Eva walked Kailan out of the arena and back to the central plaza area. She was silent and contemplative the entire time. As they approached the water fountain she suddenly stopped and turned to him. Looking around to make sure there was no one nearby.

“Kailan, I don’t think it’s a good idea to release your talent rank as Demon. This is going to draw world wide attention to you. And like Director Morris said, there will be people who won’t be happy about your existence.” She said quietly to avoid prying ears.

Kailan knew that Eva was just worried about him. He felt that of everyone at the Hunters Bureau she was definitely someone he could trust and confide in.

“I understand your concerns. The attention isn’t a problem for me. Remember, I’m used to addressing Gods. As for anyone targeting me, I’m powerful enough that no normal human can hurt me even with guns. Only a mid level or higher level Hunter can challenge me and even then they would need to be careful. But I’ve already thought that through as well.” Kailan wanted Eva to understand him and to be on his side for this. He needed her help and he was quite fond of her.

“You don’t need to worry so much. Once I reach level 4 or 5 there won’t be anyone on Earth that can challenge me. And I could reach that within a month to a month and a half. Within two and a half months I will have caught up to the highest level Hunters in the world. Not to mention I’ll unseal one of my God powers at level 10.” He smiled as he lightly gripped Eva’s shoulder reasuredly. He continued to walk past her towards the opposite hall to the elevator.

“4 to 5? Level 4 to 5 in just a month and caught up in just two and a half months? Are you crazy? Do you even understand how difficult it is to level up? And what’s this about a God skill?” Eva sucked in a breath of cold air. She froze for a moment before realizing that Kailan had continued on without her.

“Uh, hey! Wait for me.” She called out as she turned and ran after him.

Eva stared at Kailan contemplatively as they walked to the elevator. After they entered and she turned to press the 1st floor button, she turned back to continue staring at him. Kailan could feel her eyes on him. It was like she was trying to stare a hole in his head.

“What?” He asked innocently.

“What God skill?” She was super curious. She could disregard Kailan’s comment about leveling up so fast because she knew it was impossible and he was probably just trying to console her. But talk about a God Skill was a big deal. She had never heard of such a skill and it was probably something only Gods had access to, obviously.

“Uh…” Kailan however, was speechless. He stood there staring into Eva’s eyes and she in turn stared back. Neither of them moved or spoke.

The elevator rang out as it halted at the first floor landing and the doors opened. Eva continued to stare holes into Kailan, and he started to sweat a bit.

“We’re here. Time to get off. Quick before the door closes on us.” Kailan stated as he darted out of the elevator. He might have made a mistake mentioning that last part.

“Hey, get back here and answer me!” Eva ran out after him.

She stared at him ruthlessly as they both walked down the hallway back to her office. Kailan avoided her gaze as best he could.

As Kailan walked in, the Jones family was watching the news on the TV that hung from the far corner wall, still sipping their hot chocolate. They were discussing the recent dungeon incident Rebecca had been in. Twilight Garden still hadn’t released a time for a press conference and simply stated they were still collating data. It took a moment before they noticed him, he seemed a bit nervous.

“You’re back. How did it go?” Maria called out as she half smiled at Kailan. She was still hoping that he would have a low talent and level. But she also hoped he would give her a surprise. It was a very conflicting emotion.

“Uh, well… It went well.” Kailan said as he laughed stiffly.

“What’s wrong?” Edward asked as he cocked his head sideways at his son’s odd behavior.

Just as he finished asking, Eva walked in and she seemed to be pouting? Kailan was avoiding her gaze. This made the Jones family very suspicious. Did something happen between the two of them?

Eva noticed everyone’s stares and blushed. She cleared her throat before taking a seat, closing her eyes momentarily to adjust her mood. When she opened them again she was smiling like normal. This only made the Jones family even more suspicious. Eva could still feel their heated stares.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Really.” She explained. But their stares only intensified.

Eva felt helpless. It was her fault for asking a question that put Kailan in a difficult position. And she had no reason to get moody over it. Even she wasn’t sure why she felt depressed that Kailan wouldn’t answer her.

“You guys, stop staring, you’re making her uncomfortable. It was my fault. I slipped up and asked a question I probably shouldn’t have.” Kailan explained as he drew everyone’s attention away from Eva.

“Oh?” Everyone was now staring at him intensely.

“It’s not what you think.” Kailan said as he waved his hand in dismissal.

“And what exactly are we thinking?” Maria questioned as she cocked an eyebrow.

“That I asked a personal question probably related to relationships.” Kailan blandly responded.

“Ah! You…” Rebecca exclaimed loudly. Maria and Edward were both shocked at their son’s bluntness. Not to mention the fact that he spoke of relationships, Kailan had never talked about such things before.

“No I didn’t. It had nothing to do with that. But it’s obvious that’s what you thought I asked about. Anyone would think that.” Kailan explained as he shook his head. What was he going to do with them?

“Ehem. In any case, Kailan’s Hunter Review is completed. It’ll be a little while before we have his Hunter ID ready. In the meantime I think it might be best if we get you a cell phone so that you can more easily contact us.” Eva cut off everyone’s mood as she directed the conversation back to business.

Maria, Edward and Rebecca shot knowing glances at each other before adjusting their posture and focusing on Eva.

“You also provide those?” Kailan asked in surprise. He was thinking of asking his mother if they could stop and get him one after they were finished with their business at the Hunters Bureau. She had mentioned getting him one this morning afterall.

“Yes. As a special privilege to Returnees. The service will be entered under your name and will be paid for up until the end of your protection period, which is one year. The phone is also the latest model which uses Mana Technology. I’ll have Suzie get everything setup.” Eva replied as she stood back up and quickly headed across the hall to Suzie’s office. She wanted to escape for a moment to collect herself after that awkward atmosphere.

No one really noticed her rush, except Maria who caught on to her. She didn’t say anything but noted that she needed to have a talk with Kailan later. If he was going to start bringing girls home then she needed to set some ground rules.

“So, how did it really go?” Maria asked after Eva had left the room.

“It went well. Really.” He simply stated.

“So... Tell us about it.” Maria urged.

“Well… you’ll see once they bring my Hunter ID in.” Kailan grinned as he wondered what their reaction will be when they see his talent rank.

The Jones family, now including Kailan, sat quietly in Eva’s office. The tension was building but they all continued to watch the news patiently. It had switched to a special on Hunter’s skills. The hostess was talking about various types of known skills and what their effects and drawbacks are. Then they started to compare the different ranks of skills before making speculations about the various points they didn’t have any knowledge about.

The news special went on for about 20 minutes before Eva returned. She walked into the office carrying a small box and some documents. As she sat at her desk she organized everything into three piles, one for a red folder, one for a blue folder and one for the box which had the image of a cell phone on it.

“Sorry, I’m going to mute this.” She said as she picked up the remote and muted the TV.

No one minded. They immediately gave Eva their undivided attention as the anticipation made them feel like they were about to explode. Maria was still conflicted. She wanted her son to be amazing and to achieve everything he ever wanted, like any mother. But she also didn’t want him to do dangerous things like hunting in dungeons, so a part of her also wanted his talent and level to be low.

“Firstly, here is your new cell phone. The number is written on the sticky note. I’ve already programmed both mine and Douglas’ cell phone numbers in, as well as the main line to the Bureau. We’ve also taken the liberty of adding a few apps to the phone that are useful to Hunters including the Hunter Bureau’s Database, the Hunter’s Closet and the Hunter’s Auction.” Eva explained as she opened the lid to the box and handed Kailan the cell phone.

“All three of the apps are global so you can search anywhere in the world. The database app will show you data on other Hunters and Guilds. The Hunter’s Closet is an app created by a 3rd party magnate and lists various events related to Hunters as well as dungeon schedules and other useful information. And the Hunter’s Auction collects various items and materials found in dungeons and auctions them off for Hunters. They’re very useful and you can find informational packets about them in the blue folder.” She continued.

"Which brings us to the next thing. The blue folder holds documents and pamphlets with useful information for several things. I’d advise you to read through those later." Eva paused for a moment to pull out a Hunters Bureau bag from one of her drawers and placed the cell phone box and blue folder inside.

"Lastly is the red folder. This has all of your information and certification as a Hunter. You should also confirm this later and let me know if there's anything we need to adjust. We won't be releasing your Hunter information immediately for obvious reasons but we do have a press conference scheduled for Wednesday, at which point we will have to release it. So if you change your mind, let me know."

Eva was still hoping that Kailan would have them mask his rank as King instead of releasing it as Demon. She wanted to give him a little more time to consider which is why she convinced Director Morris to hold off for just a bit longer on releasing it. Director Morris immediately agreed to her request, mainly because he also hoped that Kailan would change his mind. But they both knew that it was unlikely.

Eva got up and closed her office door. The next part needed to remain a secret for the time being. As she sat back down at her desk, she pulled a white card out of her pocket.

"Now, here is your Hunter ID. We'll need to go to the front desk to have a picture taken and then we'll inlay it. The card has a chip in it which is connected to your Hunters Account. Whenever you make money from the dungeons it is deposited into this account. Think of it as a special bank for Hunters with appropriate interest rates and financial options. There’s also information in the blue folder about that. Check the card and make sure everything looks good."

Eva handed Kailan his new Hunter ID card. It was still warm, fresh from being printed. Maria, Edward and Rebecca all leaned over to see for themselves. They had been anticipating this and the anticipation was starting to suffocate them.

Maria let out a light sigh when she saw Kailan’s level. It was both a relief and a bit of a disappointment. She still felt conflicted, but when she and the others looked at his talent rank, their eyes nearly bulged out of their skulls.

“Demon rank?!” They all shouted simultaneously.

“Shhh. Keep it down. These walls aren’t completely soundproof.” Eva cautioned. “Kailan’s information is sensitive right now and we don’t intend on releasing it for another three days.”

“But, Demon rank? How? I’ve never even heard of Demon rank before.” Rebecca was speechless.

Everyone knew that the ranks of Hunter’s talent only went up to King. And before King rank was Knight, Elite, Mortal and Plebeian in descending order. There had never been any information about ranks higher than King.

Maria and Edward looked like they had been knocked in the head by a baseball bat. They felt dizzy and unfocused. Demon rank, a rank that has never existed before and their son was graded as a Demon rank talent. But how powerful was this?

“Demon rank is the rank immediately above King rank. Kailan is the only person on Earth with this rank. Which is why we’ve been keeping things tight-lipped all this time. He has the highest power and potential of any Hunter to date.” Eva explained quietly.

“Please keep this to yourselves until we officially release it on Wednesday. You can tell Elias, but don’t tell anyone else. After Kailan’s rank is released to the public there is going to be a major uproar so be prepared.”

Kailan’s family finally understood why Kailan had always dodged questions related to his talent and statistics. This was a major event for the entire world. The moment people find out about this a storm won’t even be the best descriptor to what will brew from it.

Maria was shocked, proud, sad and also happy. She had so many emotions going through her heart right now she didn’t know what to think. At the very least she was also relieved. A Demon rank was even more powerful than a King rank. Her son would become one of the most powerful beings on the planet, which meant she didn’t need to worry so much about his safety. One day, no one will be able to challenge him.

“Hah… Demon rank. You’ll be more powerful than me eventually. Then how am I going to protect my little brother?” Rebecca let out a heavy sigh as she sulked in her imaginings.

She was so proud and so happy. Her brother, the only Demon rank talent on the planet.

Kailan was amused by everyone’s reactions. It was a bit more mild than he anticipated but that could also be because they weren’t sure how to react. Maria, Edward and Rebecca were all three in a daze as they stared off into space.

“It’s lucky they don’t have a laser vision skill or the walls would be vaporized.” Kailan thought to himself.

“Kailan, when you’re ready to start challenging dungeons make sure you call me. We’ll arrange everything. Again, once your information is released there’s no going back. You’ll probably have a lot of pressure and attention on you. And so will your family. Especially Elias and Rebecca who are members of guilds. I wouldn’t be surprised if those sly dogs Chyou and Cardinal O’Brian do everything they can to win you over and they will almost certainly use your siblings as chips in their plans.” Eva cautioned once more.

Rebecca pretended not to hear what Eva had said. As a member of Twilight Garden she did have respect for her guild president, but she also knew that Chyou Huang was exactly the sly dog Eva had just described. In fact she had recent personal experience. Now she was the one feeling conflicted. She knew she had to prepare herself for future conflicts between her and her guild.

“When is the earliest I can start hunting in dungeons?” Kailan asked with a serious face.

“Kailan!” Maria snapped. She hadn’t even agreed to anything yet.

“I’m just asking. We’ll talk about it later.” Kailan tried to placant his mother.

“You bet we will.” She responded sternly.

“You can start as early as tomorrow really. Now that you have your Hunter ID, you’re official and can apply for raids. But you should still wait as we haven’t even released your information yet. And you won’t be in the database until Wednesday so no one will be able to look up your information to confirm you.” Eva replied after thinking for a moment.

“Then could I enter one if you were there to verify me?”

Eva didn’t expect Kailan to be so impatient about raiding dungeons. But then she thought that perhaps he wants to start building his power right away so that he won’t be put in any bad positions by the other Hunters. He had mentioned before that he could reach level 4 or 5 within a month. That’s absolutely absurd of course.

Even the fastest of the King ranks took just over two years to reach level 4, and that was the top ranking Hunter in the world. The next to reach level 4 in the shortest time still took over two and a half years. In fact this was once a heated topic in every nation. Then again, his real talent was God rank, so maybe he can make a miracle.

Eva thought for a moment before she responded. “If it’s that important to you, Douglas and I can verify you with the dungeon management team. That’ll allow you to enter. But the problem is the party makeup. We might be able to scrounge up enough people from the bureau staff but…”

“No, I’ll go in alone. It’s only a low level mine.” Kailan cut Eva off with an indifferent tone.