The Recruiting Center. Marcus looked at the building with even more awe. It was just a lone building on the left side of the guild's headquarters, but it seemed even more high-tech than the main building.
It had a helipad on the top and seemingly a train station connected to it from the outside, with a train coming every few minutes to drop people off and pick them up…
"Welcome to our Recruiting Center. It's one of the places in Korea where Hunters can ignore the conventional airport and get to our guild immediately. The train is connected to portals all over the world! The helipad also allows Hunters to get here using their personal aircraft if need be," Gerald said, holding his arms out toward the building, seemingly very proud of what he had built here.
Marie wanted to say something, but she groaned instead, struggling to keep Ana in her grasp as the girl suddenly attempted to slip out.
"Well… Aren't you an E-Rank Guild? I highly doubt this place is bustling with many people not from your guild," Johnny said, causing both Marcus and Marie to look at him in surprise…
"Ahem. Sorry about my friend. Lead the way," Marcus said, immediately pulling Johnny close with his arm and glaring at him. There was no way he actually just said that.
"Watch your mouth…" he said under his breath as Gerald rolled his eyes and walked through the glass doors into the Recruiting Center.
"Got it, Boss." Johnny nodded, eyes looking into Marcus's. Marcus could tell that wasn't Johnny's intention… His ability to read people was getting scary good. He could hear Johnny's heartbeat, calmly thumping against his chest. He could smell the sweat trickling from his forehead before he could see the droplet…
The heartbeat began to ring in the back of his head. His eyes left Johnny, focusing on something else instead: the nearby birds flying by. He could hear the flaps of their wings, the rustling of their individual feathers.
His entire body was working on overdrive to understand everything around him. It wasn't just his system telling him about an item anymore. It felt like his body was trying to get used to pinpointing a single heat signature. To… Hunt?
"What is happening to me…?" he grumbled underneath his breath, looking toward Marie. He could actually smell her emotions. She was… angry. Dealing with Ana was an annoyance.
Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts from his mind. This wasn't him. Whatever was happening had to be the system. But what was it?
He needed to check.
While they walked, he pulled up his status screen and saw exactly what was causing it.
[Sword Resonation Target: Redmane's Scimitar]
[58%]
[Sword Resonation Target: REDACTED]
[98%]
What the fuck was Sword Resonation? He clicked on the keyword in his skills. He needed to know.
[Sword Resonation - Class Skill]
[You resonate with a blade in your possession. The higher your affinity with the blade, the higher the Resonation rate. Resonation allows you to gain the memories, skills, and even the personality traits and bodily functions of every previous wielder of the blade in question.]
That's what was happening, but…
"Marcus? We're here." Johnny interrupted his train of thought, his sudden scent helping ground Marcus more than his actual words.
"Sorry about that." He just needed to get used to it.
Walking into the Recruiting Center, this time the group wasn't very impressed. It resembled a simple Neo York train station. Just a bunch of nothing. A few food stalls in the walls and a couple weird security guards. But that was it. A lot of the people coming in from the trains were already guild members.
Marie side-eyed her brother before scoffing. "Gerald. Was this really what you brought us to? It would've been better if Marcus sat down at a computer and put up an ad on GregNote."
"I— Sister. Stop shaming me! There were supposed to be three individuals arriving. Your friend Johnny isn't a combatant. Your squad needs five." He said, a tear welling up in his left eye as he glared daggers through Marie.
"Whatever you say, smaller boy!" Ana yelled at him, throwing one of her toys at his face, which he surprisingly dodged.
"Your daughter is quite the tool…" Gerald scoffed, almost laughing before he felt Marcus staring daggers through him as well. "Ahem… She has quite the good… I… I'm sorry."
Marcus glared at Gerald for a few extra seconds before scoffing and looking toward the train station area of the building.
For a few minutes, no one new came in—just veteran Suho guild members. Marcus was actually impressed this time. There were so many different types of Hunters in Suhojadeul.
A guy with a giant shield about as big as a blast door came through the train's doors, dragging the metal behind him. It reverberated with a strange energy—an energy that smelled like death. It made Marcus shudder slightly. But he knew one thing: it was the death of monsters he smelled, not humans.
The next Hunter was someone who froze the air with their arrival. Their outfit resembled clothes frozen in time, as if they had been soaked in water and set out on an ice-cold winter day. Strange.
Marcus could hear the man's heartbeat. It was slow. Methodical. But loud, like a war drum. He could tell these guys were the real Hunters of Suho. But they weren't any higher than B-Rank? How did a B-Rank smell, then?
Before he could continue his thoughts, eventually, a new face walked through those doors.
A woman standing about 5'8" walked through the sliding doors of the train, her boots hitting the ground with loud clacks. Steel-toed. She wore a strange outfit that accentuated her bronze skin: a grey and brown camo bikini top, a similarly patterned pair of short shorts, fishnets that hugged her muscular legs, and... a pair of heavy earmuffs on her head?
Her jet-black hair caught the sun, reflecting a blue tint, but what really stood out were those piercing, bright blue eyes.
"Mana sensitive. Hm. She might be good," Marie said, fighting off Ana's clawed hands from tearing up her beautiful face, all while checking out the new arrival.
"Ah! There she is! The new talent. That's Geraldine Francis! She's... sorta like a sniper type? Wonder where her weapon is!" Gerald said, immediately rubbing his chin in thought as he looked her over.
"Let's go talk to her." Marcus started walking toward her, not even caring if his squadmates tried to stop him. He could smell it on her. She was definitely a Hunter he'd want on the squad.
She looked around, as if she were trying to find someone. Her eyes slowly turned toward Marcus as he got closer, staring daggers through his face in clear confusion as he stopped right in front of her.
Looking down at her, Marcus grinned, holding out his hand for a handshake. "Hey. My name is Marcus Koa. Who might you be?"
She tilted her head to the left, one eyebrow raising even more before both her eyes widened quickly, as if she noticed something wrong.
As she pulled one of her earmuffs off, Marcus could finally hear what she was playing. Loud EDM flooded his ears, his heightened senses making the noise deafening—
[Sonic Waves entering body…]
[Kinetic Energy Stored: 25%]
Marcus's entire body shook as the sound filled his ears. It hurt so much that his hands immediately went to his blades, causing the woman to jump back slightly, her hand dropping to her hip. But she had nothing there.
"Ouch! What the fuck?!" He could feel his eardrums threatening to burst from the sheer volume.
"Sorry about that, what did you say?" she asked, her voice almost muffled by the music, her eyes now looking at him with even more confusion.
"S-stop the music! My ears!" he yelled, causing the woman to flinch back slightly and immediately turn her music down a notch.
Once his ears were no longer being attacked by the garbage she called music, he sighed softly, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Do you always play music that loud…?"
"L-loud? I had headphones on. It wasn't that bad…" She wasn't lying. No one else around seemed to be affected. This Sword Resonation shit was starting to get on his nerves.
"Forget about it... My name is Marcus Koa. Who might you be? And are you already in a squad?" he asked, his right hand still rubbing his ear in pain.
"Oh… I'm Geraldine. You probably already knew that but… Sorry for the late introduction. Music is my escape." She bowed her head slightly before she held out her hand for that handshake she refused earlier.
He grabbed her hand and shook lightly, feeling the calluses all over her palms… She was a fighter. Addicted to her craft. Just like him.
He nodded, smirking. "So. I came over for a reason. You looking for a squad? My squad, Epsilon, just got commissioned for a job by the guild. We're pretty new and we need able bodied Hunters." He asked, head nodding behind him, showing off Marie and their Porter, Johnny. Though, Gerald was in the peripheral as well, and Marie was being attacked by a little gremlin…
Geraldine nodded as she listened to his explanation. But she didn't seem fazed. Nor did she seem to budge.
Marcus noticed something about her… Dog tags. Was she in the previous Hunter World War? It would explain her need for music. To escape the darkness in her mind. He didn't serve, but… he understood. Somehow. He could feel it in her heart. She was calm here.
"Listen, I know you're hot stuff. But I'm going to need more information than that. What's the loot split going to look like?" she asked, pulling out a notepad to begin taking notes.
Marcus's eyes widened… He hadn't even established these things yet, and he was supposed to be a leader? Yeah, right…
Sighing, he pulled out his phone and started running the numbers. "Currently… I'm thinking twenty percent for each team member. We'll have five in total. Also thinking of doing a 'killer takes most of the loot' system," he said, typing away at his phone as she nodded, seemingly pleased.
"OK… How much does Suhojadeul pay?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. That seemed to be what she was interested in the most.
"As far as I know, I'm paying you all out of pocket. So I'll say… five percent of my final contract money per month," he said, looking at her with a smile.
"And how much is that?" she asked.
"150 million."
She grinned, no longer talking as she patted his shoulder and pulled her earmuffs back onto her head. "You've got me in your back pocket, baby~! Let's get to work!"
Marcus looked back toward the group, watching as Geraldine walked over and stood next to Marie, tapping her foot away to her music.
"You need three more recruits, Marcus! Keep it up!" Gerald called out, causing Marcus to nod. Albeit in annoyance.
How was he gonna find two more perfectly able bodied Hunters in this center who also weren't in a squad? Suho had barely any spots open for new recruits to begin with. So people waltzing in wanting to join wasn't happening a lot. At all.
Marcus sighed, looking at the train tracks, and he waited.
[GERALDINE FRANCIS has been added to the squad.]
[Would you like to view her stats?]
"Not now." He grumbled under his breath, looking at the tunnel with that iconic glare. He was starting to get impatient.
[USER. You are bored. Look at GERALDINE's stats.]
"Didn't I say not—"
He was ignored as a small preview of her status screen was revealed for him to see. Cheeky bugger.
[GERALDINE FRANCIS]
[Level 23 Cross-Ballista Marksman]
[HP: 2356/2356]
[STR: 23]
[CON: 17]
[AGI: 76]
"Dismissed," Marcus sighed... He had never asked permission, and he didn't have the right to see her stats. At all. He just wanted a new person to walk through those doors right now…
But just then, his prayers were answered. A new train came flying in, its wheels coming to a screeching halt as two more people walked out of the sliding doors before the very same train immediately sped off…
"What was their problem, cousin Marshall?" A girl wearing a simple witches outfit would ask a way larger than average man as they walked off the platform and down the steps. Her outfit bright red, contrasting against her bright golden hair. Her eyes a nice purple in color.
The man next to her had to be one of the biggest people Marcus had ever seen. He had to easily be like 400 pounds.. Belly rolls everywhere, candy leaking out of his tracksuit pockets, and a dirty blonde mop of hair on his head. Groomed to absolute perfection.
He'd drag a comb through his hair before answering his cousin's question. "They just didn't seem to vibe with how elegant we truly are, Hm?" Marcus wasn't expecting such a posh voice to come out of that chin— Mouth. That mouth.
But Marcus could sense it… Their mana sensitivity was off the charts. Who were these people?
[Diamonds in the rough?]
"I hope so." They looked silly, but Marcus needed bodies. He began making his way over to them almost immediately.
"Boss! You sure that's the decision you want to make?!" Johnny called out, resulting in a thumbs up from Marcus. This was what they needed. At least, that's what his gut told him.
"Hey. Mind if we have a chat?" Marcus asked as he walked up to the both of them. The smaller girl looked him up and down and immediately nodded her head that same direction, like a madwoman.
"Yes, yes please! Talk to me!"
The bigger man nodded his head, still brushing his hair with that comb… He cared about that mane. A lot.
"My name is Marcus Koa. I'm the squad leader of Epsilon. We need some squad members. I'm assuming you all came on that train to join Suhojadeul?" Marcus said, eyes looking into the both of theirs, trying his best to gauge their reactions.
The girl nearly passed out from… excitement? She immediately nodded her head yet again. "Yes! Yes! My name is Vanessa Greybur! I'm a mage!" She nearly jumped out of her dress.
"I don't know, my good man. I would join… only if you can guarantee my magic can stay fed. My magic is connected to how much fat I have on my body. My metabolism is extremely quick because of this. As long as you can pay for my magic, I'm fine with joining…" the man said, making Marcus wince a little. More money to pay for his food. But based on the magic signature he was sensing from them, he could tell it would be worth it.
"Fine. I'll pay for your meals. No matter what it is," he promised. He could already feel the money leaking from his pockets. Hopefully, his senses were right.
"Well met. My name is Marshall Mathers. But you can call me M&M." He nodded his head, finally introducing himself.
Marcus rubbed his chin as he looked over the both of them… Then he looked back at his already established squadmates. Marie was their tank, he was the main DPS, and he assumed Geraldine was some sort of ranged DPS that wasn't a mage. Adding these two was exactly what they needed. They wouldn't need any more squadmates for a while. If ever.
Perfect.
Holding out his hands, he grinned, nodding his head. "Welcome aboard, you two. We're gonna work quite well together."
The two shook his hands before he turned around and led them back to the rest of the squad.
Gerald looked at them all with surprise… How did Marcus find such a good group of Hunters in one day? "Ahem… I'm glad you're squaded up and ready to hunt! Ready for your briefing?" Gerald said, the entire group nodding.
"Wait… Johnny, take Ana to the apartment. Go look for Jolyne. She should show the way." Marcus said, looking at Johnny with those eyes.
Johnny immediately understood the assignment, Marie letting down Ana. She seemed to finally be calm.
Grabbing her hand, Johnny and Ana left out the side door, Gerald leading the rest of the group out the front doors.
"So, does the one wearing headphones wear those all the time or…?" Marshall asked, but he never got an answer.
The walk wasn't long.
Gerald led them through the halls of the Suhojadeul. There were tons of people, most dressed in Hunter gear—swords and armor, the whole shebang. It was a sea of purple and red.
But Gerald didn't take them to a well-populated area. As they walked past reception and down a lone hallway, the corporate purple and red colors of the guild slowly faded into dark black and grey. The floors lost their shine, slowly becoming a strange type of dull metal.
Fewer Hunters meant more guards. Each guard was outfitted with better gear the closer they got to their destination. They weren't Hunters… they were soldiers.
Geraldine was on guard, one of her hands rubbing her dog tags while the other hovered over a gun at her waist that wasn't there.
Marie's hands were balled into fists by now, her anger palpable. She obviously didn't trust her brother. Maybe it was because she couldn't trust her father, either.
M&M finally stopped eating his candy and began looking around in confusion… He started combing his hair, his heartbeat pounding through his chest.
Vanessa was the weirdest case. She just… stopped being excited. Marcus could smell the ozone thickening in the air as she began channeling her magic.
But Marcus was calm. He could smell no ill will on Gerald. They were all just being a little paranoid. Maybe.
Finally, Gerald stopped at a black metal door. The door had a retina scanner on the top, glowing a bright red as it scanned his eyes. The door opened, screeching for a second before hitting the inside frame with a loud—
CLUNK
Inside the room sat a lone metal table and a few chairs—just enough for Gerald and Marcus's squad.
"Take a seat. Let's talk about your first mission," Gerald said, now extremely serious. More serious than he had been before.
"Um… What mission, sir?" Vanessa asked, taking a seat at the table as the rest of the group did so as well.
"Oh, yeah. Forgot about that… You'll all be heading into a dungeon to figure out how our B-Rank squad was killed, and if there was any foul play involved or not," Gerald said, smiling ear to ear as the group nodded at his words…
"Um… What if we've never investigated something before?" Marshall asked, even more confused than his cousin. This was definitely out of his skillset.
"We'll figure it out. All we have to do is get the job done," Marcus replied for Gerald, nodding his head at Marshall. A vote of confidence…
Geraldine didn't even seem to hear anything that was said, so there were no more votes to account for on whether the mission should be done or not.
"S-sure." Marshall and Vanessa looked at each other with worry… Maybe this wasn't the best squad for them to join at the moment?