Chapter 38: SKILL BOOK 

<Mikael PoV>

"This is..."

I found a book when the Boss died. I touched it and read its description.

[Insect Wings

- A two pair of wings will grow in the user's back.]

"Oh cool. It's a Skill Book! I'll use this"

The more Skill I have, the better. My fighting style would become more dynamic. 

I tried to absorb the Skill, but....

[Not compatible]

It's not working. So when absorbing a Skill, I need a high compatibility. Okay, I get the gist. 

But to be sure. I need to ask Kyle about this. I bet he knew something.

"Now, these armies of ants

are the only one remaining. Well, I can finish this quickly. "

""Ctraagghh!!!""

They were mad because I killed their Queen. The flying ants charged at me, but I'm confident that they couldn't do anything.  

"Come at me! No one will leave this place alive!!"

.....

....

...

..

.

Two days later. 

A new day has risen in the province of Cavite. Peace covered the region and you can't see any ants.

All of them were dead. We killed them. Me and Miriam solved this problem on our own. 

"Mikael, someone's wants to talk to us."

Miriam said while looking at the sunrise. 

"Who is it?"

"General Mark Lekta. He is the General assign in Cavite, he wants to thank us... and he doesn't take no for an answer"

I paused, It seems like there were people who were eager to meet us. Though it's understandable, we cleaned the entire Cavite so I guess they want to talk to us about it.

"... Hm? Well.... I got nothing to do. Okay. "

I can't believe that someday in my life I would meet a General. Me, I'm just an ordinary citizen. If not because of the Awakening, I'll stay as an ordinary young man.

We went to the Municipal Hall of Imus, Cavite. This was my second time here. 

"... We meet again young boy"

An old man who's wearing a worn office clothes smiled at us. 

"Hey!? You're the one who gave me the list of relocation.  You're the General!?"

" Hahaha the people here were so busy. So to ease their exhaustion, I decided to help them with their paperwork"

He put two cups of instant coffee on the table. 

"Ah Yes Sir!"

I saluted, damn I'd never thought that I actually met a General... twice.

General laughed at my awkward salute yet he immediately became serious. 

"I'll go straight to the point. Thank you very much, you really helped us a lot... But I'm sorry to say this. I'm going to be shameless, can I ask a request? It depends on you if you accept it or not"

His mouth was twitching, waiting for our reply. 

I look at Miriam and she nodded her head. She wanted to hear the General's need. 

" What do you want, General Sir. "

"You see a Portal has appeared near in Metro Manila. It's already 96 days, after 4 days, a Dungeon Break will happen. We already evacuated the residents, but a lot of properties will be damage if we let the Monster Wave happen. The worst thing is we will let thousands of monsters occupy our land. That's why please help us. Don't worry, money's not the problem. We are ready to pay any amount just to save the City."

General Lekta bent his knees and begged us to help. How could I refuse? You're already begging. And as if I'll let another misfortune happen. Well, I already had an answer.

"I accept it. What about you Miriam? Are you in?"

"Hahaha. I'm practically bored right now. I don't want to stay in the Hacienda, they treat me as señorita. I'd rather use my strength to help the people.... It heals my broken heart"

"... Thank you very much!!! I promise!! You'll receive a prize!"

Old man beamed. 

"Yes, sir!... So please don't lower your head and get up.  Your knees will hurt, based on what I know arthritis is prone in your age.... "

.....

....

...

..

.

A couple of hours passed and we're now in Manila. 

"... I thought we're going to fight monsters? Why do I see cameras and reporters?"

Camera-men took our pictures. Some reporters tried to interview us and they were doing live coverage. 

"What!? Who did this!? Ehem! Don't take pictures!"

He shouted to the reporters and looked at us apologetically. 

 "I'm so sorry! I believe some people leak an information to the media. Tch tch, these f*ck*ng reporters! They'll do anything just to get a good scoop! " 

General's ears were burning red. He's ashamed.  He just wants to protect the country, but at the same time, he wanted to protect us. Our privacy were important too.

"It's okay General.  Hehe, I actually want to show my parents that I'm not lying, I will show them that I've changed. I want to prove them wrong. I'm not a spoiled brat! I will show them that I'm a daughter that they can be proud of! "

Miriam spoke her opinion. If my parents were still alive, I too, wanted to show them that I could save this City of Manila. 

Though, it's an impossible dream... They were dead.

"Is that so, Miss Miriam? But my priority is to protect the two of you.  I promise that no reporters will disturb you"

General assured us. Wow, I couldn't believe that a General was helping us, a couple of normal citizens, to protect our privacy.

"General, can we get a recording of Dungeon raid? We received some info that there are two new Hunters in our country.  We want to cover their first legacy"

The space inside the Portal was called Dungeon. The first returnees declared the place as a Dungeon. 

"Nope!! Legacy your ass!! My duty is to protect the privacy of these two civilians!"

"But they are not an ordinary civilian, they are Hunters, General"

A reporter replied. 

"I'm not going to change my mind. "

"General let them do it"

I step up and talked to General Lekta. 

"Let them do it. I will show them the truth about what's inside the Dungeon, but I want a contract that no matter what happen, if they received wounds or died inside. It's not our responsibility. "

"....."

The reporters turned silent. They knew about the Dungeon. It's a colony where thousands of monsters reside. There's a high chance that they would die in just a couple of steps.

I chuckled, as if I'll help you. I want to help the residents of this place. Not you people, who use the stories of others to make money.

"How about it? We will start now."

No one answered, they were afraid to go inside without protection. However, someone shouted a minute after. 

"I- I accept!"

A young woman raised her hand. She looks young, perhaps she new in this work. A fresh graduate, I thought. 

"Good, I tell you, your life is on the line here. No matter what happens, you're on your own. "

I seriously gaze at her. 

"Ye- yes! "

There were dozens of reporters here, but she's the one one who had enough courage to raise her hand. I like your bravery. 

I laughed. 

I'm just bluffing so don't worry, I won't let you hurt. I said inside my head. 

"Your name?"

"Hello sir. M- my name is Angelica Karsila from Ebs Tbn. We want to take a video of how you will fight. C- can we record it? "

"... Miss. I'm just a teenager, 19 to be exact. So please reserve your 'Sir'. I feel old whenever you say that. You can call me Mikael. "

"B- but you're a  Hunter.  Many Hunters has high ego and odd behavior.  Ah! I- I'm not talking about you Sir! S- so please....!! "

She covered her mouth when she realized that she spoke some derogatory comments about Hunters. 

Yup, new graduate. 

"Hahaha,  don't be nervous Miss Angeles. Except from being an idiot, Mikael is a good man. "

Hey Miriam!! That hurts!. You didn't give me any dignity.  Where's the respect!?

"Tch, my career hasn't even started, now you're already destroying my image... "

I grumbled. 

"Hahaha let's go. By the way, General. What kind of Monsters are we facing? We need at least some briefing"

"The scout found that it's a jungle type. Based on their reports, they are giant animals. "

General told us everything he knew. I yawn because no matter what type of monsters I'm going to face, I'm confident that that I would win. 

"Then, let's start this already"