||The Messenger||

"No way did I get a final blow on a calamity" he spoke outloud to himself. If anyone was around, he'd be seen as a delusional homeless man.

Calamities after all were extremely rare, within a handful only one out of 50 might be or become a Calamity.

Creatures or what people simply called monsters were ranked by various categories.

From Low ranks to SR ranks, EX to Calamity, him kill a high ranked monster!?

Please, another fairytale dream.

But it wasn't, because the smell of blood was strong... the rotten smell of monster flesh mixed with the sewage piss streets of the city? Yeah, nothing could make it any more realistic.

Except the blinding light was new...

"We've located the target, Users on sight now"

That wasn't just any light though, a private government helicopter that had the symbolic tag of 'RSS' rescue, secure and support.

This wasn't an idealistic situation at all, certainly not for a man in his 30's with no athletic ability whatsoever.

"Place your hands in the air, you're being detained. Any attempt to escape and you'll be directed by force"

The speakers were louder than the gailing wind that was surrounding him from the sheer force of the moving blades.

Running? Hah. What a joke, Axel had too many back and knee problems.

Hitting the musky and dirty ground again sucked but it was better than being ripped apart by a superhuman.

Although the strange cuffs they had him in seemed like overkill as he sat in a room with nothing in it but a table and a chair in front of him.

What seemed like forever people finally entered his interrogation holding cell.

"You can take those off him, he's not a threat" Spoke a man in a full black suit followed by others.

Ordinarily it would be an insult to say that to a User but he wasn't one. They'd probably just assumed considering the dead corpse behind him at the time.

The man finally sat down with Axel holding a tablet in hand and sipping a hot chocolate before placing it down.

Axel may not have been a User but he could feel it. That wall and intensity feeling of meeting a person that didn't feel right. A gut feeling of a dangerous person.

"Mr Qarry, I apologise for the harsh treatment the RSS put you through. However as this is a society of Users as well as normal citizens, precautions must always be maintained" In other words he wanted to swipe it under the rug.

"Sure" Axel responded as the man took off his glasses to clean them before putting them back on.

"My name is David Yoling, I'm apart of the NCS (National Citizens Support), as you know, Monster sightings aren't that rare in downturn Crirel. I'm more than happy to take your case and give you a victim's assistance package for this misunderstanding." He finished, as Axel looked down at his hands for some entertainment since the cuffs had been removed.

It was such a hassle to be here but a victim's assistance package was quite a huge thing. He could survive off one for months, considering the government will do anything to keep Users in the limelight of favourability among the people.

"Thank you" it wasn't really an option anyway. Normal citizens can't make demands from things like this.

Had he been a User and taken down that monster, he would have been treated one of two ways. A hero or a very dangerous individual depending on who took up the account of the situation.

"Before you receive your package, we just have to confirm a few details from you" David added as he flipped the tablet Axel's way on the tablet. "Please confirm everything and you'll be free to go" He was a professional, it really made him wonder how often this happened?

Considering there wasn't a way to tell if a person was a User without verification. Which was exactly what he went through before being put in here.

"Thank you again Mr Qarry, we take pride in cases like yours and hope that you have a great rest of your day." Right, he had forgotten, it was now 4:12am, He'd been here awhile.

That made sense though, people were probably extremely busy here all the time with multiple cases around Users.

Not everyone sort Glory and fame with their abilities. Some people will remain scum for the rest of their lives.

Looking at his new phone given as part of the NCS victim's assistance package. He sighed, he couldn't shake off that first monster he'd managed to get the final blow on.

It's not like people to not carry around at least one weapon, considering a monster could just appear randomly.

It's why they didn't give him any issues for carrying his small pocket knife. Which strangely was clean of all blood, his old clothes were taken away though.

All part of the package, it was probably the best thing the government did with justifying how much money is so called 'wasted' on nurturing talent.

Had he just imagined it?

Looking at his pocket knife he shook his head and put it away. Like anyone would believe him, he had enough money now for a small apartment again anyway.

Looking at himself in standard holding cell clothes, he awkwardly smiled. As people seemed to warily look at his appearance.

'First things first, new clothes' he stated to himself as he walked into a store a little ways up from where he had been.

Looking around, he found a grey shirt and black pants that looked about right. Immediately into the changing room he switched out.

Looking at himself in the body mirror, he looked defeated. He'd really let himself go. His brown redish and slightly curly hair, was outgrown and messy. His hazel eyes hid no secrets to how tired he was.

Truthfully, he needed a bath and a full clean up. He'd basically been on the streets for awhile now.

Buying the clothes with his new found wealth, he exited, threw the other clothes away and made his way to a barber.

There was no point in getting clean clothes but still looking like he hadn't groomed himself in years.

Sitting down, he didn't care, Axel left it up to the barber for mostly everything. But the beard, the beard had to go.

'There's a face I haven't seen in awhile' he thought as he thanked the man for his work.

It was a simple undercut and fade from long at the top to short at the nape. Nothing fancy but he looked and felt younger. His body however was thin, with the dark bags under his eyes insulting his new look.

'I need a place'

Scoping online after buying some beer from a 24/7, he found a small apartment for dirt cheap. It probably had bad neighbours or a history but anything was good when a roof was over your head.

Unlocking the apartment felt euphoric after talking to the landlord and paying a whole year off of rent.

10k is nothing in this economy, he may have felt rich right now but you needed to make at least 80k a fortnight to live comfortably.

It made sense when you realise that Users make up more of a percentage than average citizens.

'Users wouldn't need to waste time, simply hunt as few beasts and they're good for months if not years.' Depending on what rank they were of course.

Just like rankings for monsters there were ranks for the Users, not to mention among other things that scouts would look for.

Popping open a can of alcohol he sat in front of the shitty TV. This place was furbished to a degree, it seemed like he'd need a better fridge with time and a washing machine.

But all that could wait as he switched through channels aimlessly, only stopping when he found something semi decent.

"Can you tell the audience at home how you knew you were chosen?"

"Well, it's somewhat a scary process for new timers. But essentially you may get a voice or a headache and fever for a prolonged time." The User who was being interviewed tapped his head as the camera panned back to the interviewer.

"Can you explain that a bit more?"

"Well, it's different for everyone." the User shrugged as he continued, "essentially everyone goes through a unique chosing process. Like that of a game, however you don't get infinite lives. We are still going out as ourselves no matter what we may wear."

'Fucken propaganda' Axel hissed, as he nicked his lip on the edge of the cans opening.

"Users are the good guys~ we like Users because they save us from the scary monsters~" Axel mocked as the thoughts from earlier this morning invaded his mind.

Opening another can he chose to drown it out.

"Can you give the viewers today some guidance?" The interviewer asked, as the male User smiled.

"Come to the Faction Righteous if you are chosen in the future!"

Of course it was a User from that mob, Axel hated Users with a passion.

Unlike others that idolised and fantasised about being chosen by the System. He couldn't care less, it was hard enough finding a job and keeping it than a falsehood like power and fame.

Drowning his final can he laid down on the wooden floors.

He made a plan to go and get some more liquor and dinner later on. But for now, he wanted to rest in his new found paradise.