In the city of Gleneden, or more specifically on the hill where Hunter Association lay, the current Chairmen were in deep thought as he sat in his office in the Hunter Association Tower. Like the rest of the compound, the tower was a sight to behold. It was the biggest building in Glededen, and even from afar, people could see a number of green spheres and lights that were surmounted onto the tower itself. They were all glowing, so it was hard to make out what they were actually for, but there was one thing for sure: if you wanted something from Hunter Association, this was the place to come.

Chairmen Zed, the name of the current Chairmen of the Hunter Association, was a man in his mid-thirties. Some would say that his tousled silver hair and style of dress made the man look older.

No one would blame anybody for such an assumption, and Zed would likely find such an opinion amusing. He was well known around Glededen for being the strongest man in the Kingdom of Nanowrimo — at least physically speaking. And no matter how much others might try and put him down, he knew better than anyone else what a monster he really was. And though some may think otherwise, Zed had always tried his best not to show off, just like a true gentleman. But sometimes, when he was alone, he wondered about the meaning of life. What are we here for? Why is there something rather than nothing? Is there any purpose in living this way?

Unfortunately, now was not the time for such thoughts, as something much more pressing was on Zed's mind. Yesterday and the days before it, he felt something that shouldn't be possible in his current situation.

A disturbance in the enforce...

Although it was very faint and far away, he could still sense it without much problem, especially when the release of said magical energy was uncontrolled, as was often the case with beginners.

The enforce is the source of all magic and is everything from the rocks beneath our feet to the stars in the sky above us. The power of the force can be used by anyone with a little bit of training, but only those who have attained mastery of the force are able to control every single aspect of it.

When channelling the force, it becomes mana, which is then converted into energy and used to manifest spells that can affect the physical world. But that wasn't all. When combined with other elements, the power of the force can be harnessed to create countless different effects and enchantments.

Zed knew that his senses weren't fooling him, but with the direction in which he felt the disturbance originate, he couldn't help but feel surprised and worried at the same time. He knew where the current Ather dragon herd was, not in the direction of the magic, so he ruled them out. Monsters and mana beasts were also out, as it felt different from any class of monster or beast; even then, it was too weak in comparison to what Zed had fallen. There were no high-end monsters in that direction.

With the exception of Salem, the four dragons of the apocalypse and demons, no one else should have been capable of having such potent demonic aura. With that in mind, Zed could think of only two possible explanations. Either Salem had given birth to a new wyrmling, which was highly unlikely, or Ember Rose had used her Cats-Eyed Draco — which again, was unlikely. In fact, it was so implausible that he refused to consider it.

But unfortunately for Zed, there was nothing to be done about his reluctance. He really should've contacted Ember already to check if she'd seen anything. This situation only continued to bother him, and it didn't help that he had a lot of other things on his plate.

Just when he went to make the call to calm his nerves finally, the elevator doors opened and out stepped his trusted assistant.

He smiled, "Rhea, not that it isn't nice to see you this early in the day, but I thought you had a hunting expedition today."

Rhea Sophia, the Chairmen's assistant, combat professor, and headmistress at the Hunting Academy Arteza, walked slowly towards Zed's desk, "Qrow called," she said calmly, but Zed could hear the slight amount of exasperation in her voice.

The chairmen hummed lightly, "If it was important enough that you felt the need to tell me immediately, then why didn't he call me?"

This time, his assistant didn't even try to hide her exasperation, "He did; you just didn't answer..."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Zed replied with an amused grin. The white-haired man checked his scroll. He found notifications of unanswered calls, and he chuckled slightly before turning back to the unamused witch, "I must be too in my age. I was too absorbed in my thoughts. Now, if you could tell me what Qrow reported."

The blonde woman was pleased with her boss's joke, though she was a bit embarrassed to admit that she was indeed trying to get a reaction from him. She took a breath to prepare herself, "We received a message from the north," she began. "He informed me that he should be back within two days and that you shouldn't worry unnecessarily Zed." She narrowed her eyes slightly, "Now, if only you could tell me what this is all about. For nearly 85 moons, something has been troubling you, and it is taking too much of your focus if it is causing you to neglect your duties."

Zed stood up slowly and turned towards the windows to look at the city of Gleneden, "You're right. Like always"

He paused, briefly considering his words, before continuing, "I felt a small amount of demonic mana coming from the direction of Dauntless Isles, and I'm not really sure what to expect. I requested for Qrow to check if I was wrong, and it was possibly coming from somewhere around Gleneden instead. I will also contact Ember to see if she and Tai knows anything."

Rhea nodded and walked back to the lift's entrance before pausing and turning her head around at the door, "It's good to see that you have everything under control. But next time, for the sake of sparing me the trip, please notify me if something like this happens. Now, I will be off my dispatch to the southern frontier, have a good day, Chairmen."

"I will, my dear Rhea, and thank you," answered Zed.

After he heard the sound of the elevator going down, the chairmen sat down again and pulled out his scroll to call the five-star hunter. A moment later, the face Ember Rose appeared on the screen, "Good morning, Ember; I hope I'm not intruding."

The redhead smiled warmly and waved him off, "Of course not, chairmen. I was just preparing some food for my son and daughter, but they can wait a few minutes longer."

The chairmen smiled at the mention of the two kids before he continued, "Unfortunately, this isn't a social call. I have a small bit of information for you and Tai, and I would also have to ask a small favour of you both."

Ember nodded slowly, and her smile fell a bit, "As long as it doesn't take us away from the kids for too long, then we'll gladly help, chairmen"

Zed shook his head, "No, nothing like that, I assure you. Yesterday, I sensed something that shouldn't be possible coming from the direction of Dauntless, and I would be grateful if you and Tai could see if something is amiss on the Island. I don't expect it to be anything dangerous, but I would rest a lot easier if I knew what it was."

The redhead frowned, "Why do you feel it's coming from the island? Could it be because of the recent storms?"

"That was the first place I thought of, but it seemed too weak compared to what I felt yesterday. As a precaution, I asked Qrow to check for me as well. He said that he thinks it came from somewhere around Gleneden, but he wouldn't be able to give me any details until tomorrow."

"Is this a new dragon species.." she trailed off at the end, but seeing Zed nod, she continued, "Okay, I'll tell Tai, and we'll make a few rounds around the island. Sorry chairmen Zenthos, but I really need to go back to the kids now, so I'll contact you if we find anything."

"Of course." Zed nodded, "Thank you, my dear, and have a pleasant day," with that, the call ended, and Zed put the scroll down.

"It looks like I'll need to wait again..." the veteran hunter whispered to himself with a frown. There was nothing worse for the chairmen than telling other people to do his job. Unfortunately, he had his own duties to see, and sometimes you just couldn't do everything by yourself.

He'd learn that the hard way.

Day 90 (3 Months)

[Main Quest Failed: Trial One for All, All for One]

Penalty: The required amount of Monsters to exterminate will be doubled, and the Hellfire Isle Domain will become hostile for one week.

The Kill court has reset, and you will have to do this shizz again!

Requirements to conquer updated:

-Defeat powerful groups of Pyro Lizards (0/175)

- Have horde up to 70 members (1/70) (You no longer count)

-Exterminate individual number of monsters (0/14,000)

-Conquer all minor territories (0/5) The Underground Forest, Ashen Center, Ingi Summit, Pyro Wetlands, Meteor Falls

-Eradicate the Salamdner (0/7)

-Third Evolution (1/3) ]

"Fuck," I cursed, having barely dodged an incoming fireball from Ingi Lizard. "This is hard work."

I was deep in my thoughts as I fought through the second wave of monsters that had gathered at the outskirts of the swampy forest near Ashen Center. This quest took a lot more plannin' than expected, but I knew it would eventually pay off if I could.

"Boss... I'm thirsty," Lianna tiredly called out to me. She was looking like she needed some food, too, so we headed towards the nearby fire pit to get somethin' to eat. I sat down next to her with a plate full of roasted meat, potatoes and vegetables while Lianna threw a piece into her mouth.

It's been three months since we started this bloody pain in the dump truck ass quest, and we have been failin' at it for weeks. Two hatchlings against the monsters in this place is not easy as I thought it would be. Not even close. We've tried everythin' we know of – each one of us fightin' individually and together when possible. But whatever we did, our horde (which only had one) never got big enough to beat the monster hordes on the island.

The monsters aren't weak either. They are actually pretty tough and match our levels fairly well. I felt that at least half of these encounters were won by luck. If the odds went against us, they easily tore us apart. I'd rather have not gone through all this trouble just to lose in the end.

Ahhh, refreshing! Drinking was so difficult when the water was always bolin' hot, but I got used to it. As I was drinkin' from the lake, I heard and already sensed multiple targets commin' this way. I turned slowly and was very annoyed at the sight of the Abyssal Wurms. Lianna looked very happy. The poisonous/venomous wyrmling favourite morsels just showed. Of course, she was happy to see them. I was not happy to see them.

"Shit, shit, shit!" I sighed to myself. I was too late to stop Lianna about the wantin' to fight them.

Wurms are creature types describing large limbless terrestrial reptiles. These wurms have an exoskeleton, reptilian scales or plates, and a saurian head similar to a dragon's. In the Wu province, they are mostly fire, venomous, or Subterra attributes. These are Abyssal Wurms... Lesser Abyssal Wurms to be exact. Wurms from different planes can have vastly different morphologies, especially in their head and jaw anatomies. Abyssal have a long snout with two large fangs. Their jaws are capable of crushing rock and other solid objects. They are also known to have a vicious temperament and attack any living creature that dares come near them.

"Shkki!"

Yup, those are the sounds of Abyssal Wurms... I don't know how big the adults are, but I don't want to meet one. I tirelessly and awfully bored look at the group of fugly creatures, trying to think of what I should do. There were 60 Abyssal Wurms in total. All no bigger than a black bear.

"Lianna... You wanna take them?" I ask the wyrmling who was still eating her meal and not even lookin' at the worms.

"Yeah! Yeah, boss, let's go!" Lianna excitedly replied as she stood up and ran towards the nearest worm.

I looked on as the wurms slithered around her until she was utterly surrounded; then, they attacked. Then, she released out a gout of smolderin' purplish embers, her 【Ash Breath】skill. A move that lets out a cone of poisonous volcanic ash and causes status effects on enemies. It's an amazing skill, also pisses me off that she can breathe fire while I can't yet.

The abyssal wurms in directly in front of Lianna rolled onto its back and began to writhe in pain. The five near them got their faces charred. She likes to play with her food before killin' em.

I went back to drinkin' from the lake 'cause we already killed so many of 'em before it wasn't worth the attention span to watch.

*Boom!*

There was a loud boom! And then another boom! That sound made my body jump, and I looked over to the right side of the camp. I saw a huge purple ball of smoke comin' from the ground. I wondered what the hells happened to cause such a massive explosion. Then I realized... Lianna was blowin' things up.

She was now using her 【Fireball】and 【Blast Wave】skills. It was impressive to behold. The wurms were blown away and scattered all across the area. Her destructive skills were more unbelievable than mine.

She charged at a downed wurm and speared it with her three horns. The wurm hollowed in pain, and Lianna tailed smacked a wurms that was behind her. Unfortunately, she was so focused on killin' the wurms that she didn't notice an abyssal wurms coming straight for her from above.

Wow, black wurma can jump.

"Shaa!" The wurm screamed as it was goin' for its sneak attack.

"LIANNA!" I yelled at her, but she was too busy to hear me. The wurm was almost on Lianna's head when she quickly rolled and kicked the beast in the face.

The fugly thing rolled over at me. Damn, these things are ugly. Unfortunately, the thing was dead yet and rose unsteadily back up.

"My dude... chill out. You're bleedin' from every orifice! Don't ya think it's time for you to take a nap?"

The wurm locked its vacant bug eyes on me. Then, diggin' its heavy back half into the ground, it reared up furiously—very cute little wurmling.

"So... whatcu' goin' do?"

The answer was a horrible cry before fallin' back to the ground dead.

"I hate eatin' these things.

[Lv: 13 Lesser Abbsyall Wurm was slain. Points added to the INT PATH.]

… That's when I heard something approaching from behind.

I turned around, noticin' familiar cocky bastards. Compared to the trees, they were around the size of Andre the giant, entirely covered in scales. They were wearing nothing but a loincloth and had a thick tree branch in their hands with stone axe-shaped heads that glowed with bright crimson. They eyed me and began to drool.

"Grouu!"

Pyro Lizards...

They are humanoid reptiles of a sort, though they have more than one head. They're rather like dragons in appearance—but not quite the same as dragons either. They can fly like dragons, but their wings aren't so much for flying as they are for fighting and tearing things up. Always in groups or packs; never alone. They live mostly on islands. All pyros are warriors by nature, although some may be peaceful if they feel threatened enough. Pyros love to fight with their claws, teeth, and fire.

"At least you guys taste better than the wurms."

"Alright, who's the first to die!"