Damn Hunter Life Chapter 118
“Hey… hey. Why are those things acting like that?”
“Huh?”
I muttered palely while placing my hand on Jin Seol-woon’s back, who was closest to me. Fortunately, when I released only the stealth function of the <Boundary Between Life and Death> skill, I could touch Jin Seol-woon.
Jin Seol-woon stopped preparing his skill and immediately turned to look at me. I don’t know what expression I was making, but seeing my face, he opened his mouth as if more surprised than me and bent his upper body toward me.
I couldn’t even look directly at the lake surface, and slightly shuddered while tightly gripping the back of Jin Seol-woon’s shirt.
“Ghosts…”
“Yes.”
Jin Seol-woon also grabbed my arm. He patiently waited for me to continue.
“They’re all just staring at me.”
Even now. Continuously since earlier.
As if their purpose wasn’t to drag people away, but to stare at me.
Even in the moment they were caught by others and eliminated, even when their necks turned or snapped, the water ghosts just kept their gazes fixed on me.
Jin Seol-woon quickly turned to look where my glances were directed. After alternating between looking at that place and me several times, he gripped my arm tightly.
“Gyeon Gang-hyeon-ssi, what are you talking about? The water ghosts are charging at the leader. Because of his provocation skill.”
At Jin Seol-woon’s worried words, my head rang.
What is this guy talking about? Even at this moment, the ghosts are glaring this way trying to make eye contact with me…
Then, am I seeing things?
Woo Sae-geon’s voice awakens me from my frozen state.
“Now. Pour skills in order. I sent the sequence in chat.”
Woo Sae-geon, who had struck the lake once with an intermediate skill like a battle cry, briefly checked on me. He probably heard what I was saying too. Even while commanding the battle.
“Jin Seol-woon, I told you taking care of colleagues isn’t your role!”
“I’m the one who grabbed him!”
Even if I’m scared, I have to say what needs to be said. While I was growling at the leader, Jin Seol-woon hesitantly let go of my arm and went to his position.
Taking care of the wounded is naturally not the job of tanks or dealers.
Unless it’s the role of this healer bastard who’s determinedly trying to hold me and drag me inland.
No matter how much I struggled, Ja Hyeong-woo was immovable. The arms restraining my body were already ignoring my free will. While glaring at the lake direction with a grim face.
“Absolutely don’t go near there.”
…Does he believe what I said?
Ah. This bastard can’t see them anyway since he doesn’t have a familiar.
Still though. Four people all say no, and only I say yes – it would be hard to believe. Why does he speak as if he believes me? How much trust have I given him?
‘Or regardless of whether it’s true or not, he just wants to make sure I don’t get hurt…’
Standing next to Ja Hyeong-woo, watching the dealers pour colorful skills into the lake, strength gradually returned to my body.
As soon as I could move, I summoned my bow and arrows.
Ja Hyeong-woo tried to stop me by lightly grabbing my shoulder, but I silently swatted his arm away.
Since everyone now easily killed B-rank mobs, the heads that had clustered thickly on the surface visibly decreased.
Even in the moment they die from my arrows, those things still stare at me blankly.
They showed no murderous intent or hostility. They just kept looking at me.
I can’t tell if it’s because of the stealth skill I used, or if they were only looking at me from before. If I turn off the stealth skill to check, there’s the blind spot that I won’t be able to see the ghosts from my side.
‘Or is it this? They see me as their own kind and don’t know what to do.’
A puzzling reaction. There seems to be no other way to interpret it.
Since I’m already frail and can’t be a troll who keeps seeing things, I postponed thinking about it for now.
Since the water ghosts didn’t come out of the water, the cleanup was extremely stable.
<Ground Modification (Earth Attribute)>
Woo Sae-geon aimed his sword tip with the momentum to bury the entire lake in dirt and pulled out a basic skill. Rumble—! The ground continuously spat out groans. The lake bottom cracked and water flowed in streams here and there.
The dozens of branching streams overflow to my feet.
“Be careful.”
“If one water drop is dangerous, isn’t your water attribute healing dangerous too?”
Just when I was starting to be able to say harsh things to Ja Hyeong-woo—
Bang!
A tremendous roar from the land behind us. Goosebumps rose all over my body.
“Is the boss a toad again?”
That native toad we all know suddenly popped out from the ground. Its bumpy skin, characteristic half-closed eyes, and solemnly shut mouth were familiar.
However, if it’s large enough to swallow me whole, that’s a different story.
In the time it took to blink once, Woo Sae-geon was already standing in front of me. He drew even the other sword from his waist and aimed it.
He muttered audibly.
“…First time. A clever one that attacks first during mob cleanup.”
Then from this point, the formation’s ‘front’ and ‘rear’ lose their meaning.
Since the rear must be able to rotate and quickly transform into the front when needed, from now on we’ll need to deploy strong tanks or dealers to guard the back too.
As Woo Sae-geon changed position to the rear, the formation twisted so that the boss would be handled by Woo Sae-geon and Myo Cho-hui while the remaining water ghosts behind would be dealt with by Ma Cheon-ah and Jin Seol-woon.
Naturally, while me and Ja Hyeong-woo were being protected in the center, the boss shot its whip-like tongue at us.
“Go in from the front! The toad’s back will have poison, so don’t hit from behind!”
The boss’s extended tongue was cut by Woo Sae-geon’s blade and blue blood spurted. When the toad jumped once low in pain, the ground shook with a bang!
“…!”
Ja Hyeong-woo caught me as I bounced into the air due to being relatively light. Even though both my legs were off the ground, I forcefully pushed Ja Hyeong-woo away and turned around. Not because I disliked it!
The impact would have spread like waves to Jin Seol-woon and Ma Cheon-ah behind us too!
“Dragon oppa!”
Hearing Ma Cheon-ah’s dismayed cry, I instinctively knew something had gone wrong.
The boss’s tongue, which had regenerated immediately even after being cut by Woo Sae-geon, had ambushed us from behind by piercing through the ground.
Before my eyes, Jin Seol-woon was being dragged away, bound by the bright red tongue that had sprouted from the ground.
Jin Seol-woon’s left arm was pulled taut as he desperately tried to escape. Crack, a chilling sound echoed from his arm. I could see Jin Seol-woon’s eyes widen.
Jin Seol-woon, who had stopped all resistance, plummeted into the water as he was.
I hurriedly ran over and looked down, but could only see churning spray.
The boss’s behavior of snatching people and dragging them into water seemed somewhat similar to the water ghosts.
Woo Sae-geon’s shout is heard.
“Gyeon Gang-hyeon, you go back! I’ll bring him up!”
My head was blank. Nevertheless, I thought about what I could do. It was almost an instinctive action.
“No, leader should catch the boss! You know I have a skill to fill in dirt!”
Going into water where water ghosts still remain is crazy. I need to make the dirt from the lake bottom surge up to pull Jin Seol-woon out.
But the dragon familiar was faster than me.
The dragon let out a soundless roar and jumped into the water following its master. The entire lake trembled.
‘Good job. Will it bring him out?’
The ground near where Jin Seol-woon had fallen rises up. The surface churned and soon the dark outline of the dirt bottom began to be revealed.
“I can see him there. His hand.”
Ma Cheon-ah, who would be in big trouble if she touched water due to her fire attribute, just leaned her upper body forward at my words.
Jin Seol-woon’s hand was sticking out from the pile of dirt shimmering below the surface. If I got closer, I could grab it and pull him out. But why is he buried like that…?
At that moment, Jin Seol-woon’s hand disappeared from sight, sinking in.
‘Wait.’
The dragon familiar wasn’t rescuing Jin Seol-woon, but burying him in the ground?
The dragon’s rippling tail also disappears into the dirt. I know this habit of the dragon well. Like at the previous Busan Gate—
Back then, the dragon disappeared midway so he was only half-buried, but if it continues like this, Jin Seol-woon will go all the way underground!
“Stop!”
As I shouted with all my might, my authority spread.
The whole world, an alien stillness as if time stopped for just a moment.
The dragon familiar momentarily submitted to my will, and the ground that was about to close opened again.
I jumped into the narrow, deep hole.
“Ugh…!”
It was fortunate there was air in the dirt, but it was very damp with half water. My whole body got wet instantly.
In the cramped space surrounded by dirt, I landed almost falling on top of Jin Seol-woon who lay inside.
Jin Seol-woon was already drowsily opening his eyes. He looked somewhat delirious.
He took me in with his eyes, then suddenly smiled gently.
“Hey, don’t you hurt…?”
You’re smiling when you should be crying tears?
Thinking he might be like this because he was very scared, I just left him alone, then Jin Seol-woon’s lips moved slowly.
“Will you listen to me once? I think becoming a successor has been very precious in my life. Even if I could go back and be given a choice, I’d still choose now.”
I checked Jin Seol-woon’s broken left arm and replied while struggling to lift his upper body.
“You crazy bastard. Don’t you want to go back to the stage?”
“I want to go back. But not right now.”
It was a surprising statement.
“If I had to lose my successor powers and go back right now, I’d want to postpone it…”
Jin Seol-woon, losing consciousness, hugged me tightly with his unbroken arm.
Though my breath was a bit blocked, I calmly called to the dragon familiar in my mind. The ground rumbled up and lifted us.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
