Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

Therefore, the hunters and scholars in the shop showed even more curiosity than before regarding Nergigante's return to the Starry Sky outpost.

The way it obediently followed behind Fujimaru Ritsuka was particularly intriguing. Some of the bolder players even temporarily put aside what they were doing and followed Nergigante, curiously observing it while discussing it with their companions.

Wow, it really followed behind people obediently!

"Do you really think it's a guardian of the ecosystem?"

"Who knows, but it certainly doesn't have the ability to unleash natural disasters like other ancient dragons."

"So, it's considered one of our companions?"

"...I don't know if it's a companion, but if you encounter it in the wild, I suggest you run as fast as you can."

On the other side, Fujimaru Ritsuka felt alright in the face of this attention, but Nergigante was clearly not so comfortable. The stares from everyone made it feel awkward, and it couldn't help but let out a threatening roar at everyone.

"Roar!!!"

"Whoa-!"

"Run!"

"It's angry!..."

The onlookers were immediately terrified and scattered. Seeing this, Nergigante snorted loudly, withdrew its gaze, and continued to follow behind Fujimaru Ritsuka.

Seeing Nergigante's performance, the crowd cautiously approached again, but kept a greater distance and did not engage in the same heated discussion as before, simply hanging far behind Nergigante.

"Well, everyone was really enthusiastic, haha..."

Reya scratched her cheek somewhat awkwardly, looked down at the long stack of information about the ecology of Nergigante in her hand, and felt that she was not qualified to speak ill of others, so she could only awkwardly say some good things about her companions.

Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled nonchalantly, finding the hunters' reaction quite agreeable.

Because their journey was smooth, they soon arrived at the conference room area, where the Commander-in-Chief, who had been informed in advance, was already waiting for them at the conference table.

"You are back."

"Commander-in-Chief!"

The Commander-in-Chief smiled and nodded to them. Fujimaru Ritsuka also greeted him warmly. After looking around, he instructed Nergigante to stay on the deck outside the meeting area for the time being.

The Nergigante obediently lay down and began to rest, while the Commander-in-Chief watched all this with some surprise.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Nergigante seemed much more obedient now than before.

Did something happen that he doesn't know about?

Thinking this to himself, he turned his gaze back to Fujimaru Ritsuka and smiled:

"In short, thank you for taking down the Xeno'jiiva and for being willing to provide us with its carcass."

"Oh, right, Xeno'jiiva is that ancient dragon from beneath the ley lines. It's a name we've tentatively proposed, but it will become its official registered name once the guild confirms it."

Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded, not surprised by this.

Then, the Commander-in-Chief laughed and said:

"In addition, as a token of our gratitude for your contributions, this is a small token of our appreciation."

As he spoke, he took out a metal badge and handed it to Fujimaru Ritsuka.

Fujimaru Ritsuka took the badge and examined it carefully, but could only tell that the design on the badge was very exquisite. As for the text engraved on it, of course, she couldn't understand it at all.

"This is……?"

The Commander-in-Chief explained with a smile:

"This is a badge that represents your identity as a hunter. I have already registered you with the guild. With this badge, you are now a formal hunter of the guild."

"A hunter? Me?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the Commander-in-Chief in surprise, and when the Commander-in-Chief nodded in affirmation, she couldn't help but show a look of delight.

Although the hunter identity is somewhat abstract and intangible to her, a person from another world, and seems less appealing than some tangible rewards, it suits her taste perfectly, giving her a sense of joy from collecting titles.

At the same time, she suddenly remembered something and quickly looked at Meiliuqina beside her, receiving a smile in return.

So, this must be the content of the deal between Meliuchina and the Grand Master.

In this world, only Melyuchina knows her preferences.

Fujimaru Ritsuka felt a warmth in her heart and accepted the gift with a smile.

"Thank you."

On the other side, Reya and Baifeng looked at the badge in Fujimaru Ritsuka's hand with curiosity and confusion, not understanding why the Commander-in-Chief would register Fujimaru Ritsuka as a Hunter and give her a Hunter Badge.

Because in their minds, Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't have much fighting ability.

If anything should be given, it should be given to Melyuchina, right?

At this moment, Reya finally saw clearly the design of the badge in Fujimaru Ritsuka's hand and couldn't help but exclaim:

"No way, it's a Master Hunter Badge?!"

"Eh?"

Hearing Reya's exclamation, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at her in confusion, so Reya immediately explained to her.

Hunters in the guild are divided into three main ranks: Low Rank Hunters, High Rank Hunters, and Master Hunters.

Although there are different star ratings between each hunter rank, such as one-star hunter in lower rank and three-star hunter in upper rank, hunter badges only come in three styles: lower rank, upper rank, and master.

Within a guild, the majority are naturally lower-ranked hunters, who form the backbone of the guild. Upper-ranked hunters are considered elite hunters within the guild.

As for master-level hunters, they are extremely rare.

The hunters of the Fifth Fleet were all elite hunters, the vast majority of whom were high-ranking hunters, with only Bai Feng and Aiden from the recommended group being master-level hunters.

This shows just how powerful and rare master hunters are.

That's why Reya seemed so surprised.

After hearing Reya's explanation, Fujimaru Ritsuka roughly understood the value of a Master Hunter, and couldn't help but look at the Commander-in-Chief.

The commander-in-chief explained to her with a smile:

"Since the credit for defeating Xeno'jiiva is recorded on your head, it is only right that you become a Master Hunter."

There are many conditions for becoming a Master Hunter, but the most important criterion is strength—the ability to defeat Elder Dragons.

Of course, because of the great power of the Elder Dragons, in general, the term "slaying an Elder Dragon" does not only mean killing the Elder Dragon, but also means being able to fight against and repel the Elder Dragon.

As a special individual among the Elder Dragons, Xeno'jiiva possesses power far exceeding that of ordinary Elder Dragons from birth. Being able to kill such a special and powerful Elder Dragon naturally makes one a true master-level hunter.

Although it wasn't Fujimaru Ritsuka who killed him.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 288 Fujimaru Ritsuka Has a House

Regardless, it's a foregone conclusion that Fujimaru Ritsuka will become a Master Hunter. Although Baifeng and Reya had some doubts about this, they did not raise any further objections.

From a certain perspective, Fujimaru Ritsuka, who is protected by both Melyuchina and Nergigante, is far stronger than an ordinary master-level hunter.

After the matter of Fujimaru Ritsuka was resolved, Reya said to the Commander-in-Chief:

"We also have something to report to you on our return!"

"Oh?"

The Commander-in-Chief raised an eyebrow upon hearing this and said:

"Any new discoveries at the Elder's Recess?"

"There were new discoveries, of course, but more importantly, Aibo successfully defeated a Steel Dragon!"

Reya's tone was filled with excitement and pride; as a companion, she was also proud to have been able to slay an ancient dragon.

Fujimaru Ritsuka cooperated perfectly, taking the corpse of the Steel Dragon from the [Treasury of the Minister] and placing it next to the Nergigante.

This was a Steel Dragon, about 17 meters long. Its stiff corpse lay on its side on the empty deck, instantly filling the empty space next to the Nergigante.

Seeing the Steel Dragon's wing about to poke it, Nergigante reached out its claws with some disgust and shoved it aside.

The commander-in-chief, who had been calm, stared in shock at the sight of the steel dragon's corpse.

"Wait, it's this [Extermination]?!"

His original understanding of the campaign was that Bai Feng had repelled the Steel Dragon. Although this was also an amazing feat, it was not too surprising when applied to Bai Feng.

But he really didn't expect that when Reya mentioned "slaying the Steel Dragon," she meant actually killing it.

Killing an ancient dragon is much more difficult than simply repelling it.

"—"

At this moment, Bai Feng pointed to the Nergigante next to him and made a few simple gestures.

Reya translated briefly, explaining that what Bai Feng meant was that she originally only wanted to repel the Steel Dragon, but in the end, it was Nergigante that delivered the final blow.

"O Nergigante..."

After listening, the Commander-in-Chief looked at the Nergigante lying on the ground taking a nap and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Hey, what's that?"

"Where did the dragon's carcass come from?"

"Wait, that's... a Steel Dragon?!"

"What?!……"

At the same time, the sudden appearance of the Steel Dragon's corpse on the deck instantly attracted the attention of all the hunters and researchers nearby. After recognizing it as the corpse of an Elder Dragon, it instantly drew a large crowd.

However, they dared not approach too closely because of the Nergigante lying nearby.

Among them, Aiden, who was also a member of the recommendation group along with Bai Feng, took the lead and was the first to arrive in front of the Steel Dragon's corpse, his expression somewhat complicated.

"It really is a Steel Dragon...!"

Then, he looked up at Bai Feng and exclaimed with a smile:

"As expected of you, Bai Feng, you actually managed to defeat the Steel Dragon!"

Bai Feng was a little embarrassed and explained the specific situation again.