A confident woman's voice echoes from the door as a narrow white entrance hallway comes into view.
"Welcome back, Mr. Freeman. That was a quick trip, as expected."
A woman with tightly tied back blond hair, clad in a black and green association-branded combat suit, greets us at the end of the short hall.
She's holding a silver tablet, and I watch each of the new A-Class hunters reach into their item boxes to pull out their IDs. I do the same.
Mr. Freeman gives the woman a nod as he walks by her without saying a word, flanked by his two nurses. The three A-Class hunters, however, stop in front of the woman to scan their IDs.
She taps on her tablet after each of them scans, and they follow the Director out of the narrow hall.
The woman flashes me a bright smile as she scans my ID just like the others.
"Ray Anderson, uncontracted B-Class Hunter. It looks like this is your first time in the Apex Region. I hope you enjoy your stay at headquarters."
I put my ID back in my item box and nod as I walk past her.
"Thanks, I—"
My words are cut short as the entrance hall opens up into a massive room.
It isn't the sheer size of the room, the intense mana shielding, the half dozen 10-meter-wide chandeliers, or the massive exquisite art pieces on display all over the walls and ceiling. What stops me mid-sentence and halts my steps is the enormous 30-meter-long statue in the center of the hall.
A white dragon stands on its back legs, wings outstretched as if about to take flight.
Each of its scales is semi-reflective, giving thousands of small sparkling visuals of all the priceless art that fills the hall.
Its teeth are sharp, and its eyes look as if the beast is still alive, though there isn't a drop of energy left in this creature.
It's impossible to tell if it's a petrified monster turned into a trophy or a carefully crafted masterpiece.
I can't help but stare, deciding to believe it's the latter, whispering to myself.
"What a lifelike piece of art... it looks so real... incredible..."
The Director overhears me as we walk by the reflective statue's right leg across the long entrance of mana-shielded flooring and responds.
"Indeed, it is the prize of my collection here. It's quite the conversation starter for new guests. You say it is lifelike? Have you ever seen a dragon in the flesh?"
I think of a reply as we walk around its back, following the curling white tail to the back of the room where two winding staircases lead downward.
As I reply, a few hunters approach from the left side, but they're levels are that of low C-Class hunters, so I don't think much of it.
"No, no... I haven't seen a real dragon before, but it is everything I ever thought one would look like."
We continue walking toward the tip of the dragon's beautiful tail, met by open doors between the stairs. An elevator with hand-carved designs and more exquisite art on its walls comes into view behind the opened doors, along with a number panel from 1 to 20 labeled inside small white buttons.
As we all step into the spacious room, the Director replies.
"Well, that is a good thing. If you said yes, I would have to change my art piece to something different. I can't have new guests be unimpressed by my prized piece."

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[CH598+ Continued] Dungeon Diver: Stealing A Monster's Power
FantasyA story following a young hunter named Jay. He has grown up in a world where dungeons, monsters, and humans with leveling systems are a cultural norm. At the age of 20, he awakens a skill that allows him to steal the abilities of monsters. While oth...