Becoming a Hunter in a Dark Fantasy

Chapter 15: Special Training

WHOOOOM—!

The massive form of the airship slowly descended onto a wide open field, sending a blast of wind across the plains.

Ziiiiing—

The hatch soon opened, and a man stepped out.

“Mmm! We’ve finally arrived!”

It was none other than the lower-rank Hunter, Jaigo.

He spread his arms wide, savoring the long-lost scents of earth and wind. Behind him, two others appeared.

“Mr. Jaigo, you seem to be in a good mood.”

“You must be pleased to be going home.”

It was Elwin and Nahrhan, who had come to see him off as he disembarked.

“Ah, Master Elwin! Mr. Nahrhan, too. I only stayed with you briefly, and yet you’ve come out to see me off—I'm honored beyond words!”

“It’s nothing. You were my guest, after all. As your host, it’s the least I can do.”

At Elwin’s subtle glance, Nahrhan stepped forward and handed Jaigo a basket.

“And this is…?”

Lifting the cloth covering the basket, Jaigo found it filled with neatly wrapped, freshly steamed dishes.

“I figured you liked Nahrhan’s cooking. It’s a long trip back home, so you’ll need something to eat along the way.”

“Oooooh! A lunchbox just for me?! I, Jaigo, shall treasure this moment for the rest of my life!”

Tears streamed from Jaigo’s eyes as he cried out, as if he’d just met the person who saved his life.

Which, to be fair, Elwin had done. Still… Jaigo’s reaction was a bit much.

“No, please just eat it. If you don’t, it’ll just turn into food waste.”

“Ahhh! I can’t let something so lovingly prepared go to waste!”

Even though Elwin hadn’t cooked it—Nahrhan had.

“Then I shall eat it with utmost appreciation! It will become my blood and flesh and stay with me forever…!”

“Uh… sure.”

Elwin answered briskly, but he was actually flustered.

Despite spending several days with Jaigo, he still hadn’t gotten used to this sort of reaction.

‘This is… awkward.’

Elwin had lived in isolation since he was ten.

A choice made to fully dedicate himself to training.

He could count on one hand the people he spoke to regularly—and none of them were the type to gush like this.

‘Why is he like this…?’

He didn’t really understand.

What a Special-Class Hunter meant to an ordinary LAMPAS citizen, or even to a fellow Hunter.

“Ah, um… here. Use this.”

“Ooooooh! Another kindness from you, Master Elwin! I’m in your debt again!”

Elwin cautiously handed him a handkerchief, and Jaigo wept anew, overwhelmed with gratitude.

Watching a grown man sob like there was no tomorrow wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight.

“Haha… You seem healthy. That’s good.”

That was the best response Elwin could muster.

He still didn’t understand why Jaigo was so emotional.

“…Right, where is that guy?”

“That guy? Oh, you mean Gale?”

“We should be departing, and I haven’t seen even a trace of him today. Youth these days, I tell you!”

Jaigo grumbled like the habitual old man he was, while Elwin tilted his head.

“Strange. I don’t think I saw him at breakfast either. Maybe he’s still asleep? Nahr, could you check?”

“Yes, understood.”

Just as Nahrhan bowed and turned to go—

“Well. Guess that kid could never be a demonbeast.”

There was an old LAMPAS saying: “Speak of a demonbeast, and it shall appear.”

And right on cue, Gale showed up.

“Hey, sleepyhead! Finally decided to wake u—”

But Jaigo lost his words mid-greeting.

Thump, thump, thump.

Gale hobbled forward with a long staff, legs trembling with every step.

Rather than “walking,” the word “crawling” seemed more accurate.

“Urrrrghhhh…”

His entire body was wrapped in bandages, and a faint ghost-like breath dangled half out of his mouth.

“…He didn’t look like that yesterday, did he?”

His expression had always been a little dazed, but he still looked like a human being.

“Now he looks like a mummy-type demonbeast,” Jaigo muttered, clicking his tongue.

Elwin gave a sheepish laugh.

“Ah, I put Gale through some training yesterday. He was keeping up better than I expected, and I may have… overdone it.”

The perpetrator confessed.

“MMMPH MMMPH!”

Gale, whose mouth was also bandaged, beat his chest in protest with his equally bandaged arm.

Unfortunately, there were no allies here—only supporters of the assailant.

“Oh, you ungrateful brat. Being personally trained by Master Elwin is an honor! Accept it gratefully!”

“I suppose I’ll prepare a restorative meal.”

“Master Elwin must be exhausted from teaching that blockhead too… My sympathies.”

“Haha, thank you! I’ll do my best as his instructor!”

As the criminal, accomplice, and bystanders shared cheerful banter, the victim looked ready to die.

“Well, I really must get going now. The children must be waiting.”

The siblings Nathan had saved were set to meet Jaigo in a nearby village under the Hunter Association’s protection.

“After I meet the children, we’ll go to my hometown and live together. Luckily, they were happy about that. I won’t quit being a Hunter completely… but I’ll start scaling back.”

There was no trace of despair on Jaigo’s face as he smiled.

“You’re strong, Mr. Jaigo.”

“Haha. I may only be in my 80s—young, by Hunter standards—but I’ve lived long enough to have some experience. Adults have their own ways of dealing with loss.”

“I see. I’m glad. You didn’t fall apart.”

Elwin and Nahrhan nodded gently—but Gale’s jaw dropped.

Upon hearing Jaigo’s age for the first time, he was visibly shaken.

Jaigo wagged a finger at him.

“Hey! What are you so shocked about?! I’m still in my prime!”

“MMMPH! MMMPH!”

“Hmph! Kids these days…”

Despite the strange conversation, the two smiled at each other.

“So this is how it ends, huh?”

“MMMPH.”

“It’s fine. I’m not sad. The world’s big, and time’s long. We’ll meet again someday!”

Jaigo’s mustache twitched as he grinned.

“My hometown’s Belpoil! Come visit sometime! I’ll treat you like royalty!”

Then, turning to Elwin, Jaigo spoke solemnly.

“Lower-Rank Hunter Jaigo! I have received a debt I can never repay from Yellow-Ranked Special-Class Hunter, Elwin Krieger. From the bottom of my heart… thank you!”

Elwin returned the salute as Jaigo bowed.

Flap—

Without hesitation, he turned around. His golden cape fluttered in a wide arc.

“Takeoff!”

They still had a long way to go.

***

“Feeling better?”

“Thanks to you. I appreciate it.”

Gale, once wrapped head to toe in bandages, now looked back to normal.

“Oh, don’t thank me. I pushed too hard, knowing you’re a beginner.”

He might’ve grumbled, but Elwin had unconsciously gone harder on Gale than he meant to—because Gale kept up so well.

‘Is this why Master was so hard on me back then?’

At the time, he resented it.

But now… he understood.

Seeing someone weaker struggle and push forward—it tugged at your heart.

“And thank Nahrhan, not me. He did the healing.”

“Well, yeah. Thanks, man.”

Gale bowed to Nahrhan.

By now, he’d realized that Nahrhan would do anything for Elwin—and nothing at all unless instructed.

“Didn’t expect you to have holy power.”

“It’s a basic qualification if one wishes to serve as Master Elwin’s butler and assistant.”

“‘Basic qualification’…?”

Gale looked baffled, but Elwin smoothly changed the subject.

“Alright. Shall we pick up where we left off yesterday?”

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

The wide training arena aboard the airship.

Elwin and Gale stood facing each other.

“Alright. Day 2 of training—begin!”

Ding.

Nahrhan rang a small bell.

The two clashed immediately.

BOOOOOOM!

The collision of their mana unleashed shockwaves across the arena.

The reason Gale suddenly started this training was simple:

—“Gale is too weak.”

It was a rather provocative statement from Elwin. But Gale didn’t let it go so easily.

—“Yup, I’m just a frail little merc. Please protect me, mighty Special-Class Hunter.”

—“No, that’s not quite right. Gale is strong.”

—“Wait, didn’t you just say I was weak?”

—“You are. But you’re also strong.”

When Gale raised an eyebrow at the contradiction, Elwin explained:

—“Your body and combat technique are highly developed. You’ve got great instincts from experience. But…”

—“But?”

—“Your mana control is awful. Worse than a first-year Academy student. Gale, you’ve never been formally taught how to use mana, have you?”

Gale scratched his head.

—“Of course not! Mana techniques are the exclusive property of the Hunter Association or ancient martial families. No way a merc like me could learn that.”

Mana control was a refined, researched discipline—each technique a legacy of a Hunter or clan.

They were never shared with outsiders.

—“Wait… you want me to take the Hunter Exam? For real?”

—“Yes!”

—“Whyyyyyy!?”

—“Because if you don’t take the upcoming exam, you’ll have to wait until next year!”

Gale despaired.

—“Don’t worry! I’ll teach you a unique mana technique myself!”

Fwoooosh!

Elwin held out one hand.

Golden mana swirled and shimmered like light.

—“My personally developed mana formula.”

And so, the two of them began special training—

To prepare for the upcoming Hunter Exam.

—“We’ve still got time before we reach Mediale. Plenty of time to train!”

—“So I’m gonna die before we get there, huh? Can I run?”

—“Try if you like. I enjoy playing tag. But if you’re caught, the training doubles. Understood?”

—“DAMN IIIIIIIIT!”

—“Looking forward to working with you, dear student.”

Thus began several days of hellish training.

From that point on, Gale’s screams echoed constantly through the smoothly gliding airship.

“…There it is. Central Island—Mediale.”

And finally, they reached their destination.