Arriving at the massive tower of the Hunter Association headquarters, Marlon was greeted by crowd of hunters strolling around the vicinity.

He always knew this place was one of the busiest, but he never expected it to be this crowded, especially at such an early hour in the morning.

Fortunately, he was approached by a beautiful, bespectacled young lady dressed in a tight suit that accentuated her curves.

She introduced herself as Anabel, a secretary who had served under the Sterling siblings.

"Your teammates are awaiting you."

"Teammates? I thought I was meeting with Lady Crimson."

"That was the initial plan, but Lady Crimson had an errand to run, so I'll be introducing you to your teammates in her stead," she smiled.

"Alright then," Marlon nodded.

"Come with me."

She led him through the crowd as they entered the tower. The lobby area was really massive, bigger than any he had ever seen.

It was also filled with hunters, easily double the number of the ones waiting outside.

"Is it always this busy?" he could not help but ask.

Anabel shook her head.

"There have been more danger-zones popping up lately, mostly low and mid-level ones. But recently, there's been an influx of high-level ones," she explained.

Marlon responded with a hum as he began to contemplate, recalling his interaction with Axel Storm.

At this rate, the exploration mission might be sooner than planned, he thought.

"We're here."

His thoughts were interrupted by Anabel.

Shifting his vision, he was greeted by the sight of a small group of hunters.

There were four of them — three men and one young lady.

Each of them seemed to be in their late twenties, except the only girl in the group, who looked like she was in her early age.

Using his inspection skill, he checked their powers and discovered that each of them was a C-rank hunter who had recently broken through. The weakest one was level 110—over four times stronger than Marlon based on levels.

Seeing them, he could not help but wonder what kind of mission required someone like him, who was just an E-rank hunter.

"Can't believe I'm standing in front of the famous Lunaris Beater."

The young lady adorning a long green dress with a cut that revealed her slender legs stepped forward with a friendly smile and stretched her hand for a shake.

"Lunaris Beater? That's new…" Marlon smiled back, deactivating his inspection, and shook her hand.

"My name is Clarissa. I'll be taking the role of healer in this raid," she introduced herself.

"Marlon. Nice to meet you."

He smiled at her.

"The name is Dagon. A warrior."

One of the men, wearing neat black clothing with a jet-black upper-body armor that gave him a sharp look, introduced himself and his talent.

He didn't seem friendly at all, he didn't even bother to shake hands.

It was the same for the other two, namely Emma and Davidson. Emma was a fire mage, while Davidson was a golem mage, both would be handling attack and tank roles, respectively.

The team was pretty solid.

But how good their combination actually was depended entirely on their mission.

And so far, judging by their talents and levels, he could already tell it was a raid.

Dagon, being the leader of the party, began the briefing.

"Deadlight District?"

"Yes."

"Hmm."

He had not expected the raid to be occurring in that place.

A place ignored by the world and left to rot. Most hunters avoided going there, as not only the monsters but even the people dwelling there were dangerous.

According to the briefing from Dagon…

The Hunter Association had decided to pay more attention to that area, and as a result of that decision, their party would be the first to enter and wipe out some of the mid-level danger-zones before a break occurred.

And that was the reason Marlon was called.

"You're one of the most loved superstars that has emerged. Your feat on that day won the hearts of many, including dwellers of the Deadlight District. With your presence, we might avoid unnecessary conflict," Dagon explained.

Marlon smiled wryly. It turns out the only reason he was invited was because of his fame, not his strength, it hurt his ego a little.

To make matters worse, Dagon added that his team wouldn't be needing his input for the mission.

Judging by the unfriendly remarks so far, Marlon could tell he wasn't liked.

Only Clarissa seemed a little friendly.

Not that he cared much.

Just having the opportunity to skip school was enough. And there was no way in hell he would miss the chance to slay some C-rank monsters.

At the moment, he simply nodded to Dagon's warning and asked the important question:

"How long is this mission?"

He needed to know.

"Give or take, five days. With our clearing speed, that should be enough to take care of two or three C-rank danger-zones."

"Not bad."

Marlon commented.

But his simple comment seemed to trigger something, as the three men flashed him sharp glares.

"Please be mindful of what you say," Emma warned.

Marlon smiled and nodded, then turned to Anabel, who had been watching anxiously. She could clearly see the heated undertone in their interaction. Even she could tell it wasn't going to be an easy mission for Marlon.

If she had the authority, she would've suggested he leave, but there was nothing she could do.

"The Aetherwing is ready," she stepped in with a polite smile, breaking the tension.

She then told them to follow her as she led them to the top floor of the massive building, where a sleek jet, something straight out of a science fiction movie, awaited them.

Two pilots stood by, waiting.

They greeted the party as they boarded the jet.

Marlon was fascinated with the design, especially the smooth, elegant interior.

He expected it to be an enjoyable flight… until he learned his sitting partner was Dagon.

He could only pray the flight wouldn't take long.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.