I remember entering a gloomy cottage guarded by Hunters.
I was directed to a man in a back room. He took a syringe from the desk and injected me without warning.

“For you, the suffering of a savior and the coin of a betrayer.
The pain's forever, but the money is worth it.”

More and more frightening things flashed through my mind; my heart was pounding.
I think I screamed just before I fainted.

---

I woke up groggy in a dilapidated barn.
I struggled to open my eyes, hearing the same hoarse voice again.
“You're a survivor, or at least got the makings of one. Get on up now.”
I staggered to my feet and turned towards the voice. The man was outside.
“That injection knocked your teeth in real good, didn't it? There's a health kit by the gate--use it.”
I used the kit quickly, before leaving the barn.

“All patched up? Then head on out. You've got a lot to learn.”
I walked out into the yard, trying to get closer to the voice.
“First lesson: Wading through water is noisy and slow, but sometimes it's the only way forward. Stay vigilant.”
The water was icy cold and I tried to hurry across. Once out of the water, I continued on my fast stride.
“It's good to be quick, but running for too long will drain you. Stop sprinting at times to catch your breath.”
It seemed like good advice, so I slowed my pace.

He watched me without saying a word. Was he waiting for me to take the initiative?
A wooden fence with broken top panels seemed to be the only way forward. I decided to cross the fence.
The moment I put my foot down on the other side, I heard, then felt, a wolf trap set off and sink its teeth above my ankle. Through the pain, I thought I heard a laugh, before the voice began to speak to me again:
“You're gonna encounter traps like that from time to time.”
I pushed the teeth of the trap aside as best I could to free my leg.
“Patch up so you don't bleed out. I gave you that First Aid Kit for a reason. If it's used up, there's a health station right there.”
I preferred to use the kit in the pharmacy. Who knows what awaits me.
Did I still have to trust this man?
“Now if you want to make good money you're going to need to find a target.”

“Remember that shot?”
A shiver ran down my spine, of course I remembered. I'd always been scared of needles.
He'd given me the injection with violence, like a stab in the arm before pressing down on the plunger.
I'd given my verbal consent to become a Hunter, but I wasn't expecting this, not so quickly.
“It made you special, and it'll help you see beyond human limits.”
Snippets came back to me: in addition to the sudden gesture, the product injected had burned me from the inside out.
Just the memory of it gave me a surge of anxiety.
“It gave you something called Dark Sight. Feels like an itch behind the eyes.”
Yes, I felt something different inside me. In my head, in my body. What did I do?
I frowned, then nodded silently.

---

“Focus on that feeling to enter the sight and look for a blue glow. The light'll lead you to your first clue.”
I tried to regain my composure. To concentrate, I closed my eyes. I could hear a strange noise, but it wasn't disturbing. I turned towards the noise and began to see something bluish. I couldn't believe it! I didn't know whether my eyes were open or closed, but the blue mass was there. I took a few steps in its direction before bumping into a haystack. This made me open my eyes again. I had to climb the ladder to get inside the barn.
“Each clue guides you towards your target. That map I left in your pocket will point you forwards. I even took the trouble of marking supply point and the like in the legend.”
Reflexively, I reached into my pocket. Indeed, something in paper was there. I took out the map to have a look at it.
“Between the map and Dark Sight, you'll be able to narrow down the location of your target with each clue.”
I quickly climbed the ladder, then fell back into the cloak. The clue, that soft blue cloud with its ethereal sound, was drawing me towards it. I jumped over a pile of hay to get down into the barn, then found my way to him. There it was, on the ground, a dark, cracked circle that reeked of corruption. And yet my hand was just waiting to touch it.
I reached out for the clue and, before I knew it, I had already absorbed the energy emanating from it. The aura had disappeared, as had the sound. The cracked crust had shattered, revealing an almost perfect black circle.
“Good work--it looks like your target is west.”
I continued to look at the clue, then at my hand, my arm. The attraction for the clue had disappeared. It was like withdrawal, and I'd just taken a dose. I just didn't understand how it had happened.

“Head on up the ladder and let's see how sneaky you can be.”
His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I did as I was told and then looked outside. Nearby, there was a horse lying on its side; a little further on, a kennel; and on the path, crows and ducks.
“Got ourselves a bunch of animals. They're ready to holler if you spook'em, and that risks you alerting an enemy nearby.
Try to reach the across the way without troubling any animals. Who knows, I might even reward you.”
I nearly stumbled on the way out of the barn. The horse raised its head and looked at me without hesitating; I could just hear it breathing heavily. I crouched down gently, then crossed as slowly as possible between the horse and the crows. Then, close to the kennels, I made my way towards yet another decrepit barn.
“Not bad. Could be better, but nothing you can't recover from.”

---