An unusual beginning

"This is your house, Leader?" Xion asked with an unsure tone.

"Yeah, so what?" Sean shot Xion a glare, as if to say, got a problem with it?

"Ah, no! I mean... it's nice! Cute and compact!" Xion quickly added, trying to pass it off as a compliment—though to Sean, it didn't sound much like one.

Sean opened the door to his house. Inside, the others were greeted by a surprisingly clean interior. Trophies lined the shelves, and the furnishings were minimal: a small wardrobe, a foldable bed, a simple table.

The entire guild froze at the sight.

They hadn't expected Sean to live in a place like this. A few of them silently thought they should've found him sooner.

"You really live here, Leader?" Zane asked, his voice hesitant—perhaps even a little too honest.

"Of course. Where else do you think I live?" Sean replied dryly as he started packing his trophies into cardboard boxes.

"No, forget it…" Zane murmured and bent down to help, gently placing some of Sean's clothes into a box.

Soon, everyone joined in.

As they finished, a moment of silence fell upon them. Sean's belongings—all his necessities—fit into a single small box. The other two were filled with trophies. That was all.

The moving process was done quickly. Sean neatly arranged his things in his new room at the guild headquarters.

"Ryn, Kael, take Sean to the mall. He needs supplies."

"I'll head out with Xion to announce that the recruitment is officially closed and deal with other matters," Zane said smoothly, earning nods from the others.

"No need. My stuff's still good. I don't—"

"Let's go, Leader!" Kael interrupted cheerfully, grabbing Sean's wrist and dragging him out mid-sentence.

---

Sean stood stiffly in the middle of the mall, unsure of what to do.

He had never been to a place like this before. Growing up, this kind of life had been far beyond his means. Now, he was surrounded by dazzling storefronts, and he didn't know how to react.

"Ooh! That one looks good!"

Kael excitedly dragged him into a trendy men's clothing store. Ryn followed close behind.

"Look at this one! Cool, right, Leader?" Kael held up a black-and-white outfit with an elegant design.

"Yeah... it's nice," Sean admitted. He genuinely liked it—until he glanced at the price tag.

70,000 wolt?!

He screamed internally. That was more than four months of his salary.

"Do you like it? Great! Try this too," Ryn said, already picking out another outfit.

"Nice, huh?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Kael! Grab this one too. And that. And that one over there—oh, and this!" Ryn moved like a whirlwind, piling up outfit after outfit with impeccable taste.

"Hey! That's too much! These are definitely expensive!" Sean protested, but Ryn was already deep in discussion with Kael over matching accessories.

"Are you even listening to me?!"

"All done!" Kael grinned, holding up a tower of neatly chosen clothes—at least twenty outfits.

"All of these suit you, Leader," Ryn said proudly.

"That's way too many!" Sean shouted, overwhelmed.

"You only had four sets of clothes, remember?" Kael pointed out, as if that justified the shopping spree.

"So what if I had only fo—"

"Let's pay. We've got more places to go," Ryn cut him off, dragging Kael toward the cashier.

"Ugh!" Sean sighed, holding his head in frustration. But despite himself, he followed the two fashion maniacs.

"We'll take these, please," Kael said, placing the entire stack on the counter.

"Of course. One moment, please," the cashier replied with a polite smile.

A few minutes later...

"Your total comes to 8.3 million wolt. Will that be cash or card?"

Sean froze. His soul almost left his body.

He frantically pulled out the check he'd received the other day, but Ryn stopped him.

"Card, please. And we'll have the items delivered to our headquarters. We'll cover the extra fee," Kael said smoothly, handing over his credit card.

"Understood. Your items will arrive within the hour."

Still dazed, Sean timidly offered the check to Kael.

"I... I can't pay you back yet. This is all I have..."

Kael simply smiled and gently pushed Sean out of the store.

"Don't worry about it. It's all free, Leader. Now, what else do we need?"

"Shoes, bags, hats... hmm, what else?" Ryn chimed in with excitement.

"Ooh, how about that shop next?" Kael smiled, then gently guided Sean toward another store.

"Wait! That one's expensive! Let's find a cheaper one!" Sean tried to resist, bracing his feet against the floor.

Kael ignored him.

At the shoe store, Kael immediately picked out a pair of elegant grey-black shoes.

"Try these on, Leader!" he said, offering them eagerly.

"No way. Those are definitely—"

"Come on, they'll fit!" Kael knelt down, about to help Sean put them on.

"I can do it myself!" Sean said quickly, snatching the shoes and putting them on.

To his surprise, they fit perfectly.

"Whoa! You look awesome in those, Leader!" Ryn cheered.

"We'll take these," Kael told the clerk.

"That pair is 1 million wolt, sir."

Sean went rigid again.

"We'll take a few more in the same size, but with different elegant designs," Kael added casually.

"One million wolt..."

"AAAAAAGGHH!!"

A scream erupted from outside, drawing everyone's attention.

People started running toward the back of the mall. The three of them, curious, hurried out to see what had happened.

"Cracks?! A rift?!" Ryn gasped.

Out of a glowing fissure in the air came monsters—giant bear-like beasts with tentacle legs, werewolves, and smaller creatures swarming the area.

Without hesitation, Sean pulled a small dagger from his pocket and dashed into the fray, targeting the wolves.

Kael followed, his body glowing with a golden aura. He raised a hand—

Fwoooosh!

A massive flame erupted, scorching half the monsters in an instant.

Ryn joined in, raising her hand in a graceful motion like drawing a bow. Her body glowed with a mix of purple and blue energy. As she released her shot, hundreds of energy arrows followed, obliterating the remaining monsters.

Sean stood frozen.

Now he'd seen it with his own eyes—the true power of S-rank hunters.

"It's them... Shadow. I can't believe I'm seeing them in person..."

"Wow, they're even stronger than the rumors!"

"Amazing!"

"I got it on camera!"

Voices erupted around them. Civilians had gathered, filming the aftermath in awe.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?! GET OUT OF HERE! THE RIFT IS STILL OPEN!" Ryn shouted angrily at the crowd.

"But you already beat the monsters..." someone muttered, sounding unimpressed.

Ryn's anger flared.

"THE RIFT WON'T CLOSE UNTIL THE BOSS IS DEFEATED! THIS ISN'T OVER—GO, NOW!!" she screamed, panic creeping into her voice.

Her eyes locked onto the center of the rift—and what she saw made her blood run cold.

That monster... it was the same one from Floor 79.

If that was the boss, then everyone here was in danger.