IATAOTHKG | CHAPTER 99

[CHAPTER 99]

The first day of joint training for the elite team began.

Twenty-eight ability users gathered in Hiscarn.

The leader, Caliph, stepped forward while leaning on crutches.

“As you all know, the primary objective of this subjugation is monster extermination.”

“Well, we have never gone hunting with a fixed quota anyway, so just kill whatever you run into.”

His loose tone and cheap choice of words eased the tension.

The stiff ability users let out quiet laughter and relaxed.

Mayna was no different.

That really is Sir lenox.

She had occasionally observed his distinctive leadership before.

Only her position had changed.

She now stood behind him, directly in his line of sight.

“For the time being, we will be staying at the hotel you see on the left.”

Following Caliph’s gaze, she turned her head and saw a massive wooden structure behind the ash-gray lake.

The first thing that caught her eye was the ornate decoration on the outer walls.

Next were the balconies attached to each room and the tall spires rising above.

It clearly bore traces of having been used by the upper class, but now hardly anyone seemed to stay there regardless of status.

It looks like people stopped coming here a long time ago.

“Doesn’t it look like a gathering place for ghosts?”

Gamri spoke up suddenly.

“Huh?”

“Pfft, yeah, it really does.”

Mayna, who had been thinking the same thing, chuckled softly and agreed.

“No chatting.”

Caliph’s reprimand struck like lightning.

After giving Gamri and Mayna a stern look, he continued his explanation.

“Hiscarn is currently close to a lawless zone.”

“You all remember the first incident three years ago, when a gate opened abnormally.”

“After the entire city fell into chaos, people quickly migrated away, and now it has become a ruin where starving beasts outnumber the remaining citizens.”

A lawless zone.

Starving beasts.

Ruins.

The words evoked images of the end of the world, yet they sounded all too familiar to Caliph.

The same seemed true for most of those gathered here, but Mayna was different.

This is terrifying.

She had bravely resolved to join the subjugation.

But upon arriving, Hiscarn was far too frightening for a mage on her eighth day.

A chill crept over her body, making her tremble.

Even the ash-gray lake before her, its depth impossible to gauge, looked like a pit leading to annihilation.

“If I die, don’t ever bury me in Hiscarn.”

“I’ll be having nightmares forever in my coffin from the trauma.”

“This city is insane.”

She recalled stories Caliph had mentioned in passing after hunts about this cursed city.

It was bad enough to step onto this land, but now she had to exterminate monsters here.

Worst of all, she would be entering a dungeon for the first time in her life.

Mayna’s already pale face turned white like raw dough.

“You can get beaten to death after being robbed by a gang with clubs just for stepping out to buy bread.”

“Monsters and magical beasts are everywhere, which I’m sure goes without saying.”

“On top of that, natural disasters are severe, and plenty of people have been struck by lightning and burned to death while walking down the street.”

Caliph, listing horrifying facts without changing his expression, gave an order.

“Therefore, you must always move in pairs.”

Pairs?

With whom?

Without realizing it, Mayna turned her head and looked at Biterion Parker.

He was looking at her as well.

“Pfft.”

“Haha……”

Caliph’s gaze briefly landed on the two as they swallowed their laughter, then moved away.

No screwing around.

Sera Parker bit her lip with a distorted expression.

She stubbornly refused to move, expressing her resistance as strongly as possible, even though she was supposed to stand close to her partner, Biterion Parker.

Biterion moved instead of her.

Without any change in expression or hesitation, he walked over to his sister’s side.

An unbreakable wall seemed to stand between the two who finally stood side by side.

It was invisible, yet felt impossible to cross.

“Partner assignments prioritize relationships that best compensate for each other’s weaknesses.”

“Whenever possible, attack-type ability users were paired with healing-type users, and individual personalities were also carefully considered.”

Caliph gestured toward Rob and Gamri.

“For example, whenever my colleague Sir Gamri Humblefoo gets worked up like a wild boar and swings his battle axe, Sir Rob Hugentia’s calm reasoning will intervene.”

“Conversely, Sir Hugentia’s excessive compassion will be completely blocked by Sir Humblefoo.”

“Hey, Sir Renox.”

Rob voiced his complaint, but everyone else burst into laughter.

“If anyone has objections, raise them now.”

“If I deem them valid, I will change the partners.”

“After this moment, no further inquiries will be accepted.”

No one stepped forward.

Even Narcitan Shobottom, who usually snarled like a fighting dog at the mere mention of Caliph’s name, could not challenge his judgment.

After waiting briefly, Caliph nodded slightly and continued.

“Moving in pairs has two meanings.”

“First, maintain physical proximity.”

“Whether outdoors or indoors, you must not be in separate spaces.”

Wait a second.

Mayna’s gaze shifted toward the hotel.

Does that mean we have to sleep in the same room?

They had lived in the same house for seven years, but sleeping in the same bedroom felt a bit insane.

“Second, risk your life to ensure that your partner does not die.”

Caliph’s changed tone instantly scattered her thoughts.

“Approach every moment with the mindset that the two of you share a single life.”

All traces of playfulness and his casual demeanor vanished.

He now wore the face of a capable, authoritative leader.

It was the face of Caliph Lenox, the holy knight Mayna deeply admired.

Why did you do that that day?

People could have been injured or killed.

You lost your reason and started asking pointless questions about how long I had known Biterion.

“Since today is the first day, you will have time for personal training or maintenance until 7 p.m.”

“We assemble in the hotel lobby at exactly 7 p.m.”

“That is all, dismissed.”

His bright blue eyes swept over the guild members and then settled on Mayna.

She felt happy.

She was glad to see him like this again.

“You, come with me.”

“I’ll start by teaching you how to shoot.”

“Yes.”

Her heart no longer ached or burned with restlessness.

“Ah, sorry, but I need to stop by and see the Crown Prince for a moment.”

“There’s something I need to return.”

Caliph nodded once.

Mayna hurried over to Biterion, pulled something from the inner pocket of her dress, and handed it to him.

Caliph looked on indifferently as the two whispered quietly to each other, then soon turned his gaze away.

The pain and longing now belonged to only one person.

* * *

He said he would teach her how to shoot.

But the place Caliph brought her to was a gun shop in Hiscarn’s industrial district.

“Here they are.”

“The two firearms you requested.”

The elderly shop owner with white hair placed two boxes on the glass display counter.

One was a long rectangular wooden box.

The other was a heavily worn square metal box that looked almost like an artifact.

Holding both boxes stacked together, Caliph spoke to the old man.

“I heard your shop has an attached shooting range.”

“Show us the way.”

The old man, silent for a moment, nodded.

He pulled out a bundle of keys from his inner pocket and opened a small side door in the corner of the shop.