23 The Kidnapping
The taxi dropped Alex off in front of his house. Today had been intense: he had acquired a unique class, seen Tiffany and her sister, registered as a hunter at the Hunters' Association, and witnessed an artificially induced dungeon rupture.
It had been a very productive day, though it was strange that he didn't have any money. Well, what could he say? When you work for the State, payment only comes at the end of the month, meaning you have one day to receive your money and 29 to ration it.
He entered his house, and his sister's friend welcomed him.
"Ho! Sir is here. A bit early, I think. Anyway, welcome."
Alex looked at the girl, stumbling over his words.
"Sir, is this for real?"
The question came with furrowed brows. Alex wondered if the Association's combat uniform made him appear much older. As far as he remembered, even in this reality, he hadn't turned twenty yet.
"Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing out of nowhere? Are you okay?"
Looking at the girl, something seemed off. He approached for a closer look, and the girl nearly stumbled backward in haste.
"Sir, please don't come closer. Your aura… it's very heavy," she struggled to stammer.
It was then that Alex realized that even the taxi driver had displayed the same behavior.
"Sorry, I had forgotten to retract it."
Alex seemed embarrassed. Joana had already informed him about this: hunters' abilities were divided into two groups, active and passive.
By rule, passive abilities and passive auras were always active, and they could affect those around them. For example, a commander had a passive charm ability. Alex had been affected by his charm and only freed himself because he had an ability to counterbalance it.
To avoid such embarrassment, hunters usually retracted their auras to appear like primitive beings again. This term referred to unawakened people.
"Thank you."
When Alex retracted his aura, his passive abilities ceased affecting those around him, and the girl could act normally.
Alex looked through a system window where his passive abilities were listed. They now appeared gray.
Passive Skills:
Gravitational Defense Lv2
Bearer of the True Crown Lv1
Aura of Royalty Lv1
Mystic Sheath Protection Lv1
Connection with Merlin Lv1
Unbreakable Fate Lv1
Royal Harem Lv0
It was no wonder that ordinary people treated him with more respect than necessary. One of his passive skills was Aura of Royalty. Alex wondered how people would see him when this passive was active.
"I haven't asked yet, but what's your name? Sorry for asking. It's just that I've lost my memories."
"Lúcia had mentioned your memory loss, but even before that, sir, you didn't know my name. I am Mónica de Oliveira."
Alex gave the girl an extra look.
Another Mónica?
He remembered a red-haired girl with tanned skin doing things with her companion called Mimi. He had to push away the privileged vision he had seen that day.
"Ho! So you're new here, then?"
"Not that new, sir. I grew up around here, but I had to attend high school in another province, and now I'm back."
"You don't have to call me sir. It's a bit uncomfortable. Just Alex is fine. 'Sir' is my father."
Mónica stayed silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Sir… I mean, Alex… could you tell me roughly what it's like to be a hunter? If that's okay, of course."
"Ho! You're interested in hunters?"
The girl nodded shyly.
"Yes, it's just… well, I'm writing about hunters."
Alex brought his hands to his chin and said promptly:
"I'd like to help, but I don't have much to share. I only awakened a week or two ago. I've explored two dungeons in total, and today was my first day at the Hunters' Association."
Alex saw the girl's eyes widen as if she had discovered something incredible.
"That's exactly what I need: a novice hunter. Could you tell me step by step what your experience has been like?"
With that, she took her computer and opened a blank page to start writing down everything Alex would say.
"What are you writing about? Is it an assignment for college?"
The girl blushed slightly as she spoke, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"I write web novels."
---
The alarm rang at exactly five in the morning. Unlike the previous day, Lúcia woke up in a good mood today. Her brother was back, and that made her happy.
The first thing she did was check on her mother. Seeing her like that always made her heart ache. It had been five years, yet she still continued sleeping, and her father remained missing.
Lúcia knelt and began to pray that her mother would awaken and that her father would return as soon as possible. She also prayed for her brother.
Next, she changed her mother's clothes, combed her hair, and made her presentable. She took a liquid compound and administered it intravenously so her mother's body would receive enough nourishment to stay alive.
Lúcia then walked to her brother's room and saw him sleeping peacefully. She returned to her own room and got ready for work. But before that, she went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast so her brother would have something to eat as soon as he woke up.
Looking at the clock, which showed six in the morning, she hurried. There was no more time for her to have breakfast, so she grabbed the sandwich she had prepared and placed it in her bag.
Closing the door, she placed the spare key on a step. Her brother slept in late, and most likely, the friend who took care of her mother while she went to work would have to wait a long time.
So she always left the key in the same place to prevent her friend from getting annoyed with her brother.
Lúcia waited at the public transport stop about ten minutes from her house, and as always, the vehicle arrived at the scheduled time. She got on and headed to work.
In just thirty minutes, she arrived at the hospital where she worked. But before she could enter, a car stopped right in front of her, and a bald man with a robust build got out.
Seeing the tattooed man, Lúcia went pale, and fear overtook her. She tried to step back to call for help, but another man grabbed her from behind and put a cloth over her mouth.
Lúcia struggled briefly before losing consciousness in the arms of the man wearing a strange smile. The robust man helped the other man place her inside the car.
Everything happened so quickly that the people around them did not realize what had truly occurred.