The Hunter Guild staff were very efficient, and soon it was Cain's turn.
"How can I help you?" asked the employee with a professional smile.
"I want to assign tasks," Cain replied, pulling a stack of Poké Balls from his pocket. Inside them were mostly Sharpedo and Carvanha, along with some decent-quality Dustox and other miscellaneous Pokémon. In total, about fifteen Poké Balls.
He placed them directly into the Poké Ball transmitter, which sent them through one by one.
"Please show me your hunter ID card," the employee said while processing the Poké Balls.
Cain handed over his hunter card through the window.
"Respected three-star hunter, please wait while we assign the tasks," the employee said, maintaining the same professional smile.
Cain nodded, but behind him, Karen began to grow restless.
"Did I hear that right?" Karen thought. "Respected three-star hunter?"
"Cain is still just a three-star hunter?"
Karen felt a wave of disappointment. Was this guy planning to form a hunting team as just a three-star hunter? Three-star hunters didn't even have the right to form a team.
"Damn it! This lunatic asked me to be his deputy leader, and he's not even a four-star hunter yet! So why did he make me come here?" Karen thought furiously.
Suddenly, Karen remembered that Cain had mentioned a task involving capturing an Absol—a mission that required being a four-star hunter.
"Wait a minute!" Karen thought. "That means he never took that mission in the first place. Was I tricked into giving him a free mission?"
Though the mission hadn't been completed, Cain had used Absol and its offspring to threaten Karen, forcing her to agree to be his deputy.
Now Karen felt manipulated, as if the entire thing had been a setup.
Karen's expression turned cold. If it weren't for the fact that fighting inside the Hunter Guild would attract security forces, she would have already attacked Cain with all her strength.
Quietly, she stood behind Cain, waiting for him to finish assigning the tasks. She needed an explanation, and if it didn't satisfy her, she wouldn't forgive him the next time they met.
Cain also waited silently, knowing Karen would explode once she realized he was still a three-star hunter. But so far, Karen had shown remarkable patience.
Cain smirked slightly. "She's holding it in," he thought.
Soon, the analysis of the fifteen Pokémon was complete, and the tasks were assigned based on Cain's rank, maximizing the possible rewards for each.
"Sir, all tasks have been assigned. Here's the list—please review it to see if any adjustments are needed."
The screen displayed the list of captured Pokémon and the assigned tasks. The high-quality Sharpedo still offered the highest reward, not only for its quality but also due to the difficulty of capturing it, as they typically lived in large groups in the ocean.
Cain frowned and asked:
"Why is the reward for the high-quality Sharpedo so similar to that of the medium-quality Sharpedo?"
The employee nodded politely and explained:
"Because your hunter rank is three stars, the higher rewards for capturing Sharpedo are limited. If you were to ascend to four stars, the reward would be significantly higher."
Cain quickly understood. It all came down to his hunter rank.
"Assign tasks for the other fourteen Pokémon. Leave the high-quality Sharpedo unassigned for now," Cain said.
"Of course, one moment please," the employee replied, assigning tasks for the remaining Pokémon.
Gradually, the tasks disappeared from the list, indicating they had been completed and the rewards transferred to Cain's account.
"Sir, all tasks have been completed. You have earned a total of 4.6 million hunter points and 4.6 million Pokédollars. Additionally, your total hunter points have reached 10.1 million."
"Congratulations on ascending to four-star hunter! Here's your badge," said the employee, handing Cain a golden star.
With two green-quality Sharpedo, each worth around two million, plus the other fourteen Pokémon, Cain had accumulated enough to ascend. He accepted the star and put it away.
"Now assign the task for the high-quality Sharpedo," Cain said.
Now a four-star hunter, the reward for the high-quality Sharpedo was updated.
The screen displayed a reward of two million hunter points and two million Pokédollars, the appropriate amount for a superior-quality Sharpedo.
Cain assigned the Sharpedo's task and sent the Poké Ball.
Though Sharpedo was strong, it could only fight effectively in water. Cain preferred to sell it rather than train it for land battles, where it would be less efficient. It would likely end up in some millionaire's aquarium as a luxury item.
In total, Cain earned 6.6 million hunter points and 6.6 million Pokédollars, and he ascended to four-star hunter status, granting him access to higher-value tasks in the future.
Cain pocketed his ID card and stood up. Karen, who had been waiting, followed him to a secluded table. They both sat down.
"I need an explanation," Karen said in a cold voice.