Heartland Hunter Academy was a massive and extravagant structure, true to its name and fame.

It sat on a wide expanse of land comparable to several big streets combined.

It consisted of dozens of towering buildings, each serving its unique purpose in the upbringing of the future protectors of Arden.

Since it was mostly empty, as it was still Saturday—two days before its true opening—Marlon, Ashton, and Logan got the opportunity to enjoy a quiet tour around it.

Gigaman was present at the scene, so he decided to act as their guide.

He took them around the facility, introducing them to the different structures, including a few high-tech devices. The survival matrix was among them, which, for understandable reasons, was a necessary feature of the academy.

The entire structure was so vast that it took them almost two hours to complete their tour.

After they were done observing, the three of them retired to their hostel to relax.

But "hostel" was simply an understatement of its true appearance and beauty.

Standing inside his new room, Marlon could not help but be amazed at its design, which was several times more impressive than the four-star hotel room he had lodged in with Ashton.

There was a comfortable-looking king-sized bed at its center, and properly arranged in a corner was a set of reading furniture. Atop the reading desk lay a full computer set and a small heap of textbooks about danger zones and histories.

Marlon was quickly captivated by the view around him. He instantly understood why a place like this was the dream of every newly awakened across the world.

According to Gigaman, the newly awakened from the other four nations would be joining them this year.

Although he didn't go into details about the reason for such a development, Marlon could not help thinking it was related to the mission he discussed with Crimson a few hours ago.

And speaking of that mission, he reminded himself to start preparing.

"I have exhausted all the exp orbs in my possession. I should wait for the delivery my parents sent to arrive before anything," he muttered to himself.

While waiting for the delivery, he decided to dig deeper into the history of Arden and other details he had never gotten the chance to learn since he transmigrated.

Fortunately, computers in Arden worked similarly to those on Earth, only with a few changes to certain major apps. The major search engine here was Stormweb instead of Google, and the most popular social media platform was Aethergram.

Entering Stormweb, his first search was about the great cataclysm fifty years ago.

Since the topic was one of the most searched in all of Arden, it did not take him long to find good websites that went deep into details.

But one of them caught his attention.

⟨⟨ Truth about the catastrophe and the whereabouts of the remaining pioneers... read more ⟩⟩

Posted 23 minutes ago.

It was a new post.

Entering it, he scrolled down and read attentively.

The details provided were similar to the ones he had gotten from other websites — the rift opening in the sky fifty years ago, the downpour of strange energy that became known as aether, the mutation of animals, the arrival of monsters, and also the arrival of the pioneers —

But the page did not end there. It provided a crucial set of information Marlon had been curious about since he entered this world.

He had always wondered what had become of the pioneers who rose up against the catastrophe and defended Arden from extinction.

A few times, he had asked Ashton and Logan about it, but the two—despite usually being knowledgeable about things like that—could not provide the answers he really needed.

But this website provided something more.

Something deeper and exactly what he needed.

"Hmm..." Marlon hummed lowly as his brow furrowed.

"Axel Storm is the only surviving pioneer?"

That was what the page wrote.

According to the article, there were originally ten pioneers who rose on that disastrous day, and just like Axel Storm, each of them possessed unique powers above hunters and guardians of recent times.

And after the battle that lasted for months, they finally won — but at a great sacrifice.

"A deal was made?"

Marlon reacted, bringing his face closer to the screen as if it would somehow make the story clearer.

He scrolled down to the last part of the article that contained the final piece—the one that would reveal what he had been searching for.

⟨⟨ They gave their lives and powers in exchange for a semblance of peace to return to Arden, and that deal... it only lasts for... ⟩⟩

Marlon's eyes widened with anticipation as he pulled the mouse down to scroll further.

And then, all of a sudden, the page went blank.

"What the fuck? I was just getting to the crucial part!"

Marlon gritted his teeth in annoyance as he tried to reload the page.

But after he did, he was greeted with a bogus gray text:

⟨⟨ This post is no longer available... Return to homepage ⟩⟩

He frowned deeply.

The post was here just a few seconds ago. What could've caused it to disappear so suddenly?

Two explanations crossed his mind. The first was that the original publisher had taken the post down. The second—and more likely—was that a third party was involved.

Judging by how deep and controversial the information sounded, he believed it was the latter.

And then came the doubt.

Could what the publisher wrote be the truth?

"Come to think of it, there has never been any information about the other pioneers. In fact, unlike Axel Storm, who has plenty of articles written about him, there are none about the others. It's almost like they did not exist in the first place," he murmured, placing his hands on his jaw as he entered a contemplating pose.

A realization suddenly sparked in his mind.

"The mission... could it be related to this deal?" he wondered.

And for some reason, he felt that his speculation was correct.

But just as he was about to dive deeper into his thoughts, a familiar voice came from the door.

"Marlon… it is me, Maddox, your brother… open up."

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