The F-Rank Hunter Defies Fate Chapter 4.3

When mana depletion began, a burning thirst would arise first. Next, his head would grow hot. It was not a headache, but a feeling like his whole body was a ball of fire, as if he had a terrible flu. Normal thinking was impossible, and he had to crawl on the floor, unable to support his trembling body.

Only after Harang collapsed would Yoogeom generously lend him a shoulder. Leaning against his firm body, he would close his eyes as if fainting, and when he opened them, he would be on the bed. That was what Harang had experienced for the past few days.

“Really?”

His sleep-laden voice was filled with disbelief. However, underneath it, a small bit of anticipation lingered. It might be different with someone else, but when the number 1 ranker said it like that, it was tempting.

“Yeah, so get up.”

“But I’m sleepy….”

Even as he said that, Harang sluggishly got out of bed. Yoogeom, with his arms crossed, watched him and then straightened the blanket that was rolled up where Harang had gotten out.

Once Harang slipped his feet into his slippers, the rest was a breeze. Yoogeom, who had brought out toiletries from somewhere, squeezed toothpaste onto the toothbrush, and Harang, again, nonchalantly took it. His sleep-deprived mind was hazy, and in the repetitive days, he had no chance to feel that anything was strange.

“So, what’s different?”

Harang, who had awkwardly gotten dressed, only opened his mouth when they reached the training room. While he had a feeling that today would not be much different, he was curious about what Yoogeom had prepared.

“How much mana does it cost to use a skill?”

While Yoogeom authenticated his biometric information and set up the training room, Harang summoned his status window. Below his very cute stats, his skills were listed in a row.

“The primary one is 6, and the secondary one is 10.”

For Harang, whose total mana was only 13, it meant he could only use each skill twice and once, respectively. Yoogeom seemed surprised too, as his eyes widened slightly before he schooled his expression.

“If you can’t increase your mana, then you just have to reduce the consumption.”

Harang, who had been pouting with a disgruntled look, perked up his ears at the following words. The skill consumption was fixed, but was that possible? Having confirmed that Harang was concentrating while pretending not to, Yoogeom took out a sword from his inventory.

Unlike the greatsword that Yonghoon had cherished last time, the blade looked thin and light. However, he could tell from the ornate patterns that it was not a common item.

“If the mana cost to use a skill is 100.”

As Yoogeom spoke, he raised his right arm, which was holding the sword. Conversely, his left foot moved one step forward. The tip of the sword, soaring toward the sky, sparkled as it caught the light.

“You can reduce the consumption by lowering its destructive power.”

Harang blinked. A blade-like wind extended from the sword, which he had not seen being swung. The demonic beast that had been summoned for the simulation training was being torn to shreds without a trace.

When did he summon that? Harang, who had not even noticed the demonic beast being summoned because he was focused on Baek Yoogeom, let out a small gasp of admiration. As he was staring blankly at the empty space, Yoogeom, who had retrieved his sword with a clean motion, wiggled his eyebrows.

“Did you get that?”

He understood it with his ears, but it did not resonate in his heart. Baek Yoogeom was an offensive-type hunter, so lowering the destructive power might be possible for him.

However, Harang was a support-type, a Tarot Master whose main ability was focused on fortune-telling. A heap of complaints was piling up inside him, but when he remembered the glittering sword from a moment ago, he could not bring himself to show it.

“Ah, yes. So… you’re saying I just need to use less power, right? Then I can use the skill with less mana than usual.”

“That’s right. Now, you try it.”

Yoogeom gestured with his chin at Harang, who was nodding his head furiously to humor him.

“Me?”

Harang was dumbfounded. He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to flip the card very, very carefully?

“I said, try it.”

As Harang hesitated, unable to get his bearings, Yoogeom’s expression hardened. Having lived together for a while, he had learned that Yoogeom had a meticulous side, but when he made a face like that, Harang felt like a herbivore in front of a predator.

“I’ll do it.”

Harang stood in front of Yoogeom with a reluctant attitude. He still did not know what it meant to draw a card using less! power, but he felt like he had to at least pretend to do something. The fortunate thing was that Yoogeom had not completely lost his mind.

He had wondered what he would do if Yoogeom summoned a high-level demonic beast like when he was fighting, but what appeared after a moment were the ones he had seen before. Mushroom demonic beasts wearing round hats were walking toward Harang.

After confirming their cute, waddling gait, Harang steeled his resolve. He might not be able to defeat them in one go, but he thought he could at least inflict some damage.

‘The path I walk is the path.’

One more thing had changed over the past few days. Now, he could use his skills without speaking. He still had to think it inwardly, but when he remembered the humiliating memories, even this felt overwhelming.

Using the skill ‘The path I walk is the path, and what do I care about your heart?’.

The target has been identified as a demonic beast and will switch to offensive mode.

He had been nervous since it was not a real demonic beast, but it seemed the simulation also counted as a target. The notification from the status window disappeared, and a single card floated before Harang’s eyes.

The card with the light pink border was the one Harang had used most often. He had only ever done love fortunes to avoid getting caught as a hunter, but it seemed to have been recognized as Harang’s preference for some reason.

“Min Harang, focus.”

Harang, who had been momentarily lost in thought, consciously collected himself. Since he did not know how to do it, he just kept muttering ‘weakly, weakly’ to himself.

Fwoosh.

Perhaps because it was the same mushroom demonic beast as last time, what erupted from the card was also a flame attack. Just like in the Tower, a faint firepower was shot toward the mushroom demonic beast.

‘Was it a success?’

The mushroom demonic beast, which had been slowly advancing toward Harang, flinched, showing that it had an effect. As the mushroom demonic beast stopped, bubbles began to boil under its round feet.

“Ugh.”

Harang, who hated pain more than anything in the world, used his skills in succession. The second was a flame attack, just like the first card, and the last was wind.

Whoosh.

A sharp wind rushed toward the mushroom demonic beast. Perhaps because of Harang’s stats, it was a very gentle force, but the mushroom demonic beast, having been attacked in succession, staggered even at the small impact.

“Did I… get it?”

Harang, who had squeezed his eyes shut, cautiously lifted one eyelid. The mushroom demonic beast that had been closing the distance until just now was nowhere to be seen. Did I do it? Harang, who was gauging the situation, was startled and looked for Yoogeom.

“There, right? It’s done, so do something about those things.”

Before he could even rejoice, another mushroom demonic beast was approaching.

“Scaredy-cat.”

With a smirk, Yoogeom beckoned with his finger. There was no flashy sword like before, and his movements were not large, but all the demonic beasts that had been summoned in the training room disappeared.

Finally relieved, Harang summoned his own status window. Since his ability was so pathetic, he told himself not to get his hopes up, but somewhere inside, a feeling of ‘what if’ reared its head.

The consumption of Harang’s primary skill was 6. Since he had used it three times in a row, he should have been crawling on the floor with mana depletion. However, Harang’s small and precious mana had a whole 3 points left.

Sensing his success, a radiant light bloomed in Harang’s eyes. Harang, who had been figuring out the situation with his mouth slightly agape, immediately ran to Yoogeom.

“Mr. Baek Yoogeom!”

When Harang held out his palm, Yoogeom, caught off guard, followed his movement and gave him a high-five. Harang even stomped his feet and then expressed his emotions with his whole body by wrapping his arms around Yoogeom’s neck.

What people need to live is not just oxygen or nutrients. Just as Harang, who had barely been able to bask in the sun from a tiny window, was mesmerized by the sunlight in the penthouse, sometimes a heart-pounding sense of achievement was what kept life going.

“Did you see that? I did it! This is how you do it, right?”

A soft voice reached the ears of Yoogeom, who had suddenly been saddled with Harang. It seemed all sorts of positive emotions had softened even Harang, who had been putting up his thorns. Things like joy and pride were keenly transmitted to Yoogeom as well.

“Good job.”

Yoogeom, who had offered a simple compliment, thought for a moment and then added that even veteran hunters rarely succeed on the first try.

“You really must be the number 1 ranker, Mr. Baek Yoogeom. You’re like a star instructor.”

Harang giggled to himself, so happy about something. His chestnut hair swayed in front of Yoogeom’s eyes. Yoogeom, who had been stiff, unconsciously brought his hand to the top of Harang’s head.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I got too excited, didn’t I?”

Unfortunately, Yoogeom never got to pat Harang’s head. Just before Yoogeom’s hand could touch him, the body that had been sharing its warmth moved away. The vitality that had filled him in an instant subsided just as quickly. What remained was Min Harang, who was putting up a wall as usual.

“It’s just… been a really long time since I accomplished something.”

The clueless Harang blushed and scratched the back of his neck. It seemed he had forgotten his age and circumstances in the face of an emotion he had not felt in a very long time. Baek Yoogeom was also frozen stiff. He had become a stone statue for a different reason, but Harang only thought he had acted out of line.

“You can be happier….”

“Food! Let’s go get some food!”

The low voice that broke the silence clashed with Harang’s shout. Feeling embarrassed again, Harang tried to be witty by saying, ‘The food you like, Mr. Baek Yoogeom.’

While Yoogeom always took the lead, this time Harang was the first to leave the training room. Yoogeom, who had clenched his fist once, followed Harang just before the door closed.

The elevator’s speed was the same as usual, but to Harang, it felt slow. Harang, who had been restlessly looking out the window and then stroking the buttons with his hand, slowly opened his mouth.

“By the way, is there no cafeteria or anything here?”

Baek Yoogeom looked back at Harang with a puzzled expression. Did I say something wrong? He felt a brief regret, but the mouth that had already opened did not know how to close and poured out a stream of words.

“I mean, you know, Mr. Baek Hunter always makes breakfast. And you do all the dishes by yourself… I feel like I’m being a burden. If there’s no cafeteria, I’ll start preparing the meals from today.”

At first, he had started talking to break the awkward atmosphere, but the more he talked, the more solemn he became. Come to think of it, he had been shamelessly freeloading for over two weeks. For a few days, it was one thing not knowing where the kitchen or the dishes were, but now he was officially Baek Yoogeom’s housemate.

“There’s no need for that.”

Regardless of whether Harang was feeling self-conscious, Baek Yoogeom cut him off with a dry voice. Harang, who had fixed his gaze on the floor, quickly backed away when Yoogeom came closer.

Only after Yoogeom, who had frowned, moved away did he realize that he had intended to press a button. Instead of the top floor as usual, a floor in the lower levels was lit up.

If we’re going to eat out, shouldn’t we go to the 1st floor? Harang was also very much in favor of going to a restaurant, but the floor Yoogeom had pressed was an ambiguous one in the teens.

While he was tilting his head and pondering, the elevator moved quickly. When a clear chime rang, Baek Yoogeom got off first.

“You’re not getting off?”

“Huh?”

“You asked if there was a cafeteria.”

Only then did the scene behind Baek Yoogeom come into view. Since it was early morning, there were not many people, but long tables and chairs were neatly arranged.

The clear clinking of metal reached the ears of Harang, who had followed him off in a daze. When he turned his head, he saw a person barely holding onto a single chopstick.

“Ah….”

He hastily fumbled through his pockets, but there was no way he would have something like a mask. A few years ago, it seemed like he had even stood in line because he could not get one, but now that it was no longer needed, it had long since disappeared.

“What are you doing?”