Chapter 81: C-Rank
The next day...
Blue smoke swirled endlessly before me. Even after seeing Gates multiple times, I still couldn’t get used to them.
The massive tear in reality floated several meters above the ground while waves of mana continuously leaked from its surface.
One wrong step inside and people died. One mistake would make entire teams disappear. Yet despite that, dozens of Hunters continued gathering around the entrance.
Some of them were checking their equipment, others were talking with teammates, and a few looked nervous.
Several people stood near the temporary registration booths while the Association employees guided new arrivals.
The entire place was noisy. And all of this was happening because there was a date set to enter this Gate.
The organization, be it the Association, a guild, or any other group, if they had a Gate under their possession, could release a press announcement about it and let everyone enter it on one specific date.
By doing so, they would be able to clear the Gate without using much manpower of their own, and they would also have access to forty percent of the rewards and loot.
And this was a C-Rank Gate under the Association. Since they were too busy, they decided to let everyone else enter it. But if you wanted to go in, you had to prove your identity as a Hunter.
There were only a few Hunters in front of me who were getting verified. And I was currently standing at the end of the line, wearing my paper bag.
Also, I wasn’t the only one wearing a paper bag. There was someone else wearing one too, and she was standing beside me.
"I still do not understand." The person beside me raised her hand and touched the paper bag covering her face. "Can’t I remove it now?"
"You can’t because people will stare," I said while looking around and checking every Hunter waiting to enter this Gate.
"They are already staring," Viora replied with an irritated tone. And honestly, I couldn’t argue with her on this.
Several Hunters had already looked in our direction multiple times. Apparently, two paper-bag-wearing idiots standing together attracted attention.
Who could have guessed? That there would be someone who wore lunch bags as masks.
I know the sight was ridiculous. But the problem was that I couldn’t exactly let people see her horns. Nor could I risk revealing my own identity to the people of the Association while entering Gates because of Elena.
And taking a blind demon girl with horns into a public Gate wasn’t exactly a brilliant idea either. Nor, could I let them recognize Viora since she might be pretty famous.
Thus, paper bags had become the solution. It might not be the best or most elegant one. But it was effective.
Soon, it became our turn to get our Hunter IDs checked. We walked closer to the person sitting in front of the computer under the shade of a tent.
"Hunter ID?" he asked, and I gave him my name and my fake Hunter ID, which I had gotten made just yesterday evening from someone I knew from the story.
"Brian," I said, and the employee nodded before looking toward Viora. "And hers?"
"Vera," I replied before Viora could answer.
"Vera?"
"Yes." With that, I gave Viora’s fake ID to the employee. Since they didn’t contain any pictures, it was easier to fool them because the one making the fake wasn’t ordinary. He was an expert Hunter who specialized in technology.
The employee typed it into the system and waited for several seconds before giving a nod.
"All set. You may wait in front of the Gate."
When he said that, we walked away and stood near the Gate while keeping our distance from the other Hunters.
And as we waited for the time to enter, Viora tilted her head.
"Who is Vera?" She asked.
"You are."
"Ohhhh."
For some reason, she sounded pleased about her fake name.
The morning breeze brushed against my face as my gaze drifted toward the Gate once more.
A C-Rank Gate. It wasn’t anything extraordinary, nor famous. That is why I chose it.
The strongest Hunters usually ignored Gates like these. The weaker Hunters avoided them because they were dangerous.
As a result, there was often good loot hidden inside. More importantly... there were monsters.
Which meant traits. And traits meant strength. That was exactly what I needed right now.
Subconsciously, my thoughts drifted back toward yesterday. When we reached home after our meeting with Black.
...
After returning to the villa, I had explained everything. Or at least everything important to Viora.
I told her that the people we met at the café were dangerous. And I told her about how I met Black the first time and how he was connected to the assassin who had appeared yesterday.
The entire time, she listened quietly. Then after I finished speaking, she asked only one question.
"Are they going to try hurting you again?"
I still remembered that question clearly. Not because of the words. But because of how quickly she asked it.
"I don’t know."
That had been my answer. Because it was the truth. Maybe they would attack tomorrow. Maybe next week or even next month.
But eventually... they would come. And I also had that quest about finding out what Black was.
Then I explained the second problem to Viora.
I was weak. Painfully weak. Sure, compared to an ordinary person, I had improved significantly. Since I had used the points which I got after clearing the Goblin Gate last time into my strength, yesterday.
But compared to the people who actually mattered? Like Black? Bane? And compared to the enemies waiting ahead, like Jane?
I might as well have been a child carrying a stick. I remembered sitting on the edge of my bed while Viora listened from nearby.
"I need to get stronger. A lot stronger. I want to start entering Gates."
At those words, her head turned toward me. The movement was small, but I noticed it.
"It will be dangerous. There will be monsters," I continued. "There is a chance something goes wrong."
I knew I could just go into a Gate without telling her, but my heart wanted to tell her everything. So I told her what I was going to do and that she didn’t have to come with me.
But it wasn’t that easy to stop Viora from following me.
"I am coming."
She finally spoke up. Exactly what I had expected but didn’t want to hear. After all, it would put her life in danger.
"Viora. You are still recovering, and it could be life-threatening," I said, and Viora tilted her head before answering with complete certainty.
"You are going."
Somehow, that alone explained everything. As if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Because if I was going into the mouth of danger, then she was going too.
The conversation had ended shortly afterward. Not because I had convinced her not to come.
But because convincing Viora to do something she didn’t want to do was practically impossible.
