Allen felt like someone had hit him on the back of the head.

According to the information he had been given, the man he was supposed to kill had presented himself as a miserable rank F. It was this same bastard who displayed a movement equal to his own speed, which was supposed to be unmatched to a B rank.

"Is he trying to make fun of me?" »

Allen gritted his teeth.

'No wait….'

Indeed, there was still something strange here.

"If he really is a high-ranking Hunter, there's no reason for him to be here, is there?" »

The workings of these bottom-feeding Association hunters were pretty obvious. Their main role was to walk through those doors that guilds and freelancers abandoned due to their low monetary value.

Their incomes were pathetically low compared to other Hunters, and they were also not widely recognized by other Hunters. In other words, there was a very good chance that this bastard was really an F rank.

Only that, his abilities were anything but...

'Still, an unknown hunter wouldn't brazenly work under the Association like that, so...'

Allen finally came to the only logical conclusion.

‘….He is a Reawakened.’

When he thought about it, he remembered that the upper echelons of the Association were getting a little louder with a rumor that someone was going through a Revival somewhere near this place. Not only that, the "Scorpion" Association was weirdly starting to take an interest in this person.

“And, this person was supposed to be a student…”

He should have memorized that name back then.

" Who would have guessed that such a guy was you?"

Allen had made sure to perform thorough background checks on the Hunters participating in today's raid, all of whom were between rank F and C with the exception of him.

“In other words, this little one passes for an F rank? »

That was the only conclusion he could come to.

"I should have asked for more money, if things turned out like this..."

Allen recalled the events of a few days ago while licking his dried lips.

***

A few days ago….

A cafe near the headquarters of the Association.

Allen asked as he settled into his seat.

"What business do you have with me?" »

The middle-aged man sitting next to him looked rather haggard for some reason.

He said he was the messenger of one of the 13 Kings didn't he?

Allen certainly didn't know who this man was. However, he still decided to free up some time after this man kept calling him on the phone.

The middle-aged man mumbled as if talking to himself.

"I heard that nobody knows what exactly happens inside the dungeons."

The man's voice was so soft that Allen had to ask again.

"What did you say?"

"One of the Thirteen Kings sent me here to give you a mission. This young man…." said the middle-aged man as he handed Allen a folder containing Ajin's picture.

"You've been ordered to take him out for $5 million, plus $1 million more, to deal with the other Hunters as well. Can you do it?"

The corners of Allen's lips arched.

" Sure."

***

However, if the hunter he would have to eliminate was an Awakened Hunter then the $6 billion figure wasn't quite enough. Well, his own life was at stake, after all.

The self-proclaimed F-rank hunter still emitted a keen and observant air even now. He seemed to seize the slightest opening.

Allen swallowed his saliva.

"I can't take him lightly. »

Allen was confident of winning here. He had never lost a single one-on-one fight even before undergoing the awakening process.

However, even if he could win, it would not be an easy win at all.

Right now, he had to revise his plans slightly.

With good timing, the F-rank Hunter asked a question.

“These hunters… Why did you kill them?

“Those bastards were animals worth killing. And I was just dealing with animals that will try to get in my way, that was all. In other baths, they were of no importance."

The F-rank hunter listened silently. It seemed quite likely that talking might work here. Allen proceeded directly to persuade the other man.

"Although the matter came down to this, I don't want to hurt your feelings. How about ignoring today's question completely? As long as we make this deal here, I promise I won't attempt anything against you and your group."

Of course, he couldn't let a potential source of trouble fester.

That's why Allen thought. There was a chance that a head-on fight would hurt him badly, so he would get out of here first, wait for the opportune moment, and take out all the witnesses one at a time.

However, the F-rank hunter snorted derisively.

"You should have said those things before you tried your little tricks. The Scorpion association sent you to kill me and you want me to just ignore you because you think our fight won't be as easy as you thought? Think again dumbass.”

Well shit, that man didn't say anything bad there. On the contrary, it was spot on.

Allen smirked, bewildered.

"In the end, you want to give it a shot, right?"

Well, in that case, he should go all out, then.

The twinkling light in Allen's eyes grew colder. His sharp gaze quickly swept the F-rank Hunter up and down. And his brow wrinkled for a second.

"Where did his dagger come from?" »

Before he noticed it, the F-rank Hunter was holding a dagger.

"Well...that shouldn't be too important, should it?" »

It didn't matter where that weapon came from, indeed. What was important here, however, was the type of weapon.

But there was something he wanted to test.

Allen pulls out small rolling shuriken-like knives and quickly throws them at Ajin, which he simply slashes with his daggers, Allen starts firing more and releases those shurikens with incredible speed, Ajin quickly deflects each of them, though some almost touched his body, but he had no problem.

“My turn” said Ajin…

He charges towards Allen with a straight left punch, he was able to deliver the first body shot to Allen, but Allen recovers quickly as he kicks Ajin, knocking him to the ground, Ajin gets up quickly and swings his daggers at Allen.

Allen reacts by firing his own daggers and clashes with Ajin, they continually swing their weapon as sparks fly from each clash. Ajin grabs Allen by the throat and pulls him up, with such a good reflex and reaction, he gives Allen a shoulder tackle in the air. Allen was sent straight through the air, Allen quickly frees himself and quickly lands on the ground, Ajin won't let him be. In the distance, he kicks the big ground 3 heavy kicks to give a flying kick to Allen, Allen jumps him quickly and kicks Ajin in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall.

BAM!

AARGH!!

At that moment, Allen quickly concluded his assessment.

The class that used daggers and quick moves; his opponent was a super close type damage dealer.

Most likely, his specialty was "assassination."

What a coincidence that their specialties are the same. Even if he had little advantage.

However, this guy only underwent his Re-Awakening not too long ago. The difference in experience should be absolutely huge. He might not even be able to properly use the skills at his disposal.

“Let me teach you a thing or two as your eldest. »

Allen pulled a knife from his hips and smirked at the F-rank hunter.

"Can you do something like that?" »

And then, Allen activated his “Stealth” skill, thus disappearing from the place.

This caused the F-rank hunter to get angry, and he quickly looked around. Allen could see his naked panic and confusion very clearly.

‘But, it’s so obvious.’

The "Stealth" skill not only made the body transparent.

The body, the sound and even the smell!

The skill that hid everything about the person who activated it!

That was the “Stealth” skill in a nutshell.

There were only a handful of assassin type hunters who could use this skill in the whole world.

Unrelated to his ranks, there just had to be a lucky few who unlocked this skill during the awakening process.

"Let's get it over with in one fell swoop!" »

Allen quickly moved to the rear of the F-rank Hunter. His back was wide open, unguarded.

'It is the end.'

He expected to engage in a fierce battle, but it turned out to be a rather straightforward fight in the end. If the opponent was preparing to counter the Stealth skill, it wouldn't be so easy at all.

As expected, the difference in experience decided the winner today.

'Die!'

Allen's knife aimed at the spot just below the F-rank Hunter's ribs and powerfully stabbed forward.

However!!

Noise!!

Two daggers collided in the air and sparks flew.

With his Stealth skill disabled, we could now see Allen's wide-open eyes.

"What?! But how!!"

The F-rank hunter's dagger had precisely blocked his own dagger.

Unable to hide his shock, Allen looked up and looked at the F-rank Hunter's face.

And this Hunter opened his mouth with a totally impressed face.

“Oh, so now you decide to appear. »

" What did you say ? »

Unable to understand the words of this F-rank Hunter, Allen suddenly felt this inexplicable fear in his heart.

***

Ti-ring!

 

 

 

Ajin confirmed the message from the emergency quest and heaved a sigh of relief.

"It wasn't a waste of time."

He was a bit worried that if Allen didn't take the initiative, Ajin wouldn't get the notification of the emergency quest. It was quite different from what was happening with Koner and his gang at the time.

That's why he tested the system, and it was as he expected.

The moment Allen revealed his murderous intent, the message appeared.

He wasn't just mindlessly arguing with the guy, or revealing his "panic", or showing overtures for nothing so far.

"I really didn't know he could use Stealth, though…"

In fact, when Allen disappeared before his eyes, Ajin was slightly surprised.

Well, "Stealth" was a pretty rare skill, after all.

But, when he concentrated a little more, he felt Allen's every move easily and accurately. So much so that he could close his eyes and still find his target without any problem.

This was the effect of his enhanced perception stat.

He kept investing on this Stat just to know if he should fight or run away, but today he learned a new use for it.

'I was lucky.'

Through this, Allen became shocked as if he had seen the ghosts of his ancestors.

"But how?!"

And now, when Ajin takes care of that murderous bastard, he can enjoy the quest's delicious rewards.

“If I have to fight anyway, then I might as well get everything I'm supposed to, right? »

At this moment, It was his turn attack.