Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The opening of the Hunter Association had attracted the attention of everyone in Wissen Town, everyone discussing the unique new organization. Soon, the news of the rioting at the association had also spread throughout the entirety of Wissen Town. More and more people swarmed toward the meeting hall.

“Hmph, didn’t they claim to pay a thousand Purple Crystal Coins? They are a bunch of liars!”

“That’s right, how can they do this? They are too much. Don’t announce it if you have no money to pay!”

“Hehe, what Hunter Association? Just call it the Cheaters Association!”

…

The unsatisfied troops stank of alcohol as if each of them had just been fished out from a keg. They shouted loudly in their drunken stupor. With these troops inciting the crowd, the people who did not know the details of the incident began discussing it amongst themselves, their volume growing louder and louder. They pointed toward the widow and her child, getting increasingly agitated.

After signaling for Goode to calm down the angry crowd, Yang Ling ordered Orlando to lead a team of Bullmen in gray armor to secure the scene, then squatted down to examine Toria’s body more closely, hoping to discover the man’s cause of death.

Toria was a skinny man, with a sharp nose and sunken eyes. His skin was dark and taut, perhaps because he had been roaming in the wilderness all year round. According to the records of the Hunter Association, he had joined a small team of adventurers five years ago and had wandered around the southwest region of the Tailun Continent for that time. He had come to the resource-rich Wissen Town with his wife a year ago, prepared to stay here for good as it made it convenient for him to hunt in the nearby Terras Forest.

The results of his test showed that while Toria’s individual abilities were not great, he had vast experience when it came to hunting and was therefore graded as a two-star hunter. He had demonstrated exceptional performance in techniques such as tracking and setting up traps. If not for his lack of Battle Energy and Magical Energy, he would definitely have been rated as a three-star hunter.

Originally, the association had been prepared to focus its efforts on nurturing him. It was unthinkable that the lad had met with misfortune after only collecting his first mission.

After observing the corpse for some time, Yang Ling discovered that there were no wounds on Toria’s body. There was a small patch of red dots on his chest, but it did not seem that he had been poisoned. Other than the stench of alcohol coming from his body, there seemed to be nothing suspicious about his death.

“Could it be that he suddenly had a heart attack?” Doubtful, Yang Ling consoled Toria’s wife before getting her to slowly explain to him what had happened.

“This afternoon, Toria came back excitedly and said that he entered the Hunter Association and was rated as a two-star hunter. He said that he would be able to receive missions at any time!” Toria’s wife recounted what happened earlier that day.

After wiping the tears off her face, she continued, “Just as we were about to have our meal, Michael and the rest passed by our house and insisted they drink with him to celebrate the news. I did not expect a person to return just shortly after they left to say that Toria, he…”

Thinking about her husband who had left her forever, thinking about her still nursing child, Toria’s wife wept, tears spilling out of her eyes like a fountain. She allowed the cold snow to fall onto her uncovered neck as she hugged her child tightly.

“Hmph, bring Michael over!” Yang Ling let out a cold grunt as he looked at Toria’s body on the ground.

Even though Toria had a skinny build, he had toned muscles and an outstanding constitution, able to run around in the winter while wearing only a thin piece of clothing. If he did have a heart condition, there was no way he could run at high speeds in the forest, nor would he have been able to track agile prey. It was clear that there was some other reason for his death!

With the crowd pointing him out, Orlando soon captured Michael who was prepared to slip away. Yang Ling looked at him and discovered that Michael was one of the troops that were causing the commotion just now.

A clear conscience fears no accusation!

It was clear that this person had a guilty conscience since he was trying to escape.

“Sir, this has nothing to do with me, I merely got Toria to treat us to a few cups of wine!” Looking at Yang Ling’s grave expression, then seeing the fierce Bullmen warriors around him and their sharp, heavy axes, Michael became immensely fearful, his legs turning limp in an instant.

“Oh, was it as simple as a few glasses of wine?” Yang Ling let out a cold smile as he looked at the trembling Michael. He deliberated for a moment before whispering a few instructions into Orlando’s ear. Orlando nodded, then left on a fast horse straight for the bar in the town.

“The Magical Beast Territory is always clear about its rewards and punishments. Those that contribute to the development of the territory will receive medals or even the position of Earl over some land!” Looking at the tightly packed crowd around them, Yang Ling paused before saying, “But those who commit crimes in the territory will not be let off, no matter who they are! Those that deny their crimes are even more guilty!”

“Even more guilty!” Hearing Yang Ling say this, the already fearful Michael could not help but tremble, his legs turning limp as he almost fell onto the ground. After swallowing with difficulty, he said, “Sir, I, I’ll speak…”

Seeing Orlando leave quickly on his horse, Michael knew that he could not hide the truth from the intelligent Yang Ling much longer. He felt his skin crawl when he recalled Yang Ling’s powerful abilities and the fate of the Wind Troops. For the sake of his survival, all he could do was tell the truth.

As it turned out, Toria had loved to drink when he was alive, and he was on close terms with a few troops who frequented the bar all year round. Michael and the rest had insisted that he treat them to a few rounds of drinks after they heard that Toria had joined the Hunter Association and was rated as a two-star hunter.

Originally, they had just been teasing him and were prepared to drink a few glasses of wine with him. Unexpectedly, things took a turn when they reached the bar.

After realizing that Toria had joined the Hunter Association, some of the dissatisfied troops that had joined them in their celebration used the alcohol to alleviate the grievances in their hearts, forcing Toria to drink more and more. They brought out vat after vat of rum and willow wine. In fact, someone even brought out Stiff Whiskey.

Stiff Whiskey was the strongest alcohol on the Tailun Continent and was also called the Devil’s Wine. One could only drink a maximum of two ladles of it a day. Otherwise, should one ingest more than the recommended dosage, they would have difficulty breathing and could even die on the spot.

It was only after the tipsy Toria had unintentionally taken a large gulp of Stiff Whiskey and fallen motionless to the ground that the troops realized the dire situation. Unfortunately, it was too late!

After knowing that they had unintentionally made a grave mistake, a few of the smarter troops that were not too drunk snuck out through the back door of the bar. But, not only did the rest of the drunk troops not scatter, they instead carried Toria’s body to the Hunter Association and caused a commotion. They shouted in their drunken stupor, demanding that Kaluso immediately pay Toria’s wife a thousand Purple Crystal Coins immediately. They wanted to see the Hunter Association become a joke.

“Nonsense, there’s no such thing!”

“That’s right, who would be so stupid as to drink a large mouthful of Stiff Whiskey!”

…

The crowd was half in doubt when they heard Michael’s confession, all of them engaging in discussion. The drunk troops shuddered when they realized that Yang Ling’s soldiers were staring at them, instantly becoming more alert from their stupor. They defended themselves loudly, wanting to rush forward to stuff Michael’s big mouth shut.

But the truth always comes to light!

The people no longer had any doubts when Orlando brought over the wine bottle filled with Stiff Whiskey, John the bartender, and the other witnesses. There were now witnesses and physical evidence. The troops who had been defending themselves a moment ago now had nothing else to say, regret welling in their hearts. Originally, they had been prepared to see the Hunter Association become a joke. They did not expect to do something this foolish in their drunken stupor, bringing trouble onto themselves!

“A bunch of insolent drunkards, they dare try to extort the association?” Yang Ling let out a cold grunt after realizing what was going on, silently taking a few steps back as he shot a look back at Goode the tactician. Goode understood Yang Ling’s intentions and quickly stepped forward.

Goode acted quickly and assertively, ordering the soldiers to tie up the troops that had been causing trouble before flipping through the notice and Hunters Handbook, loudly reciting the standards and criteria one has to meet for them to be eligible for the compensation.

Long before they set up the Hunter Association, the group had already discussed ways of preventing someone from exploiting loopholes and deliberately cheating them of the compensation money in the meeting hall. They had written a detailed explanation of the rules in the Hunters Handbook.

Unfortunately, in their excitement, most people had only noticed the alluring compensation of a thousand Purple Crystal Coins on the notice but had not closely flipped through the relevant details recorded in the Hunters Handbook.

The Hunters Handbook strictly regulated the criteria that needed to be met for one to receive compensation, as well as outlined the system of contribution points.

Every mission a hunter completed after they joined the Hunter Association would grant them a corresponding number of contribution points. The number of contribution points they would be awarded varied depending on the difficulty of the mission. Even if they were not on missions issued by the association, hunters would also be awarded contribution points if the missions they undertook benefited the association or the territory.

Contribution points had no direct correlation with the level of the hunters. The longer a hunter has been in the association, the more missions he would have completed, and he naturally would have amassed more contribution points, making him eligible for better treatment and services from the association. A nine-star hunter that just joined the association might not have more contribution points to a one-star hunter who had been in the association for a few years.

One could not only enjoy a greater level of treatment or service after amassing enough contribution points, they would also have the chance to be awarded a medal by the leader. In fact, they could even be like Viola, receiving the position of an earl and be awarded land.

The Hunters Handbook had already clearly stated that one was only eligible for the compensation of the association if they had amassed enough contribution points and if they met with misfortune while executing a mission. The greater the amount of contribution points, the more compensation they would receive.

The crowd gradually calmed down after hearing Goode’s explanation and looking at the clear rules printed in the Hunters Handbook, Toria’s wife was no exception. Even though she was in deep grief, she knew that the incident had nothing to do with the association.

“We are very sorry for the misfortune that befell Toria and his family. But Toria had just joined the association today and had not completed a mission yet, which means he had no contribution points. Coupled with the fact that he did not meet with misfortune while executing a mission, we are unable to render any compensation as per the guidelines of the Hunter Association!”

Looking at the crowd listening intently to him, then looking at Toria’s grieving wife, Yang Ling paused for a moment, then continued, “The association will not be able to render any compensation, but as a leader, I have a responsibility to ensure that everyone in my territory can sustain a basic lifestyle. I was going to recruit a few female servants for my castle soon, and I wonder if this young mother is interested?”

“Thank you sir, thank you sir!” Toria’s wife had been in despair after realizing that her husband’s death had nothing to do with the Hunter Association and that she was not eligible for any compensation. She did not know how she was going to bring up her child. In fact, she didn’t even know where to find someone to bury her poor husband.

But her worries lessened when she heard Yang Ling’s words. Even though the dead cannot come back to life, there was at least a guarantee for her child’s future!