Chapter Twelve: Time to Run

Carrying a simple small backpack, he returned to the residence of the Citadel Guerrilla Squad, where the other two roommates were already back.

Thanks to Jorda and Seabuckthorn having greeted them earlier, they showed no surprise at Oran’s arrival; if anything, they were quite warm in their welcome.

“Nuri, a two-star gunner.” Not particularly tall but very sturdy, a young man who looked to be around twenty extended his hand to shake his.

What surprised Oran a bit was that this gunner’s Citadel Guerrilla armor was bright red.

He had never seen guerrilla uniforms in the city with such coloring before. Could it have a special meaning?

Noticing the surprise in Oran’s eyes, the gunner named Nuri patted the weapon resting against the wall and explained with a smile: “My weapon isn’t suitable for use inside the city, and daily patrols aren’t my job either.

So the boss is a bit more lenient with us, allowing us to find craftsmen to dye our gear.

I’m a vanguard, and red attracts monsters’ attention best, so I dyed it this color.”

Oran nodded in understanding and simply introduced himself, “Oran, a one-star hunter. I look forward to learning from you all.”

“No problem!”

The reply came from the other occupant, who looked younger, about eighteen or nineteen, wearing a standard-colored archer’s armor.

Oran’s gaze swept the room and indeed spotted a heavy crossbow lying on one of the beds.

That man came over and shook Oran’s hand, “Asa, a one-star heavy crossbow user. By the way, can we not mention the ‘one-star’ part next time? Feels kinda embarrassing.”

Oran smiled; this heavy crossbow user seemed livelier than the gunner, though not quite as talkative as that merchant Karim.

“Nuri and Asa are brothers, meow,” Seabuckthorn said from his spot on the cushion, “though they don’t look alike at all, meow.”

Oran instinctively compared their features—one had a flat nose, the other a hooked nose; one had a square face, the other a pointed one. Indeed, they didn’t resemble each other much.

“Many people say that,” Nuri, the elder brother, said with a smile as he sat on his bed.

Asa shrugged, “We also have a younger sister who doesn’t look like us either. That’s great—otherwise, who would she marry in the future?

By the way... Oran, how old are you? You look so young.”

“Almost seventeen, in two months.”

Asa stuck out his tongue, “My goodness, a prodigy! You didn’t come from the Rocklak Hunter Training Camp, did you? Otherwise, we’d have heard of you.”

“No, I’ve been training under a master.”

“That’s awesome.” Asa flopped back onto the bed. “Neither my brother nor I have talents that make a great hunter want to take us as disciples at first sight.”

“Asa.” Nuri frowned and admonished him.

“Ah, sorry, sorry!” Asa sat up, clasping his hands. “My big mouth never thinks before it speaks.

Actually, the training camp is good. The instructors are strict but we learn a lot, and they introduced us to the Citadel Guerrilla Squad.

Haha, so in a way, we’re all on the same path!”

“Asa!”

“Sorry!” Asa raised both hands and said loudly, “My apologies come from the heart!”

...

Oran was somewhat speechless; this heavy crossbow user really had no filter. If he hadn’t sensed no ill intent, his words might have sounded like sarcasm.

“Alright, boss Jorda gave me a mission before, and I’m to take you two along to complete it. Little brother Oran, come take a look too,” Nuri hastily changed the subject, worried his silly brother would say something odd again.

“This mission is quite dangerous. Boss Jorda wants me to emphasize that participation is voluntary; don’t force yourselves. This isn’t a one-star level task.

If you choose not to go, he’ll assign someone more suitable.”

“Heh! You say that, but shouldn’t we go even more then?” Asa jumped up from the bed.

Oran didn’t respond immediately but joined Nuri, and the three of them, plus Seabuckthorn, huddled around the bed to read the crumpled mission document.

——

Hunting Mission: Creatures of the Desert Sands (★★)

Objective: Hunt 5 sand dragons

Location: Desert northwest of Rocklak

Duration: 7 days

Reward: 2000 z

Possible monsters: Sand Dragon King, Yellow Velocidrome, Sandfish

Citadel Guerrilla Squad Leader’s Note: Recently, a group of sand dragons migrated near Rocklak, severely disrupting trade routes to the northwest and causing casualties.

After evaluation, the guild has decided to hunt down this group.

Warning! Among the sand dragons is a Sand Dragon King, a foe beyond your capabilities. Other hunters will be assigned to hunt it. Your focus should be on reducing the number of sand dragons.

If the Sand Dragon King appears, retreat immediately to ensure your safety.

——

“A two-star mission?” Oran was puzzled. “Setting aside our own willingness, two one-star hunters participating in a two-star task—is this allowed by the guild?”

Nuri smiled and explained, “About that, I had some doubts too until boss Jorda explained it.

Roughly ten to twenty years ago, the continent was chaotic with frequent monster disturbances. The guild increased investment and eased some restrictions to accelerate strengthening forces.

At first, guild leaders could grant special privileges to hunters they favored.

For example, you’re a one-star hunter, but the Rocklak guild president believes you have potential, so he can stamp a hollow star on your notebook cover, like this.”

Nuri drew a star outline on the paper.

“This way, combined with the original rank star, it looks like two stars, right?”

He added a filled star next to the hollow one, drawing “★✰”.

“This is called a ‘half star’. Hunters with this mark, under the guidance of a senior, are allowed to join missions one level above their rank.

Like me being two-star, I can lead a ‘one-and-a-half-star’ hunter like you on two-star tasks.”

...

Oran, Asa, and Seabuckthorn nodded eagerly around Nuri’s bed, as if listening to a story.

“Later, the guild’s higher-ups realized that participating in slightly higher-level missions under a senior’s guidance, while risky, effectively accelerated young hunters’ growth.

There’s even a saying: ‘Learn to walk before you try to run,’ which many ambitious young hunters cherish.”

“That’s so true! I’m making that my motto!” Asa clapped excitedly.

Nuri gestured for his brother to be quiet and continued, “Nowadays, the ‘half star’ system has been abolished, replaced by an unwritten rule.

—— As long as the local guild permits, hunters can join missions one star above their rank under a senior’s leadership.

That’s why boss Jorda allowed me to take you two on this two-star mission.”

“Why have I never heard of this rule?” Asa asked.

“Me neither,” Oran added.

Nuri shrugged, “Because if anything goes wrong, the local guild that approved the mission will be held accountable by guild headquarters.

So from the local guild’s perspective, they naturally don’t promote this, and even if you apply for it, approval is unlikely.

I only found out because boss Jorda told me. He also asked me to remind you not to talk about it openly.”

The two nodded earnestly, as did the cat.

“So, will you join this mission? Again, voluntary—there’s risk, so don’t push yourselves.”

“Of course!” Asa answered promptly.

Oran thought more deeply.

Since it requires local guild approval, and boss Jorda said it didn’t count, someone higher up must have authorized it.

Who could it be? Not hard to guess.

The image of a mushroom-pig mount and a small mustached figure bounced through his mind.

“I’m going too.”

...

P.S. In the official lore (referring to the official novel), hunter ranks aren’t divided so finely.

(Actually, it varies across series; the original novel series featured ranks like knight, castle, queen, king—likely inspired by chess—which was also how early charm stone levels were classified.)

There are official stories about rookie hunters going after giant monsters and returning half-dead.

I initially wanted to write like that, but worried about logical and reasonable inconsistencies, so I devised this one-star to nine-star hunter ranking system.

But that system has a problem: if you just follow missions step by step to level up, you lose much of the thrill. You can’t have monster ambushes every time, can you?

So I painstakingly added a patch (covering face).