Damn Hunter Life 7

The mouse familiar seemed to have nothing to say in response and hesitated.

Well, its pride might be hurt, but it would be hard to kick away my proposal. It’s certain that attacking me was also one of the reasons it got kicked out by Ja Hyeong-woo.

{Damn bastard.}

Good, this is agreement, right?

{Wait. A pact is needed. To ensure you don’t break your promise.}

“Huh?”

Before I could even pull my hand back from the table, it first extended its translucent hand over the back of my hand. Or should I call it a paw since it’s a mouse?

Since it’s a ghost, I couldn’t feel any sensation. Instead, I felt blue waves spreading in my mind and a cool sensation.

The character 子 (mouse) appeared on the back of my hand then slowly disappeared.

{The pact is sealed. Know that you’ll die if you change your words.}

“If you kill me, Ja Hyeong-woo will—”

At that moment, the back of my hand became cold as if it would freeze.

My mouth closed involuntarily.

{You dog-like bastard.}

I’m actually a dog, so it has no impact on me. Since I’m the dog successor.

The mouse familiar sighed then poof! became small. It was as tiny as an actual mouse.

{Move aside.}

It walked across the table and commanded at my wrist, then when I moved my hand away, it slipped into the fold of my mourning clothes.

‘Half successful for now.’

With this, a water attribute familiar now existed in my body. Half nervous, half expectant, I tried using my skill.

[<Boundary Between Life and Death (Water Attribute)> skill is being activated.]

“…It worked!”

My heart pounded seeing that even the skill name had changed. The feeling when predictions hit the mark was thrilling.

My hand swished right through the table. While moving my body around, I noticed a new fact and was surprised.

‘My body is much lighter than before?’

If last time I couldn’t even move due to the pressure, now even with the skill active, I was at least at the original Gang-hyeon’s body condition level.

Well, it’s still trash Gang-hyeon’s stamina level. But still.

If something happens, I could use the skill and run away, right? I now have a way to escape when it’s dangerous.

{Even a half successor is still a successor, I suppose. You use clever tricks.}

The mouse familiar muttered from inside my clothes.

‘This is a skill I awakened to survive from this guy, but now I’m upgrading it with this guy’s help. What a strange feeling.’

So I gained a modified skill and a companion I don’t know how much more I’ll have to bicker with.

“Ah, your name is Squeaky from now on.”

Squeaky didn’t respond.

* * *

With the Twelve Zodiac representative Woo Sae-geon solidifying the successors’ position to not recognize the troublemaker Gang-hyeon as part of the team.

Gang-hyeon’s 51-second debut video wasn’t only criticized outside the school.

“What kind of retard is among the successors?”

The men’s public gym used by regular hunters was filled with snickering sounds.

“The bastard with nothing only runs his fucking mouth.”

“Acting cool, so fucking annoying. Like, what does he even know?”

“Shouldn’t this bastard seriously get tested for alcoholism? His confidence is at mental illness level.”

“Sae-geon hyung-nim was so wise about this. This bastard… needs to be discarded.”

“Ah, what, how is that kind of bastard a successor? How are there two retards!”

Among them, Ha Gwon-yeong, who had the most burly and sturdy build, had the loudest voice. Ha Gwon-yeong, leaning against exercise equipment in a lazy posture, smirked.

Young hunters who were just about to enter the gym were startled seeing Ha Gwon-yeong’s group and hid around the corner for a while.

Until the sound of Ha Gwon-yeong’s gang badmouthing Gang-hyeon died down.

It was too scary to go in the middle of it. The faces of the young hunters who wished those people would stop talking and just exercise were dark.

On the other hand, among the middle school hunters loitering at the entrance, one male student with particularly bright eyes was thinking something different.

‘While those bastards are mocking Successor Gang-hyeon, they won’t use Successor Hae Mi-jun as gossip material.’

Then he, who belongs to Successor Hae Mi-jun, could also avoid their ridicule for today at least.

He hated himself for thinking like this. He knew it was cowardly to feel relief instead of indignation while clenching his fists.

‘Whatever kind of person Successor Gang-hyeon is, to feel relieved watching someone get cursed at.’

However, he, Yoon Cha-on, still couldn’t stand up to them.

Ha Gwon-yeong was a hunter with overall stats reaching A-rank. He could be said to be among the top tier among hunters who weren’t successors.

Moreover, Ha Gwon-yeong’s affiliation was currently with the outstanding healer ‘mouse successor Ja Hyeong-woo,’ who couldn’t be left out of conquests.

The hunter world simply operated on the principle of survival of the fittest. The stronger the successor you followed, the stronger the hunter who received his power became as well. And when a successor’s power grew stronger, the status of those following the successor was elevated. Quite apart from their own abilities.

Those following relatively weak successors couldn’t assert themselves in front of them.

So Yoon Cha-on, who belonged to ‘pig’ successor Hae Mi-jun, the weakest among the Twelve Zodiac and last in ranking, had no choice but to be ignored by Ha Gwon-yeong.

Even this was improved compared to a couple months ago, when the successors who had to fight as one team from the start repeatedly clashed before eventually reconciling.

As relations between successors became harmonious, naturally the factional fighting among regular hunters also faded… but bullying still existed.

The successors were too busy to know such things were happening. Since the bullying was subtle, it didn’t spread to the media either.

The hierarchy among regular hunters remained solid.

‘If only Ha Gwon-yeong resembled even half of half of half of Successor Ja Hyeong-woo’s character…’

Just because you serve a righteous person doesn’t mean the followers are also upright individuals. It was especially so since when successors selected their subordinate forces, they didn’t conduct direct interviews but simply accepted applications on a first-come, first-served basis.

The biggest problem was that damn Ha Gwon-yeong was nineteen, not even an adult yet.

‘Even when I turn twenty-one in five years… that bastard Ha Gwon-yeong will still be active.’

Hopelessness washed over his mind. Yoon Cha-on swallowed his displaced resentment deep inside again today. Like he might get indigestion.

With the insignificant power he received from Successor Hae Mi-jun, he could never beat Ha Gwon-yeong no matter how long he lived.

Sigh, Yoon Cha-on sighed so deeply the ground might cave in.

“Huh? Cha-on, why are you sighing? Is life under Hae Mi-jun fucking shitty?”

This bastard…! Yoon Cha-on quickly bowed his head.

But one of Ha Gwon-yeong’s gang had already approached the entrance and taken interest in Yoon Cha-on. Thick fingers tapped Yoon Cha-on’s forehead.

Imagining the smirking face of the burly-looking guy, Yoon Cha-on looked at his toes and just squeezed his eyes shut.

“Aww, Cha-on~ What to do about your pitiful loser life. But still, kid, aren’t you better than Gang-hyeon? That retard can’t even awaken, so he doesn’t even have one tiny lackey like you—”

The always-repeating situation suddenly met change with an unfamiliar voice interrupting.

“Your bulk is like a mountain but you’re blocking the door. Move aside.”

At that moment, white clothing flashed across Yoon Cha-on’s vision as he kept his eyes downcast.

The target the voice told to move aside was naturally not middle schooler Yoon Cha-on, but the dull-looking large guy from Ha Gwon-yeong’s gang.

‘No way.’

Yoon Cha-on’s eyes widened as he raised his head. The gang member was more surprised than Yoon Cha-on, if not equally so, and couldn’t remain composed seeing the pale face before his eyes.

When the guy moved aside in confusion, the successor wearing mourning clothes naturally entered the gym. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare.

Even Ha Gwon-yeong, who had been lazing around on exercise equipment.

“Gang-hyeon…?”

The real person they’d seen in videos was right before their eyes. In the regular hunters’ gym, and not even the earth attribute but the water attribute hunters’ gym at that.

“What are you here for—”

Someone’s words of shock inevitably slipped out.

To which Gang-hyeon replied matter-of-factly. It was an absurd attitude.

“Don’t you know what a gym is for?”

After finishing his words, Gang-hyeon rolled up his mourning clothes sleeves. His thin, translucent-skinned arms were revealed. Gang-hyeon stood in front of exercise equipment and stretched, pulling his arms and legs right there.

Not caring about others’ gazes, he stared into space while loosening his ankles. Showing the appearance commonly seen in hunters looking at their status windows, Gang-hyeon muttered with a focused expression, regardless of who was listening.

“Leg press 20 reps, 3 sets…”

The students in this place knew what Gang-hyeon was muttering about. They had all come to this gym today to fulfill their daily quota.

The ‘basic physical training’ curriculum given by the status window.

‘That troublemaker Gang-hyeon came to do basic training according to the hunter education program?’

So absurd that another one of Ha Gwon-yeong’s gang forgot his manners and asked bewilderedly.

“The successor gym—”

“They won’t let me in.”

“Then at least the same attribute gym—”

“The earth attribute gym is at full capacity.”

Gang-hyeon answered carelessly without turning around and settled at one of the exercise machines the status window indicated.

‘I have to earn points, so what choice do I have? Surely I won’t die crushed by exercise equipment.’

I was pulling out the pin attached to the weight to lighten it considerably first, when a large shadow fell in front of Gang-hyeon.

Ha—. It was Ha Gwon-yeong laughing mockingly like a declaration of war.

“There’s a reason Sae-geon hyung-nim cut ties with you.”

Ha Gwon-yeong’s thick grip seized the collar of the mourning clothes.

“Gang-hyeon-nim. Fuck, what are you trusting to crawl into where the lower class people play and muddy the waters? Did your brain rot from alcohol too? Fucking hilarious.”

Gang-hyeon’s eyes slanted.