Sin went to a corner where no one was around before sitting down, facing the wall, and taking a closer look at the new device he just bought.
His eyes darted back and forth, making sure he was in the clear. He rolled his eyes afterwards: 'Tsk... fuck sake... I hate hiding my face like a damn coward.' A feeling from deep within him just made his stomach hurt when he did something like this.
It wasn't true to his character, and most of all, it wasn't the way he wanted to live. When he lost everything five years ago, he had vowed to live on only if he lived the way he wanted to.
Living on the edge, and taking risks was something that made him grow even fonder of life.
Now, however, he found himself constrained again to the rules imposed on him by others. It was a pitiful feeling, but in the end it drove Sin to thirst for power even more.
He shook his head, 'I swear man... when I get strong enough, I'll be a cocky bastard without any fucks to give. Tsk.' He said this to himself mostly as a way to distract himself from his own frustration, but a part of it was also true.
Every joke came with its own hint of truth.
Looking at the device in front of him, it was a little bracelet. He wasn't planning on putting it on, because he wasn't going to use it too often in the future.
All he wanted to do was check the purchase history of Lord Surfin, and possibly other rich figures in the area.
So, he clicked the small circular glass tab on the center of the bracelet. A small hologram appeared in the air above the bracelet.
At the top, there were a few tabs marking: Search, Menu, Quests, Store, Etc...
Sin clicked the Quests, and then went to another side tab titled: 'Recent quest purchases.'
He went to a smaller 'Filter' tab and set the payment history to one month in advance. Then, he scrolled down until he found the name "Surfin."
He didn't have to scroll far, since Lord Surfin seemed to be quite the frequent purchaser of quests.
In the past month, Lord Surfin had bought over 6 C-Rank quests, 15 D-Rank quests, and 11 F-Rank quests.
'Not a single A, A+, S, or even B Rank...' Sin felt confused, but also had a hint of excitement behind him.
'Well clearly... there's something more here that isn't adding up.'
He continued doing some research on some well-known businessmen, nobles, and Hunter's in the area. It seemed most of the most wealthy individuals only purchased random easy quests.
Having this new information preoccupy his mind, Sin spent the next couple days doing additional research.
Sometimes, he even followed around more wealthy-looking Hunter's to see what kind of quests they would speak about going on.
And indeed, he heard some talks about easy quests. However, he never understood exactly the reason for the easy quests.
Soon, the day for the escort quest arrived. By now, Sin had been busy trying to find ways to make money, get power, and also hide his face.
But arriving at the Hunter Guild after hitting his morning workout felt like a refreshing new start and a breath of air after having to hide in the city for so long.
'Finally... I'll be out of Agneil's ass crack and into the light of day where I won't have to hide my face.' Sin breathed a sigh of relief.
When Sin arrived inside of the guild building, he met Ince and the others who were waiting for him.
They all sat around a small table, enjoying some coffee in the morning.
Roby looked to be drinking a pint of beer, but by now, Sin wasn't surprised.
"Hey!" Scarlett called out to Sin, "You're finally here... sit down."
Sin sat, greeting everyone, "I was earlier than the stated time. I feel like I shouldn't be blamed for that."
"Don't worry, no one else blames you." Ince laughed.
Scarlett humphed, continuing: "Listen up, Sin. There are a few details about this quest that we need to tell you before we leave. The young noble we are escorting today wants this to be a personal experience. We are to be the main fighters, but also on the sidelines. We aren't supposed to talk much to the noble--only to his two guards that he will bring along with him."
Sin nodded his head, 'Big ego loser again it seems... but as long as I get what I came for, I'm okay with it.'
"Because he wants this experience to be very personal for him, we will all be wearing masks to hide our face. This quest will be his own pure first experience, and we are only an extension of his own power through money which he will use to finish the quest. And I know... it's kind of a bothersome quest. We wouldn't do something like this on the regular either, being as our Hunter Group isn't some small roadside gang or something. Still... the pretty penny on this quest was too large to overlook." Scarlett exclaimed, the others nodding yes.
Scarlett handed out a few cloth masks that hid everyone's face except for their eyes.
After everyone put it on, Sin spoke up: "You guys aren't a small Hunter Group? I was under that exact impression, actually."
Kael nearly choked on his coffee as he heard this.
Ince scoffed, turning to Sin, "Do you know the name of the number one ranked Hunter Group in Solstar?"
Sin knew this answer. During his time in Solstar and the little bit of sniffing around for information that he had done, finding out who was the strongest Hunter Group was easy.
It would have been more surprising if Sin didn't know by now.
"Of course... it's the Ace Hunter Group. They are a mix of powerful mages and weapon users who are known to be quite strong on their own, but when put together on a single team, their teamwork makes them all ACE's in a deck of four. Why? Do you work for them or something?"
Ince smirked as she heard that description. Sin raised a brow, his eyes moving to look at the expression of the others.
They were all slightly smiling as well.
"Huh? Don't tell me..." Sin began to figure out that the people sitting in front of him now were in fact that same Ace Hunter Group.
"Thanks for the kind words." Roby said before bursting out into a peal of laughter--followed by the rest of his group.
"Seriously!? What are the chances that I meet you all on my first day here... how did I not know of this from the beginning?" Sin exclaimed with confusion.
"Know what?" A voice abruptly sounded from behind him. When Sin turned to see who it was that was speaking, his expression immediately dropped to a frown.
Agneil was standing mere feet behind him.
Thankfully for Sin, despite the fact his entire face was as stunned as a deer in headlights, Agneil could only see his eyes.