Hunter

Marcus entered the tavern and saw countless men sitting in groups of two, three, or more. Some had scars, others did not, but what stood out was that they all had weapons, mostly bladed. Garph had detached the familiar's head when he entered and placed it on the counter. A blonde girl received him and said, A familiar, that's 2 gold coins. Marcus thought, Gold is still used as currency? The girl looked at Marcus and introduced herself: Hi, I'm Linda. Marcus responded by stating his name. Garph said, Introduce him, he's new, then looked at Marcus and added, My help ends here, kid. Live well and trust little. Words a bit rough but nothing out of the ordinary; he was a man of few words.

Linda called him over and said, Marcus, welcome to the Hunters' Tavern. We are a special class dedicated to hunting and pursuing activities outside the norm: witches, vampires, werewolves, wendigos, demons, familiars... all those fantasy monsters you read about in stories exist. Only the population remains ignorant, and we hunters hunt and exterminate them. By the way, magic exists. This tavern is within a barrier that you can only access if you have a hunter's medal. In your case, Garph gave you access. Marcus thought, No wonder I had explored this forest with friends before and never saw this tavern.

Linda continued, You may wonder: how can simple humans hunt monsters if we are just humans? Marcus looked at her with some uncertainty. She went on, Not only does killing monsters give you rewards, but also absorbing the energy they release helps you level up. There are 9 levels of hunters. The first 7 are accessible to mortals; the other two are impossible to see. You might die without ever meeting anyone in those ranks; they are considered demigods.

Marcus asked, And after the ninth rank? Linda replied, That's not something a receptionist like me can know, it's strictly confidential. Marcus thought, So everything exists. Adding the panel to his thoughts gave him a level of excitement he had never felt before, and that voice that gave him a faint déjà vu saying, You're not made to be ordinary.

Linda asked, Marcus, are you interested in becoming a hunter? Without hesitation, Marcus replied, Yes. Linda said, My free introduction ends here. From now on, all information I can share has a price. The hunting world supports the practice that everything has a price. Marcus said, I don't have much money right now. How much will it cost? Linda looked at him and laughed, We don't use common currency here, only gold or an item that the counterpart finds valuable. Marcus asked, And how do I get money? Linda replied, By hunting. But since it's your first time, I'll help you, and when you complete your first hunt, you pay me if you don't die. Marcus nodded in acknowledgment.

Marcus asked, How do I level up besides hunting? She said, By meditating. There's no precise method. Some hunters use magic, others science, others exercise. Marcus asked, How do you identify the levels of each person? Linda said, By the amount of aura that hunter releases. Most of the people here are level 1, at most 2. Each level is divided into 3 minor levels. Linda gave him a book that explained how to hunt the most common monsters and said, I recommend you read it, it covers the basics. On the first page, he saw Vampires, and unlike the stories, silver doesn't kill them but weakens them. To kill one, you must burn it or cut off its head, like Garph did with the familiar.