Chapter 23: Monster Containment Agency

Ethan sat on the edge of his bed long after the sun had gone down, staring at the floor as several thoughts ran through his mind.

The conversation with Nora kept replaying in his head, but one line refused to leave.

’Your storage function is already unlocked.’

He had never mentioned it. Not to anyone but Lila. The system had offered the option in the Dungeon after he defeated the second pack of Beowolves, and he had accepted it quietly.

There was no public display, no announcement. No reason for her to know about it.

Unless she had a way of knowing somehow...

Ethan leaned back against the wall....

Blood Craft. He still didn’t know the exact mechanics, only that it sat in the same taboo category as Necromancy.

Seeing the undead retreat into his shadow was good enough. What made him uncomfortable was the fact that she knew exactly what to call it.

I mean, Lila herself just knew it as a "new necromancy perk."

Either way, the one-week meeting no longer felt simple as he was growing even more uncomfortable by the second.

A soft knock hit the other side of the door, and he went to open it to see Lila standing on the doorway.

When she saw him, she spoke up. "You planning on sleeping at some point, or are you going to keep sitting in the dark like a depressed corpse?"

Ethan exhaled. "I’ll sleep."

"Sure you will." She reliped as she moved to her own bedroom and closed the door.

***

The next morning, Ethan and Lila walked toward Building A in silence. The usual campus noise surrounded them but Ethan only barley registered it. His mind was still stuck on the previous evening.

Lila glanced at him. "You’re quieter than usual."

"I’m Thinking," he said.

"About Nora?"

He didn’t deny it. "She knows something she shouldn’t know."

Lila’s expression shifted slightly, "We’ll talk about it later," she said instead, "Professor Crane gets irritated when people are late."

They entered the lecture hall and found seats near the middle, with Ethan a little annoyed that the seat at the back— the one he had silently claimed, had been taken.

Most of Class 1-A was already present. Marcus sat with his group near the front, talking too loudly. Aria occupied a seat by the window, her silver hair neat, her posture perfect and her expression cold as usual.

Nora was there as well, seated a few rows ahead and to the left, and Ethan’s eyes narrowed as it lingered on her.

Professor Crane arrived a minute later, her dark coat sharp reflecting the morning light and a tablet in hand.

The low conversations died as she reached the front.

"Yesterday’s free day is over," she said. "Today we cover something more practical than theory. The structure you will eventually work under."

She tapped the tablet and a projection appeared behind her—an official crest Ethan hadn’t seen before, paired with clean, bold lettering.

Monster Containment Agency.

"The MCA," Crane began, "is the government body responsible for all dungeon activity within national borders. Clearing, containment, resource extraction, and threat assessment fall under their authority. This very aademy operates directly beneath them and every student in this room, assuming you graduate, will answer to the MCA in some way"

She stayed silent for a moment before continuing.

"There are two primary paths you are to pick from after graduation. You may join an established Squad, or you may register as an Independent Hunter. Both are legal, both are tracked. Both require formal registration, periodic evaluation, and compliance with containment protocols."

Her gaze moved across the room as she spoke again. "Anything outside these, and you will be considered a Rogue."

"And that is something the Agency will not take lightly."

"Operating outside MCA oversight. Clearing dungeons without formal permission, selling materials through unofficial channels, using restricted abilities without proper documentation. The agency treats unauthorized activity as a direct threat to public safety. Consequences range from permanent license revocation to persecution. In extreme cases, the response is significantly harsher."

A few students shifted uncomfortably, Marcus leaned back in his seat with a faint smirk as if the warning couldn’t possibly apply to him and Aria’s expression remained unchanged.

Crane continued. "Squad membership offers structure, shared resources, and institutional protection. Independent registration offers freedom of movement and higher individual payouts, but also higher personal liability. The MCA does not care which path you choose. They care that you remain visible, accountable, and under control."

She paused, eyes flashing across the seats.

"Especially those of you whose abilities fall under heightened monitoring categories."

Ethan said silent as he took it in. Necromancy, Blood Craft, anything the academy already treated as a walking hazard would be watched even more closely once they left these walls.

The rest of the lecture covered ranking brackets within the MCA, permit systems for dungeon entry, and everything else.

Ethan absorbed the information slowly. It was useful, it also confirmed something he knew he would have to face sooner or later: The system that allowed him to grow stronger was the same system that would eventually try to place limits on him.

When class ended, students began filing out in small groups. Marcus made a point of walking past Ethan’s row with his followers, offering a brief, dismissive glance.

Ethan looked at him and scowled. ’This bastard is just looking for a fight.’

Aria left with a small cluster of students following her, and Nora stood, collected her things, and exited through without looking in their direction.

They walked out into the corridor together, and Ethan shielded his face from the sunlight that spread across the campus, refusing to acknowledge the sounds the students drifting either toward the cafeteria or the training fields made.

Ethan checked the time on his phone, then looked toward the direction of the east grounds.

"I’m going to train for a bit," he said.

Lila studied his face. "Now?"

He nodded. He needed the movement. He needed to focus, and most of all, he needed to push the EXP bar as far as he could before the meeting with Nora arrived.

Level 5 with eight hundred experience points was too close to ignore. Sitting still would accomplish nothing.

Lila was quiet for a second, then nodded once.

"Don’t overdo it this time. I’m not dragging your unconscious body back to the dorm again."

"I don’t think I want my shoes burnt." He replied flatly.

She rolled her eyes and turned towards the direction of their dorm.

Ethan turned toward the east grounds, already thinking of how much he could manage before Death Energy ran low.

The question of how Nora had known about Storage still sat in the back of his mind, but for the next few hours, he intended to bury it under work for now.