Only My Weapons Level UP

Chapter 31: Wasting time

"You... you have a weird aura," The redhead said.

"Come on, lady. I am sure you can choose a better pickup line," Terry said.

"... My apologies, empress, this guildmaster is young, and he isn't that familiar with how things work yet," Louis said while showing a nervous smile.

"Empress?" Terry asked while chuckling. "Is that a hero nickname or something? Can I choose mine as well?"

"You..." Louis glared at Terry without hiding his anger, but that only made him feel refreshed.

"I don't mind. I didn't choose anything. People just call me that way," the redhead said. "My name is Vanessa, guild master of the Chaotic Storm guild and representative of all hunters of the United States of America."

"So, you are like the Hokage of the hunters?" Terry asked. "The hunter president or something?"

A deafening silence echoed in the area. It looked like Terry was picking a fight with someone he had just met. He didn't know her, but he could tell that she was someone important in the hunters' community, and that was enough for him to pick a fight with her. That kind of self-important attitude was a joke to him.

"... Follow me, please," Vanessa said.

Terry couldn't feel any anger coming from her words, and since she asked nicely, he decided to go along with her for a short while. At the very least, she didn't look like someone who was too prideful and would attack someone just because of a few words. Eventually, they approached the portal, where another team was ready to fight.

"I have heard a lot of things from you. You should know that people like Louis spread information about things that work in their respective areas," Vanessa said.

"I have my moments," Terry shrugged.

"What I heard was that you had a terrible attitude and, despite failing at awakening your trait, you still obtained some sort of power," Vanessa explained. "You disrespect those who have higher positions than you, but you don't break the law per se. You don't lift a finger to help other guilds, and yet, you accept those that don't have or have weak traits in your guild."

"Do you know what I had for breakfast yesterday?" Terry asked.

"I can tell that you have something against the current hunter system. I agree that the current society values us too much. Still, you can imagine what a few of us can do if we decide to become criminals," Vanessa said. "The government, or whatever was left from it, was forced to make a move to preserve some semblance of order while using us."

"At least you are aware of the problems," Terry said.

"I am, and that is why this area is different from the others; even those without power can contribute and earn their place in this society through their hard work," Vanessa said. "However, even I cannot influence the whole country."

"I guess being the hunter president doesn't make your opinion absolute," Terry said.

"I am trying to have a serious conversation here. Can you help me out a bit?" Vanessa asked.

"... You are here talking, and you still didn't say what you want," Terry furrowed his eyebrows.

"For now, I want your cooperation to make sure that New York won't be destroyed," Vanessa said. "Some people call me the strongest hunter in our country, but that is debatable since I can't even enter the dungeon without being forced to retreat after five seconds."

"I am here to open another branch for my guild. Once I clear the dungeon, I take it that will help the city," Terry said.

"That isn't enough, I don't know how your power works, but it seems to be a support trait that let you and others who are weak physically to fight even troublesome monsters," Vanessa said. "I never heard of a trait like that, but I am sure it can help thousands since finding magic relics is difficult. If we make an alliance, and you help everyone, then in no time, you will reach the heights to exercise the influence that you want."

"Not happening," Terry said. "The fact that you became famous like this and you still were able to do only this much, it is enough for me to understand that an alliance would be a waste of time. I can tell that those around you don't share your goal, so helping you and your allies would only worsen the current society."

"I don't want to put this weight on your shoulders, but more dungeons are appearing now, and the people aren't ready for that," Vanessa said. "Your support ability that can help people even from a distance can turn the tides in our favor."

"If people die for that reason, then it couldn't have been helped. The hunters will go down first since they got satisfied with having what was given to them," Terry said. "The others who were ignored from the frontlines and lived in hunger and in the dirt will have to fight, and if they endure for long enough, then I will try to help them. Still, until then, I will do what I want or what I deem to be right."

"... I will make you understand that your anger is misplaced, there are many things wrong with the current society, but that doesn't mean that it has to be destroyed before being rebuilt," Vanessa said.

"Some repairs won't save a condemned building; you will be wasting your time," Terry said. "Once people begin to lose the few things that they obtained in the last thirty years, they will understand that as well."