Matthew opened his eyes to a world of flames. Around him was just simply an endless sea of fire without anything else in sight.
"This dream again…"
Matthew did move and only stood there idly. Even though he was surrounded by fire, he did not feel pain at all. One would think that this was definitely just a dream if not a nightmare, but for Matthew who had seen this many times already, it was something different.
He could not explain what it was. He just sensed that there was something else about this dream that he had.
In the far distance, he saw a gigantic figure of a lizard of some sort. Its eyes were glowing bright yellow in the darkness above the fire.
"That thing again… What does it want with me?" Matthew asked himself.
RINGGGG!!
Matthew's head was suddenly ringing. It caused pain inside his temple that it forced him to
Matthew and Rose walked around the area for a bit since the exam hasn’t started yet. Both of them were ready to go. Though they were both not wearing any heavy armour, it was the setup that best suited them.Matthew wore a normal looking blue shirt with a red short sleeved jacket and standard pants. Though these clothing seem normal, they were made out of specially made mana strings which its durability and strength is partly imbued with the user’s. Other than that, he also wore a pair of gauntlets on his forearm. He carried a sword on his back which had a fiery design to it. He also had a badge with the number 3 on his chest.Meanwhile Rose was wearing a dark blue one piece dress with little decorations of red on the skirt and her abdomen. She also wore a short cape on her shoulders and her usual red rose hair pin. She also had a badge with the number 2 as well.“There sure are a lot of people here.&rd
Matthew, Rose and Cecilia fought through a number of monsters as they made their way towards the hill. Through the fog, a thick forest, a river and finally up the hill, they reached the place in two days, leaving one day before the time ran out.Many people have arrived but it seemed to have significantly decreased from the original numbers."Maybe they still haven't made it." Matthew said."Or they're just lost." Rose added.They were all covered in dirt and dust from their journey. Matthew had a little bit of blood splatter here and there as he was the one that confronted the monsters head on while Rose and Cecilia stayed at the back."Cecilia, how are you holding up?" Matthew asked, but it was not answered.Cecilia looked all around her as if searching for someone.'She's been quiet all this while even though we've been together for tw
Matthew, Rose and Cecilia got back to the site where the first phase of the exam ended just a few hours before the time was up. Matthew was carrying a bag that contained the evidence of their hunt."I'll get the report in, you two can rest up for while waiting.""Okay Matt." Rose replied to Matthew.Cecilia nodded.After he had confirmed their thoughts, Matthew made his way to the field assistant that was in charge. The line was not really long, thankfully.Rose and Cecilia went under a shady tree and sat on one of its protruding roots."Ah~ I'm beat." Rose said as she laid her bottom on the hard root."Me too…" Cecilia said.They both took a breather under the shade as they watched their surroundings."Cecilia, could you tell me something?" Rose asked."Eh umm what is
The final phase of the exam.Participants were given tags at the start of the exam that were labelled with certain numbers. The task for the Hunters to complete was to collect three tags and also still possess their own in order to pass the phase.Those who have lost their tags will be disqualified, while those that were able to collect at least three tags aside their own will be qualified and those who collect more will be given extra points for that will be used to judge their rank.Participants were allowed to use any means. Traps, head on fight, tricks, teaming up and even stealing the tags collected by others was also allowed. However, killing another participant will disqualify the participant and be sent to court to be judged.“If anyone is asking, this final phase is important as you will not only be dealing with monsters but also bandits, treasure hoarders, mercenaries, and also other
One day into the final phase. Sounds of fight broke out everywhere around the area. Signs of battles were also left around such as burnt grass, shattered rocks, spikes of ice, bits and pieces of clothing and also splatters of blood.Many of the Hunters have got the tags they needed and many more were searching and getting back theirs. A battle of the fittest where the elite will come out on top.Each of them struggled to be victorious and used any means necessary. Trickery, backstabbing, head on fights, stealing and even certain uses of their skills.Some people are smart enough to have taken countermeasures, while some are dumb and only relied on their skills and also high confidence.Some of the Hunters conduct this alone, while some do it in teams. Each having their own ups and downs.When hunting alone, it would be much harder to capture prey but the bounty will be all for yo
The morning sunshine shone between the openings of the leaves on the faces of two people. Xia's eyes twitched and slowly opened and was greeted with blinding light.She quickly shut her eyes back and only opened them slightly to allow her eyes to adjust to the light. After a few seconds, she got up into a sitting position with her legs stretched out. A gust of wind blew her short hair, caressing her cheeks.She was stupefied for a second. She held her forehead as she tried to remember what had happened. Pieces of memories flashed in her head. She now remembered.She remembered a guy in red with golden hair, a girl with pink hair in red and black dress and another girl in all white. She and Chang were about to subdue them, but they were taken out afterwards.She checked her body for any injuries that she needed to treat. To her surprise, there were none.“What, how? How come
Matthew clashed with three people at once. Attacking, dodging and blocking with all his might. Matthew was able to keep up with the onslaught of attacks and defend himself properly while also countering some of their attacks.However, there was one person that was giving him trouble.'His movement is so much faster and his attacks are even stronger, heck even his defense is tough too. I need to get rid of these two and deal with him later.'With that in mind, Matthew focused his counterattacks on the two lackies. Trying to make them stay down.Matthew swung his sword to deflect all the attacks that were coming at him. He then focused his astra into his left fist and slammed it into the ground.The ground shook and broke apart, causing all of his opponents to lose their balance. Using this chance, Matthew first kicked Alan away as far as he could. He then proceeded to attack the b
Inside a tavern where anyone can hang out and enjoy their meals while chugging down some beer, it was very lively with the amount of people that were inside. All of the tables were full with people sitting at them.There were occasional clanks of mugs, distinct chatters and haughty laughters that filled the air. It would seem that everyone was enjoying their time after a quest well done. Not only that, there was another reason why there were more people than usual here tonight.“Cheers!” CLANK!“Glug glug glug… Puhaa~! Whoo! That’s some good stuff!” The woman with purple hair slammed her mug on the table. “Hey, don’t any of you drink alcohol?”“We’re only seventeen you know? And Cecilia is fifteen. Neither of us are of legal age to drink, Yuki.” Matthew replied.“Hey hey, your world’s rules don't
At the edge of the pit, it was them. A total of nine of the Scarlett family members.From the right, a woman with long red hair and black and white dress was casting a healing spell on Bilgrae. A male elf in full black armour with a star shaped bang of three red points and two white points and his black hair was split in the middle. A demon with dark violet hair and a pair of horns at the side of her head and wore a jet black skin tight suit which exposed certain parts, Crymillia. In the middle, it was a man with short bright red hair wearing a black and gold robe. Then, a man with black hair in a red and black suit. Another demon with about the same features as Crymillia except that his hair was short and he wore a black cloak over his suit. Then there was a man with spiky red hair in a red robe with a high collar, Crone, the one that Matthew and his friends fought at the Great Sandcastle. Finally, there was the black feathered avian human, Skystorm.Seeing Skystorm in good health, M
Confronting Bilgrae now was what he expected to see from a Dragon Emperor.Matthew was now at maximum output of his astra and all of it was condensed in his body. Bright red scales covered his entire body and he grew slightly in size. His muscles became more toned and also increased in size. A pair of horns of a darker tone of red grew out of his forehead that curved to the back of his head. Both of his eyes were glowing golden as his hair was.“Let’s finish this!” Matthew did not delay any further. He couldn’t maintain this form for long so he must finish the fight quickly.Matthew dashed toward Bilgrae who was ready for Matthew. Their fists clashed again and this time, not only was Bilgrae pushed back, he felt pain in his knuckles. Matthew was much stronger than before and far faster too. Utilising his speed, Matthew went for another punch to Bilgrae’s gut.“Oof!” Bilgrae got the air knocked out of him with the first hit.Matthew followed up with a barrage of punches. Bilgrae truly
After being blown away by Skystorm’s wind, Matthew regained his footing and was met with the big lizardman, Bilgrae Scarlett. Bilgrae had a smirk on his face. Matthew stood up and faced Bilgrae, but his eyes were not on him. Matthew’s eyes fell on Falynx in the far distance.“Are you still concerned about that monster?” Bilgrae asked with his deep voice.Matthew looked at Bilgrae now. “It’s hard to know which one is the monster here.”“Heh, you’re right. All of us are monsters deep inside. It just takes one misstep to turn a person into one. You’ve been there too.”“No I haven’t.”“Maybe not to you. But the whole world saw you as one. Now that monster suddenly turned into an emperor and they suddenly glorified you, while some still hate you of course.”“Hmph.” Matthew huffed.“You’re angry with me, I understand. I purposely did not kill that beast. Out of compassion.”“Don’t lie. You Scarletts don’t know what that means.”Bilgrae wasn’t smiling anymore. “You don’t know how merciful fa
Akame and Skystorm were separated from Matthew and Bilgrae. Akame stood up after being blown away by the powerful gust of wind created by Skystorm. Their eyes met. Both of their irises were bright red and gazed deeply.“I will be your foe, Red Cardinal.” Skystorm said.“What relic will you take? What will you use it for?” Akame asked.“Straight to the questions huh… That’s not any of your business. Why would you care what we take anyway if you’ll die?”“To evaluate whether it’s worth fighting for or not.”“Hmm, a smart choice. If you don't want to fight, then I shant confront you. Sadly, it seems that Lord Dragunov disagrees with you. If he is in the way, then we must remove him. I don’t think that leaves you an option now.”Backing out from this would mean that Matthew will be fighting two people. If they weren’t among the Scarlett Army’s strongest, it probably wouldn’t be hard for him to deal with alone. Both of their foes were really strong and Akame had no expectation of defeating
After their encounter with Falynx, they reached an agreement to conduct an investigation as they intended. Falynx had flown back to the surface on its own. Matthew and Akame headed to the temple and arrived at the front door.For some reason, even though they were underground, it was as clear as day down here. It was not dark and not too bright either, like a cloudy day.There were stairs that led to the door and the walls in the area were already partially destroyed. Some of the stairs were also gone. The giant door was made of stone and seemed to be intact with little cracks around the hinges.Matthew pushed one of the doors open. It was surprisingly heavy so Matthew had to lean into it to move it. Akame went inside first and inspected the place. There was a stage and a podium carved out of stone at the end of the great hall. A mural was carved out of the wall behind the stage depicting a supposed god holding the sun in his hands.Matthew left the door open and joined Akame to look
In the middle of the desert, there were two figures running across the sands. Clouds of sand were left behind in their quick steps. The cloak provided by the minister was really working. No sand was sticking onto them.“We’re getting close.” Matthew informed Akame.Almost two hours have passed since they left the city. Many monsters came their way but they were easily dealt with. It caused a little delay but not enough to affect their momentum. Falynx’s presence was still about 10 kilometres away.“Be ready for battle.” Akame said.“Remember though, don’t kill it.” Matthew reminded her.A few minutes later, a gigantic figure could be seen flying in the sky. The creature had the body of a snake, the head of a crocodile and six pairs of batwings. Its yellow eyes with black vertical slits looked down at the incoming people below.Falynx bowed its head and began descending. Matthew and Akame saw this as an engagement in battle. Matthew called out the Dragoknight to his arms and increased
The sun was already high up in the sky in the Capital City of Kubalt. The weather was hot and dry as usual in San Coro. The street around this particular area was not that busy since it was right in front of the Palace of Al-Jauhara. One would occasionally see knights patrolling the area. Akame was waiting under the intense heat of the sun. She had covered herself in a large black cloth to protect herself from the heat. The guards out here only wore light armour compared to the ones inside, probably because their armour would be too hot to wear outside. Not too long after, she finally saw the one she was waiting for. Matthew was jogging toward her. He wore his long sleeved red hooded jacket and an orange shirt under it and a pair of black pants. He also had his usual travelling backpack with him. “Phew, sorry, did you wait long?” “Not too long. Did you not use a teleportation scroll?” Akame asked. “I did, but the closest one was to Yanbue City. Neither Platinum nor Rose were famil
“What brings you here, Akame?” Matthew asked.Just a few moments ago, Akame had arrived in front of Platinum’s cave. Someone like who was a Coloured Hunter, passing through the Blackwood Forest and up the cold mountain was not a problem. Or not.Akame was hugging herself to keep warm but it was not helping at all. “Achoo! C-can we talk somewhere warmer?”“Oh, come on in.” Matthew invited her inside.Akame went in and they both made their way to the living room. Matthew didn't think that it was alright to bring her to the others directly. The living room had a fire to keep them warm, so here was enough.“Ah~” Akame warmed herself up by the fire and put her hands out.“So, what are you doing here without equipment to survive on a mountain? Certainly you didn’t come to interview us?” Matthew asked.“Queen Cleopatra sent me. We will investigate the ruin she mentioned together.” Akame said with the same emotionless voice as usual.“Cleopatra? Well, I was gonna head there in a few days anyw
Matthew and Rose arrived at the foot of the mountain just by the Blackwood Forest where they dropped off of the carriage while Guinevere headed back to her palace. It was already very late in the afternoon when they got to the forest. Matthew carried Rose's luggage in hands while he also wore his backpack."I can carry my own stuff." Rose said."No, I will carry them for you. Anyway, are you sure you'll be fine?""My magic resistance is quite high. I also know how to disperse mana if it does accumulate inside me. How long exactly is it going to take to get up there again?" Rose looked up at the ledge near the mountain peak where Platinum's abode was."Well, usually only a few hours if you're moving at my usual speed. If we're walking though, a few days at least." Matthew said."But we're not walking, right?" Rose asked."Nope." As Matthew replied, a shadow flew past over them.A jade green dragon circled them as she descended to the ground nearby. Upon landing, the dragon folded its w