DEVIANT

48 Chapter 48: Hunters past

The hunter listened to his words and simply nodded in agreement. The look on his face showed he had no intentions of hiding anything from Alex. He adjusted his sitting posture and threw a glance around the room before shifting his gaze to Alex.

“I once lived in this yellow zone region... I realized I had the healing ability but I kept it a secret and helped the poor living here... I wanted to make life easier for everyone here... This is not something someone living in the capital can relate to. You wealthy people don’t know what it means to live in the trenches... The inhuman treatments we go through! The struggle for survival!” The man said.

“Anyway, I stayed back, and because of my actions, I saved many... Lives were saved and many people loved me... My family was famous around these areas... I was like a child of light to the people... But one day we were attacked by a small horde of mutant beasts... Many died and my parents died at the hands of that creature we just fought... My little sister was killed too... ” The hunter paused a bit to adjust his breathing before continuing.

“We were weak do we couldn’t protect ourselves... I only survived because of my healing abilities... The military came hours late! A good number of the people’s population was wiped out that day... After that, I joined the military but I kept the true nature of my abilities a secret. I told them it can only heal me, hoping I won’t be forced to stay outside the battlefield by the Government... Either way, that choice led me here... Countless battles, countless failures... Sometimes I almost died... Sometimes I could be barely moved... But each time I got beat down I got stronger... As a D-rated hunter I fought hard and slowly I got stronger with each battle and each piece of beast gear I acquire... What I lacked in talent, I made up for it with sheer hard work... In the end, I met up with this mutant beast again... It is the one that killed my family right in front of me... I couldn’t kill it then... But I am stronger now... This time I definitely won’t fail!” The man said with clenched fists while Alex listened attentively.

He waited patiently for the man to finish speaking before his eyes revealed a hint of resentment as he leaned forward.

“I don’t know what you think about yourself but I strongly believe you are extremely dumb... Probably one of the dumbest people I have come across” Alex has his honest opinion, leaving the man stunned since he didn’t expect such a response.

“Explain yourself!” the man demanded with clenched fists but Alex didn’t look moved.

In his opinion, the opponent may be a skilled hunter but now he has only one hand and he is lacking his ultimate weapon. This man is no longer a threat to him.

“You simply chose the comfort of your loved ones over the fame with your ‘righteous’ actions... You wanted to be a figure known and worshipped. You wanted people who didn’t matter to care about you and because of that, you lost those who truly matter! Your family!”Alex said coldly.

.....

“And now you are repeating the same mistake again... You are picking the dead over the living... You have the chance to live a good life... Live out the rest of your life in a comfortable condition and make sure your kids never have to go through what you have gone through, yet you choose to remain here... Fighting until something kills you... It takes numerous strings of bad decisions in this life for someone to get here in life... You have two choices... Let go of all of this and return to the capital with me or we head back and finish off the monster together and part ways there” Alex’s words were like a hot knife, piercing deep into his chest but even the man knew he couldn’t beat Alex without his spear.

He got on his feet and walked out of the room silently while pondering on Alex’s words. Meanwhile, Alex had no reason to think about the conversation anymore. Instead, he chose to gather his knowledge and double-check everything that has happened so far.

For a mutant beast to evolve it has to do one of these two things. Kill other mutant beasts and consume their beast cores. That could be considered the first and most common way to get stronger. Once the beast consumes enough Beast cores, it will go through a quick evolution.

Meanwhile, the second way simply requires a part of the blue meteor as a source of power. Steadily absorbing it will allow the body of a mutant beast to change slowly. The evolution process using this method is slow but it is not as risky as the first.

Considering the condition of the evolving bat mutant beast, Alex suspected it found a power source, that’s literarily the only reason a beast like that will remain in a shabby place like that and not show itself.

For some reason, Alex strongly believes the beast won’t move from that location. It will endure the pain and focus on its evolution and this will be a fatal mistake for it!

If he can get to the power source and use the matter absorption ability, he should be able to absorb its power and further strengthen himself!

Even if he fails to strengthen himself, he should be able to claim the dead mutant beast and use it to forge his first beast gear!

The thought of this made him tremble with excitement! But his enemy and his partner are not in their peak conditions, making it very possible for Alex to exploit both sides.

“If he paid attention to my words he would have known I do what’s best for me... Sometimes I feel patriotic but in the end, I do what’s best for me and the few people I hold dear... To protect those people I must get stronger! No matter the means or cost!” Alex said calmly but his eyes were cold.