Blade of the Demon Hunt

Chapter 16 Bad News

A week had passed since the end of the internship task, and Amir was finally able to get out of bed and move around a bit.He had no memory of how he returned to the guild branch. The last thing he remembered was seeing Aziz lying in front of him, with a bewildered expression on his face, as if he would never understand why Zahra, his own student and friend, had caused him harm.Thinking about it, Amir felt a pang of sorrow in his heart.'Big Brother Amir, you're up and about!' Dina entered with a tray and looked at Amir, who was standing by the bed, supporting himself against the wall, with surprise.'Yes, lying in bed all the time made my body feel stiff,' Amir said with a smile. Dina had been taking care of him these past few days, bringing his meals to his room, and Amir was especially grateful to her.""'Wow, your recovery ability as a hunter is really impressive,' Dina said with admiration as she placed the tray of lunch on the table. 'Given your injuries, you should have been bedridden for at least two or three months.''Heh, it's not that exaggerated. It just looked more frightening than it actually was,' Amir replied with a smile as he sat back on the bed. His body hadn't fully recovered yet, and even walking a few steps made him feel winded. 'Miss Zahra's injuries should be more severe, though.''Sister Zahra wasn't hurt as badly as you,' Dina waved her hand and began listing Amir's injuries. 'Look at yourself: two broken ribs, a fractured nasal bone, a ruptured spleen, and nearly twenty other external wounds.''Alright, alright, if you keep going, I'll start to believe it's a miracle that I'm still alive,' Amir said with a wry smile.'That's why I say your recovery is so amazing. Just one week of rest and you're already able to move around,' Dina said, sitting beside the bed with the lunch tray to make it easier for Amir to reach.""'How is Miss Zahra's condition?' Amir asked as he sipped the delicious fish soup.'Sister Zahra was fine the next day, bouncing around as usual,' Dina said with a smile.'Bouncing around,' Amir imagined Zahra moving about like Dina, and found the thought almost unbearable. He quickly shook his head to dispel the image from his mind.'What's wrong?' Dina asked, looking at Amir with curiosity as he shook his head and seemed troubled.'Nothing, nothing,' Amir forced a laugh and quickly lowered his head to continue drinking his soup.'By the way, do you know what happened afterward with that issue?' After a moment of silence, Amir recalled a question he had been concerned about and asked.'Which one?' Dina was unclear about what Amir was referring to.""I mean, what happened to the demons' corpses? How were they handled afterward?' Amir asked, recalling Aziz and feeling unsure of how to phrase his question, but he really wanted to know what had happened after he lost consciousness.'Oh, that,' Dina said, seemingly oblivious to Amir's peculiar expression. 'The guild sends people to collect and handle them. The corpses of demons can't be discovered by ordinary people, or it would cause a commotion. So after demons are hunted, hunters must report it promptly, and the guild can then send people to take care of it.''So, what happens to them after they are collected?' Amir inquired.'Generally, well-preserved corpses are sent to the research department for dissection and study. Those that are severely damaged are usually burned,' Dina explained without hesitation, unaware of Amir's concerns.'Dissection?' Amir found it hard to believe. Although a corpse is just a body and doesn't represent a person anymore, he still felt some discomfort, as it used to be a friend.'Yes, the research department's main job is to study demons and weapons, so they need a lot of material,' Dina nodded, speaking as if it were a matter of course.""'Alright, I understand,' Amir said, feeling a bit disheartened. He knew Dina's words were correct; research required materials, and the corpses of demons that were killed were naturally the primary choice.Feeling inexplicably down, Amir didn't say anything more and continued to eat his lunch in silence.After he finished eating and Dina had cleared the tray and was preparing to leave, there was a knock on the door. Then D pushed open the door and walked in.Dina smiled and greeted D before saying her goodbyes and leaving.'Hmm, looks like things are going well,' D said, stroking his beard as he glanced at the closed door behind Dina and then turned his attention to Amir lying in bed, smiling.'Ahem, Mr. D, is there something you need?' Amir, catching D's teasing tone, cleared his throat and asked, trying to change the subject.""'Hehe, it's nothing, nothing,' D said with a smile, finding a chair and sitting down. 'Just came to see how your injuries are healing.''I'm recovering quite well, thank you for your concern,' Amir replied with a smile, thinking to himself that if D had already seen him, why was he still sitting there? Was he waiting for Amir to invite him to dinner?'Ah, that's a relief,' D said, either genuinely not catching the hint or pretending not to notice, and continued to sit in the chair with a relaxed demeanor, exaggerating his sigh of relief.'Hehe, I'm glad you're reassured,' Amir said with a forced smile, 'It really touches me that you took the time out of your busy schedule to visit me.' If you're so busy, you might as well not waste time here; you should hurry up and leave.'Oh, you're such a considerate child, understanding my concerns. It truly comforts me,' D said, placing one hand over his heart and wiping his eye with the other, putting on a deeply moved and tearful expression.""'Hehe.' Unable to continue with the charade, Amir sighed inwardly as he watched the performance of D, who was clearly not an ordinary person.'Ahem, as touching as it is, I still have some bad news to tell you,' D said, feeling that the fun had gone on long enough. He cleared his throat, straightened up, and spoke seriously. 'You'd better brace yourself.''What's the bad news?' Seeing D's serious expression, Amir felt a chill in his heart and immediately asked.'Well, how should I put this,' D said, scratching his head as if troubled. 'It's about your internship task.''What's wrong?' Amir wondered if something had gone awry since the task was completed.'In your task, the last B-level demon was killed by Zahra, right?' D asked.'Yes,' Amir nodded in acknowledgment.""'Actually, during the internship tasks, although there are assistants present, they can only ensure the intern's safety to a minimal extent and cannot intervene in the process of the task,' D explained slowly. 'So, generally speaking, someone in your situation would be considered unqualified.''Unqualified?' Amir felt upset, having worked desperately for days and almost dying in the process, only to be told he was unqualified. But he quickly realized there was an issue with D's statement and furrowed his brow. 'Since you mentioned this is the general case, does that mean my situation is different?''Yes, that's right. You're quick to catch on,' D said with a satisfied expression, stroking his beard.'So what exactly is the situation?' Amir asked, wanting to know if his case was qualified or not.'Due to an error by our technical staff, the B-level task was mistakenly issued as a C-level task, which increased the difficulty of your mission,' D explained with a smile. 'Although the guild doesn't have difficulty requirements for internship tasks, considering that interns have no combat experience and are relatively weak, nearly all internship tasks are C-level. You can now be considered an exception.'""No wonder there were two demons in the task, and one of them was a B-level demon. I originally thought it was due to the investigators not checking thoroughly, but it turns out it wasn't their fault," Amir realized."Therefore, considering all the factors, the higher-ups of the guild have decided to provisionally classify you as qualified," D continued."Provisionally?" Amir wondered what that meant."It means that while you are considered qualified and have become a formal hunter, you might still be observed or given some additional tests in the short term," D shrugged. "But don't worry, these types of observations and tests are usually not very difficult.""So, you're saying I'm still in a probationary period?" Amir asked with a frown."Not exactly," D said with a smile, shaking his head. "In short, you should consider it as the headquarters not being able to give you a preliminary evaluation for now and preparing to rate you later. Whether the rating will be high or low won't affect your hunter status at that point.""This guild is really troublesome, they never do things straightforwardly," Amir thought, feeling dissatisfied. If it weren't for his difficulty finding another suitable job, he would have seriously considered quitting. However, considering the guild's treatment and benefits for hunters, the thought of quitting didn't come to mind."Anyway, congratulations on becoming a formal demon hunter," D said, shaking Amir's hand. With a mysterious smile, he added, "There will be a small welcome ceremony soon, so stay tuned.""Thank you," Amir replied, expressing his gratitude for D's congratulations. He then asked, "You mentioned there was bad news." He hadn't heard any clear bad news from D so far."Oh, right, almost forgot to mention," D said, patting his palm as if just remembering, "The bounty for your task has been adjusted and raised to a B-level task's bounty. However, since the crucial B-level demon was killed by Zahra, you will only receive one-third of the amount and points."Amir didn't actually see this as bad news. Although the amount of money was substantial for him at the moment, he didn't feel much disappointment. Perhaps he never really expected to make a significant amount from this task, so without any expectations, there was nothing to be disappointed about.Initially, his only goal was to help Aziz escape from the demon Lina, but now he found himself in this situation. Reflecting on this, Amir's mood sank once more.