Azure Chronicles: Maelstrom

Zalroth briskly jogged through Freedom City and deactivated his power-ups as he sensed the dark energy source was close by. He peeked his head around a street corner and noticed the mini army of hunters gathered around the dungeon-broken gate. Zalroth lent against a nearby lamppost and inspected the gate as even its frame showed signs of severe cracking. Zalroth unintentionally summoned his status menu and quickly got rid of it as a pair of eyes looked at Zalroth from behind a window.

“Are you a hunter too, mister?” a young boyish voice asked as popped a head of silky smooth watermelon-coloured hair out from a window of the cake shop Zalroth was standing in front of. Zalroth glanced over at the cake shop and noticed the tomboy human teen (she has pale lime eyes with pale red pupils, ivory coloured skin; she is also wearing black Hawaiian-themed summer shorts, a baggy beige woolly shirt, a black baseball cap, and red running shoes).

“Well, not officially,” Zalroth remarked. The teen looked confusedly at Zalroth as she rested her arms behind the window frame.

“But you have the menu thingy,” the teen stated as she vaguely pointed to the spot she saw Zalroth’s status menu.

“Is that how it works?” Zalroth remarked jokingly. The teen was even more perplexed, thanks to Zalroth’s remark.

“Yeah…? what did you think my question was referring to?” the girl asked.

“Oh… nothing in particular, just wondering if I should become an official hunter or not” Zalroth replied as he also mentioned he was new to this whole hunter thing. The teen asked Zalroth if he had any idea how to become an official hunter. Zalroth half-heartedly stated that if he decides to become one he’ll just check out the academy.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” the teen remarked with a sombre expression.

“Let me guess, it has a high turnover rate?” Zalroth remarked.

“That too but I think your lack of knowledge will be the more prevalent issue,” the teen mentioned. Zalroth paused for a second and realised that he didn’t even know the first thing about being a hunter, let alone any terminology.

“Shoot…,” Zalroth muttered to himself, “Say… umm,”.

“It’s Kēki,” Kēki said.

“Are there any other ways to become an official hunter?” Zalroth asked. Kēki deflatedly sighed at Zalroth’s lack of hunter knowledge.

“Look, other than the academy; you either have to get a recommendation from a high-ranking hunter inspector or pass the Open Hunter Evaluation,” Kēki explained as she spotted something in the corner of her eye.

“Like him!” Kēki slightly sinisterly proclaimed while pointing at Maxwell, as he was instructing a group of hunters on what to look out for in the gate’s dungeon. Zalroth thanked Kēki for the info and said that, if he has any free time, he’ll check out her store. Kēki tried to say something but was interrupted by an adult female voice calling her name. Kēki said she’ll hold Zalroth to what he said before she disappeared into the back of the cake store. Zalroth smirked before strolling over to the dungeon-broken gate.

Maxwell desperately ordered some hunters to be on high alert and search Downtown Street. The hunters acknowledged Maxwell’s orders and hurried off, leaving Maxwell by himself. Maxwell loudly exhaled and wiped the sweat off his forehead. As he was going over the standard protocol for dungeon breaks, Maxwell felt an intense pressure emanating from behind him. Maxwell frantically darted his head to see what the pressure was and his eyes met with Zalroth's. Zalroth tilted his head to the side, and Maxwell exhaled in relief.

"Phew... you scared me there," Maxwell muttered under his breath before he quickly cleared his throat and turned around to face Zalroth.

"What can I help you with...?" Maxwell said before he noticed that Zalroth was wearing casual clothes. Maxwell mentally pondered if Zalroth was just a civilian, but was also slightly taken aback as he realised if Zalroth was a civilian then how was he able to get past the perimeter sensors.

"Sup, so a certain little baker told me that you have the authority to give out hunter recommendations," Zalroth cheerfully said.

"But the general public isn't supposed to...," Maxwell muttered before he gave a brief glance at the cake shop and let out a low sigh. Maxwell quickly used the Status Analysis skill and quickly closed Zalroth's status menu, while not actually reading its contents, once he confirmed that Zalroth was a Hunter.

"Look... as much as I'd prefer to test you to see if I can give you a recommendation; I'm currently occupied as you can see," Maxwell defeatedly stated while gesturing to the dungeon-broken gate and the hunters around it.

"Yeah, I feel ya, nothing worse than tedious work," Zalroth remarked, which made Maxwell mildly chuckle in an amused manner.

"I know but the best we can do is locate the dungeon boss and wait for one of a Ranker to show up," Mawell remarked. Zalroth almost instinctively, and had to force himself not to ask what a Ranker was, believing it would lower his chances of getting a recommendation. While pondering Maxwell's words, Zalroth figured that a Ranker must be a title given to really strong hunters, and that thought gave Zalroth an idea.

"So, someone who could defeat this dungeon boss would have to be a pretty capable hunter, right?" Zaroth asked with a smug grin on his face. Maxwell groan and confirmed that at this point, in time, their only hope of stopping the escaped dungeon boss is through the help of a Ranker or a large squad of A-ranked hunters. Maxwell was about to tell Zalroth that he should probably just go to the hunter's association building and take the Open Hunter Evaluation, but when Maxwell blinked Zalroth was suddenly gone.

Maxwell rapidly blinked before rubbing his eyes while muttering he must be tired. Zalroth stood back up and asked Maxwell if he was ok as he was dusting off some dust from his coat. Maxwell stated he was just tired while telling Zalroth if he sees anything out of the ordinary then he should contact Maxwell. Zalroth gave Maxwell a thumbs-up before he jogged off. As he watched Zalroth hurry away and run down the alleyway right next to the dungeon-broken gate, Maxwell suddenly realised something and face-palmed when he realised he didn't give Zalroth his contact information.

"Well, well, well, aren't you looking less like a mess today, Maxwell," a slightly tall, teenage human girl (who had spikey silver-white hair tied into two hair buns, cyan eyes, and tanned skin) remarked while she was adjusting her silver light templar themed knight armour and the long silver pole on her back.

"Oleka... you sure love showing up fashionably late," Maxwell murmured as he rubbed his eyes.

"Well, not everyone has as much free time as you regularly do, Maxwell," Oleka jokingly snarked as she strolled over to Maxwell. Oleka placed her hands on her hips while asking Maxwell if he and the others know where the boss monster is. Maxwell simply stated they haven't but that they know it's somewhere within the district. Oleka sighed and said she'll be at the Golden Bear Bakery (the store that Kēki works at) so Maxwell can find her there when she's needed.

"Why'd it have to be her?" Maxwell muttered as he walked over to the gate when a group of hunters exited it, with a few heavily injured hunters.