Pitch darkness gradually gave way to a heavy throbbing and a dim, yellow light. As Sard opened his eyes, the first thing that hit his nose wasn't the smell of mud from outside, but the scent of expensive tobacco and old wood. The pain in his head refreshed itself with every heartbeat.
Sard realized he was sitting in a large, leather armchair. His hands were not tied, but his body felt as exhausted as if it were under tons of weight. The yellow, dim light in the room made everything look more ominous than it was. Trying to compose himself, he murmured, "What's happening... Where am I?"
"So, you've awakened, young man," said a deep, velvety, and authoritative voice from across him.
When Sard focused his gaze in the direction of the voice, he encountered a stranger sitting behind a large desk. The man was looking at him with a fatherly smile from behind the desk. He had a very elegant and dignified posture.
"First, let me share my name; I am Alric Asphex. The leader of the Asphex guild and an A-Rank hunter," the man said. With this sentence, the air in the room suddenly grew heavy; the crushing but controlled energy Alric radiated soaked into Sard's very bones. "May I learn your name, young man?"
Sard cleared the dryness in his throat by swallowing. "Sard..."
"Sard... I know you're very confused, and our friends' attitude toward you was a bit harsh. I apologize on their behalf," Alric said. "We at Asphex have a vision, Sard. If we act together, we can overcome monsters more efficiently, and thanks to us, you can reach the place you deserve much faster. Guilds like ours ensure that talented youths like you rise."
Sard was surprised by the man's kindness. It amazed him that the people who had beaten him with a metal pipe under the rain just moments ago belonged to the same group as this man. He was even somewhat impressed by Alric's extreme politeness.
Alric stood up. "Our friends saw great potential in you. Would you allow us to test it personally?"
The large double doors at the end of the room creaked open. A few guild members brought in a transparent sphere connected to a machine on a wheeled stand. This was a power measurement sphere.
"Would you place your hand on this sphere?" Alric said in an encouraging voice.
Sard stood up hesitantly and placed his hand on the cold glass. A few seconds later, a bright blue light that overpowered the dim yellow light of the room began to overflow from within the sphere.
Alric's eyes gleamed. "Exactly as I thought... You are truly talented. And you are already strong. You will be very useful to us, Sard. What do you say? Would you like to join us? If you accept now, I guarantee I will move your rank up fifty spots immediately."
Sard had partially believed the man, yet he was also secretly afraid of them due to what he had experienced. But if there was no other way to rank up, he couldn't refuse this offer.
"If..." Sard said, his voice trembling. "If I truly cannot rank up without your help... I accept."
A cunning expression appeared on Alric's face; his eyes narrowed with triumph. He gripped Sard's hand firmly. "Welcome to Asphex, Sard. You won't regret it."
Without letting go of his hand, Alric pointed toward a dark corner of the room. "The person who will be responsible for you will be Shinya."
When Sard turned his gaze in that direction, he saw Shinya leaning against the wall in the corner. That nauseating snake-like grin was on Shinya's face; leaning back, he was silently watching his new prey.
For Sard, the first three months were spent enduring the hierarchy of the Asphex guild and Shinya's endless humiliations. They went on portal missions almost every day, and Shinya never relaxed the pressure on Sard and the other lower-ranking members for even a second. Inside the portals, Shinya was more like a sadistic director than a hunter. While Sard and the others struggled with monsters, Shinya would stand at a safe distance in the back, nonchalantly chewing on a chocolate caramel wafer he pulled from his pocket. That casual sound of chewing made Sard grit his teeth every time. Shinya would only get up if things got out of control, "cleaning up" the situation with that sickening smile, and then look at Sard as if he were holding a dog's leash.
"Hurry up, kid," Shinya would say, with bits of wafer in his mouth. "You know what happens if you defy my orders. The taste of that metal pipe must still be on your tongue, right?"
Sard remained silent. Every suppressive remark and every threatening gaze from Shinya had formed an invisible chain over Sard. He felt he had no choice but to submit to this chain of fear for his own safety and survival.
At the end of the third month, the expected call came. Alric Asphex summoned them both back to that dim and heavy-scented room. Alric was waiting behind his desk with his usual dignified posture. When Sard entered the room, that fake fatherly smile appeared on Alric's face.
"Congratulations, Sard," Alric said, his voice echoing in the room. "You've proven your loyalty for three months. You are truly surprising... and I see you've started to slowly control and use your ability. I must reward this progress. As of today, I am promoting you to C-Rank."
Sard looked at Alric's face in surprise. This sudden rank increase had shaken him. He simply bowed his head before the A-Rank authority. At that moment, Shinya lunged forward from the corner of the room. That mocking expression was gone, replaced by an uncontrollable rage.
"And what about me?" Shinya shouted. "I'm also C-Rank! Am I going to be at the same level as this brat? Will there be no difference between me and this low-ranking fellow, Leader?"
Alric raised his hand calmly. "Calm down, Shinya... Did you think I'd forget your place? As of today, you are promoted to B-Rank."
Shinya's anger vanished instantly, replaced by that cunning and dark grin. "I thought so," Shinya said, casting a contemptuous glance at Sard. "It would have been ridiculous to be the same rank as a low-level type like him anyway."
Alric leaned back, signaling them to leave. When the door closed behind them, Shinya paused for a moment under the cold light of the corridor, pulled out his wafer, and opened the wrapper with that irritating rustle right in Sard's face. Sard continued to walk behind him with silent steps.
[THE NEXT 3 MONTHS]
However, the rank increase was not a salvation for Sard, but the opening of a darker door. For the next three months, the nature of the missions changed completely. They were no longer just going to portals but were also included in the guild's "special business." Sard witnessed secret raids on rival guilds' warehouses and the agonizing screams of innocent people during interrogations.
Shinya deliberately kept Sard on the front lines during these operations, forcing him to be a part of this violence. Looking into Sard's eyes, he would try to poison him by saying, "Look kid, this is power. You're just like us, enjoy this carnage." Sard saw everything, heard everything; he had to keep his conscience silent and just watch.
Yet, the brutality he witnessed was now pushing Sard to his limits. The silent storm gathering in his soul grew heavier with each passing day, drawing closer to the day his forced silence would finally end.