Damn Hunter Life Chapter 28
Hae Mi-jun didn’t leave for a while, watching me from behind a corner, and only ran off when I turned around to look at him.
Soon I was alone in the hallway.
Besides Hae Mi-jun, there probably wouldn’t be anyone else willing to show their face to a bastard like me, right?
‘That bastard Ja Hyeong-woo said he’d wait but he’s nowhere to be seen—’
Thump, I stomped my left foot on the ground a bit hard. I deliberately made a loud noise to cut off my thoughts midway.
Why am I worrying about that bastard? If he’s not here, that’s more comfortable for me.
==
<Location>
Successor Training Ground—Training Ground 八
==
As soon as I entered, the lights in the previously dark training ground turned on brightly.
Since it summoned two new successors, it seemed to be structured to operate only when both successors entered.
In other words, Successor Won Ha-ri was already here. Unlike me who was 1 minute late, she seemed to have timed it precisely.
The girl who was about 160cm tall glanced at me once, then violently turned her head in the opposite direction. It was excessive enough to seem dramatic.
“Hello.”
I casually gave a light greeting without much meaning. Then Won Ha-ri twisted her head even more in the opposite direction, as if she’d heard something she shouldn’t have. She twisted it so much that her posture ended up looking like she was standing with her back to me.
So I just sat on the floor at an appropriate distance.
Honestly, I was inadvertently softened by Won Ha-ri’s youthful appearance, similar to Hae Mi-jun. But apparently she wasn’t.
She was clearly treating me like I was invisible.
‘This is going to be a long road too.’
In the midst of a truly frigid atmosphere, the status window screen turned on and an AI instructor appeared.
[Successor Gang-hyeon, and Successor Won Ha-ri. We will begin your first joint training.]
The status window was individual, but the AI voice was heard throughout the entire training ground. It seemed to be because it was joint training.
Won Ha-ri quickly raised her hand.
“Before we start, there are two things I’d like to address.”
Seeing the AI use honorifics to her as if she were a teacher, Won Ha-ri clearly had manners.
“In the zodiac, the monkey order comes before the dog order, so why did you call my name after Gang-hyeon’s?”
Somehow I couldn’t find those manners when it came to me.
“And I’d prefer if you didn’t use the word ‘joint.'”
As sharp as befitting someone with metal attribute, she made her request, then looked me in the eye for the first time.
With the two characters ‘con.tempt’ written in her pupils.
I just shrugged my shoulders.
‘How should I try to win her over?’
It was time to choose the third successor to make my ally.
The AI instructor guided Won Ha-ri and me according to a systematic curriculum.
==
<Schedule>
[1] Attribute Affinity Training
[2] Basic Physical Enhancement
Lunch
[3] Swordsmanship/Archery/Spearmanship Instruction
[4] Attribute Skill Refinement
Release
==
Wouldn’t the last one normally use a word like ‘dismissal’?
Won Ha-ri and I seemed to be trapped here.
Even though it was the first day, there was no orientation and we mercilessly went straight into physical training. The moment I was promoted to successor status, my free will ceased to exist.
In 1st period, Attribute Affinity Training, we meditate.
Feel the energy inherent in your body, gradually get closer to that energy as if talking to it, and draw it up so the energy circulates throughout your entire body.
This is a field the original protagonist Ja Hyeong-woo is particularly good at. And it’s the field Hae Mi-jun was so bad at that I helped him.
Won Ha-ri placed her cushion at the far end of the training ground and sat there. It was a distant enough location that I couldn’t even hear her breathing.
‘What do you feel when metal attribute meditates? Something cold and sharp? That doesn’t sound pleasant.’
“I’m done.”
[Well done.]
Won Ha-ri quickly opened her eyes and looked bright. Meanwhile, no matter how much I closed my eyes and concentrated inside my body, I couldn’t feel any energy.
‘At the gate it just worked without thinking. What’s the problem?’
After a while, I felt energy that was slightly warm and stuffy, like being buried in damp, fine soil.
‘It worked, but it’s embarrassing that someone who successfully taught Hae Mi-jun is slower than Won Ha-ri.’
The reason Attribute Affinity Training is 1st period is as follows:
After drawing up your ability, maintain that state while continuing the subsequent training.
Once you get used to this, you can enter combat like other successors.
2nd period, Basic Physical Enhancement…
“Can I not do this?”
[Please don’t. And don’t become a successor either.]
On the inevitable way to the gym, Won Ha-ri briefly looked back at me when it seemed like I wasn’t following. But when our eyes met, she avoided me as if I were Medusa.
“Ah, I’m going to the regular water attribute gym I used to attend.”
“I didn’t ask you.”
Of course you didn’t.
At this point, Won Ha-ri’s ignoring me was becoming interesting. I wondered how far it would go—should I say I wanted to provoke her more?
Suddenly the status window asked:
==
/You’re not planning to address the honorifics issue either?
==
“Make her call me oppa?”
The status window brought up age hierarchy. I paused for a moment, then gave a nonchalant response.
“Never mind.”
If you’ve read the original, you’d naturally know Won Ha-ri’s circumstances too.
‘It would be hard for her to call me by that title.’
I can roughly guess. Looking into Won Ha-ri’s inner thoughts for overreacting to me, there’s a not-so-simple thought process hidden there.
I headed to the regular gym. Won Ha-ri would be welcomed by senior successors at the successor gym, but I wouldn’t be.
But it wasn’t just for that reason—I still had a reason to go to the regular gym.
‘The middle school kids there only came when I was there.’
I was worried those bully bastards would cause trouble again when I wasn’t there.
If I see those thuggish bastards acting up, I’m planning to mess with them too. Something like ‘publicizing bullying within Hunter School.’
Since Hae Mi-jun debuted, bullying of hunters in his group probably almost disappeared, but just in case.
“Ha-ri, how’s training? Is it okay?”
“Yes, unni.”
Since it was the first day, Won Ha-ri seemed to be looked after by fellow women Myo Cho-hui and Ma Cheon-ah from time to time.
Of course, no one comes to see me. They pretend not to notice.
‘They’re probably waiting to see more.’
After finishing lunch, training had moved on to 3rd period martial arts. I was late again because I took an hour nap after lunch.
Won Ha-ri looked at me once like I was human scum, then picked up a thin sword that was placed in the training ground.
“Is this the sword I’ll be borrowing today?”
[That’s correct.]
If you can’t make weapons of your own attribute yet and don’t have a senior of the same attribute, you can use weapons of attributes that have a generative relationship in the five elements.
For metal attribute, that would be earth attribute.
“The sword is too light.”
Won Ha-ri, true to her metal attribute directly connected to ‘strength’ stats, was incredibly strong. Since she probably hasn’t adapted to superhuman strength yet, she must be breaking everything around her.
If Won Ha-ri grabbed my arm wrong, it would snap cleanly, right?
“…”
Every time our gazes crossed even briefly, Won Ha-ri’s eyes became sharp. I glanced at her small hands swinging the sword at invisible speed—whoosh, whoosh.
‘I shouldn’t get too carried away.’
As training gradually ripened, Won Ha-ri moved beyond the stage of treating me like I didn’t exist.
Instead, stinging gazes like bee stings kept poking at my side.
‘I can feel the wariness. I can feel the wary gaze.’
Her thoughts were obvious. She probably wanted to do better than the alcoholic delinquent, the bastard who played around until now and just awakened.
“I’ve materialized one skill too! Please watch me.”
[Please try it in the next room.]
She probably saw me in the gate video, look at her declaring so loudly that she has a skill too.
Very much like a kid that age.
<Successor Won Ha-ri reveals aspirations… “My parents were worried but eventually supported me, I’ll work hard not to burden my seniors.”>
At such a young age becoming a successor, the pressure must be great. She’s probably all tense, considering me as the rival to surpass first in the long training life ahead.
But what to do.
“Huk, huk…”
[You’ve only done two laps.]
“Lower it a bit…”
[That’s already been lowered four times.]
My stamina and image are both too trashy to be worth considering as competition.
Even I could see Won Ha-ri gradually losing her fighting spirit. Now she was openly staring at me and getting more and more bewildered.
‘That weak?’, ‘Can’t lift that?’, ‘Collapsing there?’ …that was all me.
[…Take a 10-minute break.]
Even the AI just now seemed at a loss for words.
I was lying on the floor gasping when the training ground door opened and someone entered.
He stopped in front of me and looked down.
“What’s this.”
It was Jin Seol-woon. Dressed in a white shirt and black pants, his face looked particularly distant, probably because of his long legs.
As I was fanning myself because my face was too flushed with heat, a different color flickered in his eyes as he stared intently at my face.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
