Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest

Chapter 346 81.1 - Close

The moment he saw the note, even without considering if it was true or if he was being lured into a trap, with his heart pounding in his chest, Ethan wasted no time as he hastily gathered his belongings and sprinted towards the location mentioned in the note.

With each step, his mind raced with thoughts of Emily's safety and the implications of the information he held.

The urgency of the situation spurred him on, his training instincts kicking in as he navigated to the streets of the Lactarian District.

Though Ethan wasn't that familiar with the address, the technology was.

'Assassin….I hope I am not late.'

The night air was crisp and cold, but Ethan barely registered the chill as adrenaline-fueled his movements.

As he neared 7th Street, Ethan's senses sharpened, scanning his surroundings for any signs of danger. His muscles tensed, prepared for whatever awaited him at the designated location.

Arriving at the street, Ethan slowed his pace, keeping to the shadows as he surveyed the area.

His keen eyes searched for any suspicious figures or unusual activity, his mind calculating the best course of action to ensure Emily's safety.

And then suddenly, he sensed something amiss. In front of his eyes, there were stores that had yet to close. Some people were looking at him as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stopped.

Though many people were awakened in this world, not all of them had the necessary strength to reach such speeds, and seeing them was rare.

But what bothered Ethan wasn't that. Somehow, from the second store and onwards, there was something amiss with the stores.

'Dark?'

It was a little darker, and he felt like his senses weren't able to pass through that space.

'A barrier of veil!'

And Ethan instantly remembered the contents of the lecture. At one time, Eleanor mentioned that there were a lot of skills that could obstruct one's senses. They were mainly used by stealth users, and this situation especially fit that description.

He knew he had to tread carefully, for the presence of a barrier of veil suggested that someone was deliberately hiding their actions from prying eyes.

With a silent curse under his breath, Ethan weighed his options. He could charge ahead recklessly, risking a potential ambush, or he could take a more cautious approach and gather information before confronting the source of the barrier.

Of course, assessing the situation would be better. Even if he had acted somehow impulsively, Ethan was at least a seasoned Hunter to some extent.

He entered the veil while concealing his presence, but the moment he entered, his senses picked up something amiss.

A blade and killing intent.

An assassin releasing its killing intent meant one thing! The target was already on the brink of finishing.

'Not good!'

In an instant, he spread his senses, and then two figures materialized in his brain.

SWOOSH!

Grabbing his spear, he channeled his mana into it.

「 Spear of Hartley, Thunder Javelin.」

The spear sparkled with energy as he channeled the mana; following that, Ethan threw the spear.

And then he followed the strike. Appearing before the assassin, Ethan stood there looking at the assailant.

"The note was really true."

He saw Emily there with his body injured.

"You don't need to worry anymore now that I am here."

From now on, he would deal with this bastard before his face.

"….."

The assassin didn't say anything, looking closely at Ethan. Even though his face was veiled and his eyes looked blurry from the outside, Ethan was able to sense that the assassin was clearly annoyed.

At the same time, Emily just silently looked into Ethan's back as crackles of electricity slowly deformed from his body.

'…He is here….'

Her voice mumbled inwardly, yet there was something missing. She knew she was saved just now, but there was something missing inside her heart.

"Who are you?"

Ethan mumbled, pondering.

Yet before he could even fully process the situation, the assailant's response came in the form of a swift attack.

SWOOSH!

With a fluid motion, the assassin launched a dagger towards Ethan, aiming for his chest.

CLANK!

Reacting on instinct, Ethan deflected the dagger with his spear, the metallic clang echoing through the street.

The speed of the dagger was just too fast, something that Ethan had a hard time reacting to.

'This power…..'

From the clash itself, Ethan realized that the enemy's strength wasn't clearly low.

But before he could fully recover from the initial strike, the assailant closed the distance with alarming speed, daggers flashing in the moonlight.

As the assassin pressed the attack, Ethan focused on defending himself, his movements fueled by adrenaline and training.

Each strike was met with a calculated block or parry, but the assailant's relentless assault kept him on the defensive.

Amidst the flurry of blows, the assailant's voice cut through the chaos, dripping with disdain. "Is this important?" he sneered, the daggers flashing dangerously as he lunged forward. "Who I am matters little in the grand scheme of things. What matters is that your meddling ends here."

FLICK!

Suddenly, the assassin flicked his fingers.

SPURT!

Following that, blood spurted from Ethan's body. His arms, his wrists, and many of his veins were split open.

'Blood manipulation?'

Ethan was caught off guard as he was unable to sense the attack. His body started hurting inwardly. His head started spinning from the constant loss of blood.

SLASH! Following that, the assassin attacked with his daggers flashing. The daggers were shining bright, with countless different symbols on them. The color of orange lit up as the daggers started burning.

The dagger with fire approached Ethan. The assassin clearly wanted to eliminate this person before him.

CLANK! However, contrary to its expectations, the dagger didn't slash the body but was intercepted by the shining spear.

"Hmm!"

Assassin's eyes were narrowed as he seized his enemy. The effects of his skill shouldn't have been nullified this fast.

'Something is not right.'

He thought. Following that, his eyes met with the enemy with a spear. There, he saw the young man's eyes, which had turned vertically yellow and shining.

The enemy had already escaped his initial [Blood Ailment.]

Yes. The moment the assassin had seen Ethan's attack and dodged the initial strike, how could he not know that this person before him was an enemy? The attack clearly had an intent behind it, making him react to it.

Therefore, while Ethan was somehow talking to Emily, the assassin had already stated that he was using his ailment, covering his daggers and the air itself.

And while clashing with Ethan, he sped up the injection time, yet now it wasn't even effective for 2 seconds.

SWOOSH! In an instant, the young man with the spear's figure blurred. Assassin's instincts warned him as he tensed his body.

Using his high agility and flexibility, he tilted his waist in a rather abnormal manner, evading the thrust.

As Ethan's yellow eyes continued to gleam with intensity, he pressed the attack, his movements fluid and precise despite the pain coursing through his body. He was already recovering at a fast rate as the pain was fading away.

With each strike of his spear, he aimed to exploit the slightest opening in the assassin's defenses, his focus unwavering.

However, the assassin, recognizing the imminent threat posed by Ethan's relentless assault, called upon another skill to enhance his agility.

[Dash]

It was a common skill that wasn't rare to find at all. Most of the agility type awakened had this skill.

With a surge of speed, he dodged Ethan's strikes with remarkable precision, his movements becoming almost imperceptible to the naked eye. Emily, who was watching the battle unfold, was having a hard time noticing everything. She was lacking in terms of this aspect.

Of course, being an awakened and someone from the Hartley family, Ethan's vision of such things was pretty developed compared to the normal students of the academy. After all, he had fought someone stronger and faster than this assassin – a certain white-haired monster.

Sensing the shift in the assassin's speed, Ethan remained vigilant but still adjusted his stance to maintain his offensive pressure.

SWOOSH! But before he could close in for another strike, the assassin widened the distance between them, leaping back with impressive agility.

As the assassin retreated, he seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, hurling a dagger toward Ethan with deadly accuracy.

Emily instantly had flashbacks. She realized what had happened before Ethan came. She was already sure that the assassin was going to utilize the same tactic.

"Car-"

She wanted to inform Ethan, but she felt like she couldn't speak at all.

Her voice was concealed! CLANK! Reacting with lightning-fast reflexes, Ethan deflected the dagger with his spear.

However, suddenly, behind the dagger, another projectile appeared.

A triumphant smirk crossed the assassin's lips, thinking that he had successfully ensnared Ethan in his trap. The distance between them was too narrow to evade the poison flask, and he knew that a direct hit could prove fatal.

The person needed to deflect the dagger, but then they would most likely be in a bad posture, making it a lot harder to react.

"Heh…."

But suddenly, Assassin saw Ethan smile. Following that, the Assassin saw the flask flying back!

「 Spear of Hartley. First Move. Spinning Hell」

In a split-second decision, Ethan summoned his mana and twirled his spear in a swift motion, generating a small whirlwind around him! Therefore, without actually making contact with the poison flask, he safely defended himself.

It was a very fast decision, and that left Assassin's mouth agape.

"You are not the first one to think that."

Ethan mumbled with his smile, remembering that someone had pulled this trick on him.

CRACK! The assassin immediately crashed the flask with his dagger as it was now approaching him. And then he landed on the ground.

CRACKLE! But Ethan wasn't going to give the assassin the time. He knew he had the chance now!

Lighting surged through his body as Ethan's legs started channeling his energy. Once an assassin's tricks or first strike was avoided, it was a lot easier to deal with them!

「Spear of Hartley. Tiger's Thrust. 」

SWOOSH! With a rapid speed, he stabbed his spear, aiming right at the assassin's heart.

THUD! But, before he could even do anything, suddenly, he felt something amiss. The world turned dark for a split second, and he found himself standing still while a figure appeared before him.

No, there were two figures.

"….."

One was someone with a cloak, his dagger almost on his heart. And the other one was a girl with her sword intercepting the dagger.

"ETHAN! WAKE UP!"

At that moment, Ethan realized something.

He almost lost his life.

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