Z-33-TH

He casually walked to the person he defeated and walked over her, but in a sudden kick, he flung her sword like a boomerang. The other girl blocked it with some difficulty and he rushed at the suit while she was distracted and held it in front of him. She almost threw a sword back but she saw the suit and stopped. The voice repeated itself in his head, "Those who ruin the suit will die".

He held the blade up at her and slowly approached but she threw her two swords down. It was an intense battle, but he finished with blood splattered all across the floor. He saw that the suit that looked just like the one he wore when he killed the girl in the previous memory, even the camera was there.

He came back into his current time and Page was still talking to his grandad. He decided not to listen and instead walked around, noticing a sudden increase in the number of swords and pieces of armor. He picked up a shiny silver sword and tossed it in the air. It felt similar in weight and size to the swords he used to hurt the others in sequence B-1-TH.

Page and his grandpa were still talking and his grandpa was seriously contemplating something. He saw Zeeth holding the sword and finally threw his hands up.

"I will allow you to be the successor of my sword style, but you must prove to me that you can handle it."

"Okay."

A sinister grin spread across his face, moving his white beard and mustache around. He pulled out two long wooden swords and handed one to Zeeth. The moment Zeeth grabbed the end of it, his grandpa smacked him on the knees with the other one.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"What are you gonna do about it?" and he hit Zeeth in the knuckles.

Zeeth swung his sword at the grandpa who jumped and hit him in the head. Zeeth tried to hit him back but he grabbed Zeeths arm and swung around to kick him in the head.

'This guy isn't playing! I should start really trying.' Zeeth embodied some of the sword techniques he used in the past, which were adapted for quick and efficient killing. He held the wooden sword by the end of its hilt and thrust it at the little old man. It nearly hit him in the throat but he dodged at the last minute. Both their eyes narrowed and they attacked each other ferociously. Their battle went on for half an hour and by the end, Zeeth was a bruised mess. His grandpa was hardly injured and he stood with both swords in his hand.

"You don't have any Animo?"

"What's Animo?"

"What?!" the old man bellowed, "You don't even know what it is? Oh, boy. Who is your master?"

"I'm not sure if I should say…"

"Is it someone famous? Don't worry, I don't care. I just want to curse their inability to teach."

"Grandpa, he was only able to train with him for a few months and he hadn't even known how to use mana then. You can tell him if you want to, Zeeth, he doesn't tell."

"It was someone named Afir. I learned with him in this forest."

His grandpa stared him in the eyes for a few seconds. "what."

"Afir. A sage dragon."

"You know that man? No, that beast? Where was he? I will hunt him down!"

"Grandpa, you knew him?"

"He was the one who made your father the coward of a merchant he is. Where is he?"

"I don't know. He left the forest when a bunch of people tracked him down and he went somewhere. He told me to go to Jarlon and live my life there."

"That overgrown, stupidly cautious rat. Next time you meet him, tell him to come to find me. Now, Animo. Mana is the use of external energy into the body and backs out again to make mana create something physical. Animo is the use of mental status to create a change in your will and perception of the world. But it isn't something simply taught by a master. It is something you learn. Which is why I will be sending you away."

"What?"

"I told you. You must learn this yourself. Come step into this teleportation circle. Or I will smack you." he growled. Zeeth jumped in the circle, the bruises still throbbing.

"I will send you away for a week and your goal is to fill this book to the brim with information." he tossed him an old, leather book. "Also, fair warning, I would advise not to reveal your name."

The circle glowed black and he was sent through the portal. He appeared in the center of a bustling city, people with magical swords and humanoid animals casually walked by. People with large wagons full of items covered with white tarps walked into other teleportation circles.

Someone yelled at him, "dude, are you going to move?"

It was another merchant pushing a cart. "Yes, yes."

He hopped off the table and the merchant pushed his own cart on the platform. He pressed a few buttons, the circles on the platform shifted and black tarp magic covered him and all his things.

A short girl with orange hair tied in two ponytails and a pair of thick circle glasses bumped into his shoulder while looking around.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, no!" she said, "it was me, I should've been looking, I'm sorry!"

'She's strange.'

'What a weakling.' she thought, 'apologized to me first, probably doesn't have any backbone.'

She headed off to the Hunters Association, the place Tarud told her about. She spoke the language Zelia with a heavy accent that no one recognized but she eventually learned it.

She sighed out loud, "why can't I find a strong man to take care of me?"

'If only I could find a hot, muscular man.' she giggled to herself mentally. 'I hope I meet this Page or Zeeth person. I wonder what they're like, being able to handle a dragon!'

In this new place, Zeeth had no information, no friends, and only the things he was able to bring with him. Even his table was left behind, only carrying his necklace, a simple sword, and a small shield under his clothes that he was most recently working on.

'What is this supposed to achieve? Fill a stupid book, this thing has 210 pages, I would have to fill in thirty pages a day.'

The first thing he saw when he looked up was a tall skyscraper with the words 'Hunters Association' on it. All around it were shops for weapons and armor or breweries for potions. He walked through the glass doors and a magical hologram of a flying ball said to him, "welcome, my name is Alex, may I see your badge?"

He took out his hunter badge, something he hadn't used in a long time, and showed it to the hologram. "Hunter Zeeth, how may I assist you today?"

"Er, I'm not sure. Oh, where do I go to get food?"

"The association provides bread and water, other food needs to be bought from our stores."

'Oh, I need money then.'

"Shall I send you to a personal assistant? Head down the hall and enter the class C room where a Hunter professional may provide information."

"Thanks, Alex."

"No problem, hope to see you soon!"

He walked away waving at the orb that reminded him a lot of his slimes. All along the hall were pictures of hunters, their names, and their status. They all seemed like deceased hunters who did something amazing and near the C hall was a familiar face on a picture, Meda smiling at the viewers. Under the picture read "Meda Merbin. Years 1-31. A local hero who gained fame near the end of his life, having fought and died valiantly against a dragon with two hunters, Zeeth and Page, to save cities from more destruction."

'Meda was only 30 when he fought the dragon?'

"You're admiring him too, huh?" He looked at the girl who just spoke to him, she had white hair and soft blue eyes. Her voice sounded soft but nothing shocking. "Such a brave soul, sacrificing his life to fight a dragon. I admire all of those who fight dragons, they deserve any pain they get for destroying so much life all those years ago."

"Reall-"

"He was an idiot." someone else said, cutting Zeeth off. A tall man with a large yet unimpressive body stood behind them. "Why would he fight a dragon? He should know there was no way to win, especially at his level. Should've just run."

"There was a carriage full of merchants and children with him, he would've allowed them all to die."

"Yeah, shut up Puq, you don't even care what the situation was."

"What, are you two dating now? If he just didn't care, he could've gotten away alive. Or if he just stayed put, Page and Zeeth scared it away, didn't they? Those guys are the real heroes. Meda just didn't have the instincts to do anything more, I would've easily survived and become best friends with the other two."

"Meda was a true hunter and a grand man, not a coward like you," she said.

"I doubt you would have become friends with the other two." Zeeth glowered, "you aren't likable at all."

"Che, you're lucky we're in headquarters." Puq growled, drawing out a large falchion, "I would've killed you by now in a battle. Let's go, Luka."

"It was nice meeting you." she said, "Sorry, we have to go sign up."

The two disappeared into the crowd, Luka still waving to him. Before they left he checked their status:

[Luka Flywood HP: 1100 Strength: 200 Agility: 260 Stamina: 320 Intelligence: 340 Luck: 9]

[Puq Flywood HP: 1350 Strength: 340 Agility: 220 Stamina: 390 Intelligence: 290 Luck: 10]

'Siblings. It's surprising how much lower it is compared to Page.'

Page had [HP: 1750 Strength: 570 Agility: 590 Stamina: 750 Intelligence: 1250 Luck: 62]

Putting the two of them behind him he continued to the hall. The hall was decorated with doors with people walking in and out of them. A lizardman climbed out a room from the ceiling and slithered past him. A woman came out of the room and called Zeeth in, "may I see your badge? C5, come on in. what would you like assistance with?"

"I think I should earn some money somehow, what the best way."

"The association offers jobs for you to complete. Would you like to check this listing?"

He took the clipboard she offered showing a list of things, 25 Styrs-Move Heavy Boxes, 35 Styrs-Hunt 15 Boars, 50 Styrs-Map out Dungeon.

"Do you have anything that offers more money and less boring jobs?"

"I'm sorry, you're ranked C5 so we can't offer any jobs above that and these are the limits."

"How do I raise my rank?"

"By going through another trial created and supervised by the branch Hunter Association head. You may join factions within the association to create teams with those in higher ranks and tag along."

"Those both sound too time-consuming, what else do you have."

"We have the Associations arena. Fight other Hunters to build connections and abilities while being paid. The more popular you are with the people, the more you earn."

"Oh, that sounds good. Where do I go for that?"

"There is a door at the end of this hall. Through the door will be an arena and you will be directed there."

The other side of the door was surprisingly loud, people cheered and booed at fighters in plated arenas. From where he stood, he could see five arenas separated by crowds and chairs in the stadium. About half the audience were cheering squads and the other half were people in suits and glasses intently watching the fighters.

"Hello, sir. Are you here to enter the arena as a fighter or spectator?" a hovering hologram asked him.

While wrapping his shirt around his face to hide his face, not wanting people to know him and his abilities he said, "Yes, how much do I earn for fighting here?"

"Winners earn 150 Styrs, losers earn 50. May I check your badge?"

The hologram scanned his badge with blue lasers. His name came up in blue strings on the air, "Zeeth" hovered in front of his face.

"Actually, could I change the name?"

"Of course, what would you like it to be?"

"Um, Zenith."

The blue lines swirled around into 'Zenith' and flew away above a stadium under a small list of names. One incredibly large man wielding a massive spiked club swung it down on the floor beside a short girl with large circular glasses and long orange hair tied in a twin ponytail. She fell to the floor narrowly missing the club, her face unmoving.

The man swung his club up again, his massive muscles bulging with the effort. She jumped up high into the air, grabbed the opposite end of the club, and plunged it into the face. The weight of the club brought him down on the arena and shook it down, people near the stadium jumped up and down, cheering or yelling in anger and regret. Many people in suits and glasses got up, staring and pointing at her while whispering to each other.

The bleeding man was magically removed from the arena while another person went up, their hovering name replacing his.

"As for the rules, only two non-magical gear is allowed per person. No fatal injuries or death will be tolerated. You may go as far as destroying all their bones or cutting off a hand, those can be regrown, but do not remove their throats, heart, important internal organs, etc."

The stadium reminded him of the memory when he nearly killed the other three for a simple suit. He took out his sword and shield. The hologram scanned them and told him, "incomplete magic circles, these two are allowed."

The referee called his name and he was up against the orange-haired girl.

She waved to the crowd and blew a kiss, the men cheering explosively louder. He got on the stadium with a single small round shield. She looked him up and down and smirked.

"You want a piece of this?" she asked, flexing her arms. "Fair warning, no one has even scratched me today."

He looked up at her name, thin blue lines spelled out 'Cina'.