Kael separated Kyle's clothes and pushed against the rectangular section of the wall. As he suspected, it was a hidden compartment.
It seemed that Kyle had fallen in with the wrong crowd of hunters. He must have been using his allowance to buy weapons and equipment with slightly enhanced attributes.
What lies had they fed to these clueless kids like his nephew?
At first glance, the items looked strong. Their stats weren't bad. But upon closer inspection, another magic item had been used to alter the real ratings of the equipment.
For example, the excessively shiny sword soaked in an E - rank monster's hide. The seller must have cast a simple charm spell on it so that any hunter who laid eyes on it would immediately want to buy it.
This trick was common and extremely underhanded. Experienced hunters despised those who used such deception. But novice hunters fell for it every time.
Kael placed the sword back and stepped away.
He created an invisible barrier around the hidden closet, isolating it from the normal timeline. Then he activated his skill, rewinding time within the confined space. He stopped at the exact hour when the weapon Kyle had brought into the C - grade dungeon was still inside the closet.
The original item had already been destroyed. The one he now held was merely a weapon from the past, existing only within the barrier he had created.
Kael's eyes swept across it until he noticed something.
An insignia.
When a guild crafted a weapon, they always engraved their insignia on it. Only their members could normally wield such weapons.
The insignia on the sword depicted a single tree.
Forest Guild.
Forest Guild was a small guild, much like the Purple Guild. They were based in Mane City, right beside Mandel City.
Kael didn't have much information about them, except that their Guild Master had resigned last month and handed control over to become a subcontractor under The Watcher's Guild.
Kael glanced at the time and confirmed he only had one hour left. Investigating the teenager's room did not present any clues.
With a snap of his fingers, he dissolved the barrier. He carefully erased any trace of his presence in the house before leaving.
He should also get the names of the other high schoolers who entered the dungeon with Kyle and investigate them as well.
Normally, any cases pointed toward The Watcher's Guild's involvement, Kael would immediately distance himself.
But this time was different.
His precious nephew had died.
If… if that man had anything to do with the boy's death...
Then he would not sit back and remain silent.
Kael left the street where his sister and her family lived. He found a ten storey commercial building and climbed to the roof. Overlooking the city, Kael activated his skill. Golden ray of light started to spread.
Within the next few seconds, Kael watched as townhouses, buildings, streetlights, and roads restored themselves. It took less than five minutes for the entire eleven kilometer radius to return to its state before the explosion.
Kael remote controlled his car until it appeared at the ground floor. After thirty minutes, he arrived at the military barricade.
He sent a message to his guild informing them that the restoration was complete before speaking privately with Sergeant Daniel.
"It's done. You may enter and do a final check up on the area before you let the locals in," he instructed.
"Thank you for your continued efforts, Hunter Clyde!" Sergeant Daniel saluted.
Kael nodded and turned away.
He didn't want to linger, especially with reporters approaching. By the time they reached Sergeant Daniel, Kael had already driven off.
"Was that the hunter responsible for restoring the area?" One of them asked. They keep trying to look in the direction where Kael disappeared from even though he's no longer there.
"Yes," Sergeant Daniel replied.
He ordered his troops to form five-man teams before entering the previously barricaded area for a final inspection.
Everyone knew Hunter Clyde had done an excellent job. The final inspection is only for compliances.
It didn't take long before Sergeant Daniel received confirmation from his troops that the restoration had been completed flawlessly.
The area was safe for residents to return.
The townspeople who had camped near the military barricade cheered. They gathered their belongings and reentered the city once the remaining troops lifted the barriers.
Soon, news spread that the explosion-damaged town had been perfectly restored. Reporters conducted live broadcasts, assessing the buildings, roads, and townhouses.
They interviewed residents for feedback.
Everyone claimed their homes looked exactly as they had left them. Some even said the explosion had been a strange blessing.
Their houses had previously developed cracks from wear and earthquakes. But the restoration had erased them completely. Even peeling paint had been restored, as if freshly applied.
The reporters grew curious and asked one resident to show proof of the cracks she mentioned.
The woman readily presented a video she had taken a month earlier. It showed a large crack running along the side of her house. She had recorded it to send to a renovation company for repair estimates.
Now, she realized she had saved money as the crack was gone.
Her testimony sparked praise and curiosity online. Soon, internet users began asking who the hunter responsible for the restoration was.
The reporters also visited North Cross Street and confirmed that the area looked exactly as it had before.
During the live broadcast, a netizen commented with a video.
It was a video recording of the street in North Cross Street.
The reporter was speaking when one of her colleagues handed her a phone, showing her the clip.
She paused mid-sentence and stared at the screen, then at the road in front of her.
"Sneakpeeker121," she read aloud, "when did you record this video? Your footage shows a hole in the lower right corner of the gate beside National Hunter Kael Solace's house. But we're standing here now, and that hole doesn't exist."
The netizen replied almost immediately.
"This was taken a week ago during our class field trip to Mandel City."