n

n

n“Does that orb affect the mind or something?”

n“No way. No superhumans can be mind-controlled.”

n“Then why do they join?”

n“Hmm… that’s another complicated story. Didn’t the story end in the second part?”

n“Right.”

n“There’s a side-story to that. A story of a sub-character. I guess you’ll make a choice once you hear everything.”

nLagaope then began telling the story.

nThe man became agitated as he earned a new life. There was nothing that he did not try in his past life, so he needed to get results in this life. There was no telling if he would reborn like he did this time.

nAs he strived hard for his goal, there were small incidents – at least in his eyes.

nAll who stood in front of him were all destroyed and beaten. Since the man had no intention of going around or using other ways, it would mean disaster if he met a stronger man, and he did.

nThe man was just a tiny bit stronger after gathering all the power and methods he could muster, so the opponent fled.

nThe problem was what happened next.

nThe opponent returned after the man died. The problem was that the opponent chose to exact revenge on the wrong target. It began hunting down superhumans as it was strong and did not die of age.

nThe superhuman hunter was born.

nIt went after every superhuman whenever the hunter heard of their existence. Superhumans in hiding were so hard to find, but it did not stop the hunter from finding and killing them.

n“How did nobody know about such a crazy bastard roaming the world?”

n“It’s because no one is interested in superhumans. Luckily, the hunter’s time was short-lived. Liviath was unlucky in that regard as he was caught up in it.”

n“Hmm.”

n“What can you do when such a monster is roaming around? They were really strong. Nobody could win a one-on-one fight. The time for it to make a comeback is short, but it always manages to kill one. That’s why we warn everyone when we make them the orb, but they all react the same way.”

n

n“I’m weaker than Ra-Banders, so it’s not like I can just punch them and say you aren’t strong enough.”

n“…”

n“So, do you see what we are up against?”

n“I see.”

nNo superhumans would refuse the offer for the insurance. However, they would not agree to join the group until they died by the hands of the hunter and were revived.

n

nThe superhuman hunter never went for superhumans in a group. It only targeted lone superhumans.

nIt was why all the superhumans who had such experiences joined the group.

n“That’s how we recruit. I mean, it will be good if they join without going through such trouble. Liviath joined after he got his head chopped off.”

nSian then curiously asked a few questions.

n“I have something to ask.”

n“Sure.”

n“The hunter… is it stronger than me?”

nSian couldn’t believe it.

nLagaope sighed and answered, “That’s the problem. We suspect that you are stronger. That’s why we even created a family plan for you so that you can join us.”

n“Hmph.”

nIt looked like this group was doing really hard to recruit Sian, but Sian didn’t even know their goal, their members, or their name. It looked like he’d tell Sian if he joined, so he decided to wait on that.

n“So, why don’t you just kill it?”

n“We do try. We go attack it once we find it. We drove it out a few times, but it always comes back and attacks any lone superhuman. It’s really good at sniffing them out. All the lone superhumans end up dead somehow.”

n“Why drive it out?”

n“It’s a runner. We can’t stop it from running away. It’s best to drive it out and wait for it to hibernate. You’ll know once you see it.”

nSian was dumbfounded. The monster seemed like a vicious, revenge-seeking hunter at first, but it was actually a petty thief type.

n“It’s interesting.”

n“It’s wise. You can’t get revenge when you die. But if we didn’t group up, not many of us would still be alive. There were some who we couldn’t save.”

nSian then asked a few more questions and reached a conclusion.

n“So, it’s a weird guy.”

n“We can say it’s weird. There’s still a lot of questions about the hunter. So, have I answered all your questions?”

n“Yeah. So is that crazy bastard out there right now?”

nLagaope laughed.

n“No, it’s not the season. We drove it out about ten years ago. That’s why I travel alone. We group up and stay together when it wakes up.”

n“That’s good to hear.”

nSian was relieved. He was worried that this hunter might have managed to kill Miss Stiel.

n‘But how did she manage to live then? It’s not like she was in the group. Hmm…’

nThat was a question he couldn’t solve, but there was no way to find out.

n“Let’s make things clear. So, we will provide the for free and you can decide later. We’ll provide you with more details when you decide.”

n“Hmm.”

n“It’s our policy, so I can’t tell you any more details.”

nSian still wasn’t sure. The offer was too generous.

n“Is that all?”

n“Yes. Like I said, we do not force it. Most join us when they die, but since you aren’t a type to die… can we make a condition? Just to make things more even?”

nSian nodded. It was better to pay the price that way than to just receive it for free.

n“What is it?”

n“I told you the orbs are really hard to make, right?”

n“Yes.”

n“The process isn’t that hard. It’s just that we don’t have that many materials.”

n“Materials…?”

n“Do you remember that the genius studied Granines and Kal-Guls to create this?”

n“Yes.”

n“So, we need two things. One is the heart of a Kal-Gul, and another one is water of that the Granines treasure.”

n“…”

nSian grew worried as he heard the word Granine.

n“I mean, it’s okay that mountain was destroyed where the Granines used to live, but the was dried up. I wonder who did that… it even made some of our projects come to a full stop.”

n“…”

n“Huh? Why do you look so grim? Anyway, we have some hearts, but we ran out on the water.”

n“Then how are you going to make it?”

n“That’s where you come in. In truth, we don’t need the well’s water anymore. We have a replacement. It’s really hard to get, but it allows us to create better quality orbs. We recently found out after we worked on it hard after the incident five years ago.”

nLagaope then described the replacement. It didn’t seem like a hard task for Sian.

n“Hmm.”

n“You should just consider it a trip to get a present for your family. It would be great if you join our group afterward, but just getting us that replacement is going to be a huge help.”

n“I see. Can I take care of my business first? Before going out to find the replacement?”

n“Of course. It will take us a few months to prepare for the orb creation anyway. You should bring it to us during that time. But what business do you have?”

n“Oh… I just need to find a person.”

n“We’ll help you if we can. Who are you looking for?”

n“Aren’t you being too generous?”

n“Just consider it as an investment to recruit you.”

nSian was actually already very tempted to join. He was still being careful as he could not believe everything, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea.

n“I see… the person I’m looking for is called Miss Stiel…”

n“Stiel? Who is that?”

nLagaope was confused, so Sian adjusted the name.

n“Oh, I mean Stantahl the First.”

n“Oh… you mean the one who lived at the Lagran Region.”

n“Do you know her?”

nLagaope smiled.

n“She’s the only superhuman who did not join us after making the orb. They usually hear about our group after they are reborn, so she probably doesn’t know much about us.”

nSian then remembered Stiel talking about something.

n

n“So, she already has one.”

n“Yes, she was the one who stayed by the well. I didn’t do it myself, but someone who went to get the water offered it to her. But she never even saw the orb. We created it and have it protected in our care.”

nLagaope smiled as he thought about what Groyn said after returning from the well.

n“But it’s not anything special. They all join after they die, but she managed to live for over 200 years so we’ve never contacted her since then.”

nIt meant that they never got into contact with Stiel since then.

n“I see…”

nSian sighed. He was worried, but there was no way to find her.

n“Shall we go downstairs now? They should have finished talking to each other.”

nLagaope suggested for them go back downstairs and they turned to the door.

n