The Horror I

"Oh, no..."

His sharp gaze landed on a familiar face he had hoped not to see today- a fellow sorcerer who had his spread out as he ran towards Kai.

"Kai-san!" The sorcerer had that same annoyingly cheerful grin plastered on his face, making him look more and more like a fool in Evan's gaze.

" Not this guy again," Kai muttered under his breath.

Before Kai could even react, the sorcerer closed the distance, throwing his arms around him in an enthusiastic hug.

"Buddy! I thought you'd retire after the last raid. Man, you looked rough back there. I actually thought you were gonna die back then. Say, you never returned any of my calls."

Kai grimaced.

'Get off me.' he thought bitterly.

"This is embarrassing Jaya." He struggled to pry the Jaya's arms away, but Jaya only tightened his grip like an overexcited bear.

"I missed you, man! You've been quiet. Weak since the raid, huh? Thought you were out for good."

Kai finally shoved Jin away, his face flushed with a slight blush.

"I needed some time to myself. Sorry mehn." He muttered to Jaya.

'Great.' he thought sarcastically.

'Thanks for making me look even more uncool.'

Behind Jaya, four more figures approached- A guy and three girls—all dressed in the same black combat uniforms as Kai, however, it looked more pristine than Kai's own.

The dark fabric clung snugly to their bodies, designed for flexibility and stealth. This was Kai's Seeker team.

Seeker teams, typically consisted of six to twelve members. The Sorcery Association never assigned solo missions to Seekers; they were too weak for that. Their strength lay in numbers, not individual prowess.

Not that Kai cared much for his team. It wasn't that they were particularly annoying—well, aside from Jaya, who always seemed to find a way to make him look uncool—it was just that Kai wasn't the social type.

He preferred being the lone wolf, the brooding cool guy in the shadows like most manga main characters, especially when it came to the ladies.

'Not that it's working.' Kai thought grimly.

The girls always found his demeanor weird instead of mysterious.

Jaya laughed, clapping Kai on the shoulder. "You can just say you're broke, you know. We've all been there once."

Kai gritted his teeth.

'Bastard....' he thought,

'did he have to say that out loud?'

It was true, though. Most Seekers were decently paid, especially Kai's group, which was among the top-performing teams. But Kai? No, he was always scraping by, living a scruffy life that he hated.

No matter how hard he tried to look presentable, the girls always gave him that same disdainful look- the same look they had on their faces right now.

It's not like he had done anything wrong, well, besides being caught glancing at the girls bosoms and backsides and his usual pervy mutters about his female teammate, he was a pretty decent guy...sorta.

As if on cue, Alisson—a blonde with a stunning figure and a radiant smile among the girls— glanced his way.

Her beauty was almost angelic, and her big blue eyes often caught Kai's attention, much to his frustration.

His eyes caught sight of her beauty at first, but as always, he stole a quick glance at her slightly protruding bosoms, making sure that she couldn't follow his eye movements. What a pro he was.

'Dang...she's my type.' Kai thought wistfully.

But he never dared make a move. Why would she even give him the time of day? He was poor, weak, and had nothing to offer.

"Hey, Kai."

The deep, steady voice of Muri, the last male member of their group, cut through Kai's thoughts. The tall, muscular sorcerer stretched out his hand in greeting, exuding an air of calm confidence.

"It's good to see you again."

Kai, slightly hesitant, shook Muri's hand reluctantly.

"Good to see you too," he said.

Inwardly, Kai couldn't help but compare himself to Muri. The guy was attractive, strong, and respected, and ofcourse, he was well paid.

'If only he were in a different group.' Kai thought bitterly,

'maybe I'd have a chance with the girls.'

As the group chatted among themselves, Muri's expression suddenly shifted. His brows furrowed, and his gaze fixed on the ominous house ahead.

"You feel that too, don't you?" Muri asked, his voice low.

Kai blinked, momentarily confused.

"Huh?"

Muri nodded toward the house.

"That aura... it's not normal for a seeker class."

Kai frowned.

"Yeah," he admitted reluctantly.

Muri added grimly. "Maybe Vanguard. Maybe more."

Kai's stomach twisted uneasily. The Sorcery Association didn't make mistakes when assigning threat levels—or so he hoped. In all his life he had never heard of such a thing, so that'd mean he should put his trust to the associate, right?

Still, if anyone could handle this mission, it was Muri.

'He's pretty strong...and he's survived battles against Vanguard-class threats before. If things went south, Muri would be our best chance of survival, so atleast he's here.'

Kai's thoughts however were cut short by Muri as he offered .

"You know, you can sit this one out if you want."

"Since I'm the team leader, I can write in the report that you participated. You'll still get paid, but you wont have to be at risk."

Kai's jaw clenched.

In truth, this was the best thing that could have happened to Kai at this point. Getting paid without risking his life. It'd be like hitting the jackpot. But... he couldn't, it was just too, cowardly.

'What an insult!' he thought angrily.

'I have a seeker license, damn it. I'm qualified to be here. I can do this job just as good as he can.'

Outwardly, Kai forced a calm tone as a reply.

"There's no need to worry about me Muri-San. I'm not going to be a deadweight, not with the new secret weapon I've got."

"Secret weapon? Neat. Do you mind sharing what it is?" Muri asked?

There was no secret weapon.

"It wouldn't be a secret weapon if I showed you now, would it? So, you should watch out for yourself."

Muri raised an amused brow, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Glad to hear that." he said cheerfully.

"If you're sure, then let's do this."

Kai fumed inwardly.

'What a jerk. He just wants to make me look weak. I'm sure that's why all the girls don't want anything to do with me.'

That wasn't the reason, obviously.

Muri turned to the group, gesturing at them to come forward.

"Let's get moving. The sooner we're done, the better."

And so, they proceeded forwarded.

The girls walked past Kai without so much as a glance, their laughter fading into the distance, without a single greeting to their fellow comrade.

Except for Alisson.

She paused, turning back to him with a gentle smile.

"Good luck, Kai." she said softly.

"I hope I see you after this."

Kai's heart skipped a beat.

'Is she talking to me?'

This was quite the shock. For the past few months, he had always been the one stealing glances at her, and making a fool out of himself while trying to impress her. He had never actually tried to talk to her, let alone been this close with her.

'Be cool.' he told himself desperately.

'Be cool.'

"Thanks," he said aloud, managing a faint smile.

"I hope to see you too."

Alisson's smile widened before she rejoined her friends.

Kai stood there, stunned.

'She actually talked to me?!'

A surge of confidence bloomed within him.

'I knew doing those squats and push ups would finally pay off.' he thought triumphantly.

'Maybe she finds me attractive, or am I just overreacting? I mean, she did seem like she genuinely wanted to see me survive. That's a green light...right? Nahh, I'm overreacting. Or am I underreacting?'

Glancing at his hands for quite a moment, Kai clenched them into fists.

'I'm about to risk my life again... right after getting a love confession from my crush. ' he realized grimly.

But now, he had motivation. A girl, Alisson, his angel, had noticed him.

'If I survive this mission.' he thought determinedly,

'I'm going to ask her out.'

Taking a deep breath, Kai squared his shoulders.

"No...not "if"...When I slay this beast," he whispered as his face began to fluster, following his team behind as they approached the mysterious house.

"I'm gonna grow some balls and ask Alisson out."