The Author's POV

Once Hein signed the contract, everything was smooth sailing. Briefing him about the upcoming trip and how it was going to be important in his mission to cure his father, Hein promptly agreed to join me on the trip. 

"Alright, let me send you the money. I'll let you handle the rest with your family." 

"Mhm." 

Transferring 5 million U directly to Hein's account, I stood up and left the shop. 

Hein would be leaving on a long trip with me and the others, I didn't want to ruin his farewell with his father and siblings.

Fortunately, with the five million I had given him, they should be able to live very comfortably for the next few years. This was probably why he wasn't so against the idea of coming with me once I explained to him the purpose of the trip. 

"Hmm, what time is it?" 

Standing underneath the sunlight, turning my wrist slightly, I check the time. 9:30 A.M. 

"Hm, so almost two hours have already passed..." 

From what I recall, we arrived here by 8 in the morning. This meant that one and a half hours had already passed since I talked to Hein. 

Taking out my phone, I texted the others. 

[Guys, it's time to come back.]

Now that I had dealt with Hein's recruitment, it was now time to leave. 

Walking back to the SUV, leaning on my seat I got some shut-eye. Having driven throughout the whole night, I needed to rest a little. 

*

"We're back." 

Waking me up from my nap was the sound of Ryan's high-pitched voice. Opening the door of the car, he quickly hopped in. 

Following him were Ava, and Smallsnake. Leopold followed suit not long after.

Staring towards the back of the car, I looked left and right before asking. 

"Hmm, looks like everyone is here. Where is Angelica?" 

"She's there." 

Smallsnake pointed towards the back seat. Leaning forward a bit, I finally saw Angelica resting in the back of the car. 

"Okay, perfect, now all we have to do is wait for Hein."

Right as my words faded, the door of the shop in the distance opened and Hein came out. Looking closely, I could see that the side of his eyes was red, indicating to me that he had been crying.

Lowering the window, I asked. 

"Are you done saying your goodbyes?" 

"Mhm" 

Lifting his head up, Hein softly nodded his head. 

Opening the back door of the car, I gestured for him to get in. 

"Great, get in." 

Upon entering the car, pointing at Hein, I introduced him to the others. 

"Guys, this is Hein, our new recruit." 

"Hello." 

Hein greeted the others who greeted him back. Smiling, I pointed at the others and briefly introduced them to him. 

"Hein, these are the other members. This here is Smallsnake, if you want to know anything, ask this guy and he'll probably know. This over here is Ava, she's a monster ta..."

As I introduced Hein to the other members, before long, a weird look appeared on his face. Blinking a couple of times and alternating my gaze between him and the others, I came to a sudden realization.

Patting him on the shoulder, I let out a small laugh. 

"Don't be too quick to judge." 

Now that I thought about it, everyone looked pretty unreliable. 

Smallsnake was lanky, Leopold looked like a drunkard, Ava looked extremely shy and Ryan was a child.

Skipping Angelica who was a demon, and Silug who I had no idea about what he was doing, the group really looked unreliable. 

"Although they don't look reliable, don't look down on them. Everyone here is much scarier than you think." 

"...Is that so?" 

Hein forced a smile. Completely unconvinced by my words. 

Shaking my head and patting him on the shoulder, I urged for him to take a seat. 

"Well, you don't have to believe me now, you'll know when the time is right. Now have a seat, we'll be leaving now."

There was no need for me to convince him about the strength of the others. 

In due time he'll realize that he was sitting with a bunch of monsters. 

"...Okay." 

Hein hesitantly nodded his head before taking a seat. 

Once he sat down, moving towards the front of the car and fastening my seat belt, I pressed on the gas pedal and drove towards my next destination. 

Dromeda city. 

***

Tk. Tk.

Rain poured down from the sky. 

Sitting on a bench, Kevin quietly sat next to a beautiful girl with short auburn hair sat who currently had an extremely dark look on her face. 

For the next five minutes, neither one of them spoke as the only sound that could be heard was from the rain hitting the asphalt ground. 

This continued for a little bit more time, until finally, unable to bear with it anymore, Emma suddenly stood up and swore. 

"Fuck!" 

Glaring into the distance, Emma continued to swear. Seemingly wanting to vent out her frustuations. 

"How fucking dare you do this to me you piece of scum! Is this how you repay my father for not kicking you out of the household! How dare you! How dare you! How dare you!" 

"..." 

Still sitting on the bench, Kevin took a deep breath and quietly listened to Emma's hysteric sounds. 

He had a brief idea of what was going on.

In the past, he didn't know much about what was going on with Emma as she never talked about her personal life, but now, things were different. 

With their relationship closer than ever, she revealed everything to him. From how her uncle was suppressing her, to all the schemes he was pulling in the dark. 

It had gotten to the point where he was trying to get her to drop out of the Lock. Something that completely enraged her. 

"Piece of scum!" 

Watching Emma vent all of her frustrations towards the rain, unable to bear it anymore, Kevin finally approached her. 

"Emma, do you have any idea of where your father could be?" 

"Hm?" 

Hearing Kevin's voice, Emma turned around. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Isn't all of this happening because your father isn't here?" 

"...Yeah." 

"So, if he came back, the problem would be solved, no?"

As long as her dad come back, her uncle would stand no chance. There was a clear difference in power and competency after all. 

"Do you have any way to contact him?" 

"No."

Emma dejectedly shook her head. 

"According to him, the mission is top secret, and so he can't come into contact with me at the moment." 

"Top secret? Secret enough to not even contact his own daughter for months?" 

"...Yeah." 

Lifting her head and staring at the rain that was falling from the sky, Emma weakly muttered. 

"A..ah, Kevin. I don't know what to do." 

Staring at Emma's fragile figure in the distance, Kevin bit his lips as he suddenly felt a surge of anger well up from deep inside of him. 

Walking up to her, he reassured her. 

"Don't worry, I'll help you." 

***

The journey to Dromeda city was quite smooth. Within an hour's drive from Ironia city, I could already see the outline of the city in the distance.

Leaning towards the window, Ryan cried out in excitement. 

"Whaa, that's huge." 

"It sure is." 

I softly said as I stared into the distance. 

Before long, a massive city appeared in the distance. Around the city was a humungous wall, where stationed every few kilometers at the top of the wall was a beacon that shot a light ray towards the sky that joined with different light rays that came from the different beacons stationed on the top of the walls.

As the light rays joined together, a massive barrier that enveloped the whole city was formed. 

"Damn." 

Staring at the barrier that was enveloping the city, I couldn't help but be amazed. 

The difference between Ashton city and Dromeda city was the fact that Dromeda city directly bordered the Elven and Demon domains.

As such, they had no choice but to erect massive walls and invest tons of money on the barrier that was currently enveloping the whole city. 

Though I wasn't sure, the cost of maintaining the barrier around the city was astronomical, and if not for the constant threat of the demons, they would've long disposed of it. 

Snapping me out of my thoughts, Leopold asked 

"Hey Ren, aren't we going to take a quick break here?" 

Looking back, I shook my head. 

"No, sorry, maybe next time." 

"A pity, I really wanted to check the places around here." 

Leopold muttered in disappointment as he leaned back on his seat. 

Smiling, I drove the car towards the other side of the city. 

With the chip in my head possibly activating at any time, I didn't want to risk the chance of meeting trouble this early on the journey. 

I had already wasted too much time. 

Any day now and a massive manhunt for my head would start.

In fact, the manhunt had probably already started, but with the tracking device not working, and my face now healed, their search was fruitless. 

But I knew that it was only a matter of time before all hell would break loose. 

Steering the wheel of the car, I didn't enter the city. That was because my priority right now was to leave the place, and not waste any time in the city. 

Soon, nearing the walls of the city and arriving before a massive gate that led towards the outsides of the city, I was somewhat stunned to see tens of fully armed soldiers at the city's entrance. They stood at the two sides of the city wall and their sharp gazes continued to sweep across the passersby coming and going.

Once again steering the wheel of the van, I patiently waited for my turn. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait for long as within a couple of minutes, a soldier appeared by the side of the window. 

Lowering my window, the soldier sternly asked. 

"Please state why you want to leave the city." 

"Here."

Flashing a black card that signified that I was a part of the mercenary group, I explained.

"I'm here to bring my members to hunt beasts and look for cores."

"Cores?" 

"Mhm, mostly training. Cores, not so sure, but hey. What if, right?" 

It wasn't a rare occurrence for mercenaries to leave the human domain and hunt for beasts.

Just like monsters they had cores and could be sold for hefty prices. Not only that but their bones and skin were also sought after. 

"I see, how many people?" 

"Including me, six. That is if you include a cat, and that would be seven." 

"No, cats don't count. Alright, six people, that would be 60,000 U." 

"Sure no problem." 

Taking out my phone I quickly transferred 60,000 U to the guard. Once the money was fully transferred and the guard saw it, stepping to the side, the guard motioned for me to go. 

"Alright, everything checks out. You may leave. Have a safe trip."

"Thank you." 

Thanking the guard, I quickly drove the car forward.

As I drove forward, Dromeda city soon disappeared from the view, and what replaced it was thick lush trees. 

With the sound of the engine roaring, I drove deep into the primitive forest.

The SUV's flexible suspension was excellent, but the ground of the primitive forest was too cragged. There weren't many roads and the ground was covered in decaying tree branches, leaves, and massive rocks. 

Soon, it became apparent to me that the road was no longer drivable. 

At the speed that we were going, walking would've been faster. As such, pressing onto the breaks and twisting the keys out of the socket of the car, I opened the door of the SUV and got out. 

"Alright, that's as far as we can go." 

"Hey, Ren, why are we stopping?" 

Smallsnake asked, surprised by my actions. 

Glancing at Smallsnake, I stretched my arms and lazily replied. 

"That's because from now on we're going to be walking." 

"Walking?" 

Ryan cringed. Evidently against the prospect of having to walk. 

Rolling my eyes and ignoring him, I pointed forward and asked. 

"Well yeah. Do you guys see a road anywhere?" 

Turning their heads and finally seeing the state of the road, everyone's face turned grim. 

"Wait, are you telling us that we're going to have to walk all the way towards the destination on foot?" 

Smallsnake darkly asked. 

"Well, not really. A part of it yes." 

Our current destination was the dwarven domain, which was located a bit behind the elven domain.

Fortunately, we didn't have to cross the elven domain to reach it, but the road that led to it was quite far, and the terrain was tough. 

Still, that didn't mean that the whole trip was going to be on foot. During flat grouds, using the SUV wouldn't be a problem, but when the road was as tough as it was now, the only option was for us to go on foot. 

Smallsnake also seemed to have realized this as he let out a pained groan. 

"Ugh. Seriously, why did the road have to be like this.." 

Patting Smallsnake on the shoulder, I reassured. 

"Don't worry. This is good for us." 

"How is this good?" 

"Can't you tell? This is a great opportunity for us to train." 

"Train?" 

"Mhm. Why else do you think I brought you here? To have fun?"

Excluding the previous reasons as to why I chose to go on foot, another major deciding factor was because this was the perfect place to train. 

With dangerous beasts lurking everywhere, this was the perfect chance to have the members train together and increase their strengths as well as group synergy. 

At the moment apart from a few, everyone in the group had little to no experience in real combat. 

Me included. 

Although I had just crawled my way up from hell, that experience made me realize that I lacked a lot.

But this was the best chance to fix those problems. 

—Rustle! 

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the nearby bushes startling everyone present.

Following the rustling sound, a black silhouette suddenly jumped out of nowhere. Turning my head and staring at the silhouette that had just appeared, a smile appeared on my face. 

"Well on the topic of training.. We've got the perfect training partner."