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Laura used her Hunter Identity Card to breeze through the crowd without a second glance, guiding her sister straight to the front where a woman greeted them warmly.
"Ah, B-Rank Hunter Laura from the Olympus Guild! Welco," the woman said. "What can I do for you today? Have you completed your mission?"
"Not yet. I haven’t entered a Gate in a few days—I was recovering from the last one," Laura sighed heavily. "Too many people died..."
"O-Oh... I’m so sorry. That was the Armstrong Avenue Gate, wasn’t it?" the woman asked gently. "I’m truly sorry..."
"Wait, what? What happened?" Maria stared at her sister in shock. "Laura...! You didn’t tell ..."
"There was no real point," Laura shrugged, her voice flat. "It was... hellish. We thought it was a B-Rank Gate, but it suddenly escalated to A-Rank. A lot of the newbies I brought in to train... they died. The worst part was that it was all my stupid idea. I thought I’d get kicked out of the guild, but they just punished —dropped my rank and cut my benefits."
The woman listened in heavy silence.
"Um, anyway, that’s not why I’m here," Laura continued. "This is my little sister, Fran. She woke up from her coma today and awakened so healing powers... and a lot of strength. Could you gauge her power and register her?"
"Of course! So your na is Fran?" the woman asked kindly.
She asked Maria a series of standard questions, jotting them down, then led her into a large room with Laura. A massive, old-fashioned machine for asuring magic power and physical strength stood in the center.
Maria had to channel her Mana into the device and then strike it to register her strength. It felt primitive—they clearly couldn’t see status windows or anything similar.
Not that she would ever let them peek anyway.
"So... should I pretend to be weak? Or moderately strong and call it a day? Or show them I’m ridiculously powerful? Hmm... okay, let’s go for sothing decent."
Maria released only a tenth of her Mana.
Crack, crack...!
CRASH!
The crystal ball shattered violently, shards flying everywhere.
"Aaahhh!"
The woman scread as the explosion erupted, but Laura instinctively shielded her, the crystals bouncing harmlessly off her skin.
"Fran! Just how strong are you?" Laura gasped.
"Huh? But I only used a tiny bit of Mana..." Maria said, frowning. "Aaah, this is more complicated than I thought. Well, whatever."
She gently tapped the punching component of the machine with her index finger.
RUMBLE!
The entire device shook hard, but this ti it held together.
"Phew..."
"Y-Your Mana levels are at least S-Rank!" the woman stamred. "Your strength is... B-Rank!"
"So you asure Mana and Strength separately?" Maria asked.
"Y-Yes..." The woman nodded nervously. "Incredible... Well, your starting rank will still be F-Rank. You raise it through Contributions—the higher it goes, the more benefits you unlock."
"Benefits I don’t need or care about, but whatever..." Maria rolled her eyes.
"Fran! Be more respectful," Laura scolded gently.
"Okay, let’s test what skills or spells you can use," the woman said. "Show what you’ve got."
Maria offered a small demonstration: phantasmal fists, holy rays of light, healing magic, and a sphere of darkness.
She held back far beyond that, carefully concealing her true depth.
"I see—you have an amazing dual affinity for light and darkness!" the woman exclaid. "This should be enough."
Afterward, she completed the registration. Laura paid five hundred dollars for the license.
"It’s so expensive?! I thought these were free!" Maria said.
"Free?! Haha, no way," Laura replied. "You need huge investnts to beco a hunter. Every beginner from the bottom has to take out a loan at the start..."
"That sounds awful," Maria sighed. "Well... at least it’s sothing."
She examined her new license, crafted from durable magical tal, nearly indestructible. It bore her na, a photo, her Hunter Association number, rank, and asured levels: S-Rank Mana, B-Rank Strength, A-Rank Skills.
A perfect all-rounder build. With effort, she could easily climb to famous S-Rank status.
But Maria had no intention of playing by their rules or grinding slowly. She needed to return to Yggdrasil, defeat Odin, and shatter the tower.
These small Earth matters weren’t her goal, yet she decided to spend a few hours with her sister doing this—to make her happy.
"Alright! This is so exciting! You’re finally a hunter, Fran! I dread of this mont for so long! We’ll be the famous hunter sisters! I can already see it!"
"Sister..."
Maria sighed inwardly. Her sister was so deeply imrsed in this tiny world of Earth—compared to the Tower and everything beyond, it felt painfully small and confining.
"Have you never explored the Tower at all?" Maria asked.
"The Tower? I managed the tutorial and reached Floor 5, but it’s just an endless dungeon up there," Laura sighed. "People who get past Labyrinthos say you can visit other worlds... but so far, only S-Ranks have succeeded. Anyone weaker gets slaughtered by Labyrinthos and its monsters."
"Hm..." Maria nodded. "So Labyrinthos acts as a filter. It only lets the most talented and strongest pass beyond the first eighteen floors."
"Yeah..." Laura agreed. "You... you said you visited other worlds while in your coma, right? Maybe it was all a dream, Fran. There’s no way any of that was real. But I’m so happy you beca this talented! It feels like all the money and effort we poured into keeping you alive finally paid off, hahah."
"I’m glad I’m not a burden anymore," Maria said with a light smile. "But still... how annoying. So many idiots are following us."
"Huh?" Laura glanced back. "Who? I don’t see anyone."
"Hm..."
As the sisters headed ho, a group trailed them—hiding behind buildings, desperately concealing their presences.
They weren’t working together; Maria could sense distinct organizations from their Auras.
"It’s better if we don’t show them our ho," Maria said quietly. "Co."
"Huh? Fran?" Laura looked confused.
Maria led her toward one of the nearby Field Dungeons. With a casual motion, she pierced the fragile magical barrier, thin enough that even a five-year-old magic apprentice from Yggdrasil could tamper with it.
Once inside, Laura panicked.
"Fran, it’s dangerous to co in here! The guilds will catch up and—"
"Illusory Veil."
Maria cast her Illusion Magic, draping two veils over herself and her sister. Their appearances shifted completely, transford into unrecognizable won.
"Huh? You used an illusion spell?! Why didn’t you show the lady..." Laura asked.
"Laura, we’re being followed by at least four people," Maria said calmly. "Co on, let’s hide. They’re here."
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