The silence and tranquility of the fields wasn't enough to soothe frustration in Paley's soul. He sat, back against the rough bark of the old tree, his tears of failure having dried into tight, salty tracks on his cheeks. Useless. The word echoed in his heart. All that effort, all that risk, for nothing. A total failure.

  He trudged back to the orphanage, the now fully visible sun doing nothing to warm his internal state. Just as he was about to enter the cottage, he spotted Teerom by the river, mending a fishing net nimbly. He set the monster cargo next to the orphanage wall and went to Teerom for support.

  "I can't get them in," Paley said, voice flat.

  Teerom looked up at him, pausing his work. "The guards stop you?"

  "A code phrase. I didn't know it." Paley kicked at a loose stone, "They were waiting for me. I had to use everything just to get away."

  "So you can't use that disguise again." Teerom sighed, setting the net aside and looking at Paley, his expression a mixture of sympathy and weary pragmatism. "I" could try, but..."

  "No," Paley interrupted, "You're not even a Monster Hunter. I can't even become one until I'm 16."

  "I heard you could be a Supporting Monster Hunter - maybe you could pose as a hauler and just say you're selling it for someone?"

  "They'd ask for ID..."

  "That's tough... Yeah, this system's not for us, man. They call them safety precautions but even then, it's mostly the nobility that get into these things."

  "Why?"

  Teerom looked at Paley for a second. "You don't know? Magic carries down blood lines. Well, not completely. A noble couple could still have a weak child, but usually, someone's child is about the same in terms of magical power as their parents."

  "So my parents were Quimnias? Or just really strong?"

  "Not necessarily. Quimnias and Emperor Mages are the only ones that have a huge gap from their parents in strength. Neizin Jihwa was born to a King or something, so he had pretty good magic to begin with. Baddyu Omodiglia was a bookish type - I don't remember his parents but they definitely weren't big shots. Aneros. Oh Leia, Aneros was an orphan! Like me and you. Sure, some people say his parents were royals, but I think he had slave blood. Which means he's for sure the one Quimnia that came from nothing." His excitement began to boil over and Paley could tell he was about to go into a rant about Aneros had Jurie not interrupted.

  "Didn't Manoha have regular parents?" She asked, teasing him.

  "...Yeah," He pouted and then mumbled, "But she's nowhere near as cool."

  "Because she's a girl?" She succeeded in making him panic.

  "N-No! That's not what I'm saying. Because Aneros-"

  "Slept with a lot of women?"

  "No! Leia, no!" Teerom blushed intensely at even the subtlest mention of that kind of intimacy - it made Jurie smile at his adorableness. "...He was just... A real hero. Not to say the other Quimnias weren't, but Aneros never hesitated to do the right thing. He never weighed the benefit to himself or if it would cost him anything. He just did it... I want to be like that one day. Obviously, I won't be fighting demons - I hope - but I want to be able to do something for my family and the people I love without hesitating or thinking about what it would cost."

  Paley listened, but he couldn't agree with Teerom. "I don't know. I couldn't do the right thing if it costed your safety." He said with full honesty.

  Both of them hesitated, Jurie spoke first. "W-we sure appreciate you, Paley-"

  Paley heard the sound of crunching grass as she stopped to look at something, someone behind him. He turned and saw a blonde-haired figure, walking with his shoulders tense toward the forest, coming from the direction of the city. He was adorned in gleaming, unscratched leather armour and carried a shortbow that looked for show rather than for a hunt. A collection of expensive-looking glowing stones dangled from his belt, clinking with every clumsy step. He had a tense, determined look on his face, the look of a boy playing at being a man.

  Paley's eyes weren't on his face. They were locked onto the glowing stones. he felt the same vibe from them as that flare device the guard had used. The boy, no older than Teerom, stormed past them without a second glance, his gaze fixed forward, and entered the forest.

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  Teerom raised an eyebrow. "What's with him?"

  Paley was already moving, a new plan forming in his mind. "Stay here," he whispered when Jurie and Teerom began to follow him, and slipped into the woods after the young man. He didn't need illusion Magic. His target was so loud, crashing through bushes and snapping twigs, so careless that he didn't need to hide himself even behind trees.

  Eventually, the boy ran into a Glemfang Porcupine, a creature so low-level Paley considered it more of a pest than a monster. The boy had an arrow nocked, his hands trembling. He let it fly. The arrow sailed a good three feet over the porcupine's head and thudded into a tree. The creature, startled, raised its quills with a faintm magical shimmer.

  "Face the might of Hig Reish, foul beast!" The boy, Hig, yelled, gathering a swirl of mana in his hand. He thrust his palm forward, unleashing a gust of wind so pathetic it barely ruffled the porcupine's quills. The animal blinked, looking more confused than threatened.

  Hig was preparing another puff of air when a perfectly shaped spike of earth erupted from the ground beneath the porcupine, killing it instantly and silently. Hig stared, dumbfounded, as the creature slumped over.

  "You're going to get yourself killed."

  Hig yelped and spun around. Paley stepped forward, his expression unreadable.

  "Who are you!?" Hig blustered, trying to regain some semblance of his noble authority after coming face to face with what looks like a textbook vampire. "State your purpose!"

  "My purpose is to not watch you die," Paley said flatly, "You want to be a hunter. From what I've seen so far. You can't. I can hunt... But I can't sell."

  "Huh? What are you talking about? Of course I can hunt! I just... distracted it! Hahah..."

  "You need a license to sell the parts," Paley said, cutting through the bravado.

  Hig's face went blank. "A... license? For hunting monsters?" The sheer, unadulterated cluelessness in his voice was almost comical.

  "Yes. A license," Paley continued, stepping closer." Which I can't get. But you can. You're a noble. And you seem old enough. The Reish name will pass any check... Descendant of Libon Reish."

  The gears slowly began to turn in Hig's head. "You... you want me to get a license for you?" But more than that, he was shocked. Shocked anyone remembered the name Libon Reish. "You know of my ancestor?"

  "A license for us," Paley corrected, ignoring the second question. "Here's the deal. We get a license under your name. I do the hunting. You take the credit. We sell the parts, and we split the money."

  "Split the money?" Hig hesitated to let greed take him over, "That's not right... We can't lie to the government!"

  "Suit yourself." Paley began walking away, not giving up, just understanding that pressing would only weaken the deal.

  Hig lingered before calling out to him. "Wait... How much would you want for your cut?" He asked meekly, as though ashamed he was considering it.

  "Half."

  "What!? You'd be the one risking your life the most! This has got to be some sort of trap..." He narrowed his eyes and raised his bow slightly as though trying to show his fangs.

  "You might lose your name. If people find out a Reish has a twelve-year-old hunt for him, you're finished."

  "Why would I agree to that?"

  "Without me, you'd be a pincushion right now. Though... that Porcupine didn't seem too scared of you." Paley almost chuckled.

  Hig thought about it. A noble would typically ask for a window of time to consider the request on their terms, but distant from his family, Hig never had much good experience in being a pompous dawdler. He decided on the spot.

  "Okay." He thought of his father being proud of him for carrying on the Reish name - he offered his trembling hand.

  Paley took it. "You have to pass the exam first."

  The practical exam was held in the Mana Zone to the east of Gouon, a place of vibrant, aggressive flora and fauna with a more dried out look than the mana zone Paley had been frequenting. Two stern examiners from the Hunter's Guild stood with their arms crossed, while a third, an experienced-looking mage, stood by, ready to intervene if things went south.

  Hig arrived, recounting the plan Paley had formulated. He looked around nervously, but couldn't see Paley anywhere. A knot of anxiety tightened in his gut.

  "Candidate, Young Lord Hig Reish, is here for his Beginner Tier examination," one examiner announced. "The task is simple: successfully hunt and kill one Lesser Monster. Your performance will determine your eligibility for a license. Begin."

  Hig swallowed hard and ventured into the Mana Zone. He tried to remember everything Paley had told him. 'Walk slowly. Listen. Don't look at the ground, look through the trees.' He fumbled with a glowing stone which activated with his touch and the whisper of "Farsight,". The stone gave him a dizzying, zoomed in view to see into the distance.

  He wandered for what felt like an eternity. He was about to give up when a small pebble bounced off a tree just to his left. He turned. There, grazing in a small clearing was a Fegrove Hopper, a rabbit-like creature with oversized hind legs. This was it.

  He drew his bow, his heart hammering. He fired. The arrow missed. The Grove-Hopper's ears perked up, and it tensed, ready to bolt. Hig panicked, summoning his weak wind magic. Just as he was about to unleash his pathetic gust, a small, almost invisible spike of earth shot out from a dense fern, piercing the Grove-Hopper's heart. It collapsed without a sound.

  Hig stood frozen for a second before remembering his role. He strode forward, trying to look triumphant, and placed a foot on the dead creature.

  The examiners approached, their expressions unimpressed. "Sloppy archery," one noted. "And your magical output is abysmal. However..." He nudged the Lesser monster with his boot, inspecting the single, clean wound. "The kill was effective. You pass. Barely."

  Hig let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

  "You have the option of attempting a higher tier examination at this moment, if you'd like. We've assessed Lesser tier monsters to be too weak for you. Would you like the opportunity?"

  Hig was about to say no but he felt a chop to the side of his abdomen followed by Paley's voice. "Take it."

  Confusing the examiners with his huffs of pain, Hig nodded, "Yes, I'd like to take the opportunity."