When Raven stepped out of the room, he couldn’t believe his eyes, because the last person he wanted to encounter was standing right in front of him: Edward Hunter. He was the strongest being Raven had ever seen. Neither the sensation of the gorilla’s magic in the simulation nor the mana of anyone he had encountered at school came close to his. In fact, even if he combined the magical power of every person he had met so far, it might still fall short of Edward’s. Although he didn’t know much about magic, the feeling he got every time he encountered Edward Hunter told him more than he needed to know.

  Raven raised his head and locked eyes with Edward. Edward seemed to be aware of everything. He was extremely serious and angry. Breaking the silence with his deep and resonant voice, he spoke:

  "I know what you’re doing, Raven."

  Having grown up on the streets, Raven was accustomed to all kinds of violence. Blood, brutality, people being assaulted in alleyways, even organs being pierced with rusty knives… Raven had seen it all. However, due to his personality and nature, these things hadn’t left a traumatic impact on him. In fact, they hadn’t left any impact at all. Yet, the words his stepfather was uttering now felt like they could darken his entire life. For the first time in his life, he felt fear.

  What was the worst that could happen? He could be tortured to death. After all, he had been tortured on the streets too, so why was he afraid now? No, no. It wasn’t death or pain he feared. What he feared was Edward Hunter himself. Even though his composure wasn’t working, he had to think. Trembling, with a low voice, he said,

  "What happened?"

  Edward continued to look at him with the same seriousness. Footsteps echoed from the stairs, momentarily distracting Edward. The person coming down was Eleanor Hunter, the lady of the Hunter family. Brushing a strand of blonde hair from her face, she approached with a smile and spoke as she walked:

  "Darling, I know you’re trying to bond with our son, but you shouldn’t take your jokes this far. You might give the poor boy a heart attack."

  Edward Hunter looked at Raven again and started laughing. He patted Raven’s back twice, then, still laughing, put an arm around his shoulder and began walking.

  "Sometimes your seriousness gets on my nerves, kid. You’re one of us now; you should look happier. I was just joking."

  Raven took a deep breath, and they started walking toward the first-floor living room. The grand staircase split into two smaller flights of stairs leading down to a massive hall below. On the floor lay an absurdly large bear rug, and at the far end of the room stood a fireplace. There was no sunlight since there were no windows, but the dim light from candles and the fireplace lit the room quite well.

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  Edward Hunter sat in an armchair and gestured to the seat across from him. Raven sat immediately and began looking into Edward Hunter’s eyes. Edward poured himself some wine, swirled the glass, sniffed it, and took a sip.

  "I’m planning to send you and Miles on a special mission," he said.

  Hearing this, Raven became excited and forgot the tension he had felt earlier, focusing intently.

  "You have two days. You leave on Wednesday. Get ready," Edward said.

  Raven was thrilled, but since he had school on Monday, it didn’t seem like a good idea. If either of them, especially Raven, got injured, it would be impossible for him to defend himself at school. Accepting this offer would be incredibly risky and foolish for the sake of gaining a bit of strength. Raven lowered his head and began to speak:

  "Unfortunately, I can’t accept your offer. We have school a few days after that, and we can’t risk getting injured. Besides, I’m not even as strong as Miles."

  Edward took another sip of his wine and started laughing.

  "You’re quite confident in yourself, kid, but this isn’t a request; it’s an order."

  Raven was once again reminded of who he was talking to, but he had to find a way to convince him they couldn’t do it. He spoke again:

  "Why are you giving this mission to us instead of the Hunter family’s mages, father? It may be out of line, but please excuse my curiosity."

  Edward Hunter chuckled softly and continued:

  "Yes, as you said, the Hunter family’s mages could easily handle this mission. In fact, it’s such an easy task that I’m ordering you to do it. But that’s not the only reason. This is a critical but simple mission. What interests me is how you’ll deal with challenges and how you’ll establish camaraderie with each other. Moreover, this isn’t just a mission I’m assigning to strengthen you; it’s also closely tied to the future of the Hunter family."

  Raven realized he couldn’t come up with any more excuses. If it was as easy as Edward said, all he needed to do was stay focused. There was always a risk of injury, but as long as it wasn’t too severe, Dr. Oswald could heal him easily. Although he didn’t want to stay in this tense atmosphere any longer, his curiosity got the better of him, and he spoke:

  "May I know the details of this critical mission? After all, it needs to be explained to us before we undertake it on Sunday."

  Edward, maintaining his seriousness, continued:

  "Son, since I know you don’t know, I’ll explain everything. There are various cults in this world, each with a different purpose. People who find these purposes reasonable join these dark cults in various ways and work together to achieve these goals."

  After Raven nodded, Edward went on:

  "These cults date back to the founding of the world, and each has a main heir. These heirs teach other cult members how to grow stronger according to their goals and reveal the cult’s secret dark spells."

  Curious, Raven asked:

  "How are dark spells different from regular ones?"

  Edward Hunter continued:

  "Dark spells are those deemed wrong by all mages and banned by the Great Magic Council. People who use them can become internationally wanted, depending on the scale of the spell."

  Like the other statements, Raven couldn’t simply dismiss this one in his mind, as dark spells intrigued him greatly. One day, he absolutely had to learn one.