CHAPTER 22: THE GRIND

The Hunter Association building felt different now that Rin was actually licensed.

He walked through the main lobby with his new ID card, E-rank provisional, the security guards nodded at him instead of stopping him, other Hunters gave him looks ranging from curious to suspicious.

Being the guy who closed a portal on live TV came with attention he didn’t want.

Joy walked beside him, she’d gotten her official E-rank license too, standard classification with no weird anomaly notations.

"So what now?" she asked. "Do we just wait for assignments or do we pick missions ourselves?"

"No idea, Reva said to report to the mission briefing room at 0900."

They found the room on the third floor, a conference space with about twenty other newly licensed Hunters, most of them from the exam, some Rin recognized, others were strangers.

Tayo was there, gave them a wave, Tina sat in the back row looking bored.

Fiona was notably absent, probably got assigned somewhere else, or maybe they kept the potential murderers separate.

Reva entered at exactly 0900, carrying a tablet, her expression as neutral as ever.

"Congratulations on passing the examination," she said, not sounding particularly congratulatory. "You are now official members of the Hunter Association, as E-rank operatives you will be assigned to low-risk dungeons, monster suppression tasks, civilian protection details, standard entry-level work."

She pulled up a screen showing a map with various markers.

"Current active F and E-rank dungeons in the region number forty-seven, we rotate teams through them on a weekly basis, your first assignments will be supervised by experienced Hunters to ensure you don’t immediately die."

"Comforting," someone muttered.

"It’s realistic," Reva said. "E-rank dungeons still kill people, underestimating them because they’re labeled ’low-risk’ is how you end up dead, questions?"

Tayo raised his hand. "How long before we can attempt higher rank dungeons?"

"Depends on your performance, complete ten successful E-rank clears with good evaluations, you can test for D-rank promotion, fail a dungeon or show poor judgment, you stay E-rank longer."

"What about solo operations?" someone else asked.

"E-ranks are not cleared for solo dungeon entry, minimum team size is three, this is non-negotiable for the first six months."

Rin’s phone buzzed, a notification.

ASSIGNMENT RECEIVED Mission: Goblin Den Suppression Location: Warehouse District, Sector 12 Rank: E Team: Matsuda (Lead), Castellanos, Okonkwo Departure: 1100 hours Briefing: Attached

He opened the attachment, read through the details.

Target: Goblin nest established in abandoned warehouse Estimated hostiles: 15-20 goblins Objective: Eliminate all hostiles, clear nest Supervisor: Hunter Marcus Vrell (C-rank) Estimated duration: 2-4 hours

’Lead? They made me team lead on my first mission?’

[Likely due to your demonstrated capabilities during examination]

[Association views you as more competent than standard E-rank]

’Or they want to see if I’ll screw up immediately.’

[Also possible]

Joy leaned over, showed him her phone with the same assignment. "We’re teamed up, that’s good right?"

"Better than getting stuck with strangers."

Tayo appeared behind them. "Looks like I’m your third, Okonkwo is me by the way, apparently my last name was easier for the system."

"You good with goblins?" Rin asked.

"Never fought one before but how hard can it be, they’re like what, three feet tall?"

"Three feet tall with knives and pack tactics," Reva said, apparently listening. "Don’t underestimate them, goblins account for fifteen percent of E-rank Hunter fatalities."

"That’s encouraging."

"It’s a warning, your supervisor will meet you at the warehouse, don’t be late, dismissed."

Everyone filed out, some excited, others nervous, Rin felt somewhere in between.

His first real hunt, his first dungeon clear, his first chance to actually use his abilities in a combat scenario that mattered.

And they’d made him team lead which meant if something went wrong, it was on him.

’No pressure.’

[Recommendation: Review goblin combat patterns]

[Analyzing available data]

They had two hours before departure, Rin spent it in the Association library pulling up every file on goblin behavior he could find.

Goblins were pack hunters, low intelligence but high cunning, used crude weapons, preferred ambush tactics, their nests were usually in dark enclosed spaces with multiple escape routes.

Standard combat approach was systematic clearing, room by room, don’t let them surround you, watch for traps.

Joy and Tayo joined him, they reviewed the files together, planned their approach.

"I’ll take point," Rin said. "My energy absorption works as defense, you two stay behind me, Joy handles crowd control if we get swarmed, Tayo provides ranged pressure with sound blasts."

"What about the supervisor?" Tayo asked.

"He’s there to observe and step in if we’re about to die, not to do the work for us, this is our evaluation."

At 1045 they geared up, the Association provided basic equipment for E-ranks, reinforced tactical clothing, communication earpieces, basic first aid, nothing fancy.

A van drove them to Sector 12, the warehouse district was exactly as depressing as it sounded, abandoned buildings, broken windows, the smell of rust and decay.

The target warehouse was marked with Association tape, a C-rank Hunter stood outside, mid-thirties, muscular build, arms covered in scars.

"You’re the newbies?" He looked them over. "I’m Vrell, I’ll be supervising your first clear, before we go in, tell me your plan."

Rin explained their formation, their roles, how they’d systematically clear each section.

Vrell nodded. "Not bad for first-timers, but you’re missing something, what’s your extraction plan if things go wrong?"

"Fall back to the entrance."

"Wrong, goblins will cut off your retreat, you need a secondary exit identified before you enter, always have two ways out."

He pointed to a side door on the warehouse. "That’s your emergency exit, it leads to an alley with clear line of sight to the street, if I call for extraction, you go there immediately, understood?"

"Understood."

"Good, one more thing, if any of you freezes up in there, if you panic or can’t function, I’m pulling you out and failing you on the spot, this isn’t training, those goblins will kill you if you give them the chance."

He pulled open the warehouse door.

The inside was dark, the smell hit Rin immediately, rotting meat mixed with something foul he couldn’t identify.

’That’s the goblin nest smell.’

[Correct]

[Goblins mark territory with waste and decaying food]

[Estimated nest location: Deeper in the structure]

They moved in, Rin took point with a flashlight, Joy and Tayo flanking him, Vrell stayed back observing.

The warehouse floor was littered with debris, old equipment, shipping containers stacked haphazardly.

Perfect ambush terrain.

Something moved in the darkness ahead, Rin held up a fist, everyone stopped.

A goblin emerged from behind a container, three feet tall, green skin, yellow eyes, holding a rusty knife.

It saw them, screeched.

More goblins appeared, five, ten, fifteen, pouring out from hiding spots.

"Contact!" Rin channeled fracture energy into his hands. "Joy, crowd control now!"

Joy’s emotion manipulation hit the nearest goblins, they faltered, fear crossing their faces, but they didn’t run, pack mentality overriding individual terror.

Tayo fired a sound blast, the pressure wave slammed into three goblins, sent them flying backward.

The rest charged.

Rin met the first one head-on, his fracture energy-enhanced punch caved in its skull, it dropped.

Another came from his left, he blocked its knife with his forearm, the blade scraped against his reinforced clothing, he grabbed it by the throat, slammed it into the ground.

Joy was keeping five goblins occupied, her ability making them hesitant, Tayo provided covering fire with compressed sound waves.

But there were too many, more kept coming.

A goblin got past their formation, went for Tayo’s back, Rin saw it too late to react.

Vrell moved, casual and efficient, his hand shot out, grabbed the goblin mid-leap, threw it into a wall with enough force to leave a dent.

"Watch your flanks," he said calmly.

Rin adjusted, positioned himself to cover more angles, the fight settled into rhythm.

Goblins charged, he blocked or dodged, countered with precise strikes, Joy kept their numbers manageable, Tayo picked off stragglers.

Five minutes of continuous combat, bodies piling up, Rin’s arms aching from the repetitive motion.

Finally the last goblin fell, silence returned to the warehouse.

"Clear," Vrell confirmed, checking the bodies. "Nineteen hostiles eliminated, acceptable performance for first clear, but you made several mistakes."

He pointed at Rin. "You focused too much on individual targets, lost track of the bigger picture, that’s how Tayo almost got stabbed."

Then at Joy. "Your ability works but you’re not adjusting intensity, some goblins shook off your fear faster than others, you need to learn to scale your output."

Then at Tayo. "Your sound blasts are effective but loud, every time you fire you’re announcing your position to everything in the area, work on precision over volume."

They all nodded, taking the criticism.

"That said," Vrell continued. "You completed the objective with zero casualties, that puts you ahead of sixty percent of first-time teams, the nest is deeper in, we still need to clear it and confirm no survivors."

They moved further into the warehouse, found the actual nest in a back room, crude bedding made from stolen fabric, piles of bones, half-eaten corpses of rats and cats.

No living goblins remained.

"Nest cleared," Vrell took photos for his report. "We’re done here, extraction team will clean up the bodies, let’s move out."

They exited the warehouse, the sunlight felt almost offensive after the darkness inside.

Rin’s hands were shaking slightly, adrenaline crash hitting him now that the fight was over.

’That was intense.’

[Combat assessment: Adequate]

[Execution efficiency: 73%]

[Areas for improvement: Situational awareness, energy conservation, threat prioritization]

’I get it, I have work to do.’

[Acknowledgment is the first step toward improvement]

The van drove them back to Association headquarters, Vrell filled out evaluation forms on his tablet during the ride.

"You’ll receive your official assessment within twenty-four hours," he said. "Assuming no issues, you’ll be cleared for your next assignment, questions?"

"When do we get paid?" Tayo asked.

"Payment processes within three business days, E-rank dungeon clears pay five hundred per person plus hazard bonus if applicable."

Five hundred dollars for four hours of work, not bad, dangerous as hell but not bad.

They arrived back at headquarters, filed into the building, other teams were returning from their assignments, some looked pleased, others looked traumatized.

One team was missing a member, someone asked what happened, nobody would say.

Rin’s phone buzzed.

MISSION COMPLETE Status: Success Evaluation: Pending Next Assignment: Available in 48 hours

Two days until his next mission, two days to rest, recover, process what he’d just done.

He’d killed living creatures today, goblins were monsters but they were still alive, still capable of pain and fear.

That weight sat heavier than he expected.

Joy seemed to feel it too, she was quiet on the elevator ride up.

"You okay?" Rin asked.

"Yeah just, processing, I knew it would be violent but actually doing it is different than imagining it."

"Yeah."

They reached the lobby, parted ways, Joy heading to her apartment, Rin to his house.

The mansion felt empty when he got there, too big for one person, Leo’s presence still haunted every room.

He sat in the office, pulled up the computer, found that voice memo again.

Didn’t play it, just looked at the file name.

"First mission done," he said to the empty room. "Nineteen goblins eliminated, nobody died, Vrell said we did okay for first-timers."

Silence answered him.

"I know you’d tell me to stop talking to recordings and go celebrate or something, hit up a bar, meet people, live my life."

The cursor blinked on screen.

"I’m getting stronger though, slowly, every mission is experience, every fight is training, eventually I’ll be ready."

He closed the file, leaned back in the chair.

His shoulder throbbed where the tracker sat, constant reminder of his leash.

But he was hunting now, officially, legally, building toward something.

Two days until the next assignment.

Two days to prepare.

The grind had begun.