Let's become Treasure Hunters.
It's an old story — back when I was still a kid, not even ten years old yet.
One friend in our group, a childhood friend, said it.
He was a reckless, strong-armed, but brave boy.
Let's become Treasure Hunters. We'll travel to Treasure Halls all over the world and claim wealth and glory.
Our goal is just one: become the strongest heroes in the world. Us — this group of six — we can definitely do it.
Against all logic, our quick-footed and dexterous friend was the first to agree.
The bookworm friend timidly followed suit, and the quiet but dependable friend gave a big nod.
My little sister, who always tagged along behind us, peeked at my face — and I agreed too.
Treasure Hunters who explore ancient ruins across the land and bring back mysterious Treasure Weapons have been the glamorous profession of any era. There's no faster path to acquiring wealth, fame, and everything else this world has to offer — and becoming a hero.
Of course, there's risk. An enormous risk called death.
And then, years passed. After pushing each other and honing our skills, we all safely earned our Hunter licenses.
Well, I say that, but you can get a Hunter license just by applying.
The brave, reckless, strong-armed boy became an unrivaled swordsman. The quick-footed and dexterous friend could see through traps and led the entire Party — A Thief.
(Not that he was actually stealing anything, but that's what they're generally called.)
And the other friends too — for better or worse, each of them possessed a rare talent essential for a Hunter.
Those glimpses of talent had already been obvious before we even became Hunters, back when we were training together in our assigned roles.
The only one who had no talent was me.
The only one who couldn't do anything above average, no matter what — that was me.
Four friends, my sister, and me. Out of six, it was just me. Only me — only I couldn't do a thing.
I was the only one who couldn't see a path to becoming a hero.
That was over five years ago.
§ § § I'd been in a foul mood since morning.
Thick black clouds blanketed the sky. When I closed my eyes, all I could hear was the sound of raindrops hammering the ground. The smell of water. The smell of mud.
Three straight days of bad weather had turned the ground into a complete quagmire. It was still daytime, but it was dark outside.
In front of a sturdy stone building, despite the downpour, people of all ages and genders stood in line.
Those with dead eyes, those shouting angrily, those who weren't purely human but bore the traits of other races. The one thing they all shared was that nearly every one of them looked intimidating.
Those wearing grimy armor made of some unidentifiable leather. Those wrapped in heavy cloaks that concealed their entire bodies. There were even some outfitted in imposing metal armor that covered them head to toe.不少 people carried weapons — swords, heavy firearms, and the like.
On a street where the bad weather meant virtually no foot traffic, this particular corner was wrapped in an eerie heat.
Everyone here had come for the slim chance that existed.
To prove their abilities to an established, named Treasure Hunter in person, and to get recruited into that Hunter's Party.
Treasure Hunters have been the glamorous profession of any era.
Of all the jobs out there, the risk is virtually limitless — but with talent, you can have it all: wealth, fame, power. The kind of glory you could never reach unless you were born into nobility or a prestigious merchant family.
Hunters typically form groups called Parties of several members. If you can join a Party with many experienced Hunters, you can dramatically reduce the risk compared to going it alone.
Active Hunters are always looking for skilled companions. That's exactly what this event was about.
I'd assumed fewer people would show up in this rain, but there were way more than I expected. I sighed once and joined the very back of the line.
With no roof overhead, everyone standing outside was drenched.
I pulled my hood deep over my head and waited while making myself small. I didn't know a single person, and standing in line alone made my heart sink.
"AAAAAAAAHH! Why the hell are there so many people?! I can't even get in the damn door!"
An irritated shout rose from somewhere ahead, and I shrank further.
The wait was already brutal enough without the cold rain making it even worse. I understood the frustration, but everyone felt the same.
Hunters are strong. Many of them have short tempers. If a fight broke out and you got caught up in it, nobody would be happy.
One of a Hunter's natural gifts is physical stature. I'm average height, but most of the men standing around me towered over me by a full head.
These are monsters wearing human skin, possessing the strength and courage to fight head-on against creatures that far exceed human limits.
All I could do was pray that the situation would pass peacefully.
Fortunately, this time my prayers were answered for once, and it didn't escalate further.
The line shuffled forward slightly. Making myself small and making sure not to catch anyone's eye, I suddenly noticed the person standing just ahead of me had turned back.
Beautiful blue eyes reflected me.
"Hey, you? Are you trying to join a Party too?"
"Ah… yes."
It was a surprisingly bright voice. Ignoring her looked like it'd cause trouble, so reluctantly I let my gaze drop to just below her eyes.
She was a female Hunter, likely in her late teens. Well-groomed light brown hair and big blue eyes. A long coat with a sturdy belt and a large pouch set into it. Her outfit was standard Hunter gear, but her undamaged hair and friendly-looking face didn't match what you'd expect of a Hunter exploring dangerous Treasure Halls. Her clothes were practically new, with no dirt or wear to speak of.
In this day and age, female Hunters weren't exactly rare, but experience had taught me that Hunters with this kind of vibe generally fell into two categories.
Those who were right on the cusp of becoming Hunters, or had just started, still brimming with hope.
And the genuine "monsters" — those who had shone through countless adventures without ever losing their luster, possessing outstanding talent that could make them heroes. Like my old friends.
Nine times out of ten, it was the former, but I couldn't let my guard down. This industry — it really did have a lot of monsters wearing human skin.
The female Hunter gave a wry smile at my obviously suspicious look, but quickly brightened and offered her hand.
She didn't seem like the type to immediately punch me in the face.
I quietly set this Hunter to Threat Level E in my mind. That's the rating given to Hunters who look safe on the surface.
"I'm Luda Lunder. Level 3 Hunter. Just got promoted recently, though."
A Level 3 Hunter… mid-rank. Far more impressive than she looked.
Without a word, I reset the woman's Threat Level to D. At the very least, she wasn't a newly minted Hunter.
Treasure Hunters are assigned Levels based on their achievements by the Explorer's Guild — colloquially called "the Guild" — the organization that manages them all.
Levels go up to 10, and Level 3 is the rank that guarantees a certain level of mid-range skill and accomplishment.
According to statistics, seventy percent of all Hunters stop at Level 3, so Luda having reached that level at her age meant she was promising.
No harm in staying cautious.
I opened my mouth. Having not had a single drop of water since morning and having run all the way here, the voice that came out was terribly dry.
"……I'm… Klye Andrich. Nice to meet you, Luda."
I answered without taking her hand.
The biggest thing I'd gained in five years of being a Hunter was a sense of caution.
The moment I shook her hand, I could be thrown. Thrown, maybe crushed. There was a real possibility I could be killed the instant our hands met.
Of course, there was also the possibility that not shaking hands would be taken as hostility.
Luda's brow twitched for just an instant, but she quickly said cheerfully: "You're a Solo too? Everyone here was so on edge — I didn't like it."
"……"
"I've been doing solo Hunter work for a while now, but I've been hitting a wall lately… And then I heard there was a large-scale Hunter recruitment, so here I am."
She tapped the sheath hanging from her belt at her waist — where a dagger hung.
Treasure Halls contained all manner of traps and mechanisms. The fact that she only carried a low-lethality dagger suggested Luda was a Hunter more skilled at disarming traps than fighting Monsters head-on.
Well, for a Solo, that skill was essential.
Clearing a Treasure Hall required a variety of abilities, and covering everything alone was extremely difficult.
Not all Treasure Hunters necessarily engage in treasure hunting inside Treasure Halls, but to earn a Level 3 certification, you needed a record of successfully clearing one. If she had the ability to do that alone, it made sense that she'd received her certification in a short time.
She was probably what people commonly called a "genius."
Not knowing what to say, I offered a helpless smile.
Smiling when things got difficult — that was one of the few things I'd learned in recent years.
"All by yourself — you take some pretty big risks, huh?"
"Yes! Exactly! I tried going to the 'White Wolf's Den,' but I just didn't have enough hands…"
Starved for conversation, Luda's eyes lit up.
"So I thought I'd try joining another Party. They say the 'White Wolf's Den' is fully clearable with five Level 3 Hunters —"
"Ha! The White Wolf's Den? Do you even understand what kind of place that is?"
A mocking voice suddenly cut in, and Luda's expression instantly turned sharp.
It came from a large man standing further ahead in the line. He wore leather armor combining metal and leather, with a blood-stained dark cloak. If Luda was a bright-eyed Hunter in her first year, this man had the aura of a seasoned veteran.
Hunters, not just this guy but many of them, were hot-blooded. And the tendency was for that hot-bloodedness to scale with their strength.
The Guild even said that being hot-blooded was a mark of a Hunter's aptitude.
Sure enough, Luda, facing down a man a full two heads taller, showed no hesitation and shouted right back.
"What's your problem? Out of nowhere! Got something to say?!"
"Jesus, Level 3 Hunter? The White Wolf's Den? This isn't some gathering for Hunter wannabes!"
The large man's cheeks twitched into something that couldn't even be called a smile. The others in line watched him and Luda with looks of annoyance — or amusement.
I quietly took a step backward. Being careful not to get caught up in a fight — that was another thing I'd learned since becoming a Hunter. If you got hurt in a scuffle, nobody was going to help you.
"Everyone standing here is confident in their own abilities! After all, the ones recruiting here are a Party that belongs to that 'Footprint' clan! New as it may be, it's the hottest clan in the Imperial Capital right now! If someone like you — a newbie — gets mixed in, it's gonna be a problem for the rest of us!"
A Clan was one of the organizational forms that Hunters could take.
A few Hunters forming a group that acted together day to day — that was a Party. When multiple Parties gathered together to form a larger organization, that was a Clan.
Reasons for forming a Clan varied. Information sharing, for instance. Sharing items. Borrowing or lending members when short-handed, or banding together to take on high-difficulty Treasure Halls.
Lateral connections were indispensable for smooth Hunter operations. For that reason, the Guild actively encouraged Clan formation.
The Party recruitment being held at this location today was organized under a Clan's direction.
"Footprint" was one of the Clans that had made a name for itself in the Imperial Capital Zebuldia.
Its official name was "Beginning Footprint." It was a Clan to which many notable young Parties belonged — still relatively new in history, but one whose influence in the Imperial Capital was currently growing.
Normally, Party member recruitment happened as needed at various times, but Beginning Footprint held a large-scale recruitment once a year by gathering all its affiliated Parties together. That was happening right here, right now.
Anyone could take a test administered by Beginning Footprint members, regardless of background, age, or Level, and if they passed, they would be welcomed as a Party member.
Of course, the average Level of Hunters belonging to Beginning Footprint Parties was high. Very few would pass, but for Hunters who had no connections and were confident in their own abilities, it would look like a tremendous opportunity.
But that was a misunderstanding. The members of Beginning Footprint's affiliated Parties were the cream of the crop among the Imperial Capital's Hunters. My friends had been the same — their talent wasn't so much genius as it was abnormal, and most who hoped to take the test would have their confidence utterly shattered to splinters.
"Huh? The posting said Level and Hunter experience wouldn't be a factor! Besides, I'm Level 3!"
"Ha! Sure, they say Level 3 is mid-rank, but Beginning Footprint has Hunters at Level 3 coming out of their ears!"
The large man roared at Luda, who bared her teeth.
What he said was true. Level 3 was just mid-rank — merely average. For a notable Party, a Level 3 title held no particular value. Most of Beginning Footprint's affiliated members were Level 3 or above.
But Luda being Level 3 was only her current status. I'd said that seventy percent of Hunters stopped at Level 3, but as long as you had the ability, your Level would keep rising. If she'd managed to get to Level 3 on her own, then joining a Party and gaining experience would make going higher far from impossible.
That was precisely why Beginning Footprint's member recruitment had no Level restriction.
I thought it was a terrible excuse for picking a fight, but I kept my mouth shut. Best not to say anything unnecessary.
While I watched in silence, Luda and the large man were getting more and more heated.
The man spat obscenities while ostentatiously resting his hand on the sword at his waist.
A longsword with roughly a meter-long blade. Unlike Luda's dagger, this was a weapon designed for direct combat — for slashing through Monsters and Phantoms.
With just a dagger, Luda was outmatched. The large man was almost certainly not below Level 3.
"Oh really? You wanna go? Fine, I'll take you on."
But Luda showed no signs of backing down even in the face of this. She twisted her refined lips into a wild grin.
Just like the large man, she once touched the dagger at her waist, then drew it in a smooth, almost admiring motion.
Treasure Hunters were not ordinary people. If a Hunter and a civilian got into a fight, the Hunter would unilaterally be cast as the villain. But in a fight between Hunters, the one who drew a weapon first was in the wrong.
The large man, who was no less hot-blooded than Luda, probably hadn't drawn first for that very reason. He was experienced with scraps.
This meant that even if Luda got beaten to a pulp by a man whose name she didn't even know, there would be no room for leniency. Even if there was a gap in their certified Hunter Levels, it wouldn't be taken into account in any formal dispute.
Monsters, every last one of them. I'd only been standing in line, and this was what I had to deal with.
Growing weary of the rain and the incipient brawl unfolding before me, a man in a white uniform — like what Imperial soldiers wore — emerged from the building.
At his collar was a silver mark shaped like a footprint. The emblem of a member belonging to the Clan, First Steps.
He had a face just as凶 as the large man's. A deep scar was carved across his cheek, and he glared alternately between the large man and Luda with a fierce, hostile gaze.
With a voice just as rough as either of theirs, he barked: "Hey! Cut the fighting! If you want to brawl, take it somewhere else! You two, I'll kick you out without a test!"
The large man, who had been about to draw his sword, clicked his tongue and sheathed it again. Luda, cheeks still tight with anger, tucked her dagger away too.
And slowly, the line began to move.