Damn Hunter Life Chapter 75
…Now he had crossed the line.
There was no room for denial. Ja Hyeong-woo had been looking at Gyeon Gang-hyeon as an object of desire, and had released his urges on his thigh without consent.
No matter how angry he was, this shouldn’t have happened.
After the heat passed, a hollow sense of loss remained. The sight of him sleeping with an innocent face that knew nothing added to his sense of doubt. Ja Hyeong-woo hesitantly reached out like someone who had committed a crime and gently stroked Gyeon Gang-hyeon’s head.
“What just happened can’t be said to be something you brought on yourself. It’s what I did.”
The small face was both pitiful and resentful.
Even when feelings of hatred and resentment arose, on the other hand, he was breathlessly just tender toward the other person…
He knew that if he would just look at him once, all these complicated feelings would melt away in an instant.
Even after several days passed, Ja Hyeong-woo couldn’t see Gyeon Gang-hyeon.
While hiding the bandages on his chest with clothes and engaging in training, he kept thinking of Gyeon Gang-hyeon.
‘If I never see him again like this… I won’t be able to endure it.’
He actually knew. Since becoming a successor, hadn’t Gyeon Gang-hyeon disappointed him again and again?
‘Gang-hyeon won’t approach to reconcile first. It would be pointless to expect it.’
This time too, he would disappoint him.
Is he thinking of me? While Ja Hyeong-woo was mechanically training with water attribute weapons with his mind elsewhere.
A communication came from Woo Sae-geon.
[“A request for successor support came in for the Yeongdeungpo C-rank gate. Despite the low rank, the hunters who went in have had no contact for three hours.”]
Among the regular hunters matched with this gate were several A-ranks. Moreover, they were all people with at least one raid experience. It didn’t make sense that they were struggling against C-rank monsters.
There was a high possibility that the hunters’ feet were tied for some other reason.
Hoping it wasn’t fatal injuries from carelessness or ambush, the most optimistic prediction was—
[“Hallucination characteristics are suspected. You and I should go.”]
A troublesome characteristic. However, since they had experienced a similar gate once in the very early stages of awakening, some preparation was possible now.
[“However, if you can’t maintain mental composure right now, forget it. I’ll go with Myo Cho-hui.”]
Woo Sae-geon had been at that scene where Ja Hyeong-woo fought with Gyeon Gang-hyeon a few days ago. He also knew that the two hadn’t even seen each other’s faces, let alone reconciled. (He heard from Sa Ye-ho.)
Myo Cho-hui would be reliable in this field. She’d be unfazed even if the gate showed hallucinations of citizens’ corpses piled like mountains. Wouldn’t she remain composed even facing forgotten memories from the past she wanted to forget? Did she even have such things? He couldn’t imagine Myo Cho-hui falling under hallucinations and losing her mind.
But if someone was injured inside, a healer would definitely need to go in.
Sending Hae Mi-jun would be concerning due to his timidity. Ja Hyeong-woo soon made his decision.
“I can handle it. I’ll go.”
* * *
‘…Handle my ass, what can you handle!’
That bastard Squeaky has also been hiding since then, which is annoying, but hearing that Ja Hyeong-woo and Woo Sae-geon entered the hallucination gate made me feel even more frustrated.
I saw this gate in the original work.
So unlike Ja Hyeong-woo’s calm reaction, I also knew how long it took for Ja Hyeong-woo to escape from the hallucination.
‘You can’t come out for almost two days. You can’t even eat during that time. You’re stuck in a corner of the gate where no one can find you.’
Because hallucinations also interfered with detection skills, they couldn’t use Myo Cho-hui or Sa Ye-ho’s skills either.
The hallucination described in the original work was a sensory manipulation debuff that showed current or past memories as if they were real.
Once you fall into a hallucination, you have no choice but to stay still for days until you shake it off yourself or someone wakes you up.
You could shrivel up and die while still lost in memories without even knowing you died.
‘Limited to hallucination gates, it might be fortunate that the hunters are all young, 24 and under.’
Though there are individual differences, generally the longer you’ve lived, the more potent the hallucinations become.
Older people have experienced more joyful and unpleasant experiences in life, so there are more gaps for hallucinations to exploit.
Based on the hallucination gate, I considered how different the current Ja Hyeong-woo might be from the original work’s Ja Hyeong-woo.
First, Busan Gate. He overcame that easily because of me. That’s probably why the current Ja Hyeong-woo’s skills are somewhat inferior to the original. Because he’s less desperate.
On the other hand, the current Ja Hyeong-woo faced and directly jumped into school factional fighting problems that he didn’t know about in the original. An experience not in the original was added.
‘Setting everything aside, since Gyeon Gang-hyeon is alive and not dead now… does that mean one hardship in life was reduced?’
But thinking about the big fight we had recently made it complicated on one hand.
‘How many times in life could there have been incidents that would make Ja Hyeong-woo, who never raises his voice, get that enraged?’
Thinking about it made my spine chill. I think I’m screwed.
I haven’t seen his face once since then, and he went to see hallucinations in that state.
How can he overcome hallucinations when his heart is full of anger? Like the sleep deprivation incident before, why is this bastard filled with baseless confidence? Or is he just the type who thinks it’s fine if he dies?
‘Anyway, if Ja Hyeong-woo can’t come out for two days like before, that would be entirely my fault…?’
Throb throb, I can hear the sound of my conscience ringing.
Let me see if there’s anything I can do.
First, I become incompetent with high probability whenever gates are involved because of my pathetically inadequate body.
Nevertheless, there’s something absolutely advantageous for me in this hallucination gate. That is.
‘Even combining all successors, I’ll be affected by hallucinations for the shortest time. I’m certain.’
Because I have no past memories from before realizing my possession.
In human terms, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’m a child who has only lived one season.
‘Even if forgotten past memories come alive from this incident, it would be beneficial for me.’
There’s one more advantage. Since I remember the original content accurately, I roughly know the surrounding environment of where Ja Hyeong-woo might be collapsed in the gate.
‘Good, let’s go.’
Since Woo Sae-geon might cause trouble later and give me disadvantages, I’ll tell him beforehand.
If Woo Sae-geon finds out, he’ll definitely use all kinds of personal attacks to prevent me from going, but it’s fine. I have my methods too.
==
Me>Ox Successor: I’m going to support Yeongdeungpo Gate. I definitely said so but the leader’s reply was late. I said so, right?
==
By now Woo Sae-geon probably can’t see chats because he’s seeing hallucinations…
[Moving to gate occurrence location.]
The only outside sightseeing Hunter School allows. Of course, you can only move to in front of gate entrances, and when gates close you’re immediately forced to return, so it can’t be used for entertainment other than the purpose.
‘Even if I hide my face… anyway, association staff will check identity at the gate entrance.’
So I moved openly in Dog successor hunter attire.
In front of the gate where civilian control was being conducted chaotically, one staff member in protective gear was startled to see me.
“Successor Gyeon Gang-hyeon…?”
“You requested successor support. I’m going in too.”
“But successor Woo Sae-geon said the support would only be him and Ja Hyeong-woo-nim…”
I was about to say I’d take responsibility, but since I need to be a scoundrel, I thought it might be okay to speak roughly.
“Why, you think I can’t do it? Because I’m weak? Because I get constantly trolled on the internet?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“I haven’t been drinking and my condition is fine. I’m going in because I think there’s something I can help with.”
While the staff member was at a loss for words and stammering, I slipped into the pure white entrance.
It wasn’t a violation. I was also properly a successor with two stage records and an adult capable of making my own judgments.
My whitened vision gradually returned.
In case monsters jumped out, I held my bow up high even in a situation where vision wasn’t secured.
‘Cold.’
Inside the gate was a high mountain area with few trees and full of rocks and cliffs.
The temperature was slightly chilly, but if you stayed for a long time under hallucinations, you’d gradually lose body temperature and it would be fatal.
Maybe because it had hallucination characteristics despite being C-rank. To balance it out, there seemed to be no monsters.
‘The view is narrow because of rocky hills.’
The problem was that I didn’t know where the regular hunters who entered first had scattered, and I couldn’t even see where Woo Sae-geon went.
“Ja Hyeong-woo!”
I shouted loudly while struggling up the hill in front. Every time I adjusted my footing, stone fragments crumbled from under my feet.
If I look down from high up, I might see someone? While thinking that, I suddenly thought of a hypothesis and stopped in the middle.
‘Is there any guarantee that what I’m seeing isn’t a hallucination?’
The stones I could touch, the cold temperature, the dry air all felt real, but that wasn’t proof this wasn’t a hallucination. Hallucination characteristics make you feel all of that as if it’s real.
‘That was really dangerous just now.’
If I was in a state of confusion, there was a possibility I could slip and fall while climbing the hill.
I came back down right away.
The moment I set foot on the ground, I saw someone’s figure slip behind a distant rock.
I couldn’t just stand there staring blankly. I followed despite the risk.
A large athletic build, dark blue hair tied with a handkerchief. His hwarang clothing fluttered in the dry wind.
‘Ja Hyeong-woo.’
I didn’t call out, but secretly observed his back.
That Ja Hyeong-woo was somehow different.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
