OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 179: No Time To Grieve

'What was the saying?...Kill the man and visit his grave?'

Emir chuckled at that thought as he arrived at a bar, the same one he visited more than a year ago with the group of six hunters.

Opening the batwing doors, he stepped in and was welcomed by the smell of strong alcohol hitting his nose.

It was dimly lit by flickering lanterns and the glow of a few scattered bulbs.

The room was adorned with wooden beams and rough-hewn walls that had witnessed countless tales of camaraderie.

Camaraderie, or, in other words... drunk hunters that smashed up the place.

The air was thick with the scent of aged whiskey, mixed with the aroma of hearty meals being served at the tables.

The bar counter, worn and weathered, stood as a testament to the many patrons who had leaned on it while sharing stories of their triumphs and defeats.

The walls were adorned with various artifacts and trophies, each representing a memorable monster hunt or a daring escapade.

Old maps and wanted posters were pinned to the walls, hinting at the bar's roots as a hub for hunters.

The sound of laughter and friendly banter filled the room, accompanied by the occasional clinking of glasses and the soft strumming of a guitar in the corner.

The atmosphere was alive as patrons from all walks of life mingled, sharing their stories and raising their drinks in toasts.

Emir who welcomed the scene found an empty stool at the bar and took a seat, feeling a sense of nostalgia wash over him.

This place held memories of joy, of his first victory as a hunter in this cruel world.

He fished out his ID and placed it on the table in front of him.

The bartender retrieved it, and after quickly scanning it, he greeted him with a warm smile like a seasoned figure:

"Good to see you again, lad. I remember you lot being rowdy some time ago. Glad to see more youngins alive... So, what can I get for you?"

Emir returned the smile, appreciating the familiar welcome.

"A glass of your finest whiskey, neat please, and I'll be having company over, so prepare a table for me."

The man nodded and left Emir after a few moments to enjoy his newly poured drink.

And as Emir did so, his mind wandered to the past.

He reminisced about his once-naive self, at the times when he had fuck all to worry about.

'I wouldn't really call it easy... It was still a great wall that I had no idea how to go past, but now...'

'Instead of a wall, I feel like I'm facing a titan that would stomp me back to sleep at every chance it had.'

'... But that doesn't mean that I have no chance to win. Although we've lost the hearing, they won't take action for a while. Lyra will come, and we could turn this around...'

He had no time to grieve; he needed to prepare for her arrival.

With those thoughts out of the way, he left himself to relax for a little while, as he knew that The would be fighting soon.

A few more glasses of whiskey later, Emma, Jake, and, surprisingly, Alex arrived at the bar.

Emir stepped up to welcome them, the alcohol having zero effect on him as he hugged both Emma and Jake together.

"What's up guys... how's it going?"

"We've had better days."

"I'd kill for a drink!"

The trio chuckled as they let go of each other.

Emir then walked over to Alex, and they shook hands.

"Alex."

"Emir."

"It's good to see you again."

"It's good indeed."

Just as they shared a nod, Emir led the way, and they all gathered around a table.

And before he could speak to them, Jake started off by saying:

"I've heard the news, and although I'm sorry to hear about what happened, I—we know that you've got a plan to get everything back, so we won't worry too much."

Emir looked at Emma for a moment, and she nodded, confirming her partner's words.

"Good. I don't like those that show unnecessary pity... Anyways, thanks for believing in me, but let's ignore that for a bit and talk about what we came here for, shall we?"

Emma and Jake shared a quick glance before she spoke:

"As you already know, due to our connection with the Ebonfyre family, we've had many opportunities to get high-paying requests, and we've got one again..."

"It looks like that GoldLeaf kid went too far in a ruin and got herself stuck, so we have to go in there and get her out."

Showing a surprised face, Emir asked:

"When was this? And what were her bodyguards doing?"

"We weren't told when exactly, but they've only recently received her location, and we don't know about her bodyguards either."

"I see... But if they got her location today, then why did it take them so long? Can't they

simply track her?"

All three shared a knowing look as both Jake and Emma nodded, understanding the underlying meaning behind Emir's words.

"I don't think it was possible. I've heard that it was because of the Fading Haven ruin having some sort of barrier, but I'm not sure." Jake answered.

"Ah, I get it now... I was a bit suspicious, but it looks like everything is in the clear, and I won't ask how they came up with her location now, since you guys would've never been told that, but yeah, I know all that I need to, so let's plan on how we'll do this."

Emir's words made him out to be a complete third party, and they gobbled his lies up like soup, believing him completely as it seemed similar to how he would usually act.

Alex, finally given a chance to talk, interjected into the conversation:

"I don't know much of what is going on, but one of my sources told me that there was a sudden spike in monsters in the ruin, and when I say spike, I mean that it is off the charts..."

"And since I've heard that Jake and Emma are going there, I suggested that we ride together, and before you ask, I'm accepting a job request to save or extract hunters that are stuck in there, their debt would bring in major profit."

'What?!' Emir inwardly bellowed, but he immediately composed himself.

'Why?... It was calm when I went there just two days ago...'

Emir knew that perfect plans didn't exist, but everything would fall apart if he didn't save

Aria.

The oath didn't matter to him as it wouldn't affect him, but her dying would cause unimaginable effects, muddling the future he knew even more.

Adding to that, many hunters will be there, mainly due to the Corpse Debt System in place, a system to keep hunters under control, to maintain the leash around their necks even further.

One aspect of the system was the recommendation that hunters bring the corpses of their fallen comrades to the Hunter Association, which allowed the association to contact the deceased's family and take care of their remains.

This will in turn help Sector Management, the Corpo, keep track of which hunters are missing and which are dead, which is important for their administrative purposes.

The Watcher, a job assigned to specially selected individuals, has them keep an eye on the Debtors and ensure that their bodies will be secured in case they die.

This was to prevent the Debtors from escaping and to quickly collect their bodies as soon as possible after they were killed.

It was implemented under the guise of ethicality, but as always, there was more to the story

than just that.

Many private assets could not be seized if the hunter was still in a 'missing' status, such as

their bank account.

And the fastest way to seize those assets was by bringing the owner of the assets to transfer them, regardless of whether the owner was alive or not.

To make sure that it was not a collector company that killed the person and brought the corpse to the association, it's important to have someone else as a witness to testify that the person was actually killed in their line of work.

The paperwork could be done faster if the witness was someone trustworthy with a good track

record.

And it appeared that Alex was such a person...

Not a witness but rather a high-ranking watcher who had no need for such a thing.

"Do you know what happened?" Emir asked after letting out a long sigh.

Alex nodded.

"Before I say anything, take my words with a grain of salt, more like a mountain of salt, but I

digress, this information isn't trustworthy."

"So again, this is just rumors, but I've heard that..."