Chapter 29: Third Exam — Navigation! (2)
"You're mine."
Those words would have meant nothing… if it weren't for Hunter chucking the piece of his trap at the crimson-haired woman's hair.
If he had just said those words… she would have continued her strut and gone to the safe zone, forgetting about Hunter in just a few minutes.
In the first place, anyone using those traps in the third exam wasn't worth her attention, only because monsters of this level were no better than ants.
Still, Hunter couldn't possibly be aware of it. He was also convinced that the crimson-haired woman was slowed down by some kind of a problem… which he would love to delve into.
'No time for that… I can feel it. She wants me dead,' Hunter inwardly commented on the thrilling feeling stretching its influence toward him, trying to lock him in the deadly embrace.
Her killing intent.
A woman who could produce so much thirst for blood wasn't someone to be bickered with. In fact, Hunter hadn't felt this way from the beast woman he had killed before, meaning that the third exam had once again upped its level. Or perhaps he was that lucky to meet someone this strong.
His heart thumped with excitement, already yearning to feel some happiness similar to the one he felt after finishing the second exam.
Yes, killing others felt like liberation… but making connections with strong women was like a never-ending voyage with tons of rewards and new opportunities at every stop — endless pleasure!
'Alright, let's do it. Taunt her with a smile and act as though you have no clue what's about to happen!'
Having some experience with the hunter world and its strong participants, Hunter's priority was to draw a battle scene in his mind… and then adapt adequately to every step.
His plan worked well from the start, as the crimson-haired woman twisted her face at his smile, beginning the battle with a first step forward.
Which was all Hunter could see as this woman's speed was beyond what his eyes could observe. But… that was all in his battle plan, for he expected her to be faster than him!
Everyone was, for now, at least.
Therefore, the moment she contorted her pretty face, Hunter had already taken a step backward, then finished his move by completely dragging his body behind. What he saw then was the white slash being an inch from reaching his eyes, the sharpness threatening to cut into his skull.
'Duck! There's no shame in crude movement!'
Taken aback by the white slash still lingering before him, Hunter instinctively threw himself to the ground, only to fall victim to the woman's skill as the white light filled his eyes, stripped him of the vision sense…
It was as though a flashbang exploded before his face!
And then, a clean horizontal slash going across Hunter's face wounded his eyes, seemingly permanently taking away his vision.
Falling onto his butt, Hunter was bewildered by this sudden blindness. His mouth agape, he could only stare at the crimson-haired woman standing before him with disdainful eyes reflecting his lost expression.
"You're better than a rat… I'll give you that."
-
'What! What kind of a skill is this?! I wasn't even directly looking at that white thing! So good against poor people like me who have yet to awaken more skills!' Hunter collected his thoughts as fast as he could.
Of course, the woman's scornful words helped him shake off the rust. She hadn't left any finisher blow… which probably meant that Hunter had managed to change her mindset.
Well, he wasn't happy with that, even though it meant he had scored some points.
'I can't let her go! But she must have already turned around! I can't see… I can't even hear her steps! This is bad… at this point, I will lose a good opportunity! They say that blind people have better hearing… so I should focus on that! Can I move my strength origin to my ears?'
Quickly thinking of possible means to continue the battle and take back the woman's attention, Hunter focused on the newest concept that had allowed him to overcome the second exam nearly seamlessly.
The new experience of being blind… Hunter's potential and origins… and the urgency of the situation all joined forces to blossom into a new opportunity for Deathless.
Hunter's Strength Origin twitched and followed the blood system up to his head, then picked one of his ears, finding a new but temporary dwelling for itself.
All blood rushed to Hunter's head, then barged into the origin's abode, blessing him with supernatural hearing.
At that moment, Hunter felt for a moment that he heard the entire guardian spirit's domain… he heard so many voices: annoying insects, monsters, humans, different kinds of voices reaching his soul… and broken languages resembling demons' speeches.
This much different kind of information was too much for Hunter… yet the fact that a juicy opportunity was getting away from him somehow managed to keep him sane.
Lowering the scope of his new source of information, Hunter focused on the silent movement not too far away from him. The woman was quiet but still dirtied by the trap he had thrown at her.
Which meant she was forcefully picking out the pieces of meat, tossing them off her hair.
Hunter focused all his attention on that and confirmed her destination — the river.
He had also been moving alongside the flowing river, for he had to wash his hands every time he used or planted his trap, and water was the best for that. Simply wiping blood off the hands wouldn't save him from receiving the monster's attention, after all.
'All right! I know where you're, beautiful woman.'
Unpacking another trap, Hunter clenched the piece of meat and quickly threw it at the woman's head.
The trap dropped like a bird's poop onto her head this time, then clung to her hair like a crown.
"Haha!"
In an instant, the furious wave of killing intent washed over Hunter, drawing a smile from him.
Feeling her eyes on him, Hunter broke the silence, "Thank you very much for your praise… but I'm not a rat. I'm a man full of opportunities that you would love to cling to, a beautiful woman. You're just not aware of it yet. I'll help you, of course. You're mine, after all."
The woman frowned with utter disgust, "You're dead. This time… for sure."
A sudden unfamiliar voice filled his ear as Hunter prepared to take the brunt of her hatred with his body.
"I was happy that you changed your mind, Seraphina… but this young man is too indecent! Be kind and painlessly deal with him. I know you can do that… you're very talented! Much more talented than your big sister! Please!"
"Hey! What do you mean by indecent?! It's rude to throw a piece of meat at her hair, that I understand, but this is far from indecent!"
"The hell you're talking about? Already gone insane?" The crimson-haired woman oddly looked at Hunter… who seemed to hear voices…
Anyone would have deemed him insane.
However, the male voice Hunter had heard… seemed to have jumped from joy, "Young man! You can hear me!"
"Hey, Seraphina! Are you spoken for? Wait, that doesn't make sense…" Hunter questioned his initial impression of the crimson-haired woman.
Wasn't she a man-hater? How could she have a male working with her?
On the other hand, Seraphina… narrowed her eyes and daggered Hunter with a deadly stare, "How do you know my name? Who are you?"
And then, the man chimed in, "Young man! I'll help you!"
Hunter bit his lips and whispered, for the male voice was now too close to him, "Are you betraying your partner? I'm not gonna work with a trash like you."
"What partner!? Seraphina is my daughter!"
"Father-in-law, what should I do? And like… what are you? If I may know, of course!"
The man's voice was shell shocked to hear an instant change in Hunter's tone, and he belatedly replied, "…I'm a ghost… or maybe a spirit… I've been dead for years now, that much I can confirm. All I could do was to helplessly see my daughters growing up without their parents, then going their own ways… pursuing revenge, separated by different beliefs and differences in their innate talents and skills."
"Father…"
"I'm sorry… but could you not call me father… at least yet?"
"Indeed… I jumped the gun! So, how can you help me?"
"I used to be a pretty strong swordsman myself. So strong that I grew complacent and…" he sighed.
"I see… so guidance," Hunter replied without sprinkling salt on the man's wounds. "If we combine my supernatural hearing, my strength, and your knowledge, we will win against her!"
"Precisely that! Take Seraphina away from the lone and harsh life she's been living… ever since her late teens!"
"With Father's blessing, I'll, of course, do that!"
Seraphina growled at the silver-haired man, "I asked… who are you?"
Hunter chuckled, "Your future husband."