Chapter 30: Third Exam — Navigation! (3)
Declaration after declaration… didn't go well with Hunter.
At this point, even he felt like his words were nothing but empty.
But… to this crimson-haired woman's question, how could he answer differently?
Hunter couldn't have told her that she was haunted by her father and that he could talk with him, right? It'd reveal a skill far from usual innate skills, and some insightful people could connect it to his immortality.
Which was a big no-no!
'Since I have father-in-law by my side, I can win… I must be careful about his motives, though. Parents are known to give up everything for their children's sake, including their morals and principles.'
Fortunately, Hunter wasn't a man who blindly believed in others.
Just like he had his own reasons to consort with others, so did others.
People were rarely altruistic, right?
"What's her innate skill? I must know it to adapt."
"Seraphina was born with a skill known as Mirror. It's B Grade Skill as of now, and she mainly uses it on her sword to store the skills of others in its reflection. The skill she used to blind you belonged to a monster that she had defeated before coming to the yearly exam. Her sword holds two more skills. Fire Breath Of Red Salamander and Razor Claw Of Black Wolf. All of these hail from C-ranked monsters. But I don't think she will use the claw on you… It's a powerful skill she can't regenerate in her mirror world. As for the fire breath… you're about to be cooked if you don't avoid it, young man!"
"I called her by her name, so she won't kill me… yet."
"That's right."
"And I am known to be very persistent, tough, and tenacious! Guide me."
No longer wanting to spit out declarations, Hunter wanted to fight and show that he was on par with this crimson-haired woman. Inwardly, he was quite shocked, however.
The monsters she had killed… were demons, weren't they?
The boss and her teammates had shown him those demons before and their domains, easily massacring them… but they were far from newbies. How could Seraphina be in the yearly exam with such experience and strength?
Why wasn't she here before?
'Interesting! I want to know more about her!'
Meanwhile, the spirit of Seraphina's father took Hunter's side, putting his hand on his shoulder. All he wanted was to latch himself to Hunter to keep up with his movement and guide him so that Seraphina's sword wouldn't dominate him like before… yet something odd and unexpected happened.
The old man's consciousness… swayed and started getting absorbed by Hunter's inheritance!
"Father, you're amazing! I didn't know you could guide me in this way! I'm receiving a lot of useful information about her swordsmanship and flaws! You must have been supporting her for a while!"
The old soul… didn't reply to Hunter, for he was in a situation without an exit.
His soul and the library of knowledge he had accumulated were too much for Hunter, who had just begun his journey. Which meant that this unusual phenomenon had only selected the old man's knowledge of swordsmanship, erasing everything else that it deemed useless for Hunter.
"Young… man… what's… your name?"
"Hunter!"
"You're… amazing one… you… are about to… liberate me. I feel… honored… for some profound reason… and relieved… this long years of guilt and remorse… will be gone… with me… and I'll leave… Seraphina… in your hands… right?"
"Right! I'll take care of her! She's so full of opportunities! And you're really awesome! This swordsmanship is so cool! Thank you for your guidance! Please tell me your name!"
"Lucian… I'm Lucian, the fool who thought he could reach his master's peak."
"It's been a pleasure, Mr. Lucian! Seraphina will reach that peak in your place!"
Because of his head being heavy due to a profound influx of swordsmanship and experiences stemming from Seraphina's father, Hunter failed to see through the old man's words. He didn't see that he was the reason the old man could pass away… and that he was dispelling a knowledge he'd love to have, at least just a little.
After all, Hunter would rather learn about Seraphina and her life from her rather than from her father.
But all of that had been missed by him… except for the burning will of a father wanting his daughter to fall into good hands.
Hunter felt blessed and responsible, nodding a few times.
"Seraphina… Charlotte… Monica… I'm sorry."
The old man's soul dispersed…
And where it went… would have scared Hunter had his eyes healed.
'Wait, it can't be the same Charlotte, right?!'
As the name left Hunter frozen, Seraphina was done with him being in his own world. She unsheathed her sword and lurched at him, intending to take him down to force all answers out of his zipped mouth.
The thirsty movement of her legs as she walked closer and bent her knees to pounce at him… that jiggle of her big ass… the drop of her ample chest... her hands tightly clenching her white sword — were all heard by Hunter.
Perhaps it was his imagination... which was still on point!
And then, he felt that killing intent piercing through his face.
He chuckled, "No more empty declaration, Seraphina. Come at me."