Currently, S-Class Hunter Ezekiel is raiding dungeons alone. His older brother, who is also the Guild Master of The Watcher's Guild, has urged him to join at least one team, but he refuses.
He prefers to raid dungeons alone, and this has been going on for months. The public theorizes that this behavior stems from the deaths of his comrades. Since then, he has functioned more as a backup for teams raiding dangerous dungeons.
Right after the ceremony, the Guild Master and the three members of the Purple Guild received warm gratitude from the locals and were burdened with gifts meant for the guild, especially for Hunter Clyde.
Ruby and the others wanted to leave after standing and smiling for three hours straight. But before they could escape, the Guild Master dragged them back to their base and forced them to carry the gifts inside and arrange them neatly.
"Sir Baldy, these gifts are all for Great Master."
"We shouldn't be keeping them here. We should send them to his house."
"What nonsense!" Luther scoffed. "These gifts will stay here. When he comes back, we'll take a picture of him standing in the center. Then we'll film him unwrapping each gift and thanking everyone. Don't you think that'll boost our popularity even more?"
Ruby and the other two exchanged glances before shaking their heads.
"I don't think Great Master Clyde will agree to that."
"You'd better give up on that promotional idea, Sir Baldy. Instead of gaining popularity, we might become a laughingstock."
"Bah! You all keep taking his side. Am I the Guild Master here, or is he?!"
Ruby and the others remained silent.
Hunter Luther scoffed in annoyance and began arranging the gifts himself.
"You're all so narrow-minded. We need to promote our guild if we want more members. Now that Clyde's reputation has skyrocketed, don't you think this is the perfect opportunity to recruit another hunter with similar abilities?"
"Are you trying to recruit someone else to torture, Sir Baldy?" Ruby shot back.
"No! I want another hunter with restoration skills so they can help him. Look at this, two dungeons in nearby areas exploded at the same time. That's too much of a coincidence. It's the first time this has happened in dungeon history, but I doubt it'll be the last."
"All the more reason to recruit more hunters with restoration skills, right?"
Ruby and the others fell silent.
Ruby and the others fell silent. They couldn't help but think that he is right. If there is one thing unique about dungeons is that, once there is something bizarre and new, it will stubbornly reoccur, whether the hunter population is ready or not.
Ruby, Theo, and Niel sighed and helped their Guild Master arrange the gifts. They had just finished when Michael burst into the room, shouting,
"Baldy! Baldy! Sir Baldy!"
Hunter Luther paused and frowned.
"What's gotten into you?"
Michael was in his early twenties, standing at 1.9 meters tall with a bulky build. He often flexed his tanned skin and toned muscles—especially his biceps—and took pride in his thin mustache.
But this time, his usual boastful expression had been replaced with nervousness.
"Someone's here to see you."
Hunter Luther's eyes lit up. "A new member? They want to join our guild?"
Michael shook his head. "No. They're from The Watcher's Guild."
The entire room fell silent.
"Did they say what they want?" Luther asked.
"They just said they want to speak with you."
Ruby, Michael, and the others exchanged uneasy looks.
Recently, The Watcher's Guild had been making aggressive moves. They had been contacting smaller guilds and offering them lucrative compensation to become subordinate guilds.
The most recent one they had absorbed was Forest Guild.
"Guild Master… do you think they want us to become one of their sub-guilds?" Niel asked quietly.
"Let's wait and see," Luther replied after a heavy sigh. "Everyone, inform Clyde that The Watcher's Guild is here. Tell him not to come to the guild base for the next few days."
"Tsk… I've got a bad feeling about this," Michael muttered.
Everyone watched as Luther left the room and followed Michael down the hallway to meet their visitors.
It didn't take long before curiosity consumed the rest of the members, and they trailed behind him.
When they reached the hallway, Luther froze.
Two men stood waiting.
One wore a crisp black suit, thick rimmed glasses, and slicked back hair. He wore white gloves and carried a black briefcase.
The other dressed casually in a jacket and jeans, as though he had just finished jogging and decided to stop by.
But he was strikingly handsome.
Tousled brown hair. Clear, cheerful green eyes.
When Luther met his gaze, he instinctively flinched.
Every instinct screamed at him to keep his distance.
This man was strong.
Too strong.
Even if every member of the Purple Guild stood together, they wouldn't stand a chance.
And there was something unsettling about his gaze, as if he could see through a person's soul and uncover their darkest secrets.
"W-Why are you here?" Luther stammered. Even Michael nearly gasped in shock.
They both recognized him.
The casually dressed man was none other than S-Class Hunter Ezekiel Blackwood, the younger brother of The Watcher's Guild Master.
"Hello, Hunter Kingswood. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
The man in glasses stepped forward, placing himself between them, and extended his hand.
"I'm Jason Cameron, Vice Guild Master of The Watcher's Guild."
Luther pulled himself together and accepted the man's outstretched hand.
"Nice to meet you Sir." Luther said quietly.
"Please, have a seat." Composing himself, he gestured for the two to sit down.
Luther was about to ask for Michael to get their guests some tea when he noticed that tea has already been served but left untouched.
"What can I do for you two?"
"We came here to do business with you." Jason crisply said.
"We know that the Purple Guild has only twenty members in total. With this small number of hunters, it was an amazing feat that you were able to support Mandel City."