CHAPTER 36: CH-36- THE HUNTER’S REGISTRATION

The Hunter’s Registration Hall loomed ahead like a fortress of steel and glass, its banners rippling with the golden insignia of the guilds. Lines of would-be adventurers snaked across the lobby, some radiating raw mana, others clutching their weapons nervously as though stepping into the hall might already be their first battle.

Cisco guided Baelgor through the entrance with the air of a man escorting royalty, or perhaps a man escorting a walking goldmine. He gestured toward the grand counter at the far end, where officials in crisp uniforms stamped papers and distributed glimmering badges.

"So here we are," Cisco said smoothly, spreading his arms like a tour guide. "The Hunter Registration Bureau. This is where you obtain your hunter’s badge. Without it, you’re just another civilian. With it..." His voice lowered, almost reverent. "You become someone who counts."

Baelgor tilted his head, golden eyes narrowing. "What is... a hunter?"

Cisco nearly tripped over his own feet. "You..what? You don’t know what a hunter is?"

Baelgor blinked at him, entirely serious.

Cisco’s mind scrambled. Is this man truly human? He knows nothing. Not about IDs, not about society, not even about hunters... He might as well have fallen from the sky. Still, none of that matters. I just need to milk every coin and advantage I can before he gets himself killed or before someone notices what he really is.

Clearing his throat, Cisco forced a smile. "Well, hunters are... the ones who clear dungeons. They have power. Mana. Abilities beyond normal humans. Without them, monsters would overrun the world."

Baelgor’s expression shifted, just slightly, as if the word struck a chord. His gaze grew cold, disdainful. So these are the little insects who trespass into the Creator’s nests, who disturb my kind’s slumber and parade their pitiful strength as heroism? Hmph. Ants, all of them. Weaklings gnawing at crumbs of true power.

His lips curled into a faint sneer, though Cisco mistook it for confusion.

Sensing his "client" wasn’t impressed, Cisco leaned closer, speaking with the silken tone of a salesman about to reel in a fish. "But, my lord, being a hunter is more than just fighting monsters. Hunters gain status. Wealth. Respect. They’re showered with fame, honored in the streets, courted by guilds and nobles alike..."

Still no reaction.

Cisco’s eyes narrowed. Tch. Not biting? Fine. Time to bait the real hook.

"And of course..." Cisco’s smile twisted into something sly, knowing his next words would strike true. "...hunters attract mates. Plenty of them. Strong women. Beautiful women. Women who would throw themselves at your feet for the honor of standing beside a powerful hunter."

Baelgor’s face lit up instantly, his disdain evaporating into boyish enthusiasm. His golden eyes gleamed like twin suns.

"Ah! Now I see the worth of this badge!" Baelgor declared with booming satisfaction, startling the clerks nearby. "Money and fame are meaningless baubles, but mates, yes! That is the true currency of the mortal world. This ritual of hunters is glorious indeed!"

Cisco pinched the bridge of his nose, hiding a smirk. Hook. Line. Sinker. This idiot might be the son of a rich guild, but his brain works like a child’s. If dangling women is all it takes to move him, then I’ll have him dancing to my tune before long.

He patted Baelgor’s arm and said, with practiced reverence, "Then let us get you that badge, my lord. After all... what’s a king without his crown?"

Baelgor grinned, puffing his chest with pride. "Very well! Register me at once! Soon the females of this world shall know the glory of... James Demonson!"

Cisco resisted the urge to groan.

Baelgor walked through the marble-floored hall with Cisco at his side, his mind still lingering on the promise of "mates." He was so engrossed in the thought of the ritual Cisco had described, imagining himself seated upon a throne surrounded by mortal beauties, that he barely noticed the flow of people around him.

He moved like a man in a dream, his golden eyes half-closed, lips curved in the faintest smile.

Then....thud!

The impact was subtle by Baelgor’s standards, but the hall froze instantly.

Every head turned.

Baelgor, barely shaken, looked down at the man he had brushed past. The fellow was tall, broad-shouldered, armored in fine steel trimmed with guild emblems. His aura pulsed violently, like a coiled beast ready to strike. The onlookers whispered in frantic voices, their shock louder than any shout.

"That’s him!"

"The son of the Black Fang Guildmaster!"

"Gods above... he bumped into him?"

Cisco’s heart sank as soon as he recognized the hunter. His face drained of color, and his hand twitched, as though itching to grab Baelgor and drag him away. Of all people... why did it have to be him?

The young man Baelgor had collided with was infamous across the city, not just for his strength, but for his cruelty. He was an A-grade hunter who treated human lives as toys.

Everyone knew the stories. How he once tortured a blind beggar for "annoying him" by existing. How he murdered a husband and child simply to claim the wife for himself. How he delighted in breaking bones and spirits alike, shielded by his father’s power and the guild’s gold.

He was not feared because of justice. He was feared because there was no justice for him.

And now Baelgor had walked straight into him.

The hunter’s face twisted with disgust as he wiped invisible dust from his chestplate. His voice was a growl, venomous with arrogance. "Watch where you’re going, worm."

The crowd held its breath.

But Baelgor was already gazing at him, not with fear, not with apology, but with an expression of absolute contempt. His golden eyes gleamed like a predator surveying prey.

"Get out of my way, insect."

The words fell like stones in a still pond, and the ripples of shock spread instantly.

Gasps erupted. Some covered their mouths. Others stepped back as though fearing to be caught in the coming storm.

"Did he....did he just.....?"

"He called him... an insect?"

"This guy’s insane!"

Cisco nearly collapsed on the spot. His mind screamed Shut up! Shut up! Do you want to get us killed?!

The hunter’s face darkened, his disbelief morphing into murderous rage. He had been insulted before, yes. But never like this. Never in public, never by someone without the badge, the status, the right to stand before him.

"He doesn’t even have a badge. Poor fool."

"Probably some pampered noble’s son. He won’t last ten seconds."

"Unlucky bastard. Dead man walking."

But Baelgor... only smirked.

"Insect...?"

The word hung in the air like a guillotine blade.

Sebastian, son of the infamous Black Fang Guildmaster, froze for half a second in sheer disbelief. The great A-rank hunter, feared across the city, could not quite comprehend what he had just heard.

But if Sebastian was stunned, Cisco was utterly horrified. He felt his stomach plummet to his feet, his mind screaming at him in despair. Seriously? This man, this monster....does he call trouble everywhere he goes?! I must be cursed. I must be the unluckiest man alive to have met him.

Cisco was already preparing to throw himself on the ground, to beg and scrape and plead for mercy before Sebastian turned this entire building into their grave.

And then Baelgor spoke again.

"Yes," he said calmly, his golden eyes glinting with disdain. "Insect. You are not deemed worthy to stand in my presence."

The hall turned to ice.

Everyone understood immediately, this newcomer was done for. No one insulted Sebastian and lived to tell the tale. Newbies always strutted into the hunter world full of arrogance, but most learned humility quickly, or died for their ignorance.

Some of the onlookers even lowered their eyes in pity. What a waste. So young...

But Sebastian’s fury was already boiling over. His aura burst forth like a raging storm, dark mana rolling across the hall, pressing against every chest, suffocating the air itself.

"Do you know who I—"

BANG!!!.

Before he could finish the sentence, Baelgor moved.

The sound of the slap echoed through the entire building like a thunderclap.

One moment, Sebastian was standing there cloaked in menace. The next, he was airborne, his body spinning as though swatted by an invisible titan’s hand. He crashed into the far wall with bone-jarring force, teeth scattering across the floor like broken pearls. Five crimson welts burned on his cheek, each finger mark standing out clearly against the swelling flesh.

Blood poured from his mouth. His vision blurred. He tried to gather himself, but the sheer force of the blow had nearly torn consciousness from him.

The hall erupted, not in noise, but in stunned silence.

People gaped, unable to process what they had just witnessed. This was Sebastian, the brutal, untouchable son of Black Fang, the one who walked the city like a tyrant. And yet, in front of their very eyes, he had been slapped aside like a misbehaving child.

Not punched. Not blasted with magic. Slapped.

Even Cisco stood frozen, slack-jawed. His mind screamed again: This fool, he didn’t even wait for Sebastian to attack first?! He just struck him down outright?! We’re doomed. Absolutely doomed.

Baelgor lowered his hand, his expression utterly calm, as though brushing dust from his sleeve. His voice, however, cut through the silence like a blade of ice.

"How dare an insect release its aura before me?"

The weight of his words was more terrifying than the slap itself.