- The Next Day -

After registering at the Hunters' Guild yesterday, I had told that receptionist I would drop by again today to pick up my first quest. That's what I said, but...first, I had to trick the girls.

My four teammates on The Chaotic Tranquility were waiting in the lobby of the boys' dorms. I took a deep breath, and went over my script once more in my head.

Okay...I got this.

I turned the corner with confidence, and found the four girls...getting hit on? I quickly dashed back into the safety of the shadows. Then, carefully, I peeked over at what was going on in curiosity.

"Hey there, girlies," a boy said, getting closer than comfort to Feng Mian. "You look stunning. Wanna hang out?"

"Huh...if it isn't the two daughters of the Yu family," another boy mused, sizing the two sisters up and down lustfully.

The two boys (I'll call them boy 1 and boy 2 respectively) were wearing the school uniform, and appeared to be two years above us. In other words, they were 4th Years who just finished their Advancement Exams yesterday. They both had disgusting looks on their faces, and were causing the girls to be very uncomfortable. If they had simply fallen in love and wanted to ask the girls out, then I wouldn't care, but it was clear they were only hitting on the girls because of their looks and figure. As an aside, neither of two were ogling Qing Yue, since, well...she was a bit underdeveloped compared to the other three. Don't tell her I said that though.

I decided to wait a bit longer before going in, since I thought the girls could probably handle it themselves. I bet similar situations would happen in the future, so this was good practice for them.

"Sorry, but we're busy," Yu An Yan spoke up first, despite clearly being nervous. Being the older sister, she had to take the initiative and be brave.

"Busy? Eh, that's fine too. But why don't you give me your number, babe, so we can hang out some other time?" asked boy 2 with a charming smile. Gross...

"No, we're good," it was Feng Mian that replied this time. "And also, please kindly step away from us, you're too close for comfort."

The four girls were all forced right up to the wall, and had nowhere else to go. The only option was to get the boys to move. However...that would prove to be a task harder than expected.

"Aw, don't be shy," said boy 1. "C'mon, if you want to be even closer, just say so." Saying that, he edged even closer.

Woah there...dangerous territory. Dangerous!

Finally, I decided it was time to step in, and prepared to round the corner, but-

"Hyah!"

"AHH! FUCK!" the boy cried out in pain.

Before I could act, Qing Yue had let out a powerful kick towards the boy, right into that area, robbing boy 1 of his ability to have children, forever. The boy, having been struck right where it hurts most, was sent flying to the floor, sprawling and yelling in agony.

As a fellow member of the male race, I instinctively clutched my lifeline. "Holy shit...okay, never piss off Qing Yue. Noted."

Boy 2, after seeing his friend suffer from irreversible genital injury, hurriedly backed off. Using magic here would get him expelled, so he had no choice but to run away like a coward. After helping boy 1 get back on his feet, the two perverts scurried away in fear.

Finding this sight amusing, I finally rounded the corner and came into view of the girls.

"Hm? What happened?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"You saw everything, didn't you, Big Brother Xuan Kai?" Qing Yue pouted unhappily.

"Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about," I replied, cold sweat forming on my back. Met with the stern and dubious gazes of the four girls, I was forced to hurriedly change the topic. "A-Anyway, I just came here to inform you that I changed my mind."

Feng Mian glanced at me skeptically. "Changed your mind...? On what?"

"Registering at the Hunters' Guild," I replied nonchalantly. "I did some research, and uh...prying open monster guts just isn't my cup of tea."

"Ah...yeah, that's pretty disgusting," Yu An Yan remarked. "But what are you going to do then for money?"

"Eh...I'll figure something out," I answered hesitantly. My script doesn't cover this part! "You guys don't have to worry about it."

"Huh...well...we're going to register anyway," Feng Mian said, shattering all my expectations along with my flawless plan.

"Hold up, what?"

"What? Just because you can't do it doesn't mean we can't either," Yu An Yan said.

"Uh, yeah...okay," I responded stiffly. "Good luck..."

After receiving multiple puzzled gazes from the girls, I turned around and headed back upstairs to my room.

Upon arriving, I was met with Mei Gui, who suddenly clutched my hands tightly as soon as I entered the room.

"What the-"

"Master, may I join the Hunters' Guild as well?" she asked, black eyes dazzling with excitement.

"Huh? I mean, sure, but...why?" I asked, dazed by this sudden request.

"It sounds cool," Mei Gui replied innocently.

Seriously? You want to join just because the name sounds cool? Oh well...

"Well...whatever, the others probably already left, but if you hurry now you should be able to catch-"

"Thank you!"

Before I could even finish my sentence, I felt a wind rush against my cheeks me as Mei Gui dashed past, going the down the stairs instead of the elevators to be faster. I sighed and entered my room.

"Well, shit...what do I do now?"

I glanced at the clock, and decided to head over to the guild later to pick up my first quest as promised. I didn't want to ran into the girls, after all. It's 9 AM right now...guess I'll head there at around 1 PM. That should be enough time, right? Perhaps even more than needed. Oh well, better safe than sorry.

*****

- 1 PM -

I slipped on the new cloak I got yesterday, along with my facemask. They were both midnight black (but the cloak had silver linings on it), and honestly, went pretty well together. My black hair also matched quite nicely with the whole attire. I put on the ring I received from Song Qian Long as well. It was the first time I ever put it on, but as soon as I did, a strange warmth enveloped my entire body, and I felt so natural wearing it all of a sudden. It was as if the ring was made for me.

I stepped into the bathroom to see how I looked from an outsider's perspective. I wouldn't want anyone at the guild finding out my true identity, after all. However...

"What the hell...well, at least no one's ever going to tell this is me," I muttered to myself.

It wasn't my clothes that surprised me the most. It was my eye color. Strangely enough, my originally black eyes were now an ominous bright red. Hmm...it doesn't look bad at all, but what caused this transformation...? Thinking this, I first took off my cloak. Nope. My eyes remained crimson. I slipped the cloak back on and took off the ring...

"Yeah...as expected..."

As soon as I took the ring off, the red in my irises disappeared, and faded back to my usual black. I looked at the piece of jewelery in wonder, and put it on my index finger once more. My eyes, as expected, turned back to the same as that of the gemstone embedded on the ring - a bright, bloody red.

I guess when I wear the ring, I'll be known as Kai Xuan. When I'm not, I'll just be Xuan Kai. I then glanced down at the ring on my hand once more.

I still don't really know what exactly you are, but...I can tell, you're going to be plenty helpful in the future. Should I give you a name? Actually, nah, forget it...I'm horrible at naming things.

After inspecting my getup one last time, I stepped out of my room, and began heading for the Hunters' Guild, once more.

*****

- The Hunters' Guild, Shenzhen Branch -

Around an hour later, I arrived at the Hunters' Guild of Shenzhen. I could've gotten here far sooner if I used Sky Magic, but since neither of my personas had that element listed, it could cause trouble if I were spotted. Thus, I had to do this the long way.

I entered the building, and despite having already been here once before, the elegance of it still never ceased to amaze me. I glanced at the receptionist on the far right - the same one I had talked to yesterday. However, as expected, a huge line was formed in front of her, and all I could see were hairy men, bulky men, and...well, men.

Luckily, they weren't causing a ruckus like yesterday, so the lobby wasn't as noisy. I was thankful. However, that being said, I had no intention of wasting half an hour or more time waiting in that giant line, so I decided to just go to another receptionist - the second one counting from right to left. In other words, she was right beside the veiled girl.

There was still a line here, but it was nowhere as big as the one beside it. There were three people in front of me, and I patiently waited for my turn while observing my surroundings wordlessly.

At last, after around 10 minutes or so, the the three people in front of me were all finished with their business, and I stepped up.

"Good afternoon, Hunter. How may I help you today?" the receptionist asked in a professional manner, nothing like the veiled girl from yesterday. However, before I could reply, the receptionist in front of me was dragged away by a hand to her left...so my right. Yep, it was the girl I had talked to yesterday...

"What?" the more professional, mature receptionist whispered sharply.

"C-Can you switch places with me?! P-Please?" the introverted and stuttery girl from yesterday whispered back.

"Uh...yes? But why?"

"I-I know the boy in front of you! P-Please, let me handle his request!"

The mature receptionist sighed and glanced at me with curiosity. I made a slight shrugging gesture. Eventually, she gave in and switched places. Soon enough, I was met with the same veiled girl I had talked to yesterday.

She closed her eyes, took a couple deep breaths to compose herself, and reopened them. "G-Good afternoon, Hunter. H-How may I help you today?"

She repeated the exact words the other receptionist had said, but it felt quite...forced and unnatural. I decided not to comment on that though, and merely told her exactly what I would've told any other receptionist.

"As promised...I have come to pick up my first quest."