Apocalypse Rebate: Spoiling Beauties Makes Me Richer!

Mildly dazed, wondering if her ears were playing tricks on her, the receptionist took a moment to process what he’d just said before replying.

"Pardon!?"

Unsure if she’d misheard, the receptionist enquired with a hint of uncertainty evident in her expression.

Unbothered by this, Bruce simply repeated, his expression calm and collected as though he’d said the most natural thing imaginable.

"I said, I’ll be taking this Quest alone. So, there’s no need to waste time finding others."

Baffled on realizing she hadn’t misheard him, the receptionist became even more shocked at how calm he was while saying this.

Though technically, there wasn’t necessarily a rule that stated one had to be in a group before venturing out on Quests, it didn’t mean any sane person would willingly choose to do so anytime soon.

Much less a mere Novice Ranked Hunter that was literally still a newbie. Even most seasoned, higher Ranked Hunters tended to be skeptical of taking on Quests alone.

The thought was almost akin to expecting a single inexperienced soccer player to face off against an entire team of highly professional players, and still come up as the victor.

It was bizarre, to say the least, as the odds were literally stacked against him.

As such, it was nearly unheard of for a mere Novice/Junior Rank Hunter to willingly suggest taking on a Quest Solo. It was practically suicide, and no amount of gain was worth anything at the cost of one’s own life.

Not to mention, based on the information from his Hunter ID, she knew he clearly wasn’t an Attack or Defense Type Awakened.

Instead, he was a mere Support Type, the kind that usually had no business anywhere near the front-lines of an assault.

So the very concept of this Type of Awakened going Solo was nothing short of a death wish.

With these in mind, she tried to carefully warn him of the dangers that may occur once outside the City Barriers, as anything could easily go wrong when outside, and it was always safer to have extra help when faced with unexpected trouble.

Yet, it seemed her advice simply fell on deaf ears, as it entered one ear then came out the next, with Bruce still being adamant in his decision to go Solo.

Sighing to herself as she realized that she might actually be dealing with a himbo this time, the receptionist simply displayed her professional smile once more, which seemed a bit tired now, as she added.

"Ahh...! Alright, Sir, if that’s the case then what would you like me to register as your Hunter Alias? That way, we’ll be able to tell which group or individual is currently taking on a mission on the Quest Board."

Recalling seeing similar Aliases used on the Quest Screen earlier, Bruce understood what she meant.

Taking a moment to decide, a name suddenly popped into his mind as he decided to go with one that was a bit direct, but easily conveyed the intent behind it.

"Solo Hunte-..."

"Already taken, Sir."

Not giving him time to complete his sentence, the receptionist simply denied his name choice flatly on hearing his words.

’Damn! Guess that’s expected since it’s a bit too direct.’

Deciding to go with something else, Bruce suggested once more.

"How ’bout, Lone Hunter?"

"Taken!"

"Uhh... Independent Hunter?"

"Still taken."

"Lone Wolf?"

"Same!"

"Rogue Hunter?"

"Also taken."

"Freelance Hunter?"

"Just left a few minutes ago."

Feeling mildly frustrated, Bruce couldn’t help but curse inwardly at his current predicament.

’Drats! I thought she said Solo Hunters were supposed to be rare or something. Then why the heck are all the names already taken?’

Calming himself down a bit at the absurdity of the situation, Bruce decided to think things through a bit clearer.

Already aware of his own poor naming sense, he found it even stranger that others would willingly use such names as an Alias as well.

’Though I’m not much better off either since I was on the verge of picking them as well for a lack of other options.’

Sighing to himself, Bruce became a bit lost in thought.

Meanwhile, watching as he struggled a bit to come up with an Alias for himself, the receptionist secretly wondered if he was indeed retarded to willingly choose such a name for himself.

Failing to understand how Hunters thought, as she simply viewed them as a different species entirely, the receptionist decided to wait till the himbo before her finally settled on a name for himself.

Unaware of her train of thought as he was a bit preoccupied with his own at the moment, Bruce briefly glazed through a number of other name choices in his mind, most of which sounded much worse than the last, before a sudden thought surfaced in his mind.

’Hmm...! Since it’s an Alias intended for me, why not make it something related to me, personally?’

The thought came, subtle and quiet at first, but as it did, he decided to hold on to it, as he didn’t really have any other option at the moment.

With the thought, a certain name emerged in his mind as well, causing him to absent-mindedly blurt it out as it did.

"Phoenix Hunter."

Mildly intrigued by the name choice, the receptionist enquired.

"Hmm? Is that the name you’ve decided upon, sir?"

Realizing the name likely wasn’t taken by her words of confirmation, rather than the previous flat denials, Bruce called it once more as though testing the sound as it rolled off the tongue.

"Phoenix Hunter! Hmm...! Yeah, that’s my final choice."

After having lived a life of constant pain in his previous one, and awakening in a world with the memories of one that had hated his very existence almost as much as the thought of merely being alive in such a body, Bruce couldn’t help but feel a tad wistful at how his previous life had been nothing but a pile of ashes.

Yet, now things were different.

He no longer had to suffer every waking second, barely able to get up, but was now living a life that he could’ve only ever dreamed of in the past.

His life, seemingly gone through a rebirth of sorts, as he not only came out through the ashes of his former life, but was born anew from it.

"Like a Phoenix."

Muttering to himself at the thought, he couldn’t help but quietly chuckle to himself as he did.

Watching as he laughed, quietly talking to himself, the receptionist wondered if he’d secretly lost it, as he not only chose such an odd name for himself, but also seemed to be pleased by the thought as well.

Deciding to quickly attend to him before his insanity spread to her, the receptionist quickly registered his Alias as The Phoenix Hunter.

The name, now displayed on the Quest Screen, as being the one that’d taken on the mission of gathering Blood-Ores in the Whispering Caves.

Noticing his Hunter Alias had been registered, Bruce appeared visibly pleased at the sight, turning around as he seemed ready to finally head out on his Quest.

"Uhhh... Sir? You know you can’t just go outside like that... Right?"

Turning back on hearing her puzzled words, an utterly oblivious look appeared on Bruce’s face as he gently tilted his head.

"Huh?"

Sighing as she realized he likely forgot, which was normal since he was still a newcomer, the receptionist added.

"The Mana Radiations outside the City Barriers are extremely toxic, and normal people can’t survive long there without protection. What I’m trying to say in essence is that you need a Hunter Suit!"

Brightening up, as though suddenly recalling something important, Bruce’s expression shifted as he smiled.

"I knew I was forgetting something! Just couldn’t quite remember what it was. Sorry, but where exactly can I buy a Hunter Suit?"

Quietly shaking her head at the question, the receptionist displayed her professional smile once more as she reassured him.

"That’s alright, Sir. Most people tend to forget as well since we’ve been privileged with breathing safe air our entire lives. So, it’s normal for it to skip the mind that the outside world wasn’t exactly the same."

Pausing briefly, she gestured towards the back of a different section, stepping out from behind the glass as she did.

"Right over there. Just give me a moment. I’ll show you the Hunter Suits that are still affordable even for a Novice Hunter."

Watching as she shuffled through some things on her desk behind the glass screen before passing the back to show him towards the Hunter Suit Section, Bruce couldn’t help as a small smile secretly crept up his face.

Of course he hadn’t forgotten about the Mana Radiations outside the City.

How could he?

Especially when Naomi had just recently informed him of the concept and dangers of Mana a few days ago.

Instead, he’d chosen to act oblivious to it, as he couldn’t appear to be too prepared for everything, like a seasoned warrior preparing for a siege. Otherwise, it would only cause trouble later on for him once he began drawing attention to himself.

Not to mention, he hadn’t been able to find any equipment he could use to survive the Mana Radiations outside anywhere else.

So, he came to the conclusion that he could likely only purchase it from people working directly under the Hunter Association.

’Looks like I was right after all.’

With the thought in mind, he followed the receptionist as she escorted him to the Hunter Suit Section.