Gathering Husbands with a System in a Game Like World [BL]
Chapter 28: The S rank hunter

Chapter 28: The S rank hunter

"Ahhh! Finally, Peace!" Kai said as he walked hands in his pocket.

A nice afternoon stroll away from the toils of this over bearing mission.

Elias was nowhere to be found (thank God). No sudden appearances from rooftops, no low-voiced comments about how beautiful he looked when he was trying to ignore the world, no shadow matching his pace for blocks at a time. Dexter, too, had mercifully stayed absent. For once, Kai was simply walking through one of Voltra’s mid-level commercial streets with nothing more complicated than the desire to exist without someone needing something from him.

The city moved around him in its usual noisy rhythm. Merchants shouted prices in overlapping languages.

A pair of beastfolk argued cheerfully over the quality of smoked meat.

Two elves passed by discussing spell formulas with the quiet intensity of people who had never raised their voices in public.

Kai kept his hood low and let the ordinary chaos of Voltra wash over him. For a few precious minutes, nothing demanded his attention.

Then a small figure slammed into his legs.

Kai staggered half a step. The child was small, maybe seven or eight, clothes torn and stained dark with blood. His breathing came in sharp, panicked gasps. Before Kai could speak, five massive orcs rounded the corner at a full run, weapons already drawn, eyes locked on the boy.

The System flared hard.

[Emergency Quest Activated.]

[Emergency Quest: Save the Child]

[Objective: Prevent the child’s death.]

[Failure Condition: Target dies.]

[Reward: High-tier Emergency Rewards.]

Kai didn’t stop to think. He grabbed the child’s wrist and ran.

The boy stumbled twice. Kai hauled him upright both times, scanning side streets for anywhere that might buy them seconds. The orcs were faster than they looked. Within half a block they had closed most of the distance. One of them roared and lunged. Kai shoved the child behind him and met the charge head-on.

[Warning High risk confrontation detected, Host is required to meet the targets hands]

So, i should fight it?

[Absolutely]

Uh!!!. Thank goodness i have a strength skill.

His fist met the orc’s chest with a heavy, bone-jarring impact.

The creature staggered but did not fall.

Another came from the side; Kai turned, caught the descending axe by the haft, and wrenched it aside hard enough to crack the wood.

A third orc slammed into him from behind. Kai hit the street grounds hard, rolled, and came up swinging.

His strength was real—he could feel it in the way the orcs grunted when his blows landed—but they were denser, heavier, and used to fighting things that hit back. One of them caught his arm and nearly dislocated it. Another’s fist grazed his ribs hard enough to drive the air from his lungs. The child scrambled away, terrified.

Kai planted his feet and drove a punch straight into an orc’s jaw. Teeth flew. The orc only snarled and came again.

They were evenly matched in the worst way. Kai’s raw power kept him from being overwhelmed immediately, but every exchange cost him. A club clipped his shoulder. A boot caught him in the thigh. He was starting to slow.

Then a familiar voice cut through the noise, light and almost amused.

"You really do have a talent for finding trouble."

.

Kai looked towards the sound,up on a roof stood Elias with a big grin and a smile on his face.

Elias dropped into the street between Kai and the remaining orcs as if he had simply stepped off a curb. He glanced once at Kai—at the blood on his lip, the tear in his cloak, the way he was still standing—and something colder settled over his face.

"Stay down," he said quietly.

Kai didn’t argue.

Elias walked forward.

The first orc swung a heavy axe at his head. Elias caught the weapon by the blade with one bare hand, stopped it cold, and drove his other fist through the orc’s chest. The impact was sickeningly final. The body dropped.

A second orc charged; Elias stepped inside the swing, seized the creature by the throat and the belt, and tore it nearly in half with a single brutal motion. Blood sprayed across the paths.

The third tried to backpedal. Elias closed the distance in two strides, grabbed its head in both hands, and twisted. The crack echoed down the street.

"What?"

"What kind of monster are you?"

Elias gave the remaining two a final look. ..

"You tell me, you are the ones trying to kill a defenceless child so you shouldn’t be talking"

The fourth and fifth came together. Elias met them the same way in the same pure, overwhelming physical force. One he punched so hard the skull caved. The last he lifted bodily and drove into the ground hard enough to crack the stone.

It took less than twenty seconds.

When it was over, Elias stood in the middle of the carnage, breathing evenly, not a scratch on him. He wiped his hands on a dead orc’s tunic, then turned back toward Kai. The cold focus melted away into his usual predatory smile as if it had never been there.

"Are you alright, beautiful?"

Kai looked at the ruined bodies, then at Elias. He had known the man was S-Rank. He had sparred with him. But this was different. Elias hadn’t fought the orcs. He had erased them with the same casual finality of someone swatting insects.

The System spoke.

[Combat analysis complete.]

[Elias Ashcroft possesses extremely high proficiency in close-quarters combat and physical destruction.]

Kai’s only thought was dry.

I noticed.

He pushed himself upright, one hand still pressed to his aching ribs, and turned his attention to the child instead. The boy was trembling, eyes wide and glassy with shock. Kai kept his voice low and steady.

"Hey. You’re safe now. Can you look at me?"

The boy’s gaze slowly focused on Kai’s face. His mouth opened slightly.

"Are you... an angel?"

Kai felt his ears heat under the hood.

"No. Definitely not."

Elias leaned in from the side, voice far too cheerful.

"He’s just pretty enough to confuse people. Happens a lot."

Kai shot him a look that promised an earful later. The child, surprisingly, let out a tiny, shaky laugh. The sound loosened something in Kai’s chest. He examined the injuries carefully.

"Run Appraisal."

[Activating skill: Arcane Eye.]

[Target: Juvenile demon male.]

[Injuries: Multiple lacerations, significant blood loss, fractured ribs, mild internal bleeding.]

[Condition: Critical but stabilizable.]

Kai pulled a high-grade potion from the Ring of Infinite Storage and helped the boy drink it. Color gradually returned to the child’s face. The System updated.

[Emergency Quest Progress Updated.]

[Target rescued.]

[Additional Objective: Return target to a recognized member of his faction.]

Kai exhaled.

"Not done yet."

The boy was reluctant to speak at first, but eventually admitted he was a demon who had become separated from his people. He didn’t know who to trust in the city. Kai already knew demons lived openly in Voltra; the question was where their official presence was. A few careful questions to nearby merchants pointed them toward a formal compound that served as both diplomatic headquarters and safe point for visiting demons. It even housed a gate to the Demon Realm, though Kai had zero interest in using it.

They reached the compound without further incident. The officials who met them at the gate went rigid the moment they saw the child. Recognition, shock, and relief crossed their faces in rapid succession.

Kai explained the situation cleanly: the boy had been chased, five orcs had attacked, Elias had dealt with them, and Kai had brought the child here. He claimed nothing extra and asked for nothing in return.

The representatives thanked him with genuine gravity. Their eyes lingered on Kai’s face longer than was strictly polite—his appearance was unusual even in a city as diverse as Voltra... They were simply curious. Elias found the whole exchange quietly entertaining. The child, clinging to Kai’s sleeve, didn’t want him to leave. Kai crouched one last time.

"You’re safe now. These are your people."

"Will you visit again?"

Kai hesitated, then offered the only honest answer he could.

"Maybe."

The boy was led inside. Kai watched until the doors closed. The System spoke the moment they stepped away from the compound.

[Target has reached a recognized place of safety.]

[Emergency Quest Completed.]

Rewards unfolded one by one.

[Reward One: 10,000 Bond Points.]

[Current Balance: 17,500 Bond Points.]

[Reward Two: Level Increase.]

[Host Level has increased.]

[Note: Infinite Strength compatibility increases to 3.4%. Level and physical compatibility are tracked separately.]

[Reward Three: Adventurer Path Function Unlocked – Quest Archive.]

[Host may now review completed quests, evaluations, and major achievements.]

[Reward Four: High-tier Adventurer’s Compass.]

[Function: Indicates direction of known settlements, Guild branches, major roads, and general regional danger levels. Does not reveal hidden locations or guarantee safety.]

Then the System paused, and the final window appeared with a different border.

[Special Reward Unlocked.]

[One-Time Husband Selection.]

Kai frowned.

[Host has received a one-time opportunity to personally designate an individual as a Husband Candidate.]

[Selection is irreversible.]

[The selected individual will become a registered Husband Candidate.]

[The System cannot force genuine affection.]

[Host must still establish a genuine relationship with the selected individual.]

[This opportunity can only be used once.]

Kai read the explanation twice. This was not a list of options. The System was not choosing for him. If, at any point in the future, he met someone who met the requirements and whom he genuinely wanted to bring into the system, he could use this reward to designate them. The chance would remain available until he decided to spend it. He closed the window without selecting anything. Some opportunities were better left untouched until the right moment.

Elias was waiting a short distance from the compound gates, leaning against a post as if he had all the time in the world.

"Let’s go, i have had enough of walking today"

Elias’s smile was pure innocence.

"Of course."

Kai sighed and started walking. He had just saved a demon child, completed an Emergency Quest, gained ten thousand Bond Points, leveled up, received a useful high-tier tool, and been handed a once-in-a-lifetime chance to choose a future Husband Candidate. And somehow the biggest problem standing in front of him was still the S-Rank assassin matching his pace with easy strides.

"What’s wrong?" Elias asked.

"Nothing."

"You’re thinking."

"I’m always thinking."

Elias stepped a little closer, voice dropping into that familiar, teasing register.

"About me?"

Kai lengthened his stride.

"Absolutely not."

Elias followed without missing a step. Behind them, the Demon Faction compound stood quiet in the afternoon light. Somewhere inside, a child who had nearly died was finally safe. Ahead of them, Voltra continued its endless noise and motion. And somewhere in the back of Kai’s mind, the knowledge of that one-time selection sat like a card he had not yet decided how to play.

He had no idea who he might eventually choose.

He only knew, with absolute certainty, that it would not be Elias.

A few paces behind him, Elias suddenly sneezed.

Kai glanced back.

"What?"

Elias looked mildly offended.

"Nothing. Just felt like someone was thinking rude things about me."

Kai faced forward again.

"Must be your imagination."