Chapter 14: Yearly Exam Starts! (3)
Although Hunter was far from the assertive and impressive Celestia, he felt like he had finally done something similar to her… and by that, he meant he had orchestrated the whole battle in his favor.
Just now, he made a plan using all he had available and executed it nearly perfectly, drawing Aimee into his game.
His plan was simple.
Use his Deathless Skill to throw Aimee out of her pace and drag her to the ground with him! It could only be done by literally exposing himself to death to her sword.
The problem was her speed and flexible movement… but as Aimee was growing annoyed throughout the battle, Hunter adapted and carried on with his endurance, waiting for that chance to make her fall.
And he achieved that, winning the battle.
Perhaps, if he weren't immortal, he wouldn't have done that at all.
However, since he was, he had to use his innate skill to his advantage and contribute it to most of his battle, just so that it could evolve faster with perilous experiences.
Though nothing had evolved and Hunter didn't receive a new skill, he was content with himself.
"You fell first… I made you fall, so don't think of any excuses, Mrs. Aimee. Even if we both fell, I did that in order to pull you down with myself-"
"There's no need for excuses. I'll be on your team for this yearly exam. I'll drag you to the top by your teeth if you become a burden. Congratulations, Mr. Hunter. Your reckless plan paid off. You'll pass the yearly exam!"
"You don't have to be passive aggressive."
"I just lost to you! If this gets known… I'll become more of a laughingstock than I already am!"
Hunter took some time to reply to those words.
'I expected her to be different from royalties as she's about to take an exam alongside villagers and others… but laughingstock? Now, that's a serious problem! Sounds like a good challenge for future me and… tons of opportunities to make Aimee happier under me. I take this challenge! Hunter, if you don't fail this up, you'll have a beautiful golden-haired royal woman in your arms.'
Positive to the core, Hunter curved his lips up, "You said it yourself before. I'm a fellow hunter. We're both about to take an exam, so this forest isn't our place to die. You were yourself in this battle and followed your belief, refusing to kill me. That's a quality not a lot of people have. A quality that I respect and look forward to, for I shall always remain myself on hunts!"
"You will die at the first opportunity, idiot!" Aimee growled at the young man, looking at him like an angry puppy.
Hunter chuckled, "But I am ready to take so many opportunities, you know? They won't kill me!"
"Your words mean nothing. You're just… a villager… and a man…"
"And you're a laughingstock. I guess I won't be really dying anytime soon."
Hearing those words, Aimee swore at Hunter before standing up off the ground.
Hunter candidly spoke with a smile, "You see, I'm already a simp for one woman, so don't expect me to butter you up on every occasion while you hiss at me like a snake. I won't act like it's raining when you spit curses and complaints at me, either. I'm a man. Yes. The man that you will follow from now on."
And with those words, Hunter turned around, going to the royal carriage as though it was his.
Aimee silently followed him behind, her gorgeous face nastily twisted.
-
"Let's call each other just by names. So, Aimee, you asked me what was hunting to me before, right?" Hunter was back in his seat, with a porcelain cup of tea brushing his lips as he sipped the best tea!
It was like black tea… but better! Much, much better black tea.
"I did," Aimee replied with the previous aura of nobility, sitting in her golden armor and legs crossed.
There was a hint of fatigue and self-deprecation in her.
Hunter nodded, "Hunting was means for me to leave the village and see more of the world. I had tried all possible occupations before trying hunting, you see."
That was true.
As someone compelled by his parents to only study to the point where he was ahead of a few grades at the age of twelve… and someone who then was bedridden in agony for five years, Hunter craved to taste everything upon receiving a second chance in a new world.
He quickly came to understand that he was different than others… and how perilous it was. Therefore, he first wanted to see if he could see himself in the village. He worked on plantations, animal farms, smiths, and more.
While his previous life helped him comprehend a lot of stuff fast and become quite adept in what he was doing, no occupation in the village could make him stay for more than three months.
That changed when Hunter joined the hunter team as a sidekick and participated in dangerous hunts by studying monsters' habits, lands, and traps meant to deal with them.
"Only then I felt like I was alive… I don't really know how to explain that. I felt like there was a path to the broader world in hunting, maybe? Well, that's how it ended. I met a team of skilled hunters who showed me more of the world, taught important basics, and even allowed me to see some of the real dangers of the world. I think hunting for me is literally freedom. I'll hunt everything in this world to see all the world's content! I'll hunt monsters, demons, and beautiful women. All while growing strong enough to see through my innate skill!"
After saying those words, Hunter expected Aimee to laugh or maybe even chide him.
She didn't know about his SSS Skill, after all.
Yet, she simply put her cup on the plate and nodded, "You've chosen a tough path. If you hunt with your women, the world will believe they did all the work. The world will also laugh and scorn at the women of your harem for sharing a man instead of making their own harems. You all will be under constant judgment. I'm sure you will achieve your dream and deal with all those basic problems, to say nothing of more burdens that even I can't think of right now."
Aimee sweetly smiled.
Hunter blinked, then burst out laughing, "More problems to solve, more opportunities to score points! Haha! And who cares what everyone else says when I'm strong enough to face them? Heck! I'll face them head-on and make them fall in love with me, only to blatantly refuse them!"
Hunter flashed his white teeth.
That pearl spark made Aimee's eyebrow twitch, "Yes, you'll make the entire world love you. The headmistresses of all Hunter Unions, Magician Associations, Mercenary Leagues, Craft Emporiums, and Royal Kingdoms, on top of the spirit world and their spirit queens, will fall in love with your white smile! Not enough? Lord Hunter will also go for demonesses and fix their weak position in demon circles!"
"Ah, you seem to really hate my pearly smile."
"When a smile flashes more than my porcelain cup, there's really something wrong with that."
"Does it?"
Hunter's sparking eyes drew a sigh from Aimee.
She changed the topic, "Your innate skill seems to be…"
All bruises and cuts were already gone… in fact, nothing in the carriage was drenched in Hunter's blood!
What kind of innate skill was it?
Hunter had been waiting for that moment, "Oh, I seem to have unlimited stamina, you see?"
Sparkle! Sparkle! Sparkle!
Aimee's deadpan expression killed the effect Hunter had been waiting for…
'Why is she not blushing? That's what men lack!'
"Did you know that male alligators have permanent erections?"
"So you inherit your skill from an alligator?"
"Huh? No, wait! That tidbit was meant for you to roll your eyes or chuckle at me!"
"Ah, yes, I'll surely laugh at such a shit tidbit! I can't drink my tea right now!"
"Well… let's talk about you right now… what is hunting to you?"
"I'm not in the mood for a talk with my tea sour."
And just like that, Hunter and Aimee arrived at the feet of The Hunter First Union, ready to participate in the exam.
Therefore, Yearly Exam Starts!