In the meeting point of the Sun Metropolis, Moon Suburb and War Town, the Hunter Association stood tall with many people walking in and out.

Mikhail and Kevin, wearing casual clothes, stood outside the building. Methew lazily wrapped around the former’s neck.

"Do we really need to come here?" Kevin grumbled softly before taking the first step.

"It’s better to stay in class."

"There was no point in that." Mikhail replied, shrugging. "And it’s better to learn outdoors than inside a classroom."

"....."

Kevin opened his mouth and closed it without a word.

He let out a tired sigh and mumbled. "You are talking more like me and I am talking more like you."

Mikhail chuckled and nodded his head. Back in high school, Kevin was the one who was ready to rush out of class and Mikhail was the attentive one.

’Though I am sure I can still top the class without even attending.’

Having confidence in his own abilities, Mikhail wasn’t too worried.

They walked through the brass door and into the reception.

Looking around the place, they found a desk for missions and bounties.

Mikhail and Kevin walked towards it as the professional lady behind the glass wall smiled.

Though her gaze lit up when she saw Methew sleeping around his neck.

"Would you like to look through the missions?"

"Yes." Mikhail nodded with a smile. "I would love something we can complete within a day."

The lady looked through her monitor screen as she asked. "You two are new here, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Mikhail replied. "We just arrived a few days ago."

The lady looked up. "Is there something that you specialise in?"

"He is good with detective work." Kevin said suddenly, pointing at Mikhail.

The lady didn’t respond as she just nodded, getting herself busy finding a suitable mission.

After a few moments, she turned the monitor slightly while glancing at Methew. "Would you like to find a cat?"

"...."

Mikhail blankly looked at the lady while Kevin’s shoulders trembled as he held back his laughter.

’...Do I look like a random detective?’

Mikhail was about to say no when he noticed the reward.

’What the fuck, 4000 Telen just to find a cat?’

He couldn’t help but look at the lady doubtfully. "Why is the reward so high?"

"The one who requested the mission is a businessman." She replied with a smile. "The cat is his daughter’s favourite."

Mikhail nodded his head and finally sighed. "Alright, I will take it."

"Nice." She replied gently. "The mission was issued today and just for you I will hold it and won’t assign anyone else."

"Thank you." Mikhail said, glancing at the lady.

’Is this face value or was the mission arranged by Vice-Leader Liam Vernon....’

Mikhail didn’t voice his doubts as the lady printed out the information and image of the cat before passing it to him.

"Please bring the cat here and we will process the payment."

She informed him with a smile as Mikhail nodded his head.

Walking out of the place, Mikhail read the information provided.

’The father and daughter moved to look at the newly expanded land and there the cat ran away.’

’They didn’t think much of it at first but later on the cat didn’t return. Their servants tried to find it but the cat was gone.’

’Hm, the one who assigned the mission was the butler of the Othmane family.’

Looking at the name Othmane, Mikhail immediately knew who the businessman was.

’It must be Berlin Othmane, the guy with the corpse fetish.’

Mikhail had heard about the man. He ran a company that mainly picked up corpses and buried them in the family’s place.

They did it so cheaply that even the lower class could afford it.

And because of how cheap the price was, there was a rumour that Berlin Othmane was sleeping with the corpses before burying them.

’Then again, people like to make fun of everyone.’

"Do you think the cat is dead?" Kevin suddenly asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. "I mean, that place is so close to the forest."

"I don’t know." Mikhail mumbled. "Guess we will know once we look around."

Kevin sighed and nodded without asking anything else.

They walked towards the bus stop and got into a mana bus that led them to the demolished walls.

---

Mikhail and Kevin walked out of the bus and looked at twenty sections of the long city walls being broken down.

Six of those sections were already gone and quite a few more were almost done.

The dust and debris made Mikhail flare his nostrils before he took out his handkerchief.

Placing it over his nose, he began to walk towards the now empty land outside the city walls.

One of the knights stationed at the place walked forward to stop them, but when Mikhail showed his Hunter ID he stepped aside.

There was a tacit understanding between the knights and hunters not to interfere with each other’s work.

Mikhail walked into the barren place that was only marked with some superficial boundaries.

"Are we supposed to look around the entire forest?" Kevin asked with a confused look on his face.

Mikhail ignored him and walked towards a fallen tree.

Taking a small branch from it, Mikhail placed it vertically and at the same time used [Enhancement] on his luck.

He let the branch fall freely and after a pause, it fell to the east side of the forest.

Mikhail immediately turned in that direction. "Let’s go there."

"Really?" Kevin grumbled but his legs were already moving. "Do you really think it will be that easy?"

"Am I the detective or you?" Mikhail asked, glancing at him. "And if you are so sceptical why not make a bet. If I lose you get 4000 Telen, and if I win you wear a maid outfit for a day."

Kevin was about to agree but quickly shut his mouth. "...I feel like I am falling for a trap here."

’Smart.’

Mikhail chuckled and broke another branch from a tree.

He did the same thing again and after it landed towards the east, he kept on walking.

Finally, after a few minutes of walking they entered the heavy forest of rubber trees.

Kevin immediately turned alert when he heard the crunching and grunts of wild beasts.

Mikhail kept on walking in his unhurried pace until he reached a specific spot.

From here, he could hear the faint cry of a cat.

"This way." Kevin mumbled when he heard the same sound.

They followed it and found the cat on the branch of a large tree, crying for help.

Mikhail glanced up when he immediately felt a palpitating feeling from his heart.

He quickly moved his gaze around, trying to find anything out of the ordinary.

Until he saw a red light illuminating a stone that was dug deep into the ground.

"What is that?" Kevin mumbled softly, looking at the large stone as well.

"I don’t know." Mikhail said before shifting his gaze away. "It’s none of our business. We can inform the Hunter Association later."

Kevin nodded his head and didn’t focus on the stone either.

’...The energy that I am feeling from the stone.’

While bringing the cat down, Mikhail couldn’t help but think to himself.

’I have felt that energy before...’

Despite forcing hard, Mikhail just couldn’t remember where.