I woke up at 5 a.m.
The first thing I did was train.
100 push-ups.
198 sandbag punches.
Stretching.
Warm-ups.
The usual.
Then came a loud knock on the door.
"Mr. Kyoren!" shouted my grumpy neighbor from outside. "Will you PLEASE stop causing chaos at five in the morning?! Some people are trying to sleep!"
I tilted my head.
"Then who's stopping you?"
A few seconds of silence followed.
Then angry footsteps faded down the hallway.
I glanced at the clock.
7:00 a.m.
My first day.
As I opened the door, an assistant was waiting outside with a lunch box.
"Oh, Mr. Hisakage," he said. "Here's your breakfast."
"Thanks."
Inside was steamed rice, miso soup, and yakizakana.
Real food.
Not monster meat.
A huge improvement.
After finishing breakfast, I headed into the main MHA building.
Hunters filled the halls.
Some checked their weapons.
Others studied reports.
Everyone looked serious.
I made my way to the High Elders' office.
"Ah, Kyoren," one of them said as I entered.
"What is it?"
"We have a mission for you."
The elder slid a report across the table.
"There have been sightings of ten to fifteen monsters near the heart of Chizunai City."
His expression hardened.
"We need you to eliminate them."
Simple enough.
A group of hunters accompanied me into the city.
After some searching, we stopped near a small roadside store.
The hunters began discussing a plan.
I wasn't paying attention.
Something had caught my attention.
A smell.
A familiar smell.
Blood.
My body tensed immediately.
I knew that smell.
I hated that smell.
Without saying a word, I followed it.
Through an alley.
Past abandoned buildings.
Toward a large drainage pipe.
The smell grew stronger.
And stronger.
Then I looked inside.
And what I saw...
made me freeze.