Two days later...

The weather got better. It's still cold, foggy, and dark. It's probably cloudy up there. But the rain had turned into a fine mist.

Holding a torch, Jeff walked down the soggy beach. With each step, Jeff brought up some wet sand on his leather shoes.

The sound of distant waves could be heard. It's low tide at the moment. Looking down the beach, it's a field of silt, sand, and little puddles.

Walking in the mist, the smell of the ocean became more clear than usual.

Looking ahead, there were some sparse torch lights as well. They were all gathering up to one spot.

Following the torches, Jeff entered a large cove as well. Inside, there was a bonfire going.

There were about 70 people in here, all holding torches. All of them were in their gears. Full-body armors. Holding weapons in their hands. Others were wearing cloaks. Got pouches for mana projectiles by their waists.

A few months ago, there were still fellas with firearms. But nowadays, nobody had spare ammunition anymore.

Yes. This was the Hunter's Council.

For some strange reason, the hunters voted to choose this spot for council gatherings, instead of a condominium a few blocks away.

They probably thought this place was coooool~ Maybe. Jeff didn't know.

Inside, these guys were gathered up in groups or by themselves. They didn't look exactly friendly to each other. In fact, some fellas looked like they wanted to murder each other's asses.

"Mr. Machine Machine."

"Sir."

"President."

The hunters quickly opened up a path for Jeff. These guys looked like fervent fans seeing their idol for some reason.

"Hello fellas." Jeff nodded and smiled. "Looks like we have a lot of business today."

Some hunters exchanged menacing gazes.

Yep. Business.

Naturally, not all the hunters were here. Every hunter here either had beef with another hunter, or group of hunters.

Quarrels among hunters were pretty common.

One group brought the monster to a sliver of health. The monster fled. Another group killed that monster. How should the loot be distributed?

Kill steal? No! This is a kill secure!

Another scenario: two groups decided to work together. Killed the monster. Got loot. But their prior agreement couldn't apply. For instance, there's only one item drop. But there are two parties.

And due to injuries and expenses, they couldn't settle on a new agreement. What now?

Third scenario: the mission between two groups happened to overlap. The sanctuary only offered a single portion of the reward. Neither party wanted to back down from the mission.

And so on.

In the fogged up streets out there, it's been rather easy to use underhanded moves. If a group of hunters went missing, that's basically the end of the story. As a result, it's been a mess, yeah.

So Jeff came up with the current solution.

Friendly fire was strictly forbidden now. Upon confirmation, that group would lose their hunter identity and protection from the council.

[ If you've got beef, take it to the council ]

In other words, the council meeting was more like a court hearing. And Jeff was basically the judge.

The situation was still messy. But over the months, Jeff could see that the hunters were becoming a closer-knit group.

Less fear about backstabbing hunters out there.

Less fighting to the death over loot distribution.

The stronger hunters couldn't just rob their fellow hunters anymore.

Just. Yeah. Better.

Walking up a wooden platform, Jeff nodded at the three S-rank hunters. These three were basically the juries.

Wearing casual clothing, they had been silently standing on this platform.

They looked down at the other hunters with their nostrils. With their arms crossed, these guys didn't look inviting.

As Jeff walked up the platform, these guys just casually nodded at Jeff.

For some strange reason, these three believed that if they fought together, they were on par with Jeff.

What could Jeff say?

'S-ranks and their mysterious confidence...'

Jeff walked up to the wooden chair at the center of the platform. Taking a seat, Jeff got a strange feeling. For some reason, Jeff felt like he was a medieval king or something.

"Well. Hrmm." Jeff cleared his throat. His voice echoed down this cove. "Case number one."

Two groups stepped forward. One group of 5. One group of 9. They were somewhere between D-ranks and C-ranks.

"Mister president. We demand a battle for settling loot distribution. Winner takes all." A representative stepped forward.

"We take this offer." Someone in the opposing group nodded.

"Very well." Jeff nodded. "I will prevent lethal strikes from landing. But after I save you, you will be removed from this battle."

"Upon calling forfeit, you will not be attacked anymore, but you may not re-enter this battle either."

"The council does not provide medical support. You will need to treat your own wounds yourself."

"The battle ends when all the members on one side are removed from battle, or have declared forfeit."

"Are all the rules clear?"

"Yes sir!" The 14 hunters shouted in unison. Both sides looked rather confident.

"Now make some distance. You may commence battle here in 5 seconds."

Yep. Being low-rank hunters, their destructive potential was very limited. They could chip off some rocks off the cove walls at best. There's no need to worry about the cove collapsing here.

The groups quickly parted. Facing each other, they got into formations.

Looking out the cove, Jeff squinted.

Two figures came into sight.

"Pause your games for a second." A solemn voice echoed down the cove. "I have an announcement to make."

Slowly and steadily, two figures entered the cove.

It was Atlas and an A-rank follower. The follower was in a blue armor (squad leader style).

But Atlas... He was wearing a powered armor?

With its visor up, Atlas' head looked rather small in this thing.

2.5 Meters tall. 2 meters wide. A jetpack at its back. No signs of any weapons attached.

Bloated and clunky-looking armor plates. Some plates gave off a brass shine. Other parts gave off a stainless steel lustre.

Based on its looks, Jeff slowly nodded. 'Yeah... Isn't this supposed to be painted? Or is this just an unfinished prototype?'

With each step taken forward, Atlas made a thump sound on the ground.

The crowd stirred up.

"Why is Atlas here?"

"Why now?"

"Is he seeking out trouble?"

"Know your place Atlas. This Hunter's Council, not an internal security meeting." An S-rank hunter raised his chin.