The world had changed so drastically in only a few days that he decided to focus on increasing his strength.

When he heard everything that had taken place while he was away, Drever could not believe his ears.

Lying on the hospital bed in a finely furnished ward, his eyes were wide with shock.

"Marlon attempted a five-star breakthrough trial and won?"

He repeated the words slowly, as if trying to confirm they were real.

The two nurses nodded curtly.

"My father suddenly recovered afterwards?"

"Yes, young master."

The two responded in unison.

Drever fell silent once again.

The information weighed heavily on his mind, stirring countless thoughts he could not immediately organize.

"Where is my father?"

He asked after a brief pause.

However, the two nurses had no idea. Not even the higher-ups of the Hunter Association had any information regarding his whereabouts.

"He must have gone to that place."

Drever muttered softly to himself.

He turned toward the nurses and gestured for them to leave.

After they exited the room, he laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

"Could it be because of Marlon that the five-star difficulty suddenly disappeared?"

At first, he had thought it was nothing more than a system error. But after hearing the series of events that had taken place, doubt slowly crept into his heart.

Drever let out a deep sigh.

If only he had not gotten himself badly wounded by facing a C-rank boss on his own, perhaps he would have already gone to that place and searched for his father himself.

"I need to get out of this place quickly."

After saying that, he relaxed his body, closed his eyes, and soon drifted into sleep.

====

Marlon and the hunters arrived at the landing port of the hunter headquarters.

There were already hunters waiting for their arrival.

The hunters welcomed them warmly.

They took Draven away from them and led him to the holding facility they had already prepared.

Zareth had already been placed in his own special facility as well. Since his flight arrived earlier, everything had already been taken care of.

Given Marlon's request, there were a few friendly female hunters present. They took Deliah, who was already asleep, away from them.

Maddox was alongside the hunters who came to welcome them.

"How did it go, brother? I heard you singlehandedly took care of the situation, both in and out of the danger-zones."

He said with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, it was no big deal."

Marlon shrugged.

It really wasn't.

"Has Lady Crimson returned yet?"

Maddox shook his head.

Marlon sighed softly.

"Annabel is taking care of things in her place. You can discuss anything you want with her."

Marlon nodded in response.

Sandra and the other hunters still had to go through the usual mission reporting process, which would take a lot of time.

Marlon was not interested.

He only wanted to share what he had obtained and leave to awaken the new talent in his possession. He could not waste time on matters like that.

Nevertheless, when he entered the main hall, he was surprised.

It was so busy that even a beehive would be considered quiet in comparison.

It was also so crowded that one could not walk for thirty seconds without bumping into one or two hunters.

"What happened?"

Marlon could not hold back his curiosity.

He knew the place was meant to be busy, but the last time he came, the lobby area was not this crowded.

"Marlon, over here."

A voice called out to him.

He turned toward the direction of the voice and saw Annabel jogging toward him with a smile on her face.

When she called out his name, the others present immediately turned to look at him.

Their expressions crumbled in an instant, and whispering erupted throughout the hall.

But Marlon ignored them, as he was more focused on Annabel, who now stood before him.

"Why aren't you with the others?"

She asked.

"I am too tired to go through the mission reporting process. I heard it is very stressful, and seeing how the headquarters is right now, I think that was the best choice."

He responded casually.

Annabel smiled, clearly understanding his reasoning.

"You've grown incredibly stronger than the last time we met."

She observed his features closely and commented.

While Marlon was not actively showing off his powers, she could still feel it.

He was stronger.

Several-fold stronger than the last time they met.

She was curious to know how it all happened.

However, Marlon seemed to be in a hurry.

Still, she could not let him leave without sharing the latest headlines.

After all, he could not return to the academy in the current situation.

She invited him to her office and served him tea.

Then, she shared everything with him.

"A rift appeared at the academy?"

"Yes, about two days ago."

Thinking about it, Marlon recalled what the lady he spoke with earlier had said.

'So this is why Crimson Sterling wasn't present when I called.'

It all made sense now.

"What is its rank, and has anyone stepped in to clear it yet?"

Annabel shook her head.

"Aside from portals, rifts are one of the most unpredictable danger-zones. The evaluation process usually takes longer."

Marlon sipped from his cup.

He understood perfectly.

Annabel shared the other details with him, and after further discussion, he decided to sell all the monster cores in his possession.

"I don't need credits. I will return in a few days to purchase skill books or weapons with them."

He said as he bade her farewell.

Annabel was left speechless.

Marlon had thousands of monster cores in his possession, and none of them were below C-rank.

Yet his plan was to exchange them for skills, and even then, he seemed completely nonchalant about it.

She found him even more interesting.

Some veteran C-rank hunters, if they combined the total amount of C-rank monster cores they had obtained over the years, might not even reach half of what Marlon had brought.

'No wonder Lady Crimson found him so interesting.'

She muttered to herself.

She clicked a button on her desk, and a young bespectacled lady came rushing in.

====

Hunter Academy.

It was morning, yet the academy grounds were plunged into darkness, making it seem as though night had fallen.

This was due to the massive rift that had appeared above the academy all of a sudden.

The rift covered the academy grounds and the surrounding facilities, plunging the entire area into an unnatural darkness.

The chaotic sound of swirling energy filled the air.

It was the only noise that could be heard.

This was unusual, considering it was a weekday and the students should have been in class, learning as usual.

Nevertheless, they had all been evacuated.

The Hunter Association had sent all available guardians on-site to assist with the evacuation of the students and to set up devices to measure and monitor the rift.

At that moment, several guardians floated above the interdimensional rift.

There were five in total.

Three of them were men in their late fifties, while the remaining two were younger, one man and one woman.

The older guardians possessed a refined and restrained presence.

Although they were among the strongest hunters in the world, they suppressed their powers so completely that one would not even guess they were hunters at all.

As for the two younger guardians, an oppressive aura leaked from their bodies despite their attempts to restrain it.

"This is strange."

The young man, known as Douglas Payne, spoke with a concerned expression.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Interdimensional rifts are usually different from other types of danger zones. So far, there has never been one strong enough to resist the entrance of powerful hunters," one of the older guardians added before continuing.

"But this one, even though its rank is well above B-rank, even approaching A-rank, does not allow even us guardians to step inside."

(A/N: Guardians are A-rank and S-rank hunters.)

The others listened in silence.

It was the same concern that had been lingering in their minds since their arrival.

The young woman in their midst, known as the Black Ice Queen from the Southshore Nation, quietly observed everything that was happening without saying a word.

One of the older guardians let out a heavy sigh.

"This is a matter of great urgency," he said gravely.

"If this dimensional rift does not grant us access, then it can only mean one thing. I fear this will lead to another cataclysm-level event."

Hearing those words, the expressions of the others turned grave.

Yet none of them could deny the truth behind his statement.

There had only been two cataclysm-level events in the entire history of Arden.

And those two events had claimed millions of lives.

If another were to occur, they were uncertain about the scale of destruction that would follow.

While the five guardians continued observing the rift in silence,

their phones suddenly buzzed at the same time.

They brought them out almost simultaneously.

Each of them had received the exact same message.

"Axel is here. Come to the headquarters ASAP."

The message was short and simple, yet the meaning behind it caused their heartbeats to accelerate.

Without sparing even a single moment, the five guardians shot into the sky, speeding in the direction of the Hunter Association headquarters.

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