Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 334 QUEST-IONS

I woke up with a start. Breathing heavily I panicked and brought up my Status Screen. It was there, it was finally there. World Lasting Physique. 

Looking down to my body I felt normal. With the World Lasting Physique, I had hoped that my strength in Second Life Ranker would appear, but I guessed not. That didn’t matter much though, it would be simple to get back up to that strength. 

Curious why the reward suddenly appeared I thought back to my Manga Door. I had gone to High School of the Dead, Gantz, and then Naruto World. In Naruto my first quest had been World Lasting Physique as well. So it really had to be related to opening 3 doors. Thinking back further I had also received the Dual Processing Skill after clearing 3 doors. That must have been a threshold for some reason. 

A clue on how to proceed in the other halls: the only other question I had was how to get the skill as a Challenger Slot. I guessed I would have to clear a world in each Hall as Mikhail had most likely done, but also it might only be 3 halls. He had cleared Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist. They could be from the anime or manga hall, so it might be as simple as clearing a world in 3 halls. 

Pushing the thoughts away for now I looked around me. In a bed I didn’t recognize it was obvious that I was in a hospital room. A small couch against the windows there was a TV and medical equipment beside me. Nothing stabbed in my arm. I noticed that I was handcuffed to the bed. 

“What the hell?” I asked as I pulled the handcuff. As I did, 2 men in black suits walked into the room. Closing the door behind them they had a grave look on their faces. The front one with brown hair pulled his hand out of his pocket revealing handcuff keys. 

“Weston Woon,” he said. “Sorry for the restraint. We had to do this, as we investigated what happened.” He moved closer and undid the cuff. 

“Am I under arrest?” I asked, confused. 

“Not anymore,” the man said. “I am Inspector Kim.” He handed me a black card with his name on it. 

“You’re a Hunter Guild Inspector?” I asked, growing nervous. It was a little confusing, but awakened people were called Hunters, and a guy named his guild, Hunter Guild. These weren’t government employees, but inspectors from a specific guild. Old me hated inspectors since they investigated and looked for scapegoats for issues to pin problems on. 

“Yes, do you remember what happened?” He asked. 

“A little,” I lied. The men shared a look, moving to stand at the end of my bed as they studied me. Their Spiritual Energy was rather calm but I could feel a sense of probing. They were studying every facial expression I let pass on my face. Perhaps able to tell lies, I would have to watch it. 

“Would you mind walking us through what happened? Mainly why you ran into a dungeon you were not signed up for?” The other man asked. 

I let out a sigh. “I had a bad feeling,” I said, which was true-ish. “E-Rank Hunter Sung Jin-Woo has been my friend for years. I knew he was going into a dungeon, but suddenly I had a bad feeling. I rushed to the local Hunter Headquarters, got the information on where he was, and headed there as fast as possible.”

“Yes, we have received those reports. You were also seen breaking a window,” Mr. Kim said. 

“I said it was a bad feeling. I’ll pay for the window,” I said. The man frowned but nodded. 

“And what did you find in the dungeon?” The other man asked. 

“A lot of beaten and bloody people running away from it. But no Sung Jin-Woo,” I said with a sigh as I looked out the window. “As I followed where people were running from I came to this weird room. All these statues around this…altar or dais? Sung Jin-Woo was bleeding out on top of it.” I turned to them, my eyes wide. “Hunter Sung Jin-Woo! Is he alive?!” I moved to get up, Mr. Kim waved his hand. 

“He is fine. In the next room in fact. What happened next?” 

“I don’t remember. I saw some weird writing,” I said, hopeful that was truth enough.

“And Hunter Hancock Byuen?” The other man asked. 

“Who?” I asked. I knew who she was but I didn’t know she was a Hunter. 

“Hancock Byuen is an A-Rank Hunter in our Hunter Guild. She was found with Sung Jin-Woo and you. Completely naked and knocked out,” Mr. Kim said. His Energy poured out worry, anger, and more than a little lust. He had a crush on her. 

“Of course,” I said, annoyed. Not from the man’s crush, that came with the territory of marrying a beautiful woman. No, Hancock won the lottery again. A-Class Hunters were very rare. It seemed no matter what world I went to she rolled a 20 on backstory. Then again she had a shitty childhood in One Piece world. It was good she had some luck in other lives. 

“I don’t remember seeing her there when I got to the room…” I studied the men. “Is that why I was handcuffed?” I asked. 

“Yes,” Mr. Kim said. “When we came upon you three, she was naked and bloody. She kept cursing your name in her sleep. We assumed…the worst. She has since woken up and said she does not remember anything.”

“Good. Is she alright?”

“Yes,” Mr. Kim said. I would have to summon her later. 

“What now?” I asked. 

“First, you should know that you have been asleep for 3 days,” the other man said. The news was a surprise, but I took it in stride. “Normally you would be fined for entering a dungeon you weren’t approved for. But we believe that the Dungeon had a Rank-up.” 

I knew what a Rank-up was from my past life. Dungeon Portal strength was able to be analyzed by magical strength. Rating the portal they were able to rightfully judge what ranks and quantities of Hunters would be needed to clear the dungeon safely. A Rank-Up was a rare event where the magical reading was wrong. The room with the statues had been a far harder task for those present to deal with. 

“But we believe that you, Hunter Byuen, and Hunter Jin-Woo have been subjected to something never seen before.” 

“Why’s that?” I asked. 

The other man set his suitcase on my bed. The suitcase was thick. He pulled out a portal Magic Power Detector. Gold base, there was a purple gem at the center of the base and a small screen attached to it. 

“If you put your hand on this, you will see,” he said. I didn’t hesitate to do so. He frowned as the screen beeped and turned it around to show me. It read 10. 

“But I’m D-Rank, my magic energy should be…” I said slowly. It should have been a lot higher.

“Exactly. Both you and Hunter Byuen have become E-Rank Hunters for some reason. Whatever test you went through, you seem to have failed,” Mr. Kim said. I nodded, looking at the number as I shrugged. 

“Oh well,” I said. I guessed that becoming a Player started us at Level 1, so I wasn’t too surprised. 

“You are…taking this better than we assumed,” Mr. Kim said.

“Well I made it out of there alive, and the other 2 did too. Not the end of the world to drop in Class,” I said. “We done?” 

“Uhh a few more questions,” Mr. Kim said. I nodded and told my story a couple of more times. They tried to ask trick questions but I was vague and they were soon leaving. When they did I brought up the screen that had popped up while they were there. 

“Awesome,” I said. “Time to start power-leveling.” I got up, but as I thought about it, I decided it might be best to warn my fellow Players.