Many years ago, when mana was introduced to the world for the first time, it brought about a lot of changes. Some were good but mostly bad. After all, humanity nearly became extinct.

After the apocalypse event passed, scientists studied this new energy circulating in the air and managed to develop a lot of things. Humankind suddenly saw a fast-paced growth. But science was not the only thing that saw development. Suddenly, the occultism, which people pegged as fraud, became real. Curses, Feng-shui, black magic—the new energy called mana made them work.

But, the thing that benefited the most was neither science nor occultism. It was a branch that combined these two, alchemy. Mana favored the laws of alchemy more than science and occultism. Using the theory of transmutation, the alchemy practitioners brought about a revolutionary change. They were the true backbones that supported hunters. Even the GED was a product of alchemy at its peak.

After the machine did its job, Nel pulled out his hand, grabbed his spear, and walked over to the humanoid target. Clenching his fingers around the pole, he took a deep breath and drove the spear forwards with a powerful thrust.

Ting!

As the metal spear-tip collided with the metal of the target, it created a ringing noise that echoed throughout the room. The spear also vibrated from the impact. Nel gritted his teeth. He circulated his slightly regenerated mana before following with another thrust.

Ting!

The noise was louder this time. The force of impact even made the target bend backward a little. A smile appeared on Nel’s slightly pale face. With renewed vigor, he circulated his mana and continued his movements. Nel wanted to get used to his enhanced speed and mana as soon as possible. Especially mana.

Nel didn’t have much mana in the first place. But, thanks to that, his control over it was amazing. He could easily channel it to anywhere in his body. He can even wrap mana around his spear to enhance its penetration power to the point of easily breaking through the skin and muscles of a Rank-II beast.

Nel could feel his control over mana had deteriorated a little after his maximum mana increased by five points. In reality, five points weren't exactly small. If his maximum mana can be comparable to a bucket of water, then five points were like a pitcherful. It messed up his control to some extent.

Nel frowned. His strong suit was his perfect control over his body, stamina, and mana. Losing control over any one of those would severely dampen his prowess. Gritting his teeth, he channeled all his mana to his hand and shoved his spear forward, aiming at the target’s chest.

Clang!

His spear bounced off harmlessly. The bodies of the mechanical targets were made from metals found in dungeons and processed by alchemists. Its hardness could rival a Rank-III monster. As such, Nel had no misgivings about using his full power to train. Although he got stronger, he was nowhere close to a Rank-II beast, let alone a Rank-III.

Fifteen minutes later, he stopped his movements. His mana depleted. Sweat poured from all over his body, and his face looked pale. With each gulp, he was taking in as much oxygen as he could. He was mentally, spiritually, and physically exhausted.

Nel took his spear and walked over to the couch on the right side of the room. Leaning his back against the soft leather, he sighed in content. It had been a long day. After the exhausting Minotaur hunt, he should’ve gone home to rest. But things happened.

Nel inserted his hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a crystal card with golden edges. The light in his eyes flickered as he inspected the object. This tiny object was worth two-hundred thousand credits—something he had signed an unfair contract for.

‘I hope you can change my destiny,’ Nel thought, rubbing the edges of the card with his index finger. People envy hunters because they have money and power. However, not every hunter was like that. There were people like him who haven’t awakened a skill and don’t have the money to buy one. They were essentially the bottom feeders and were doomed to be like that for their life.

Nel pocketed the card back and started breathing in a pattern. A faint warm feeling surged from the space just below his navel. It was mana, the lifeline of every hunter. Mana was usually stored in a hypothetical space just below a hunter’s navel. It circulates through the blood vessels and into every part of their body.

The trick to controlling mana better was to channel it throughout the body as it slowly regenerates after depletion. There were many more ways too. But this was the most effective method when one doesn’t have too much mana in their body.

After fifteen minutes, Nel stood up, took his spear, and left the room.

“Nelly, I just heard the news!” At the reception desk, the elderly lady smiled at Nel as he came out. Her eyes twinkled like stars when she looked at him. “A minotaur, one of the rare Rank-II monsters! You guys are now the talk of the town.”

“Loui and Chen did the most work, though,” Nel said, walking over to her desk. Reaching for an almond from the bowel on her table, he tossed it to his mouth. “I was just being a bait. Like always.”

“Hah~ there you go, being uselessly modest.” Martha laughed. “A bait has its role too. And, you’ve played your part flawlessly.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Nel sighed. “Anyway, I am going. See you later, Miss Martha.”

Martha’s talk managed to bring a smile to Nel’s face. It was always nice to have people recognize your effort. The other hunters in the town don’t really put him in the eye—thinking he was just an extra. Sometimes, even he himself would doubt his own role in the team.

Nel’s home was just a ten-minute walk from the Gene Lab. He had rented the top-most room of a three-stored residential building, a place no one wanted. It was a small apartment with one bedroom, a kitchen, a drawing-room, and a bathroom. Nel took the lift to the upstairs—he was too tired to walk the stairs.

He took a bath and went to bed.

A few hours later, Nel woke up excited and also hungry. Heating the fried rice he made that morning, he filled his stomach first. After that, he wore something nice and switched on the radio, wishing to listen to the Hunter Daily’s evening news.

As a channel dedicated solely to reporting about hunters, Hunter’s Daily was quite the famous channel. It was popular both among the common populace and the hunters.

A smooth female voice came out of the radio, reporting about all the news around the town related to hunters.

[The Trio has managed to set a milestone once again. They have hunted a rare Rank-II monster and brought back its intact body. The alchemists in the city were already fighting to buy it from the Clover Auction house. Citizens of Veda, let’s clap for their achievement and congratulate their accomplishment.]

Nel smiled when their team’s name popped up. Veda was a small town with a population of only around a few hundred thousand. Despite that, it was one of the few developed towns in the Alioth Principality. The sole reason for that was the presence of three yellow-level dungeons. They gave birth to many hunters, who in turn, contributed to the town’s overall economy.

The beautiful voice of the lady continued with her report.

[Stimulated by their accomplishment, the Gale Troupe has announced that they will also challenge a Rank-II monster the day after tomorrow. Not to be outdone, Steel Warriors also announced they’ll challenge a Rank-II monster in the near future. The entire hunter community is in a tense atmosphere.]

Nel sneered when he heard the news. Challenging a Rank-II monster? Was it that easy? They were treating it way too lightly. Even with a two-starred hunter and a crowd-control mage, they nearly lost their lives.

A Rank-II monster was just too difficult to deal with. Their thick hides made them resistant to piercing damage and their vitality gave them a large health bar. However, their most despair-inducing trait was strength. The minotaur they encountered could swing around a club twice the weight of an average human as if it was nothing.

“Hah~ idiots. Without enough preparation, you will only throw your life away,” Nel laughed to himself. They had first spotted this minotaur a year ago during one of their regular hunts. After that, they stalked it for a whole year every time they got the chance and took note of its habit. Only after they were at least 80% sure did they dare to challenge it.

Suddenly, his doorbell buzzed. Nel’s lips stretched wide into a thick smile. He literally jumped out of the couch and rushed to the door. Twisting the knob, he opened the door; a man in his late thirties, wearing a brown jacket and black pants, stood holding a package.

“Mr. Nelson?” He inquired.

“That’s me,” Nel said, excited to receive the package.

“Here, your package. 470,000 crystals, sir.” The delivery man said, handing Nel the package and piece of white paper.

“Wait a minute,” Nel went inside with the package. He put it down on his bed carefully before coming out with three identical golden-edged cards. Handing it over to the man, he said, “Those three cards contain four-hundred seventy thousand credits. Please, check it.”

“Sure,” The man in the hat nodded his head. He took out his handphone and scanned the card. The handphone has another function other than calling—to scan the crystal cards given by the banks. The screen on the phone lighted up, displaying a few numbers. Repeating the process for few more times, he pocketed the cards and left after tipping his hat.

Nel locked the door and excitedly skipped to his room. The package was quietly sitting on his bed, waiting to be opened. Nel licked his lips and opened the lid of the plastic casing. Inside it lay a smooth yellow crystal that gave a faint glow.

“Finally!”