After saying goodbye to Oren, which was met with a simple »Hmph.« on his part, I briskly left the bar.

In a place like the Fuck It! you could get passively drunk just from the smell of alcohol in the air if you stayed for too long.

So wearing my light armor and with a sword hanging at my side, I walked toward the city wall. There my clients would be waiting for me.

And the closer I got to the outermost layer of the city, the fewer houses and people there were. The few people I still met on the way passed me by without taking notice of me.

The fact that hunters in full equipment and armor walked through the streets was no longer a rarity. Especially near the city gates, hunters would gather to set off together for the danger zones. If anything was unusual about me, it was the fact that my equipment did not associate me with any particular guild. Neither a distinguishing color nor a special logo decorated my vest.

Although there were the so-called Free Hunters, who were not forced to work for a particular organization because of their strength, they certainly didn't look like me. And more certainly, they didn't wear armor from a second-hand store.

Instead, I belonged to the second group of freelancing hunters. I was a Mendax – an Awakened who either had not yet been to a hunter academy or had failed to graduate from the hunter academy. I belonged to the former group.

Working as a Mendax had been banned by the EHO since the introduction of the hunter's license 40 years ago, but no one really cared or controlled it. In the world of the Awakened, the unwritten law was that everyone is responsible for their own fate.

As long as you could demonstrate even a hint of magical energy, you were considered awakened and were free to enter the danger zones and go monster hunting.

And with that hint of magical energy, I moved closer to the city wall.

♦

After 20 minutes of rapid walking, I stood before my destination. A huge wall, almost 50 meters high and 10 meters thick, stretched out in front of me.

One couldn't see it well from this distance, but this gigantic construct enclosed the entire city like a protective ring.

And this protective ring of brick and concrete was found in every large city and had exactly four entrances and thus exactly four exits – one in each cardinal direction.

At the moment, I was standing in front of Potsdam's North Gate – a disproportionately tiny gate made of metal that just reached 5 meters in height. Of course, compared to a human, the gate was still very large.

At least compared to most humans…

»Are you... Hegor?«

While I was lost in thought, staring at the imposing wall in front of me, a beefy giant approached me.

»Uh... Are you talking to me?«

Somewhat confused and at the same time frightened by the huge stature of the man in front of me, I pointed a finger at myself.

»Do you see any other Hogor here?«

'Wasn't it Hegor just now?' I thought to myself.

Tsk.

The giant clicked his tongue and put on an annoyed expression.

»The old geezer said he knew a good Mendax with lots of experience. But what's that? You're just a boy who has yet to grow some hair on your balls. Hey! Come over here and take a look at this!«

The giant turned and waved to two other people – another man and a woman – who were standing in front of the city gate and were now slowly moving towards it.

The second man appeared to be in his mid-20s just like the giant, but had a normal build compared to his colleague and was about the same height as me. Furthermore, he had short-cropped brown hair, brown eyes, and a shaggy, irregularly grown beard.

The woman appeared to be slightly younger, was half a head shorter than me, and had shoulder-length blond hair. Arriving in front of us, she crossed her arms in front of her chest and immediately started frowning.

»What did we expect from a senile drunkard like Oren. Look at that boy's equipment, if you can even call it equipment.«

While the woman looked me up and down with displeasure, I simply closed my eyes.

As a Mendax, I was already used to not receiving the greatest respect from society. If you worked as a Mendax, it either meant you didn't graduate from the academy, or worse, you didn't even make it to the academy in the first place.

You were not on par with those who worked in a large guild as professional hunters. At least, that was the widely held view.

And if you also came from a poor background and walked around with worn armor, you were guaranteed to receive unpleasant and derogatory comments.

»Aileen, now don't be like that. Look, he seems to be in pretty good shape.«

Of course, there were exceptions to the asshole-rule.

»Pff, you've always been a pussy, Tobi,« the woman named Aileen retorted.

»She's right. We're in the Eagles guild now, one of the top 50 guilds in Germany. You have to act accordingly,« the giant said.

However, the man named Tobi just rolled his eyes and held out his hand to me, which I took.

»As you have already heard, I am Tobi. I'm the main fighter for today's mission. The big guy next to me is Ralf. He's our shield. The woman here is Aileen and she will be assisting us with the bow.«

Sword, shield, bow. A classic combination.

»I’m Hektor. I look forward to working with you.«

»Don't mind these two, Hektor, they were born mean, but they are competent.«

»I’m used to it,« I simply replied with a tired smile.

I had never heard of the Eagles before, but judging from the equipment the three of them wore, they couldn't be beginners. In addition to impressive full-body armor made of pecorium, meaning monster leather, the three hunters also carried top-notch weapons.

The large shield of the even larger giant named Ralf was 10 centimeters thick and painted with a silver layer on the outside. Above it was a pattern in the shape of a hawk's head – apparently the logo of their guild. Presumably, the entire shield was made of thinned mana-steel and thus cost more than all my equipment combined.

The sword from the hunter named Tobi and the bow from Aileen looked equally high in quality.

They and I were worlds apart. It was the difference between a professional hunter and a simple Awakened.

»So, Hektor, I'm sure you know how this is going to go today. Nevertheless, for the sake of formality, I'll brief you on your duties.«

I nodded.

»You will be responsible for our luggage today. We carry our weapons ourselves, of course, so it won't be much on the way there. Then, if we kill monsters and decide to take certain parts with us, you'll carry those parts back to town. The backpack has a weight-reducing effect of -20%, so that should help. Did you get it all?«

'Wow, they even have an enchanted backpack,' I thought as I tried not to think about the price of such a piece of equipment.

»Understood,« I said.

»Good, you will receive the usual 5 silver coins as a carrier. If you do a good job, there will be 5% of today's haul on top as commission.«

I nodded again.

»Oh, and even though I don't look like it, I'm the leader of the little troop here. Ralf will be positioned at the front today, then me, then you, and Aileen will bring up the rear.«

Typical formation for such a team of three. Shield in front, bow in the back, the main damage dealer in the middle.

»Understood,« I said again.

»Hey, kiddo. Don't you dare slow us down. If you get in our way, there’ll be no money, is that clear?«

»Don't listen to Ralf,« Tobi said. »Whatever happens, you'll get your five silver coins.«

»Ahhh, enough chatter. Let’s go! Let's get rich!«

And with that, Aileen marched toward the city gate.

♦

After I picked up the magical backpack and Tobi bribed the gatekeeper with a few bronze coins to let me through – without showing the hunter's license – the north gate of the city of Potsdam slowly opened.

The solid iron plate lifted into the wall, revealing behind it a world that could not be more different from the one inside the walls.

Before my eyes, an agricultural desert stretched all the way to the horizon. Ruins, crumbling houses, and the remains of roads and sidewalks half-buried in sand indicated a former civilization. 

Now, all that remained was dust and dirt.

We climbed into the small all-terrain vehicle that the Eagles Guild had provided for the three hunters and set off. Our destination was about 10 kilometers away. A large forest that separated the capital city of Berlin from Potsdam. The danger level was D – the lowest level. It meant that although you could encounter monsters in the forest, they posed no real danger.

Even a non-awakened person could pass through it with relative safety and get away alive. This was because the most dangerous monsters would be intercepted at the front. The EHO would not allow the invaders to reach the heart of Germany.

»What do you think we will find today?«

At that moment, Aileen’s excited voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

»What do you think? The same as always. Goblins and more goblins. It's the Manto-Forest, what do you expect..." a not-so-excited Ralf replied while yawning.

»Goblins can also contain mana-crystals. And who knows? We might even run into some mutant wolves,« Aileen retorted energetically.

»When was the last time you heard of lupuses being spotted in the Manto Forest?"

»Do you always have to be such a killjoy?«

»I’m just being realistic. Hell, I don't even know why we still have to hunt in the Manto-Forest. We're experienced hunters now, we should be stationed closer to the front lines and make a name for ourselves. I’m not even talking about the S-front or even the A-front. But we are not even at the C-front.« Ralf said, somewhat annoyed.

"True. We could slay thousands of goblins and wouldn't rise a rank in a hundred years. Instead, we have to work with losers like that."

At this, Aileen gave me a disgusted look. I pretended not to listen to them, but that wasn't so easy when you were traveling in a car together. Especially if one person took up half the space.

»Enough already!« Tobi shouted from the driver's seat. »Make an effort and you'll get promoted. Even… here.«

Did I just imagine that Tobi had a slightly annoyed expression when he said Even here?

»Now that I think about it, how can you already be Probatio-I when we're still Probatio-II, even though we were in the same year at the academy?« Ralf asked.

»Are you stupid? Of course, it’s because he's a swordsman. Everyone knows that swordsmen have it the easiest. With the shield, you'll always be last anyway. You'll see, even I will rise in rank before you.«

»Haaa?! If I wasn't always protecting your ass, you'd have died before even graduating from the academy!« Ralf retorted.

»Oh, yeah? And if I wasn’t–«

»We're here.« 

At that moment Tobi interrupted the conversation.

I looked ahead through the non-existent windshield, and sure enough, the first trees could be seen in the distance. 

We haven’t been driving on real streets for a while now. Instead, we drove the off-road vehicle on the uneven remnant of a former highway road covered with potholes.

After a few more minutes, we finally came to a stop at the edge of the forest. From here on, our journey would continue on foot.

I got out and put on the large backpack.

My clients also took their weapons and got ready.

In front of me, huge trees – over 20 meters high – with red-orange leaves rose into the air. The Manto-Forest was known for this type of mutated red-beech.

Since the beginning of the invasion, various animals began to change in order to adapt to the magical energy that filled the air. Some animals became aggressive or gained special attributes such as speed or magical abilities. This also applied to plants and trees.

Now there were carnivorous tree species whose roots pulled you into the ground and slowly digested you.

But here, in the Manto-Forest in the center of the country, far from the front, the trees merely grew a little taller. And that was a good thing.

»Are you coming, Hektor?« 

I hurriedly turned around and saw that Tobi and the somewhat annoyed others were already waiting for me at the edge of the forest.

»Be right there,« I called back.

I put my hand on the pommel of my sword as if to make sure it was still there.

One more time I would enter the Manto-Forest. And even though I would not fight, it still made me nervous. Such a weak Awakened like me could die if I got as much as a scratch from those monsters.

'It will be all right... just like always,' I told myself soothingly.

With a determined look on my face, I marched towards the forest.

'It's going to be alright.'