Weak White Sheep in a Fence

Chapter 6:A Hunter's POV

A Hunter’s POV

It was already dark when I looked out at the entire city.

The Hunter Force territory is a very large and vast territory located in the northern part of the Metropolis.

The headquarters stood in the middle of its huge territory. A large holographic crest was floating on top of the building giving the building more visibility even from afar.

The annex is located in the eastern part of the territory. There are five residential buildings where Hunters can stay when it’s not their time for deployment. The residential buildings especially favor Hunters who come from the distant districts of the city.

I, a humble and obedient Hunter, once lived in the annex. I stayed there for two months, but because of a conflict with my roommates, I decided to travel from home to HQ every day, despite the distance being quite far. Because of this, I was forced to buy a hoverbike just to get to work.

The Hunter's Academy is located close to the Annex, but anyone passing through the Annex would first have to pass over a mountain. The mountain is often used as one of the training fields of both the Hunters and trainees.

I trained at the Academy for four years under the heat of the sun, and thankfully, I was able to make it to graduation.

Slightly far from all the other structures is the six-story building of the Apex division, built on the highest mountain in New Aetherra, and it is still part of the Hunter’s territory,

I'm currently at the Apex’s flight deck, a huge ground in front of their their building where several battle aircraft are parked.

I’m wearing a battle suit that is something I’m not very comfortable in. It doesn’t seem to fit my size.

My helmet was slightly comfortable. Maybe because it can change its interior size depending on the user’s head. When I looked at the right side of its screen, I saw a small a profile picture. With just my eyes staring at it, the profile zoomed in, showing a masculine face together with other details of the profile below the face.

The face was handsome. I like the symmetry of the jaws and eyes, and the visible cut on the left eyebrow that made the face look scary but beautiful.

It’s already 8:00 PM, so obviously it’s dark, but thanks to the lights in the entire deck, I can see my companions who stood with me in rows and in columns while wearing the same battle suit as me. I specifically chose to stand at the last row to the leftmost column where I can see the view of all of my colleagues.

Tonight, we will experience the most exciting part of our life that might change each of our goals for joining this job.

A huge battle aircraft was very noisy due to its large turbines as it was powering up behind me. The name Valfang-33 was visible on its exterior shell.

I noticed that one of the aircraft’s loading ramps was open. There's a machine at the ramp that carries the bags that are piled near it inside the aircraft. I could even see a suitcase that the machine brought inside.

I'm excited because we're leaving the city.

I’m still feeling scared without a doubt. This mission is nerve-wracking but I'm also happy because I'll finally get to experience the outside world. They said it’s very dangerous.

Our seniors said that they’ve seen a lot. From monsters to creatures that are hard to distinguish due to their grotesque appearance. Some even had the image of a rotten flesh.

"Is this the total number who passed?"

I heard a cold voice coming from the front.

I immediately saw the familiar Commander of Apex approaching us together with his second-in-command and a woman holding a datapad.

Commander Axel was wearing his usual uniform. From every angle, his face and body were so perfect that’s why I keep on idolizing him even to this day.

"Yes, Commander. There are seven Alphas, fifteen Betas, and ten Omegas. 32 passers in total," replied the woman holding a datapad.

The Commander looked at us for a moment, his eyes serious.

"Congratulations," he spoke sarcastically, quite scoffing. "You’ve now entered your final destination. Remember that if one of you makes a mistake, we will no longer bring your body back."

I felt the shivers from his voice.

Commander Axel is scary to his men. He was not threatening any of us, but warning us of the possible dangers outside. I couldn’t help but swallow my saliva out of fear.

"So, never, ever die."

He started walking closer, intending to circle around us.

"Hunters were taught to become a sacrifice for the benefit of humanity…"

He was slowly approaching the back where I was standing.

My heart began to accelerate. I’m pretty nervous for some reason.

"But being one of the elite Hunters means that you must stay alive no matter what happens."

This time, Commander Axel stood beside me. He paused for a moment and turned his gaze at us, the last row where I was standing.

He’s so close so I’m hoping that my pumping heart won’t give me problems, but no. This tremendous feeling I had right now as my heart was beating so high was more than just idolizing the Commander whom I considered my hero.

BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP!

Damn!

My nerves are tingling! What is wrong with me?!

I'm nervous because it was like he was looking for something but also not.

He started walking again. My heart began to relax as he passed behind us, but I could still hear the sound of his footsteps.

"I hope you know that being an elite Hunter means you are hard to die. That’s why you must never die."

I saw him again on the other side, now heading back to the front.

My heart returned to its normal rhythm.

"This flight will serve as your first mission that goes further beyond the nearby areas outside New Aetherra. I know that you are all nervous, but I expect that you will all come back alive. Again, never, ever die."

When he got back to the front, I saw his perfect face again.

"Good luck."

A few moments later, they let us inside the huge battle aircraft through its boarding ramp. The ones in front of us entered first. I just copied what my companions were doing when it was our turn to enter.

I noticed the Commander standing on the side of the ramp, leaning on the wall. I don't know why he was staring at my companions. I simply ignored his stare.

“Attention: Valfang-33 is about to fly. All personnel must be prepared for launch.”

After hearing an automated voice from a speaker, the ramp of the battle aircraft slowly closed. The aircraft began to rise as its giant turbines spun faster until I just felt the entire vehicle moving.

Our seniors took us to the debriefing room, telling us to take off our battle suit and rest for a while because we would be landing tomorrow for our patrol mission.

Some of the inductees went out and roamed around the aircraft, while others were still changing into their training clothes.

I, on the other hand, was sitting on one of the benches while holding the suit case on my lap that was carried by a machine a while ago.

"Hey, dude."

I heard someone speak to me.

"Aren't you going to take off that armor of yours?" A man with blue hair and a smiling face that seemed to have a happy-go-lucky, extroverted personality came to me.

He had already changed and was ready to leave the debriefing room.

"Nah. I want to relish this moment that we're leaving the city while wearing this," I answered, quite natural with my words, although forcing my voice to be deeper than normal.

"I can't make out your face. What's your name?" He actually sat on the bench where I was sitting. He appeared to trust unfamiliar people so easily.

I immediately looked at the side of the screen of my helmet where the profile was visible. The profile zoomed in again, displaying all the information I needed.

"Adel," I answered.

"I'm Ivan. I just finished last year. How about you?"

"Last… last year." I was about to say last year too, but I read something different on the profile. "I'm a year ahead of you."

"So, you're only taking the Apex Clearance Test now? How was the test for you?"

This guy named Ivan is talkative.

He was asking how the test was? I finished it so easily. It was clear that the testers already knew if I was going to pass or not, so they didn't make me wait for long.

We noticed that the door opened and the woman who was holding a datapad earlier came in. Now that I looked at her, her boobs are actually quite huge.

"Good evening. This is Senior Officer Evelyn. I would like to ask if all the Omegas here have taken suppressants or stabilizers before departing?" Her voice sounded robotic as if she had no emotion.

Everyone was silent. It was clear that no one wanted to be the first to answer. Who would know if all the Omegas here were stable before we flew? Only they, themselves, knew.

"Uh, senior." I noticed a woman raise her hand. She had just finished tying her boots and her curvy body was noticeable as she stood.

"I think all of us Omegas here know that we need to be stable first before we fly. That's part of our training, which is why I think no one among us would forget…"

Senior Evelyn’s eyes stared sharply at everyone in the room. "Commander Axel has a very keen nose. He detected a slight smell when we were about to depart, which is why I’m asking everyone to be honest. If anyone is caught being dishonest or doing something that violates the rules of this ship, which could cause of harm to our others here, then expect a punishment directly from the Commander."

She left after closing the door.

She's also scary just like the Commander. I mean, Commander Axel is the scariest, but Senior Evelyn has almost the same aura as if she would chop us into pieces if one of us did something wrong.

"Woah. She's hot but fierce!" I heard Ivan say, but I couldn't tell from his face if he was scared or more excited.

I think all our seniors here are scary. It seems like if you stay here for a long time, you'll also become terrifying. Although, I don't think my situation will help me stay here for long.

"Hey, you!"

I heard the woman who answered Senior Evelyn calling me. Her arms were crossed while approaching me. Her boobs were bouncing without her body moving that much. I consider her manner of walking to be flirtatious. I don’t know if it was her normal way of moving, but I simply don’t like it.

Her beautiful, yet doubting eyes looked at me making the others to look in my direction.

"It seems you're the only one suspicious here because you're not taking off your suit. Maybe you're the one releasing pheromones here."

As I looked at the big-chested woman in front of me, all I saw was irritation. She was just trying to grab everyone’s attention, expecting to gain everyone’s favor and live a comfortable life here.

I’m more familiar with that behavior.

If I were the one releasing pheromones, the other inductees should have sensed it too. I had more contact with them than the Commander.

I just raised my pointer finger and put it on my mouth.

"Shhh," I hushed. "I'm praying."

The woman's face turned red as she looked at me angrily.

"Please don’t disturb my peace. I’m praying for the safety of all the passengers in this aircraft and for the mission to be successful…" I added, then turned my back on them. I even pressed my palms together while sitting.

"Hey! You—"

"And please, I’m an Alpha.” I added more while looking at the profile on the side of the screen. “If I were to release something, I'm sure the Commander wouldn't think it came from an Omega."

The woman seemed like she was about to explode, but then we suddenly felt a slight jolt inside the aircraft. The aircraft seemed to slow down a little.

“Attention: We are about to leave the Skyplate. All personnel prepare for atmospheric passage.”

Oh, we're leaving now!