"Arim."
A name that strikes fear into even those long stripped of the ability to feel.
King of Randia since its founding twenty years ago, a man seated upon a throne of living nature—the Destroyer.
Sixteen days ago, he and his party vanished from the royal palace. No trail. No witnesses. Not even his closest friend—the only man said to rival him in ferocity, and co-founder of Randia—knows where he went. And though he brought peace to the land, it was never without a cost.
I was named after that man. And now I am on my way to the Hunter's Guild, ready to take on my first mission.
The Hunter's Guild was louder than it needed to be.
I stopped just inside the doorway. Three exits. One half-blocked by tables. The floor dipped near the center—heavy traffic, heavier weapons. Old blood darkened the wood, ground in too deep to scrub out.
The loudest hunters sat closest to the hearth. None of them faced the door.
Not the dangerous ones.
I moved to the counter.
"Name," the receptionist said, already writing.
"Arim."
Her quill paused. Not long enough to be obvious. Long enough to be noticed.
Two heads turned. One didn't.
That one's listening.
"Rank?"
"None."
She slid a thin bronze badge toward me. "Initiate. E-rank."
I picked it up. Light. Too light to mean anything yet.
"First mission," I said. Not a question.
She turned the board. Most postings were marked safe. Traveled routes. Known threats. Predictable mistakes.
My eyes stopped on the unmarked one.
East sector. Missing hunters. No bodies recovered.
I pointed. "That one."
She frowned. "You're not built for that."
She was right.
I nodded. "That's why I'll survive."
Someone laughed behind me. Loud. Close.
I didn't turn. I'd already mapped the room. No one stood close enough to stop me.
I took the posting and stepped away from the counter.
Sixteen days.
That was how long my namesake had been missing.
I pictured him scanning the board.
No—he wouldn't have chosen this. Too easy. Too predictable. His rank alone would have filtered it out.
A mission like this wouldn't even earn a glance.
That was fine. I wasn't trying to be him. I was trying to survive the world he left behind—so I could change it one day.