Damn Hunter Life 55

Damn Hunter Life Chapter 55

What I said about seeing skills is different from the commonly thought visible skill effects (like the blue light of Ja Hyeong-woo’s heal).

It’s more like the detailed flow of qi, you could say.

I don’t know why I have this function. Is it because I’m a possessor who recognizes the concept of the original work?

Me: If skills were people, while others only see the outer skin, I feel like I can see through to the blood vessels?

Thinking back in time, it seems I’ve been using my ability since I first taught Hae Mi-jun how to operate water attributes.

The reason I realized this relatively recently, despite it being quite a while ago, is first that I didn’t know much about this world. I learned the common sense that qi flow is in the realm of ghosts, or souls, so it’s not visible through cameras, video screens, etc., a bit late.

In conclusion, it’s natural that I can visually gauge the connection between familiars of different attributes and their masters.

When a successor uses a certain skill, if I memorize its unique form, from then on I can distinguish what skill that successor is using just by looking at the flow. Also, since this ability is fundamentally the ability to see ‘qi,’ I can tell what condition a successor is in now, whether their energy is twisted or not.

But—

Me: But what’s the use of seeing it? I can’t use it myself.

Let’s not reveal any more. Just up to here.

The five figures standing among the monster corpses fell silent.

The silence didn’t last long.

“Let’s find the boss first.”

Woo Sae-geon reminded us of what we needed to do immediately.

If everyone just keeps quiet and only looks at chat, to people watching the recording later, it’ll look like we’re just standing there staring blankly into space doing nothing.

Without anyone taking the lead, we slowly started moving.

“I’ll guide the way. The distance is far, so we need to ride familiars.”

Whether everyone has questions for me or not, first we follow Myo Cho-hui’s guidance to move to where the boss is located.

Woo Sae-geon looked around at the other people once.

Five people. Three familiars: ox, rabbit, dragon.

He didn’t seem inclined to ask me anything either. Woo Sae-geon easily counted and decided what me and Ja Hyeong-woo would ride.

“Can three people ride the Dragon familiar?”

Jin Seol-woon readily nodded.

“Yes. Gyeon Gang-hyeon-ssi is light.”

There had been a period when he carried Ja Hyeong-woo behind him before. Now it’s become a scene of Dragon familiar overwork, having to carry me as well.

The dragon shook its body with a rumble, still seeming healthy despite the hours of continued battle.

Suddenly Ja Hyeong-woo looked back at Jin Seol-woon and asked.

“How do you know he’s light?”

“You can tell just by looking……”

The Rabbit familiar is small so it can only carry Myo Cho-hui alone.

The Ox familiar…… could easily carry up to five people, but after the rodeo incident, apparently no one dares to try.

Except for me, who didn’t witness the incident directly.

“I want to ride the ox.”

Myo Cho-hui’s eyes went round. The other two pairs of eyes immediately fixed on me too.

Ja Hyeong-woo had a face like he was asking if I was crazy, and Jin Seol-woon was more composed than that but…… seemed to be asking if I was in my right mind.

“We should share the load. So the Dragon familiar’s stamina doesn’t run short.”

It’s fine though. Jin Seol-woon muttered, but I only looked passionately at Woo Sae-geon’s face.

Ox Successor: Is that a judgment you’re making with your eyes?

I conveyed with my gaze that it was. Even here, I didn’t bother acting thoughtlessly.

Since the Dragon familiar is earth attribute, not only I but Woo Sae-geon can also see the form of its energy. While Woo Sae-geon was looking over the dragon, I quickly struck.

“Should I ride in back? Or front?”

“……Ride in back.”

Behind his expressionless face, I could see Woo Sae-geon’s mood souring, but what can you do? I smiled as cheerfully as someone whose head is in the clouds.

And I regretted it a bit afterward.

‘Ugh.’

The Ox familiar, once demonic but now tamed by Woo Sae-geon, honestly had terrible riding comfort.

True to a familiar with violent tendencies, it wasn’t stable and shook wildly like driving on an unpaved road. I had a premonition that my back would be ruined tonight.

Even if Woo Sae-geon wanted to mess with me, he couldn’t make only his upper body, where he was sitting, move smoothly while letting only the lower body rattle.

‘Has Woo Sae-geon been riding this the whole time? Doesn’t his back get destroyed?’

At least his broad back in the scholar’s robe looked nonchalant.

The rabbit hopped a bit behind, and Jin Seol-woon drove the dragon on the side. It was as fast as riding a car.

The earlier conversation resumed in chat.

Mouse Successor: You can only see, but you can’t use other attributes yourself?

Why is that bastard Ja Hyeong-woo re-confirming what he already said? Just as I was about to give the same answer again—

Rabbit Successor: You can use them.

Myo Cho-hui’s chat suddenly appeared in the temporary chat room with five people.

……Right, I didn’t think Myo Cho-hui would just stay quiet like this. Since she’s been caught off guard, she’ll hit the back of my head at least once before retreating.

Rabbit Successor: You don’t know, do you? Remember when you faced the snake boss? You shot Ha-ri’s metal attribute arrow then.

Rabbit Successor: Normally there should have been a rejection reaction. Right?

Though her attitude seemed like she was kindly informing me, it wasn’t cheerful for me at all. I can picture Myo Cho-hui erasing the clear luster from her pupils, intentionally revealing her true nature, and lightly touching my chin.

My response to that was quick. Before anyone could add their opinions, I quickly struck first.

Me: Then do you know this?

Me: After shooting that arrow, I was bedridden at home.

My body is like this, so even if I have abilities, I can’t use them properly. Ah, really, really regrettable. If this ability had been with the leader or Ja Hyeong-woo, they would have used it better than me.

Chat messages under my name went down in a row. Well, there wasn’t a single lie.

‘It’s not just being a scoundrel, but being a scoundrel who has abilities but doesn’t use them is more infuriating!’

To prevent the tragedy of becoming Myo Cho-hui’s test subject or Woo Sae-geon’s slave, I diligently laid the groundwork. I even deliberately provoked annoyance by smiling brightly whenever our eyes met.

‘Don’t think about making new weapons with me, just train hard like you have been.’

Instead, I’ll go when a really dangerous moment comes. Even if I’m not mentally prepared, I’ll do whatever it takes.

I’m the world’s biggest scoundrel trash. Know me as such.

Ox Successor: Let’s talk later.

Of course, no matter how much I struggle, I won’t be able to avoid a meeting with Woo Sae-geon.

It’s like sticking my head in a bull’s mouth to avoid a monster rabbit.

The one thing that could be called Woo Sae-geon’s counter is……

Me > Snake Successor: Ye-ho

Me > Snake Successor: I might come to your place today

Since you can’t communicate with the outside while in a stage, there was no way Sa Ye-ho would respond immediately.

I was looking at the one-on-one chat with Sa Ye-ho when Woo Sae-geon sent a ‘stop’ signal. He extended his arm from the front and made the other familiars stop moving.

The boss monster was a C-rank mob Homunjjo, but it was damn huge. And it saw us.

“Scatter!”

Immediately the three familiars dispersed in different directions.

Everyone seemed to smoothly escape as if quickly turning a steering wheel while properly holding onto their familiars, but……

“Ah!”

I wasn’t. Even though I held on tight with both thighs, at the same time another part of myself was already foreseeing the future. Me slipping and falling behind from on top of the ox.

Strong hands grabbed me tight.

On the ox that was moving as wildly as a bucking bronco, Woo Sae-geon tucked me under his arm and shouted while avoiding the wind caused by the large boss monster’s wing beats.

“Jin Seol-woon!”

Jin Seol-woon, who looked small because he was high in the air, turned the dragon’s head. Immediately the dragon flew toward us.

The moment the two familiars brushed past each other, Woo Sae-geon literally threw me.

But whether there was a slight miss or even this was teamwork, the dragon’s head swept past me. As its long body passed by like an earthquake—

“Mmph!”

Ja Hyeong-woo, who was in the back, caught me. Despite being a healer, Ja Hyeong-woo displayed amazing arm strength, body-checking me yet not falling off the dragon.

While I was just breathing in Ja Hyeong-woo’s arms, swallowing the intense shock, the remaining four handled the boss.

Dozens of vines grew from the ground all at once. Myo Cho-hui’s Rabbit familiar caught the Homunjjo so it couldn’t fly.

“It won’t last long!”

Since there were many vines, it seems the durability of each individual one was lower. When the Homunjjo screeched metallically and struggled, the vines fell off one by one.

In the middle of that, I could see Woo Sae-geon, who had shaken off his burden and freed both hands, driving the ox in a charge.

Despite the long battle, the excellent leader charged with terrifying momentum without showing signs of fatigue. At that sight, I unconsciously relaxed, thinking that I’m really useless and the actual strategy team is just these four people……

……I didn’t immediately understand why Ja Hyeong-woo was suddenly blocking my entire view with his body.

“Ugh……!”

Ja Hyeong-woo put his chin on my head and let out a short groan. Thump, after bouncing once from hitting the ground, our bodies stopped with a long scrape mark on the earth.

Ja Hyeong-woo, who had fallen from the horse while embracing me and absorbed the full impact of the fall, coughed while pinned under me.

I grabbed my shaking head tightly and forced myself to look up. In the dizzying vertigo that made me want to vomit, I tried to see the situation somehow.

The one and only healer had been exposed to attack.

When this gets broadcast, people will gossip tremendously in the community.

‘So whose fault is this?’

Myo Cho-hui, who couldn’t bind the Homunjjo sufficiently with vines?

Woo Sae-geon, whose sword strikes were perfect like a downpour, but who couldn’t drive the Homunjjo sufficiently to the opposite side, allowing its tail to move?

Jin Seol-woon, who couldn’t avoid the striking tail and let the two in back fall from the dragon?

All wrong.

Keeeak—! The Homunjjo cried sharply. A huge shadow fell over me and Ja Hyeong-woo. The tail was striking down once more.

Looking straight at it, I thought.

It’s my fault.

Ja Hyeong-woo, the healer, should only heal. You shouldn’t let situations arise where the healer has to face monsters. If such situations arise, then the dealers and tankers of that party are incompetent.

Right, I’m talking about myself.

The guy who was supposed to be a tanker originally but was moved to dealer because the conditions didn’t match, yet couldn’t take care of his own body and made the healer embrace and roll with him.

If I’m going to stimulate Ja Hyeong-woo by telling him he’s incompetent.

I need to qualify myself first.

‘No matter how much of a scoundrel I am, I have to do my part.’

“Gang-hyeon……!”

This damn Ja Hyeong-woo, instead of staying quiet below when hurt, somehow got up again and threw his body over me once more. In panic.

Thanks to that I was somewhat hindered, but I safely gathered my breath and did what I intended to do.

Wheeeet!

I put my fingers to my mouth and made a high sound.

{Hyeon-ah, don’t! Then your body will……}

I ignored the sobbing young voice.

When the master exercises force, there’s no way for a familiar to disobey. A howling like a wolf’s cry echoed through the area.

The Dog familiar, grown massively large, struck the monster with a thunk!