Chapter 33 - [Unedited]

Chapter 33 - LOT

Jack tapped his fingers on a grey and white marble table, his eyes closed as he focused inward. In his other hand he held a small, golden badge showing the letter “A” and a small, inscribed collection of numbers, alongside the Hunter Association insignia.

The ball of white Time Essence in his soul, after growing in size, had slowly started to rotate over the years. Every time Jack used any amount of Time Essence, he typically took the time to focus and meditate as he recovered, to try and gain a better understanding of his Natural Ability. The scant records on the Time Clan in the Fourth Conclave’s archives didn’t give him much.

*Slam*

His meditation was interrupted by the sounds of a door slamming. Jack blinked his eyes opening, looking around the room.

He was sitting at a circular marble table in a plush, richly furnished room. Expensive paintings and draperies hung on the walls, hand carved chairs surrounding the table, extravagant dressers and arm chairs hugging the walls.

This was one of the meeting rooms at the Marble Courtyard, an inn for the wealthy in Roren City. The Courtyard, as it was know, was built from ancient deposits of Ashen Marble, an extravagant building material that was found rarely in the Magma Lands, used for its extreme durability and sound dampening effects. The walls, floor, and roof of the room Jack was in was built from the same material.

Jack had just turned in the horns from the Yellow Horned Bison to the Hunter House, the equivalent of a Hunter Association headquarters or building in the Magma Lands. This was the 67th mission he had completed in the area.

Not only was it the 67th mission, it was also the last mission he needed to complete to gain the status of an A Rank Hunter.

Jack was a Direct Member of the Hunter Association, a status that gave him a few perks in regards to missions and information from the Hunter Association. He was treated as a valuable Hunter no matter where he went, with recognized potential.

Thanks to that, Jack was able to quickly find and organize the most effective missions for his training, due to the help of the Hunter House staff.

In the Hunter Association, Ranks below A were treated as fighters that either had no potential, or warriors that were still training.

Once a Hunter reached Rank A, the true, brutal divides began. It was here that members gained their full status, and were treated as valuable resources in the fight to secure humanity from the beasts of the wild.

Today, Jack had achieved the level of a normal Rank A Hunter.

Upon receiving this Rank, and the badge that came with it, Jack had been told of one of the unique aspects of Rank A Hunters in the Hunter Association.

Apart from gaining preferential treatment and intel, something Jack already received as a Direct Member, Rank A Hunters where divided into a listing, to help sort one’s comparative strength.

Throughout the entire world, there were 874,231 Rank A Hunters. There were more than 10 times that in number of B Rank Hunters, and C and D Rank Hunters were nearly countless.

Rumor had it there was also a minute number of Hunters known as “S Rank Hunters” that were the true elite of the Hunter Association.

The Hunter Association was a massive, massive organization. Even if every one of the Great Clans combined together, they still would be unable to put out as many fighters on the same level as an A Rank Hunter as the Hunter Association.

That said, the weakness of the Hunter Association was also apparent. Apart from being extremely spread out, many of its members had external ties to other factions. Many of the strongest hunters were already members of the Great Clans, and would never fight against their own.

Still, the Hunter Association was a prohibitively powerful force to be reckoned with, one of the Three Great Powers.

Jack turned over the badge, staring at the numbers inscribed upon it.

“873,114.”

Despite having just reached Rank A, Jack was already a thousand ranks from the bottom, thanks to his previous missions and accumulations. He watched the number for a moment, seeing it morph slightly, going down a single rank.

The Rank A Badge was an artifact treasure that was connected to a vast network controlled by the Hunter Association, one that would update in real time. The Hunter Association had other similar treasures, used for sending information quickly. A monopoly on these treasures was part of why the Hunter Association was so powerful and widespread.

“Heyo.” Jack waved at the pair of newcomers that had just entered the room.

Two muscular young men had waltzed in, wearing black leather garments, stained grey from the ashfalls that happened often. The familiar faces of Bale and Evan, Liren’s two most trusted fighters, smiled back at Jack cheerfully.

“Where’s Liren?” Bale asked moving to sit down at the table. A large broadsword on his back clanked as he sat down. Evan sat down next to him, wielding a similar blade.

“He said he’d be back in a few moments, he went off to grab something.” Jack shrugged.

All three of them present were Rank A Hunters. Bale and Evan had almost simultaneously achieved the rank a month prior, relying on their powerful physical strength and unique Spatial Abilities.

Due to the taboo nature of the Space Clan, the two Space Clan warriors only used a few of their abilities, ones that could be attributed to various martial art related Natural Abilities. Techniques that impacted the area around them, like the ground, instead of space itself.

Ever since Liren had unveiled the Might of a Human King, his status in the Fourth Conclave had skyrocketed once more. From his downfall for speaking out against the elders to his current status as a valued leader, he’d made quite a leap.

Even now, Jack still wasn’t too sure on exactly all that the “Might of a Human King” did exactly. According to the archives, it meant a person was destined for greatness, and gave them Spiritual prowess unnaturally far above the norm. A person that trained Spirit that had the Might of a Human King would be able to use power far beyond those without.

Bale and Evan, as the trusted allies of Liren, also enjoyed a rise in status, and were able to receive better training and resources. Their rise in strength was a direct result of this.

Jack, meanwhile, was still a guest in the clan, but trained mostly on his own. Liren had helped him find a few things here and there, but he was mostly self sufficient. His sword mastery was a path unique to himself, and those that knew the Sundering Sword Monarch’s techniques were very few in this world.

Part of this was simply due to who he was as a person. He was extremely focused on growing stronger, to rescue Little Seven, and redeem the Time Clan. He no longer put as much focus on making new friends.

The Space Clan did, however, have a few skilled swordsmen, and Jack was able to learn a bit more from them. But in the Fourth Conclave, the focus for fighters was on developing their Natural Ability. There were no true Swordmasters here.

A few more moments passed as Bale and Evan settled in, both of them sitting down to meditate like Jack. All the elite warriors in the Space Clan, and indeed in the rest of the world, cultivated an attitude of focus and perseverance. The only way to truly reach the peak of strength was to dedicate oneself to one’s training.

*Slam*

Jack opened his eyes up once more as the door opened, bringing in another familiar face, Liren.

“Greetings friends!” Liren rambled off as he waltzed in, carrying a large brown bag on his back. He walked up to the marble table and slammed the bag down, sharing a smile. He wore a tight fitting suit of black leather, with a long spear on his back.

“Heyo.” Jack waved.

“Sir Liren.” Bale responded respectfully.

“Sir!” Evan responded in a similar tone, giving a sharp nod.

Ever since Liren’s status in the Fourth Conclave skyrocketed, everyone in the Clan, including Bale and Evan, treated him with great respect.

In a rare moment of candidness, when Jack and Liren were out on a mission together, Liren and privately told him how this annoyed him, and how Jack had become his only true friend. Everyone else his age treated him like a respected elder.

Liren gave them all a nod at the greetings, and then opened up the bag, pulling out a long piece of worn, brown leather. He unfolded the piece, revealing a weathered, but detailed, map of the Magma Lands.

“So, I’m sure you’re all wondering what our plan is here, what we’ve been working towards for so long.” Liren began as he smoothed the map out on the marble table.

Jack nodded. Nearly three years ago, Jack and Liren had made a promise. They would train and focus to recover the Space Gauntlet of Liren’s Space Clan, and then work together to bring both the Space Clan and Jack’s own Time Clan out into the open.

In the last three years, Jack had focused on two things. Training himself, by increasing his technique, his skill, and his knowledge.

And on raising his official Hunter Rank, and accumulating merits in the city nearest to the Fourth Conclave. Specifically Roren City. Cities in the Magma Lands were quite rare. Each one was a heavily defended fortress, and a hub for the nearby area.

The reason he had raised his ranking, with so much focus, was mostly at Liren’s direction. Liren had given vague hints as to his plan, but never described it clearly, just letting Jack know that this was all part of it.

Jack trusted Liren, and since by raising his rank he could also train, he had agreed. Now, however, he was ready to hear how they would find the Space Gauntlet, and move forward.

“I’m sure you have guessed why I’ve had you raise so many merits in the surrounding area.” Liren continued, nodding at Jack, Bale, and Evan.

“For the Requirement Drive of the Magma Clan, right?” Jack spoke aloud, his fingers continuing to rub the A Rank badge in his hand. He had long since guessed some of Liren's grand plan.

“Exactly.” Liren responded, giving Jack a cheery smile.

“As you might know, the Magma Clan has their Clan Tournament and General Recruitment Drive in a few days. One of the requirements for anyone to participate in the General Recruitment Drive is to have a solid, verifiable background, in addition to a great deal of strength.” The blonde haired fighter moved his hands as he spoke, talking expressively,

“Now, having a reliable background only matters if we pass the General Recruitment Drive, and enter into the Clan Tournament as the Newcomer Seeds.” Liren pulled the map into focus as he talked, trailing his hand over towards the center of the Magma Lands, where the Magma Lake was located.

“I managed to get a favor from my Uncle a few months back, and he scouted the area for me. While he couldn’t get very close to anything, not with the guards the Magma Clan has near the Magma Lake this close to the Tournament, he managed to find two sources of Spatial Waves in the nearby area.” Liren pointed at a large island that was located at the center of the Magma Lake. A large volcano stood at the center of the island, with several long wrapping plateaus covering the rest. A miniature city was built into these plateaus, filled with a collection of buildings stretching several miles in size.

Jack and the others leaned forward, studying the map.

The Magma Lake in the Magma Lands was one of the most dangerous areas. It was filled with dozens of incredibly strong beasts. It was also home to one of the strongest bases of the Magma Clan, and the stronghold where they hosted their Clan Tournament.

The entire lake would be pacified during the time they had their Clan Tournament each decade. The denizens of the Magma Lake were not a match, or at least weren’t willing to fight, with the peak leaders of the Magma Clan, and thus the area became a relatively safe zone for a short period of time.

“The first area is here.” Liren’s finger trailed off to a point on the central island, near the roof of the volcano.

“Near the peak of the Sacred Volcano that the Magma Clan treats as a forbidden zone. This is the area I will scout.” Liren’s finger then moved, over towards the stronghold city-like area of the Magma Clan.

“The other spot is here. In the Central Ceremony Building of the Magma Clan.”

Jack took a breath as he considered this.

“Which one has the Space Gauntlet? Do we have any idea?” Jack returned, his voice troubled.

Liren shook his head.

“It could be either. We’ll have to check both spots.”

“It won’t be easy to infiltrate either spot.” Bale grunted as he spoke, looking at the map in consternation.

“This Ceremony Building, how heavily guarded is it?” Evan added.

“Extremely.” Liren shrugged.

“We could infiltrate the area if we used our Natural Ability, but that would expose the Space Clan, and we would probably be captured.” Liren snapped his fingers together,

“However!” He smiled.

“The Central Ceremony Building is usually a heavily restricted area to outsiders. The one exception is for Semi-Finalists participating in the Clan Tournament, for the Tournament Dinner that happens before the Semi-Finals.”

Jack’s eyes lit up as he was given this information, instantly realizing the plan.

“So to get into the building, we just need to become Semi-Finalists in the Clan Tournament.” He replied, his fingers already itching for his blade.

“Exactly!” Liren pulled out a few clunky looking metal objects from the bag as he continued speaking,

“These here are a few sets of Spatial Compasses. They will light up and point you in the exact direction of any Spatial Waves within 20 meters, far more exactly than our Natural Abilities can detect. Each one of you will get a set.” Liren handed them each a Spatial Compass. Jack held it in his hand, feeling a reliable weight settle.

“All we need is for one of you to become a Semi-Finalist, and enter the Central Ceremony Building to attend the Tournament Dinner. You will then have to search the Central Ceremony Building, and find the source of the Spatial Waves.”