CHAPTER 61: THE ONE WHOM THE DEMONS FEAR!

Chapter 60

"What?" Ben asked as he glanced around the room to see the judgmental looks all the applicants were giving him. "Don’t blame me, that’s the rules."

"Couldn’t something have been done about that? You just shattered his soul and his dreams of being a hunter." Jasmine said as she shook her head in pity, her voice carrying a rare softness in the heavy atmosphere.

"Not my fault that he was too weak to qualify. If I had passed him and he joined the association, do you think he would survive when he came across an advanced tier beast?

He would die instantly and who would get the blame? The association. Or wait! Do you all think it’s only beasts we are hunting? Tch!" Ben was clearly about to continue, but Elijah quickly cut him off.

"Just get on with the damned assessment and leave the ignorant fools alone," Elijah said firmly, his tone sharp enough to silence even Ben. The B-ranked hunter could only sigh in response.

"Right." Ben muttered.

’It’s true. I don’t really fault the association for being so harsh on their applicants. If he had allowed Joe to join, he wouldn’t last long, especially with the fact that demons have begun trickling into this world because of me.

If he was faced against a demon vessel, he wouldn’t last a minute, talk less of real demons. So I understand where the association is coming from.’ Max thought with an inward sigh, his eyes briefly dropping to the floor.

"Anyway, next up is Max. Hurry out." Ben called, his voice carrying a mix of curiosity and authority. Immediately, Elijah and Jake quickly turned their heads in the young dragon’s direction, their attention sharpening like blades.

A few seconds later, Max was already standing in front of the B-ranked hunter, his posture upright and his expression calm, though a faint storm brewed in his eyes.

’That strength and agility test is really nothing. I want to see his real strength in person, especially since he nearly clashed with this snorty brat from earlier.’ Jake grinned widely, anticipation dancing in his gaze as he got ready to spectate.

"Hey Ben," Elijah called out with a wide, devilish smirk on his face. "Kindly go a little harder on him. You can even transform a bit, because I assure you, he will give you quite the tough time."

"Huh?" Ben raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head back to stare at Max from top to bottom, scanning every inch of him as though searching for hidden strength.

The other applicants too raised their eyebrows after hearing what the A-ranked hunter just said. Murmurs rippled quietly, and they couldn’t make sense of it.

’I was right, they do know each other. But how?’ Jake thought as he glanced suspiciously between Max and Elijah.

"What do you mean by that?" Ben asked, his tone carrying a hint of irritation as he glared at Elijah. "That I’m weak?"

"No silly. It means he dealt with a greater fiend all by himself." Elijah replied with a wide smirk, his sharp gaze never leaving Max. Only then did Ben’s eyes widen in shock as he turned fully to stare at the young applicant before him.

’Hunter Elijah, you fool! I will skin you alive when I get the chance, you sneaky bastard.’ Max roared internally, his fists clenching so tightly his knuckles cracked.

’A greater fiend? This kid defeated one? I thought he was just a normal human. Wait! Isn’t that the demon that seeped in—the one the higher ups were tasked with eliminating before it caused havoc?

How strong is he really? For a human to do that, he needed to be at least half as strong as Jake. But his strength and agility test proved otherwise. Does that mean that he is special... or something else entirely?’ Ben thought as he eyed Max up and down more warily than before.

’A greater fiend? What the hell are these guys talking about? Is that a new beast species or what?’ Jake thought, his brows furrowed as confusion ate at him.

"Anyway," Ben sighed as he shook his head, then took a proper stance while gesturing for Max to do the same. "Let’s see how strong he really is, for you to hype him like that."

"Kek." Elijah chuckled lowly as he crossed his arms, his expression full of amusement as though he was about to watch a show that only he knew the ending of.

Tring!

{Quest Alert!}

Before Max could move, his system suddenly flashed in front of his eyes, disrupting the tense atmosphere around him.

’Huh? A quest? Please don’t tell me it’s to kill him,’ he inwardly pleaded.

{Quest details: You have been tasked to defeat a B-ranked hunter so as to get into the Hunter Association. Defeat him by landing a successful hit in one minute or less to get rewards.}

’Huh? Something I planned to forcefully complete, I’m getting a quest for? How fascinating.’ Max grinned as the promised rewards flashed in front of his view, his excitement growing the more he read.

{Rewards to gain: +5 free stat points, +300XP, one instant level up.}

"Are you ready?" Ben asked as he saw the wide grin spread across Max’s face. That grin... it didn’t sit right with him. It carried an unsettling confidence, almost as if the boy had been waiting for this moment all along.

"Kek. Always." Max replied, his voice laced with sharp amusement. He shifted smoothly into a battle stance, feet spread wide apart, hands raised in front of his face like a boxer preparing to strike. His golden gaze locked onto Ben with unwavering intensity.

"Now!" The hunter roared.

BANG!

Max exploded forward with a deafening sound, the floor beneath his feet cracking as if it couldn’t handle the raw force. His body blurred, a streak of motion darting across the space between him and Ben.

"Crap! So fast." Ben muttered, his eyes narrowing in shock as he leaped backward, barely avoiding a sudden roundhouse kick that tore through the air with another violent bang.

"I warned you." Elijah grinned from the corner, his arms folded as if watching his favorite play unfold before his eyes.

BOOM!

Max didn’t let up. He launched forward again, his speed immense. Though he wasn’t yet as overwhelming as Jake, there was no denying it—this was not speed that belonged to a simple human. Dust trailed behind him, the air itself trembling with each movement.

He suddenly leaped high, body twisting in midair before descending like a hammer. He came crashing down toward Ben with such force that the hunter’s eyes widened. Instinct screamed at him to move.

He sidestepped just in time as Max’s body slammed into the ground, a violent tremor shaking the room. A deep crater burst open beneath him, cracks spiderwebbing across the floor.

’Is this kid really a human or what? No! I refuse to believe that this is the strength and speed of a human. He is something more.’ Ben thought in growing disbelief as he stared at Max, who slowly rose from the crater, dust and fragments of stone cascading from his shoulders.

"Did I forget to add?" Elijah’s voice carried across the room, smooth and taunting. His grin widened, sharp and almost sinister. "He is the one. The one that they fear and want to eliminate so badly."

’They? Does he mean the demons? Wait! Want to eliminate him so bad?! Don’t tell me he is... right! He isn’t a human or a hybrid. Dude is a dragon.’ Ben roared inwardly as realization dawned on him, his expression darkening.

"Elijah, you sneaky bastard." He muttered under his breath. His focus snapped back just as another thunderous bang echoed, Max surging toward him again with frightening speed.

Out of pure instinct, Ben overreacted. His arms bulged grotesquely, muscles hardening and swelling as he swung forward. His fist collided with Max’s face in an earth-shaking boom.

{-10HP}

{HP: 90/100}

The system message flashed before Max’s eyes as his body skidded back across the floor, blood spraying from his mouth. He ground his feet into the floor to stop himself, leaving shallow trenches where his boots dragged.

"Crap! I’m sorry." Ben said quickly, his voice earnest. "I used too much strength and acted out of reflex."

"Hey Max!" Elijah called out, his smirk deepening, tone dripping with challenge. "He already gets it. Go all out now. Feel free."

"TCHWK!" Max spat blood onto the ground, the crimson droplets sizzling faintly as they hit the cracked floor. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, his grin returning but sharper, darker.

Then, strangely, he began to move differently. He bounced lightly on his feet, shifting left to right, his body swaying rhythmically. A predator’s rhythm. The kind of bounce that made it impossible to predict the next strike. His glowing gaze never left Ben.

Tring.

{Dragon eyes activated}

{Your free stat points have been allocated}

{STR: 56 58}

{AGI: 52 55}

"Shall we try things again properly now?" Max asked with a feral grin, his eyes glowing a faint but menacing yellow.

BANG!

The room exploded with sound as Max dashed forward again. The ground beneath his feet cracked violently, chunks of stone flying outward, his figure vanishing into a blur of afterimages. His speed had skyrocketed—the very air seemed to shatter with each step he took.