Machinations (I)

  “You’re being awfully quiet.” mused Wilhelm, resting both his elbows on the sublime rosewood desk.

  For now, the discussion about Cyril’s condition had come to an end, which meant that he’d finally achieved his objective for the day. To conclude his examination, Olivia suggested that they split up so as to not draw too much unnecessary attention—the motion was unanimously accepted and so, after much waiting, watching, lurking, and a score of ninja-like movements, he was somehow able to make his way up to Wilhelm’s office mostly undetected.

  Since it was well into the evening at this point, the massive rectangular window at the chairman’s back was displaying a more enthralling scenery. It wasn’t completely dark out yet, but the final traces of sunset were slowly starting to fade, blending and mixing with the creeping darkness that was subtly expanding beyond the horizon.

  Soon enough, extravagant lights of all kinds and colors would begin popping up around them until Babylon’s very own metropolitan twinkle was put into full effect.

  “I guess I’m just taking a little longer to reflect on everything. Even after all that’s happened in these past few days, being suddenly told that I'm slowly transforming into some kind of ‘second-class saint’ because of the time I spent with Alice still hasn’t hit home yet.” He slowly raised his gaze upon giving that response—a hint of a smile tugging at his lips as he drearily stared at something beyond the thick glass pane.

  Wilhelm gave a deep nod.

  “I see. That is the normal reaction after all, I don’t blame you. No matter what kind of dramatic life you’ve lived up until now, you’re still a kid—albeit, a rather precocious one.”

  “You sure have a way with compliments, Chairman.”

  “My point is...” said the Chairman, feigning a cough in mock indifference. “....it might take you a while to get used to all of this, but I’m sure you’ll end up adjusting fine in the end. Strictly speaking, in a way, you got what you wanted.”

  “I suppose so. I didn’t see it happening this way, but I can’t argue with that.”

  His words carried neither joy nor sorrow, just a vague sense of ambiguity much like that of the shifting twilight scenery.

  “Good. Now allow me to deliver on my end of our little agreement. I did say that you could earn your status as a hunter based on your performance in the final assessment. After everything that went down, simply making it back alive would be enough of an achievement in and of itself, and your most recent accomplishments have proven that you’re more than up to the task. It’s a little late, but I’ve personally updated your status in our data banks. Cyril, as of today you’re officially a C-rank provisional hunter.”

  He felt his eyes going wide.

  Despite him already predicting this outcome, it was still a glorious feeling. The heavy emphasis placed on the word ‘provisional’ did dampen a bit of his elation, but for the time being, he was content.

  Following his declaration, Wilhelm reached for a small box underneath his desk and slid it over to him. Cyril thought it had a surprisingly luxurious design given the items it was meant to hold.

  Before he’d even realized, he was already holding the thick cardboard container in his hands. A murky expression of joy was being reflected back at him from its polished surface, a sight that he found a little embarrassing.

  “Thank you, Chairman. For this, and for everything else.” he said, his fingers tightening at his sides before he exhaled, releasing a tension he hadn’t realized he was holding.

  For some reason, the boy’s humble declaration—laced with a hint of glee — made the chairman laugh. “Haha! You’re really something. You decide to hold yourself back now after all the effort you put in to get that? I thought you’d be happier.”

  Cyril scratched his neck nervously, not quite knowing how to respond.

  “I’m plenty happy as is. In fact, I think this has completely blown away all the melancholy I was feeling a little while ago—well, save for the provisional part but oh well....”

  "Of course you’re getting a provisional license." Wilhelm answered swiftly.

  "You have to be at least sixteen to meet the requirements for becoming a hunter, but since you’re still underage, we can’t give you the real thing yet. Truth be told, there’s not much difference between the two. Now that you have your license it means that you’ve officially entered advanced stage of your training. The provisional license is basically an internship for underage hunters like yourself. It gives us enough time to track the progress of provisional hunters while allowing them to gain experience in the field. They also have the option to quit and trust me when I say this—it’s saved more lives than I can count.”

  A morbid implication like that ought to have left him second guessing his decision—a choice that could very well end up costing him his life and yet Wilhelm knew better than to expect any kind of hesitation from him, especially regarding this particular matter.

  “It’s a pretty good system; I’ll admit that, but I don’t think such a passive approach will do either of us any good. Especially since I don’t really know what’s going on with my body right now.” Cyril said as he stepped closer, his expression firm.

  “Of course, I understand where you’re coming from. In rare cases like this, I can make some exceptions since you’ve got a proven track record, and I know what you’re capable of. You’re allowed to enter the same dungeons as the average hunter, but anything beyond that is asking for too much.”

  Their gazes—both fierce and unyielding — collided in the empty high-rise office for a short span of seconds, that meager timeframe was all it took for Cyril’s tenacity to ultimately give way to the Chairman’s unshakable authority. Heaving a sigh, he chuckled and took a step back. “This much will do for now Chairman, I know that you can’t exactly go around playing favorites.”

  “This is more like playing with fire but yes, that's close enough.” Wilhelm replied, waving his hand sarcastically.

  “Heheh, seems tough being the Chairman. You have my condolences.”

  “That certainly makes me feel better.” Wilhelm spat dryly, slowly shaking his head at the giggling youth.

  As much as he was trying his best not to show it, the chairman himself was struggling to suppress the dry laugh building on his chest. “Ah that’s right, Cyril there’s actually one more thing I forgot to mention. That box, its actually got more than just the association’s armband in it. Your old sword’s in there too.”

  “My old sword? You mean Ascalon?” he asked, raising a brow. The expression on his face was practically speaking out loud, saying something along the lines of: “How can a sword like that fit in this tiny little box?” but then he remembered something.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  A sudden recollection of his desperate encounter inside that place, and the end result it had brought. “I see. It’s broken huh?” he mused, tearing his eyes away from the shiny cardboard surface.

  Suddenly, the small box in his hands felt a lot heavier.

  “Unfortunately, that’s the situation. The party that went in to rescue you found the sword broken and fragmented near your body, but they decided to collect the pieces after sensing something strange coming from the fragments.” Wilhelm said, deepening his tone.

  “...Something strange?”

  “Yes, you see, the fragments of your sword were emitting faint traces of mana, so I had it analyzed by a team of enchanters. Turns out your sword had some kind of failsafe mechanism installed—specifically, the runes on its hilt. Supposedly, when the sword broke it triggered the activation of a barrier type-spell meant to temporarily reinforce the wielder’s aura. Based on your story, I think that's what actually kept you from being completely incinerated when you fought that magician.”

  “Ah!”

  As soon as his mind registered the meaning of those words, he bobbed his head up and down to sequentially look at the box in his hands and Wilhelm’s gratified smile.

  “Another little gift from your late guardian, I suppose. Though I suspect this to be the last one.”

  “Seems like it.” Cyril answered, wearing a smile. “All things considered, I must say it’s one hell of a parting gift.”

  “That goes to show how well she knew you. Alice probably expected you to get yourself into all kinds of near-death situations after she was gone.”

  Although Wilhelm’s assessment rang true, Cyril didn’t feel the need to respond to it with words. Simply put, there was no need for it. All he did in response was tuck the thick box under his arm and curl his fingers around the box’s cardboard spine.

  “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, there’s one more thing I’d like to discuss with you before you leave here today. It’s bout that drug I mentioned the other day—Nectar.”

  His expression stiffened. Not from something simple like fear or rage, the feeling was a bit more primal. They called it hostility.

  “I’m listening.”

  Wilhelm’s eyes narrowed fiercely.

  “We’ve been doing some digging on ‘Scarecrow’, the hunter that hunter Carissa mentioned the other day. He’s our main lead on the drug’s distribution route, but the only problem is that we’re having some trouble pinning down his identity. Recent leads have indicated that he might be a part of Cocytus, and going by the way her operates it might not be that big of a stretch. Eyewitness reports have confirmed that he’s always wearing some kind of gas mask and a cloak to hide himself as much as possible —hell, some reports have even confirmed his affiliation with Cocytus through his possession of their signature snowflake emblem. Usually, we would have to leave this kind of ‘outside’ work to Longinus, but this time the culprit's methods are a tad bit unusual...”

  “Unusual?” Cyril repeated, cocking his head a little.

  “Yes, it seems like whoever we’re dealing with is a professional. He’s taking advantage of how both sides of Babylon’s deviant strike forces operate. Law and order in the city is split between two groups—we the hunter association and Longinus, the city’s own super powered self-defense force. The association keeps the monsters and gates in check, while Longinus deals with whatever threats are on the ground. As a rule of thumb, we generally tend to not interfere with each other unless its absolutely necessary, and that’s what he’s using to hide his tracks.”

  “Does that mean he’s using the dungeon to distribute that Nectar stuff?”

  “Exactly.” Replied Wilhelm, his voice sounding calm but firm, like a blade sheathed in silk.

  "Our research team is still investigating, but Nectar is said to enhance a hunter’s power by up to twofold via temporarily disabling the brain’s natural C.A.I. limiter and forcing the body to absorb more ambient mana. The process takes an extreme toll on the user’s vitality and rationality since the drug cannot be personalized, meaning its effects are uniform across all users. Because of this, Nectar has little impact on deviants with a naturally high index and is ineffective for anyone above B-rank."

  Cyril gulped hard after hearing that.

  As someone who’d previously been in a similar situation, he could already surmise a clear guess at what Wilhelm was about to say next—who the drug was meant for. Since Nectar wasn’t effective for anyone above B-rank, that naturally implied that its effects would work on anyone below that threshold.

  “A way out...is it? If that’s the case, then he must be targeting lower ranked hunters or maybe even low ranked deviants that are aiming to become hunters someday.”

  “You catch on quick. That’s right, this scarecrow guy is specifically going after our rookies, and what makes this even more of a hassle is the fact that he’s using the dungeons to do it. That’s where the problem comes in, dungeons are the association’s responsibility, and Longinus is in charge of dealing with these types of deviant criminals. We each have our own ways of doing things so in a case like this, cooperation isn’t a very feasible idea., especially after what happened during the incursion. I’m told there’s still some friction between our sides.” Wilhelm finished with a sigh, shifting his elbows on the polished wooden desk.

  “Hm? Wait how exactly is he using the gates chairman?”

  “From what we’ve gathered so far, the rogue gates are his go-to method because of their size and how frequently they spawn. When a field-type dungeon is cleared the gate can take anywhere from a few hours to an entire day to close, in the case of the latter we sometimes use it as an opportunity to train provisional license hunters like yourself. They’re allowed to enter and dispatch any monsters they come across while taking the initiative to explore the dungeon on their own."

  “Ahh. I get it. So, this scarecrow guy is masquerading as a provisional license hunter and distributing the drug inside these dungeons that are due to close. That's how he avoids half of the city’s law enforcement and erases his tracks at the same time.” worded Cyril, nodding to himself contently.

  Wilhelm’s smile twisted into something more mischievous after hearing his recap, an obvious sign that he was pleased.

  "Precisely. The problem is that we can’t pin down his identity because he adopts the 'scarecrow' persona at random—sometimes before entering the gate, sometimes after—so performing ID checks hasn’t yielded much in terms of results. He only shows up if the pro we assign to guide the party is below A-rank, and in such a case he uses Virstones to exit the dungeon once he’s done. As much as I hate to admit it, whoever this guy is, he’s good.”

  Wilhelm’s words of praise weren’t inherently bitter, but there was an obvious hint of wrath lurking in his tone.

  “Well it is a good strategy.” Agreed Cyril somewhat begrudgingly. “If you’re telling me all this it means you’re planning to have me help in some way, right?”

  “That’s what I had in mind. Since your C.A.I has increased significantly and you’re gradually getting used to your new abilities, I want you to participate in a few of these mock-dungeon raids as a wild card. Its going to take some time for the results of your re-evaluation to start making waves so I want to take advantage of the fact. Before I get your answer, let me make one thing clear. This has nothing to do with monsters, so you still have the right to refuse, as of now its nothing more than a personal request from me, the Chairman.”

  Cyril chuckled to himself, laughing as if Wilhelm had just said something unnecessary.

  “You sure put a lot of emphasis on your title as the hunter association’s chairman for a ‘simple request,’ but nonetheless, I’ll accept. I’m officially authorized to go inside the dungeons now so even if I don’t run into this scarecrow guy at least I’ll get some worthwhile experience from it.”

  “Are you sure about this Cyril? I hear he’s really strong.”

  Cyril smiled and waved away the man’s concern.

  “I’ve got plenty of experience fighting against human opponents too you know. And besides...” he said, gazing at the sparkling skyline above Wilhelm’s head.

  “.... I finished my curriculum early. Technically, I’m free until September.” Wittiness coated every word carried by that upbeat tone.

  “Haha! You know you really are something.” Shocked by the boy’s response, Wilhelm guffawed.

  “Very well then Cyril. I’ll be including you as the last member of this provisional party.”

  “Eh?....party? Wait you’re placing me on a team?!” he shouted, sounding as if he misheard Wilhelm’s words.