Jade Callahan.

He was the last person that Ace expected to see for miles around this place. What was someone like him doing here?

Just how? Wasn’t he part of the hero’s party? What the hell was he doing in a place like this where... no, how did he know about all of this?

Ace watched him warily as he thought of everything he knew about him.

Jade Callahan came from a normal family of hunters—they hunted monsters specifically for food and sales—and he’s an A-rank with his bow. In the future, he became an S-rank and was known as the Sharp Shooter.

The only Sharp Shooter.

He became extremely powerful.

Looking at him now though, Ace couldn’t help but wonder how he got his strength, who backed him, and just how much of his strength had also been hidden in the future.

"Jade Callahan," Ace called.

The man held an arrow with no bow, and he stood relaxed, far from how he had looked in the dungeon.

Was he hiding his powers?

"Yes, Jade Callahan," Jade said. "You know, in my family we like to hunt. We are not heroes or soldiers. We are hunters. But there’s a difference between hunting humans and monsters. Do you know? It’s more fun to hunt humans.

"They fight back in a more intelligent and ignorant way."

Ace cut him off immediately. He really didn’t need any yapping enemies. His objective for the night had been completed, even though it wasn’t by him.

Head Librarian Teresa was dead.

He didn’t have to fight anymore. What he needed was to escape.

He relaxed his stance and then began to maneuver with his back toward the door.

It didn’t pass Jade unnoticed. He raised his bow immediately and drew. Three arrows materialized on the bow, and he released them without hesitation.

Twnck!

The arrows shot forward. Two of them were shining silver like the previous one, and the other was glowing a dull red.

"Fuk!" Ace muttered.

He didn’t dodge. Instead, he leaped forward, his body shooting like a streak as he ran at the three arrows that were coming for his head.

Ace slashed with his sword, and tendrils combined, turning into the image of a snake head with an open mouth. They lurched at the arrows and swallowed them without issue.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

But the next second, the three snake heads exploded.

The explosions were contained, and Ace barely felt anything.

Jade looked at him curiously. "I read your file, and you don’t have any of these powers. How did you get this one? That green energy, you can control it to do anything? What’s the range? Can you extend it out of your body?

"Must it be attached to you? Can you shoot arrows with it? What else can you do with it?"

Ace was stunned because those were the exact same questions he needed to find answers to about his new powers. "Eh... those are all reasonable questions, but why don’t you ask them after I beat the shit out of you?"

They looked at each other.

Then Jade shook his head. "You won’t be able to beat me though. I can feel the power in you, but it’s not harmonized. You won’t be doing shit to me unless you have a firmer grip on your power."

Jade looked at him and sighed. "But it’s already too late. Do you know what it takes to be a hunter? I can tell you. It takes more than knowing how to fire an arrow."

He straightened and then, without warning, shot forward. He was far faster than Ace expected, far faster. He appeared in front of him like a flash of lightning. "Hunters must know how to fight without their arrows!"

His punch created a snapping sound as he threw it.

The surprised Ace brought his sword around awkwardly, but he wasn’t fast enough, and the blow caught him on the side, and he could almost hear his bones creak.

Bam!

He was sent flying to the side.

Ace cursed. Jade wasn’t lying, he knew how to throw a punch! But the pain he felt was easily shrugged off, almost as if he felt nothing at all.

’....here he comes again....!’

Ace created space between them, but the room wasn’t that big, and Jade caught up quickly. He now held a small dagger in his hand.

He was even faster than before, but Ace was also more prepared.

’..Acceleration!..’

His sword flashed forward, faster than he could swing it himself. It trailed red light in the air. The red light was even faster than before, a whip of slashing light that twisted in the air at random.

There was no way for Jade to avoid it!

Time seemed to slow to a crawl, but just as the slash was about to cut into Jade, the guy disappeared in a flash of light!

He disappeared!

The sword and the light hit the ground in an explosion that turned the stone floor into dust, and a long crack appeared.

Ace was surprised.

He felt a presence behind him, and he turned. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

But it was too late.

He felt a flash of pain in his back even as he twisted.

Jade jumped away from his clumsy swings. "Stop, you are already defeated. That dagger is laced with something."

Ace felt his body slow and his limbs stiffen. The sword fell away from his hand and hit the ground with a clang. The Pain energy disappeared.

His body soon followed, and he hit the ground with a thud. The smell of dust was sharper down there.

Jade loomed over him. "A shame. Your powers are so impressive that I shiver at what you will become. But right now, it seems as if the power is overwhelming you. Did you just get it?

"Just like my own, where I can teleport to where my arrows are."

Ace realized his mouth was still working. "Are you going to kill me now?"

Jade snorted. "No. That’s for the higher-ups to decide."