Prologue

Located in an unknown desert area was a city known as Meteor City. It was said to be a junkyard city inhabited mostly by outcasts. People who lived there did not exist in any official records, and the existence of the city itself was known only to a few people. Not much was known about it as it was a city shrouded in mystery. Rumors were said that it was at least five hundred years old and was believed to have been founded by a dictator who wanted to separate the human race. Since then, it had been a dumping ground for other countries. The city was said to have the most diverse ethnic background and its population estimated at eight to ten million people.

Though it really was a junkyard initially, a few meters after it was a real city of its own. Buildings were present though not like the ones you could see in Yorknew City, it didn't have that "modern flare" as you might like to call it. There was also a council, though not quite impressive as people originally thought.

There was also a world-famous gang of thieves. Most of its members originated from the city, they were known as the Spider Troupe. They held the title of an A-Class Bounties organization. There were thirteen members in total and you had to kill one of the current members if you wished to become a member yourself. Each person had a numbered tattoo of a spider on their body. It helped identify what number they were.

The city's inhabitants also had an interesting motto. We reject no one, so take nothing from us.

Anyway, right now there was another new dump. As the inhabitants scavenged for anything or anyone who still could be possibly alive, one encountered the crying of a fiery red haired infant. They brought it back to the city and it was given to someone who wanted to raise it. The infant was confirmed to be a female after being checked out by a doctor. She was deemed as healthy and only needed a few check-ups once in a while to make sure her health wouldn't decline.

Her surrogate parent was a young middle-aged woman with midnight black hair and dark brown skin. Her eyes were golden in color and she seemed quite sharp and very intelligent. She always had wanted a child of her own since she herself was barren. It was quite a pity but once she heard of the new addition, she immediately went and adopted her. The woman's name was Eliza which meant "unique or precious."

Eliza named her adopted child as Sairah which meant "one who travels." She had a feeling that her child would eventually leave and travel the world once she grew up. It came from her intuition as a mother despite not having been one until now. Yes, she expected great things from her daughter.

Seven years later

Sairah was a kind and obedient child. She always listened to her mother and did the tasks that were given to her but there were times she was also a mischievous child and she did not follow what her mother tells her. She was also a bright child; having learned how to read and write at the age of three. She was also great with animals though the number of species were scarce in the city.

There was also a fact that Sairah knew that she was not her mother's true daughter as they had no blood relations at all but to her, familial relations would always be stronger. Though despite that thought, she still wished to know her origin. Having been dumped into Meteor City, she like the other inhabitants did not have any official records. Her origin was a complete mystery but that did not deter her from trying to search what she could.

At last, a clue had been given to her when she spotted a group of teenagers bullying a child. She immediately went to stop them but they kicked her away. She got up once again and not once did she stop protecting the younger child. She told him to run which he did at once without a second thought. She sighed in relief once he was gone.

Sairah suddenly felt an uncontrollable rage, the blood rushed in her veins as the teenagers continued to torment her. She never felt this much anger before and rushed towards one of them. Her small fist punched straight through the guy's cheek and he was knocked out cold. The others began attacking her but she was swift and agile. None of their attacks managed to reach her and she took them down with punches and kicks.

It was a completely one-sided battle. Once they were down on the ground and her mother arrived together with the boy's parents, her mother pointed at her in shock. "S-Sairah, y-your eyes!" She cried out. The boy and his parents ran away in fear at the sight of her eyes. Sairah ran towards a nearby puddle and looked at her reflection. No longer did she have light yellow eyes, instead she had eyes as red as scarlet. Her eyes widened in realization.

There was only one clan that had eyes that could turn into scarlet red once they experienced strong emotions, it was the Kurta Clan! She was a survivor of the massacred clan! Her knees dropped in shock and she began to cry. At last, she finally knew of her origin!

A soft and gentle hand touched her shoulder, Sairah turned around to find her mother smiling at her. She hugged her mother in happiness now knowing that her mother would not leave her in fear. Tears began forming in her eyes and she cried out.

One year later

"Mother, I want to become a hunter." Her daughter suddenly said out of the blue. Those seven words were words she was not yet expecting from her eight year old child. Yes, she expected it but not so soon!

"Why do you want to become a Hunter, dear?" She asked.

"It's because I want to travel the world, mother! I want to travel to other areas, meet more people and animals I've never met or seen before, and most importantly of all, learn more about this world!" Sairah answered proudly.

"But dear, the Hunter Exam is known to be very dangerous and has a high percent death rate. Don't you think you should wait for a few more years when you get stronger? Besides, I've heard that there was some kind of secret exam after passing the exam itself." Eliza spoke in worry.

"Worry not, mother!" Sairah exclaimed. "I already know what the secret exam is about! One of the old men who live downtown told me."

"Sairah!" Her mother shouted in righteous fury. "How many times have I told you that downtown isn't very safe?!"

"More than once…" She sulked.

"Anyway, what did the old man tell you?" Eliza demanded. Sairah took a seat and began to tell what she heard from the old man. Once she was finished, her mother nodded in response. "I see, so you need to know Nen in order to really pass the exams."

Sairah remained silent for the moment as her mother continued to speak. "So, even with the knowledge of the secret exam, you still need to pass the initial exam. You even need to learn how to do Nen, what will you do now?"

"For the initial exam, I guess I'll just wing it but for the secret exam…well…I already know how to wield Nen!" Sairah said as she let out a sheepish laugh. "There's also a fact that I had already sent my registration last December and received a reply today."

It took a few minutes before the words sunk in her mother's head. "What?!" Her mother finally exclaimed in surprise. "Let me see!" She took the letter from her daughter and checked it out. She finally sighed after she was done. She had known that she had already yielded once she saw her daughter's eyes burning with determination.

"Fine…but at least contact me, alright?" Eliza said.

Sairah beamed and ran to hug her mother. "Thank you, mother!" She thanked her profusely and then went to get her things ready. Eliza kept the smile on her face until she knew her daughter was finally out of hearing range and then she began to cry. I had already expected this ever since I gave her that name but I wonder if I was too hasty. No, I cannot think like this. I should be happy that my daughter's finally getting out in the real world. I-I must simply pray for her safety and believe that she can survive.

"If there is any god out there, please keep my daughter safe. I beg of you!" She murmured as she let the tears fall out.

The Next Day

They were already at the entrance of Meteor City where the junkyard was located. Scavenger birds and birds of prey were flying about. A car that could withstand the sandy terrain was right in front of them. Eliza bent down to hug her daughter tightly. "Sairah, I believe that you can survive this. Take care of yourself; I won't ever forgive you if you die before me." She whispered to her daughter and then she stood up and let her go.

There was a sudden screech from above and Sairah looked up to find a bird flying towards her. She soon recognized it to be her animal friend known as Ainz. Ainz was a brown-feathered hawk that she found and trained. They became good friends. He was a rather prideful bird though. She wanted to leave him so that he could stay with his family but it seemed he had other plans.

He let out another screech and landed on her waiting arm that was now covered with leather in order to prevent his talons from scratching her.

"Ainz, you want to come with me?" She asked him.

There was another screech and he nipped her finger. That was when she knew his answer. "Alright then, that settles it! I guess you're coming with me Ainz." She smiled and then turned towards her mother.

"Goodbye mother!" Sairah waved to her before entering the car.

Eliza could only give a small wave in return.

Goodbye.