On his second day in the imperial capital, David began his first mission as a hunter.
He didn't even have time to familiarize himself with the capital's streets and alleys, having to rely on Veronica, his "senior," to lead the way.
After taking a carriage to the docks, the two boarded a steam boat and then climbed onto a large ship sailing in the middle of the Lionheart River.
The mission's client, Julius, the imperial capital's famous alchemical genius, was on the ship.
David met this elderly master alchemist in a cabin filled with all kinds of strange alchemical equipment.
His fluffy, messy white hair and bright, intense eyes reminded David of another genius scientist from his past life...
"...My apprentice Dick stole most of my newly refined potions. You'd better find them quickly, before he causes some kind of trouble..."
"Do you know why Dick would steal your potions?"
"Who knows? For money or something? After all, those potions are extremely precious, especially my new invention 'Liquid Thunder'—it's worth a fortune."
The master alchemist stared at the dropper in his hand, not even turning his head as he brushed off Veronica's question.
"Can you be specific about exactly what kind of potions Dick stole?" Veronica continued patiently.
Julius glanced at her and reached out to open a small box beside him. A strange glow lit up from inside the box.
David stared at the bottle of liquid flashing with dazzling lightning inside the box, his eyes involuntarily narrowing.
He admitted he was shocked...
So when the master alchemist said "Liquid Thunder," he literally meant turning thunder into a small bottle of liquid?
What kind of black technology was this???
"Liquid Thunder, Crystallized Sunlight, Roaring Juice of Garrolon Grass... and all kinds of other enhancement potions, including some of those hunter-specific ones. He stole an entire crate."
Julius closed the box and said seriously, "The others don't matter, but you must find the Liquid Thunder."
"Where do you think Dick is most likely to have fled?" Veronica asked again.
"How should I know? Wherever he can hide, that's where he might run..." The master alchemist paused, then said hesitantly, "Maybe you could check the Earl's old alchemy factory. That kid used to set up shop there."
At this point, David suddenly cut in, "Master, about the Earl's missing Twin Demon Mirror—do you know anything about it?"
"Wh-what mirror? I don't know, don't ask me."
Julius's expression changed somewhat, and he started impatiently waving them away.
"Why do you hunters have so many questions? Earlier, other people already came asking me about this nonsense. I'm telling you, I'm just an alchemist researching potions for the Earl. Whatever the Earl lost has nothing to do with me!"
...
Soon after, David and Veronica got off at the docks. The two boarded a carriage again, preparing to head to the Earl's old alchemy workshop Julius had mentioned.
Earl Kingsley, a major noble of the imperial capital, had always been an investor in master alchemists.
Unfortunately, this Earl had recently also lost a forbidden object that had been sealed in his family for years—the Twin Demon Mirror.
"Earl Kingsley's ancestors once produced a 'Hunter Earl,' so his family has the qualification to keep and use forbidden objects.
Times have changed, and the Kingsley family's descendants haven't produced a second Hunter Earl, so they currently only have the qualification to seal forbidden objects, but not the authority to use them."
Sitting across from David, Veronica softly explained to him.
So-called "Hunter Earls" referred to those high-tier hunters who held noble titles.
They'd often made great contributions in battles against darkness and received recognition from the imperial family and the church, thus being granted titles.
Hunter Earl families had a special privilege—they could keep and use those very dangerous forbidden objects to enhance their power, while also having the duty to guard the forbidden objects and prevent them from going out of control.
"...After the last forbidden object sealed in the Earl's family—the Twin Demon Mirror—went missing, he chose to report it to the church and said he was willing to let the Order recover it, thereby exempting himself from related responsibility.
We can use this case to get close to the Earl's faction and find out where the mirror is before the other hunters..."
"That master alchemist has a problem."
David suddenly interrupted Veronica's words, saying in a low voice, "He lied."
David's mission theoretically had little to do with this case, but when he questioned the master alchemist, he noticed the other party's abnormal reaction.
Veronica blinked. "I noticed... You think Julius knows where the Twin Demon Mirror is?"
"No, he doesn't know. His expression was nervous and somewhat anxious. He seemed more concerned about the forbidden object's whereabouts than we are, but he doesn't want anyone to find out he's connected to it."
David crossed his legs and pressed down his hat brim. "So I'm guessing he must have come into contact with the Twin Demon Mirror, and then lost it."
"You're saying he secretly stole the Earl's forbidden object, then used it without permission..."
Veronica frowned. This speculation had no solid evidence, but it wasn't impossible.
She suddenly felt that David's thinking was even sharper than she'd imagined.
Actually, the female hunter was also far smarter than the average person—otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to dig up the traces connecting David Frank to the cult back in the viscount's territory.
After David's reminder, Veronica immediately constructed a whole set of theories following this line of thought.
Then she was shocked to discover they might not be far from that forbidden object at all...
...
The carriage stopped in the southern city's suburbs. The two successfully arrived at the Kingsley Earl family's old alchemy factory before dark.
This place had long been shut down and abandoned due to business problems, leaving only ruins of factory buildings with no one around.
Interestingly, when the two arrived, they saw someone had appeared at the factory gate even earlier than them.
He was also wearing Church Hunter clothing and bore an Order badge.
Third-tier hunter, Lucio.
Veronica recognized the hunter's identity. He was one of the hunters responsible for searching for the stolen forbidden object.
The mustachioed man first froze when he saw David and Veronica appear, then seemed to recognize the female hunter's identity, and a disdainful smile spread across his face.
"Oh, it's that failure... What are you doing here?"
He then looked at David, showing an amused expression. "Oh, you must be that country noble's son, right?"
David remained expressionless and kept silent.
"I've seen plenty of guys who sneak into the Order trying to gild their resumes... Don't say I didn't warn you—being a hunter isn't child's play. You'd better go home to bed early."
Veronica's face darkened. She wanted to step forward, but David reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Ha... That's right, you interns better stay back so you don't get hurt and I have to save you... Don't get in my way while I'm completing my mission."
Lucio's tone was full of contempt. He sneered, turned around, stopped paying attention to the two, and strode into the factory gate.
"Ugh, so annoying." Veronica curled her lip. "Mr. David, why didn't you argue back?"
"No need." David pulled down his hat brim and reached for his gun. "Get ready for a fight."
Just as the words left his mouth, the factory's rotten wooden door was smashed with a boom, creating a huge hole. Lucio's figure flew out backwards and smack—landed right in front of the two.
Veronica stared in shock at Lucio's sorry state, but saw the mustachioed hunter flash up from the ground, draw his gun with a swish, and fire two shots—bang bang—at the hole in the door.
A muscular and twisted figure charged out through the gunfire, gripping a massive steel rod in his hand, whoosh—swinging it down at the hunter.
Only then did Veronica react. She tried to pull out her short gun to shoot, but David pressed her hand down.
"Don't rush. He won't die yet."
Veronica looked at David questioningly, only to see a cold smile curve at the corner of his mouth...