Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 - Chapter 737: Reunion

Chapter 737: Reunion

“Almond Region is also one of the many regions among the Hundred Battle Regions that is under the constant threat of Null attacks,” Arlen explained as he strode ahead, his voice carrying over the quiet murmur of the bustling streets filled with people moving beneath the ominous red clouds.

His eyes were sharp as he navigated the crowded avenues, leading Max and the others toward the looming silhouette of a colossal tower rising like a white spear against the crimson sky. “That’s why it’s mandatory for 2-star geniuses to join the Hunter Association at least once in their lifetime to hunt and kill those Nulls.”

The group pressed onward, weaving through throngs of robed experts, merchants, and travelers whose faces were lit intermittently by the shifting glow of crimson lightning flashing overhead. Eventually, they arrived at the base of the massive tower, its white stone walls etched with intricate carvings depicting heroic battles against monstrous creatures, each scene illuminated in flashes of red light filtering through the swirling clouds.

The tower was the Hunter Association’s headquarters—a fortress of order and vigilance in a region constantly on the knife’s edge of chaos. As they stepped inside, they were immediately swallowed by a cacophony of voices and hurried footsteps.

The vast lobby bustled with activity, filled with experts clad in a wild array of robes and armor, clerks carrying stacks of documents, and towering notice boards glowing with holographic mission postings.

Despite the overwhelming number of people streaming in and out—teams of hunters returning bloodied from missions, others departing armed to the teeth—everything inside operated with a smooth, almost military efficiency.

Lines were orderly, clerks moved with practiced speed, and security experts kept watchful eyes on the crowd, ensuring not a single scuffle or delay disrupted the flow.

Max and his companions made their way through the throng until they reached a large marble counter where the registration center stood. There, they queued briefly before being beckoned forward by a polite receptionist, a young woman with neatly tied hair and robes embroidered with the Hunter Association’s insignia.

With swift, deft fingers, she helped them complete the registration process, inputting their names into a sleek crystal console that projected faint holographic glyphs above its surface.

Once the details were finalized, she retrieved several small objects from a hidden compartment beneath the counter and handed one to each of them. “Keep this always with you when you hunt Nulls,” she instructed, her voice polite but firm as her eyes met Max’s. “It will automatically count the number of Nulls you kill.”

Max took the object and turned it over in his palm, studying it curiously. It was a hexagonal-shaped stone, smooth and cold to the touch, carved with faintly glowing runes that pulsed gently like a quiet heartbeat.

At its center, a small screen displayed his name in delicate script, and below it, a single stark number: ’0.’

He glanced at his teammates and saw that each of their stones looked exactly the same, all of them bearing that same lonely zero—a silent promise of the grim work yet to come.

“Max, is that you?!” came a sudden, vibrant voice from behind him, clear as a bell and laced with a mixture of shock and unmistakable joy.

The unexpected sound struck Max like a jolt of electricity, sending a visible shiver through his frame as he froze mid-step, the hexagonal stone still clutched loosely in his fingers.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, he turned around, his breath catching in his throat as his gaze fell upon a young woman standing just a few paces away, framed by the shifting glow of the red clouds filtering through the grand windows of the Hunter Association’s bustling lobby.

She looked to be about his age, perhaps a bit older, with a waterfall of long, vivid red hair cascading over her shoulders, each strand catching glimmers of the crimson light and turning it into shimmering fire.

Her eyes were wide and luminous, shimmering with unshed tears that trembled on her lashes, as though she were struggling mightily to hold them back. For a split second, her lips parted, but no words came, and she simply stared at him, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Max blinked, utterly dumbfounded as his mind scrambled to catch up with the reality before him. “Alice!” he blurted out, his voice raw with genuine shock and disbelief.

Th𝘪ѕ 𝓬h𝑎p𝕥ꬲr 𝒾𝙨 pɵ𝑠𝕥℮𝒹 b𝐲 𝖪𝑖𝙩𝖾ɳ𝙤𝙫ɛ|

Of all the places in the Middle Domain, he never would have imagined he’d run into Alice here in the heart of the Hunter Association’s headquarters, amid the swirling chaos of experts preparing for deadly battles against the Nulls.

And yet, as he quickly realized, it did make a certain twisted sense. The Hunter Association was a unified force, jointly overseen by the seven overlord forces and the mighty Four God Nation. And by the Association’s ironclad rules, every 2-star genius, no matter their origin or prestige, was required to serve and fight against the ever-present threat of the Nulls.

Alice belonged to the Four God Nation, and that meant she, too, was bound by that same obligation.

Before he could speak further, Alice’s voice slipped into his mind like a familiar caress, soft and trembling with pent-up emotion. “Max, it really is you. I’ve missed you so much.” The sheer tenderness and yearning in her mental voice made Max’s chest tighten, old memories and buried feelings welling up from deep inside.

Without missing a beat, he responded through voice transmission, his thoughts brimming with warmth and relief. “I missed you too, Alice! I’ve wanted to go to the Four God Nation to find you, but… my strength isn’t enough yet. I can’t just show up there. It’s really… really nice to see you.” His mental voice faltered a little at the end, betraying just how much her sudden appearance had shaken him.

Around them, the noise and motion of the Hunter Association continued unabated—clerks shouting orders, experts discussing battle plans, shimmering holograms flashing across mission boards—but for a moment, it all faded into the background as the two of them stood there, eyes locked, separated by only a few steps yet carrying the weight of distance and time that had kept them apart.