"Ugh…" A small groan escaped Acht's mouth as he opened his eyelids slowly. He was still in a groggy state so he couldn't understand what was going on around him for the first few seconds. Then, when his mind started functioning again and he remembered what happened, he woke up completely and looked around him frantically.
He didn't find himself in the factory where he fainted, but in a luxurious room that he knew very well.
"How did…" before he could even mutter the question. He felt a weird feeling on his left side.
"Nnn" A small and cute voice reached his eyes when he looked to his side. There, he found Tania sleeping peacefully while hugging him tightly.
"What the…" He couldn't understand the weird situation he was in. Firstly, he wakes up in his room again, and then he finds Tania sleeping in his bed.
'Did she heal me?' He thought while inspecting his body and seeing his condition. He was back in peak form. He even felt a little bit better than he was before.
After checking out his body and his surroundings, he stood up and left Tania's embrace. She did resist his attempts at first but he pushed her slightly so that she could lessen her grip on him.
'This isn't a crime, right?' he shook his head with a loud sigh. Even though he was now a 7-year-old boy, he still had the mind of an adult man so sleeping with a small girl should be a crime. However, people could only see him as a small boy so he should be safe.
'I don't want this to happen again.'
The first thing he did after leaving the bed was take a shower. His clothes were all a bloody mess and his skin was still sticky because of the sweat.
After the shower, he made a simple breakfast and ate it while waiting for the girl to wake up. He didn't want to wake her up since she seemed too tired for him. He was also slightly thankful for her for getting him out of that factory.
Exactly one hour after that, Tania finally woke up from sleep. Her hair was a mess and her eyes looked almost closed. She looked somehow extremely cute in that state. She looked around her a few times to see what was going on.
"You took your time there, didn't you?" Asked Acht who was doing some physical training in the room. The bedroom was the biggest one out of all the rooms in the suite so he used it to train for most of the time.
"MMM." She muttered while still trying to understand what was going on. Then, when she saw Acht in front of her, she seemed to become fully aware of her surroundings.
"Did you bring me here alone?" He asked her another question.
Tania nodded her head silently in approval.
"I see…" he muttered as he continued training quietly. Then, after a few moments, he spoke again.
"Thanks."
The voice was small and almost inaudible but Tania heard it and a big smile appeared on her face. It was the biggest smile she ever had since the moment she was born.
After completing the training, Acht guided Tania to the living room where she sat down.
"Wanna eat something?"
She nodded again while looking around as if she didn't know the place. The last thing she wanted Acht to know was that she knows this room even better than him. These small gestures of hers will make this idea in Acht's head that she doesn't know anything about the place.
But, she forgot about one very important thing.
"By the way…How were you able to enter my room?" He asked from the kitchen as the sound of something sizzling reached her ears. It was a question that hit the point precisely.
Acht had this question in his head since he woke up and he wanted to know how since if this method was available for anyone, it could be his doom.
Tania started feeling slightly worried and searched through her mind for excuses. The next words she will say could end her relationship with Acht that she tried to build slowly.
"Reception…worker…told me.." She said as her nervousness increased, waiting for Acht's reply.
"Oh, that's also possible I guess." He said as he entered the room again with two plates in his hand. He had made some simply seared steaks with some kind of sauce beside them. It looked like a dish made by a culinary chef.
The two then sat to eat and Tania seemed to like the food since she wolfed down the big piece of steak she had. Acht also ate his steak quickly before Tania ended her plate or she would take him too.
"So, did you use a potion to heal me?"
"Mm.."
When he asked her that question, she seemed to lose her concentration for a brief moment as if she remembered something great but soon woke up from it.
"And…Was I responsive?" He continued to ask her.
Tania shook her head while still in a daze as if she didn't hear his words.
"Then…how did you make me drink it?" Acht squinted his eyes with clear suspicion in his voice.
It was weird enough that he was back to a peak or even better than before but it was even weirder that she somehow made him drink it.
"Wait…Don't tell me." One idea popped in his head and a frown appeared on his face immediately.
Tania felt his change of mood and shook her head quickly as if trying to clear his misunderstanding.
"I…tilted…your head…You..drink.." she said with slight difficulty.
The tense atmosphere around them stayed like that for a while. But, Acht didn't have a reason to keep questioning her as if she was guilty of something. She was just an innocent little girl who helped him out of good heart and kindness, nothing else.
After that, Tania excused herself and left the room in a hurry. She discovered one thing from that day…she's a horrible liar.
Acht then spent the full day training as usual. There were still only a few days before the hunter exam and he was very excited about it.
With that, days passed quietly, Acht didn't leave his room at all since he felt like whenever he left, problems follow him like a magnet which is something he doesn't want anymore. He almost died because of it.
On the night of the day before the hunter exam. Acht was informed that the test would be in the capital plaza and that he should be there by 7:00 AM.
That's why he didn't train much that day and went to sleep early. After an unknown amount of time, he woke up from his sleep.
"....huh?" He muttered as he opened his eyes. He didn't find himself in his room but somewhere unknown. The place was extremely dark, humid, and very hot that it almost made him feel suffocated.
He bent up so that he could take a better look and he discovered that he was sleeping on the ground. He was in a stoney room that looked like a straight rip-off from some medieval movie. The place didn't have anything in it except for the wooden door that was in the right direction of Acht's position.
"What is this place?" He stood up with confusion in his eyes. He didn't know how he ended up here but he was sure that someone had brought him here in his sleep.
The more important thing though, is that person was capable of doing so without Acht feeling any disturbance throughout the night. He was a very light sleeper that even the sound of an insect far away in the room could wake him up. But, for some reason, he didn't feel any disturbance throughout the night.
As he was taking a look around, a strong voice suddenly spoke in the room. It seemed to be using some kind of microphone to speak.
"Welcome to the 370th hunter exam. All of you might be confused now since you woke up in a weird place out of nowhere. Let me clear one simple thing, the test had already started since the moment we informed you of the place. A good hunter is always ready for the unknown and you also should always be ready for the unknown. To officially start the test, you should open the door and leave." The voice said in a clear and dominant tone.
Acht heard him and a small smile crept into his face. He had never expected this.
"These people are really unpredictable…Mhm, whatever…I will play your little game." He muttered as he readied himself to leave.
The hunter exam had officially started.
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