[Boss Drop: Metamorphosis Stone]
I dropped from the boss, letting its corpse stand as I checked my rewards.
It was definitely strange... it was just a stone, a glowing one at that, but its uses? I quite literally had no idea how to use it; it didn't even appear in the actual story.
"Was this ever shown...?"
I lifted the stone to eye level, but when I did, I felt resistance, as if a string was tied to it between my rapier and the stone.
And... I could already tell by that hint alone that it was probably related to my newly glowing weapon.
CLICK!
I inserted the stone at the crossguard, or to be more accurate... it assimilated into it.
[Arsenal of Time]
The rapier began to shift, turning into all sorts of weaponry in my hand, from a shield, sword, to even a bow and arrows.
Which made a lot more sense when I thought about it, no way the literal embodiment of time would just be stuck using one simple weapon.
And...
'Will this work?'
I held the bow forward, trying to mimic holding a gun, and just like I had guessed, it had also turned into a literal assault rifle.
Just like its name suggested, it was an actual arsenal.
"Quick!"
Shouting came outside the boss's room, and there entered multiple other hunters, likely backup. They had arrived faster than I expected, and now I looked fairly suspicious.
Gold hair, gold eyes, and a literal golden gun.
If I have to guess, they probably thought I just had a second awakening, and that wasn't entirely wrong either, because this definitely felt like one.
"I-Is that... did he just awaken...?" The leader of the backup spoke... an A-Rank hunter.
***
The entire dungeon was evacuated quickly after the reveal that the boss had died; they'd rather ask questions after they had gone out than risk being trapped when the dungeon ultimately closed after an hour.
And that's where I found myself in the scavenger guild's interrogation room.
Complete with the white room, the one-sided glass with people looking at me, and an A-Rank hunter from the association itself interrogating me.
"You're aware you had just killed an A-Rank dungeon boss as a B-Rank, correct...?" The hunter spoke, his hands clasped together on the table.
"Yes."
To be honest, I definitely preferred being held captive by the scavenger guild and the association than getting bombarded with interviews by the press.
"And you didn't have gold hair and gold eyes before you entered the dungeon...?"
"Yes."
The hunter nodded, grabbing something from his pocket.
A mana meter.
A quick way to test if someone had just gained a reawakening, and with the fact that my mana did actually get higher... the outcome was already obvious.
"Press your hand on top of the stone."
I nodded, and when I did, the hunter's eyes widened; his suspicion was confirmed, and everyone who was currently spectating the interrogation was confirmed.
"Guess you're an A-Rank now, Leon Meridian."
He smiled, but not in a serious way, more like something akin to holding a laugh.
"Are you okay...?"
"I'm sorry... but your name is just too dramatic for me to take it seriously..." The hunter hid his face, trying and failing to stifle a laugh.
...
Seriously? I just achieved a reawakening, and his focus was on my over-the-top name? It wasn't my fault that this new body I had transmigrated to had an absurd name.
But I guess the casualness did make sense. I was an A-Rank now... not an S-Rank; it wasn't something for everyone in the room to get excited about.
"Guess that's done with."
The hunter stood up, patting me on the shoulder as he left the room, another taking his place.
It was a scavenger guild staff member, male, black suit, black glasses, the starter kit for being a sketchy recruiter.
"You've done us a good service back there... thanks to you, our hunters managed to get healed just in time."
The staff member said, handing me a contract form.
"As a thank you, we'd like to recruit you to the guild, but I'm sure you find the benefits... far more extravagant than our usual offers."
I checked the contract, and he wasn't lying; it gave me a free dorm in the guild's hq, access to their training quarters, and even free gear.
Even special access to the guild's owned dungeons without needing to ask for permission.
In short, I could act like a normal, independent hunter, but with a powerful guild now backing me up.
[Task: Accept the Contract]
[Rewards: +5 To All Stats]
[Penalty: Death]
[Time Limit: 1:00:00]
'Guess I don't have a choice.'
I chuckled.
"You've got a deal."