"Wait! Don't shoot…" The giant grabbed Noah who was falling from the sky with one hand and waved his other hand at the young Demon Hunter, "I come in peace! My name is Titan, I'm the pick-up assigned by the headquarters to welcome the new Apostle, Ye Qi!"
Then, the giant pulled out a goatskin parchment with the Demon Hunter headquarters' seal—on it was indeed written the information the person mentioned! However, Ye Qi didn't stop casting his fireball but shouted to ask, "If you're my pick-up, then how do you explain him?"
Him, was naturally referring to the fainted Noah.
"Noah will be one of the new instructors for this season. I had something else to attend to so I had him come fetch you in my stead!" Then, the giant's face split into an apologetic smile, "Noah is a fine person, he just happens to have a bit of a temper issue. I came as soon as I finished my mission worried that his personality might cause some trouble! Admittedly, I wasn't expecting to see this…"
The friendly way the giant had carried himself and the sense of gullibility about him made the young Demon Hunter stop chanting the Fireball spell. However, he didn't let down his guard completely. Ye Qi took several steps back to maintain a safe distance between them before saying, "Sir, you might have the seal from the headquarters but because of him, I don't think I can trust you fully yet! You'll have to produce more proof before I can place my trust in you!"
Since the other party had brought up the letter of appointment, Ye Qi chose to go about this the most official way. This was probably the best solution considering the situation he was in.
"More proof?" The giant scratched his head and thought about it for some time before saying happily, "I know! If you can follow me to the headquarters, you'll soon see that I'm not lying to you!"
"Sir, please lead the way!"
Ye Qi nodded his agreement but still maintained a safe distance trailing behind the giant.
Even though the horse that pulled the carriage wasn't harmed, it was too spooked to be able to act as a mode of transport. Then again, even if it wasn't scared out of its mind, the giant wouldn't be able to hop on it anyway. In the end, they decided to proceed on foot.
The giant's one step was equal to 3, 4 steps of a normal human being due to his size. Thankfully, with the aid from the system as well as his Agility and Physique Stat of 16, Ye Qi was able to keep up with him just fine.
Initially, the giant would turn back occasionally, worried that he might lose Ye Qi. However, when he realized the young Demon Hunter was trailing behind him with ease while maintaining the same distance between them, the giant picked up his pace—even the kindest of Demon Hunter had a natural arrogance and need for competition within them!
The giant's walk turned into a small jog before ending up as an all-out sprint. Ye Qi still followed closely behind him, not lagging behind in any way.
As the competition between them continued, two trails of grey dust materialized on the road that headed towards the Demon Hunter headquarters. Viewed from afar, it seemed like two horses were racing to get first place.
The distance from Summer Crinkle to the headquarters was not short but it merely took both of them slightly above 10 minutes to complete the journey.
"Completion of C+ Quest: Safe Arrival. Reward: 5000 experience…"
When Ye Qi stepped into the castle surrounded by six spires, the system audio sounded in his ears. Instantly, Ye Qi sighed in relief before shaking his head looking at his experience that was halfway to reaching level 7.
It is as they say, with great risks come great rewards! The experience I've gained in this one day has surpassed the slaving I've done over the past three months!
"Ye Qi, you're not bad! I shall have my eyes on you!" The giant noticed the young Demon Hunter arrive at the destination just several steps behind him. He laughed jovially and clapped Ye Qi on the back of his shoulder. He pointed at the castle in front of them and continued, "This is the gathering hall for all the new Apostles, and this is where we part! I need to bring Noah to the healers!"
The giant left after that. The young Demon Hunter who had lost contact with the other half of his body glared fiendishly at the giant's shadow. As he walked towards the castle hall, blood slowly returned to his shoulder.
God damn it, just how strong was that slap? 20 or 30 Strength? The f*cker! Obviously, this is a revenge, I mean, what else can it be…
The young Demon Hunter who was stewing in resentment walked into the hall after producing his letter of recommendation. The gathering hall already contained quite a number of early arrivals. They were like dogs marking out their own territory. They either formed into small groups or stood aside individually, with no communication between one another.
Ye Qi who arrived later than most naturally caught everyone's attention as he walked in. Some glanced at him openly while others studied the young Demon Hunter surreptitiously. There were plenty of taunting and provocation in those gazes that fell on Ye Qi. The young Demon Hunter who came later than most had already found himself as an outcast.
The young Demon Hunter merely shrugged and ignored the provocation directed his way. He strode straight into the hall and found a quiet corner for himself before closing his eyes to rest—the battle with Noah and then the race with Titan had taken quite a bit out of the young Demon Hunter. If he didn't make use of this opportunity to regain his strength, then when would he have the chance to do it? Regarding those provocative glances, there would be plenty of time to deal with them later. After all, all new Apostle had to spend one year at the headquarters. Many things could be settled in the span of one whole year!
The gathered Demon Hunters who noticed Ye Qi show no interest in taking up their challenges slowly pulled their gaze back with some measure of disappointment—most of the Apostles there wouldn't mind a fight or two broke out. They wished for Ye Qi to lose his cool and have an all-out brawl with their fellow Apostles so that they would be given more information on their "classmates". After all information went a long way in a battle between Apostles—if there was no competition between the group of Apostles, then they truly wouldn't have lived up to their Demon Hunter title.
However, their disappointment didn't last for long—a group of three suddenly moved towards Ye Qi. Instantly, the hall of new Apostles craned their neck down the young Demon Hunter's direction.
"You're Ye Qi?"
The leader of the trio, rudely demanded.