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The artificial gate's sky flickered with false lightning, illuminating the metallic-blue canopy above. Even though it was a simulation, the air held a faint scent of ozone and mana — a detail that made the Hunter Evaluation Gates notorious for their realism.
Dense mist drifted across cracked stone, and the air vibrated faintly with the growls of wandering beasts.
Jurion stepped lightly across the shattered terrain, his mage robes fluttering behind him.
His posture was relaxed… too relaxed, as Nathan observed from the corner of his eye.
Jurion always looked like he was strolling along a garden path instead of an exam battlefield.
But his amber-gold eyes remained razor sharp.
From behind them, the rigid hum of the gate's walls pulsed, sealing the rest of the evaluation candidates outside this particular route.
This sector was reserved for tougher monsters — a path most rookies simply avoided.
"Three C-ranks ahead," Nathan announced, gripping his dual short blades. His voice was calm, but his gaze never left the shifting shadows ahead.
Jurion merely nodded, raising his wand lazily.
The shadows burst open.
Three reptilian beasts lunged — Scaled Jackals, each about shoulder-high, with serrated claws and sapphire scales that glittered under the fake sky. Their fanged maws dripped acidic saliva that sizzled on the stone floor.
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Targets: Scaled Jackals ×3
Rank: C
Reward: 250 Points each
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Nathan moved first.
He shot forward like a shadow, blades flashing in a cross-shaped arc. The first Jackal didn't even yelp before collapsing. Nathan slid under the second beast's leap, stabbing upward and twisting his blade through its jaw.
Jurion flicked his wrist.
A pristine tri-layered magic circle expanded in front of him — elegant, symmetrical, and glowing a rich golden hue.
"Solar Bolt."
A single beam of concentrated light speared through the heart of the third Jackal before it even touched the ground.
Psshhh—!
The corpse hit the floor a second later, smoke curling from the smoldering hole in its chest.
Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Flawless as always."
A glow appeared on Jurion's wrist band.
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+250 Points
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Jurion spun his wand and shrugged. "C-rank monsters are basically warm-up stretches."
Together, they resumed walking deeper into the gate.
For a moment, silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant rumble of a higher-ranked beast somewhere deeper inside.
Then Nathan spoke. "You mentioned wanting to break 'two minutes and thirty-one seconds' record earlier. Are you sure about that?"
Jurion blinked. "Oh, that."
He smiled faintly — a nostalgic, slightly embarrassed one.
"My sister, Saria. She cleared her Hunter Evaluation boss in 2:31 when she was fifteen. Fastest recorded clearance of hunter exams in entire history."
Nathan whistled low. "The S-rank prodigy huh?"
"Prodigy doesn't even cover it," Jurion replied. "Saria is… terrifying. Beautiful, gentle, elegant — but terrifying. The youngest S-Rank in our kingdom and one of youngest in the world."
"The one with the highest likelihood of inheriting the throne someday." He sighed dramatically.
"Meanwhile my brother is already a well-known S-rank swordsman. The pressure in my household is… considerately unreasonable."
Nathan snorted. "So you're serious competing with monsters like that."
"You say that like I had a choice," Jurion muttered. "Besides, I'm not competing. I just want to squeeze as many achievements as I can from this exam. Personal pride, you know?"
"And to avoid being the 'disappointing youngest child'?" Nathan teased.
Jurion jabbed his wand in Nathan's direction. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
Nathan chuckled.
Even though there relationship was of master and servant, Nathan and Jurion were always together since 5 and naturally their bond evolved to that of the best friends.
They walked another few minutes before arriving at an enormous steel-bound gate embedded in obsidian stone. Red veins pulsed across its surface, glowing faintly like rivers of magma.
Jurion took a long breath.
"The boss room."
Nathan checked his equipment. "Stay behind me. Wyrms are unpredictable."
"I know, I know. I'll be a good backline mage."
Jurion raised his wand and nodded for Nathan to open the gate.
SKRRRRRRRRR—KRAAANG!
The massive structure groaned open, revealing a cavernous interior.
The boss chamber resembled an electric storm frozen mid-eruption.
Lightning danced across pillars of cracked onyx stone, arcing violently between jagged crystalline formations that floated in midair. The floor was covered in scorch marks, some still glowing faintly. The air was thick with static; every breath tasted metallic.
Coiled at the center of the room was the boss.
The Lightning Wyrm.
A serpentine monster, thirty meters long, covered in shimmering metallic scales that shifted from cobalt to white with every pulse of electricity. Its eyes glowed bright violet, and arcs of lightning crawled continuously across its body. The wyrm's wings were vestigial — more decorative than functional — but its fanged maw was large enough to swallow a small carriage.
[ IMAGE ]
It uncoiled slowly, electricity building in the air as it rose up to face them.
Nathan strode forward.
Jurion stayed several steps behind, wand drawn, posture sharp.
The fight began instantly.
CRACK-BOOOOM!
The wyrm released a shockwave of lightning, splitting the ground. Nathan darted across the room, avoiding the arcs with assassin-like precision. He closed in fast, blades flashing as he carved an X-shaped slash across the wyrm's neck.
The monster roared, shaking the chamber.
Jurion fired a barrage of light orbs, each exploding against the wyrm's sides like miniature suns.
The battle escalated from intense to brutal.
Lightning flooded the chamber, and Nathan surged in and out of the arcs, dancing on the edge of annihilation.
Jurion timed his spells perfectly, supporting Nathan without ever stepping into melee.
It was perfect teamwork — fluid, coordinated, and efficient.
Until it wasn't.
As the wyrm began to falter, Nathan suddenly slowed.
Jurion noticed immediately. "Nathan—?"
Nathan didn't reply.
Instead… he twisted.
His blade reversed in his grip.
He stepped toward Jurion.
Silent.
Deadly.
A killing blow.
Jurion's pupils shrank. "W–What…?"
The blade descended — aimed directly for his heart.
And then—
CLAAAANG!
A black, clawed hand shot from behind Jurion, intercepting the strike with a metallic screech.
Nathan staggered back from the force of the parry.
The owner of the clawed hand stepped forward with an irritated sigh.
"What were you thinking?" he muttered.
Jurion turned, eyes wide. "Wh-Who are you?!"
The black-clawed figure ignored him, glaring at Nathan instead.
"What a hassle," Nathan grunted. "You brat were hiding here? Trailing us? Since when?"
Jurion's wand snapped up, magic circle blazing to life.
"Wh-Who are you?" Jurion demanded, voice trembling with anger and adrenaline. "You're not Nathan, are you?"
The "Nathan" figure chuckled darkly
Her voice shifted — higher, chilling.
"That's actually right… second prince."
Her body shimmered, dissolving the Nathan exterior like melting wax.
In his place stood a woman — tall, athletic, with long blonde hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Her eyes burned gold with predatory intelligence. She wore a tight, gothic black bodysuit that felt as if it was made for her.
Her smile was razor sharp.
[ IMAGE ]
"No.1 of CARDS!" Jurion muttered under his breath. "why the hell is she here."
The woman bowed mockingly to Jurion.
"And now that you know the truth," she said sweetly, "you are coming with me."
She pointed lazily at Damon. "You too, hand-claw brat."
Damon stiffened.
(Shit— I was just trying to steal the kill.)
Jurion staggered back, realization dawning and fury igniting.
He had almost been kidnapped.
Almost assassinated.
And if Damon hadn't interfered—
He clenched his wand, magic circle flaring.
"CARDS… You really think I'm going anywhere with you?"
Her grin widened.
"I insist."