No one knew what kind of bead that old steward possessed—only that it blocked ordinary humans.
Only enhanced individuals or practitioners of magic could enter.
Human prejudice really was a mountain that crushed people.
Who said ordinary humans couldn't be monster hunters?
Most monster hunters were ordinary humans—abilities and sorcery were the minority.
"Alright, fine. I'll go with you. Honestly, I'm a little curious what a Bloodstone family gathering even looks like. And I'm interested in the Man-Thing—who knows, maybe we'll even get along."
Lucas shrugged.
He'd already promised the Ancient One he would settle this matter.
He thought killing the stowaway vampire would have wrapped everything up—but the real problem was in the manor, involving the Man-Thing.
A promise was a promise.
So Lucas agreed to accompany Elsa.
After arranging the time, Lucas returned home and told Skye and Wanda he'd be gone for a few days.
He also contacted Tony, asking him to upgrade his Quinjet.
Stark Industries specialized in weapons; upgrading a jet was child's play.
The moment Tony heard it was the latest S.H.I.E.L.D. model, he agreed instantly—and was eager to check out its performance.
---
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Elsa arrived at Lucas's office.
Skye and Wanda—unlike Lucas—weren't lazy and had woken early, cleaned the office, and prepared for business.
When Lucas finally arrived, Elsa had been waiting for a while and was looking at his trophy display cabinet… which held only a sad handful of items.
Seeing Lucas emerge from the elevator, she pointed at a broken horn.
"This is the Mindless One's horn?"
"Yeah. That's it."
Lucas didn't care much.
Any trophy placed in the cabinet automatically lost its power.
They were display pieces, nothing more.
"I've heard about how you killed the Mindless One. At first, I thought Ghost Rider did the real work and you were just tagging along. Didn't expect you to be the one who actually killed it."
Elsa had heard plenty of rumors about Lucas—especially about killing the Mindless One.
The story was everywhere.
But she knew how strong the Mindless Ones were—children of Mephisto, demons among demons.
She hadn't believed Lucas could take one down.
She assumed Ghost Rider was the real slayer, and Lucas merely helped.
Until Skye told her the truth.
After all, just a few days ago, when they killed that vampire, Lucas barely did anything.
The real powerhouse had been Wanda—the red-clad magical girl who enjoyed looking intimidating.
"I'm this famous now? Why didn't I know?"
Lucas blinked.
Made sense, though.
He spent most of his days eating or sleeping, rarely cared about the outside world, and barely interacted with supernatural circles.
No wonder he knew nothing.
Real monster hunters traveled constantly, clearing out demons.
No one stayed at home like Lucas, waiting for trouble to come knocking.
"You don't know? How are you even surviving in this line of work? You don't have any information sources? How do you get clients?"
Elsa was baffled. Someone capable of killing a Mindless One… was also apparently a clueless novice.
"Clients? I've never had any."
Lucas looked equally bewildered.
He'd never taken proper jobs.
Skye had made him a website, and then he basically stopped caring.
His only official commission was the Sandman's daughter.
Everything else was either freeloading or scamming S.H.I.E.L.D.
Elsa was speechless.
Not only was this guy a rookie—he might actually be an idiot.
She began to doubt whether he was genuinely skilled or if she'd placed her trust in the wrong person.
Helpless, she handed him her phone.
"This is a hunter's communication platform. Register. People post all kinds of commissions there—it's how we stay informed about supernatural incidents."
Lucas nodded and passed the phone to Skye.
"Skye, handle it. See if you can link our website."
He had no interest in this stuff.
Networking belonged to the professionals—and no one beat Skye at that.
A few taps later, Skye handed the phone back to Elsa.
"Lucas, this platform is prehistoric.
It's literally just a chatroom.
No search, no interface, no task board—if you want to look up commissions, you have to scroll through old messages.
Who made this? A caveman? A caveman working with mittens on?"
Skye looked genuinely pained—like a modern person suddenly dropped into the Stone Age.
"Really? Then that's a business opportunity. Skye, post a message—advertise that we can upgrade this… whatever it is. We're scamming the platform today."
Lucas perked up immediately.
A chance to earn easy money? Say no more.
"It's posted. Just waiting for a reply."
Skye worked fast.
Truly, proximity changed people—living with Lucas long enough had even made the once-innocent Skye turn into a money-grubber.
Only Wanda remained pure.
But give it time—Lucas would corrupt her too.
Elsa felt like tearing her hair out.
She tried to help them expand their business…
And the first thing they did after joining the platform was try to scam it.
This wasn't "helping wolves into the house"—this was bringing wolves, tigers, and one very deranged duck.
Well, whatever.
She didn't own the platform, so let them scam it if they wanted.
---
While they were eating, Skye's computer chimed.
Someone from the platform had contacted her about upgrading the system.
Lucas was curious about the platform's mysterious owner—but online identities meant nothing, and one glance told him the account was fake.
He lost interest and returned to his meal.
The buyer offered five thousand dollars.
Skye thought for a moment and agreed.
For upgrading a social platform, 5K was actually a decent price—especially since, for her, it was practically free money.
All she had to do was tweak the backend, add some features, clean the code.
A few hours of work—tops.
Five thousand dollars for a couple taps of her fingers.
Skye was thrilled.
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