The Acknowledgement - Volume One

Familiar Faces

                Within the evaluation room, Calvin walked Winter out. "According to the machine, your mana levels are unmeasurable," he explained, "We'd have to get permission from the higher-ups to use more advanced mana meters. This process usually takes three or more days." Winter turned his head to face Calvin, "Very well," he stepped ahead. The crowd of recruiters were in shock, unsure if they heard Calvin correctly. "I can't believe I'm witnessing this," one commented, as more recruiters gathered and talked to one another. As the others were too busy deciding how they'll approach Winter, one saw Aaron Whitfield enter Building B, "Holy shit!" They cursed, pointing at the entrance, "I-it's the Hunter's Guild Master!" Beside him, River followed, "What is Aaron Whitfield, the 'Ultimate Hunter,' doing here?!" Another asked, "Are they here to recruit a third S-rank?!" They asked again.

                "Aaron Whitfield? I've heard a lot about him," Winter thought, "The best wielder of fire magic? Isn't this the one who can destroy an entire building using a single spell?" Ultima asked, "Talk about 'ultimate', huh?" He thought awkwardly. The crowd behind them whispered to themselves, backing away. "Did they already know about him? I guess that's it for our chance," one mumbled, "the guild master himself came for this guy!" River stared at Winter, "He's an S-rank?!" He thought with wide eyes, "Everyone is talking about the machine's error message," Aaron Whitfield thought, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "The Mythical Dungeon Association won't need to borrow another mana meter, he's undoubtedly one of the strongest here-" he thought, watching the storming aura coming from Winter's body- "There's no need to wait three days for his results," Aaron Whitfield chuckled to himself.

                "Good afternoon, I'm Aaron Whitfield, the master of the Hunter's guild-" he began, lifting his right hand- "Pardon me for asking, but I see that you've just been evaluated. Do you already have a guild you're interested in joining?" Aaron Whitfield asked, "If not, I'd like to discuss an opportunity with you. Do you have a few minutes?" He asked just before Winter stepped around him, "Sorry, but I have personal business to attend to," he replied. Devastated, Aaron Whitfield remained frozen in the same position for a moment. The crowd of recruiters gasped with shock, gossiping among them. "Another re-evaluation in three days-" Winter thought, stepping out of Building B- "There's already a bunch of things I need to get done. Perhaps I should finish that dungeon before getting back to the EWR tower," he sighed going down the steps. "Agent River, did I forget to introduce myself to him?" Aaron Whitfield asked, slowly turning to face him. River shrugged, before turning his head to watch Winter leave. Aaron Whitfield sighed with a smile, "Perhaps it was too soon for him," he thought. "Strange, he disappeared without a trace-" Aaron Whitfield looked out from the glass entrance- "He must be an exceptional assassin-type Mythic!" Erik rushed into the building, panting heavily. "If I recruit him, there will be three S-ranks in my guild, meaning we'd be the strongest among the world stage-" Aaron Whitfield thought, suddenly baffled to see Erik here as well- "Wait, what's he doing here?" Erik stared back, equally baffled, "Aaron Whitfield?!" He thought while huffing and puffing from the long run from his office, "Why does he look as if he was caught red-handed?" Aaron thought.

                "The White Lion guild is quite far from here-" he added- "He's out of breath, so he probably transformed to get here as quickly as possible!" Erik searched the room, sweat running down his forehead, "He must have known that guy was going to be here," Aaron thought, "could it be that Winter was the mysterious Mythic who helped the survivors of that Collapsing Dungeon incident?" A smug smirk grew on his face, "Bingo-" Aaron thought, stepping forward- "Not only didn't he let Winter go freely after, it was because he couldn't even stop him!" He thought walking past Erik, "From this brief encounter, that man cannot be easily controlled," he thought, stepping out from Building B. Erik sighed, "Damnit! Am I too late?" He thought, glancing over at Aaron, "Great, now that snake knows too!" Erik stepped out from Building B as well, "Now things are getting complicated!"