Starting out as a Dragon Slave-Chapter 53: Information

Isaac threw his katana on the bed, his chest still heaving from the intense training session he’d just completed. His body burned with fatigue, but his mind remained alert, constantly haunted by the cold rage that had taken root in him since his brutal return to this world.

He sat down on the edge of his bed, grabbed his phone and unlocked the screen. The clock read 2:14 a.m., but he had no desire to sleep. His finger automatically slid to the Hunters app, a global network dedicated to news about guilds, portals and, above all, the mighty SS Hunters, the modern gods of this dungeon-ravaged world.

He had to see where he stood.

How insignificant he was compared to them.

The screen lit up immediately, flooding his face with bluish light, displaying at the top of the page a searing news item that was shaking the hunter world.

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[HEADLINE]: JAPANESE SS HUNTER RAIGEN SHIMURA CRUSHES SOUTH KOREAN GUILD IN RANK S RAID!

Isaac squinted, immediately captivated.

Japan and South Korea were bitter rivals in the hunter world, their relations even more strained than those of their respective governments. Each country fought to prove the supremacy of its hunters.

He opened the article.

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JAPAN VS SOUTH KOREA: RAIGEN SHIMURA HUMILIATES THE SEOUL FANGS GUILD!

Venue: Rang S Dungeon - Tokyo, Japan

Participants:

- Raigen Shimura (Japan) - SS Fighter - Leader of the Tenryu Guild

- Seong Jin-Woo (South Korea) - S+ Fighter - Seoul Fangs Guild Leader

- Kaito Nakamura (Japan) - Fighter S - Captain of Tenryu

- Park Min-Ho (South Korea) - Fighter S - Seoul Fangs strategist

- Others: Hunters S and A from each guild

Raid summary:

"The S-rank dungeon discovered in Tokyo was supposed to be a testing ground for Japanese hunters from the Tenryu guild, but the South Korean government managed to illegally send members of the Seoul Fangs guild to take part in the exploration, despite opposition from the Japanese authorities.

Direct conflict broke out inside the dungeon, with each side seeking the largest share of the spoils, and above all the prestige of victory.

Japanese SS hunter Raigen Shimura literally crushed Korean guild leader Seong Jin-Woo in a mid-raid duel.

Shimura decapitated three Korean A-rank fighters in a single move, without even activating his ultimate skill.

South Korea was forced to retreat after suffering severe losses."

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Isaac looked at the series of photos of the fight.

In one of them, Raigen Shimura was standing, his katana still dripping with blood, a cold smile on his face. Behind him, corpses of Korean fighters lay on the ground, sliced open.

Japan had just sent a clear message to the rest of the world.

"Do not touch our dungeons. Do not challenge our fighters."

Isaac breathed slowly.

There was no international cooperation in this world.

Every country fought to keep its hunters at home.

Each nation guarded its guilds like a government guards its army.

SS and S+ fighters were national resources.

Their bodies and powers belonged to their country.

Some hunters tried to leave their nation to join more powerful foreign guilds, but this almost always resulted in assassination attempts or economic embargoes.

No one would let their best assets go.

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DISASTER IN CHINA: RANK A RAID ENDS IN MASSACRE!

Isaac frowned and immediately opened the next article.

The headline showed Beijing in flames, buildings destroyed, streets covered in blood.

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CHINA: RANK A DUNGEON RAID FAILS, PORTAL SPILLS INTO BEIJING!

Casualties: 79 fighters killed, 206 civilians killed, 412 wounded

Portal still active, military intervention underway

"The Celestial Dragon guild, made up entirely of Chinese hunters, was conducting an A-rank raid on a recently opened dungeon in Beijing’s Chaoyang district.

However, a structural failure caused the dungeon to collapse before it had fully stabilized. An extremely rare but destructive phenomenon.

Result:

The portal cracked instead of disappearing, releasing a continuous wave of monsters directly into the city.

Chinese fighters were overwhelmed, and military units had to intervene to prevent even greater carnage.

Damage is estimated at over 2.8 billion dollars.

The Chinese government is currently in a state of crisis, and rumors suggest that Beijing may ban foreign guilds from entering its territory to prevent further disasters."

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Isaac observed the photos attached to the report.

An entire street in Beijing was in ruins.

Bodies were lined up, covered in white sheets.

Tanks and soldiers fired on rank B and A monsters, unable to close the breach.

Total carnage.

The comments under the article were filled with furious debates between Chinese and foreign Internet users.

- "It’s a plot! An American fighter was in that dungeon!"

- "Japan let it happen! They want to weaken us!"

- "We should have sent an SS fighter! Our government is incompetent!"

- "Let those idiots die, China has always stolen fighters from us!"

- "If this had happened in France or Russia, they would have withheld the information!"

Isaac turned off his phone screen, clenching his jaw.

The world was a powder keg.

SS fighters were political weapons.

Governments weren’t there to protect mankind.

They wanted to dominate.

Nations were willing to let whole cities burn rather than share their power.

Isaac slowly closed his eyes.

Isaac snapped his phone shut and slipped it into his pocket. His mind was full of the information he had just read. The hunter world was a veritable battlefield, not against monsters, but between themselves, between nations, between guilds, between economic and military interests.

He was far from the top.

He knew that.

But he couldn’t stand still, caught between frustration and expectation.

He grabbed his black jacket, quickly slipped on his shoes and left his apartment without a backward glance.

Off to the guild.

The streets of Paris were awake, bathed in late-morning light. The sounds of cars, passers-by and the world going on were both familiar and profoundly foreign to Isaac.

The world seemed further and further away.

As he strode towards the guild, an energetic, familiar voice called out to him from across the sidewalk.

- ISAAC!

He turned his head, catching sight of an instantly recognizable figure.

Jonah.

The man advanced towards him with his usual confident smile, dressed in a worn leather jacket and cargo pants. A relaxed air, but a keen gaze.

Jonah wasn’t the strongest of hunters, but he had a unique way of analyzing situations, always on top of the latest events.

Isaac slowed down, stopping short as Jonah joined him.

- You’re in your own world, man! I had to call you three times!

Isaac shrugged.

- Too much on his mind.

Jonah nodded, a smirk on his face.

- Yeah, I know what you mean. With the whole mess in China and the fighter war between Japan and Korea, it’s a fucking circus right now.

Isaac raised an eyebrow.

- You’ve been following this too?

Jonah let out a slight laugh as he ran a hand through his short hair.

- What do you think I do all day? Watch cat videos?

They resumed walking together, making their way towards the guild as they chatted.

- So, what stood out for you in the news?" asked Jonah, his hands in his pockets.

Isaac thought for a moment before answering in a neutral tone:

- The massacre in China.

Jonah nodded slowly, his smile disappearing slightly.

- Yeah... I’ve seen the videos. It’s real carnage.

Isaac continued, his gaze fixed ahead:

- What surprises me most is not that it got out of hand. It’s that the guys over there really thought they could handle an A-rank dungeon without serious back-up.

Jonah grimaced.

- Too much arrogance.

- Too much national pride, especially," added Isaac. The Chinese wanted to show that they didn’t need foreign help to run their portals. The result?

Jonah sighed, raising his arms to the sky.

- Boom. 200 dead and a city in ruins.

Isaac nodded.

- The worst thing is, they won’t learn from this.

- Of course they won’t.

- And then they complain that other countries are trying to steal their fighters.

Jonah laughs lightly, shaking his head.

- Too funny, that story. Guys chase foreign talent with billions and contracts for life, and then they moan when one of their hunters wants to bolt.

Isaac smirked.

- Hunting hunters is more political than the dungeons themselves.

Jonah shrugged.

- I’ve heard that Russia and Saudi Arabia are starting to offer crazy premiums to recruit foreign hunters.

- They’re not the only ones. Even France is trying to keep its own by sticking them with legal obligations.

Jonah shook his head, as if exasperated by this system.

- And all the while, we’re out here trying to find a fucking dungeon to progress in.

Isaac smiled cynically.

- We’re too weak to give our opinion anyway.

Jonah laughed loudly as he patted him on the shoulder.

- Exactly! We’re just bottom-feeders, man. Until we’re at least S rank, our word means nothing.

Isaac shrugged.

- Then we might as well climb faster.

Jonah looked at him quizzically.

- You look more determined than usual.

Isaac didn’t answer immediately.

He just gave him a cold, intense look.

A look that spoke volumes.

Jonah arched an eyebrow.

- Shit, man... You’re really into it.

Isaac looked at the guild gate in front of them.

He had no more time to lose.

- Come on, let’s see if we can snag an interesting raid.

Jonah smiled as he followed his friend.

- As long as it’s not a suicide dungeon, I’m in.

Isaac didn’t answer.

He wanted a dungeon that would push him to the brink of death.

Because that was where he’d really grow up.