Chapter 9 : First Day Of Admission – (2)

It had been a long time since I fought a human.

Even during my time with the mercenary band, I mostly hunted beasts like wolves or wild dogs, or small demons.

There weren’t many chances for real combat against people.

“Hey, newbie. Your stance is sloppy. At least raise your guard if you don’t want to get hurt too badly.”

A senior from the training center, who shared the same dormitory, seemed to have brought me out to the plaza under the pretense of an initiation—really, just to beat me up.

Judging by how indifferent the other trainees looked as they gathered to watch, it was probably a common occurrence.

Initiation.

Something similar had happened back in the mercenary band.

Back then, I had no choice but to suck it up and take the beating quietly.

But things were different now.

Camilla had said I was someone with a letter of recommendation from the priest.

She said I could be proud of that.

So wouldn’t it be strange if I just let myself get beaten up during an initiation like this?

Wouldn’t that be a disgrace to the priest, if I got beat up here?

That thought crossed my mind for a moment.

“Alright, here comes one!”

With a wicked grin, one of the senior trainees charged at me, swinging a fist.

He was big, and so was his fist.

If it hit me squarely, my already-crooked nose would definitely bend further.

Huh?

Something felt odd.

The punch was slow.

At first, I thought he was joking.

But his face was dead serious.

That meant… my perception was capturing every single frame of that punch without missing a beat.

Come to think of it, something similar had happened when I was chasing the vampire mage’s movements.

In a frozen world, only my vision remained clear.

Was this another ability I gained when I became Lily’s servant, along with my regeneration?

In this slowed-down world, I watched the fist flying straight toward my face and pondered.

Should I let this punch land?

If I wanted to make my time at the training center easier, enduring the violence silently might be the best choice.

But Camilla said I could graduate in about two years.

That’s not much different from the time I spent with the mercenary band.

What really came to mind was what the priest had said about the mindset of a hunter:

A hunter reigns above fear.

These guys were no different.

In fact, now was the time I had to stand tall and show who I was.

I raised my hand and deflected the punch with the side of my palm.

The senior’s face briefly twisted in surprise.

I grabbed his wrist and swept my leg at his shin to take him down.

I thought I went easy on the kick.

At least, until his leg twisted in a grotesque way.

“Huh?”

“Aaaaaargh!”

The slowed-down world suddenly sped back up.

I returned to reality—and now, I was the rookie who had just broken a senior’s leg.

Why did it break? Was he weak?

No, he was clearly bigger than me, just by looking.

“Uh… are you okay?”

It was weird to ask after being the one to break it, but I asked anyway.

Of course, the crowd exploded.

“That, that crazy bastard!”

“Kill him! Beat his ass!”

Three more charged at me.

No matter how much I explained or apologized, I could tell they wouldn’t understand.

Who would believe someone broke a leg by accident?

“Aaaargh!”

“Sh-shiiit! My leg! My leg!!”

So I did the same to them.

A short while later, there were four people in the training ground—and only five intact legs.

For reference, two of those legs were mine.

Only then did my lost sense of reality come back to me.

I had caused an incident.

On the very first day at the training center, I had broken three people’s legs.

And it was an act of insubordination, no less.

I assumed I’d be punished, and I wasn’t wrong.

Hunters, having received a report, rushed over from the main building.

They stared, mouths agape, at me standing alone among the fallen trainees clutching their broken legs.

“Uh, so…”

Feeling like I needed to say something, I offered an explanation.

“It was an accident.”

They didn’t look like they believed me.

They loaded the injured seniors onto stretchers and carried them off, leaving me behind.

“…You. Come with me for a moment.”

The next moment, a firm hand landed on my shoulder.

Turning around, I found the guildmaster, Aila, smiling brightly at me.

“I’m sorry.”

“Mmh. No, it’s not you who needs to apologize—it’s that priest bastard who should be apologizing to me.”

Though she was smiling, the vein bulging on her forehead made it clear that Aila was far from calm.

I swallowed hard.

“Let’s go somewhere quiet, first.”

I nodded quickly.

Aila led me to the most secluded room in the training center.

Once she had pushed me inside, she shut the door behind us and locked it.

“I’m sorry. I… didn’t mean to do it on purpose.”

I apologized honestly.

“You really think accidentally breaking someone’s leg makes any sense?”

“…Well.”

I had only meant to knock him down, but his leg twisted.

It felt like I had kicked a rotted tree.

It was too easy.

Was the human body really this fragile?

Or had my strength increased that much from becoming a vampire’s servant?

The thought of drifting further from humanity weighed on me.

Whether she sensed that or not, Aila let out a sigh and opened the locket hanging at her chest.

From inside, she pulled out a thin needle—and the next instant, it was aimed just beneath my chin.

“…Only answer what I ask. Understood?”

“Y-Yes…”

“Have you ever strongly wanted to kill someone before?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I told you to answer, not to repeat my question. Now answer. Have you ever had a murderous urge?”

It seemed Aila had heard from the priest that I was bound to a vampire.

Her pressing question brought back a vivid memory: the time in the cave when I had captured the vampire mage.

At that moment, I had been overcome with a strong urge to kill.

Should I confess this?

Would Aila stab that needle into my neck if I did?

I hesitated for a moment—but changed my mind.

In this hunter guild, the priest’s influence ran deep.

Even if she was the guildmaster, she wouldn’t be able to kill someone bearing his letter of recommendation without good cause.

So I told the truth.

“Actually, before I came here, when I captured a vampire mage, I experienced a strong bloodlust.”

“Tell me more.”

“Well… it felt like my blood was boiling. I had this sudden urge to crush his head beneath my foot.
It just hit me. Out of nowhere. No warning.”

“Never felt anything like that toward a human?”

“…No.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Only then did Aila lower the needle.

“Right. Seems like that progenitor isn’t actively trying to control you.”

“…Is that really okay? Even if I felt like I wanted to kill someone?”

“It’s a natural reaction for a servant to feel their blood boil in the presence of a lesser vampire. It’s like a biological reflex. If you didn’t feel a bloodthirst toward humans, that means the progenitor hasn’t started influencing you. Not yet, anyway.”

“Lily…”

“Yes, Lily. Your little sister. Seems she hasn’t become strong enough to control a servant yet. Or maybe… she has, and she’s simply choosing not to.”

Aila let out a relieved sigh and tucked the needle back into her locket.

If I’d said I had felt murderous toward a human, would she have driven that needle deep into my neck?

I didn’t know.

But I was certain of one thing—Aila was someone who could kill without hesitation if it meant protecting the guild.

“You said you hate vampires, didn’t you?”

I nodded hard before she even finished the question.

I wanted to kill the vampire queen who took Lily.

And the other vampires too.

My blood surged just thinking about it.

Maybe it was the influence of being a servant.

Whatever the reason, my rage was directed only at vampires.

I had become a hunter to kill them—and to one day see Lily again.

Aila narrowed her eyes, examining the look in mine.

After a beat of silence, the corner of her mouth curved up.

“Well, you’ve got the will, that’s for sure. I guess the priest didn’t write you that letter for nothing. Using a vampire servant as a hunter… it’s insane, but not impossible.”

Aila pulled out a card from her coat and slipped it into the breast pocket of my uniform.

“You’ve unpacked your things, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“The training center closes on Sabbaths—no classes, no training. Come see me in my office on those days. Show the card to the hunters, and they’ll bring you straight to me.”

“Um… and what exactly am I supposed to do when I meet with you?”

She frowned, like I’d just asked the dumbest question in the world.

“What do you think? We’re going to make the most of your abilities.”

“Abilities?”

“Blood magic. I’ll teach you.”

With that, Aila snapped her fingers.

Fwoosh.

From the tip of her index finger, crimson flames danced to life.

My eyes widened.

She had conjured fire—without flint, without any tools.

There was only one thing that could mean.

“I’m a mage,” she said.

So she was the one Camilla had mentioned—

A hunter who could wield magic.

The guildmaster, Aila, was a real witch.

The training center was a strict meritocracy.

Initiation rituals, where seniors beat on new recruits, were little more than power plays—

A way for the strong to flaunt their dominance.

Refusing to submit was its own kind of freedom, but…

There simply hadn’t been a single recruit reckless enough to beat down their seniors like rabid dogs—until now.

“Hey, did you hear? That new guy absolutely wrecked Ruben’s crew.”

“All three of them had broken legs. Like, beyond repair. The healers said even resetting them would be a nightmare.”

“Kind of satisfying, honestly. Those seniors were just bullies—picking fights under the pretense of ‘discipline.’ Serves them right.”

“Still… that new guy is making waves, huh? If I were in his training group, I’d be too embarrassed to show my face.”

In other words, the new recruit was the hottest topic in the training center.

He hadn’t cowered in the face of the so-called “Ruben crew”—the infamous seniors of the graduating class.

Instead, he’d shattered all of their legs.

“Did he get punished for it?”

“From what I heard, Guildmaster Aila took him somewhere private.”

“Don’t tell me… she expelled him?”

“Nope. Walked out totally fine. No punishment at all, apparently.”

“They say… even the Guildmaster can’t touch that guy.”

“What? Why not?”

“What’s the deal?”

“You know the Priest, right?”

“Of course. A legendary hunter—cut off the Vampire Queen’s arm seven times, they say.”

“Yeah. That new guy? He’s the first person ever to be recommended by the Priest. First time in guild history.”

A rookie hunter entering the training center, backed by an unprecedented recommendation from the Priest himself.

Naturally, word of Aiden—the name of that rookie—began spreading like wildfire, not just in the training center, but across the entire guild.

“I’d like to hear more about this.”

That rumor eventually reached the ears of the center’s most elite student.

When you sit by a frost-covered window year-round, ears tend to perk up at any whiff of warmth.

A woman seated quietly by the window turned her head.

“Y-Yes?”

The trainee she addressed flinched in surprise.

And who could blame him?

The person who had just spoken was none other than Luelin, known far and wide as the most intimidating figure in the entire training center.

“L-Luelin-nim?”

“I find this… interesting. Start from the beginning. Tell me everything.”

She had heard the name Aiden in passing—and now, she was curious.

Recommended by the Priest.

Something that had never happened in the guild’s history.

“W-Why, though?”

Luelin’s peers exchanged uneasy glances, clearly unsettled.

Their reaction wasn’t surprising.

Luelin was an extraordinary talent—enigmatic and elusive.

So much so that people often forgot she existed.

And more importantly, there was a reason everyone avoided her.

“Is the new recruit, the one the Priest recommended, still in the center?”

“Y-Yes, he is.”

Just as Aiden had the backing of the Priest, Luelin had been recommended by none other than Guildmaster Aila.

In other words—

She, too, was a witch.