“How does Wyatt do this?” Jimmy muttered, flinching again as the death bus bounced, shook, and slid towards the Tower.

Thankfully, it came to a stop shortly after. Jimmy didn’t wait for others to get off before he hopped up from the middle aisle and walked as fast as he could without running. Once off, he nearly stumbled to his knees, his legs little more than Jell-o.

“Another day, another dollar,” he grumbled, steadying himself.

Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself for another laborious day with his workaholic boss. Finally ready, he made his way down the hallway leading into the marketplace. When he stepped inside, he saw a strange cat girl eyeing him oddly. Without Wyatt around, Jimmy didn’t feel nearly confident enough to entertain anybody and went looking for his savior instead.

But no matter where Jimmy searched, he couldn’t find Wyatt anywhere. Not near the bundles section trying to score a deal. Not selling off any materials in the numerous places he frequented. Not anywhere.

As a matter of fact, the only people Jimmy saw at all were dozens armed from head to toe herding unequipped people in droves towards the Tower’s entrance.

Now that he’d spent some time with Wyatt, Jimmy could discern a bit more about the state of the people in the Tower. Wyatt held such a commanding presence, one of calm confidence, like he was always in control of a situation. Anybody who gave off similar vibes was one Jimmy knew to stay clear of, and all of these people acted as if they owned the Tower and its marketplace.

“Boss, where are you?” Jimmy muttered uneasily, watching as a woman tripped on what looked like a night dress. She cried, full of fear and anguish, as a man pulled her to her feet and forced her back into the large group of people. “Ah, crap. This is bad.”

They’d seen him. Two stopped, pointed in his direction, and said things Jimmy couldn’t make out from where he watched the procession. But what was clear is that they decided he was worth looking into and made their way towards him, hands sitting on weapon handles.

“Hey!” the taller of the two called out, a mace dangling from his side while a small kite shield crested over his shoulders. “Got a minute?”

“We’d like to talk to you,” the shorter called, two short curved swords on either hip.

“I’m busy!” Jimmy called back and turned to leave the area.

Something about the whole situation gave him bad vibes. Anxiously, he rested his hands on his knives’ hilts and hoped they’d screw off. He hadn’t done anything to them, yet their footsteps still approached, quicker than before.

“Yo, what’s your deal?” called the second man, his voice gruffer than the first. “Just wait up!”

“I’m good, thanks! Don’t want whatever you’re selling,” Jimmy said, waving over his shoulder.

“We’re not asking you, idiot!” dude number one said, apparently growing a bit impatient.

Boss, where the hell are you? I don’t want to deal with these people! Jimmy looked over his shoulder to see the two of them growing closer and thought about booking it around the next corner and casting [Stealth]. Not a bad idea. But it doesn’t look like they’re giving me any choice. What do I do? What if one of them has a way to see through my [Stealth]? What do I do?!

As he went to turn the corner, he ran right into a man, one who wrapped his arms around Jimmy and called out to his friends, “I’ve got him, guys. Hurry up and get over here so we can snag and bag him!”

This can’t be happening…

The man’s strength was far higher than Jimmy’s, but he only tried to stop Jimmy from escaping. He didn’t stop Jimmy from drawing both his daggers, his heart beating out of his chest. He didn’t want to do this. There had to be another way, but Jimmy wasn’t an idiot.

He knew what these men were doing and wanted nothing to do with it.

“I’m so sorry,” Jimmy whispered, stabbing both of his daggers into the man’s soft stomach.

A pained groan escaped his lips. “What… did you… do?”

His attempted kidnapper’s strength lessened, and Jimmy easily slipped free, his eyes locked on the blood stains spreading from the man’s stomach. The sound of his pursuers running towards woke him from his brief stupor.

With deft movement, he ran as fast as he could, ignoring the shouts from behind him. [Heightened Focus] helped him avoid any other unfortunate encounters with the group. But a prompt shortly after he slipped into [Stealth] left his tongue feeling like sandpaper.

Congratulations Numberless, for you are hereby a Numbered!

For slaying Gaian Three-Seven-Six-Two-One, you have taken his designation and inherit his status.

Your EID has been updated.

“What? I… I didn’t mean to kill him,” Jimmy muttered, his hands shaky. The daggers clutched in his hands like lifelines nearly dropped out of his hands in sheer revulsion for what he’d done. “I just… wanted to be left alone. Why? Why couldn’t they just leave me alone?”

A burning energy flowed into the black card he kept in his pocket. Numbly, his shaky hands drew out the black card. Sure enough, it looked far different than before.

Name: Gaian Three-Seven-Six-Two-One

Race: Human

Level: 4

Class: None

Active: Stealth, Quickdraw, Rapid Fire, Heightened Focus

Passive: Archery, Knife Fighting, Dual Wielding

Profession Skills: Mining, Butchery

Profession Items: Mining Pick, Butcher’s Knife

Equipped Items: Longbow, Quiver, 20 Basic Arrows, 2 Daggers, Beginner’s Studded Leather, Hooded Cloak

Merit: 0

World Coin(s): 0

“Th-this is bad, really bad. I-I need to—what?” His first thought was to get a hold of Wyatt, but they hadn’t shared contact information. So Jimmy couldn’t call Wyatt for help. He thought about calling Jack, but seeing how many people there were, he didn’t want to drag his brother into this mess. “What… can I do? What should I do?” he muttered, hoping for someone to answer his question.

But no answer came, and he could already hear several people approaching. Even with [Stealth], he didn’t think it would take them long to find him if he didn’t move.

No matter how he wracked his brain, he couldn’t figure out a way to get out of this situation. Then it dawned on him.

“What would Wyatt do?”

And the world made more sense. He placed his knives back in their sheathes and drew his bow, knocking an arrow. Wyatt had saved Marissa and took him in when he didn’t have to. Wyatt would do what he could to save those who couldn’t save themselves.

Even if it meant becoming the hunter of other Numbered, of other Players of this messed up game, of people.

Steeling himself for what came next, Jimmy ignored every thought and moved. With [Heightened Focus], he could hear his prey. When one came within range, absent of its friends, he took careful aim before firing.

For those that didn’t go down after a single shot, [Rapid Fire] helped bring them down. Jimmy ignored the notifications, ignored the energy flooding through him, and ignored the blood pooling beneath his prey.

He was a hunter, and a hunter didn’t feel remorse for its prey.

A walkie talkie sounded out, and Jimmy listened as he retrieved his arrows from his recent target.

“Move the product into the Tower, secure it in the forest to the west beside the portal, and then make sure to find this freak! Show him The Syndicate isn’t to be messed with.”

Now that he knew where to go, Jimmy didn’t hesitate to slink back into [Stealth] and make way back to the center of the marketplace. He kept watch out of sight for some time, noticing how the waves of groups came at even intervals, about fifty being shepherded by a group of twenty.

Only one thought occurred: he’d need more arrows.

Once the next interval past and enough time elapsed for him to feel confident about the portal being free of anybody who’d try to accost him, he stepped through. Two portal guards had their backs turned. One began to turn at the sound of Jimmy crossing through the portal, but [Quickdraw] made short work of him.

The other spun and threw himself at Jimmy, but Jimmy tossed the bow forward, drew his daggers, and made quick work of his next target. After retrieving his arrow and bow, then placing his daggers in their sheathes, he dragged the two bodies into the wood line and covered them so nobody would be able to see them without closer inspection.

Giving himself time to breathe and recover the odd sense of energy in his stomach that fueled his skills, Jimmy slipped into the shadows of the forest and waited for the next group to come. He didn’t have to wait long before the first few stepped through.

“Hey, where are Vincent and Brock?”

“Just radio it in.”

“I’m not gonna be the one to tell Falcon things are going to shit, man. That man’s a maniac. I’ll pass. Have two of ours stay here and man the portal. We’ll deal with those two later.”

“Sounds good to me.” After a few seconds, the man posted two sentries and the procession continued unimpeded.

They didn’t notice the hunter trailing them.