The Legendary Ghost Hunter

Chapter 26: Alpha Lupi

After Finn and Iris were instructed to take the elevator back down to the bottommost floor, they left the Guildmaster’s office, leaving only the woman and Lei Feng behind.

Lei prepared to leave as well, but the Guildmaster suddenly stopped him.

“Lei.”

He froze, turning back around to face the woman. “What is it, Guildmaster?”

“Those two… keep an eye on them for me.”

“…” Lei looked like he was confused and wanted to know why, but he also realized it wasn’t his place to ask. So, instead, he just took a deep breath and bowed.

“Understood, Guildmaster.”

******

Upon returning to the bottommost floor, Finn and Iris spotted Archon waiting for them a short distance away. They had originally wanted to explore some of the other floors of this massive tower, but figured it wouldn’t be good if they got caught. Disobeying orders right after entering the guild was not a great way to start off as new recruits.

“Ah, you’re back. Did she… approve?” Archon asked once we regrouped with him.

Finn nodded. “We were told to come down here and go to the rightmost receptionist to formally get registered.”

“I see…” Archon let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good… I thought she would reject you because you are part of my Squadron…”

“Did something… happen between you and her in the past?” Iris asked hesitantly, unsure of this was a good topic to pry about.

“Yes… and it has something to do with what you heard earlier this morning today as well, Ace,” Archon said, turning to Finn. “I’ll explain more once we get back… it’s a long story.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Iris murmured quietly, even though she really was curious. “Also, what’s this about Finn hearing you earlier this morning…?”

“He just happened to overhear a call I had. No big deal,” Archon replied. “And since I’ve made up my mind to drag you into my mess… I should at least give you the context of what happened. It’s the least I can do to compensate my selfish desires.”

After that, the three fell into line behind the rightmost receptionist in the lobby just as instructed. Apparently, this was a special VIP line that only specific people could use. Thus, the line was shorter than most others, which saved time.

“By the way, Archon,” Finn said while they were waiting.

“Hm? What’s up, kid?”

“Is there a way I can learn Abilities without being taught directly by someone else? For example, a library or something of the sort?”

“Hm… there is, but you won’t be able to read with your blindness. And you can’t use your Angelica anyway, so it’s pretty much a lost cause,” he said, then suddenly realized something as he scratched his head awkwardly. “A-Ah… sorry, that was a bit harsh.”

Finn shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Even if I can’t use the Abilities myself, it’s still nice to know about them in case I am faced with an enemy using them or given allies who have them.”

“And I can accompany him,” Iris added from above Finn. “He may not be able to see the text inside the books due to his blindness, but I can read it out loud for him. There may be some Abilities for the Oculus Angelica in there I don’t even know yet.”

At this, Archon sighed in relief and shook his head.

“Man… you two are already lookin’ out for each other like this, huh?” He chuckled. “Well, there’s a library on the second floor of this tower, open for everyone. I’ll be sure to take you two there next time we’re here. For now though, there are more concerning matters, so let’s just get you formally registered, then head back.”

Finn and Iris both nodded in response, since they weren’t in too much of a hurry to acquire these Abilities anyway.

Soon enough, everyone in line before the three of them had finished their business, leaving them next up. Archon took the lead and stepped forward; the receptionist looked up from her paperwork and greeted them.

“How may I help you today, Hunter?”

“We’re here to get these two formally registered,” Archon replied, eyeing Finn and Iris. “The Guildmaster already approved of their application, so…”

“Yes, so I’ve been told,” the receptionist said with a warm and friendly smile. “Finn and Ivis, correct? One moment.”

She rummaged through some papers on her desk and pulled out two blank forms of some sort, sliding them through the gap in the glass screen separating the two parties.

“I just need you to fill those forms in, one for each of you. Here, you can write with these. Take your time.”

She placed down a pen beside the sheets of paper. Iris picked it up and without any hesitation, began breezing through her form, filling in all the categories lightning-fast. They were all just normal, basic fields such as name and age.

Naturally, Finn was unable to fill this form in due to his blindness, so he had Iris fill it in for him by quietly telling her what to write on his sheet.

They were also asked to write down their aliases, to which Finn settled on ‘Ace’. Iris, after some careful consideration, decided to write down ‘Ivy’ in her alias slot.

Unbeknownst to Finn, Iris also wrote down ‘Ivis Silverdale’ rather than her real name, Iris Sylvoir. After all… it would be somewhat problematic if her real heritage was revealed.

Other fields on the form included Squadron number and Angelica, which Finn all answered truthfully… though, he just told Iris to write Oculus down rather than the Blacksmith one he obtained from Archon earlier today.

Less than a minute later, both forms were filled in. The receptionist took everything back and looked through them, before inputting their responses into the computer before her. It didn’t take very long for some kind of machine beside her to begin whirring and outputting a card of some sort.

The receptionist took it out of the device, then another one began generating immediately. Once both cards were finished being created, she handed them to Finn and Iris. They looked to be of the same archetype as the one Archon had shown the guards at the entrance of the tower.

“Here are your Hunter Cards,” the receptionist explained. “These things are universal across all the major guilds, so in case you ever leave this one to join a different one, you won’t need to make a new card. Keep them safe, as they are like your new identification documents in the Ghost Hunter world. If you ever lose it, no matter the reason, you should speak to your Squadron leader.”

“That’s me,” Archon added helpfully, as if they didn’t know that already.

Iris inspected her card. On it was bits of information along with a picture of herself, though she was unsure when or how they got an image of her.

[Name: Ivis Silverdale]

[Age: 18]

[Alias: Ivy]

[Angelica: Oculus]

[Affiliations: Phantom Slayers Corps (154th Squadron)]

[Rank: D]

“D…?” Iris wondered aloud, confused.

Archon scratched his hair awkwardly. “About that… sorry. You started with that rank since you’re in my Squadron, which is… low-tier.”

‘So that’s why Tempest called him a D-class earlier…’ Finn thought in his head, though he couldn’t see his own card.

He fell silent, unsure of what to say. He didn’t really mind being D-class, per se, but if being a higher rank was missing out on good resources to get stronger, he would definitely try and climb the rankings, somehow. Now was not the time for that though.

“Alright, that’s all!” The receptionist clapped her hands together happily, bringing the trio’s gaze back to her. “Finn, Ivis — or should I say, Ace and Ivy — the two of you have successfully registered with the Phantom Slayers. Congratulations!”

*****

After the procedure was done, Archon took Finn and Iris back to their home using one of the many teleporters stationed right outside the tower. Upon arrival, the trio each took a quick shower. Finn didn’t have to help Iris this time, since her wheelchair arrived.

After the three of them all cleaned themselves off, they met up in the living room, where the others were.

“Heh, welcome back!” Octane exclaimed, crossing one leg over the other and laughing. “You two get your Hunter cards? Lemme see what color they are!”

“Does that matter…?” Finn murmured, confused.

“Haha, no,” Archon chuckled. “It’s just a tradition between Phantom Slayers. Apparently, black-background cards are the rarest or something. Don’t quote me on that though.”

“Uh…” Finn fished out his Hunter Card and showed it to everyone else, since he couldn’t see it himself.

“Wow, speak of the devil… it’s really black!” Octane yelled in shock. “Man, you’re lucky…”

Iris also pulled hers out, and it was a clean white that made almost made it hard to see the text on it. No one paid attention to hers though, since they were all too focused on Finn’s.

“Now, now, calm down… I have some news to announce,” Archon sighed, taking on a serious expression. “But before that… where’s Reaper?”

“Scheduled maintenance over at Risa’s. He’ll be back in two days,” Storm replied.

‘Maintenance?’ Finn thought in his head. ‘Ah, I guess he is a robot…’

“Two days… he won’t be able to make it…” Archon murmured quietly, then shook his head and changed the topic.

“Oh, right…” Finn said, interrupting the conversation. “I meant to say this before, but… there’s no need for you all to call me Ace while we’re not on a mission or anything. Just Finn is fine — I’m more used to it that way. Now, Archon… the news?”

“I see… got it.” Archon took a deep breath and gazed out the window, eyes holding a slight sadness within them.

“It’s about time I tell you about my past — what happened between me, the Phantom Slayers guild, and the outlawed band of rogues known as Alpha Lupi.”