After Rey's party, Alex sparred with six more groups. Each fight was a spectacle on its own. There was a party that consisted of mostly mages who shot spells at Alex. The fight looked like a beautiful fireworks show. Alex told the spectators to distance themselves from the fight or they might get hit by a stray spell.

Fire, Lightning and Wind flew around the field. The hunters ended up exhausting their energy reserves. No spell successfully hit or even grazed Alex.

The party that got close to hitting Alex was the last group, they were also the fastest to get eliminated. They looked completely average and had little to no presence around them. They were a group specialized in speed and deception.

They'd rush at Alex at full speed and exchange blows with him without getting hit. Illusions of various traps were scattered around the field, but Alex simply destroyed those illusions without giving them a look.

All of them simultaneously rushed towards Alex and before they even had the chance to strike he knocked out all four of them simultaneously. Four of them fell in a single blow. It was hard to believe that the old man was only using two percent of his power.

Zzzzz...

Zzzzzz...

Zen was asleep throughout the whole six fights. The loud noises were unable to wake him up. He was in a deep sleep due to the fatigue he accumulated while fighting.

"This batch of hunters have some serious potential. I commend you all for standing your ground against me."

Alex complimented everyone who he sparred with. They all had bright futures ahead of them, he couldn't wait to fight in the same battlefield as them.

"That ends our seminar."

The hunters looked confused. Alex stated that he would be teaching basic combat to the hunters but he concluded the seminar instead.

It couldn't be called a seminar. They attended to learn something about hunting or tips for the future, but instead they got their asses handed to them.

'Dematerialize.'

The reality around them started to melt once more. The beautiful clearing they were in was now a spacious auditorium. The hunters went back to their seats and looked towards Alex who was standing on stage.

Zen who was sleeping on the warm soft grassy ground woke up. The cold hard floor greeted him. He cursed Alex under his breath for disturbing his sleep. He stood up and sat on a nearby sit and continued to doze off.

"We will have another seminar, next week. Please do attend. I'll be talking about each group's shortcomings and how they could improve on them."

The hunters looked hesitant. They didn't want to get beaten up one sidedly again. Alex saw this and reassured them.

"Don't worry, the sparring today was to gauge all of your abilities."

All of the hunters let out a sigh of relief. Alex finally concluded the seminar and went down the stage. The hunters started to leave the auditorium. Four people remained seated near each other.

"Hey, wake up."

Than nudged Zen. Zen let out an annoyed moan and slapped Than's hands away. He kept shaking Zen until he woke up.

"What the hell, man. Can you let a guy rest?"

"The seminar's already over."

"Oh."

"We need to talk to the instructor, remember?"

"Yeah, Yeah let's make it quick."

Than gestured the party to move towards Alex who was waiting for them below the stage.

"Your performance was very impressive. My daughter never fails to amuse me. She did her job well."

She did her job well? Rey was clueless. They attended the seminar in exchange for them to stay at the Beginner's lodging for a few more months.

Alex was a proud father, a big smile was present on his face. He noticed the clueless expression on the party's face excluding Zen who looked bored.

"Didn't Isabelle tell you hunters?"

Rey's suspicion of Isabelle plotting something was confirmed. A frown appeared on his face.

"I'm here to invite your party, to a small company of ours. What do you hunters say? Pretty good offer if you ask this old man."

Alex puffed his chest and pointed at himself. Rey's party was elated, they planned to be contracted to a company before leaving the Beginner's lodging so that they get a steady income as hunters.

Rey felt a familiar feeling creeping up on him. The feeling wasn't annoying but it felt nostalgic even though this was the first time he was invited to a company. For some reason he couldn't feel suspicion towards this man. He only felt goodwill.

"Can we talk about this first?"

Rey asked Alex. Alex gave him a nod and the party huddled up together. All of them agreed in joining the company, they wanted to hear each other's opinion about the topic first. After talking to each other for a few minutes Rey asked a question.

"What are the benefits of joining the company? We're having a hard time deciding as we also have many offers."

Rey exaggerated his question with a bit of hesitation showed on his face. Rey was lying, this was their first ever invite to a company. He wanted to make Alex think that they were on a 50/50 split decision. Than looked at him and thought he was being sly.

Alex looked at the party. The party were good candidates and if they grew in strength properly his company would have a very bright future.

"Freedom."

Alex said one word with pride. The party looked at him with confused eyes and shook their heads. They jokingly tried to walk away to make Alex chase them.

Of course, Alex fell for it. He didn't want these bright prospects to be in another company's hands.

"Wait, wait let me explain."

The party stood in place and looked at Alex.

"By freedom, I meant you are free to choose what conditions you want to enter the company."

A cheeky smile appeared on Rey's face. His plan worked. He opened his mouth.

"Any conditions...?"

"Don't forget you guys are only Early Minor Class hunters, do not ask for too much."

Alex saw Rey's greed and quickly shut him down. The smile on Rey's face disappeared a serious expression took its place.

"We want a place to accommodate our party, living expenses and..."

"And?"

"Stronger artifacts."

Rey raised his bracelets. The bracelets were artifacts that contained power, they rarely dropped from beasts and monsters. The stronger the beast is, the stronger the artifact.

'That's all?'

Alex thought inwardly. He thought that the companies that offered contracts to their party were treating them like common hunters. They couldn't see the party's worth, after all they were just beginners.

"Deal. I need a week to finish the legal processes so meet me in the upcoming seminar to sign the contract."

Rey and Alex shook hands to seal the deal. The party had a wide grin on their faces, finding a contract as a beginner was very hard. Companies focused on individual talent there was a chance the party would be disbanded and each of them will be contracted to a company or none at all.

They waved their goodbyes to Alex and slowly walked away. The seminar started in the afternoon. It was already night when it finished. The party was tired after the sparring match.

Before the party could exit the auditorium, Alex called out to Rey.

"Rey could you stay here for a few more minutes, I have a question about you."

Rey gestured the party to go on without him. He walked back to the stage once more.

"So, what is the question?"

Instead of answering, Alex spoke of something else.

"Once you reach the Alpha Class, you could vividly differentiate the auras between beast and human."

Rey looked confused. Alex spouted out something random.

"Humans have a translucent aura that's why it's the color of our identification bracelet, Unlike the other bracelets this one is artificially made. Beasts have a blood red aura around them."

Alex rolled up his sleeves and showed his set of bracelets. They were emanating great power incomparable to the ones Rey had.

Alex's expression was calm and Rey was still confused. Alex was being cryptic he couldn't understand why he was saying those things.

"Where's the question...?"

"Oh sorry, this old man was grumbling by himself. Let me say one more thing."

"...what is it?"

"Why is it when I observe your aura, there is a tinge of darkness to it."

Alex's face turned serious and at the same time a hint anger was present in his eyes. Rey felt chills run down his spine. He was even more confused, Alex was clearly showing his hostility towards him.

"T-the question is...?"

Rey's voice trembled he still doesn't know what Alex is hinting at.

"Let me get straight to the point..."

Gulp...

Rey swallowed dry saliva. There was a slight pressure weighing down on his shoulders and something else was making his body tremble. A slight killing intent was leaking out of Alex.

"...Are you perhaps a demon?"