Date: June 24th, 2011
Inside a warehouse in a shady and isolated suburb of an unknown city, Kreed Silva, a dangerous smuggler wanted by law enforcement, is found torturing a naked man, tied up and gagged, slowly burning his skin with a steel rod heated bright red by a Bunsen burner.
"Gosh, George, you really are a stupid piece of trash, aren't you? Sneaking in on a small portion of the merchandise we received to sell on for yourself and pocket the money. After giving a job and a home to a worthless fellow like you, you go and steal my supplies like a traitorous rat. But hey, I can still use you to have some fun, so you should be happy to still be of use to me." Kreed says with a sadistic smile at the terrified individual named George, further displaying the ruthlessness for which he is known.
Outside the warehouse, on top of a tall building about 10 kilometers away, a figure dressed in entirely black clothing that covers every visible part of his skin except for the area around his eyes, is peeking through a circle formed with his index finger and thumb in the direction of the warehouse.
"It looks like the place is heavily guarded. Four armed men patrolling the perimeter outside, two at the main door, no windows and the loading area for car and truck deliveries. I don't know how many reinforcements there are inside, if there are any traps set, or if there are innocent people they could use as hostages. I'll have to sneak up on them and check things out more closely." The man says jumping onto a transparent platform in front of him and starting to fly over it towards the warehouse.
Unnoticed thanks to the cover provided by his black clothing and the darkness of the night sky, the man approaches flying the warehouse before landing a couple of blocks away and starting to creep closer. Once near enough of the guards patrolling the perimeter, the man hides behind a wall until one of the men passes near.
'Okay, I'll start taking out the guards quietly for now, and once inside, I'll locate Kreed Silva and get what I need.' The man thinks as a Nen orb appears hovering to his side.
In the next moment, the patrolman is immobilized, unable to make a sound to warn the others as he slowly suffocates into unconsciousness. After the man in black clothing moves his unconscious body away, he starts circling the building perimeter to pick the other three patrolling members one by one without alerting anyone.
While clearing the perimeter, he starts to palpitate the walls of the warehouse and the ground near of them, and tapping his hands to release his aura in pulses to try detecting enemies inside of the facility.
Once that he's finished, he heads to the warehouse loading area, because by his inspection, he knows there is noone in that part of the warehouse right now, so it will be easier to infiltrate through here so as not to alert everyone in the building and catch them by surprise.
He slips inside the warehouse, moving swiftly and silently through the maze of crates and storage units that makes up the place. Nonetheless, the presences he sensed earlier guide him deeper into the building until he finally reaches an open space where there are several thugs counting money, preparing weapons and drugs, and even lounging on separate sofas without a care in the world.
'6 criminals at the tables, 4 guarding with M4A1 carbine weapons, and one on each sofa accompanied by girls, one with one and the other with two. I don't know if the women are part of the smuggling group or are here for benefits, so I'll just knock them out after attracting attention by taking care of the largest group.' The man thinks as he once again unveils his Nen orb, morphs it into a transparent platform, jumps onto it and flies above the criminals.
Once in position, he launches himself to the floor and lands on the thugs' table, surprising everyone present. Before anyone else can act against him, the man snaps and twists the necks of the 6 men near to him in three seconds and launches himself at the men on the couches.
They and one of the girls who accompanied them have taken out their guns and try to shoot him, but the man neatly dodges the bullets and with precise and quick blows to the head kills the three individuals, making the two remaining girls start to scream in fear and confusion.
As the 4 guards with M4A1 carbine guns start firing at the intruder without warning, he grabs the two scared girls and runs with them while restraining and suffocating them with his orb to prevent them from causing trouble in the unfolding confrontation.
Meanwhile, inside a dimly lit room, surrounded by two bodyguards at his service, Kreed Silva, who was burning his traitorous subordinate alive, suddenly stops, alerted by the commotion outside.
"Oh, damn, it looks like someone's discovered our hiding place! I've worked so hard to divert unwanted attention from this place, and I've barely gotten my money's worth!" Kreed complains.
"The location is no longer safe, boss. We need to abandon it and head somewhere else where we can hide for a while until things calm down." One of the thugs says.
"Yes, I know. I feel bad about leaving the merchandise and money here, but there's no point in staying and getting arrested. Also, it's best to leave no loose ends." Kreed says grabbing a SMG and shooting his prisoner George in the head, finishing his life.
"Grab your machine guns and get ready. Your job is to back me up until we reach the secret exit through the tunnels. Once we're safe, I'll detonate the charges scattered throughout the facility and finish those sons of bitches off."
The bodyguards nod at their boss as they grab their SMG as well and run out of the office ready to fire. However, contrary to their expectation of encountering a large group of attackers, they see a single guy stomping on the head of one of their men until they hear the crunch of his neck breaking.
"Kreed Silva, your smuggling days are over." The mysterious man states, causing Kreed to frown in anger.
Kreed turned, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
"So the Hunters have finally caught up with me, eh? Shoot him! Kill that son of a bitch!" At Kreed's cry, he and his men launch a barrage of bullets from their SMG.
Despite the intense hail of bullets, the man is extremely slippery, running around and using the whole area of the warehouse to dodge and defend against it. While evading the bullets, he picks up some objects scattered around the place, such as nuts and coins, and imbuing them with his Nen, he throws them at the trio of thugs, hitting them precisely in the shoulders, arms and legs and making them stop their shots due to the pain of the wounds.
Taking advantage of this window, the man in black clothes closes the distance with the trio and knocks out the two bodyguards in front of him with a blow to each. At this, Kreed Silva, who is on the ground clutching his sore shoulder, displays a look of terror as the mysterious man approaches him.
"You asshole, you have no idea who you're picking a fight with! Do you have any idea who I work for?! The Donnately Family, who is the most powerful business group in this country, won't let you get away after doing..." He doesn't have time to finish his chatter when the stranger knocks him unconscious with a quick blow to the back of the head.
"I know very well that your relationship with the Donnately family isn't so important that they'd bother to lift a finger for you or your lackeys. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten involved with you, you idiot." The man says, taking out a couple of sheets of paper with photographs of Kreed and one of his bodyguards.
"Well, now that it's done, let's pack up and go collect the bounties before informing the police."
Thinking this out loud, the man takes the three surviving thugs and the two unknown girls he had set aside for safekeeping, and bundles them into one of the trucks inside the warehouse to transport them to the nearest police station.
After collecting the reward of 3.500.000 jennies (3.000.000 for Kreed Silva and 500.000 for his bodyguard), and leaving the unknown girls in police custody, the mysterious man leaves the place to make his way to the motel room where he's staying. Upon arrival several papers can be seen scattered around the place, and once he closes the door, the man removes his hood and mask to reveal the face of the protagonist of this story.
"Another job well done. Now that it's finished, let's take a bath and think about what to do next." Kai thinks out loud as he begins to undress.
Point of View Switch: Kai
Flashbacks narrating the last 12 days.
For the past two weeks, I've been traveling around nonstop trying to increase my experience and knowledge as a Hunter.
For the Beast Hunter part, I decided to ask Pokkle about what path to take in this specialty, and he gave me some useful advice, such as how to connect my phone's camera to the database of registered species, information on how to trade fauna-related goods and resources, ways to approach this Hunter specialization, and much more.
Given my limited timeframe, my role as a Beast Hunter consisted of searching the database for the rare animals that I witnessed for the first time in this world, taking on jobs hunting these same animals, whether because they threatened people's safety or because of excessive breeding, and selling the meat and materials of the animals and monsters I hunted in the establishments that Pokkle and his teacher recommended to me.
Sadly, I didn't find any species that could get associated with humans like the werewolves of my home island, the Kiriko, the Chimera Ants, or whatever Beans from the Hunters' Association used to be, though I did have a rather peculiar fight with what appeared to be a large, wingless dragon that was causing damage to a protected forest. Even though it didn't breathe fire, it made me feel like those isekai heroes from my old world (though I guess that's what I am at the end of the day).
Acting as a Blacklist Hunter, on the other hand, was a more complex and harsh challenge. When people think of this profession, they might imagine that they only need to be strong enough to hunt down dangerous criminals that normal humans in law enforcement can't catch on their own, but that's not even remotely true.
The Blacklist Hunter's job is not just about capturing criminals; it's about understanding their motives, gathering information of the underworld and its shady characters, crossing the line between the light where ordinary people live and the darkness where the underworld people operates, and much more.
When I first faced it, I was surprised how hard it was to get jobs done quickly there, making several mistakes and putting myself at risk of failing my assignments for not assessing the situation correctly.
Nonetheless, thanks to my abilities and quick response, I managed to emerge unscathed from these situations, and at the same time I polished my skills for investigating routines and patterns in the individuals and groups, gathering and analyzing leads, getting through places while remaining unnoticed, and generally acting with greater caution and longer-term thinking.
Also, in my role as a Blacklist Hunter I had to go around shady alleyways and very poor-looking slums, of those who have dilapidated buildings with boarded-up windows and graffiti-covered walls. The atmosphere in those places was different, darker, and more dangerous, and the people who were in these areas reminded you that no matter what world you're in, there will always be people suffering at the lowest tier of society.
Seeing this, I made a mental note to live up to my title as a searcher and offer them a chance at a better life on Gu Island at another time, looking to ensure their survival and that of my people as well.
In a short explanation, my journey took me to gain experience in both specializations through simple, low-priority jobs that took little time to complete. However, in spite of their lack of complexity or duration, they had given me a renewed sense of purpose, and they had helped to start making the name of my still-developing mercenary agency known by always going undercover for the Blacklist Hunter jobs under the organization's nickname: Tsukimichi.
In addition to improving my skills as a Hunter, I also managed to increase my funds by a total of 65.000.000 jennies thanks to the jobs I took, and from training and practicing Nen in real-life situations, I was able to create a new type of orbital orb during this period, increasing the things I will be able to do in the future.
End of flashback.
'Now, with Kreed Silva in custody and my assignment completed, it's a good moment to head back to Heavens Arena and continue my goal of becoming a Floor Master. In addition to that, I'm also looking forward to getting back to see Ponzu, Nicholas, Wing and everyone else and start talking about how things have been going for us during this time apart.' Kai thinks to himself as he steps out of the shower, drying his hair.
At that very moment, my cellphone starts ringing, and as soon as I pick it up and look at who's calling, my expression changes directly to one of tiredness. "Hi Menchi, how is everything going?" I ask.
"How do you know I have left Heavens Arena?" I ask, my curiosity piqued.
At Menchi's increasingly angry tone, I rub the bridge of my nose and let out a sigh of resignation before beginning to explain my little forays as a Hunter over the past few weeks.
"I understand what you're saying, but you don't have to worry. Even though it may seem like I'm losing focus and commitment to my goals, everything I decide to do will eventually come together like a complex dish with many ingredients." I state, trying to reach her with a culinary simile.
"Well, since you told me you were on an expedition to find new exotic ingredients in the Republic of Hass, I preferred not to disturb you while you were doing your work. Besides, you could have also called me during this last month to tell me how it went and let me know you were available to talk, so don't put all the blame on me." I say a little annoyed by her unjustified complaints.
"Sigh, okay, okay. If that's how you think, I'll take it into consideration when either of us has to do something important again in the future." I say with a defeatist tone.
Menchi asks in a slightly seductive tone.
"I don't think that's possible. The Mitene Union is very far from my current location. Even going by airship would disrupt my plans at Heavens Arena." I say.
"I am also in the United States of Saherta, in the city of Docoit." I answer.
The room remains silent for several seconds until I finally give my answer. "Alright, I'm in." I respond, resigning myself to her persistence.
"Seriously, this woman can be so exhausting sometimes. At least this time, though, my heart didn't falter in her attempts to tease me. That proves I've grown stronger since the last time thanks to the training." I say out loud looking at my cellphone with a sense of satisfaction.