“For the foreseeable future, please refrain from getting into dungeons. The situation is a little bit complicated,” Klaus said in a grave voice. “It's not an official order but a humble request.”

“A request, you say?” Nel asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked at the man in the eye and asked, “Can I know who is making this request?”

“Of course. It was Mr. Ross, the branch head of Vedan’s HA.” Klaus nodded as he smiled, answering Nel’s question. “He’d have given all the registered hunters a call personally if it was possible.”

“Ah yes, he is known for being a responsible leader,” Nel hummed. “However,” He leaned towards Klaus. “You should know that hunting is our livelihood. If we stop going to dungeons, there’ll be… problems. What do you think I’ll eat if I don’t hunt?”

Klaus was stumped hearing such a response. Out of all reasons, he hadn’t expected Nel to give such a basic reason. “You must be joking, right?” He gave an awkward laugh.

Although, in his heart, Klaus was cursing rather violently at him. Won’t have money to eat, he said! Who was he kidding? Just a few days ago, his group had hunted a fucking minotaur! He checked the bidding yesterday, and it had almost reached two million. His instinct told him it’d not stop there and probably go beyond three.

Someone who was about to become a millionaire claiming he didn't have money to eat? It has to be a joke!

Nel shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not lying. You can check my account balance. You’ll see a string of zeroes there.”

Klaus didn't know how to respond to that. He indeed has the capability to check on Nel’s account balance by using HA’s name. However, doing so will not achieve his purpose. He was left in a bind, not knowing how to respond without sounding rude.

XXX

Nel shifted on his seat and sighed at Klaus’ struggle. He could see the man was genuine with his request and not just doing it because it was his job.

“Okay, listen,” Nel didn't outright say no. He wanted to understand the situation first before making a decision. There were a lot of questions he needed answers to. “Can you tell me why Mr.Ross is making such a request to us?”

He could understand the request was made to keep the hunters of Vedan out of trouble. The undercurrents were growing stronger, and the city had become volatile with so many outsiders prowling the streets. What he wanted to know was, why were they here?

“It’s a war,” Klaus’ tone was heavy, almost grave.

“A war?” Nel almost screamed. He narrowed his eyes at the man and growled, “Are you telling me that there is going to be a bloody guild war in our town?”

“Yes,” Klaus nodded as he looked down with mixed emotions.

Nel flapped his mouth like a fish out of water, but no words came out. He somewhat guessed the reason would be something like this. Else, why’d so many powerful hunters gather in an isolated town like Vedan?

They both stared at the pristine polished table in silence with different thoughts in their heads. After a while, Nel took a deep breath and asked, “And no one tried to stop this? What about Mr. Ross? I don’t believe these guilds are daring enough to challenge the HA.”

“Our hands are tied in this matter.” Klaus smiled bitterly. “We got orders from above to allow them to do whatever they please. As long as they don't harm the civilians outside the dungeon, we can not interfere.”

Amidst his speech, Klaus balled his fist. His eyes looked ready to spit fire at any moment. He took a deep breath and adjusted his emotions before looking at Nel with a pleading look, “Mr. Nelson, we’ve already lost ten hunters to these people in past three days. We can’t lose anymore, at least not someone like you. I’m begging you, not as an employee of HA but as a citizen of Vedan, please stop raiding dungeons for the time being.”

Nel’s heart tightened when he heard the plead from Klaus. The pain of losing ten hunters and the frustration of not being able to do anything about it—he clearly saw it on the man’s face. He dipped his head as his stomach churned.

He could understand the reason why Klaus was begging him. Hunters were the most valuable assets of a town and the first line of defense against the monsters. Losing even one was equivalent to the death of tens, if not hundreds, of civilians.

Hunters who had their names in the top fifty list were even more valuable. In extreme cases, the HA can endure the loss of a few hundred civilians but not one of them. It wasn’t strange that Vedan’s HA was literally begging them to stay indoors.

Nel understood all this, but he couldn't promise anything because he had his own troubles. Had it not for the events that happened a few days ago, he’d have gladly stayed at home for months.

A few minutes of silence later, Nel lifted his head and looked at Klaus. “Mr, Klaus-”

…

Half an hour later, Nel stepped out of GeneLab with a heavy heart. He turned to look at the establishment behind and released a disgruntled sigh. Shaking his head, he jogged back to his apartment.

After the intensive training inside the lab, his stamina had reached rock-bottom. But, during the half-an-hour talk with Klaus, it had replenished enough for a short jog. Moreover, after a few minutes of a full sprint, Nel realized he was not getting tired as fast as he should.

It was only a few minutes of walk to his apartment from the GeneLab, but Nel took the long way as he passed through the marketplace. He remembered he had run out of a few things and needed refilling. His promised meeting with Lola was still a few hours away.

The impact of outsiders on the people of Vedan was blatantly shown in the form of an empty marketplace. This neighborhood, which was called the market district, always had people running around, either selling or buying things. From vegetables to groceries to daily necessities, everything was available in this place.

But, only a scant few people walked on the road. In past, Nel always complained that this place was too crowded. But now, it feels weird to see it this empty.

After buying the stuff he came for, Nel rushed to his home. He was sweaty all over, and the furry smell of bear was overpowering his nose. He desperately needed a bath.

His return sprint took eight minutes. When Nel reached home, he was perfectly fine. There was no drain in his stamina and no irregular breathing. It didn't feel like he ran a few kilometers at his full speed while holding things. All these were perks of adding a few points to his Endurance.

No wonder she insisted the hunters prioritize this attribute! Nel was quite stumped at the discovery. Even though hunters could do supernatural maneuvers and can become stronger with the help of GED, those who were not close-range fighters were only slightly better than average trained humans. Once they run out of mana, they’d become miserable.

Even a kid could take them out with the help of a fruit cutting knife.

…and Endurance could stop all that.