(Zrudread University- Black Rose Hunter Guild)
"Right this way please," a hooded figure led Sophie and Cleo down a winding path of stairs until they reached a simple wooden door.
Knock! Knock!
The figure calmly rapped their knuckles against the wooden frame until a lazy sigh was heard coming from the other side.
"You may now enter," the figure nodded politely at the two girls and then melted away into the shadows.
Sophie shot Cleo a look of concern before opening the door carefully and walking inside.
The inside of the room was sparsely furnished with only a single chair in the center and an expensive rug whose material glowed eerily at regular intervals.
A woman was sitting on the sole chair of the room while patiently observing her new guests. She had brown hair that flowed gently down her shoulders and hung over a sharp, angular face.
Her eyes were a deep shade of purple that seemed to be able to peer through the fabric of reality itself.
The skin on her body was covered with dark tattoos that were written in a language that Sophie had never seen before.
"Not many students have ever sought out my services and succeeded," the woman chuckled with a grin that showed her fang-like teeth.
"What knowledge do you seek?"
Sophie's eyes sharpened as her instincts were warning her that the carefree woman sitting down in front of them was incredibly dangerous.
"We need all the available information you have on Planet Calypso and the location of the criminal Long John Daggers," Sophie spoke firmly.
The woman chuckled darkly, and numerous holographic windows appeared around her body.
She inputted a series of commands into one of the windows and copied the data onto a small black storage device.
"Here you go ladies," the woman waved her arm and the hologram windows vanished instantly.
She held out the storage device and Cleo tentatively stepped forward to take it from her.
She could not help but notice that the hands of the mysterious lady were gnarled and wrinkled like that of a much older woman.
"May I offer you some advice?" the woman spoke up as the girls turned to leave.
"It would be wise to disguise yourself upon your arrival to Planet Calypso. There are many dark organizations hidden within the seedy underbelly of the main city."
"Plenty slave traders would love to catch two beautiful girls. There are even whispers that the Federation have been performing experiments that require human subjects."
"Thank you for your concern," Sophie bowed her head politely before walking out of the room with a firm grip on Cloe's hand.
The hooded figure was waiting for them as they left the room and patiently guided them back up the long flight of stairs.
Sophie blinked as she found herself back in the bright main hall of the hunter guild with Cleo by her side.
What was strange and concerning was the fact that neither girl could remember how exactly they had gotten here.
The exit and entrance of the passageway was blurred in their minds and if it were not for the black storage device in Cleo's hands then Sophie would be tempted to think that the encounter was a simple dream.
"So that's the highest-level information broker in the Black Rose guild," Sophie whispered.
"Certainly, she seemed very strange," Cleo remarked.
The first-class bounty hunter groups would always be associated with or build their very own information network.
The Black Rose guild was no exception, and they had a number of informants in all manner of organizations.
Guild members could book appointments with the members of these information networks, but the prices would vary depending on the individual selected and level of knowledge required.
Sophie was a very cautious person by nature, so she had booked an appointment with an individual known as Q.
Q's real name and identity had never been disclosed by the guild's upper management and she was treated as a valuable asset.
Some had even speculated that her worth to the organization was far beyond that of the branch managers of the various guilds under the Black Rose.
Q's appointments were surprisingly cheap to buy, but her clients would have to be approved by her and no one was sure what the criteria was.
Sophie had just applied as a back up and was planning on going to a regular information broker when she received the news almost instantly that Q wanted to meet them.
"Let's head back to the dorm and see what's inside the storage device," Sophie suggested.
Cleo nodded in agreement and the pair headed back to the mansion.
Q's reputation as one of the best information brokers in the guild was not an empty boast as the hard drive contained all sorts of knowledge on the various power groups and the dynamics within Planet Calypso.
As the girls read more and more about the different pirate teams on planet Calypso, a somber mood was formed.
Both Sophie and Cleo were mulling over the information inside of the storage device with uncharacteristic seriousness.
Edward the merciless ruled the planet with an iron fist and his personal cultivation level was approaching the void stage.
Edward was the bastard son of a noble count and a lowly prostitute who died during childbirth.
His rough upbringing and scorn he had received from his half siblings was enough to cause the boy to go mad.
The count saw the fearsome cultivation talent of the boy and raised him as the sword to protect his estate.
What he did know was that he was raising a viper instead.
Edward soon rose up the ranks of his father's personal army until one day he finally snapped.
During a family banquet he poisoned the wine and the dishes by bribing the servants.
No one who shared his last name was spared and the mansion that night was dyed crimson with blood.
The men of the family were granted a quick demise with a slash to the throat, but the women were tormented until they begged for the sweet release of death.
Some say that their cries of agony can still be heard during the early hours of the night.
Edward disappeared after looting the treasury and was not seen for many years after.
There was an uproar over this tragedy in some noble circles, but Edward's father had made many enemies over the years, so there were those grateful for what the boy had done.
The boy who would eventually be known as the 'Butcher of the Stars.'
He controlled an organisation called the blackguard who helped maintain a loose form of law and order on Planet Calypso.
Long John and his crew were employed by the son of one of the blackguard captains as his personal lackeys.
Therefore, they were often seen in the inner section of the city where the security was much higher.
This mission would going to be far more difficult than what was initially expected.
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