"Bounty Hunter? That badge alone already proved that you are a fraud." The deputy pulled back the hammer of his gun.

Selina's body tensed up.

Mater put a hand on her shoulder. "Let him shoot. With my Force Dome, nothing can hurt you."

Suddenly, a third voice came up.

"Put that gun down, Ethan."

A man walked up from behind the deputy. It was an old man with a moustache as gray as a rainy cloud. He had a cowboy hat on top and a gun vest with two guns on either side.

"Sheriff! I..."

"Just put the gun down."

Ethan nodded and lowered the revolver.

"Pardon him for his behavior. We have met quite a few fake Bounty Hunters lately. They have exactly the same badges as yours."

Selina lowered her hand and breathed in relief. "The same badge? But this is an Ankh Badge. Only Bounty Hunters and Private Investigators have this."

The Sheriff shrugged.

"What is an Ankh Badge, Sheriff?" Ethan said.

"It is the badge of a Bounty Hunter. You don't need to worry about it, Ethan. That profession isn't that common these days.

Please follow me to my office. We can talk more there."

Selina nodded. She followed him inside the Sheriff's Office. When they went past Ethan, Mater shot him a piercing gaze and hissed at him.

"That is a spicy cat." Ethan said.

Inside the office, the Sheriff took his hat off and put it on the coat rack.

"You have to excuse the boy for being a little bit jumpy. He didn't sign the SCOA."

"But he is a policeman. How can he not sign the Agreement?"

"Technically speaking, deputies have the authority of a sheriff but they aren't real policemen.

My name is Carter. What is yours?"

"Selina Isles. Bronze Bounty Hunter."

Carter nodded. He leaned back on his chair and lit up a cigar. "Lately there have been people posing as Bounty Hunters. They also have those Ankh Badges.

I don't know if they fake the badge or they gain it from somewhere. But they really caused a lot of trouble."

"How do you know they aren't real Bounty Hunters?"

"Because I can't feel any Psycho Force from them, Miss Isles."

Carter flicked his finger, sending a pen from one side of the table to another.

"Telekinesis?" Selina widened her eyes.

"Just a cheap trick to verify my identity, Miss Isles. This old body of mine can barely do anything else anymore.

Can you tell me why you're here, Miss Isles?"

"I am here for the bounty in Onoke Swamp."

"I was afraid you would say that. That bounty has been sitting there for decades now. Not a lot of Bronze Hunter would take care of it.

The NCE in that swamp is very powerful, Miss Isles. It is at least approaching Hazard level. It fights in its home ground, which is the muddy water of the Onoke Lake. That makes it much more dangerous than any Menace level.

Many Hunters tried their chance with the monster. Only a few survived."

"I know the risk, Sheriff Carter. Please rest assured that I already made peace with death once I accepted this job."

"What a line, Miss Isles. Few have such conviction like yours. If that's the case, please tell me anything you want to know."

"The reports and records of previous encounters with the NCE. It would allow me to learn more about it."

"I can tell Ethan to prepare that for you." Carter nodded. "I can also share some personal experiences of mine about the NCE as well. If you have time to spare."

"Of course."

"Please sit, Miss Isles."

Selina pulled the chair opposite of Carter and sat down. The Sheriff told her about his story.

Decades ago, when the sheriff was still a young man in Ines Sota. He and his friend had come to the Onoke Lake to swim. They ignored the warnings of the adults and jumped down the dark water of the lake.

Under there, he saw a half-man half-fish wraith. Its skin had scales and its lower body was a black fish tail. Its upper body wasn't a man, but rather a fusion between a fish and a man.

It was pale as a dead man and had a giant jaw with countless big sharp teeth. The wraith had a pair of soulless green eyes.

Carter tried to warn his friends about it but they were too busy messing around. Before they knew it, a friend of his had been dragged down to the bottom of the lake.

Carter and the rest tried to swim away. They got picked off one by one. Carter almost died but he made it to the shore. The wraith bit his leg and tried to drag him back down but the townsfolk came just in time.

Seeing that there were too many people, the wraith released Carter and dove back into the lake.

Present time.

Carter pulled up his pants and revealed a big scar on his leg.

"That thing left that on me. It still stings every cold day."

"I'm sorry to hear about your friends, Sheriff." Selina said.

Carter waved his hand. "You don't need to worry about it. It was many years ago.

I... moved on."

"We will take care of this wraith, Sheriff. I promise it."

"We?"

"I have some friends that will help me with this bounty."

"That is probably a smart move. More people, more safety. And the way you referred to it... Yes, Wraith seems much more fitting."

Selina unknowingly used the term Mater had used. She tried to play it off and changed the subject.

"What about the Fake Bounty Hunters, Sheriff? What did they do?"

"Nothing too serious. But they did take some free stuff from our local stores and tried to extort money from our honest people.

You know what. I'll also give you a bounty. If you can find those Hunters and retrieve those Hunter Badges, I can reward you. Let me put it as a personal mission on the Hunter System."

"A personal mission?" Selina said.

Carter nodded. He pulled out a small laptop from the drawers. "Sheriffs and other high officials can issue personal missions. This is different from the usual bounties public on the site. This mission will only be visible and effective to you."

"I understand. I will add that into my bounties as well."

Carter typing speed was extremely slow. But he managed to issue a personal mission to Selina via the Bounty Hunting Site. Selina used her phone to accept it.

"When will the records be ready, Sheriff?"

"It might take an afternoon for Ethan to collect those from the storage room."

"Alright. Can you name me the stores and people that saw the Fake Hunters? I will give them a visit."

Carter took out a piece of paper and gave it to Selina. "Lucky for you, I already wrote them down this morning.

Best of luck, Miss Isles."

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