Copper Coins.

Kai couldn't stop the smile from his face as he walked towards the hunter's building. Just knowing he had a lot of coins inside his pouch was enough to complete his day. Or so he thought.

[Coins detected. Upgrade mimic coins for one hundred copper coins.]

[To upgrade say: Upgrade!]

[Coins detected. Upgrade the system for one hundred copper coins.]

[To upgrade say: Upgrade!]

The smile on his face completely vanished. An upgrade? What the hell is that? He didn't walk inside the hunter's building and ended up in an empty alley where he had to wait for the changing potion to show his real face. He leaned against the wall, waiting. He wanted to know if the people following him would just leave him or watch. Obviously, they stayed and watched. Wait, why did the voices didn't warn him about them? Was it because they were too far away from him? Just as he thought about the voices, it immediately appeared inside his head.

[Coins detected. Upgrade mimic coins for one hundred copper coins.]

[To upgrade say: Upgrade!]

[Coins detected. Upgrade the system for one hundred copper coins.]

[To upgrade say: Upgrade!]

System? What system? Transportation System?

Of course, instead of saying something, the voices once again said.

[Coins detected. Upgrade mimic coins for one hundred copper coins.]

[To upgrade say: Upgrade!]

[Coins detected. Upgrade the system for one hundred copper coins.]

[To upgrade say: Upgrade!]

'Upgrade system!' he uttered inwardly. He wasn't sure what this system was. He wondered if this was something that is a part of every one since they were born in this Era. However, he couldn't recall anyone talking about a system.

[To Upgrade say: Upgrade!"

He rolled his eyes. "Upgrade!"

Almost immediately, a lot of information suddenly swirled inside his head. His face contorted into an ugly scowl. His head felt like something, perhaps a dagger was ruthlessly stabbed into it.

[System will start upgrade. Please refrain from thinking anything malicious. Staring upgrade in 3…2…1]

[Upgrade started. Estimated time to finish twenty-four hours and seven minutes.]

"…" That's a long time! Now that Kai thought about it, these voices would only show themselves once some evil people were around him. Or if he would think of hurting other people. This was enough proof that the voices would only react to his murderous thoughts.

Kai thought about the potion that he drank. He needed to wait for at least two more hours before it would disappear. He lifted his head and squinted at the glaring sun. Then he stood and walked towards Hunter's building. Earlier, he already asked permission from Alfred to go to the nearest mountain outside of the City to gather some Cendis Tree. He told him he lacked the funds to buy the tree and would rather go out and gather some herbs outside.

"C Class license can only choose simple missions like gathering herbs." The attendant told him when he gave his hunting card— something that he obtained from another hunter. "Which one do you want?"

"I will gather some Cendis Tree."

The woman nodded. "Two blocks of Cendis Tree is worth ten copper coins. Here is your card and permit to leave the kingdom.

Kai grabbed his card and permit to cut off the tree before he slowly walked out of the building. Kai didn't have to buy supplies as the Cendis Trees location is not really far from the kingdom. The only reason why only people with at least C Class Hunter's license could cut the tree is that they could at least fight the snake that would guard the tree. Usually, only C Class weapons summoner could fight the snake and B Class beast summoner. The Federation said it would be very dangerous for weeds to fight against the snake. However, the license that he used belongs to someone that is allowed to hunt regardless of their Class. Those are people that are a member of mercenary groups.

For instance, there are some mercenary and hunting groups that would take someone that could summon food for them in case there is an emergency. Usually, these are low-class Plant summoners to help them summon food they can eat and do some menial jobs while traveling like cooking. Just as Kai was about to reach the gates, he walked inside a small pub frequented by other hunters and changed his clothes. Right now, there is no one else following him anymore.

The other person must have already inquired about the permit that he got and was planning to wait for him to come back. Of course, Kai wasn't planning to come back to the hunter's building anytime soon. After getting the Cendis tree that he needed, he was planning to go back to the academy and learn from Alfred.

"Kai! Hey Kai!"

Kai turned towards Yumi. "How come you're here?"

He was about to walk out of the gates.

"I asked the Professor where you were. He told me you are going to get some Cendis Tree. Would you mind if I come with you?"

"Yes." He answered without batting an eyelid. Almost immediately Yumi's face turned ugly.

"Why?"

"You cannot fight its guardian." And beauty would only bring trouble.

"Well… can you?"

He pursed his lips in response. "I'm not taking you. If you want to leave the gates, go get your own permit and join some mercenary groups." Of course, this is very risky. Despite everything, men and still men. Some of them would still take advantage of a vulnerable woman like Yumi, especially knowing that she is only a weed, without any fighting capabilities. Unless of course, she could wield a sword.

Judging from the absence of any weapon in her hunting clothing, Kai would guess that she doesn't know how to fight. Or if she does, a sword was not the perfect weapon for her small frame. The thing is, swords are very important in fighting that snake.

"Well… then can you just accompany me inside the pub? I need to ask you something." Yumi said with her voice lowered.

Kai immediately wanted to say no, however, the voices echoed inside him.

[Malicious Human Detected. Summon Mushrooms that burn malicious mortals. Please pay 100 coins.]

[To Summon the mushrooms say: Summon!]

Malicious Human? Kai frowned at stared at the woman with beautiful phoenix eyes and a gentle innocent face. The voices were never wrong.

Yumi must be having malicious thoughts right now.

Then he recalled the warning of the voices about the upgrade. "Can we talk about it, after I came back?"

She meekly shook her head. "No. It's very important. Please?" Normally, a look like this wouldn't convince him. However, he was really curious about this maliciousness that the voices detected.

So, he nodded and said, "Alright."

....

All of my chapters are unedited.