Depthless Hunger: A Progression LitRPG, page 12
Fhazi glowered but didn't contradict him, while Tusquo bowed politely before responding. "I believe that is accurate."
"Then this all makes sense... except for one thing. Fhazi Lantrian, what were you doing at the Granfian complex?"
"That's..." Fhazi started to take a step forward, but one of his goons put a hand on his shoulder. He squirmed out of it, then realized just how outnumbered they were. "We saw something inappropriate and took action, like any citizen should! If you're going to make this right with the Guild, then we'll be moving along."
Gesturing to his entourage, Fhazi departed with as much dignity as possible. As they departed, Kai swept his spiritual senses over the group.
<
Name: Fhazi Lantrian
Total Power: 12
Grandfist Novice Class: 5 (5)
Physique Level: G-2 (6)
Soul Level: 1 (1)
>
They'd all improved since the Hunter Trials, but it was Fhazi that drew his attention. Even being fed everything the Lantrian family could afford, he hadn't advanced very far. At the moment he might be a threat, if he could land a hit with his Class abilities, but Kai felt sure he could resist those at F rank. With a little more work, he would be beyond such bullies.
He wanted to check Tusquo next, but the Irunians had finished taking care of their injured member and now faced him as a single somber group. Probably not the best of times to be comparing strength. Before Kai could come up with anything, Tusquo spoke.
"I apologize if our behavior has inadvertently complicated your life."
"No, he was obviously looking for a way to cause trouble." Kai folded his arms as he looked over the group. "What were you coming to ask?"
"We hoped that the Granfian family, and you in particular, would be willing to provide support when we venture into the wilderness. Our route will be leaving the common paths, so the quantity of monsters we are likely to encounter will be beyond our ability to resist."
"That's definitely the domain of the Hunters Guild, and I think you know that. Why come to me first?"
"Let me ask you a different question, Kai Granfian." Tusquo took a step closer, eyes flinty. "Would you be willing to risk your life for power, if that power was necessary to defend yourself and those you care about?"
The question was asked so seriously that Kai hesitated, but he knew that he only had one answer: "Of course."
"The same is true for us, and the nation of Irun. Please escort us to the Hunters Guild and I will make everything clear."
In the usual Irunian fashion, Tusquo talked around the issue instead of being direct. As far as Kai could tell, they had a very specific reason to want to explore the wilderness. One that they didn't want others to know about, or perhaps even a secret kept from Goralia in general. If it had been any nation other than Irun, Kai might have been suspicious, but he assumed they had legitimate reasons.
The conversation on the way was partially focused on convincing him not to hint any of their intentions for the trip. Other than potentially being a risk, Kai had no problem with that. The Hunters Guild took a cut of every assignment through them, so he didn't mind a tighter operation that didn't rely on the guild so much.
Along the way, he took the opportunity to examine Tusquo's strength again:
<
Name: Tusquo Agyama of Irun
Total Power: 29
Manablade Novice Class: 7 (7)
Physique Level: G-3 (8)
Soul Level: 2 (4)
Path of Steel: Iron 2 (10)
>
His Manablade Class had clearly improved, faster than anyone Kai had seen except Inafay. By far the largest surprise was observing the "Path of Steel" with his improved sight: each stage of it seemed to be valued more highly than any other system of power Kai had observed. Then again, he hadn't seen very many Krysali warriors recently and no one from the Elemental Nations at all.
"Our journey should begin in a fortnight," Tusquo was saying. "There are, again, important reasons that it must occur at that time, but we would prefer not to state those so clearly."
"Because someone else might learn something from it?" Kai asked. The timing meant nothing to him, but others knew a lot more about foreign powers.
"They might." Tusquo stared back at him, clearly unwilling to give any more information.
"Alright, then... you want me to suggest the timing? I'm not sure that's actually logical timing for me, but I can try to come up with an excuse."
"Your cooperation is much appreciated."
"I have a question for you." Kai paused, sorting through his words, and eventually decided to just plunge forward with it. "Why did you take until now to contact me? Is that part of the timing too?"
"No, not at all." Tusquo blinked at him in surprise. "We have taken until now to consider your initial letter to us. We agreed that your behavior during the Hunter Trials was honorable, but working together more closely is a delicate matter."
Kai shouldn't have been surprised. He chuckled over it as they reached the Hunters Guild, but his good humor died as they entered.
Hannagan Lantrian stood in front of the main desk, his arms folded over his broad chest. The head of the Hunters Guild looked none too happy, and the reason was obvious: Fhazi stood not far behind him with a smirk on his face. He hadn't been running away, he had gone to try to sabotage them.
"Honored Irunian guests." Hannagan gave them a perfect Irunian bow and ignored Kai entirely. "If you require the services of the Hunters Guild, we would be more than happy to offer assistance. Indeed, it is unnecessary to pay individual clans, considering the longstanding alliance between our nations."
"That is exceedingly generous," Tusquo said, bowing in return. "However, this is a trivial matter, nothing but a training excursion. We did not want to trouble you."
"It is no trouble at all. Would you like to be escorted by my grandson and his friends? The boy could use a little danger to shake up his life."
Fhazi jumped as if he hadn't expected that and started to say something, but Hannagan elbowed him in the ribs. The old man moved so fast that Kai barely saw the movement, just the results.
Of course, Tusquo refused the offer. The two of them sparred back and forth with polite language until Hannagan eventually gave in. He gave them all a polite smile, then gestured for Kai to approach.
"You have every right to choose your own companions," Hannagan said, "but I care for each and every hunter in Monskon City. Allow me to give him a few suggestions while you finish the paperwork, will you?"
There was no way to refuse that from the head of the Hunters Guild, so Kai followed him into a side chamber. As soon as the door closed, the old man wrapped a hand around his neck and slammed him into the wall. Kai struggled to move his arm, but it might as well have been made of steel. Even his spiritual sight slid off the old man's power.
"I cannot stop this idiocy, but I do not approve." Each of Hannagan's words was crisp and precise. "You're not remotely capable of surviving in the wilderness on your own. You think this will be like the tame monsters in the reserve? Without a proper Class, the real thing will tear you apart. All of this work, this effort... it's taking resources away from those who need them most. If you had any decency, you would reject this offer and retire."
"I'm... a hunter..." Kai could barely choke out the words, but he glared back at Hannagan without blinking.
"For now. Maybe if you survive, this journey will show you your place. Just know that if you do anything to jeopardize the Guild, Monskon City, or Goralia... you will be exterminated. I will allow nothing to undermine our defenses, not even our own fools."
Hannagan threw him to the ground and Kai barely caught himself. Once he would have been choking, but his improving Physique left him less vulnerable. Since he doubted that Hannagan wanted to see any defiance, he let himself gasp for breath and recover from the choke.
"Know your place, trash!" Fhazi stepped forward and tried to kick him in the side. Kai wasn't going to let himself be humiliated that much: he raised a forearm and deflected the blows.
Before the third kick, Hannagan slapped his grandson in the face. Fhazi staggered back, less injured than shocked, staring at the old man.
"Don't humiliate the Lantrians any further." Hannagan spared Fhazi only a moment of scorn before he turned his attention back to Kai. "We won't treat you unfairly, boy. But if you fail in this assignment, it will be your last. If you do anything to alienate Irun, you're done. Gunjin's protection is all that keeps me from doing what I should have already done, and I only need one good reason."
With that he spun away and left the room, Fhazi on his heels. Kai remained on his hands and knees, struggling to swallow his rage.
Chapter 21: Delving into Classes
Kai sat in the center of the Corinin yard, pretending that he was pushing deep into his own soul and mainly worrying that he just looked constipated. The new exercise involved focusing on his own mana and straining to push it further outside his body, which just felt awkward. He'd been much better at the differentiating exercises that Inafay had taught him first.
Inafay herself was walking around the square, doing a more elaborate version of the same exercise. He wasn't sure exactly why she was pushing so hard on this new spiritual training, other than that it had something to do with her Class. Whatever the reason, she'd been passionate about it for their past two sessions.
Struggling to push aside such thoughts, Kai returned to his meditation... and realized that he had finally done it. While thoroughly distracted, he'd managed to push a bead of pure mana into the world. It was a murky brown, incredibly mundane compared to the iridescent pearl that Inafay had shown him, but he was still shocked to have done it.
"Uh... I think..." He didn't want to say too much or raise his voice for fear that it would vanish. Fortunately, Inafay heard him and hopped closer to peer at it.
"Not bad, Kai, not bad. Your work paid off and it came out right the first time: this is the pure form of your Class mana, nothing else. It's easy to get it all muddled if you rush."
"And that's... good? What do I do with it?"
"You don't feel anything unusual?" Inafay bent closer, examining his face with the bead of mana between them. "Look at the mana, really look, and you should start feeling intuitions. There are all kinds of metaphors... imagine finding a weapon you've never seen before. You can tell something about it by the edge, the balance, and so on, right? Do the same with your mana."
Such abstract exercises weren't Kai's strength, but he'd forced himself through plenty of mana preparation training in the past. He tried to filter out the rest of the world and focused solely on the bead. This was allegedly a manifestation of his Class itself, so surely it could reveal something.
Gradually he began feeling a phantom ache, like he'd spent all day on manual labor. When he stared into the murkiness of the mana, he thought he saw glimpses of himself training as he usually did. Something within him pulsed in response and he felt certain that this mana was infusing his body, making him just a little stronger and more durable.
But that was all. He hadn't expected to discover that his Class possessed hidden legendary powers or anything so fantastical, but he had expected something. Kai looked up to see if Inafay had any new hope for him, but she sighed and dropped to sit on the cobblestones opposite him.
"No big revelations, judging from your face. Sorry about that."
"Why did you suggest this exercise?" Kai asked. "Should it have revealed something new?"
"It's not just a training exercise: there are lots of other ways to strengthen your Class. This one helps you understand it better." Inafay waved a hand near her chest and he had a feeling she saw her own symbols hovering there. "Some Classes are common, but new types show up every year, so of course they've developed ways to explore unknown ones. Even mine is a bit unusual, so I had to do all this to figure out the limits of what I could do."
"But nothing much in my case, unless I did it wrong."
"No, I think you did everything right. There's at least a silver lining: manifesting your mana like this can be good for making potions. I figure you can use the help there too, right?"
"That's kind of you." Kai smiled, but he was concerned about the new expression on her face. "Inafay, is everything alright?"
She stared at him, then laughed oddly. "What? No, nothing serious. I just didn't want to say that I'm not going to be able to make our training sessions for a while. Gotta go away for some intensive training."
"Is that why you were trying to teach me all these new things?"
"I guess so, yeah. I'll be back eventually, since I still need to improve my Physique Level, but you'll be on your own for a while with... everything. I wanted us to be square before I left."
That would disrupt his plans to prepare for the trip, but Kai focused on what she was saying. "Why are you leaving for this special training?"
"Because I'm about to break through!" Inafay hopped up as if she was too excited to stay seated. "Everyone in the clan is claiming credit, but I'm sure it's you! Fighting here I just feel so much more in touch with my Class... it's like the wind has been getting more and more intense, and now it's about to burst."
"That's great." Kai swallowed his bitterness and got up to congratulate her. "So you leave the Novice classification behind and get a boost?"
"Actually, the boost itself isn't that significant, not like with Physique rankings. But the main thing is that, instead of running up against the limits of my Class, I'll be starting over fresh. I should be able to gain strength rapidly in their intensive training course, and after it, I'll be able to go Class-to-Class with some adult hunters. Of course, I'm not aiming so low, so I'll be back to keep training."
"You'll blow past most of the people here, then. I assume that means you're destined for better things?"
"Either I go south to the wealthier cities or, if I'm good enough, to fight on the Frontier with the elites." Inafay's enthusiasm finally faded and she gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I know boasting about all this must seem cruel to you."
"No, it's... the way things are."
"I don't have any answers, but I do have this!" Inafay reached into a pouch and then thrust out a fist. "You said you wanted a mana seedling, right? Well, I couldn't get one, but this overdrive pill is as close as I could find. It's not a potion, because apparently they concentrate mana in pills over in Krysal. But it should work, if you use it right!"
Carefully accepting the gift, Kai found himself staring at a crystalline sphere in his palm. Instead of the hum of a mana-filled potion, it seemed to tremble with a different sort of mana. Allegedly his training was enough to absorb mana from any source, but that wasn't the biggest problem. "Are you... sure you want to give this to me?"
"I will punch you if you refuse! I was serious about you being the one to get me to this point, and none of the information I've given you is a fair payment. With this, we're even. I insist."
Even if it was partially charity, Kai accepted the pill without further objections. "What were you saying about using it correctly?"
"This one is actually pretty dangerous." Inafay put her hands on her hips and frowned down at it. "Apparently it throws your body into overdrive, putting so much stress on you that it could do more harm than good if you don't use it at a time when you're already going to take a beating. Like, they stressed to me that I shouldn't use it even in serious sparring. But the overdrive pill could help you pull through a crisis point and get stronger, so I figured it would do you some good."
"Thank you, Inafay."
"No, thank you. I'll get in touch after my training is done, alright?" With that, she leapt away and left only a streak of green mana piercing the trees.
Kai stared after her, wondering if that could have been his life if fate had chosen a little differently. Instead of being stuck with a useless Class, he would be competing with her to fully awaken his Class and develop new abilities. Part of him was happy for her, yes, but he couldn't help feeling bitter.
Since there was nothing he could do about that, Kai focused on the practical: her absence threw off his plans to prepare for Tusquo's trip. He only had a week and a half to prepare for a journey that would be dangerous at the best of times, and apparently the Hunters Guild would be watching closely for a reason to kick him out. His only chance of keeping up with everyone else was definitely on the line.
As he developed a new training schedule in his head, Kai walked back to the lower city. Since he had more time, he should return to Juray and explore the possibilities for his new mana techniques. Most likely they wouldn't result in anything, but he couldn't leave the chance on the table.
"Hello again, Kai." Juray gave him a broad smile and ushered him closer to her shop window. "I'm afraid there's no chance I can finish your second potion in time for your big trip, if that's why you're here."
"No, I wanted to talk about something else." Kai drew his focus together and hoped he didn't look too stupid as he tried to concentrate mana. "Can you create potions from pure Class mana?"
Her eyebrows immediately shot up. "Well, is there any kind of training you aren't doing? I know what you're talking about, but I don't have much experience with it. I've met some more skilled Herbalists who can take mana from extremely powerful hunters and distill it into a potion that briefly grants someone a bit of their essence. There are also mixes that try to feed a person with their own power. But, to be honest... I wouldn't get your hopes up."
"But can we try?" Kai finally finished and lifted a bead of muddy mana in his cupped palms.
Instead of answering directly, Juray disappeared into her shop and returned with a small bowl. It was unusually thick and formed from a dark metal, but otherwise Kai couldn't tell anything about it. Maybe an arcane metal from Irun?
She coaxed the bead of mana into the bowl, where it not only maintained its cohesion away from him, it hovered in the center. Juray sighed in relief, then began running a number of experiments. Since he had no idea what she was doing, Kai simply watched as she poked, extracted, heated, and otherwise analyzed his mana.
