Chapter 26: A skill book (1)
Just like Aimee had said, she was teleported to Hunter's room, appearing here with a sigh.
She instantly took off her broken armor and threw it onto the table in the middle. Then, she sat down before it with one arm covering her chest, eying her destroyed equipment.
"You need help applying medicine over your wounds… or will you leave all to your stamina and regeneration?" Aimee asked her team leader while peeking at his wounds.
Fighting that beast woman didn't come without any consequences, for Hunter's body suffered a lot, and so did his equipment.
His leather armor was ragged, riddled with gaping scratches Oona's spiky mace had left. In fact, it wasn't usable anymore, either. As for his wounds… they didn't look that dangerous already!
Hunter chuckled, "I'll apply some of my cheap medicine in the shower. I'll go first!"
"Yes, men first," Aimee nodded before retracting her eyes to her broken armor.
And with that, Hunter disappeared into the bathroom.
-
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Looking at himself in the mirror, Hunter was bewildered by the wave of emotions that had just hit him. He stared at himself, smiling from ear to ear.
'What a content… what a thrill I feel after killing someone… that woman was so strong and forced me to develop a new skill… the progress… the relief that Aimee is safe… her soft hand… the enchanting hunter world… so many opportunities!'
Before becoming a sidekick to the village's hunter team, Hunter had tried a lot of occupations… but none had left him with so many emotions. None had stirred his heart so much he felt like he was living!
This Hunter World had so many opportunities and connections to the other associations of the entire world, conjuring so many prospects and opportunities for people with strength… and Hunter had more than just strength.
He was born with inheritance within him… and it must be connected to the emotions he's been feeling for a while now.
'And what the hell did I say to these women before? Kitties, puppies? I was too much into that cool aura! Having power and momentum can really change people… but on the other hand…' Hunter squinted his eyes at himself in the mirror, then imagined his future self.
He already understood that he had to be more than just assertive in this female dominated world… but getting too drunk of this and calling women his kitties or puppies felt really confusing for the virgin man.
'Well, I just have to experience the world more! That's what I want… strength and relationships with the strongest women! These two things bring the most opportunities, after all! If I feel naturally compelled to be this kind of man, then so be it… nothing I can do about it… and there's still a simp side I have for the boss. I wonder what she felt upon seeing me killing that woman?'
With this thought taking the entirety of his mind, Hunter went under the cold shower and enjoyed his abundant imagination and ice water washing over him.
-
"You're in a good mood. The exam is far from over, but it feels like we'll pass the rest with no problems," Aimee commented after leaving the bathroom, her body healed and veiled in the steamy clouds, with many of them still rolling in her wake.
It seemed she preferred hot showers over cold ones!
Which wasn't a bad thing, as those red cheeks and tinges of crimson colors on her skin were a beautiful sight to look at!
She now wore pretty casual clothes, with a crop top and short pants, stomping on the cold floor with her bare feet.
"We passed the second exam… you want me to be stressed over the next one? I'll be happy, of course!" Hunter replied to his teammate while hiding his other thoughts.
As one of his sides was confused about his desires, another was troubled if he was some kind of cruel killer that thrilled drowned in blood and would do anything to achieve his goals.
That kinda conflicted with his desire to have a harem of many kinds of women, as… most probably wouldn't like to be with that kind of a person. In fact, Hunter had only met one woman that would probably be excited over this kind of a side, and he never had seen her human form!
Unaware of those thoughts, Aimee sat by the table and continued the conversation, "I survived the life-threatening blow from an influential descendant… and you killed her. We've become targets."
"Oh, you're worried about that?" Hunter asked in a seemingly casual tone.
Aimee gravely looked into his blue eyes before shaking her head, "No. Just making sure you understand that whatever the next exams are… we are sure to be attacked and focused by the coalition, at least a part of it. I never expected to be friends with everyone in the union, either."
"You see… if I let her go, wouldn't you hate me?" Hunter seriously asked.
His question unfolded a heavy silence in the room.
Aimee kept staring at the man whose purpose was different from the rest of the male species… her little head racing with various thoughts.
Hunter grinned and continued, "If I let everyone go just because they're from known associations, I will burn many bridges with others… and even lose precious teammates like you. It's so against me, isn't it?"
"It is… to answer your question, I wouldn't hate you, but I also wouldn't want to be your teammate," Aimee candidly replied, her hazel eyes set on Hunter's smiling face.
He chuckled and nodded, "If the situation was reversed, I'd hate you for it, too. If you didn't have that skill, you would have died, right? I didn't know you could survive that blow… so the only right thing was to make that woman pay for her schemes and deeds. But… if you had that skill from the beginning, why did you wait so long to use it?"
Wasn't she really hurt without oxygen for this long?
Aimee's reply left Hunter stupefied.
"I prefer having mana instead of oxygen in this situation."
"You're crazy."
"Am I?"
"Yeah… and I love it."
'I might not be so weird after all!' Hunter inwardly added.