Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 1014

Sylvie blinked at Astron's words, his tone quiet but unmistakably firm.

"Really?" she asked softly, still processing everything. "You think more will come?"

Astron's gaze didn't waver. "Indeed."

He shifted slightly in his seat, resting one elbow on the table, eyes briefly scanning the surrounding space as if mapping the invisible network of interest already converging.

"The scouting network functions like a web," he said. "Connections between guilds, factions, private sponsors. Information spreads fast, especially when someone steps out of their expected box."

Sylvie lowered her gaze slightly, absorbing his words.

"And," Astron added, "we're on Irina's team."

That drew a faint hum from Irina, who didn't object—just sipped her drink with a flicker of amusement in her eyes.

Astron continued, "Scouts were already paying attention to her. To the Emberheart name. By extension, to all of us. Today just gave them a reason to stop and look closer."

"Oh," Sylvie murmured. It wasn't disbelief this time—just the quiet weight of reality settling in.

Then, Astron's eyes swept across the table, landing briefly on each of them before settling again on Sylvie.

And his next question came simply, without edge, but it landed heavy.

"Do you want to deal with all these scouts now?"

There was a stillness after that—one of those moments where the weight behind a simple question cracked open a wider reality.

Because that was the question now.

Not if she'd be noticed again.

But whether she was ready for what that attention would bring.

Irina leaned forward slightly, her expression calm but sharpened by something colder than usual. Her amber eyes, still faintly glowing from the earlier dungeon heat, flicked toward Sylvie with unmistakable seriousness.

"We should go," she said. "Now."

Layla raised a brow. "Why? We just sat down."

Irina didn't look at her. Her gaze remained locked on Sylvie. "Because I know how this industry works."

Sylvie blinked. "What do you mean?"

Irina's lips pressed into a thin line. "Scouts don't just watch. They probe. They charm. They dig where it's soft—and right now?" She gestured subtly toward the door where Calera had exited. "You're soft. Naive, unprepared, easy to mold."

Sylvie tensed.

"They'll say the right words," Irina continued, voice smooth but hardening beneath the surface. "Promise mentorship. Protection. The best gear. But most of them aren't offering opportunities. They're setting hooks."

Jasmine frowned. "That woman didn't seem—"

"She was polite," Irina cut in. "That's not the same thing."

Layla's playful smirk faded slightly. Sylvie's heart thudded again, but this time with a different rhythm.

Irina's gaze narrowed, and her next words dropped low, almost a whisper, but they hit like steel.

"You should know it, too."

Sylvie's breath caught. I should…?

And then it came back to her.

The Headmaster's warning.

"Your performance will attract eyes," he had said. "But eyes come with offers. Offers come with leverage. And leverage? That comes with chains you don't see until they're already locked."

At the time, she hadn't fully understood.

Now she did.

Irina leaned back, her voice cooling. "If a scout is serious, they'll go through official channels. The academy has legal handlers for that. Witnesses. Contracts. Structures that protect cadets. If they don't—then they're not someone worth trusting."

Sylvie lowered her gaze, processing it all. Then slowly, she nodded.