"Calm down, brother. I'm sorry, I was stupid; I should have been more careful in choosing my words." Boris said, bowing his head in guilt. "These trainings are too much for me, I can't take it anymore."
Yakup came to his senses and apologized, embarrassed. "I feel the same way, brother. Such outbursts of emotion can be really annoying. Forgive me for what I said."
As if to show that he didn't want to talk about it any more, Boris pointed to the puddle. It was so clean it was heartwarming.
"It looks purified."
"I've heard that some water springs are automatically drinkable. So it must be worth a fortune," said Yakup. He trusted Boris but was careful not to consume anything in Paradise. He had eaten the grass for a little energy. "If we inform the trainers, we can persuade them to set up a base in this area."
"You always think of the majority..."
"Is that so?" Yakup rolled his eyes. "I say that because I hope they'll give me more time off to see my daughter."
"Too many people complain about that. After all, you are the only one with such a privilege. Many have not seen their wives and children for months."
"They have relatives they can entrust their children to. I have no relatives except my daughter. I have to check on her every week," said Yakup, missing his daughter. He would not hesitate to burn the world to see her little, innocent smile.
"I know I'm wrong to ask, but did something happen to your wife?" Boris asked, family ties were stronger than ever as deaths at a young age were very common. To ensure the continuation of the lineage, most people got married right out of high school. Spouses were inseparable except in death. Divorce rates did not exceed 2% in the Eastern Bloc. In the Western Bloc it was slightly higher, but Boris didn't know much about them.
Yakup sighed.
"It's okay if you don't want to tell me," Boris said.
"It doesn't matter, brother. You'll find out sooner or later." He took a short breath. "My wife left us right after Leyla was born. I did everything to find her, but she didn't want to be found in the first place..."
"What do you mean?" Boris asked. Yakup was second in theories. He often shared first place with Kaede. In the physical exams he had improved tremendously. Even the Gatekeepers sometimes had to back down in front of him. But he said very little about his past. Even Boris knew very little, even though he was his best friend and blood brother.
"My wife Predarium too."
Boris's expression turned serious.
"I haven't heard that name in a long time. Wait, your wife is in Paradion? There's no way one of the buffer zones could live there. Are you sure they didn't trick you?"
"I'm sure," Yakup said without hesitation. "She seems to have created a new identity under the sponsorship of a Paradion noble. I have no idea how he became a Slayer."
"What do you think the chances are that he was a Hunter all along?"
"Impossible. You know that a human and an Overhuman cannot have children."
Boris shut his mouth.
This situation was very strange.
Yakup realized that the sun had already risen.
"Did you finish the exam?" asked Yakup.
"Yes," he said and pointed to the Beast Core in the storage box. "Third level Class B Crystal Boa Snake."
Boris noticed that Yakup was not surprised at all, but smiled.
"Class B. And it's level three."
"It's only level three. No big deal." Yakup took out his own storage box and showed him the Lightning Komodo Dragon core inside.
"Holy shit, the Lightning Komodo Dragon?"
"Level four."
Boris looked at Yakup with widened eyes. Hunting a level four Class B monster when you're not even a Hunter. Even Hunters had a hard time accomplishing that.
"How did you do it?"
"I poisoned the deers."
Boris pursed his lips, "You should stop using poison."
"There was nothing in the rules about using poison." Yakup shrugged and placed the beast core in his bag. "How did you kill it?"
"I killed one of its offspring in the Eight-Legged Spider Lord' territory, and when the two fought and wounded each other, I took advantage of the opportunity."
Yakup glared at him.
"What? It wasn't in the rules."
"You should stop using children," said Yakup, "It's very dangerous to test a parent with their child."
"I can't imagine what he would do for your daughter," Boris said.
A month ago there was an event called the Feast of Bullets. In the middle of the night, the barracks were raked with machine guns. After the candidates in the barracks dodged the bullets and took up positions, the Feast of Bullets officially began. For the next six hours, 7.62mm bullets rained down on them every second. When everyone was crawling on the floor after the Feast of Bullets was over, one of the candidates from the eighth barracks saw Yakup smiling happily. Yakup was excited to see his daughter that day. The candidate got angry and talked a lot about Leyla. He hoped Yakup would not hear him. He thought he was temporarily deafened by hours of rifle fire. As it was, Yakup went to see Leyla without any trouble.
For some reason, no one ever saw the island again after that day.
Some said that he gave up in the middle of the night because he couldn't stand it any longer because of his nightmares. Because the bell was heard that night. Others said that Yakup had killed the candidate.
Boris was among those who thought the candidate had been killed.
Yakup did not care what Boris said.
"What are you planning to do?" asked Yakup, "I will soon return to the trainers to report that I have completed the mission. Would you like to join me?"
"No, brother. I will use this opportunity to gain more experience."
Yakup hugged Boris tightly and said goodbye. Boris walked him to the wooded area and then returned to his work. After tidying up, he set off for the road.
There was no ranking in this test. Anyone who survived would be considered first, so there was no need to hurry.
'How much of what he say is true?
Boris wondered what Yakup's wife was doing in Paradion. The Premadarium Hunter's Academy was a private academy, accessible only to high-level Overhuman. It was a place where it was next to impossible for non-Overhumans to be found.
He hadn't heard any details about this in Yakup's account. Had Yakup deliberately concealed it or did he himself not know why he was there? Boris thought the latter was more likely. Even so, it continued to puzzle Boris. In particular, why had he gone to Paradion so soon after the birth? How had she gotten there? Had he been specially commissioned by someone? What was his mission? Was she spying? But why a woman who had just given birth? Boris thought it was too coincidental.
A young man recruited into Project Prometheus by the Special Warfare Department after the disappearance of his wife... It looked like it had been planned by someone.
As he bent down to tie the laces of his boots, he heard a voice behind him. He didn't even need to turn around to realize who it was.
It was Yakup.
"Did you forget something, brother?"
"Yes," Yakup replied.
Boris asked calmly as he tightened his laces.
"What did you forget?"
"..."
Bang! - Bang!