Chapter 29: Path of the Valorous
The cowering hunter who wanted nothing more than to erase himself from everyone's view was indeed none other than one of the healers from Hojosa's team. The man was easy to recognize, even though he had quite the normal body and face. He was just a random guy with short black hair, black eyes, and an average face. However, he was easy to pick out in a crowd simply because of what he wore. A fairly long black coat that looked like it would fit more on a detective than a hunter, as well as some really expensive-looking dress shoes and some black pants with chains hanging from the iron belt of said pants. Under his coat, he had a much more tough-looking version of the leather armor that every other hunter was wearing.
That particular armor was quite famous, enough for Seneos to actually know about it at least. As it seemed, the man was called Kang Tae-Yeon, and was quite amical. The only problem with him was his current mood. Seneos had never suffered such losses, his family not really counting since he didn't even remember any of them, so he couldn't quite put himself in the younger man's place. Yet, he could feel his pain.
The healer wasn't even trying to put on a strong front. Sen could see traces of tears on the bottom of his eyes as well as on his cheeks. He was all red, with a runny nose, and kept trembling. He wasn't actually sad, no, he was....
"W-Why did you go to a dungeon so soon after...You know?. You don't look that good man." Sen asked, trying to act supportive. He was the one who bared witness to the death of the two hunters, after all, he had good reasons to feel bad for them. Not that he did feel bad for them, he was incapable of it. He knew he had to act the part though if only to help the man.
Sen was many things, and while he couldn't empathize that much with people, he was most certainly someone capable of helping others. Especially when that help only required some pats on the back and the whispers of sweet words.
The healer didn't even look at him, he only stared at the dungeon gate with something akin to terror in his eyes.
"I-I have to go....I can't let this situation get to me. I-I need to continue being a hunter. I can't just stop because of what happened to...." The words died in his throat. He couldn't say those names. Not after abandoning those two.
Seneos rubbed the younger man's back once more and turned his eyes to the crowd of hunters waiting for permission to enter the dungeon. Sen had already requested permission for himself before comforting the man, as such he was waiting like everyone else. It surprised him a bit that there were so many hunters, just for a basic dungeon at that.
He couldn't ask something like that to a mourning man, so he told the healer he would be back and then made his way towards a group of three hunters. They were all at least in their thirties, but they didn't look different than the others. They had that same fire in their eyes, perhaps greed or a desire to prove themselves.
One of them, a housewife with rusty iron knuckles who was wearing pink sweatpants and a short black shirt, saw him and smiled at him. He had the feeling he saw her somewhere, but he couldn't quite remember her.
"H-Hey, I don't mean to interrupt you or anything, but I just wanted to know something....Why are we so many? I thought this dungeon was a low-rank cave-type. That doesn't add up." He said, bowing in order to be at least a little respectful. He heard a chuckle and then felt warm as the housewife hugged him. He felt his cheeks flush as he felt something soft against his cheeks and quickly took a step back.
She looked at him and giggled.
"Your memory is playing tricks on you again, kiddo?" She asked a playful smile on her barely aged face. She just really had the look of a mature lady with her posture and all, but her face was still quite youthful. The little mole under her left eye added to that whole mature look of hers.
He took a good look at her, taking in her long and wavy brown hair as well as her sparkling green eyes, but nothing came to him. He couldn't, for the life of him, remember that woman.
Suddenly, her smile faded and she frowned deeply.
"Damn...You really lost your entire memory kiddo. I actually thought someone was playing a prank on me. It must be fate for us to meet in front of a dungeon of all places!" She said, slapping him on the back with enough strength to make his entire body vibrate.
'O-Okay...That's definitely a martial artist path. Iron knuckles and way too much strength, that sounds like it. Fuck....'
He wanted to ask her who she was supposed to be, how she was linked to him, but one of the other two hunters in her group interrupted.
"Damn, Miss Moon, give the kid some space!" A middle-aged man with a goatee exclaimed, pushing the housewife away. He got slapped on the head by said housewife, but only laughed before answering Sen's question.
"About the dungeon, kid, from what we heard.....Hehehe, there is some sweet reward to be had at the end. Ya know how some dungeons give you chests full of rewards if you fulfill some secret conditions? Well, that dungeon has that apparently. I can't really confirm it, but it's that guy who told us and he is from the KHG so...." The man said, pointing discreetly at the staff member who was trying to get permission for the hunters to enter the dungeon. It was a fairly small man with a permanent scowl on his face and some really short black hair. He seemed to be quite anxious for some reasons and kept checking his phone.
Seneos thanked the group and went back to the healer, trying to make sense of what he had been told. He wanted to speak with the group more, but the staff member looked like he had finally reached the headquarters. Permission would be given in a few minutes, and Seneos needed to stick close to the healer. Call him a coward, but he was still going to follow the B rank Healer around during the entire time they were inside the dungeon.
" So the dungeon has hidden rewards...Like mine. I always wondered how the KHG could get those kinds of information simply by analyzing the mana waves of the dungeons. They rarely actually enter them. Then again, all those hunter governments get such information so I guess they have secret methods." Sen told himself. He was staying a few meters away from the healer to give him space. No need to stress the man even more for no reason.
Suddenly, Sen heard the usual creepy voices of Vodka. She needed to stop appearing like that all the time. It was bone-chilling.
"It is quite strange that they can get that much information from such simple analysis. Perhaps that friend of yours will be able to learn more. She has been promoted after all. For now, focus on the creatures, Overlord. The reward of a low-rank dungeon cannot be high enough to interest us...Even if you are low rank yourself....Actually, never mind, do try to get it. You will need to rely heavily on the healer sadly. You haven't unlocked a single path yet." Vodka reminded him, as if rubbing salt on the wound.
Seneos merely breathed out a heavy sigh and shook the healer once he saw the staff member talking loudly to the crowd.
"Come on...The hunt starts, man."
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