I awoke in the hospital again after two days had passed. In the meantime, Seraphina had visited me quite a few times when I was going in and out of consciousness.

  Now, after I was doing better, the person I saw as I opened my eyes was Ronnie.

  “Tsk, why do I have to see you when I open my eyes?”

  “Look, it is not my first choice either, but the team leader asked me to assist you personally.”

  Ronnie seemed as tired as I was. Honestly, I didn’t have a very good impression of him from the beginning, but after seeing him blow up at the Hunter Association members, I was a little impressed, to say the least.

  He wasn't just a suit. He actually gave a damn about the people wearing the guild logo.

  “Well,” I groaned, leaning back into the pillows. “You can assist me by calling a lawyer. I think I need to retire. My ribs are basically powder. I deserve a pension and a small cottage by the lake.”

  Ronnie rolled his eyes. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tablet.

  “Stop being dramatic. You healed faster than an average hunter thanks to the high-grade potions we poured down your throat. And you can’t retire. Guild Leader Gloria has a task for you.”

  I sat up.

  The pain in my ribs vanished instantly. Or at least, my brain decided to ignore it because the name Gloria Sherban was a better stimulant than caffeine.

  “The Guild Leader?” I asked. My voice cracked a little. “What does she want? Did I mess up in some way?”

  “No. Quite the opposite,” Ronnie said. He handed me the tablet. “Since you are now officially the Vice-Leader of the Ice Team, she expects you to actually build the team. Currently, the roster consists of Seraphina Vahn and you. And I, as a temporary assistant in administrative matters. We have to build it up.”

  I took the device. The screen was filled with profiles. There were rows upon rows of hunters, all their stats, and background checks.

  “Recruitment…”

  “Precisely. We need to fill the ranks. We need a tank, a scout, and some extra DPS. The Guild Leader wants the Ice Team operational for gate clearing by next month.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  I scrolled through the list. It was a mix of eager newbies from the academy and washed-up veterans looking for a second wind.

  My strategist brain woke up. I scanned the stats, looking for anomalies. High mana capacity with low control. Rare skills with terrible compatibility. The diamonds in the rough that other guilds would overlook.

  “Isn’t this something Seraphina should be doing?” I asked. “She’s the Leader.”

  Ronnie’s expression tightened. Just for a second.

  “Hunter Seraphina has… other responsibilities at the moment. She is handling the S-Rank matters and dealing with the press, there is also some talk about you now after the anomaly, so we have shut that down, too. Seraphina said she trusts you to handle the personnel.”

  Trusts me… It felt a little weird. Wouldn’t it be better to work on this together? She was a harsher judge of my skills than anyone… Or maybe she was just avoiding me.

  I pushed that thought away. If she gave me work, I would do it. I would do it perfectly.

  I scrolled past the C-Ranks. Past the B-Ranks.

  Then I stopped.

  My finger hovered over a file that had very little information. No picture. Just a code name and a location.

  [Name: Hana "The Weaponizer" Ryu]

  [Rank: A (Retired)]

  [Status: Inactive]

  [Location: Meraki-Do]

  “The Weaponizer,” I muttered.

  Ronnie craned his neck to see. “Her? She’s a ghost. She retired three years ago after a raid went south. Refuses to talk to anyone from the big guilds. We put her on the list as a formality, but no one expects to get her.”

  I remembered her. Back when I was analyzing raid patterns, her data was insane. She didn't use skills in the flashy way others did. She turned anything she touched into a lethal instrument.

  “Isn’t this the same girl who killed two monsters with a piece of paper?”

  Ronnie raised his shoulders, it was a ‘yeah, impressive, right?’ kinda shrug.

  A silent, quiet girl who had started to live all alone.

  She was someone capable of a lot of things, I definitely remembered her skills. If we could add a weaponizer along with Seraphina that would handle the offensive part of dungeon raids completely.

  “I want her,” I said.

  “Elara, just so you know, she threw the last recruiter through a window.”

  “I’m not a recruiter,” I said, swinging my legs off the bed. I hissed as my muscles protested, but I stood up anyway. “I’m a Vice-Leader. And I have a business trip to make.”

  ***

  The drive took four hours.

  We left the sprawling, neon-infused skyline of the city behind and headed deep into the eastern mountain ranges. The roads went from smooth asphalt to winding concrete, and finally to a paved path that cut through the dense forest.

  Meraki-do was near us. It was a place largely made by traders from the east back in the day, and it lived up to its name.

  As Ronnie’s sedan crested the final hill, the town revealed itself below us.

  It didn't look like it belonged in this century. The buildings were made of dark timber and gray stone, with curved roofs that swept upward like the wings of a crane. Red lanterns hung from the eaves, swaying in the mountain breeze. Fog clung to the streets, making the whole place look like a faded watercolor painting.

  “It’s quiet,” Ronnie said, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. “Too quiet.”

  I looked out the window.

  Somewhere in that sleepy, ancient-looking town was an A-Rank monster of a woman who hated visitors.