"Yo, if it isn’t the White Reaper?"

My head turned instinctively toward the sound.

A middle-aged man was shouldering his way through the crowd, trying to get to us.

He addressed the people blocking his path as he went. "Ma’am, excuse me, please. Sir, if you could just step aside for a second. Thank you."

By the time he managed to force his way through the crowd, we’d already walked past.

The man quickly realized this and broke into a jog behind us. "Hey, don’t just walk off like that. I’m right here. Hey!"

He hurried ahead and managed to circle around us, planting himself directly in front of Allen and forcing us to stop.

For the first time, I got a good look at him.

His dark brown hair was wavy and messy, with long strands falling around his face. He had a sharp jawline, pale skin, and narrow dark brown eyes that carried a tired, distant look.

He was a little taller than me, with a lean, slender build that almost seemed wiry.

A sand-colored trench coat hung over a black vest and a light blue shirt. A turquoise bolo tie sat neatly at his collar, paired with beige trousers and dark brown shoes.

At the moment, though, he was bent over with both hands on his knees, breathing hard from the effort of catching up to us.

Who the hell was this guy?

More importantly, what was going on?

I had absolutely no idea.

The man slowly straightened and looked at Allen with a mysterious smile.

"Hey. Long time no see. How have you been?"

Allen didn’t respond. He simply stood there, his expression as blank as ever.

The man let out a short laugh.

"Same as always, huh?"

Then his attention shifted to me.

"Oh, little Michael is here too?"

Little Michael?

What the hell kind of name was that? And why was he calling me that?

Wait. Did I even know this guy?

I searched my memory but came up empty. No, I didn’t think so. So why was he acting like we were familiar?

I stayed silent, staring at him in confusion.

He tilted his head slightly.

"Hey, you don’t recognize me?"

I slowly shook my head.

"No."

His smile widened a little.

"When you were a kid, I used to change your dia-"

Before he could finish, Allen moved.

In a single swift motion, he grabbed the man by the neck and hurled him backward as if he weighed nothing. The guy flew through the air and crashed into the crowd behind us.

The reaction was immediate.

People gasped and stumbled back as a commotion spread through the crowd. Voices rose in shock and confusion from every direction.

I just stood there, stunned.

Allen turned to me, as calm as ever.

"Young master, let’s go."

Before I could fully process what had just happened, I heard myself reply.

"Yeah."

And just like that, we started walking again.

As if nothing unusual had happened at all.

What the hell was that?

Why did Allen suddenly throw that guy? And what was he about to say before Allen cut him off? Something about when I was a kid? What had he done?

And then there was that name. White Reaper. Was that what he’d called Allen? Was that some kind of nickname?

God, could someone please just explain what the hell was going on?

While I was walking beside Allen, still trying to piece everything together, I heard that same voice again from behind us.

"Hey, wait! Why do you both keep running away?"

This time, I actually stopped. I turned around.

The moment I did, I found the man standing just inches away from me. He was studying me closely, as if trying to figure something out.

Before I could react, he suddenly reached out and grabbed both my cheeks.

"Hmm... this doesn’t look the same. How did you get so handsome all of a sudden?"

I blinked at him, completely caught off guard. "Uh..."

What?

Before I could form a proper response, Allen stepped in. He grabbed the man by the collar, yanked him close, and stared him down. "What are you doing here?"

The man didn’t seem fazed in the slightest. His tone stayed lazy, almost playful. "My, my. Relax a little. I’m not here to start a fight. I just wanted to ask you something."

Allen’s voice went cold. Deadly serious. "Get out of here before I put you in the ground."

Then he shoved the man backward with enough force to send him stumbling.

Meanwhile, I just stood there, completely stunned by what I was seeing.

Did Allen just lose his cool?

He actually did. I’d never seen him react like that before.

Who the hell was this guy? Why had Allen lost his composure in front of him? Why had he given him such a direct threat?

From the way they’d spoken just now, it was clear they knew each other. But what kind of relationship did they have?

Were they friends?

No. Definitely not friends. Not with the way Allen had just talked to him. That left one option.

They were probably enemies.

After Allen shoved him away, the man casually brushed himself off and walked back over as if nothing had happened. He was about to say something to Allen when he suddenly glanced at me instead.

"By the way, kid, the name’s Julian Cash." He paused for effect, then added with a lazy grin, "And before you ask, no, I don’t actually have any cash. I’m completely broke."

Julian turned his focus back to Allen and started talking again, but I wasn’t really listening anymore.

Wait. Julian Cash.

I let the rest of his words fade into background noise and focused entirely on the name.

No. I was certain I didn’t recognize that name at all.

Allen abruptly turned and started walking away. "Young master, follow me. We shouldn’t waste any more time on pointless things. Or pointless people."

I looked back at Julian. He’d gone completely still, standing there like a statue, as if Allen’s words had actually hit him.

I turned away and quickly followed Allen.

I’d never heard Allen speak with that kind of bite before. Julian must have done something significant in the past. Something serious enough that Allen was still holding grudge onto it.

Of course, Julian didn’t stay quiet for long. He jogged up beside us, his voice thick with exaggerated offense. "That’s harsh, Allen. I thought you’d miss me at least a little. Now I’m sad. You’ve completely ruined my day."

Allen paid him no attention. He just kept walking straight ahead.

I had no clue why Julian was putting on such a performance, but I chose to let it slide.

Instead, I turned to him. "Uh, Mr. Julian... do I actually know you?"

He glanced at me and started to respond. "Yeah, like I told you, when you were a kid, I used to..."

He stopped himself mid sentence and glanced toward Allen.

This time, Allen didn’t react. He just kept his steady pace without so much as a glance back.

I waited for Julian to finish what he’d been saying.

He cleared his throat and picked back up. "...had a lot of money."

I blinked at him. "Money?"

What?

That made no sense. That wasn’t what he’d been about to say at all.

Julian nodded as if his answer had been perfectly logical. "Yeah, I used to have tons of it. Man, those were good times. I lived like I didn’t have a care in the world."

His words had completely shifted from whatever he’d been about to say just seconds earlier.

I was almost certain he’d deliberately dodged the real answer. I knew he was hiding something. I just couldn’t prove it yet.

Anyway...

Julian clearly had significant status or belonged to an upper class family. That much was obvious. No ordinary person would casually call me "little Michael" the way he had. Only people with real standing could address me by name without facing consequences.

For everyone else, there was a strict law in place. The government required common citizens to address anyone of high status by adding "Sir" before their name. If they failed to do so, they’d be punished with a fine of 2,000 hunter credits and a full day in prison.

I had no idea who had come up with such a ridiculous law, but whoever it was must have had a serious superiority complex. There was no other reasonable explanation.

That wasn’t the most important thing right now though.

I looked at Julian directly. "Mr. Julian, can you please tell me what’s going on? Why are people avoiding us like this? And why did you call Allen the White Reaper? Is that some kind of title?"

Julian looked at me with what seemed like mild surprise. "You don’t know? Allen really didn’t tell you anything?"

What? What was Allen supposed to have told me?

I shook my head. "No. He didn’t say anything."

Julian let out a short laugh. "Of course he didn’t. Figures. Don’t worry, kid. I’ll explain everything to you. But before I do, there’s one thing you need to know first."

I straightened up a little and focused on him, ready to listen.

He paused deliberately, then said, "Don’t call me Mr. Just call me Julian."

I stared at him for a second.

Seriously? That’s what he made such a big deal about?

I let out a quiet sigh. "Fine. Now please just tell me what’s going on."

Julian gave me a knowing look and gestured ahead. "Keep walking for a bit and make sure you keep your eyes up. You’ll figure it out on your own soon enough."

The moment he said that, I just stared at him.

Fuck! Did he really have to do that?

This guy was completely unbelievable.

I decided right then I wasn’t going to ask him anything else. If I did, he’d just keep playing games.

I turned away and kept walking without another word. I didn’t even glance in his direction.

Julian didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. If anything, he looked entertained. He was still smiling, walking along as lazily as ever.

Even so, I did take his advice seriously.

I kept my eyes up as I walked, scanning the area.

Looking at what exactly? The skyscrapers, I assumed. They were mostly empty—

Before I could finish the thought, something shifted.

The skyscrapers that had been completely blank just moments before suddenly came to life. Three enormous virtual screens flickered into existence across the faces of the three towers. Each one displayed different information: dungeon missions, guild positions, and hunter rankings.

Another illusion shield. Naturally.

Why were there so many of these things around here?

I shoved the question aside and focused on the screens instead.

First, I checked the guild rankings. I was curious where the Frostburne guild stood.

***

[1] Blitzkrieg

Recent Clearance: SS+ Rank Dungeon

[2] Frostburne

Recent Clearance: S+ Rank Dungeon

[3] Tempest

Recent Clearance: S Rank Dungeon

***

It didn’t take long to find.

Second place.

It looked like we’d climbed one spot since the last time I’d checked.

That was good. Better than good, actually.

I felt a small swell of pride seeing the Frostburne guild sitting solidly in second place on the list.

After a moment, I shifted my gaze to the hunter rankings. Mostly out of curiosity.

The second I saw it, I went completely still.

My heart actually skipped a beat.

That was the moment I finally understood what Julian had been talking about. He’d told me to look up and everything would make sense.

And now it did.

I understood completely.

I turned my head slowly and looked at Allen. Then at Julian.

Allen showed no reaction at all. He just kept moving forward, his expression as blank as ever.

Julian, on the other hand, gave me a knowing smirk and said, "Told you."

These two...

***

[1] Kael Tempest — Storm Sovereign

[2] Julian Cash — Angel of Death

[3] Allen Carver — The White Reaper

[4]...

***

They were absolute monsters.

After a few seconds, I managed to calm myself down.

This was unbelievable. Incredible, even.

I’d never expected Allen to be anywhere near the top ten on the hunter rankings, let alone sitting in the top three.

Just how strong was he, really?

Then I glanced at Julian.

Who the hell was this guy?

He was ranked even higher than Allen. Did that mean he was stronger? Was he also a Master ranker, just like Allen?

And what was with that title? Angel of Death.

Allen’s title, The White Reaper, had already been intense enough.

But this?

Both of them must have done something absolutely brutal to earn names like that.

We continued walking until we reached the second skyscraper. Allen turned toward its entrance and headed inside without breaking stride.

I followed right behind him.

For whatever reason, Julian came along too.

I wasn’t entirely sure why, but I didn’t question it. He’d mentioned earlier that he wanted to ask Allen something. Maybe he just didn’t want to do it in front of me.

After walking for about a minute, we finally passed through the main entrance.

Just like before, people kept staring at us. The further we walked, the more eyes turned our way.

I did my best to ignore all of it.

After a short walk, we reached the elevators. One of them was already open, so we stepped inside without delay.

Allen pressed a button right away.

The doors started to close.

Then, suddenly, I heard a voice from outside.

"Hey, wait! Don’t close it!"

Huh? Who is that?