Chapter 20 - Movements

I was up fairly early the next morning as I was too excited to try out a multitude of things today. There were so many ideas flowing in mind that I didn't know what to start with. I looked at the dark-haired man in the mirror as my thoughts were inexplicably taken back a few years into the prime of my 20s.

The man in the mirror definitely looked like me a few years back, a head full of messy hair, the same fair complexion, and eyes full of hopes and dreams that weren't completely destroyed. I shook myself out of the trance as I started the day

I began by checking the [Ring of Storage] that I had taken of Anderson's hands. In it were a multitude of [Core]s, [Item]s, and 2 [Skill Book]s. I was extremely content with the finding as a majority of the cores were rank C, with 8 rank D items and 2 items that were rank C, [Lightning Boots], and [Fiery Helm]. The two skill books were also both rank C, being [Resilience: Defense and healing effects are increased by 50%] and [Supercharged- Energy rumbles through you, increasing casting speed by 50%]

The [Supercharged] skill would have definitely fit the criteria I had set a few days ago, but [Resilience] would also be a great addition that goes along with my current plan of even learning skills geared towards other jobs besides Mage

The rank D items would all be getting sold, along with a few rank C pieces that I wouldn't be wearing as I waited for the [Item]s that I took off Anderson's body to self-repair. I damaged them pretty heavily with [Explosive Rune], but they should be fully repaired by tomorrow

As for the [Core]s, anything below rank C found in the ring would be sold, and I began absorbing the rank C [Vitality] and [Strength] cores. I had both the ones that went as my share plus Anderson's, so it was a sizable amount, but I was only able to bring [Strength] to 167 and [Vitality] to 170.

With these preliminary things completed, I checked out of the room and shot a text to that lovable fat salesman I never bothered to remember the name of as I went to the central Awakened Center.

My face had been shown around heavily throughout the night so many people recognized me and snapped pictures, but I ignored everything and arrived at the Awakened Center in a few minutes

The fat salesman seemed to have been promoted, as he had two assistants with him when he saw me walk in. He threw out that usual shrewd smile and brought me to a more luxurious room in the back compared to last time

I took everything in a stride as the moment my name was released last night, I knew something like this would be happening. The first thing the salesman did was open a suitcase and hand me a shining blue card that held my name and picture, along with a title of Rank B Hunter

I grabbed it and gave my thanks as it saved me the hassle of looking for the advancement area and wasting time there. I then took out all the cores and items that I wanted to sell while I asked him for a registry of all Knight and Berserker skills they had in stock

He was puzzled at this but did as he was asked and I was browsing through all the skill books soon after. I had done a significant amount of research on Mages and their skills as that was the path I wanted to walk on when I awakened, but I wasn't too well versed on the skills that Knights and Berserkers commonly used

Keeping my explosive progress in mind, I looked at rank C skills mostly as well as some exceptional rank D skills that wouldn't be left far behind in their effects in a matter of weeks. A few fit my requirements, and I pointed them out to the salesman who brought them into the room in a few minutes.

The new skills I had bought and learned were [D-Rough Skin: Resistance to elemental skills are increased], [D-Fleeting: Slightly increases movement speed], [C-Gracefulness: An aura that grants you increased evasion descends], [C-Precision: Your accuracy is increased and your attacks rarely miss your target], and [Adamant: Your defense is increased as you passively heal from minor injuries]

These were the only skills that fit my new guidelines that were in the Awakened Center. The remaining skills actively required you to be using some sort of close combat or ranged weapon to activate like [Blade Light],[Shield Charge], or [Duplicate Arrows]. It made me think of whether I should also buy a weapon to add these skills to my arsenal too without it spreading my focus over too many things. I was content with the new addition of skills and thanked the salesman that gave his usual bright smile.

I had much fewer reservations about being seen or discovered so I activated the new skills I just learned on top of all the old ones that were still active while I left the Awakened Center. I felt the increased strength of my body as my path was confirmed to be heading in the right direction

I was itching to dive into the dungeon right away as I hailed a ride towards [Solael's Castle]

---

A man with a sharp face was finishing some paperwork when his assistant walked through his office doors with an even bigger stack of papers and folders. A grimace formed on the man's face as his rough voice came out. "How is the production and recruiting of rank B hunters proceeding?"

The assistant gave him a sweet smile as she replied "Very well boss. We have new ones come in every day and we are able to produce at least 1 rank B hunter a day from the resources they bring back from the dungeon"

The man nodded his head as he continued "Good, the plan is going in the right direction, but it needs to be accelerated. Reach out for even more hunters across the cities and entice as many as you can. We want this dungeon to continue to be cleared every day with even more hunting squads"

His assistant nodded her head as she put the folder in her hands on the table and then bowed with a smile "Here are the preliminary names we have gathered today that are waiting for your approval. For the Blessed Empire"

"For the Blessed Empire" The man replied with an impassive expression. He looked at the folder in front of him as he thought about the movements they had been seeing, and how unprepared they were for what was coming. There was a huge threat looming over them, and people still moved about in complete ignorance

He was in charge of managing the rank B Dungeon in Star City and wanted to exceed the quota set by the Admirals for its production. He wanted hunters to be entering it day and night, bringing out as many [Item]s, [Skill]s, and [Core]s that they could

He planned to write an official letter to the higher-ups and some colleagues to suggest they increase the urgency of this matter and actively move the empire's pieces for the days to come. The production of rank B hunters was coming along nicely but they would not be enough, the needed even more A rank hunters moving about in the empire

The face of Steel Mikhail passed through his mind as he considered all the new rising rank A hunters. He shook his head that was filled with worries as he looked at the figure of the assistant still waiting to be dismissed before him

He nodded at her and said while getting up and unbuttoning his shirt "Close the door. I've been cooped up in here for too long and need to release some stress"

The assistant smiled sweetly once more as she followed the command.

At the bottom of the folder that she had laid down, a name was written among many. Noah Osmont was clearly apparent at the bottom of the many stacks of paper.