Officially A Hunter

Hannes turned and walked out of the training ground without another word, and the group of applicants followed him down a long, white corridor that led back towards the main lobby. 

Varian was muttering to himself about impossible results, while the other applicants kept a wide distance from both Nora and Luthra.

Nora, who was walking with her two escorts, suddenly quickened her pace, leaving her guards behind as she came to walk directly beside Luthra.

"Hello, brother."

Luthra glanced at her for a moment before looking forward again, his hands in his pockets.

"Nora. What can I help you with?"

'Tch, here it comes. The family lecture. She always was father's favorite little mouthpiece.'

"What was that, just now? In the assessment room. How did you break all of that equipment?"

"I just hit it."

"Do not play games with me. That is not a strength a normal person can possess. You have no mana, so that kind of power is impossible. Explain yourself."

'Explain? Why should I? It's none of her business.'

"I trained."

Nora stopped walking for a second, causing the people behind her to halt awkwardly. She then hurried to catch up again, her voice lower this time.

"Do not lie to me. Father disowned you. You are no longer a Lurius. What are you doing here, wearing those clothes and making a scene? Are you trying to bring shame to our family name?"

"I don't have that name anymore, remember? So whatever I do has nothing to do with you or the family."

Varian, who was walking a few paces behind them, overheard the exchange. His eyes went wide, and he almost tripped over his own feet.

'Brother? That peasant is the brother of Lady Nora Lurius?! But he has no mana… he must be the legendary defective! The one they threw out! So the rumors were true!'

Nora's words were sharp and quick.

"Even so, your face is still connected to us. Your very existence is a stain. I am warning you, Luthra. Do not do anything to tarnish the honor of the House of Lurius. If you cause any problems for us, I will personally deal with you."

Luthra just let out a small sigh.

"Okay, I get it. Is that all?"

They reached the end of the corridor and stepped back into the bustling main lobby of the Association. Hannes was already standing by the counter, waiting for them impatiently.

"Alright, line up. Let's get your final registrations done so I can finally go to lunch."

Nora gave Luthra one last look before she turned away, walking back to her escorts with a rigid posture. He just ignored her and walked towards the counter, ready to get this over with. He had more important things to worry about, like the 50,000 credits he just lost.

The cashier at the counter, a different man this time, began processing the new hunters one by one, handing them their official license cards.

"Varian Astel, E-2. Nora Lurius, provisional E-8. Congratulations."

When it was Luthra's turn, the cashier looked at the data Hannes handed him, then back at Luthra with a confused expression.

"Luthra… your rank is… blank."

"Yes."

"I... don't think that's possible. There must be a mistake in the system."

Hannes, the examiner, leaned over the counter. "There is no mistake. That is his rank. Or lack of one. Just print the card. I have a reservation."

The cashier, looking very troubled, typed a few commands into his terminal. A machine next to him spat out a plastic card. He picked it up and held it as if it were contaminated.

"Here you go. Your official hunter's license."

Luthra took the card. It was a standard license, but in the space where a large letter and number should be, there was just an empty white box.

[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION] 

[Official Hunter Status has been confirmed.] 

[Rank: Unranked.] 

[Due to your unique status, a new feature has been unlocked: The Unranked Shop.]

'The Unranked Shop? What is this, some kind of pity prize for failing the quest?'

"Hey, system. Explain this shop."

[The Unranked Shop is a special marketplace accessible only to you. It uses a unique currency called Negative Points (NP), which are acquired by completing hidden objectives and exceeding the system's expectations.]

"And what can I buy with these points?"

[The shop contains items, skills, and information that exist outside the rules of this world. They are provided by my co-creator, the 'friend from another universe'.]

'So it's a cheat shop. I guess that could be useful. How many points do I have?'

[Current Negative Points: 0 NP.]

'Of course.'

He put the license in his pocket and turned to leave the Association building. He had wasted enough time here. Now he needed to figure out a way to make money again. An Unranked hunter probably couldn't even accept F-rank quests.

He walked toward the massive digital quest board that covered most of the far wall.

'Tch, a 50,000 credit fine. What a complete waste of time. I need to make that money back, and fast.'

From across the lobby, standing near the main entrance, Nora watched him go. Her two escorts stood silently behind her, waiting for her command.

'He is actually trying to take a quest. That defective… does he have no shame at all? An Unranked hunter with the face of our family. This is an unacceptable disgrace. I must inform Father about this immediately. He will know how to handle this stain on our honor.'

She turned around with a sharp, precise motion.

"We are leaving."

"Yes, my lady."

Her escorts followed her out of the building and into the waiting black sedan, which quickly pulled away from the curb and disappeared into the city traffic.

Back inside, Luthra stood in front of the giant quest board. It was a chaotic mess of scrolling text, displaying missions that ranged from F-Rank goblin nest cleanups to D-Rank monster subjugations. He found the terminal at the side of the board and placed his new license onto the scanner.

A red light flashed on the screen, accompanied by a harsh, buzzing sound.

[ACCESS DENIED: INSUFFICIENT RANK]

A hunter standing nearby, a large man with an axe strapped to his back, laughed out loud.

"Hah! Look at that, the board won't even talk to you. What did you expect, blank-rank? That it would offer you a quest to go polish a slime's core?"

Luthra ignored him completely and took his license back.

'So, the official quest board is useless. This is a problem. No quests means no money, and no money means no food. This is an inefficient system.'

He turned away from the quest board and walked toward the massive main doors of the Association headquarters.

The axe-wielding hunter scoffed, "That is right, run away with your tail between your legs, blank-rank! Go back to whatever sewer you crawled out of!"

Luthra did not stop or look back, he just walked out of the building and into the bustling city streets, leaving the man to his own pointless noise. He knew what he had to do next. If the Association would not give him a monster to hunt, he would just go find one himself.