Dundorma was built into the mountainside, and the Elder Hall where His Immenseness resided stood at the mountain's peak.
After being inspected by the defense force knights, the two stepped onto a long, winding staircase, climbing nearly a thousand steps before finally reaching the summit and the towering, majestic hall before them.
Their guide, Rosso, considerately paused, giving Altaïr a few seconds to gaze upward in awe.
"I've heard that only high-rank Hunters are permitted to enter the Elder Hall," Altaïr said, his tone wistful as he looked at the massive pillars standing at the entrance.
"There is such a saying, but it's actually a misconception," Rosso explained with a smile. "High-rank Hunters can actively seek an audience with His Immenseness. If the cover of your Hunter's Notes bears at least six stars, that defense force knight just now would have let you pass directly.
If Low Rank Hunters have a particularly urgent situation to report, they can also enter the Elder Hall and meet His Immenseness after filing a report at the Guild Hall counter.
In truth, there weren't these rules at first. It was only later, when more and more tourists kept coming to the Elder Hall, that they had no choice but to set up guard posts."
"I see."
"Relaxed enough now? Then let's go in. His Immenseness is already waiting for you."
Altaïr nodded, and the two entered the Elder Hall one after the other.
The scale of the foyer alone was somewhat staggering, its depth stretching over fifty meters and its height nearing twenty meters.
Both sides were lined with massive pillars carved from blue-grey granite, with the Guild's banners hanging from the stone columns. The solemn atmosphere unique to large-scale architecture washed over them.
Following Rosso to the end of the foyer, they stood before a colossal gate that even a Large Monster could easily pass through.
"Go on in once you're ready." Rosso halted his steps and turned to face Altaïr. "His Immenseness is within the hall."
Altaïr calmed the nervousness in his heart and nodded.
"Mm."
Rosso smiled and stepped aside, nodding to the Wyverian attendant standing silently outside the Main Hall's entrance.
The attendant pulled a switch, and the heavy, immense gate, forged of steel and impossible for human strength to push, slowly opened amid the clacking sound of mechanical gears turning.
Altaïr took a deep breath and walked into the great hall.
The first thing that entered his sight was the marble floor, polished to a mirror-like smoothness, through which he could clearly see his own reflection.
It was as if reminding all visitors to constantly examine themselves.
Altaïr distinctly felt a gaze, one that seemed to carry tangible weight, settle upon him.
He raised his head and looked forward to meet it.
On a stone dais likewise constructed of pitch-black marble, an imposing figure sat upright, gazing down at him.
It was an elderly, giant Wyverian with a weathered face. His long, snow-white eyebrows covered his eyes, and his high, prominent forehead was etched with wrinkles.
Yet his body remained robust. That legendary Godchaser was gripped in his hand as if it could be drawn at any moment, just as in the legends, ready to cleanly and decisively sever a dragon's head.
"His Immenseness." Altaïr bowed his head and inclined his body in salute.
"Come closer. Let this old one have a proper look at you." A voice, far deeper and heavier than that of an ordinary human, sounded from overhead, yet it was not as fiercely stern as one might imagine. Surprisingly kind?
Altaïr stepped forward a few paces and looked up at His Immenseness.
"Hmm, a fine young man. I hear you are one of the Nomads from the Great Desert?" His Immenseness's voice was gentle.
The question His Immenseness asked was somewhat different from what Altaïr had imagined, but he still nodded in confirmation.
His Immenseness leaned forward slightly and was about to continue his questioning when the elderly Wyverian standing on the steps beside his seat cleared his throat and reminded him, "Your Immenseness, the official inquiry first."
Altaïr recognized the old man. He was the Guild Manager of the Dundorma Hunter's Guild Hall, effectively the head of the Dundorma Hunter's Guild, a Guild senior second only to His Immenseness.
Back when he and Isis had their Arena duel, this old man was the one who arranged it.
"Mm..."
His Immenseness gave a thoughtful murmur, then asked in a grave tone, "In the operation to surround and eliminate the Arbiter Estrellian, you single-handedly hunted a Doom Estrellian?"
"What do Doom Estrellian and Arbiter Estrellian refer to...?" Altaïr could roughly guess what these two terms respectively designated, but for the sake of accuracy, he asked a confirmatory question in response.
The Guild Manager interjected, "The Doom Estrellian is the Estrellian Subspecies mentioned in the report. There was a recorded sighting of this creature many years ago; at the time, a Hunter was even attacked.
Considering its aggressiveness, the Guild has formally named it the 'Doom Estrellian.'
The Arbiter Estrellian is the Apex Estrellian mentioned in the report. Due to its destructive power and its behavior of preying upon regular Estrellians, the Guild has named it the 'Arbiter Estrellian.'"
"I understand. Thank you." After nodding his thanks, Altaïr looked back toward His Immenseness. "It was not a solo hunt. It was a cooperative hunt with my hunting partner, Sajji, and the 3-star Hunter Kagetsu."
His Immenseness grunted. "Mm."
Generally speaking, a hunting partner was not counted separately from a Hunter, just as an Insect Glaive user would not single out their Kinsect when speaking.
As for Kagetsu, His Immenseness also had a faint impression of that name, a pure support-type Insect Glaive user.
In that light, one truly couldn't say Altaïr had soloed the Doom Estrellian, but calling him the absolute main force in the battle was perfectly fair.
Hmm. I do like an honest and humble young man!
"How would you assess the danger level of the Doom Estrellian?" His Immenseness continued his line of questioning.
"The power of its attacks meets the standard for 5★ Monsters. Its movements are very agile, and its ability to control the Star Butterflies is also rather troublesome. However, the one I dealt with seemed quite lacking in combat experience; it had likely only recently completed its transformation.
But it's important to note that they are extremely adept at learning. They will proactively alter their movement patterns to adapt to combat.
With sufficient accumulated battle experience, it would be considered dangerous even among 5★ Monsters."
"Ho ho ho, from the way you speak, it sounds as if you've dealt with quite a few 5★ Monsters." His Immenseness's line of questioning suddenly shifted.
Altaïr instantly felt cold sweat beading on his skin.
Sneaking out to hunt was the kind of thing that could be treated as either a minor or major infraction. It was fine as long as it wasn't brought into the open, but once someone seized upon it and wanted to mete out punishment, there was no escaping it according to the rules and regulations.
Denial was pointless. Bracing himself, Altaïr could only say, "Most of those situations were accidents."
"Oh? But it seems those 'accidents' all ended up dead in the end?"
"..." Altaïr was utterly numb. If not for the fact that His Immenseness's tone wasn't harsh, he suspected that in the next second Guild Knights would burst in and drag him away.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Altaïr raised his head, met His Immenseness's gaze, and replied, "I will not violate regulations by engaging in poaching.
But I also won't deny that I have ambitions to legitimately exploit the rules, challenge even more powerful Monsters, and turn them into a part of my own strength."
The Guild Manager shot him a surprised look. It was truly rare to see a young Hunter dare to dress up running off to hunt unauthorized in such grandiose terms here in the Elder Hall, before His Immenseness himself.
"Ha ha ha ha!!" His Immenseness stamped the haft of his Long Sword on the ground, erupting into booming laughter like rolling thunder.
This old man also loves brash, vigorous young people!
As his laughter subsided, His Immenseness pressed his palms against his knees, lowering his body slightly. "You have already proven your strength. Since you are so impatient to challenge more powerful Monsters, how about this old man grants you a special promotion to 5★ Hunter?"
"Your Immenseness!" The Guild Manager couldn't help but raise his voice in warning. "Special promotions... should not be misused."
His Immenseness ignored the Guild Manager's reminder, staring intently at Altaïr below the stone platform.
Altaïr's heart stirred for an instant, but just before he opened his mouth to accept, the reminders from Teacher Karin and Master Amos surfaced in his mind.
His physical conditioning, his combat techniques, the quality of his equipment... they might already nearly meet the standards of a 5★ Hunter.
But a Hunt was more than just clashing head-on with a Monster; he still needed to accumulate experience, still had much to learn.
Altaïr bowed slightly. "I thank His Immenseness for the kindness, but my training is not yet complete. When I am truly qualified to advance to 5★, I will apply for the examination on my own."
The Guild Manager cast another astonished glance his way.
Logically speaking, a young man not yet twenty like Altaïr should find it very difficult to refuse the temptation of stepping into a higher echelon, otherwise, there wouldn't be so many who ran off to hunt unauthorized.
And what's more, this guy's record of such unauthorized outings was anything but small.
But regardless, the Guild Manager found Altaïr's reply rather admirable. As the person who handled the vast majority of the Guild's practical affairs, Altaïr's attitude of playing by the rules greatly increased his favorable impression.
"Ho ho, then this old man was meddling unnecessarily." His Immenseness chuckled, not angered by Altaïr's polite refusal.
"Young man, since you've declined this chance for direct promotion, how about this: in addition to the rewards you're already due, this old man can personally grant you one not-too-excessive request.
The request must be made now. Think quickly."
Altaïr was slightly stunned by this. Having His Immenseness grant you a request sounded immensely impressive at first, but with qualifiers like "personally," "not-too-excessive," and "must be made now," the limitations were actually quite numerous.
Suddenly, an idea came to Altaïr, and he raised his head to look at His Immenseness once more.
Beyond titles such as one of the Guild's founders, its supreme controller, and a series of others, His Immenseness held one more identity.
The undisputed strongest warrior in the world.
You couldn't even preface his name with labels like Long Sword user, or Hunter. Long before the profession of Hunter ever existed, he was already an unparalleled, mighty Blademaster.
The time he had spent training with the Long Sword was many times longer than the entire period the Long Sword had been established as a standalone Hunter weapon.
"Your Immenseness, I wish to witness the ultimate essence of the Long Sword." Altaïr spoke, his gaze burning with fervor.
His Immenseness froze for a moment, then erupted once more into laughter that shook the Main Hall.
For the sake of promises made to old friends, he had guarded the Hunter's Guild headquarters for centuries.
Elder Dragons? To him, they were merely ordinary Monsters he could slay with ease.
Yet he absolutely could not act unless faced with a truly desperate, irredeemable crisis. If the thought "His Immenseness will handle it anyway" was branded into the minds of Hunters, it would be nothing but detrimental to humanity's future.
He was, in a manner of speaking, imprisoned by himself, trapped upon this stone seat. Even opportunities to simply step out of this Elder Hall were vanishingly rare.
Possessing overwhelming power, yet unable to swing his sword, so much so that many had forgotten that he, too, was a Blademaster, a warrior, the undisputed strongest in this world, without peer!
And in this young man's eyes, he saw the gaze of a kindred soul.
In this moment, Altaïr no longer saw him as His Immenseness of the Guild, but rather approached him as one Blademaster seeking guidance from another Blademaster, a stronger one, the strongest one.
Under the Guild Manager's look of pure "this is insane" horror, the old Wyverian, standing over ten meters tall, rose from his seat.
"Watch closely!" Amid a rumbling, low shout, the aged Blademaster unsheathed the world-renowned Godchaser blade in his hand and swung it forward in a mighty cleave.
It was just the simplest, most basic Step Slash.
No majestic, piercing fighting spirit was visible, nor was there any dazzling, brilliant flash of the sword.
The next second, dozens of meters away, the massive iron gate at the hall's entrance, thick as a city wall, was sliced apart diagonally, its severed surface as smooth as a mirror.
(Translated by yourtl.app)