X-Rank Hunter

Sierra Madre.

The widest mountain range that could be found in the Maharlika Kingdom. Of course, the beasts living there were stronger and more numerous.

But wherever there was a threat, there was an opportunity that would follow. Countless treasures were waiting there to be found and discovered. Be it herbs, artifacts, knowledge, wealth, anything that was sought after by a Hunter to become stronger was there. It just needed some luck and effort to claim.

Somewhere in the middle of the mountain range of Sierra Madre was something like a desolate plain. Plants and grasses were almost nowhere to be found as countless stone boulders were standing here and there.

Kaboooom!

There was an explosion that could be heard somewhere. From that somewhere, several stone golems could be found! Just like the height of the stone boulders from all around, the height of the golems was just the same, they were all about 3 to 5 meters tall.

Surprisingly, the golems seemed to be gathering in one direction as it appeared that they were surrounding something. No, they weren't surrounding something, they were surrounding someone!

What even more surprising was that the certain someone surrounded by the stone golems was a child! A little girl of about ten years old!

She was all alone but no worry could be found in her eyes but instead, a grin on her lips was first to be noticed. Her silver hair was a bit messy and untied but her beauty still remained. Her skin was light brown and she was wearing a shirt and pants, something like a commoner would usually wear.

But why was she grinning despite the several golems surrounding her?

Her fist answered that question when she raised her fist and punched it forward.

Swoosh!

A shockwave was released and the golems in front were sent flying and landed far away with a heavy thud. As if an explosion had just occurred.

But as if the little girl was not yet contented, she rushed to a certain golem and smashed it into pieces with her fist. The golem didn't even have time to react as it was turned to many pieces helplessly.

But the little girl didn't just stop there, as if a ferocious beast, she rushed to the other golems surrounding her and turned them into many pieces with her bare hands and feet. And with almost no effort at all.

This happened then and again till the sun was almost set. The little girl appeared to almost lose her energy from all the fights as she was already gasping for air to catch up some breath.

After a good while, she took a deep breath as she smiled. Her gaze landed on the countless golems around that turned into many pieces as her hands clenched into a fist. "This power of one of the Four Greatest Hunters is pretty good..."

After which, she walked past through all the golems on the ground and went in a certain direction. After several steps, she reached to a certain stone platform of which a stone glowing in a green light could be found floating slightly above the stone platform.

There was an upstairs leading to the stone platform and from up there, two stone statues were standing on the left and right of the stone platform. Seemingly trying to guard the stone glowing in green light.

The stone statues were about 2 meters tall. The statues resembled a knight clad in full body armor. Their great swords were pointed downwards as both of their hands were on the top of its hilt.

Seeing the two statues made the little girl halt her steps. Her piercing glare was fixed on the two statues instead of the stone glowing in a green light that appeared to be a priceless treasure.

But it appeared that the little girl was thinking about something else as she muttered in all seriousness, "Father, mother, everyone, I will definitely not disappoint you. I will definitely become stronger and find sister and avenge you all!"

After saying those words, the little girl rushed towards one of the statues and prepared a vicious punch. Feeling the killing intent coming out from her, the statues didn't just stare stupidly in there to continue their act. They both raised their great sword and brandished it towards the incoming little girl.

They didn't dare to consider this little girl as normal for they knew full well that this was the lunatic who destroyed a lot of golems guarding around.

The little girl managed to evade the sword of one of the two statues but the other sword managed to hit her. But as if the statue who did it had as if brandished its sword to a strong wall, its sword was blocked by the little girl with just a bare hand.

The statue tried so hard to retract its great sword but to no avail. The little girl was gripping it so tightly that even the statue was completely helpless.

The little girl wasn't grinning this time and her expression was as if almost the same as that of a beast. Her eyes were flashing with a cold glint as she gripped her hand even more tightly and the sword she was holding was destroyed.

The statue finally managed to retract its great sword with a few step backs but the great sword was of course, already broken.

Knowing that the great sword was already useless, it threw out the broken sword towards the little girl as it followed with a punch. The other statue didn't just watch stupidly from the side. It rushed towards the little girl as well and brandished its sword against the other party.

But the little girl seemed to not care at all. She punched the thrown broken sword and it immediately turned into many pieces. After which, she caught the incoming fist of the statue who threw the sword as she lifted the statue. She then swung that statue against the statue with a sword that rushing from the opposite side, as if the statue itself was her sword.

The other statue didn't have time to dodge as it used its great sword to block the incoming statue. It was then sent backward as it couldn't block completely the incredible strength coming from the little girl.

But to its surprise, the other party threw out the statue towards it as the statue with the sword instinctively slashed its great sword towards the incoming statue. The statue was then cut in half as it fell on the ground helplessly.

The statue with a sword never thought that it was the one who would actually kill its own comrade. No, it was not the cause of it but instead, this monster it was currently facing.

Knowing that this fight was only a do or die, the statue didn't cower as it rushed towards the little girl and brandished its sword against her once again.

The little girl jumped to dodge the incoming attack as she was about to land on the face of the statue. She then clenched her hand and threw out a punch towards the face of the stone statue.

Kaboom!

The statue became headless as its head turned into a tiny bit of pieces of rocks. But it didn't give up in there. It slashed its great sword aimlessly hoping to hit the girl before its final breath.

But unfortunately for it, the little girl didn't bother waiting for its sword to hit her as she kicked its stomach and was immediately sent flying. It couldn't stand the force and its body parts fell apart while rolling furiously on the ground.

After she was done, the little girl took a deep breath and shifted her gaze towards the stone glowing in green light. She then walked upstairs and walked closer onto the stone glowing in green light. She stared at it for a moment before grabbing the stone to put it into a pouch.

But the little girl seemed to be indifferent with her rewards. And it appeared that her thought was on something else. She gritted her teeth accompanied with a clenched fist as she muttered, "Just you wait demons, I will definitely slaughter you all! For I, Janine Kastel, will never let you off!"

Right now, the sun had just set as the darkness was trying to embrace the surroundings. But the moon had just arrived and prevented the darkness as the full moon shone so brightly at the night.

Janine stared at the moon as tears fell from the edge of her eyes. Her eyes showed a trace of desolation and one could tell that she was alone for already a long time.

A kid like her who was all alone, managed to survive in this kind of environment where beasts were all around? One would think that it was nonsense but the truth was revealed by her existence.

Janine wiped away her tears with the back of her hands as she raised her palm with a pouch on it just in front of her chest. Janine smiled staring at it as she opened the pouch and picked something from it.

Surprisingly it wasn't some kind of items that could let her remember something from the past but instead, it was a food! It was a chicken drumstick and a fried one at that.

She took a bite and slowly devoured the chicken drumstick. The sorrows in her eyes seemed to disappear and were noticeably replaced by joy and a sweet smile.