The two of them vanished instantly. They were no longer in the underground chambers but outside the academy grounds.

Lindy looked stunned, unable to fully grasp what had just happened. She knew Damian specialized in body enhancement, and he was still a mere recruit—so how in the world could he have just teleported them out of there?

"What just happened?" she asked, scanning their surroundings.

They were in the forest, far enough from the academy to be out of immediate danger. Damian needed to come up with an excuse, but his mind went blank.

"I used a teleport," he said quickly. "We escaped. What do we do now?"

Everything had changed. Going back to the academy was out of the question—it would be reckless, maybe even suicidal.

Lindy forced herself to set aside the impossible fact of the teleport. They had bigger problems.

"I don't think they'll chase us," she said. "Now that we're outside the academy, I don't see how we could get back in anyway."

Her reasoning was sound. Without proof that the two of them had done anything, the academy couldn't openly target them. If they wanted to get rid of them, it would have to be personal—an assassination attempt.

"But what if Randal comes after us?" Damian asked.

"It's possible," Lindy admitted, "but unlikely. We'll need to stay cautious either way. For now, we have to reach the city as fast as we can."

Damian nodded, and they started running through the forest together. He needed to wait a little longer before attempting another teleport.

"You really have a teleport ability? How in the world do you have that, being this young?" Lindy pressed.

What unsettled her most was that Damian focused on physical enhancement. A hunter with that affinity could still obtain teleportation magic, but it was incredibly rare.

"Can we just keep this between us?" Damian said. "I'd rather not talk too much about it."

Lindy understood, and she didn't ask again. In truth, she was grateful. Without that ability, they would have been in dire straits.

"Thank you for saving us," she said softly. "Maybe you'll be able to use it again soon? It would get us to the city a lot faster…"

The situation had turned upside down in an instant. A moment ago, Lindy had been suspicious of Damian's teleport. Now, she was relieved he had it—because it might just make their survival possible.

The two of them ran through the forest for a while, and once Damian's teleportation returned, he used it, bringing them almost straight into the city.

As soon as they arrived, Lindy gave him her number and said, "Remember I told you I was hired to investigate those people at the hunters' academy? Well, I need to go talk to the person who hired me to explain the situation. I'll get in touch with you later, alright?"

Damian was fine with that—he also needed to talk to Leo, since things had taken a wrong turn.

"Of course, no problem," he said. "We'll talk later."

After she left, Damian used his ability to change his appearance, going back to his black hair. His scent was still camouflaged from Lion Beast, but he figured things were back to normal for him. After all, there was nothing against Damian. Lion Beast couldn't really do much without proof that Damian was involved with the demons.

Finally, Damian pulled out his phone and called Leo. The demon answered quickly, surprised to get a call.

"Damian? I thought you were still at the hunters' academy," Leo said. "What happened?"

"Can we talk in private? Maybe at the café?"

"Sure. Let's meet there."

Damian hung up and called a driver to take him to the café. He was glad to be back in the city—staying inside the academy hadn't exactly been one of the best experiences of his life.

As soon as he arrived, Damian went up to the second floor, the demons' secret meeting spot. Sitting at a table inside was Leo, who had arrived before him.

Damian sat down and explained the situation.

"In the end, your identity was compromised, but at least you managed to get good information… So, these dungeons are inside that new continent they discovered?" Leo said, clearly deep in thought.

Leo was curious about this new continent they had discovered. To be honest, Damian was too. He wanted to know what the hell was on the other side of the portal, but he also knew it was dangerous.

"So what are we going to do now?" Damian asked. "What's the next step?"

He figured he'd be staying in the city for a little while longer, but Leo had some rather different news for him.

"I heard your company is looking for you. They want you back working with them. That guy, Lion Beast, left for another country a while ago. Anyway, that's not the point…"

It wasn't just that the company wanted him back. They were actually looking for someone for something else.

"You know the continent infested with demons? Lots of hunters go there to study and learn more about us," Leo said.

Damian knew which continent he was talking about. It was the same one Mitra's professor had said she wanted to visit—and even take her along. Few people lived there precisely because the number of demons was overwhelming.

It was common for them to send powerful hunters to stay there for a few years on missions, fighting demons to reduce their numbers. That was the only way to make the place even a little less dangerous.

But why would they want to make the continent safer? Resources, obviously. There were countless mana stones, artifacts, and ruins inside with valuable things hidden in them.

Not to mention that, supposedly, they had found something related to dungeons there as well…

"That continent used to have people living there a long time ago, and powerful demons too, but most of them vanished out of nowhere—both the hunters and the demons. I believe there's a portal to this new continent there too, not just here," Leo explained.

Of course, that was just his guess. The only way to know for sure was by going there. But since he was one of the leaders of a demon faction, he couldn't just abandon everything and leave. He had to stay in the city and keep things in order.

Damian, on the other hand, was perfect for it. Someone who could go anywhere.

Damian liked the idea of going there as a cleaner again. He missed his old job, and having a new place to explore sounded interesting.

Even more so with the absurd number of demons that existed on that continent. It would be the perfect place for him to become even stronger.

"But there's a small problem…" Leo said, pausing for a moment. "Since the continent is dangerous, they want someone strong enough to act both as a cleaner and as a hunter. In other words, you'll have to take the exam to become a hunter…"

Leo believed Damian was powerful enough to surely pass the exam. Damian also felt confident he had the strength required, but he wasn't exactly a normal person. His abilities came from somewhere else.

"Maybe I can pass myself off as someone with water affinity?" Damian thought. "After I absorbed that snake-woman, I gained several water abilities, and I think I'll keep learning more in the future…"

That seemed like the best approach.

"And when does the hunter exam start?" Damian asked.

"Since you never trained at a hunters' academy, you'll have to take the external exam, and for now, you'll probably get a lower-ranked hunter ID… But you can improve it later. I think the exam starts next week," Leo explained, tapping his index finger on the table, visibly anxious.

"Alright. Send me the details later," Damian said. "For now, I'll just rest my mind."

Damian left and returned to his apartment. Everything looked clean and organized when he got there. Leo had definitely sent someone to take care of the place.

He sat down on the couch, ordered a pizza, and relaxed. Later that night, Lindy called him. She wanted to talk for a bit.

"I spoke with the person who hired me, but for now there isn't much we can do."

Damian decided to tell her about his plans.

"I'm going to take the hunter exam and get a job as a cleaner on the other continent," Damian said. "I used to be a cleaner already, but to go to the other continent I need to pass the hunter exam."

Lindy was surprised to hear that.

"Are you serious? But how the hell are you going to pass the exam as a new recruit?"

"You've seen yourself that I'm not just any recruit," Damian said.

The phone went quiet. Then Lindy said, "Can I go with you?"

She really wanted to visit that other continent full of demons, artifacts, and ruins. After all, she was a researcher in that field.

Lindy had been there before, which made her an excellent person to have around.

"Sure," Damian said. "But I don't want you acting like my babysitter on this new continent. Understood?"

He wanted to know if he'd have time for himself too, since he also needed to look for information.

"Of course, no problem. I can also help you with your hunter exam—what do you think?"

"Thanks."

Things seemed to be working out.

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