The morning sun cast a golden sheen over Aria. It hung in the sky, a distant, unreachable orb. The city stirred to life. The marketplace, usually a riot of noise and movement, still bustled, though with a noticeable hush. Merchants hawked their wares, their voices tinged with a weariness. Shops had opened, but the usual chaos of Aria felt muted. Many residents had packed up and left, fleeing to other towns. Others remained, but their faces were etched with a shared paranoia. The town's heartbeat had slowed.

Still, life, in its relentless flow, continued. Merchants resumed selling, their conversations now filled with whispers of the event that had shaken the city. The shadowhunter, his face plastered on posters that were plastered all over town, was the only topic of conversation. The rumors spread like wildfire, whispers of a pale reaper, too, added to the anxiety. They were concerned why this pale reaper hadn't arrived yet.

The guards, tense and alert, were stationed at the guard station. It was a solid building, from the exterior it looked like any other. Inside, a long hallway split into two, with doors leading to various rooms. Rooms where equipment was stored, rooms holding evidence, and a central room where they huddled, attempting to find solutions to the city's problems. There were cells as well, the metallic bars a chilling reminder of the town's dark side.

Inside the investigation room, the air was thick with the scent of old paper and beeswax. Sunlight struggled to penetrate through the windows. The room was dominated by long, wooden desks and shelves crammed with files: documents, reports, and hunter profiles.

The guards were a mix of standing and sitting, their faces grim. They moved papers from hand to hand, their voices low as they debated the profiles. They were searching for a needle in a haystack – the shadowhunter. All hunter profiles had been copied and distributed to every assessment center in the region.

The guards were looking for suspicious individuals, for anything that could link to the recent events. They poured over the files, but the search was proving futile. There were countless hunters to sift through, even if they narrowed their search to assassin-type hunters, as that's what their conclusion was.

It was what they'd seen in the fight with the captain. The hunter had even said he was an assassin. He'd worn the C-rank assassin necklace.

The captain sat behind a larger desk, scrutinizing the submitted documents. He went through each one, scanning names, classes, registration dates, and levels. He created a pile to his left of files that passed through the evaluation. But, as he went through them, he found them to be regular hunters. Some were strong, yes, but not strong enough to perform the feats the shadowhunter had displayed that day. The hunt seemed to go on forever.

The Captain's eyes narrowed. *These documents… they aren't leading us anywhere…* He scrutinized a document, his brow furrowed. *The hunters are strong. They've done recent quests in this region's monster zones… but none of them could be him." He set the file aside with a sigh. He clasped his hands together, resting his chin on them, deep in thought. *That hunter… they said he fought with the captain as if they were equals…* He paused, recalling the reports. *No… they said he was struggling at first… before he used his skill.*

He thought, tapping a finger on the desk. *Meaning… he might have been slightly higher or lower than the Captain of the Black Cloud Guild. After all… in many cases… fighter-type classes have an ultimate skill that increases their abilities… with amazing effects…*

He rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Aaah… this doesn't make any sense." The outburst startled the other guards, and they all looked up at him. "What?" he muttered, meeting their gaze, annoyed by their attention. They quickly turned away, resuming their work, silent.

He glared at the last document. He started reading under his breath, his voice rising, "47…!?" He slammed his fist on the desk. "Are you people even trying?!" he demanded, his voice laced with anger. He glared at the guards, the veins in his neck standing out. "Alright… who put this here?"

The guards exchanged uneasy glances, murmurs rippling through their ranks as confusion knitted their brows. The captain's voice cut through, sharp with irritation. "You said the hunter was in his mid-20s, and I told you to bring documents for ages 20 to 30."

He snatched the paper, thrusting it high for all to see, his shout echoing. "This is a 47-year-old female hunter! Why in hell would you give me this?"The guards froze, some muttering under their breath. A young guard in creaking leather armor raised a hesitant hand. "Sorry, sir, that was me," he stammered, cheeks flushing. "Must've gotten mixed up."The captain's eyes narrowed. "Next time—"

He flung the document at the guard, who scrambled to catch it, the paper fluttering like a startled bird. "—don't repeat that mistake. This case is serious. If we don't find something useful, we're in deep trouble." His gaze darkened. "We're lucky the vanguard and pale reapers haven't arrived yet.

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Otherwise, this'd be a different story."The guards stared, tension coiling in the air. "Come on, get to work!" he bellowed, voice cracking like a whip. "Work faster!" He sighed, eyes closing briefly, shoulders slumping as he shook his head. *We're so screwed, he thought, dread pooling in his gut. The vanguard or pale reapers could arrive any minute. Word is they've already departed. It's a miracle they're not here yet.*

The young guard in creaking leather armor froze, eyes widening. "Sir!" he blurted, voice trembling with urgency.The captain's gaze snapped to him, annoyance etching his features. "What is it?" he barked, leaning forward.

The guard swallowed hard, shifting under the weight of every guard's stare. "There's something strange about this hunter," he said, voice faltering. The room stilled, murmurs fading as eyes bore into him. "It's just… this hunter's been registered for only a month and a half, and he's already B-rank."

A ripple of surprise coursed through the guards, their whispers buzzing like static. The captain's brow furrowed. "What?" he demanded, stepping around his desk to loom before it. "You mean he's been B-rank for a month and a half? That's not unusual."

"No, sir," the guard interrupted, urgency overriding his nerves. He strode toward the captain, clutching a document. "He's been a hunter for just a month and a half and reached B-rank already." He thrust the paper forward.The captain snatched it, his eyes narrowing with suspicion as he scanned the page. His breath caught, widening in shock.

It was Tyler's document, the one he'd signed upon registering as a hunter, listing his name, surname, and age. The registration date had also been written. The captain flipped through the pages, each one charting Tyler's rapid climb through the ranks, the dates stark and undeniable.

The captain muttered under his breath, his voice a low rumble of disbelief. "This is impossible. What?" Was this some kind of mistake? He furrowed his brow, eyes narrowing at the document. *I wonder how one jumps from E-rank to B-rank in just a month.* The guard shrugged, his leather armor creaking faintly.

"I don't know, sir. It must be a mistake, right?"The captain leaned against his desk, fingers drumming on the wood. *It must be a mistake. If it isn't, this hunter's extraordinary. He might be one of the Heroes... but Heroes can't be hunters. Even if he was, he'd have passed E-rank before 21. A late bloomer? Still doesn't make sense.*

He didn't mutter aloud, his lips pressing into a thin line.

"There's a chance it's a mistake, but it's small. No way they mess up four times in a row. Plus, they assess ranks with the orb and record levels in the same room, so this is…" His voice trailed off, heavy with uncertainty. "This might be true."The guards erupted in hushed conversations, their voices blending into a muffled buzz that washed over the captain, his focus locked on the document's stark lines. Well, this guy's an assassin. He's 21, he might be the same age as the Shadow Hunter. But that something doesn't add up. Sure, he's leveling fast, but he's still B-rank. No way a B-rank massacres an entire guild alone. Even beating one A-rank is nearly impossible for a B-rank. "What the hell is this?" he said, gripping his forehead, tension coiling through his temples like a vice.

A guard in the group muttered, his voice raspy with skepticism. "Is it even possible for someone to level up that fast? Wouldn't they be leveling up similar to the heroes?"Another guard chimed in, brow furrowed.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. But shouldn't heroes be higher than that at that age? Plus, heroes aren't allowed to be hunters. Why would a hero break the law for that? They think this profession is beneath them."

Meanwhile, the captain gripped his forehead, fingers pressing into his skin as he pored over the documents. When was this recorded? His eyes widened, a chill racing down his spine. *Wait, this was… this was after the massacre. And if I think about it, the guards said the person who entered Aria was C-rank. Does this mean he ranked up after arriving in Aria? That makes no sense. It'd mean he nearly wiped out the entire guild as a C-rank before fleeing. Which is literally impossible. I think I'm going to lose my mind from this.*

His eyes widened further as a realization struck. Unless he bribed the staff to hide his real level. *Yes, he's a false ranker. That's how he did it. Sure, he's powerful for a 21-year-old, but it's not impossible. We already have the pale reapers and all.*

Suddenly, the door burst open mid-thought, splintering the tension. Every guard whipped their head toward it, the captain's heart pounding wildly as he thought, *Are they here?*

The guards exchanged glances, murmurs fading as the muscular guard in steel armor walked in, his face serious, flanked by his mission companions. The captain exhaled in relief, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Welcome back. Did you find anything?" he asked, standing tall.

The muscular guard met his gaze, voice steady. "Yes, we did find something, though we had to pay a little for the info."

The captain's eyebrow arched, the other guards leaning in, their attention sharp and unwavering."Paid for it?" the captain echoed, curiosity lacing his tone

.The guard nodded. "Yes, some greedy staff member wanted money for the details. Anyway, we think we have a lead suspect."

The captain's grin widened, eyes lighting up. "Oh, really?"

"Yes," the muscular guard continued, his tone turning grave. "After searching for hunters with conflicts against the Black Cloud Guild, we got a name from the Crossroads base. Members had come looking for someone, a hunter. At first, people assumed they wanted to recruit him, but days later, bodies turned up in the forest. Guild members, of course. Some were unrecognizable, gnawed by monsters, but they'd clearly been killed by a human, a hunter."

The captain nodded slowly, the pieces clicking into place like tumblers in a lock. "Oh, right, some members were missing, so their bodies were in the Crossroads base. That means this conflict had been simmering before the massacre."

His voice carried a edge of grim realization, the air in the dimly lit guard station thick with the scent of ink and old wood. "What more did you find out?"The smaller guard beside the muscular one stepped forward, his voice soft and tentative, like a whisper in the heavy silence. "We managed to find out the hunter's name: Tyler Evans. It seems he's an assassin type."

Gasps echoed through the room, sharp and sudden, like bursts of wind through cracked windows. The guards' faces paled, eyes bulging in disbelief, while the captain's breath hitched, his knuckles whitening on the document as his gaze locked onto it. This was the same name, the very hunter whose impossible level-up had gnawed at him like a persistent itch. He must have been right all along.The muscular guard scanned the room, the erupting murmurs buzzing like a swarm of disturbed bees, confusion deepening the lines on his rugged face. "What is it?"

"Take a look at this," the captain muttered, his hand steady despite the tremor in his voice, thrusting the document forward.The muscular guard seized it, his companions clustering around him in a tight huddle, the one behind him craning his neck, the others pressing close, their breaths mingling in the stuffy air.

They pored over the page, surprise rippling across their features like a wave, jaws slackening, eyes darting from line to line as the weight of the revelation settled over them like a heavy cloak.Before any could utter a word, the door burst open with a creak of rusted hinges, spilling a sliver of light into the room.

A woman in weathered brown leather armor stepped in, her long black hair cascading down her back like a midnight waterfall, dark eyes glinting with sharp intensity, her thin athletic frame, standing a compact five feet tall, radiating quiet power. The guards pivoted, confusion twisting their expressions into masks of bewilderment, whispers stirring anew, who was this intruder, and what business did she have invading their station?The captain's eyes bulged, a flush of heat crawling up his neck, his heart thundering in his chest like a war drum. He knew exactly who this was: a Pale Reaper.

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