Just like yesterday, the main road was filled with people selling things, there were also guards patrolling--so much talking and movement. Resh ignored it all and kept pulling me down the main street and towards a towering building with strange designs on a sign set in front of it.

When we arrived, Resh walked to the door and pulled out the metal card that she had showed the guards at the gate at the entrance to the Beleran Dungeon exclusion zone--the guards here reacted the same and after a quick look, nodded and then let her in; when I followed along, looking around, the guards glanced at Resh, with an nonverbal question--she nodded, and they backed off, allowing me to enter behind her.

When I walked in, my eyes were drawn to the large number of people standing around a large board, which was attached to the wall; they were talking loudly about something--all of the surrounding people wore interesting armour, with many varied designs, the people themselves also were very different.

Resh led me to a long wooden desk, standing in a row behind it were three women, and then lead me towards one of the women. “How can I help you, miss Resh?” The receptionist asked Resh.

“I wish to register, Tek here as a Hunter.” Resh finished speaking and glanced over to me.

“Tek, please answer some questions,” The woman’s words drew my attention, and she took out a sheet of paper. She placed it on the desk and pulled out a pen, “Okay, so your name is Tek?”

When I nodded, she wrote something down on the paper.

“Do you have any experience fighting Monsters?”

“Yes”

“Do you know what grade you are?”

At this question, Resh looked over at me and gently shook her head, it was obvious that she didn’t want me to tell anyone that I was Demigod-Grade SS, possibly even Low-Grade Demigod. I agreed completely with the sentiment, I wasn’t going to let people who I didn’t trust, know that I had great power.

It would also draw attention to me, probably attracting Apostles, who would try to kill me.

“I’m not sure.” So I answered like this.

“Okay, it seems that you will need to take a  test--we will do that later,” The receptionist said, then moved on to the next question, “There is one last question--don’t worry. Where are you from?”

Well, that is an extremely good question--because even I didn’t know the answer to that one.

“My first memories are of me waking up in a cave--my guess is that I was abandoned by my family.” Well, that was mostly true, if I fudged it a little; I did wake up in a cave--after falling from a hole in the sky.

As I replied, the receptionist’s eyes widened when she heard me--she even looked like she was slightly guilty for asking, “Well, Um, we will leave that one blank.”

Resh sighed--but her eyes dampened for some reason.

The receptionist cleared her throat, “Well, I will explain some things to you--this is what we do for every new Hunter. The Hunter’s Guild was established by the Land-God Errios millennium ago. We exist to hunt Monsters and protect citizens; however, members of the Hunter’s Guild aren’t able to be forced into the military by the ruling class, or allowed to fight in wars between Humans…except for some very rare cases. They are constantly protecting Humanity from the scourge of Monsters.”

“Do you fight for people who aren’t Humans, such as Elves? Like Resh?” I asked.

Resh was looking at me strangely, in a way that seemed like a mixture of confusion and amusement.

“Uhh, we don’t particularly fight for them; but the Elves have their own Hunter’s Guild” The receptionist said with a grin.

I looked over to Resh, I wanted her to answer the question…I trusted her words much more than the receptionist who I had just met.

Resh nodded with a smile, and patted me on the shoulder.

“Welcome to the Hunter’s Guild,” The receptionist handed me a metallic card which was attached to a necklace, which I put on straight away, “We will do the test to find out your grade in ten minutes, please wait over there?” she indicated the chairs in a corner.

Resh grabbed me by the hand, leading me over to a chair, and sat down next to me.

She had gotten more and more physical with me…which I really liked, and I was very glad that she wasn’t scared of me anymore.

I couldn’t help but reach out, and stroked her silky blue hair, Resh blushed a little and after a seconds, and what seemed to be reluctance, she moved her head.

“Why did you stroke me?” Resh looked at me in curiousity, her hand going to the top of her head.

Then carefully rearranged her hair.

“I was bored, and I had a sudden urge. It’s best when you smile.”

Resh smiled widely when I said that, and then she turned her head away.

“Tek, please come over here?” The receptionist that was talking to me before, gestured us over. When we walked over to the counter, she came from around behind the counter, she guided us to a door which lead to an open area behind the Guild building.

As we left through the open door, we were at the entrance to a fenced-off field; there were a lot of people training or practicing on the wooden dummies which stood against one of the fences, but when the receptionist came out--they all stepped back.

“Hide your full capabilities, aim for around Mid-Grade C.” Resh muttered quietly into my ear as we followed along behind the receptionist.

“I will be bringing out some Monsters, fight them, and we will use that to determine your grade; we have weapons if you need them, but you do seem to already have one,” The receptionist looked at the claw that was sheathed on my thigh.

“Well, I don’t use this one, unless I am fighting an enemy that is too powerful for me to handle,” I noticed that when I said this, Resh shuddered slightly.

Luckily, she only seemed to be a little scared of what I was capable of, not scared of who I am.

“Alright,” The receptionist handed me an iron shortsword, it was so light that I could barely feel any weight in my hand.

The receptionist went over to a series of cages that were placed against the wall of the building--she released the first of the Monsters.

It was a small boar-like creature--I knew it was a boar, but I didn’t know how, or what a boar even was.

The little creature seemed to move in slow motion; well, I say little, but its height was around knee-high and it had tusks that were around a meter long--for common people, it would be deadly; but for me, it was about as dangerous as a fly, except flies sometimes spread disease.

I gently swung my sword, and it was a clean cut…until the blade shattered as it cut through the boar’s spine. The carcass sprayed shards of bone and broken sword, as well as blood and organs, all over the place--including some of the people watching from the other side of the field. I tried to hold back, but it seems that I had failed.

Resh sighed.

It seems like I can’t do anything right.

The receptionist looked shocked, she walked over and looked at me, staring into my face; she moved from side to side, looking at me from different angles, before stepping back--she gave me a new sword, going over and allowing a bigger boar out of a cage.

“This is a Mid-Grade C Hell Boar.” Resh said from a small distance away from me.

It was a boar that was waste height on me, its crimson fur stood up like spikes--in the very tip of the long tusks were a very impure crystal. It looked like it may be a little more dangerous than the boar I killed before, but only a little.

Now, it was time for me to practice holding back.

The boar charged at me, and I blocked it with the flat of the sword, carefully angling it so that the metal didn’t shatter on impact; I deflected its head to the side, but allowed it to push me back a small distance, my feet left shallow furrows in the dirt.

The boar rearranged its position and then rushed at me again. I took a small step to the side, and as it rushed past me I slammed the hilt into its stomach--the boar made a squealing noise, and felt its ribs crack. It squealed even more loudly as it stood up on its hind legs, spinning rapidly as it tried to slam its front hooves at my face.

Holding the sword sideways, I blocked again, causing a loud clang; however, there were cracks forming in the iron blade--as I blocked, I allowed myself to be driven slightly into the ground.

With a clattering noise, my sword’s iron blade shattered.

I heard Resh sigh again from behind me, but I didn’t look over at her--I was having a surprisingly fun time playing around.

Only the handle, and around ten centimeters of the blade remained, and the boar once again raised itself up to attack me; I pulled my feet out of the ground and waited.

The boar squealed, smashing its heavy body down at me; of course, with my sped up perception, I had what felt like an eternity to figure out how to play a little more--since it was fun, and I could stop it at any time.

The fist-sized hooves slammed towards my face.

Stepping to the side, I dodged the first hoof, and slammed the hilt of my sword into the other; this deflected it to the side, and the beast hit the ground a few centimeters from me--since I redirect most of the power, it didn’t even push me back by even a single step.

There was a crack, it seems that I had broken a bone in the boar’s leg when I accidentally misjudged my strength as I hit it with the hilt. Since it had collapsed because of the pain, I stepped on it and decided to end its life--smashing the hilt into the boar’s head.

With another cracking sound, as well as a squishing noise, its skull was shattered and it died.

I think I did fairly well holding back, just like Resh suggested.

She walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder, and when I looked back at her, she smiled a little strangely.

“So, what’s my result? Do I get Mid-Grade C?” I asked the receptionist--but I suddenly heard snickers from the people around me.

“Why are the others laughing?” I asked Resh quietly.

“Because it is obvious that you have much more combat experience of Mid-Grade C, even High-Grade C.”

“Uhh…” The receptionist looked strangely exasperated, and then sighed--she shrugged, “Give me your card.”

When I handed her the metallic card, she touched it--a Magic Circle appeared and glowed for a second before vanishing.

She quickly gave it back to me, and I looked down at it, which had a large ‘C’ with the word ‘High-Grade’ written underneath in smaller text.

“Thank you,” I said to the receptionist, who smiled at me with a nod.

I turned to Resh and asked her, “So, what now?”

“Well, now we should get a request. I want to increase from High-Grade C, to Low-Grade B. I was originally going to get it upgraded after the quest with Jess and Lyus, but I talked to them about it, and I failed; apparently Lyus’ death, and I didn’t have any ‘evidence’ from exploring deeper in the Beleran Dungeon.” Resh said as she turned around, leading me away from the training yard--back into the Guild building.

When we entered the building again, we didn’t go to the reception desk, but to the large board that was attached to the wall--with a lot of papers pinned onto it.

“Hmm, this one looks fun. The nearby iron mines seem to have been overrun by Metallic Slimes; they are fairly difficult, so I should be able to increase my Grade after they are all killed, as long as I take the cores back with me,”

“Metallic Slimes? Are they a metal version of those rather strong green ones I killed?”

“Uhh, no…they are incredibly weak compared to the things you fought; you have some trauma about those, don’t you?” Resh giggled quietly and patted me on the shoulder.

“Yeah, possibly,” I poked my tongue out at her.

“Don’t worry, I will probably find them difficult, but killable--but you would probably be able to clear the entire mine with one punch…just the shockwave alone from one of your serious hits could possibly level a mountain,” Resh spoke with a teasing smile.

Well, I have no idea what a full force punch would do, especially if I used my Light--the caverns were very reinforced, since the normal stone in the Beleran Dungeon was cratered by a stomp.

I wonder if I should mention my thoughts to Resh?

I discovered that I really liked it when she showed astonishment at my power--I had weird feelings when I was around the pretty Elven Mage…I wonder what they are.

Then again, it is possible that speaking about it would have the opposite effect, and might cause her to be scared of me.

While I was considering this, I had followed Resh by instinct and she had taken the paper to the counter, with me close behind her. she approached the receptionist we used before.

“Are you sure that you are strong enough to fight these Monsters?” she verified with Resh, starting to fill out some paperwork when she saw Resh nod.

“Time to go to the mines,” Resh said, she smiled at me, a strange warmth in her eyes.

Resh started to lead me away from the counter and towards the door, she grabbed my hand and paused for a second, before continuing walking towards the door of the Hunter’s Guild building; upon exiting, we walked down the large main road, and towards a huge pair of gates.

Two men in thick metal armour stood guard at the gates, one of them approached and asked Resh why we were leaving the city--to which she replied that we had accepted the request to clear the mines. The soldier asked us both for identification, and we showed them our metallic cards, he nodded and wish Resh and I luck--thanking us for cleaning the mine, in advance, admitting that it had been a problem for quite a while.

After the quick conversation, the guards let us through and we walked through the gate and along a stone road.

I suddenly felt an odd vibration in the air, and when I looked back, I saw that the massive stone walls which surrounded the city were covered in Magic Symbols--which even had enough power that I could feel their effects when they weren’t activated.

Tearing my eyes away from the walls, I could see trees and grass around us, there was so much green; I just followed Resh along the road as I looked around--when I fell, all I had seen was desolate land, mountains, and the moons; so these surroundings were very interesting.

Resh was still gripping my hand as she walked along, she seemed happy, her hair swayed and there was happiness in her steps.

“How long will it take to arrive?” I asked her, and then glanced up when I heard something fly overhead; it was a bird, a black one which obviously wasn’t a Monster but a normal animal.

“A day and a bit, we will set up a camp near the lake that is in that direction,” Resh said, pointing in a direction, then taking a quick glance at me and then back to the surrounding trees.

The city we were in, which I believe was named after the Dungeon, Beleran, was built in a clearing in a forest--or at least near a forest, the thick trees began only a short walk from the main gate.

“Why do you seem to like nature so much?”

She had been smiling non-stop since we started walking; her eyes slightly narrowed in happiness, and constantly darting around. Her shoulders were a lot more relaxed, and she was swinging her free arm, her other hand gripped mine--she would subconsciously squeeze occasionally, when she saw things that she liked.

“I am an Elf, lovers of nature…and natural lovers…” She smiled, and deliberately whispered the second part of her sentence incredibly quietly. When she looked away, I could see the sharp tips of her ears, which poked through her silky blue hair, go slightly red.

Without thinking, I squeezed her hand this time, causing her to twitch slightly.

“Ahem, let’s speed up a little bit!” Resh spoke enthusiastically, like she was covering over what she said before, and walked a little faster.

***

We had been walking for a long time, I was obviously used to walking in silence for long periods, but Resh didn’t seem to be--after around an hour, she started to look a little uncomfortable.

So, I started another conversation, “Can you tell me about yourself, or your past?”

Resh seemed a little surprised at the question, then she thought for a few seconds before speaking, “I was born twenty years ago in Beleran, I was abandoned in the slums; my parents supposedly gave me to the leader of a gang--I have no idea who my parents were, but they would have both been Elves, since I am a pure-blood. Since I had no parents, and was given to a gang at birth, my only choice growing up would be to be a thief--luckily I accidentally discovered my very high capability for Magic.

I had been working for the gang, as a thief, since Elves naturally can walk quickly and quietly--anyway, I had snuck into the room of a Mage who had been staying at an inn that the gang kept their eyes on, and among the objects I stole there was a Grimoire.

I gave all of the expensive items to the gang, but, kept the Grimoire for myself--since it looked really interesting. So, I read it; and tried out one of the spells. It actually worked, and I formed a simple fireball, and one of my gang-mates happen to stop by and saw me.

There was a massive celebration, since it was virtually impossible for Mages to join street gangs, and Magic is usually registered with the Mage’s Guild, or Hunter’s Guild. The leader decided to focus most of the activities of the thieves to look for more books on Magic, including breaking into the Black Market a few times.

To pay them back for saving me, I learned all that I could, I vowed to myself that I would be of use to them…so they wouldn’t abandon me like my parents did.” Resh seemed a little sad, pausing again before continuing, “I met Jess when I was fifteen. She had been excommunicated from the Church because of an indecent relationship with one of the Paladins.

Jess had been looking for somewhere to stay, so she didn’t have to take the only other available job--which was prostitute. She had discovered me, while I had been secretly training in the sewers; the gang leader wanted to kill her, so my secret wouldn’t be exposed, until he found out that she was a Priestess, and she was easily accepted.

Then came Lyus, who was a Low-Grade B ranked Paladin; he was the one who Jess had been hooking up with since she was twelve, and he was thirteen. He had been excommunicated at around the same time.

After I begged the gang leader, and pointed out that I was old enough, I could finally sign up with the Hunter’s Guild, alongside Jess and Lyus; the gang leader was like a father to me…but he got caught and executed a short time after I got out…” Resh teared up.

I gently squeezed her hand, trying to stop her from crying, to cheer her up.

After a few seconds, she sniffled a few times before continuing, “We formed a team and trained in the Dungeon--we got quite good,” She smiled as she looked back over her memories; then she grinned in a more amused was, “Oh right, you don’t know what prostitutes are, and what ‘hooking up’ is do you?” She giggled, but blushed a little.

“I feel like I should, like an instinct maybe--but I can’t remember…as usual.” I smiled at her.

“You might remember some time.” She giggled and looked away.

“You sounded like you didn’t like that Jess and Lyus together, why?”

“She was too young, even though their love was genuine and lasted ten years; but he should have waited until she reached adulthood, fifteen…”

“Why?” I had a similar feeling that it was wrong.

As I was looking at her and thinking, I felt her hand touch my head, “You will recover your memory some day.” She rubbed my hair a few times, before taking it off and taking a step back.

I felt happy…and something else--I have no idea what it was; it was both good, and slightly painful…and confused me, so I just decided to stop thinking about it, and we continued walking.

***

We continued walking, keeping up light conversation, and arrived at the lake by the time the sun started setting. A few hours before we arrived, we had to leave the stone road and follow a dirt road.

When we arrived at the lake, Resh took out a tent and asked me to go into the woods to collect sticks for the campfire. It felt weird to walk among the densely packed trees, there were too many places for enemies to hide, but I ignored the feeling and picked up a lot of fallen sticks. The leaves rustled under my feet, and I heard animals moving through the bushes, and saw birds flying away.

When I came back, I gave the sticks to Resh, who piled them up carefully; she made sure to keep the spares by the side, before beginning to chant--a small fireball shot from her hands and lit the campfire.

She apparently had packed some food, either before going to the Dungeon with Jess and Lyus, or some time when I wasn’t there; it was likely that she had gotten some from the innkeeper while I was waiting in the room--it doesn’t really matter, it tasted very good.

As I sat by the fire, having finished eating, Resh looked at me, “I will be having a bath--don’t go to the lake until I am back.”; she got up and walked off. Once she got to the edge of the lake, she stripped and jumped in, with a soft squeal--the water was probably cold.

With my eyesight, I could see in the very low light easily; I had accidentally looked over at the sound of her clothing land on the ground, and I saw her. She had a slim body with very white skin, her breasts were moderate, but looked very soft.

I looked away very quickly, and went back to staring into the fire, as I listened to her swimming around--I had to fight the temptation to look over. I was also listening for any possible threats.

After a while, Resh came out and put on her clothing; she walked over to warm herself by the fire, sitting opposite me--her wet hair clung to her skin…and so did her clothing; she noticed my gaze and smiled, “Your turn to wash.”

“Sure, though I don’t think I have ever swum before.” I looked away from her and got up, walking down to the edge of the lake and stripping--I glanced back and saw Resh rapidly look away, I didn’t mind, and just went waist deep into the water and started washing.

I had never had the chance to wash in the Dungeon, and the first time that I did, was when I was at the inn--Resh insisted; which made sense, I probably would have smelt bad…Except, I don’t think I ever sweated, though I did have blood on my clothing.

Once I was done, I left the water and got dressed, walking over to the fire to dry my skin and to warm myself--the water was quite cold.

For some reason, Resh wouldn’t meet my eyes when I sat down, it was strange.

“Well, I’m going to sleep.” She said as her eyes wandered, seeming to want to meet mind, but not able to.

“Can I ask, why do you sleep so much? Since…well, I don’t know, I haven’t needed to sleep”

“That is because you are very powerful, apparently after reach High-Grade A rank or higher, your body changes.” She said, pausing and turning her head back, before walking into her tent.

I sat by the fire and stared into the golden dancing flames; at first it seemed fairly normal, but sometimes I could swear that I saw blue symbols dancing in the depth of the fire. I have no idea when I could see them, and trying to figure it out didn’t help--so after a few minutes I just gave up and watched the symbols.