Theo stepped away from the noticeboard and joined the nearest queue.
Fortunately, despite the overwhelming number of hunters inside the lobby, the reception desks operated surprisingly efficiently.
One hunter after another stepped forward before quickly moving on again.
After several minutes, it was finally Theo’s turn.
A young woman behind the counter offered him a professional smile.
’’How may I help you?’’
’’I’d like to claim an emergency subjugation request.’’
She nodded and pressed a few buttons on her computer before suddenly freezing in place.
Her eyes slowly moved back up, scanning Theo’s entire body.
’’I’m sorry, could you repeat that for me?’’ she asked, smiling politely.
Theo’s expression didn’t change.
He pointed towards the massive poster behind him.
’’The King Cobra,’’ he said. ’’Me and my group killed it.’’
For a few long seconds, she simply stared at him.
Then she quickly composed herself.
’’One moment, please.’’
She disappeared through a nearby door, leaving Theo standing alone at the counter.
The surrounding hunters continued chatting amongst themselves, completely unaware of what had just been said.
Only a minute later, the door opened again.
This time, a very fit and sharp-looking man in his late twenties stepped out. His black hair had been combed all the way back, and he wore a formal Hunter Association suit.
His eyes immediately landed on Theo.
’’Good morning, sir,’’ he greeted with a nod. ’’You are here to claim the King Cobra emergency request, correct?’’
Theo nodded once.
’’I am,’’ he said. ’’I can take out its core to prove it.’’
The man raised his eyebrow ever so slightly before speaking again.
’’Please follow me,’’ he said, nodding toward the back.
Without another word, Theo followed him through the staff-only door.
As the loud noises from the lobby faded behind him, Theo was led through several quiet hallways.
Eventually, the man stopped in front of a thick steel door.
Click!
The door slowly shifted open, revealing a somewhat normal-sized room with mana scriptures engraved all across the walls.
The man immediately walked towards the table in the center of the room.
’’As you can probably imagine,’’ he began, ’’claims involving emergency requests of this level require verification.’’
’’That’s understandable,’’ Theo nodded.
As they sat down, the man stared at Theo for several long seconds.
’’Would you please introduce yourself and explain what happened?’’ he finally said. ’’After that, we’ll verify it with the core and update your hunter card.’’
Theo briefly recounted the events in the desert.
He made sure to keep it as vague as possible and intentionally revealed a few verifiable events.
The man opposite him listened without interrupting.
Only after Theo finished did he ask another question.
’’That sounds like a good story,’’ he said, nodding once. ’’Could you show me the core and your hunter card now?’’
Theo immediately touched the ring on his finger.
’’One second,’’ he said, smiling. ’’I’ll have to get them from my summon.’’
It was an obvious lie, but the man in front of him didn’t know that.
The man only raised his eyebrows slightly.
But before he could even think about it, a large purple core appeared beside Theo.
The man’s eyes immediately widened.
’’What?!’’ he said, rising from his chair. "What on earth was that?!"
At the same time, Theo’s hunter card appeared on the table between them.
’’Relax,’’ Theo said calmly. ’’It’s just the ability of my summon.’’
The man’s head snapped towards him.
’’Your summon...?’’ he repeated as the gears started turning in his head.
After a moment, he finally sat down once more and cleared his throat lightly.
’’My apologies for the outburst,’’ he said. ’’My name is Ahmose El-Masry, the current head of this Hunter Association branch.’’
This time, it was Theo’s turn to raise an eyebrow.
The switch in his attitude had been so quick that even he’d been caught off guard.
’’Nice to meet you,’’ Theo replied awkwardly. ’’You already know my name, but I’m currently a student at Westridge University.’’
Ahmose immediately nodded.
’’I had no doubts you’d be,’’ he replied. ’’And I sincerely wish to congratulate you on your astonishing hunt of the B-rank King Cobra.’’
Theo simply smiled politely.
’’Thank you,’’ he replied.
Ahmose looked at the core one last time before nodding to himself.
"There’s no need for any further verification," he said. "I’ve inspected enough B-rank cores to recognize one when I see it."
He picked up Theo’s hunter card and slid it into a small crystal device embedded in the table.
Ahmose skimmed through the information before looking back at Theo.
"Now then," he said. "Since you’ve completed a B-rank emergency request, you’re more than qualified for another hunter rank evaluation."
Theo immediately shook his head.
"I’d rather leave it as it is for now."
Ahmose looked at him in surprise.
"You wish to postpone it?"
"Yes."
Theo smiled faintly.
"There are a few reasons I’d rather... stay off the radar."
Ahmose remained silent for a moment before nodding.
"Very well."
He tapped a few buttons on the crystal device.
"Whenever you decide you’d like your rank updated, simply contact me. I’ll process it personally."
Theo nodded once.
’’Thank you.’’
Ahmose smiled faintly before sliding Theo’s hunter card back over the table.
"As for the reward," he said, "how would you like to handle it?"
Theo didn’t hesitate to answer.
’’I want to purchase the most up-to-date information available on Petra,’’ he said. ’’As for the rest, keep it for a moment.’’
Ahmose slowly raised an eyebrow.
’’Mhm, so you were also heading for Petra,’’ he said. ’’I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.’’
He reached into one of the drawers beneath him and pulled out a thin black folder.
’’You have no idea how often people have asked for this over the last few weeks,’’ he said lightly. ’’The price is fifty million dollars. Does that sound right?’’
Theo nodded without the slightest hesitation.
’’I’ll buy it.’’
A faint smile appeared on Ahmose’s face.
’’I’ll deduct it from your reward, then.’’
Theo reached over for the folder right away and opened it.
The first few pages contained detailed maps of the area surrounding Petra, along with dozens of reports on creatures.
But the real treasures came on the following pages.
A list with hundreds of names of organizations, people, strengths, and squads appeared.
Theo briefly flipped through them with a smile.
’Now that’s nice,’ he thought. ’I get to study our competition later.’
As he flipped past that section, he froze for a moment.
Sandstorm Analysis
Estimated duration: Another three weeks according to locals.
’’What?’’ he muttered. ’’There’s a sandstorm now?’’
Ahmose immediately nodded.
’’It’s been going on for a bit over a week now,’’ he said. ’’No teams that came for the bounty have been able to enter yet because of it.’’