone has to take matters into their own hands. I am just doing what I think is right. You can't stop me. You should focus more on those sorcerers.
[Griho]: ...In that case, I will warn you. If any of your men get in my way, I won't spare them.
Three more monsters appeared behind Germio, emitting powerful auras comparable to Zeg's.
After his talk, Griho started walking back. His attempt to make settlements with Germio failed.
Griho left the place and returned to his spacecraft.
[Griho, in his mind]: This has gone far beyond my reach. Germio has four Catastrophic Class monsters working under him. Zeg... he is even more powerful than me. I realized it after I punched him. Those three individually are equal to me, or even stronger. This might be the end for Gem Society. Only a miracle can save them.
Saying that, Griho sighed and glanced at a photo. It was that of student Arun and his team (Krishna, Tego, Treta, Lai, Gatu, Aaru, Kajal, and Sunita).
---
EXTRAS:-
IQ :-
(BIQ= Battle IQ)
1) Pratik, IQ:- 115, BIQ:- 125
2) Mala, IQ:- 120, BIQ:- 115
3) Lila, IQ:- 120, BIQ:- 130
4) Kel, IQ:- 130, BIQ:- 135
5) Grimori, IQ:- 120, BIQ:- 120
6) Tai, IQ:- 115, BIQ :- 125
7) Shang, IQ:- 140, BIQ:- 150
8) Wedgermio, IQ:- 130, BIQ:- 145
9) Germio, IQ:- 160, BIQ:- 165
10) Arun, IQ:- 285, BIQ:- 380
11) Krishna, IQ:- 420, BIQ:- 280
12) Kae, IQ:- 300, BIQ:- 400