Damn Hunter Life 12

Damn Hunter Life Chapter 12

“Huh?”

The moment Ja Hyeong-woo kicked back his chair, the Snake successor Sa Ye-ho also stood up. His face, delicately featured for a man, twisted comically.

“Sae-geon hyung, I told you I needed to get enough sleep. What nonsense are you talking? There’s Cheon-a for fire attribute, so why should I go? No, but taking away the one healer we have—?”

“Explain why you excluded me.”

Woo Sae-geon, looking tired, rubbed his nose bridge with his thumb and index finger.

“Why can’t any of you understand what I’m saying? You’re not usually this slow on the uptake.”

“I don’t wanna go on raids.”

Woo Sae-geon ignored Sa Ye-ho’s whining and glared piercingly at Ja Hyeong-woo, as if the cause lay with him.

“Ja Hyeong-woo. Your sleep schedule.”

Ja Hyeong-woo’s pupils wavered for a moment.

“I won’t stop you from doing nothing but skill enhancement without sleeping. But if you’re planning to show citizens that haggard face, then get lost. Stage 26 is said to have fewer monsters, so I’m thinking of trying a raid without a healer.”

Ja Hyeong-woo, feeling agitated, came around the table toward him. Woo Sae-geon, now having to look up at him, showed displeasure in his eyes. Regardless, Ja Hyeong-woo poured out his rebuttal.

“Look at my face. It’s not the face of someone lacking sleep, is it? I admit to fatigue, but I’ll rest after finishing this stage.”

A sigh of exasperation leaked from across the table. The rest of the Twelve Zodiac had already left their seats.

Sa Ye-ho, who was still there, crossed his arms with a snap.

“Sae-geon hyung should get some damn sleep too… You’re both at the same level.”

He soon uncrossed his arms to cup his chin, then looked prettily at Ja Hyeong-woo, who had ultimately gotten Woo Sae-geon to reverse his decision and replace Sa Ye-ho’s spot with himself.

“Hyeong-woo, for me?”

“……”

“Seriously fuck, there’s not a single kid here who’ll play along with me. Isn’t there some interesting newbie coming in?”

Ja Hyeong-woo didn’t even glance at the grumbling Sa Ye-ho.

Returning home, Ja Hyeong-woo went into the bathroom. While preparing for a bath, finally alone, Ja Hyeong-woo reflected on the surrounding situation.

Woo Sae-geon, who has earth attribute, has a replacement.

Fire attribute also has 2 people, so they can substitute for each other.

There’s no metal attribute yet, so skip that.

Wood attribute only has Myo Cho-hui, but that one’s a dealer and there are several dealers, so responsibility is distributed.

But there’s only one healer.

There’s also only one water attribute. Because Hae Mi-jun, the other water attribute, can’t fulfill his role properly.

‘If only Hae Mi-jun could improve his attribute manipulation ability, then I’d have someone to entrust my back to, but…’

Hae Mi-jun’s training was stagnating. And Ja Hyeong-woo was the only one who could teach that Hae Mi-jun.

He knew he had to do it, but looking after him kept getting delayed because of his own training. From Ja Hyeong-woo’s perspective, with stages piling up immediately, he didn’t have time to focus solely on Hae Mi-jun.

When he gets a little free time… when he gets free time… it had already been several months of this.

His gaze met with himself in the mirror. The same neat complexion as usual.

[Deactivating <Puddle on a Rainy Day (Water Attribute)> skill.]

However, once the skill’s voice brushed past his ears, a face quite different from before was looking back at him in the mirror.

<Puddle on a Rainy Day (Water Attribute)>

Description: On/off skill. Casts a veil over the face to hide one’s true appearance.

Automatically deactivates if the caster loses consciousness.

Ja Hyeong-woo silently stared at his wretched appearance – bloodshot whites of his eyes like a zombie from accumulated fatigue, deep dark circles cast over his eyelids. Soon he reactivated the skill.

What he wanted to hide was concealed behind the veil again.

Even if he could show citizens what they wanted to see right now, continuing to use this skill was absolutely not a good choice in the long term. Ja Hyeong-woo himself knew it was something that ate away at his life force.

‘Just successfully clear Stage 26. Then I’ll have time… I’ll take a day off then.’

* * *

“But Squeaky, when I’m undressing and bathing, where are you?”

{I can’t find a reason to respond to your nonsense.}

I was about to grab a dry towel when I looked at one towel that was a different color from the rest.

That towel was placed on my exercise equipment on the first day I went to the gym.

‘It doesn’t seem like someone forgot it there, but rather like they gave it to me.’

I used it well, but who’s the owner? I’m sure there’s a suspect among the water attribute middle school kids who come at the same time, but nobody’s come forward.

“Hmm.”

Setting aside the towel issue for now, I turned my attention to my phone to send Hae Mi-jun a text.

[There’s earth attribute class today. Do you have time this evening too?]

[Yes hyung! (Two arms making a circle emoji)]

I’ve been meeting with Hae Mi-jun steadily. Once I opened the floodgates for his ability control, he grew rapidly. Soon he should be able to properly use his abilities as a healer.

Anyway, I figured I’d adapted to basic physical training by now, so I decided to seek change. (Even though my weights are worse than middle schoolers’, and afternoon naps are essential afterward.)

Even though my body is in this state, I should start getting into combat training now.

‘Prepare for awakening and collect points too.’

But problems arose from the very first day of sword training.

I couldn’t even get a look at the general sword training hall and was turned away at the door by the AI sword instructor, for the following reason:

[Classes cannot be attended without possessing a sword, which is required equipment.]

“Ah, I just need to buy a blade. Open shop.”

But no matter where I looked in the remote store, even after searching and rummaging through categories for a long time.

Let alone swords, I couldn’t see any other weapons either.

‘Does this damn store discriminate? Won’t sell weapons to the delinquent Gyeon Gang-hyeon?’

Maybe they don’t give weapons to drunkards to prevent accidents. Just as I was about to make that assumption, the status window oddly popped up to remind me of one setting.

/Shouldn’t a successor have at least an attribute weapon?

“Am I a noob?”

Simply put, it means successors need special weapons imbued with their own attributes as class equipment.

‘In the original work, they were called unique weapons.’

The healer staff that Ja Hyeong-woo carries around was originally just a stick carved from a peach tree or whatever.

Ja Hyeong-woo himself infused power into it to create it as a special weapon.

In that way, to face monsters in gates, they needed weapons imbued with appropriate attributes by successors, not ordinary guns and blades.

That’s why successors had a hell of a time back then. Trying to supply weapons to hundreds of students all at once.

<Peach Tree Branch>

Weapon Grade: S

Creator: Ja Hyeong-woo

Attribute: Water

‘What naming sense. How’s that different from naming a dog “Dog”?’

Particularly S-grade weapons – a successor could only maintain 1-2 of them. S-grade weapons usually become the weapons they use themselves.

‘Then I should also make an S-grade weapon with creator Gyeon Gang-hyeon…’

That would be great if I could. If I were an awakened one, that is.

Once again, I faced severe discrimination.

I need to take combat classes to awaken, but to take combat classes, I need to be awakened?

[Do you make your own weapon to use?]

After firing off the text out of nowhere, while I go about my business, Hae Mi-jun always replies within 5 minutes. Is this kid just staring at his phone?

[I still can’t make good weapons, so Ja Hyeong-woo-nim makes them for his students too! My weapon is also made by Ja Hyeong-woo-nim!]

Right. Within the same attribute, there’s also the method of asking another successor.

[But hyung, why are you asking this? Do you need a weapon by any chance?]

[No, never mind]

Right.

If I were water attribute, I could raise Hae Mi-jun well and ask him for one. He’d probably give it to me.

But what I need is an earth attribute weapon…

I pondered deeply. Should I postpone sword classes until after my awakening?

‘No, thinking about it, I absolutely have to take sword classes.’

According to the original work, the danger gate closest to the current timeline is the Busan Gate.

I can’t be certain my awakening will happen before the Busan Gate episode. The probability of it not happening is much higher.

Thinking of the Busan Gate, I really need to take classes… and for that, I need an attribute weapon. To protect myself, among various other reasons.

So—

‘Let’s win over one more member of the Twelve Zodiac. To my side.’

I opened the notebook where I’d written down information from the original work. Before the great undertaking, I carefully examined the story once more.

Sorry to say, but Hae Mi-jun is in a similar situation to me, so when I actually need help, he won’t be useful.

Among the same earth attributes, I need someone I can get weapons I can’t make from, and generally mooch off of.

First, there’s the leader and Ox successor Woo Sae-geon—

‘Get lost, get lost.’

That stubborn bastard. Even if I won over all the other Twelve Zodiac members, that guy alone wouldn’t work. We both hate dealing with each other anyway.

Sheep successor Yang Pyo.

‘Pass on this one too.’

That guy is like Woo Sae-geon’s lackey, so he’s not worth approaching right now.

And Dragon successor Jin Seol-woon.

Even considering that my standards became lenient since he was the last remaining option, when I turned it over in my head, the picture drew better than the previous two. Soon I was nodding.

“Okay, let’s give it a try.”

I know what Jin Seol-woon is probably tied up with right now.