The Lonely Hunter

Chapter 9: On The Run

Dontrelle went back to his home located in San Roque. After he arrived, he was greeted by an unpleasantness from the air telling him that there was danger up ahead. Though the feeling of uneasiness made him nauseous, he steadily walked towards the his office. There he saw an elegant woman wearing a crop top and skinny jeans that shaped his curvy hips and bum. She had a blonde hair and her black sunglasses covered her eyes. She was sitting comfortably in Dontrelle's chair and she smiled at him as if to say she was happy of his arrival. 

"Jennifer, what are you doing here? Don't you have other business to attend to?" Dontrelle spoke to her in a voice clad in anger. Jennifer Lincoln, the third eldest of the 4 siblings is B-rank Assassin type hunter, she specialized in combos and fast and powerful attacks which with the purpose of killing the target before they could react. She hails in America and is one of the elite members of the Reapers Guild which is the top 9 guild globally. She is also the reason why Dontrelle had no friends ever since he was young. She wanted Dontrelle to live lonely forever and those who tried to befriend him would end up dead or would live a hellish life. Dontrelle hated every inch of her being and seeing her here only meant danger for anyone near him. 

"Is that how you talk to your elder sister, my cute little brother~? Aren't you happy that I'm here~?" She said in a soft tone as she gave a face of a sympathetic puppy. 

"Don't f**k with me! State your business and get out of here!" Dontrelle shout at her in deep hatred. Dontrelle was furious at her but he couldn't help but swallow his nervous saliva.

"I like that look on your face! You know I just want you to live an agonizing life and seeing that your comfortably living in this cheap country, I just want to destroy everything that you own but I can't do that, since your being protected by that trash guild of your loving brother. Well, I was just here to check on you brother if your doing well and since there seems to be no problem at all, I'll take my leave" Jennifer said revealing a grin. She stood up from her seat and got out of the office. She halted at the door and slightly moved her sunglasses down to show her blue eyes glowing in a purple murderous aura that seems to gaze at Dontrelle's soul.

"Oh! before that little brother, I recommend not going to Mabundok Shelter for a while, well you know what I mean." After she said her goodbyes, she dissipated in the air leaving Dontrelle drenched in his own sweat.

'Does she already know about Kal!? Sh*t this is bad! I need to contact him quickly!' Dontrelle immediately grabbed his phone and tried to contact Kal.

Meanwhile, Kal had just went back to his apartment in a very good mood. With the new contract he had, he could finally undergo a reawakening tomorrow. With the 2 million pesos (100K USD)  transferred to his bank account given to him by Dontrelle as a sign of their agreement, and the mana stones he obtained from the greywolves, he felt like he could buy anything he wanted. He returned back to his apartment where he immediately fulfilled his promise to the landlady and gave her the payment for his rent and an advanced payment at that. 

"Hmm~ I should order some food at Jollibee- no, let's order food in an expensive restaurant to celebrate!" He grabbed his phone and was ready to order but then a call rang and prompted him from making an order. The call was from Dontrelle so he immediately answered the phone.

"Good evening boss- I mean brother, what can I do to you today?"

"Your life is in danger" 

"Eh? Why, come one brother, let's not joke about stuff like that."

"Just trust me when I say so. Pack your bags immediately and ride a transportation to Dipolog,  stay there for the meantime."

"I-i don't understand what you're saying, who's after my life?" 

"I'll explain it you later, I already called a private shuttle to get you. When you arrive at Dipolog, one of my staffs will give you an envelope and inside will be some stuff you'll be needing"

"O-okay."

"~~~"

 Dontrelle hung up his phone and Kal was left dumbfounded. Though he was confused at the occurring events, he had to do as what he was ordered because it was written at the contract. He grabbed some necessities with him and most of the valuables was placed in his spatial inventory for safety. 

'Who the hell is trying to kill me? Is this some sort of test he's making for me? But he sounded genuinely serious from the tone of his voice, someone might really be threatening my life but who could it be?' He thought to himself. It didn't take long for the space shuttle to arrive in the front of the apartment where 5 men in suits got out and assisted Kal to the shuttle and they left with haste. Hundreds of year ago, space shuttles were only limited to space exploration and only the high officials had the power to use it, it wasn't a vehicle used for short travels since the earth that time was still it's normal size. But because of the expanding size of the earth, most of the geographical landmarks had drastically change and increase in size. Many of the lands doubled in size, some even tripled or quadrupled so basic transportation like airplanes would have to travel long distances to reach their destinations.

Because of the new profound material call mana, humanity could make dozens of space shuttles because the energy generated from mana made it possible to make fast and efficient transportations. Still space shuttles where considered expensive so only those rich households could acquire one but most people today could now afford private planes and helicopters because they were now considered cheap. 

'For Dontrelle to let me ride his shuttle, he must really be dead serious about this. I don't know who this person might be, but I have to be wary of who it may be.' Kal gulped in thought. They arrived at Cebu in just 3 minutes and their, Kal was greeted by mysterious hooded man gesturing him to go inside his car and gave him a white envelope.

"I'll drive you to Iron shelter and you'll be guided by another person who will assist you at where you will stay, you can only open that envelope after you entered the premises." The mysterious man said to Kal.

"Can you tell me who's the person coming for my life? I can't just blindly follow what you say without knowing what's  happening." Kal responded to the man.

"I am only doing what I am ordered to do, all I know is that all of this is for your safety." He said in a cold tone.

"..." Kal didn't responded because he knows that he won't get any information from him. Shortly, they arrive at Iron Shelter where another person assisted Kal to a rental apartment. He was given the keys for the apartment and left without saying a word. Kal didn't bother to ask the person and entered the apartment. The apartment was ten times the size of his old one and it had its own kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living room and even library and training hall.

"Damn, this is huge! So this is what a son of tycoon- no a tycoon is capable of!" Kal exclaimed in amazement, he wanted to immediately explore the rooms but there was no time to relax, he opened the envelope and found two items, one which was a black card that had gold engravings on it and the other one was a small metal chip that had a red button on the center. 

"Hmm? What's this?" He said to himself as he inspected the chip, seeing that there was nothing odd about it, he pressed the red button on the chip and a bright light beamed in the air that formed a rectangular holographic panel. Unlike the system's window panel, this one was a bit blurry and pixelated. A video recording was then played in the panel showing Dontrelle sitting on his seat with a worried look.

"Hey Kal, you must be wondering to what is happening right now. What I said that you're in danger is all true, There's an B-rank hunter that may be devising a wicked plan or at worse, would be pursuing you now. This hunter specializes in assassination and will try and find any chances to kill you before you could defend the incoming ambush."

"So, it must be a test."

"This is not a test if that's what your thinking. The hunter's identity is my sister, Jennifer Lincoln. She is a ruthless hunter that enjoys killing people more than killing monsters. She also hated my very existence that if without my brother's protection, I could've already died a long time ago. She can't touch me here in this country but she will kill anyone that wants to approach and befriend me that's why I never had a single friend ever since I was young. You were an exception, you saved my life and I wanted you to be secretly friends with you. I wanted to explain it to you tomorrow but I didn't expect her to go in the Philippines to check on me."

"..."

"She probably already knows that I made connections with someone here but she still don't know who it is. Just avoid any female with blonde hair, with a very curvy and slender body. There's a high chance it may be her or to be more safe, just avoid the people you'll encounter that may look suspicious. That black card will give you anthing you need in your stay, just show it to the shelter master, he's my friend and tell him it came from me.~~~"

"Was it a bad decision to be affiliated with Dontrelle? No, he saved my life and gave me better life, I shouldn't think like that. His relationship with his sister must have been very bad. What sort of grudge does she have for his brother to make him suffer like this?" He thought to himself feeling sympathetic to Dontrelle but Kal wasn't someone to dig in to other people's personal life.

"I'll do what he tells me and think of it later." He said. After the video recording ended, Kal crumpled the chip into scraps and dispose it away. He was shocked knowing that a powerful hunter was coming or his head but he maintained a cool head.

"His sister still doesn't know my identity so I shouldn't be so worried, for now, let's go to the shelter master first, he might be able to help me." Kal relieved himself. He left his apartment and went to the shelter hall, though he was being watch as he traveled to the hall, those spectators eyes had came from hunters who was secretly guarding Kal.

It didn't take long for him to arrive at the hall since it was placed at the center of the shelter and stood out to all the rest of the buildings. There he saw a man in his mid-30s waiting for him in the main entrance. He had sleek black hair, deep brown eyes, he wore a gentle expression I his face that made him look like your average uncle if not with his built physique that bulged from his tight vest. He wield a long rapier that was placed in a sheath on his waste and he wore a white silk glove on both hands that made him look like a stereotypical butler when in reality, butlers don't wear any sort of gloves.

"I presume you are Kal right? My name is Dante Gulapa, the master of Iron shelter. It's nice to meet you." He formally greeted Kal revealing a gentle smile in his face. 

"Dante Gulapa?! Are you the renowned B-rank hunter who possess the ego weapon "Eagle Rapier"!?" Kal exclaimed in awe. Ego weapons where weapons that can be exclusively obtained in dungeons. What makes ego weapons special is that it can only be wielded by the owner it chooses, if a person who isn't chosen tries to use the ego weapon, the weapon's power wouldn't activate and you'd just be holding a scrap metal. What makes it more special is that every ego weapon has higher damage output than those crafted weapons with the same rank, they also contain a unique skill that's exclusive for the owner only. Normally, weapons would worn out and would lose its sharpness and durability after long-term uses and you would have to pay a blacksmith to repair it's durability but Ego weapons don't worn out, they could regenerate their durability back by absorbing a bit of the owner's mana which not only saves you hassle of repairing it from time to time, you wouldn't need a single penny to pay for repairs! (Kal prioritizes money first)

"Ohohoho! It seems you already know me, well I don't need to further introduce myself, come inside, let's have a chat." Dante said to Kal after they exchange their greetings. From the outside, it looked like a traditional Filipino town hall but the inside was surprisingly very modern. The walls where made of reinforced cement, the floor was tiled with marbles and the windows where made of wood painted steel with white window pane making it hard for the naked eye to see through the windows.

"Let's chat here." We entered Dante's office room and offered him tea. Both of them sat on the sofa facing each other as they awkwardly fell silent while sipping their tea.

"Don't be afraid, this room has been placed with a soundproof spell so anything you say will not get out from here." Dante reassured Kal who was uncomfortable with the current situation,

'He must really be scared knowing that someone is after him.' Dante looked at Kal with pity and continued to drink his tea.

"Well, I'll ask the question first. Do you know why you are here right now?" Dante asked Kal who responded immediately to his question.

"I'm not really sure, he only told me to give this to you." Kal handed the black card to Dante who quickly recognized the black card due to the slight flinch of his body,

"Now I understand why he brought you here to me. Kal from now on, you'll become our guest of honor, we will be assisting you with anything you will be needing. And starting today, I will be your instructor, I will be intensively training you and will also assist you with your reawakening so it's a pleasure serving you." Dante bowed down in a 90 degree angle to show his utmost respect to Kal.

"Eh? Please stood up sir, I can't have a powerful hunter bowing down for me!" Kal exclaimed. 

'I didn't know that's the power of the black card, to think that I'd get proper training from a real master' Kal gleamed in excitement. He wanted to jump in joy and celebrate but a man suddenly rushed into the door of the office room. He was profusely sweating and a pale expression in his face as if he had just saw a ghost.

"S-sir, sh-she's here and she brought a few hunters with him, I there are 10 of them and I think they're D and C-ranked hunters. What should we do?" The man said as he tremble in fear.

"Let's go greet them, Kal, stay behind me, I'll protect you." Dante said with a serious tone,

"Is it her? How did she manage to reach this place that fast?" Kal asked.

"I don't know but I can't leave you here to hide, I'm sure there's already a hunter waiting to sneak inside so it's better for you to be I my side for safety. When we greet hee, just act casually as if your just my guest who's here for some other business. All you have to do is act confused and I'll do the talking." Dante respond to Kal.

"Okay..."