Chapter 3: Perhaps, This Is Fate
[Reminder: World reputation has been activated. Current world reputation: 0 points.]
[Because the Hunter has not gained any world reputation, the World Reputation Shop has not been activated.]
[When world reputation exceeds 10 points, the Hunter can exchange for rare items in the 'World Reputation Shop'.]
[Reminder: The World Reputation Shop contains two titles, both of which are Seven-Star titles.]
[Reminder: In this world, the Hunter can exchange for a maximum of one Seven-Star title.]
[The Hunter can gain world reputation by accepting commissions, or by issuing tasks to Contractors. After a Contractor completes a task, the Hunter will gain world reputation equal to the task difficulty × 10%.]
...
The main mission had no clues at all, only stating: 'Find the reason for the fusion of the Dark Prison with this world, and interrupt this process.'
This was an extremely difficult task. Su Xiao wasn't afraid of how strong the enemy might be, but right now, it was unknown whether there even was an unknown powerful enemy.
If the fusion of the Dark Prison with this world was due to coincidence, then the possibility of completing this mission was very low. If the fusion could be easily interrupted, the native forces of this world wouldn't just sit idly by.
Su Xiao felt that it was highly probable someone was orchestrating this. Otherwise, the Hunters, Battle Angels, and others who entered this world before wouldn't have died so miserably, not even knowing who their enemy was before they perished.
For now, information about the main mission could only be obtained by accepting commissions and searching for clues in supernatural incidents. However, Reincarnation Paradise had previously indicated that the commissions accepted might not necessarily be related to the main mission, but they could still grant world reputation.
World reputation was a good thing. Not to mention rare materials, Su Xiao was very eager to obtain a Seven-Star title. Even the Five-Star title War Lord was incredibly powerful, so the strength of a Seven-Star title was easy to imagine.
Ring, ring, ring~
The phone on the table rang. Su Xiao picked it up but didn't speak first.
"Is this the Sanctuary House?"
"Yes."
"Whew~, finally got through. Nothing else, are you the new manager? Dead Silence Hunter Kukulin?"
"Yes."
"Welcome to Sodo City, Mr. Kukulin. I'm Detective Douglas. From now on, if there's a supernatural incident, I'll call you immediately. I hope... I never have to call you. Unfortunately, that's impossible. I'll be in your care from now on, Mr. Kukulin."
"Mm."
Click. Su Xiao hung up the phone.
Meanwhile, at a private bank in Sodo City, a bank clerk behind a wooden counter was counting the Siler notes in his hand, sweating profusely. Each note in his hand was a large 50-denomination bill. Given the technological level of this world, they could only be counted manually. This private bank had been robbed the night before.
Not far from the bank clerk, a middle-aged man in a blue-black uniform held a telephone receiver, a look of surprise on his face.
"Are all Hunters this taciturn?"
Detective Douglas shook his head with a smile. The phone at the city's 'Sanctuary House' had finally been answered, which put his mind at ease. Supernatural incidents were becoming more and more frequent. The Night Watchmen, no, the Hunters, were the most reliable. This was a conclusion verified over many years. Hunters were terrifying, but the more terrifying they were, the more reliable they were.
"Mr. Douglas, only footprints were found at the scene. A total of 2.1 million Siler was stolen."
"What?!"
The smile vanished from Detective Douglas's face. For a moment, he wanted to classify this as a supernatural incident, but his sense of responsibility prevented him from doing so. The Hunters were already very busy.
...
Inside the Sanctuary House, Su Xiao sat behind the bar. No commissions had come in yet, and there was no progress on the main mission.
Regarding the main mission, Su Xiao had a trump card, but the time limit for the main mission was a full 16 days. He planned to investigate first. If he really couldn't find any clues, he would use 'that thing'. After all, it could only be used once, and it wasn't a 100% guarantee to complete the mission. That thing was the [Navigation Compass].
A bell jingled as the door opened. Amu walked into the Sanctuary House, with Baha perched on his shoulder. As for Beini, it had a task this time: to go wherever there was an anomaly, searching for clues related to the main mission, and then send an email through the team channel.
With both Amu and Baha here, if there were any commissions that weren't too dangerous, they would handle them. Su Xiao would personally deal with the difficult ones.
Gaining world reputation wasn't easy. Even with Amu and Baha able to operate as a team, Su Xiao still felt they were short-handed. He was hesitating about whether to summon the Drowning Tianba Tide Hunter. He had a way to make Tide Hunter exist in this world for a long time.
"Boss, on the way here, I ran into an acquaintance."
"Acquaintance?"
"Hehehe, maybe it's a special fate. I'll keep you in suspense first. When she gets here, you'll know who it is."
"..."
Su Xiao wanted to know one thing. Although he had completed his disguise, his face and clothes hadn't changed. His imprint aura was completely concealed. Even if a Contractor used a detection item, they could only detect his Overlord-level template. But he wanted to know if a Contractor who knew him from before could recognize his identity now.
Or, would a Contractor who knew him from before see a different face due to the disguise, thus failing to recognize him?
Just as Su Xiao was pondering this, the door was pushed open, and five people walked into the Sanctuary House. Three men and two women. Su Xiao recognized the one leading them.
"Is it Mr. Kukulin? Although it's a bit rude, I have to say... that name is terrifying~"
A girl in sportswear, hands in her pockets, walked in. Seeing her, Su Xiao confirmed one thing: Contractors who knew him from before couldn't see his true appearance. The disguise was more convenient than he had imagined.
"Mo Lei, don't be rude."
A mature lady wearing glasses, with a voluptuous figure, pinched Mo Lei's lower back.
That's right, the newcomers were Battle Angel Mo Lei and four other Contractors. Three were from Apocalypse Paradise, and one was from Holy Light Paradise.
Mo Lei was here for a reason. Her mood was very sunny right now. Her experiences in the previous few worlds had made her decide to enter this special world, this world with a dual main mission. She wanted to hide here, to avoid encountering a certain person again. She didn't believe that person would also be in this world. This place was notoriously a 'Graveyard of the Strong'. Exceeding a certain level of strength meant certain death upon entering this world.
Earlier, when Mo Lei saw the name Kukulin, she felt a chill run down her spine. But upon arriving at the Sanctuary House, she found that Kukulin was the manager here, a plot character according to Apocalypse Paradise's judgment. This put Mo Lei's mind at ease. The information provided by Apocalypse Paradise couldn't be wrong.
"I am Sheng Yuan. I deeply apologize for my companion's words just now."
The mature lady, Sheng Yuan, slightly bowed, making the most of her advantages. She smiled politely, very confident in her negotiation skills. She was a Charm-type. When negotiating with plot characters, she had 1 passive ability, 1 title, and 2 pieces of equipment that would give her an initial favorability boost with plot characters.
[Reminder: Your Watch Guild reputation has decreased by 260 points. You are about to enter a hostile state. Please negotiate with caution.]
[Warning: Do not provoke ??? Kukulin. This action will lead to unpredictable consequences.]
[Reminder: You may choose the following methods of negotiation.]
[1. Kill ??? Kukulin. After killing him, Watch Guild reputation will be restored. This action must not be known by other Watch Guild members.]
[2. Negotiate in a normal manner. When negotiating with ??? Kukulin, all Charm characteristic effects are invalid. All mental interference, misdirection, etc., will be judged as hostile actions.]
...
Seeing these prompts, the mature lady Sheng Yuan almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Her Charm characteristics were completely useless right now, and instead, they were almost classified as mental misdirection.
Sheng Yuan shared the prompts she received into the team channel. Seeing these prompts, a burly man behind her felt a chill in his heart. He looked at Su Xiao with a less-than-friendly gaze and asked in the team channel whether they should make a move.
Mo Lei glared at the burly man, telling him to go cool off somewhere. She activated her own detection equipment.
[Reminder: Detection failed.]
[Warning: Continuous detection will lead to unknown consequences.]
...
"It's up to you. Good luck."
Mo Lei said in the team channel. Hearing this, Sheng Yuan attempted a detection.
[Detecting... Because your Charm attribute is 860 times that of the 'detected party', you have obtained all basic information of the 'detected party'. Only after entering a hostile state can you detect all of the enemy's information.]
Seeing this prompt, Sheng Yuan was petrified. She read it several times to confirm it was 860 times, not 8.60 times.
Name: Deity Hunter Kukulin
Category: Human · Overlord-level Unit!
Health: 100%
Mana: 27,900 points
Strength: 181 (True Attribute)
Agility: 181 (True Attribute)
Endurance: 180 (True Attribute)
Intelligence: 180 (True Attribute)
Charm: 0.2 points
Skill 1, Blade Grandmaster (Passive, Lv.51): This ability can only be seen after entering a hostile state.
Warning: Forcibly detecting this ability will immediately result in hostility with the Overlord-level unit, Deity Hunter Kukulin. Please make a decision after careful consideration.
Skill 2, Melee Grandmaster (Passive, Lv.44): Visible after hostility...
Skill 2, Azure Steel (Passive, Lv.60): ...
Skill 3, Soul · Gaze (Passive, Lv.70) ...
Skill 4, Soul Thread (Passive, X) ...
Skill 5, Soul Devourer (Passive, X) ...
Skill 6, Absolute Magic (Passive, X) ...
Skill 7, Soul Hunt · Scythe (Passive, X) ...
Skill 8, Spirit Shadow Physique (Passive, X) ...
Skill 9, Slaughter · Shadow (Passive, X) ...
Skill 10, Devouring Core · Life Dominator (Passive, X) ...
...
...
Skill 14, Blood · Evil Beast (Active, X) ...
Reminder: The following information is visible after entering a hostile state.
...
"Eh?"
A strange sound came from Sheng Yuan's mouth. After calming down for a few seconds, her smile became even sweeter, but also slightly stiff. She shared the information she saw into the team channel. A moment later, the other four also managed to force a smile.
Mo Lei was the calmest of the five. After all, she was already considering whether to jump out the window and escape. But she wanted to know, what should one do when encountering a Seventh-Rank Overlord-level Boss? Waiting online, quite urgent.