“Alone? You want to go into a dungeon alone? Are you crazy?” Maria wasn’t having it. It was bad enough that he insisted on going into dungeons so soon after he returned to Earth, now he wants to venture into them alone? That was utterly reckless.

Kailan forgot about one thing when he blatantly stated he would go in alone. His mother. He still hadn’t fully adapted to being considerate of his family when making decisions. After all, Kailan had become very independent compared to his past self. In Asgard if he had said he would venture into a dungeon alone, he would have been met with cheers and support. Someone would have tossed him a blade and said “Good luck!”

But it was different here. The concept of dungeons was still new and people only understood things from a low level perspective. So naturally they were cautious and didn’t understand how levels of strength worked.

Maria was perfectly rational to call him out considering the context. She was only worrying over him as she should. But Kailan started to worry that maybe his attitude was detrimental to his mother’s health. After all, the Gods and warriors of Asgard thought differently than the humans of Earth, which included his mother.

She was a strong woman who always knew how to put other people in their place when they stepped out of it, but she was also kind and had a soft heart when it came to her children. She was a nurse so it was just her nature to be caring. But over the past couple days Kailan has seen her become almost hysterical multiple times. She had never been like this before and he wondered if perhaps the trauma of the past 10 years was the cause.

“I agree. I don’t think that it would be a good idea for you to enter a dungeon by yourself no matter how strong you are. I know that you can handle it but I would feel better if you had support.” Eva also argued against Kailan’s request.

“Handle it? How can he handle it? He’s just a level 1. Even if he has Demon rank talent which is stronger than a King. That’s too much of a risk.” Maria ranted loudly. What was she even saying?

“Mom, calm down. I know that you’re worried about me but I’m a lot stronger than you think. I would never take any risks that I don’t think I can handle. Nothing’s going to happen to me.” Kailan reassured.

He could only deduce that his mother had a breakdown after his disappearance and most likely that feeling was reinforced by Rebecca nearly dying the other day. Add in the fact that he was jumping right back into the frying pan just after he had returned to her and she was probably feeling very frustrated. Her kids were rushing into the fight and she probably felt they weren’t thinking about her.

Maria was not a Hunter so all she could do was stay behind and pray that they return safely. She couldn’t even watch from the sidelines because even that would be too dangerous. Edward on the other hand was a Hunter. He was only a Plebeian talent, but that still gave him access to skills and leveling. And he was level 3 so it’s not like he was as weak as an average human by comparison.

Kailan understood his mother’s attitude and concerns but her reactions were highly exaggerated. He had been monitoring her since the first time she lost her wits. It startled him because it wasn’t like the mother he remembered. He knew at that moment she wasn’t the same woman he had known, she was terrified and sad. She seemed way more fragile than he had ever seen her. She tried to hide it but he could see it in her eyes. And he wasn’t sure how to help her.

“I really have a lot of things to do. I wonder if I should connect her… No, it’s better right now that she stays a normal human. Perhaps she will connect naturally in time.” Kailan thought as he worried over his mother.

“Mrs. Jones, I understand your concerns and I would never allow Kailan to do anything that would jeopardize his own safety. It’s my job to monitor him and keep him safe after all. But please take a look at his ID again. Notice his individual rank.” Eva pointed out.

Everyone turned to look at the ID in Kailan’s hands. To their astonishment he was ranked as a Mortal. That was the rank above Plebeian. In order to be able to be ranked as a Mortal one had to have the power to defeat level 10 opponents or higher. And not just any level 10 but a Mortal talent level 10, which is much stronger than a level 10 Plebeian talent.

By comparison, a level 10 Plebeian talent that has a focus in Power would have 80 Power. Whereas a level 10 Mortal talent would have 120 Power. It’s enough of a difference that a Mortal talent can break a Plebeian talent with ease.

In other words, Kailan had the strength of a level 10 Mortal talent being, at level 1. Even Maria knew that not many Hunters had this level of power. In general you had to be at least a level 5 Knight rank talent to have an individual rank of Mortal.

Maria, Edward and Rebecca had trouble believing this. Firstly, it was absurd. A level 1 with the power of a level 10. Not even the King rank Hunters could pull this off. Secondly, the stronger Hunters become the harder it gets for them to control their strength, but Kailan had been completely graceful as if it was nothing to him to suppress his abilities so as not to break the plates or glasses. He completely didn’t fit the profile of someone with the strength of a mid to upper level Hunter. On the other hand this would have been confirmed with Gaia since she’s the one that grades Hunters in the first place.

“As you can see, he definitely has the power to handle low level dungeons on his own. Even with just his stats he should be more than capable of handling even a level 3 or 4 dungeon. Adding in his skills and I can assure you he has nothing to be afraid of in either of those levels. Of course that’s not to say you would be going into a level 4 dungeon. You have to start at the bottom with level 1 dungeons. This is a requirement based on your Hunter Rank.” Eva explained to the family.

“You mean because I’m an F rank Hunter?” Kailan inquired.

His family had explained a lot of things about the Hunters Bureau to him and how they operated, but they didn’t really explain the rankings that much. He knew that you always started at rank F and then worked your way up. Each higher rank had certain requirements before you could rank up.

“That’s right. This is all in the information packet for the Bureau in your blue folder, but I’ll give you a quick run down. All Hunters start at rank F. Then by fulfilling certain conditions they can rank up. For instance, to rank up to E rank you need to be level 3 and have completed at least 10 raids on both level 1 and level 2 Plebeian rank dungeons.”

Kailan located the Bureau’s pamphlet in his blue folder, opening it to the section that explained the ranks to follow along with Eva.

“Based on your rank, you receive certain privileges but you also have limitations on the dungeons you can enter. For an F rank, they can only enter level 1 and 2 Plebeian rank dungeons. In order to be allowed into higher level or ranked dungeons you need to increase your Hunter Rank.”

Kailan understood once he looked at the chart. Each progressive rank had higher and higher conditions in order to progress. So he would be stuck only being able to run level 1 and 2 dungeons for a while. This would put a damper in his plans. If this was the case then he would be better off raiding unconquered dungeons which have higher enemy counts than a mine that is limited to a total of 150 enemies.

This was one of the major differences between fresh dungeons still within the 30 day time limit versus dungeon mines that have already been captured. A fresh dungeon can have up to 300 enemies, and they almost always had this many. Dungeon Mines however, are limited to only having 150, including the Mini-Boss and Boss.

In order for Kailan to challenge anything above a level 2 dungeon he would need to reach level 3 and increase his Hunter Rank. But leveling up is normally a very slow process. This is because experience equates to the level of challenge. Basically, if the opponent is the same level as you or lower you will only receive 1 experience per kill. It’s adjusted based on the talent rank difference as well, but with Kailan having the talent rank of God, there is no bonus associated for him.

If he were to take on higher level opponents the amount of experience he would gain would increase based on the level difference. This is calculated as twice the level difference. So if he’s level 1 and he defeats a level 2, he would receive 2 experience as the level difference is 1. If it were a level 3 then he would receive 4 experience as the level difference is 2. So on and so forth.

Normally Hunters wouldn’t think on the same path as Kailan. Fighting opponents above your level is often very difficult. Especially if their talent rank is higher than yours. But Kailan was very powerful to begin with. To him, fighting higher level opponents was natural and a must for any Hunter. So his thought process was that the higher the level of dungeon he can challenge the faster he can level. Of course he understood there were limitations due to his stats and skills, but he would adjust for that.

“Also, there is a minimum requirement of total party members for entering dungeons. This is imposed by Gaia not us. But the bureau also backs Gaia on this requirement.” Eva explained.

“Yes, but I can override that requirement.” Kailan responded stubbornly.

“Kailan!” Maria once again snapped at him. Kailan didn’t know what to say to convince her. But he knew he had to think of something. He decided that his next step was to sit down and talk with her later when they could have a mother and son heart to heart.

“You can even override that?” Rebecca exclaimed in astonishment.

“I can. But there are rules to it.” He responded.

Maria stared at him fiercely.

“Sigh… How about this? Kailan, you can override the party requirements for a dungeon. If so, can you set it up so that Douglas and I can go in with you as a 3-man raid party?” Eva thought this would be an acceptable compromise.

“I can.” Kailan understood Eva’s angle. If the two of them went in with him he would have adequate backup and that would help to reassure his mother. After all, both Eva and Douglas were strong comparatively speaking.

“It won’t break any rules?” Eva continued.

“No. Most of the rules are strictly for active dungeons. This is to ensure fairness in life or death situations. But a Dungeon Mine is only hazardous to one side as the opponents are constructs made of Mana. So the rules are a lot less restrictive. If it’s a Dungeon Mine I can bend the rules to allow just the three of us to enter together as a party.” Kailan explained.

“How about this option Mrs. Jones. Douglas and I are both mid-level Hunters, I’m a level 6 Knight rank about to reach level 7 and Douglas is a level 5 Elite rank about to reach level 6. With us in a level 1 or even level 2 dungeon nothing will be able to harm Kailan. So whenever Kailan wants to venture into a dungeon without a full party, Douglas and I will go with him.” Eva smiled gently as she stared at Maria, explaining her idea. She understood why Maria was so adamant. She would also react the same way if Kailan was her son.

Maria’s face scrunched up slightly as she contemplated. She sighed heavily before nodding her head in affirmation. She wasn’t happy about it, but she had to give some leeway. And this was the best option available. At least he would have two powerful Hunters by his side.

“Mom. Thanks.” Kailan said as he smiled at her affectionately.

“Don’t thank me yet. You and I are going to have a long talk when we get home!” She barked as she avoided Kailan’s gaze.

Rebecca smiled at her mother. She had been experiencing the same feelings that her mother had ever since 10 years ago so she could relate to her. It was just that she had it easier bouncing back. She was young and had a better grasp on her emotions. She needed to in order to be a Hunter. She also had a better understanding of dungeons and Hunters, so she could tell that Kailan was strong.

As she watched her mother she knew that she was starting to heal. The mere fact that she finally gave in showed this. Had it been before, Maria would have never given in and she would have prevented the conversation from even progressing this far. In fact she would never have allowed Kailan to come here to get certified as a Hunter in the first place.

Eva was glad that they were able to work this out. It was a bit unreasonable for Kailan to request solo raiding dungeons but she also understood why he did. It would be faster and easier for him. Not to mention it would help to disguise his real abilities. Although solo raiding a dungeon had never been done before, it would probably be easier to explain than someone seeing him using his skills let alone a God skill when he unlocks it.

As Eva came to this point in her thoughts, she wondered what a God skill was and what it could do. Her face scrunched slightly as she glanced at Kailan. He still hadn’t told her anything about his God skills.

“Right, is that everything?” Kailan felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the look Eva gave him. So he quickly blurted out to try and move the conversation along and get out of there as soon as possible.

“We still have to take your picture and inlay it into your ID.” Eva stated a bit prickly.

“Come on.” She called out as she got up and walked out of the office door.

Kailan followed her out and into the business lobby to the receptionist’s desk. There, they took several pictures and compared them for the best one before taking it to a nearby room with various equipment in it to print the picture and inlay it.

“Mom…” Rebecca gently called out.

“I’m fine. Stop your worrying. That’s my job.” Maria said with very little energy as she looked down at her lap.

“You think you can lie to your daughter?” She responded as she leaned on Maria’s shoulder.

Maria tried her hardest to hold back her tears. She was finally starting to heal, but recovering from any form of trauma is a process not a switch. She was feeling better than she had for nearly a decade. But everything that has happened since she got her son back has made her heart ache. She still had the image of her little boy in her mind and was having trouble adjusting to the new Kailan.

“Dad?” Rebecca called to her father as she glanced at him.

“Don’t worry… I’m fine.” He stiffly responded as he held back his own tears. His heart was broken when Kailan disappeared. But he was still better off than Maria. Of course that’s only relative.

“Dad, don’t be a crybaby.” Rebecca chastised with very little sympathy.

Edward was shocked. This only made him want to cry even more.

“Becca, leave your father alone. He’s always been a crybaby.” Maria stated softly. She was only trying to instruct her daughter, but in the process wound up giving Edward another jab to his heart.

Edward felt even more depressed. He never received any consideration, everyone was mean to him, he thought. He sat there with a weathered look as he stewed in his own self-pity.

“Sorry daddy. What I meant was stop bawling, be a man and come reassure your wife and daughter with a hug.” Rebecca apologized with a cunning but sweet grin.

“That wasn’t any better…” Edward stated as he also leaned over to hug his wife, wrapping his arm over her shoulder and onto his daughter’s who was on the opposite side. Maria leaned into his embrace and they just sat there quietly as a family, until Kailan and Eva returned.

“Uh… Do you guys need a room?” Kailan wasn’t sure what the occasion was.