Code Collector

Dark and cold alley. It was nighttime and the curfew for the Hunters was still enforced, making it even more quieter in the streets.

Allen didn't need to hide himself under his disguise this time. He was meeting Jake, who may or may not have any idea who the man behind the Wandering Trader was. But since Allen didn't want to take any risk, he just went there as Dante. If he ever gets caught, he'll just excuse himself by saying that he's trying to find the Wandering Trader.

He walked into the alley and waited for a couple of seconds before a man walked out of the darkness. It was a man his age and had the same build as him, tall and muscled. They both share the same sharp features and their striking blue eyes.

The only difference was that Allen currently had a natural blonde hair while the man had bleached hair. He knew the moment he saw the black colored roots from the man that was starting to grow into half an inch from his scalp.

"I'm Winston," the man introduced. He stepped a side and gestured his hand to the wall where he came out of. "Please, right this way. Mr. Jake is waiting on the other side."

"Jake?" Allen asked. His face scrunched at the confusion. From what he knew, Jake and him would only meet once a month. That was the time where he'll deliver the Codes and the man would pay him. Tonight seemed special since Jake was the one who was going to meet him in the flesh.

Allen had no choice but to oblige. He walked straight through the wall, passed through it, and arrived in an unfamiliar office. It was a regular sized room with dark purple walls and gold crown moldings. The walls had that tint of opaque gray that formed vines and flowers at the skin of the wall.

Right by where Allen stood was a desk and chair that were made from a dark wood material. The desk had clutter on the table and Allen saw that it was business related files. He removed his eyes on the paper and focused on the room.

There wasn't anything special inside the room. It looked like an average home office of a rich man, except the materials made from the items that were inside the room costs more than most people could afford.

"You're already here," Jake said from behind Allen. The boy spun and saw the man entered the office through a light colored wooden door that was behind him. Jake walked over to the chair and sat on it, placing both his hands on the desk. "Tell me what happened."

After hearing the man say the words like he was commanding, Allen answered immediately. "I need new identities. Hunters. You don't have to make their entire thing since I have them prepared already."

"Wait," Jake sighed. He rubbed his forehead which made Elliot worry. The man didn't look happy, not one bit. "You're saying that I came here straight from an emergency meeting because you wanted for new identities? And what will you do with them? Roll around camps, hooking up with other people because you have different names?"

Allen didn't answer. Instead, he showed Jake where he was using his request for. His body glowed which made the bodyguards of Jake to react badly. The latter only raised his hand to stop his guards from attacking Allen.

The orbs spewed out of Allen, and they formed into the humans. "These are my puppets. You know what happened to the Otherworlds now. They have a curfew protocol for the ones who hunt outside. I could still hunt if I want to, but the restrictions are too much that I'm having trouble grinding for Codes."

Jake was speechless. He stood from his desk chair and walked over to the three Bodies that Allen created. "What kind of Code would make anyone do such a thing? These puppets look so realistic."

"They're puppets I created from a Code," Allen said. "This is the request I was going to ask you. I want them to have their own identity, just like what you did to me before."

"But can they move?" Jake asked.

"For now, I'm working on it," Allen replied.

His answer seemed to be dissatisfactory for Jake. The man pursed his lips and sighed.

"Please hear my request," Allen said. "I'm going to hunt outside for a longer period of time, so I needed these puppets to do so. Otherwise, I would have to retun here every three days and then rest here for three more. That's time consuming and inefficient."

"Right," Jake finally nodded in understanding. "Your performance in getting my Codes would lower if you're restricted. Okay, let's do this. I'll give you the identities, you have to promise me that the quality of your work would not decrease."

"Deal," Allen said immediately. Jake chuckled and shook his head, amused by how much Allen acted. "What?"

"You're really amusing," Jake said. "There's something about you that says that you're intimidating, but then you act like a kid. How is that even possible?"

Allen just chuckled and shrugged, awkwardly trying to brush the topic off. "Yeah, I don't know too."

A side effect of his passive skills is that they would still manifest themselves even when they're not triggered. His passive skill Instinct Enhancement was still part of him even when he was in a fight or flight situation.

Even the smallest of things where he would choose between two things, whether to hunt or not, eat out or cook his meal, or even talk to other people or just remain silent. His instincts would kick in, and he would find himself in a satisfactory ending.

The only bad thing about this was that his other passive skill would intimidate a lot of people. They think that he was someone who was strict and would have a hardi time dealing with. They see Allen as a man with a pair of honrs that would gnaw on babies.

"Okay, then," Jeremy nodded. "I will give you another message and we will see each other by that time. I want to hand you the information myself. Maybe I'd also like to strike another deal with you, one that's less hard than the one you're doing now."

"What?" Allen narrowed his eyes. "If this is about babysitting you again, I'd politely decline. I already told you my reason for doing so. It wouldn't look right if the bodyguard of Jake Summers was a Hunter who was not even half his level. You should find a stronger person."

Jake groaned. "How can I grind when my teammates would steal my wealth. They would always last hit the beasts and lie to me about getting a Code. It's so frustrating that I'm even considering hiring a mercenary like you."

Mercenary.

Allen had never thought of calling himself that. By theory, he was indeed a mercenary. He would strike deals with people in exchange for something. He didn't have any company, and the police wanted him.

"Okay," Allen nodded slowly. "But once I see a police officer coming to us, I'll kill you."

"You bark well," Jake chuckled. "And I saw how you fight. You also bite well. What a good kid."

The man smiled and led Allen to the side of the room where a giant black hole was. Winston was beside the hole, bowing to them. "They gate is open, sir. We can head out now."

"Good," Jake nodded to him and turned to Allen. "I'll let you know in a few days what the result of my connections are. But don't worry, I can assure you that it's not going to be a flop. I IDed Dante, I'll make sure to ID everyone else."

"Okay," Allen nodded. "Okay, thank you. I'll go now."

He followed Winston into the black hole, and found himself in his room. He was taken aback for a moment, thinking that the man was playing games with him. "What the hell are we doing here?"

"I delivered you to your room," Winston replied simply. "I didn't think it was that hard to figure out."

"Yeah, but why did I have to go to the alley earlier? You could've sent me to where Jake was from here," Allen deadpanned. "What were you thinking?"

"My Code has it's limits," Winston said. "I can't create gates without certain requirements. You don't have to know since you don't have this Code anyway."

With that being said, Winston left Allen alone in his room. He suddenly felt weirded out by this. The man could basically enter and exit his room as he pleases. If someday he wanted to kill Allen while he sleeps, he could do it.

A certain gaze made Allen uncomfortable. He looked behind him and saw Gwen and Gary there, both holding a cake. 

"I can explain!" Allen yelled, but the cake from their hands had already fallen. "Hey! I said I can explain!"